What are you reading?

The other day, I finished Prince by Rory Clements, which was the 3rd of the series, and it gets better with every book. This author is underrated.

I jumped back in time, from the Tudor era to the Nero era, to get a little more of the Rome "lore" with Rome: The Emperor's Spy, by M.C. Scott. There's a good feedback about historical accuracy of the setting for this series (the story is fictional), so it's a pleasant way to discover a little more about that ancient world.

Scott takes the time to develop the background of each character and the story, it's not for the impatient. She writes from several key characters' point of view or from the narrator's, and so far there's no main hero but a convergence of several people's life into the main story line.
 
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Small Favor came and went in what seemed record time. This entry in the Dresden tales sees Harry and pals in an all-out conflict with some pesky members of the Denarians, as well as some significant insight as to why Harry has been acting oddly in some of the past few volumes. His abilities also seem to be getting augmented in some mysterious fashion, and that likely doesn't bode well!

This afternoon I picked up Double Solitaire as my next read, this being book ten of the Wild Card series, and the first actual straight-up novel. Melinda Snodgrass has the honours here, and this will continue the Rox tales, as well as seeing Tachyon attempt to regain his body, though a lengthy trip to Takis will need to happen first.

There seems to be an RPG for that setting, too : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dresden_Files_Roleplaying_Game
 
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Finished God-Emperor of Dune and I still like it as much as I remember, when I read it the first time. Leto II is also my favorite character in the Dune universe, so I might be somewhat biased.
Next up is Heretics of Dune, of which I don't have much memories really, so maybe it was a forgettable book :)
 
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Oh, and to reference the Sanderson kick starter campaign, I saw earlier today that it's crossed the twenty million buck mark. So yeah, this money-raising endeavour is still obviously feasible, as long as you bring talent to the table. And say what you will about Sanderson, he is a talented writer.
 
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This afternoon I wrapped up Double Solitaire, the first actual novel in the Wild Card series, though it comes in at book ten. In this tale most of the action takes place on Takis, Tachyon's homeworld that we've read much about, yet never actually visited until this book. Snodgrass wrote this entry, and for me some of her tales are rather hit and miss, though I did enjoy her stint when she wrote and produced for a while on the Next Generation.

Up next for me is book three of Red Star Rising, the Morning Star. I'm ten percent in now, Darrow is making a jail break and the action is on!
 
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I finished Morning Star earlier today, this is as far as I've ever read in the series, and it's almost a perfect ending. Darrow begins the book as a captive, and by the end has organised a complete over-throw of the Sovereign, because man, Octavia really had to go. And, of course, Darrow also finds out he has a child, with all that will involve. I've never read the next book, Iron Gold, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next in this universe.

Next up is a book I requested back before Samhain, and finally received yesterday, Killing Floor, the first book in the Reacher series. I've read the first two books in the series before, this time I plan on going further.
 
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This morning I put the Killing Floor to bed. What an exceptional read this was, and willl be again, some years down the road. After recently watching the telly show, I gained an even larger appreciation for the written format, as you can see just how damaged the protagonist truly is. What a haunting finish, as he leaves Margrave without a backward glance.

Next up for me is a loaner from a sister-in-law, East of Eden. I've not read this book since high school days, not sure how much will resonate these days, yet I'll be finding out soon.
 
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East of Eden was a fine read, I'm not sure I actually enjoyed it this much when I last read it back in high school. It's not my favourite Steinbeck book, at least two would be ahead, yet as a generational tale I quite like it. The hours flew while I devoured this one. Timshel, now and forever!

Next for me is Dark Horse, the fifth book in the Longmire chronicles. I'm already a third of the way through it and lost in Wyoming once again.
 
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Still reading all the free male power fantasy harem novels on Amazon.:p
 
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Damn, that sounds like it could take an entire lifetime. There's a never ending deluge of the <expletive redacted> things.
Yeah seems like 100+ or more get released every month. Most are trash but some are very good. They remind me of the adult pulp fiction genre from the 50-80's.
 
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I've tried a few of those a couple of years back, just didn't work for me. At least the majority, I did glean a few decent reads out of the bunch that I sampled.
 
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Dark Horse didn't last long, cursed be these Longmire books, they're just too damn good. This one is a tad more cerebral than some of the others in the series, with Walt working undercover for most of the book, and at the same time dodging responsibilities for campaign work he ought to be doing. The action is all in Wyoming this time, with a decent amount of new cast introduced.

And next will be Iron Gold, the fourth book in the Red Rising series!
 
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Iron Gold is put to bed, and what an enthralling addition to the series. We jump about ten years ahead, the new regime is still trying to settle all the worlds down, and we see old enemies and new rise to the challenge. It's a well-told tale, and I'll be interested to see what happens next, as the Lune segment might be coming back into play.

Right now I'm back to the Longmire series with Junkyard Dog, book seven.
 
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Finished A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. 1992 Sci-Fi. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, A Deepness in the Sky.

The setting has a cool mechanic that allows new civilizations to develop towards the core of the Milky Way while keeping advanced powers on the outskirts.
 
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why not let someone who has a hand missing play an elf or a dwarf with a hand missing in an role-playing game ? The hand might have been cut by an orc, for example. Or burnt by an evil sorceror.

This is diversity. And it doesn't stop there.
Or, like, he could roleplay he still has both hands and forget about the horrors of reality he's probably trying to escape in the first place. Shit, why not let him have four hands!? You just use your imagination and creativity. Not your "diversity".

This book was kind of advertised in connection with a crowdfounding for a German-language edition of a newish pen & paper role-playing system by the "Fate" makers : https://www.evilhat.com/home/thirsty-sword-lesbians/
It is called "Thirsty Sword Lesbians".
LOL, WOW! Sounds hot! But are they "thirsty sword" lesbians or thirsty "sword lesbians"?!? =)

To quote a character from SWTOR : "Diversity is our strength."
I never knew so many politicians played SWTOR. That's pretty cool. :)
 
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I've begun "Roll Inclusive" - Diversity und ReprÃÃâ€*’Ãâ€*’¤sentation im Rollenspiel" , a collection of German-language essays about diversity in rol playing games (mostly table top / pen & paper, but some of them are so general that they can be applied to any role-playing game).

I wish hat this book would be translated into the English language, because in my view it is a milestone. Or maybe it already exists in one form or another in the Enlish language already ?

This book is not about minorities, but more about diversity. Because , as my own saying goes , "people are different" , it is a bit like , trying to outline it myself , "how to make a music concert appealing to a wide variety of music tastes", so to say.

It reminds me of a youth novel I had been reading in my youth, about a young boy at school who appeared to be a descendent of a castle's inhabitants who were long gone since centuries. That was fun, how it worked out. But most notably, it was the very first novel I had ever read in which a handicapped person played the main role : One of his hands was not there anymore.
It showed me that novels with handicapped people can be just as fun & entertaining as novels with "normal" people. And I kept that in my memory.

"Diversity" means all of that, like I tried to show in the example with the huge variety of musical tastes. So , why not let someone who is missing a hand in RL (someone from a different department in my firm whom I work with every day has that), why not let someone who has a hand missing play an elf or a dwarf with a hand missing in an role-playing game ? The hand might have been cut by an orc, for example. Or burnt by an evil sorceror.

This is diversity. And it doesn't stop there.

This book was kind of advertised in connection with a crowdfounding for a German-language edition of a newish pen & paper role-playing system by the "Fate" makers : https://www.evilhat.com/home/thirsty-sword-lesbians/
It is called "Thirsty Sword Lesbians".
I don't think I'd play that, but it is to me just as having another can of spices (next to pepper, salt etc.) for my cooking meal : It just adds.

To quote a character from SWTOR : "Diversity is our strength."

Most of the tabletop RPGs have now 'warnings' about content, and go in depth on how to approach violent or trauma content, inclusion, diversity etc.. either in the rules or under Help/advises for people running scenarios for a group of players.
Runequest I run have those since at least 5 years now.

I don't understand why you think than anyone wouldn't let someone play an Elf with one hand, or a person with a missing hand plays an Elf with 2 hands? It's a RPG after all and that person is already playing a fantasy creature. Why not one with some disability like a missing hand or a missing eye? It could be a nice background story about why this person missing a part of his body rejected or could not use magic to heal himself. Most of those games have this kind of spell.

Tabletop RPG games are played with friends or in clubs, there is no need to fantasize of imaginary exclusions.
 
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I finished Junkyard Dogs this morning, another entry in the Longmire series. This one takes place fully in the Wyoming state, in the absolute dead of winter, so the reader truly gets an appreciation for what it's like to function there during this season. Old friend/enemies abound, as well as some new villains to meet and greet. I've already que'd up for the next book in the series.

Now though, it's back to Flavia! I'm twenty percent into Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd, Flavia has returned from Canada, and all is not right at home!
 
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