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I love fantasy books so it's nice to see others here who enjoy them too. 

 

Although the last 2 books I (mostly) read were historical: A History of Russia (by N Riasanovsky), and From Beirut to Jerusalem (by T Friedman). Both are well-written and give a lot of interesting context to the events going on in the world today.

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That Russian history book would be right up my alley. I'm reading a history of the Mongol empire atm and have a history of Taiwan queued up. I do enjoy fiction, specifically Sci-fi and Fantasy as well as cosmic horror stuff, but as I get older I tend to gravitate to non-fiction.

Best recent reads include:

The Origin of Satan: How Christians demonized Jews, Pagans, and Heretics by Elaine Pagels

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild (history of Belgian colonization of the Congo)

Under the Banner of Faith: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krakauer (about Mormon fundamentalists)

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With the passing of Cormac Mccarthy last year, I decided to take a crack at some of his writings and started with his magnum opus, Blood Meridian, one of the most difficult and rewarding books I've ever read up there with Shakespeare and Faulkner. It's based on the real life "Glanton Gang" in the 1850's, who were  hired by the Mexican Government to scalp Apache Indians  during the Mexican-American war and became ruthless killers, eventually becoming so depraved in their violence that the scalp hunters became outlaws wanted by the Mexican Government. The book is a game changer for me. 10 out of 10. And, it gave me insight into the world of Wayfarer as way of inspiration-in terms of an anti Western  upending notions of manifest destiny. The West was won through genocide, greed and indiscriminate violence.  

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2 hours ago, navybsn said:

That Russian history book would be right up my alley. 

It's very informative & long... I mostly focused on the final chapters dealing with the USSR which I found the most interesting. Another great book on the subject is Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire by V. Sebestyen, which deals with the eastern European countries under Soviet influence/iron curtain).

 

2 hours ago, navybsn said:

I'm reading a history of the Mongol empire atm and have a history of Taiwan queued up. I do enjoy fiction, specifically Sci-fi and Fantasy as well as cosmic horror stuff, but as I get older I tend to gravitate to non-fiction.

 

Nice, it isn't by any chance Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (J Weatherford)? I highly recommend that one, it details everything from his (crazy!) early life, the spread of the empire, military tactics, decline and it's effects to this day.

 

I also dig more non-fiction as I get older. The truth is often so much crazier and unbelievable than any fiction.

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I've been able to finally start reading again last year, after many years of struggling due to excessive work etc. I've mainly stuck to lighter fantasy/ scifi to keep it fun. Here's some of my latest books.

The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemmisin. Currently on book 3 and struggling, she's lost the plot a bit, but the first two books were really good!

The Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. Romancy/fantasy. Not deep but very entertaining and with some great plot twists.

Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller. A fictional re-telling of the story of Achilles and his lover Patroclus from the Illiad. Incredible language, beautifully written, and of course tragic as hell.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Dark academia, set in Yale. All the secret societies practice actual magic, and the ninth society Lethe is tasked with keeping them all in check. Also a very well-written book, with a very compelling lead character.

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On 2/8/2024 at 8:13 PM, markm said:

With the passing of Cormac Mccarthy last year, I decided to take a crack at some of his writings and started with his magnum opus, Blood Meridian, one of the most difficult and rewarding books I've ever read up there with Shakespeare and Faulkner. It's based on the real life "Glanton Gang" in the 1850's, who were  hired by the Mexican Government to scalp Apache Indians  during the Mexican-American war and became ruthless killers, eventually becoming so depraved in their violence that the scalp hunters became outlaws wanted by the Mexican Government. The book is a game changer for me. 10 out of 10. And, it gave me insight into the world of Wayfarer as way of inspiration-in terms of an anti Western  upending notions of manifest destiny. The West was won through genocide, greed and indiscriminate violence.  

Excellent. Blood Meridian is absolutely soul destroying in the best possible way. McCarthy was one of the few greats the English speaking world had left. I vividly remember passages from that book that would plunge me into a kind of terrifying living unreality that teased and prodded at the fear of a hell beneath, and around us in a way nothing else could. Now the real question becomes;

 

Who would you cast as The Judge for a film version?

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51 minutes ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

Excellent. Blood Meridian is absolutely soul destroying in the best possible way. McCarthy was one of the few greats the English speaking world had left. I vividly remember passages from that book that would plunge me into a kind of terrifying living unreality that teased and prodded at the fear of a hell beneath, and around us in a way nothing else could. Now the real question becomes;

Who would you cast as The Judge for a film version?

Gary Oldman? Cilian Murphy? Hardy? Bale? Dafoe? Waltz? First thought was that dude from No Country for Old Men. But he's not quite right. Walken's too old. Nicholson's too old. Gandolfini would've been the perfect choice but he's dead.

Seems they've actually cast Chris Pratt for the role in an upcoming film, would not have thought of him personally. But I guess you'd need a big dude and most of those guys I mentioned are little dudes. Lithgow? D'Onofrio?

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27 minutes ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Gary Oldman? Cilian Murphy? Hardy? Bale? Dafoe? Waltz? First thought was that dude from No Country for Old Men. But he's not quite right. Walken's too old. Nicholson's too old. Gandolfini would've been the perfect choice but he's dead.

Seems they've actually cast Chris Pratt for the role in an upcoming film, would not have thought of him personally. But I guess you'd need a big dude and most of those guys I mentioned are little dudes. Lithgow? D'Onofrio?

Gary Oldman wouldn't be a bad choice. Pratt? As the Judge? Nah. I've got no beef with Pratt and he seems like a nice enough dude, but there's no way he could convey the sense of fear and fascination fused together that would be required of him. I lean a little more toward Clancy Brown myself. Just keep Tom Hardy and his travelling peripatetic affectations away from it. Then again, who knows, we could end up with a Heath Ledger/Joker situation.

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7 hours ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

Excellent. Blood Meridian is absolutely soul destroying in the best possible way. McCarthy was one of the few greats the English speaking world had left. I vividly remember passages from that book that would plunge me into a kind of terrifying living unreality that teased and prodded at the fear of a hell beneath, and around us in a way nothing else could. Now the real question becomes;

 

Who would you cast as The Judge for a film version?

Assuming he can pull off an American accent and can "man-up" for the character (I mean he literally played a eunuch), I kept thinking of this guy from Game of Thrones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varys#:~:text=Lord Varys is a fictional,television adaptation Game of Thrones.&text=Introduced in 1996's A Game,of whisperers in King's Landing.

220px-Varys-Conleth_Hill.jpg 

But he's got the right look and he can definitely play a sociopath

 

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