tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post3908915746255062919..comments2024-03-22T05:17:53.112-04:00Comments on Big Bad Bald Bastard: Reviewing the Archives WARNING SPOILERS!!!Big Bad Bald Bastardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-20684355160973539612011-04-23T14:41:40.891-04:002011-04-23T14:41:40.891-04:00If you haven't tried them already, I think you...<i>If you haven't tried them already, I think you might like Elisabeth Bear's "Jacob's Ladder" trilogy (Dust, Chill, Grail). Nanobot-infested Arthurian neo-feudalists politicking on a broken-down generation starship lost in space.</i><br /><br />Wow, that sounds a lot like a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphosis_Alpha" rel="nofollow"><i>Metamorphosis Alpha</i></a> campaign writeup!<br /><br />Thanks for the recommendation!Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-35740029509294308822011-04-22T22:00:03.455-04:002011-04-22T22:00:03.455-04:00A favorite bit of The Concrete Jungle (don't t...A favorite bit of <i>The Concrete Jungle</i> (don't think that it's a spoiler): <br /><i>"Oh, for crying out loud." Andy rolls his eyes, then says very rapidly. "By the abjuration of Dee and the name of Claude Dansey I hereby exercise subsection D paragraph sixteen clause twelve and bind you to service from now and forevermore. Right, that's it. You're drafted, and may whatever deity you believe in have mercy on your soul."<br /><br />"Hey. Wait." She takes a step back. "What's going on?" There's a faint stink of burning sulphur in the air.<br /><br />"You've just talked yourself into the Laundry," I say, shaking my head. "Just try to remember I tried to keep you out of this."</i><br /><br />I've been reading <i>The Fuller Memorandum</i> as a hardcover---but from the library. I can't wait for <i>The Apocalypse Codex</i> (?). <br /><br />If you haven't tried them already, I think you might like Elisabeth Bear's "Jacob's Ladder" trilogy (<i>Dust</i>, <i>Chill</i>, <i>Grail</i>). Nanobot-infested Arthurian neo-feudalists politicking on a broken-down generation starship lost in space.Mandoshttp://politblogo.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-14979767039321878172011-04-21T12:21:00.342-04:002011-04-21T12:21:00.342-04:00D'oh, yesterday I should have responded to:
P...D'oh, yesterday I should have responded to:<br /><br /><i>Perfectly cromulent English idiom. </i><br /><br />With:<br /><br />Someday, I wish to learn this English language of which you speak.Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-70773978927760301262011-04-21T12:19:43.249-04:002011-04-21T12:19:43.249-04:00Smut, are you an international superspy?
"Wa...Smut, are you an international superspy?<br /><br />"Waitress, give me a black pudding, sauteed, not fried!"Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-40255090843449219922011-04-20T23:17:49.118-04:002011-04-20T23:17:49.118-04:00The briefing papers that the narrator reads are so...The briefing papers that the narrator reads are so on-the-nail in their style that I half-wonder whether Stross has mates in Cheltenham who gave him some feedback.Smut Clydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409476490132867809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-81969866656842184232011-04-20T20:47:15.757-04:002011-04-20T20:47:15.757-04:00Check out the free "web book" A Colder W...Check out the free "web book" <i>A Colder War</i> for a preview. If you like that, you'll like <i>The Atrocity Archives</i>. The link is in my earlier post.Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-1528253911089234922011-04-20T19:56:28.985-04:002011-04-20T19:56:28.985-04:00I had to stop reading your review because the book...I had to stop reading your review because the book sounds so good I didn't want to ruin it with the spoiler. Thanks, I'll pick it up. I need something new as I'm just about done with the last book in my Phillip K. Dick marathon.OBShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11290768768025981403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-69868025068804945612011-04-20T19:48:40.971-04:002011-04-20T19:48:40.971-04:00I'll put up a review of The Jennifer Morgue so...I'll put up a review of <i>The Jennifer Morgue</i> soon. I prefer paperbacks (I'm a cheapskate and I prefer more compact books), so I can wait for <i>The Fuller Memorandum</i>.<br /><br /><i>Interchangeable with "turns to custard" and "goes tits-up".</i><br /><br />I've heard "goes tits-up".<br /><br /><i>The real question is why the USA!USA!USA! doesn't have more.</i><br /><br />Eight years of Bush!Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-77375472123488867952011-04-20T17:41:23.335-04:002011-04-20T17:41:23.335-04:00I have no idea why the Brits have so many synonyms...<i>I have no idea why the Brits have so many synonyms for "fails spectacularly" in their language. </i><br /><br />The real question is why the USA!USA!USA! doesn't have more.<br />~ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®©https://www.blogger.com/profile/06252371815131259831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-29776315049397140452011-04-20T13:42:18.483-04:002011-04-20T13:42:18.483-04:00I actually just read The Jennifer Morgue in audiob...I actually just read <i>The Jennifer Morgue</i> in audiobook form and the free short stories online, and am now reading <i>The Fuller Memorandum</i> in print and <i>The Atrocity Archives</i> in audiobook.<br /><br />They are really truly amazing and as a CS geek I absolutely love these stories and the theory detail in them, as well as the whole concept of the Laundry bureaucracy and the idea that every country has one of these. His take on the American Black Chamber in <i>The Jennifer Morgue</i> is particularly awesome.Mandoshttp://politblogo.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-81464075961862022042011-04-20T10:01:18.230-04:002011-04-20T10:01:18.230-04:00I thought that 'goes pear-shaped' was a re...I thought that 'goes pear-shaped' was a reference to the way a woman's shape changes as she puts on weight. I apologize if this observation which took me so long to puzzle out was obvious to everyone else.77southnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-83290354892528867192011-04-20T08:55:32.681-04:002011-04-20T08:55:32.681-04:00"goes pear-shaped"
Perfectly cromulent ...<i>"goes pear-shaped"</i><br /><br />Perfectly cromulent English idiom. Interchangeable with "turns to custard" and "goes tits-up".<br /><br />I have no idea why the Brits have so many synonyms for "fails spectacularly" in their language.Smut Clydehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09409476490132867809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-87077994489545852302011-04-20T07:11:22.592-04:002011-04-20T07:11:22.592-04:00I can't help it- I gots big clumsy fingers, wh...I can't help it- I gots big clumsy fingers, which tend to hit "return" at times.Big Bad Bald Bastardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01983025559556548658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8526498499129692237.post-69203791008644776532011-04-20T05:01:28.145-04:002011-04-20T05:01:28.145-04:00Stop that. You'll go blind, & become Bx5.Stop that. You'll go blind, & become Bx5.M. Bouffanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04519088858760760560noreply@blogger.com