What good books have you read lately? [Archive] - Page 2

View Full Version : What good books have you read lately?

Pages : 1 [2] 3

Ardwen

03-24-2014, 10:22 PM

just finished the second Stormlight last week, decent read and some interesting storylines, am interested to see how he develops it

Taernath

03-24-2014, 10:24 PM

That guy already decided to write a 10 book series? Talk about jumping in head first.

cwolff

03-24-2014, 10:32 PM

That guy already decided to write a 10 book series? Talk about jumping in head first.

Ya that's a real pain. It'll be 2030 and we'll still be waiting on the end of this series. It's like Jordan dying before finishing the WoT.

just finished the second Stormlight last week, decent read and some interesting storylines, am interested to see how he develops it

I've listened to them as audiobooks. I like it but I miss a lot because I fall asleep and have to figure out the last thing I remember. The first book went well but in the second one I'm having trouble staying interested. I really like the Kalladans story and thought Sanderson did a great job telling that story through flashback. The second book seems to be all about Shallan and I'm not that into her story.

I think I'm going to have to get the physical books because I was reading the wikipedia entry and there's a ton of stuff that I've missed so far.

Warriorbird

03-24-2014, 10:37 PM

Anyone reading these books?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stormlight_Archive

just finished the second Stormlight last week, decent read and some interesting storylines, am interested to see how he develops it

I enjoyed it. I'll keep with it while he's around.

Rallorick

03-24-2014, 11:07 PM

I just read Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. Good book. I picked it up a while back when it was a kindle deal of the day, but just got around to reading it. It not quite as refined as some of the bigger names, but the story was strong, and the characters are good

Rallorick

03-24-2014, 11:20 PM

Warriorbird

03-24-2014, 11:23 PM

Also, the Warded Man, by Peter Brett... but warning up front: third book of the series was garbage. Unfortunate, because the first book in the series was pretty damn good. Supposedly there will be two more, but the first one can be read almost stand alone, and I would recommend that

Yeah. That series went way downhill. First one almost seemed like a different author.

cwolff

03-24-2014, 11:28 PM

Also, the Warded Man, by Peter Brett... but warning up front: third book of the series was garbage. Unfortunate, because the first book in the series was pretty damn good. Supposedly there will be two more, but the first one can be read almost stand alone, and I would recommend that

I agree. I skipped a lot of pages in that book. The first and second books were pretty fresh. This one got stale quick. I think this story is starting to take itself too seriously.

Jarvan

03-25-2014, 12:01 AM

Under a Graveyard Sky, and To sail a Darkling Sea.

Two great books, can't wait for the last in the series.

GS4-Seomanthe

03-25-2014, 09:27 AM

The Lies of Locke Lamora (http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Scott-Lynch/dp/055358894X) was a very entertaining and clever little story of a con artist and the criminal underworld in a renaissance Venice-inspired city.

Warriorbird

03-25-2014, 10:31 AM

Johnny Five

03-25-2014, 10:46 AM

Glen Cook's The Black company. I'm on the last two books and it's very good. Akin to Game of Thrones style but different. Enjoyable if you like that type of stuff.

GS4-Seomanthe

03-25-2014, 11:07 AM

I liked it. A bit "This is a planned series!" but I liked it.

I just downloaded book 2, so I'm glad for the endorsement. I don't think I mind the sense that it's planned... It's better than feeling like it's patched together with duct tape and bubble gum, right? Also, when I searched for reviews I saw it had been optioned by WB, though it's hard to imagine the story on film...

Dendum

03-25-2014, 01:28 PM

Glen Cook's The Black company. I'm on the last two books and it's very good. Akin to Game of Thrones style but different. Enjoyable if you like that type of stuff.

I have read these...I believe it was an omnibus edition or some such, pretty good fantasy war small unit activity stuff that Cook is known for.

Hydra

08-07-2014, 10:41 AM

Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It by David M. Ewalt. The author does an excellent job of telling the history D&D as well as informing the reader what it's like to play the current game using the narrative of his D&D group to help tell the story.

I re-read that and it sounded really, really nerdy. But then again I'm talking about a history book about a pen and paper RPG on a site dedicated to a decades old MUD, so I guess it's OK.

Allereli

08-08-2014, 02:33 PM

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I'm just assuming this is going to be good, comes out on Monday, but you can read the first 50 pages now.

http://suvudu.com/2014/08/50-page-fridays-robin-hobb-3.html

Tisket

08-08-2014, 03:26 PM

I just downloaded book 2, so I'm glad for the endorsement. I don't think I mind the sense that it's planned... It's better than feeling like it's patched together with duct tape and bubble gum, right? Also, when I searched for reviews I saw it had been optioned by WB, though it's hard to imagine the story on film...

I agree with WB on this. Sometimes authors don't put as much effort into the current story because they know they can wrap stuff up and/or explain further in a subsequent book in the series. That's fine if it's done to increase anticipation but sometimes it is used to cover bad story telling, pacing, poor plotting, and sometimes just a dearth of ideas.

Tisket

08-08-2014, 03:27 PM

....and I just realized I was responding to a post that is five months old.

Gelston

08-08-2014, 03:28 PM

....and I just realized I was responding to a post that is five months old.

Fuckin Necros!

Although on a thread like this, it is forgivable.

Tisket

08-08-2014, 03:29 PM

lol

gs4-PauperSid

08-08-2014, 04:55 PM

I found this one to be a quick read. I imagine it'll be a movie soon enough. First chapter is below. . .great first line.

(The Martian--by Andy Weir)

Space.com provides the first chapter of this novel here.

Chapter 1: Log Entry SOL 6

I'm pretty much f*****.

That's my considered opinion.

F*****.

Six days into what should be the greatest two months of my life, and it's turned into a nightmare.

I don't even know who'll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now.

For the record . . . I didn't die on Sol 6. Certainly the rest of the crew thought I did, and I can't blame them. Maybe there'll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, "Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars."

And it'll be right, probably. 'Cause I'll surely die here. Just not on Sol 6 when everyone thinks I did.

Let's see . . . where do I begin?

The Ares Program. Mankind reaching out to Mars to send people to another planet for the very first time and expand the horizons of humanity blah, blah, blah. The Ares 1 crew did their thing and came back heroes. They got the parades and fame and love of the world.

Ares 2 did the same thing, in a different location on Mars. They got a firm handshake and a hot cup of coffee when they got home.

Ares 3. Well, that was my mission. Okay, not mine per se. Commander Lewis was in charge. I was just one of her crew. Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be "in command" of the mission if I were the only remaining person.

What do you know? I'm in command.

I wonder if this log will be recovered before the rest of the crew die of old age. I presume they got back to Earth all right. Guys, if you're reading this: It wasn't your fault. You did what you had to do. In your position I would have done the same thing. I don't blame you, and I'm glad you survived.

I guess I should explain how Mars missions work, for any layman who may be reading this. We got to Earth orbit the normal way, through an ordinary ship to Hermes. All the Ares missions use Hermes to get to and from Mars. It's really big and cost a lot so NASA built only one.

Once we got to Hermes, four additional unmanned missions brought us fuel and supplies while we prepared for our trip. Once everything was a go, we set out for Mars. But not very fast. Gone are the days of heavy chemical fuel burns and trans-Mars injection orbits.

Hermes is powered by ion engines. They throw argon out the back of the ship really fast to get a tiny amount of acceleration. The thing is, it doesn't take much reactant mass, so a little argon (and a nuclear reactor to power things) let us accelerate constantly the whole way there. You'd be amazed at how fast you can get going with a tiny acceleration over a long time.
If you're a topical expert — researcher, business leader, author or innovator — and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, <a href="mailto:expertvoices@techmedianetwork.com">email us here</a>.
If you're a topical expert — researcher, business leader, author or innovator — and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here.
Credit: SPACE.com
View full size image

I could regale you with tales of how we had great fun on the trip, but I won't. I don't feel like reliving it right now. Suffice it to say we got to Mars 124 days later without strangling each other.

From there, we took the MDV (Mars descent vehicle) to the surface. The MDV is basically a big can with some light thrusters and parachutes attached. Its sole purpose is to get six humans from Mars orbit to the surface without killing any of them.

And now we come to the real trick of Mars exploration: having all of our sh** there in advance.

A total of fourteen unmanned missions deposited everything we would need for surface operations. They tried their best to land all the supply vessels in the same general area, and did a reasonably good job. Supplies aren't nearly so fragile as humans and can hit the ground really hard. But they tend to bounce around a lot.

Naturally, they didn't send us to Mars until they'd confirmed that all the supplies had made it to the surface and their containers weren't breached. Start to finish, including supply missions, a Mars mission takes about three years. In fact, there were Ares 3 supplies en route to Mars while the Ares 2 crew were on their way home.

The most important piece of the advance supplies, of course, was the MAV. The Mars ascent vehicle. That was how we would get back to Hermes after surface operations were complete. The MAV was soft-landed (as opposed to the balloon bounce-fest the other supplies had). Of course, it was in constant communication with Houston, and if there had been any problems with it, we would have passed by Mars and gone home without ever landing.

The MAV is pretty cool. Turns out, through a neat set of chemical reactions with the Martian atmosphere, for every kilogram of hydrogen you bring to Mars, you can make thirteen kilograms of fuel. It's a slow process, though. It takes twenty-four months to fill the tank. That's why they sent it long before we got here.

You can imagine how disappointed I was when I discovered the MAV was gone.

It was a ridiculous sequence of events that led to me almost dying, and an even more ridiculous sequence that led to me surviving.

The mission is designed to handle sandstorm gusts up to 150 kph. So Houston got understandably nervous when we got whacked with 175 kph winds. We all got in our flight space suits and huddled in the middle of the Hab, just in case it lost pressure. But the Hab wasn't the problem.

The MAV is a spaceship. It has a lot of delicate parts. It can put up with storms to a certain extent, but it can't just get sandblasted forever. After an hour and a half of sustained wind, NASA gave the order to abort. Nobody wanted to stop a monthlong mission after only six days, but if the MAV took any more punishment, we'd all have gotten stranded down there.

We had to go out in the storm to get from the Hab to the MAV. That was going to be risky, but what choice did we have?

Everyone made it but me.

Our main communications dish, which relayed signals from the Hab to Hermes, acted like a parachute, getting torn from its foundation and carried with the torrent. Along the way, it crashed through the reception antenna array. Then one of those long thin antennae slammed into me end-first. It tore through my suit like a bullet through butter, and I felt the worst pain of my life as it ripped open my side. I vaguely remember having the wind knocked out of me (pulled out of me, really) and my ears popping painfully as the pressure of my suit escaped.

The last thing I remember was seeing Johanssen hopelessly reaching out toward me.

I awoke to the oxygen alarm in my suit. A steady, obnoxious beeping that eventually roused me from a deep and profound desire to just f****** die.

The storm had abated; I was facedown, almost totally buried in sand. As I groggily came to, I wondered why I wasn't more dead.

The antenna had enough force to punch through the suit and my side, but it had been stopped by my pelvis. So there was only one hole in the suit (and a hole in me, of course).

I had been knocked back quite a ways and rolled down a steep hill. Somehow I landed facedown, which forced the antenna to a strongly oblique angle that put a lot of torque on the hole in the suit. It made a weak seal.

Then, the copious blood from my wound trickled down toward the hole. As the blood reached the site of the breach, the water in it quickly evaporated from the airflow and low pressure, leaving a gunky residue behind. More blood came in behind it and was also reduced to gunk. Eventually, it sealed the gaps around the hole and reduced the leak to something the suit could counteract.

The suit did its job admirably. Sensing the drop in pressure, it constantly flooded itself with air from my nitrogen tank to equalize. Once the leak became manageable, it only had to trickle new air in slowly to relieve the air lost.

After a while, the CO2 (carbon dioxide) absorbers in the suit were expended. That's really the limiting factor to life support. Not the amount of oxygen you bring with you, but the amount of CO2 you can remove. In the Hab, I have the oxygenator, a large piece of equipment that breaks apart CO2 to give the oxygen back. But the space suits have to be portable, so they use a simple chemical absorption process with expendable filters. I'd been asleep long enough that my filters were useless.

The suit saw this problem and moved into an emergency mode the engineers call "bloodletting." Having no way to separate out the CO2, the suit deliberately vented air to the Martian atmosphere, then backfilled with nitrogen. Between the breach and the bloodletting, it quickly ran out of nitrogen. All it had left was my oxygen tank.

So it did the only thing it could to keep me alive. It started backfilling with pure oxygen. I now risked dying from oxygen toxicity, as the excessively high amount of oxygen threatened to burn up my nervous system, lungs, and eyes. An ironic death for someone with a leaky space suit: too much oxygen.

Every step of the way would have had beeping alarms, alerts, and warnings. But it was the high-oxygen warning that woke me.

The sheer volume of training for a space mission is astounding. I'd spent a week back on Earth practicing emergency space suit drills. I knew what to do.

Carefully reaching to the side of my helmet, I got the breach kit. It's nothing more than a funnel with a valve at the small end and an unbelievably sticky resin on the wide end. The idea is you have the valve open and stick the wide end over a hole. The air can escape through the valve, so it doesn't interfere with the resin making a good seal. Then you close the valve, and you've sealed the breach.

The tricky part was getting the antenna out of the way. I pulled it out as fast as I could, wincing as the sudden pressure drop dizzied me and made the wound in my side scream in agony.

I got the breach kit over the hole and sealed it. It held. The suit backfilled the missing air with yet more oxygen. Checking my arm readouts, I saw the suit was now at 85 percent oxygen. For reference, Earth's atmosphere is about 21 percent. I'd be okay, so long as I didn't spend too much time like that.

I stumbled up the hill back toward the Hab. As I crested the rise, I saw something that made me very happy and something that made me very sad: The Hab was intact (yay!) and the MAV was gone (boo!).

Right that moment I knew I was screwed. But I didn't want to just die out on the surface. I limped back to the Hab and fumbled my way into an airlock. As soon as it equalized, I threw off my helmet.

Once inside the Hab, I doffed the suit and got my first good look at the injury. It would need stitches. Fortunately, all of us had been trained in basic medical procedures, and the Hab had excellent medical supplies. A quick shot of local anesthetic, irrigate the wound, nine stitches, and I was done. I'd be taking antibiotics for a couple of weeks, but other than that I'd be fine.

I knew it was hopeless, but I tried firing up the communications array. No signal, of course. The primary satellite dish had broken off, remember? And it took the reception antennae with it. The Hab had secondary and tertiary communications systems, but they were both just for talking to the MAV, which would use its much more powerful systems to relay to Hermes. Thing is, that only works if the MAV is still around.

I had no way to talk to Hermes. In time, I could locate the dish out on the surface, but it would take weeks for me to rig up any repairs, and that would be too late. In an abort, Hermes would leave orbit within twenty-four hours. The orbital dynamics made the trip safer and shorter the earlier you left, so why wait?

Checking out my suit, I saw the antenna had plowed through my bio-monitor computer. When on an EVA, all the crew's suits are networked so we can see each other's status. The rest of the crew would have seen the pressure in my suit drop to nearly zero, followed immediately by my bio-signs going flat. Add to that watching me tumble down a hill with a spear through me in the middle of a sandstorm . . . yeah. They thought I was dead. How could they not?

They may have even had a brief discussion about recovering my body, but regulations are clear. In the event a crewman dies on Mars, he stays on Mars. Leaving his body behind reduces weight for the MAV on the trip back. That means more disposable fuel and a larger margin of error for the return thrust. No point in giving that up for sentimentality.

So that's the situation. I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I'm dead. I'm in a Hab designed to last thirty-one days.

If the oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I'm f******.

Tisket

08-08-2014, 05:00 PM

I listened to The Martian on Audible and it was great however, the technical aspects were a little dry. Probably better in text than audio. At least then you can skim those parts if you aren't into technical crap and only in it for the story.

edit: And yes, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were made into a movie. I'd pay to watch it.

Gelston

08-08-2014, 05:04 PM

Never liked audible books. Buddy of mine always talked about how he read like 3 or 4 books a day. Then I found out he listens to them on headphones. THAT ISN'T READING PAL THAT IS STORYTIME!

Androidpk

08-08-2014, 05:06 PM

Audible books are awesome. Especially if they have dramatic music and sound effects.

Gelston

08-08-2014, 05:07 PM

Audible books are awesome. Especially if they have dramatic music and sound effects.

It is even cooler when they have video attached to them also.

Warriorbird

08-08-2014, 05:08 PM

Gelston

08-08-2014, 05:12 PM

Unabridged? Maybe. Though it'd be tough to get through more than one or two. Abridged? Yep!

These books he was talking about were also Harry Potter.

Androidpk

08-08-2014, 05:14 PM

Unabridged? Maybe. Though it'd be tough to get through more than one or two. Abridged? Yep!

Maybe he listens to multiple books at the same time!

Androidpk

08-08-2014, 05:14 PM

It is even cooler when they have video attached to them also.

Aren't those called movies?

Gelston

08-08-2014, 05:15 PM

Maybe he listens to multiple books at the same time!

That reminds me of Aqua Teen Hunger Force... I had one of the seasons on DVD, and I clicked PLAY ALL.... It played every episode at the same time each in its own little square on the TV. It was hilarious and infuriating at the same time.

Gelston

08-08-2014, 05:16 PM

Aren't those called movies?

NOT ALWAYS! They can be called TV Mini-Series too.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 02:10 PM

Never liked audible books. Buddy of mine always talked about how he read like 3 or 4 books a day. Then I found out he listens to them on headphones. THAT ISN'T READING PAL THAT IS STORYTIME!

I never used to like them and was very resistant to trying them but, then we bought a house an hour's drive away from my work. So now I listen to books on audio and that time just flies by. I sometimes find myself just sitting in the car at my destination to finish a particular passage before getting out. I also listen while walking everyday. Something that takes you out of your own mind for a while makes that time go by fast.

This is my most recent audiobook: In a Sunburned Country. Fucking hilarious book that had me laughing helplessly a few times.

edit: and how the hell your friend can listen to 3 or 4 books a day is beyond me...the one I'm listening to now is 12 hours of narration. Methinks he was exaggerating, unless he's listening to Dr. Seuss.

“Australians are very unfair in this way. They spend half of any conversation insisting that the country's dangers are vastly overrated and that there's nothing to worry about, and the other half telling you how six months ago their Uncle Bob was driving to Mudgee when a tiger snake slid out from under the dashboard and bit him on the groin, but that it's okay now because he's off the life support machine and they've discovered he can communicate with eye blinks.”
― Bill Bryson (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7.Bill_Bryson), In a Sunburned Country (https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2611786)

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 02:19 PM

The perfect travel literature.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 02:38 PM

Audible books are awesome. Especially if they have dramatic music and sound effects.

NO. Just...no.

My mind is perfectly capable of imagining sounds, I don't need help from a recording. And it actually takes me out of the story.

It's incredibly important to the experience that you have a good narrator though. My favorite narrator for audiobooks so far is Colin Firth on The End of the Affair and Jennifer Ikeda on anything really. She does accents really really well and every character in a book she's reading has it's own distinct voice. Her voice is like butter for the ears.

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 02:52 PM

Yes. Depending on the genre.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 02:56 PM

No.

Name titles where sound effects increased the listening pleasure.

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 02:57 PM

Toby Longworth is excellent.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 02:57 PM

As far as music...no again except for those books that use a short music piece to designate new chapters. That is acceptable to me.

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 02:58 PM

No.

Name titles where sound effects increased the listening pleasure.

http://www.amazon.com/Helion-Rain-Warhammer-40-000/dp/1849700184

Read by Toby Longworth!

Tisket

08-27-2014, 03:00 PM

Toby Longworth is excellent.

The Water Mirror?

I listened to a sample that didn't have any sound effects but, since I like the sound of the narrators voice, I have put that audiobook on my list.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 03:01 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Helion-Rain-Warhammer-40-000/dp/1849700184

Read by Toby Longworth!

Helion Rain isn't on Audible. I only buy my audio from them.

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 03:02 PM

The Water Mirror?

I listened to a sample that didn't have any sound effects but, since I like the sound of the narrators voice, I have put that audiobook on my list.

That's the one.

Drevihyin

08-27-2014, 03:02 PM

Patricia A. McKillip

The Riddle-Master of Hed
Heir of Sea and Fire
Harpist in the Wind

Three old classics was probably my fifth or so read.

Tisket

08-27-2014, 03:03 PM

I prefer the works that are read by the author usually. The exception would be George R. R. Martin. I don't enjoy his reading voice at all.

Cereal Killer

08-27-2014, 03:03 PM

http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/browse/Fiction/Adult/Erotic

Tisket

08-27-2014, 03:04 PM

Patricia A. McKillip

The Riddle-Master of Hed
Heir of Sea and Fire
Harpist in the Wind

Three old classics was probably my fifth or so read.

Are those audiobooks you are recommending or just books you read? Confused because your post came in the middle of an audio book discussion.

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 03:05 PM

Helion Rain isn't on Audiobooks. I only buy my audio from them.

Whatever. It's epic. A blend of Staship Troopers and Aliens condensed into 1 hour. I offered free copies of it to people here but no one wanted it >~>

Latrinsorm

08-27-2014, 03:29 PM

Her voice is like butter for the ears.Like Kina!

Androidpk

08-27-2014, 03:32 PM

Like Kina!

Quinoa?

Tisket

08-27-2014, 03:57 PM

Like Kina!

I'd probably enjoy a book read by her more than a song sung by her.

Tisket

01-12-2015, 12:43 PM

Read Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold and found it pretty juvenile and predictable but basically readable... Wouldn't bother with any other books by him though.

You couldn't be more wrong. Although I haven't read Best Served Cold, I did just finish the first in his First Law trilogy, The Blade Itself, and it is fantastic. Comparable with anything George R.R. Martin has written. I also got the audiobook version and the narrator is amazing.

edit: most of his books, including the one you cite, are set in the same world as he created for the trilogy. And I just used Martin as a comparison because of the sprawling, complex nature of the worlds they both created. Abercrombie's world is gritty and bloody and his heroes can be really villainous, and his villains, heroic. So maybe not an epic for everyone I guess.

Gelston

02-03-2015, 08:08 PM

data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wBDAAoHBwgHBgoICAgLCgoLDhgQDg0NDh0VFhEYIx8lJCIfIi EmKzcvJik0KSEiMEExNDk7Pj4+JS5ESUM8SDc9Pjv/2wBDAQoLCw4NDhwQEBw7KCIoOzs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Oz s7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozv/wAARCAFEAQQDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAGwAAAgIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUEBgECAwf/xABOEAACAQMCAwQFBwkEBQ0BAAABAgMABBEFIQYSMRNBUWEicY GRsgcUMjZ0obEVFyNUk8HR0vAWQlKUJDNVYuElJjQ1RFNkcoKE kqLxwv/EABkBAAMBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEBf/EAC8RAAICAQMDAwMDAwUAAAAAAAABAhEDEiExBEFRE2FxMjOxF CKBIzShJEJi0eH/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AKFxFxFrkHE2qQw6zqEccd5MqIl04CgOQABnYUt/tPxB/t3Uv83J/Gjif616v9um+M0soEM/7T8Qf7d1L/NyfxrP9p+IP9u6l/m5P40rooGNP7T8Qf7d1L/Nyfxo/tPxB/t3Uv8ANyfxpXWaAGg4n4gz/wBeakf/AHcn8aP7TcQk/wDXmpD/AN3J/GlnQVsEZ2AXJLHAFADheJNfABOt6jnzu3/jWP7T8QOQqaxqLN4i6k/jXBLaBU/TBiw6nOAf41ukNvy5IZcdM539VIDb+0PErOVGtakWHX/SpAB99dF17iCPBl1zUskjA+dyfxqEz3E5YxZVV6HFcVuJChU7s RgN4DyoAZLxLr7ynGt6hgeF0/8AGpTcQa4kRc6zqH+af+NK7WEJyl9snAU00nis3t1jkPKMDmK5 5s82/l0/AedIpoX/ANqOIOY/8uaj/m5P41uvFGutt+W9SH/u5P41m6sNLhz2NzJIwLqAHByRnlPTp09/rrs9rotuqsZpJOdyRvuFC9CANsnarRBGfijiAEEa3qP+bk/jWRxRrzL/ANeaiCP/ABcn8a1VNHWN8yyNJyHlUjADcp8u5sYqS0OgvCHZ3jIyxCAkts AB5dM+2gDrb8R67PGT+WdQBH/in/jWJde19V21rUR5/OpP41vaw6eyNJC0oy+ykYAXPq8KxqkNm1tCtpIzMzNzMwx4YH4 1DLRxHEevOmPy3qPMO4Xbg/jXVNf13b/lrUced1J/GlTW5PJzBuceiendUxIAEKqzHx5cf0KYiX+Xde/21qGPtb/xrP5f13GfyzqH+af+NcFt+XZm+6tmiUnGaANxxDruMflnUf8AN P8AxrY69roH/Xeof5p/41FmiMeGBO59dCxFj0J9ZoA6y6/rwGRreogfapP41DfiXiBT/wBe6l/m5P410niIXcdOhpZOuDQIm/2n4g/27qX+bk/jWP7T8Qf7d1L/ADcn8aWUUxDP+0/EH+3dS/zcn8aP7T8Qf7d1L/NyfxpZRTA9q+Sy/vNQ4ZuJr67nupFvGUPNIXIHIhxk92599FcPkg+ql19uf4I6Kll Hl/E/1r1f7dN8ZpZTPif616v9um+M0sqiQoooFAE/Rre0ub9Y72UQxMrYkcEorY9Hm5d+XOM4pgdNSHUDbXNnCCZVUq rsQAf8LBtwQQQd6V2cssRbsyBzrysCAQR4EH1D3U3s2uDIJG3Y EHJ3xjp/WKmxmLfTLaXXrW1e0C273axHlkbdS4G59Xh41wjtY2vOaFIwkZ wyxl99+8mpq9tHei4ikZZQ/ac3IDhgcg9Mda2hkuUcM6rIASxVIVBOd8kAbnpQMkaja21pc3M VtblWhuZoyxYn0FYBTknr9Lp4d3ftLaWS6zqFvyo0cNvIyJzNz AquRv3/AIVwvLqW6kcxxytJI5Z5CmMk7kkgeNclGotNNcM+ZLhSryqoy4 IwRjG3roA6WFrBJprSGGByJlUdqzkYKuceicHdRW35Nsbm2n+e SiCUNGkM/RELBzhh/hPL16jOdxWIo9UhtOyhkiJL9o3Oocg7gbEeBPvrlDYXQtZ4pZC wmIYggHHLnH4n30MCPqlg1vNbRmF4p2jYyIxJIYOwydz3AdNqZ fNYhZQyvErs0jKSxboFB7j51Cuxddvbm5kkf9GUUnc8vcvkPwp xALhtPjjwq8r83KVBwenUjwFSuSnwVzVNNih1ox28hWB1STJbJ RWQOQTtkgEj2UX9lFaa9HFFiWznMcsQ58js3weUkd65KnzU0y1 aZIBKC+WmGJM4JbcHcnfqBSWXUHaOAcw/0cYi9EeiMlvbuSd/GqJJ1zpNp8xvNTslM1l2YMfOxL28hkUdm+MAnBJB6Eb9QQC306 1bRtPuWtw8k006Skuw9FOzIxvgH0j91L7W9ZFnjd2VLgASKuwb BDDIHmAacWurRQwQW/agpExeP0BlGOMkHGe4e4UWA4OlR2/5QETpIlk4RQTu3pY39WMHzpfqtgj6NbX8KiNxMyNGpOCFCnIyT/i39lS7XUoY2ykyKWBB3ByD1yD1ra7t1uLRjG3dtjAH3UnuC2Fd rYLcXlzzkMII2uAUYHIVCcZGfDfyrrHEuoTQrarHC7yKhkGeXD EDJyT08sbVNsopImDqvIyEFHRtulSRCyKEXlEaknlVVXGfUBSQ 2RIrNGmuLee1EYCylZHJypVWI5t8d2Dt6q5R20KWKym2EbtMy8 +ScqFB9Xf4UxmeVyzSguWHpMFGW9ZG59tZSdwgjAIQEsA0YO/juKqxERtPifQhcBMS/OuzD5/u8uenTrUd4Y4tJaVYi0ouUjyM55Sjk+XVRU6RriOBbeFgI+bmw yKwDeO461wit2hgEBbK84fkwPpYIz68E++kB1uNFgk0yxuIUPz t7Zp5YGJIlUSSKSu+cgJkjw3HQ0kis7GbULuCWSGJxkWwmZhEz BvoswORkZwScZ6kU1vJ51WFjI6m3XETA4KekW2I8yT7ardxdyq 0mGVhI3M3MgOSM77jzPvPjQgF08bRTyRunIyMVK+BB6VpWXJZi zEkk5JPfWKskKKKKAPY/kg+ql19uf4I6KPkg+ql19uf4I6KllHl/E/1r1f7dN8ZpZTPif616v8AbpvjNLKokKBRQOtAEu2hZiOU4pzaL PEQSh5fEUssiARVmsG6AqQMVDKRKSNJIAzLnI8Nx664TJ2YKfN FlPgMZ+8U4iRez5gB08KMRZbPKB5Hr7O6mMUWrmZj2yvGFOOU7 AewVKZ/RORggnA+jke391SuXlyRg4HUnGPYRUN7sqOVmCyY9Hlbc+zlH4 0go4vDJkR7pznpEPxNSYo1DNll2GRjuGKhyvLzHlVoT/eZmJAHhk9fUDXPTZMzS/peYYPbOy7qB3eZO/spWOja++bNdQ88vJt6BxsTXPU7qWx0pyjDteflJ8KXa3qaagDH bIezh3L9wpVJNJNI1ssrSLIw7+ppoHxRJg0m+vYPncmWRtxk7m pM/C8/Zl4t8LnBq5LHFZWsERXZQF9VRbzW7C1k7MSKW7wN6ppIjdlFfR 79Mf6M+/TAptY8I3NwEe4k7MHqAMkVYk1zTT9NwtYk4j06AALNzgnuHSlc R6ZEL+yFmbV0RnEo6OW7/VUTTIL3Sr+W0uWBQxF132OPCpa67Ne3ai3jAiLhSxO9bcWxXFt HDfwKTyoY5GxnCmi1LgdVyS7aFzH2qpyGRVbk7ge+t2eEHdiWH XbpSLRddMNyVve1JEYUDwAHXFdrvie1DyFLZJ2/ukbg+ZyKVMYxkuCmWiieYkZAEm331Ga4kADOgLN1KHOP3ffVdu dfvZju5U+Rz/QqK99LKPSkwfBRyj3DvpUx7F3gnWUAeiDtggjf762mSSJP0cYI x3f8arGla4thGwGGZzli8fN7AQw2pu/EUMuOxlVCeqkfxwPvpkv2OF/chF5DIOdhsrbZHl3fjVdnd3yWyPLOanambh7vtSEJOD6JP7/3VFuGWROYbMOopb2HYXHrRWW61itCAooooA9j+SD6qXX25/gjoo+SD6qXX25/gjoqWUeX8T/WvV/t03xmllM+J/rXq/26b4zSyqJChetFAoAZWAGckeren1teBNmQr5jm/dn8KrdvcGMZx767vrDFSvIr7Y+jgVDNFsWeO/jjt8ZUO25Vogc/w9oBqLqF+sca5yJGAPZr09uMY91Vlbibn7TPQ5A7q6tfSyKQ6r nG2M9fH19d6VFWhomrT+k81zyp15A3MG8M5Oa5y6vJMebm5Qv0 SB9Ed5A/40mJy2+9ZntpoHCSKVJAOD4UUKxjNchlWUanKZc4wc4Hq65oOo TxssscnOI1KkkYAz4f/njSzsm9tSzpt6bP5zGjPFj0iB0FWotkuVEzStMm1QdgLlIrVTz yMevu8dqfW+iWASzaAxSNBcKGmXYsM5GRXbRxFDwrbTZxGkUhl 26Hm3P3VXrzVopNZhlt3dYElUvy7BgCD0qG3dDpVZaOK5za2Dv jJJCiqA0rMcqmD4k5zVl4q1eHUOzhtnDpnmYiq8I2OcChtXY0n Rx5pT/+VgmXxqYkOeu3rrD27bnbHmQKnUg0sl8OSsuqpGxzzdB51eNel WLSkDxLIJXVOVum5768+09vm2q20hIAEgyc92aufFlwjaXDbhi XkkBHL5Zp2kgp2ReJ9NtHszfuDHPDACwjA3JIC58utU0zzTLh3 Z+UbZ7q9GMMl1ock8TIVnhihl6sVG7HmXHcAfWRUKy4WtRa5QL IsitiZDzHmA2UKR9I9QPAjG9VHdEvkpENtJN9BCc9POtHiKEq6 4INemafptvEIuVVblY7lcnBz310u9At7mRla2ibL7Mo8+m1XoI s8s5AOma2CONxvV1v9C05J53e0MXZKWZckDA8qhX/AAbf2adpGEEuOY2qPzSooGSSPx8KmS08ji7K0tzJGCASAeoPQ1 rJKCOgBPXl6e6ugj7WYRHAZjgZ2GajzQyRStG64ZeopIbOZooO 1FWSFFFFAHsfyQfVS6+3P8EdFHyQfVS6+3P8EdFSyjy/if616v8AbpvjNLKacT/WvV/t03xmldMkKBRRQBnJxjO1bKjcpcDYd9aU4it82lwjIoCQhxzHf PjgeupbouKsgpGzDYVOtNNeZxzDHlUzSdOa4Ucqkkjwz37Vb7P S1jto52VvQcEkEYGf66U0rKexUp9AliuIeaNlXmUH0SetWHiDS Le2t5JNpZoolHNjJI8u4VavyfAtvI3LCdwQWfO+2emcZJ95pVx BeL+S7i3VVAcZUmMZ7u/FbRijJsqd/biaWORLJUDINwTvVk0a0ji07swOqkMSMA5HhVfjdVs7cA5xkOS xAPtp5b3lpFAFtr1GmwpMcWZG7/7qjwq20kDtj+x4Rgu9JjM2oJbxplZoBGoV8dATnbPT3V5LfWJs tWuLEHmMUzRgjfmwdq9UsrqaCJidJ1BlZRiWZBBy+OCzAb+ODV N1jTZrjXWvxDaQZZXIk1CNhkY/w+quWcoXyaRjIqyr+mKkY7iK7ICGwvtz0qY+nP2zu15YoWYsAr ls+QwDW0ejX8ih+2twpOxcqKxc4+TVJkcIqlufPXu8K6XcKtFh N2AyK3Gn3EXoNqlou3/eBq2GmXMsixx6haS5OwQg7nyxUNq+SqfgUtEy4bY7dPCrhwPof 9rtTePVJnNtawnHKcHJ22Pj30nn4e1KF/0gAXb0pFCirVwjqCcOxTpOIytwMSiWykZSPDKn91WskGyHGXYn 2fDes6Ja3UkjrcRs+EmikZXz2bADp4N6s9/fTy102IcONY+nCbUg83KH5WYn/D3YPXO/urEfFmhyBVM+nq2VOHE0ZGOnpEHHUipSXei3VlIltd24nlUKxF 7G5fHQHpnuHsrWMo8GbUhQ3KxVhPzMCcnlAye/b21jU7dLaaYRuG5z49MVyk0PU0l7bsmMZOeflJXv9nfWLmO8hC w3ClnIzg9T5gd4re0+DITvctb3iyXcasnMpbIyCA6k5PhgHrXe eazn1mSW7e4S4nY/N1jftOZub6LDOQDncE5xn2Qp5czm3lXbGCpH0gdsYPr++ttI1/5hMwwnaqMAOnOr9N8eJAI9TGsMyezNMbXAul0jTxPq0jRu7xOF iR4+z5c4Jyh3B3xjNVzUYcKHB+gxXc5IB3APmM4qw/OWjv7pI27NpQCvOASrDGB+72ClGsRcgl/SLJzKGLKAMnbPTzNTFu6G0qEB61itqxWpmYrNFFAHsfyQfVS6+ 3P8EdFHyQ/VS6+3P8EdFIo8w4n+ter/AG6b4zSumnE/1r1f7dN8ZpXTJCs1isgUwN0QkFvCnLOnzAJE+TcsCw64C/uz3UoTA5vMYptotk1xccwXCr1ZjhV9ZNZy9zWBbOG7DtIOUI/MzIoA9Z3PkKtM2o6damHT5HedwATDb5klzjoQMnv+6kmnI94nY WMLXakhWzIYYAcdCcgt49RU2fRobG2Zdb4hisY23+Y6cFQt68D J6+BNZ+uuEX6fk6axxCTEYXgt7CMjAN3cHmG//dx5b34quvc318jrBaahdRNhQYLf5vG3/qPMSPaKtNnDFHEF4c4RPMoz86vxyk+fpZYj1VB1pr4AvrPFVpp 5PW2sl9ID3833VPqyfcagkJ7LQdWR1c2Om2C/4rvExHq5i37qYtDbW7Fb/i9gOnY2TiEe5c/hUCzg0aaTnh0nV9ekzu02Qh9oqz28WsQRA2vDeh6Smc5uZwWUe ffU35KaF8VhwvIhY2uo6nIRlSomYe0kKDWl/wDk+0RZItIj0uIbF54In9uCzMf66UzmnnU883Eel28netpAj/eSx+6oVzqunOhjvOILy6jP0o3UlG9gRaybQ0iu2c8V5qUydkwl X0RJZ84SQDvCorEHfxrneaPEZWM+nX7gnO0Ugb3uR+FMLrWtAj VVF7LIu6qghZVX2drj/wCvdSqXV9CSXnWVkI744Yv3qfxqvdDFktjAjFU0m79E4PPIP3C p+n6ZGJVMtlBATggS3EXTx9NhWj6xo0nN2l1fS5PQynB9gUVIs uLtJ08lYbN5Ezn9JK5JqVrfZh+3yObLSy07NFdaZBlh1Nufhlq 66TFr8EWLTWdEwx9JGi6+0OaoMPyjaR0m4ftCPErzE+8VMh454 Nl2uOGrY+ohcfcKpJp20S6ZeLu24nckvpmgagMbhTgn/wCQNJb3SgxLan8npYA/SsWX/wDk/upRFrPAlxIZFh1GzJP/AGe7JA9W9NLe90ZT2llxprFmrfRWYB1HvH76epC0tdhf814Wgk Ii1HXdBm/wzc3KPfUuKLXWtwmk8T6drMOciO5AV/ed8+2maahrky/6BxLpGqoOsdynZMR94qFe2UbfpNZ4IwW3N1pMmcefo/vosVCm9vDbsy8ScMTwZGBcWjMoH4g0vl0bTdRmFxoOtRO4APze 9HIwx/vdD9376cq1mtrcfkXia9UohJsb1MO3kDtg+sGud0ukX1oL2LQb mSz5R/ygo5ZEbqebGMjcb7+urWWce5LgnyVHW9P1HTVllv4Pm7ytzIwH NGQMFSGBI7jsaSTTNcyT84wVTlxnqc7mrldtJZpII5nngbbGzA +TKR69xnvqp3S2v6WW0Tsi4w0X93I8KuGRS5JlBrgRHrWK2cYN a1uZBRRRTA9j+SH6qXX25/gjoo+SH6qXX25/gjoqWUeY8T/WvV/t03xmldNeJvrVq/26b4zSymSa1laMCsjrQB3gSNpR2hwi7nHU+VXDS0geJPnEAKdV hAySAPDbA8yaqdqOa4TlAY9QD0q4aQiiPtC4RerTuBue4LnPvw T765szOjGONPuEkikuJpZLG1IHZMuFkYYGQuAcANkeiADg5pxp kVxFGZdF0GC0VRl9S1M4Pr5TuPfiq23E1rpLvHYwvdXLbs7rzN t9/vJHTaqzqfGesahIwnl36YdQeXyA6AVhCEpO0jWUoxW7PRdTvdO WNm1niW61FivM1vYns48ezG3tqtTcZaHYuy6Vo1nCudpJE7Z/ft95qgzTyztzSyO5/wB45rXG1dEcPlmLzeEW6/4/vrlWET3Cgjb9IEUexQPxpHPxBfTDqoPiQWP/ANs0srOK0WOC7EvJJ9zu+o3si8rXMnL4A4HuFRyWY5ZiSfGs8t GKtJLghyb5MdK2Ck9K1APSptrDzHpv6qUnQRVsimNgM1qSc08i shLazHkzjcHBpNLGUdhiphNS2LnBxOZ9dBGD12oHqrcJ5VozM0 Aya2SR0OzMPUa2CeVasuKWzHuiRFqd5D9Ccn/zAN+NOtM4x16KdY7K5aInoEYgD2VWqYaRbdtNJIZCghXmzy83f 4VEoQq6KjKV1Z6DdcR6qYYJOItOtb6zPK8d28RZcHcfpF3XO/0hUiw1DRniE2l395pYUbwySiW3bPdzb8vXv8aSabq0tnHzRCVo gArNH6SgY2BXGQNvAipU9no9/ieH/QpXB5bm1bkUtg4BHTr6utYuKZrumSL2OQGRpY0iRsBZAFKSHA7 hsT1xy7+NVS9LsJGAikHKf0sfeO4Hz9dMZbnVdGQrfQdtbPkds q7N3bjofUceuk89zZ3LO0f6N2yPR6NnxFTCMovcJNNbCOT6ZrS ukmObpWm1diOYxmjNZ28KztQB7B8kP1Uuvtz/AAR0Vn5Ivqrc/bn+BKKRR5jxP9atX+3TfGaV0z4n+tWr/bpvjNLKZAVsvWta2jGTigaJlhy9qzOcKB49fKp6XF5qd2tvbbI gwO5UA7/IUuCHmWOL6Z7/AAp2gXSNPVklVJC3NzDdnx5eH8aylV2bxvgmF7TRrQw27c0sgP bSkYL7YwOuF67e2kl3p8twGlVRz/SChgSBvsT6h91TNLsr7iC7ZwURiw5SxI3PcKt9ro11ayJ85ji7 BpHtxy9Aw7/LpjPmaluUVZdxlseW1kDapOp2b6fqdxav9KKQr6xnY1yQZO9bJ 7Wc1b0aYrYDHdXcoMDHWscg7xS1FUcjv3VjkJPSu2BnAFbjAHK o9ZpWGk4CPBANMLFcEsADhhUTGXwfDemunQdqAeUeVZ5HsbYo3 LYdWluPmjgOBzMB0H9b1W7+zIlYgd+KuGlKSHTAIKg5A6EeffS 7ULQNzrygHGa4seTTKzvyYdUaKj2Jzj7qyEI65xTKG0Z3xy757 zipsmmOgMnZsxDYAAG9dvqI89Y2Iio6DGfdWhgbc4I9dPDZ9mv M45T3Z2z99HJEqdG5V6HG2KWvwP0vIhaIr1GK9A+T3Svyjw1rH ZRRyTRzxEc65PLhicVRrtl5ttvGvQOAZJbPg/U7qCURSm6i5WHiATj25oyyqFsmEf3UhZ+TriMpMsfYuiZRlJwQ PbsfVUJ7e8huPncF0zyMTzhwCDsM9f6NX+/1yzu3tLa9tENjqUKyRzQjDwOdm9YBxt4GlFxonaSSW0Eyu69eQ 5zg4JKbMBsegO1a6FWxKnvuIbXXHmtpY/mzR9muW7McyAAHu3I6Ui1CWKf9IYoyxOe1iODk+P8AxprqujXF lI88a/QOQ2CVbf6J8/XSLVA63Lc8TxP1ZWAyPd1qUqY3K0L3PpE+Na1ls53rFamAUUUU AexfJF9Vbn7c/wAEdFHyRfVW6+3P8EdFIpHmHE/1q1f7dN8ZpZTPif61av8AbpvjNLKZIVletYrK9aAJVvP2K5XeQ 7VIhVcxNcqZAxIwT5bfeagDbcVY9Gso7oJcyzFYoccuBuSRk+7 BqGbRfksehabcNEtwsgtIYRzl2OAi7b47z129+OtWRb7TnRZkk cwW7qiSMuGdncF2I8/SNVbUNUIsZraaPKvAEjKNgIpbvHecgGtrENccNOuQJMIy9d8c5 B9+PfRaaorTvZX+O7A2etJJykCaMNv5Er//ADVdVsV6D8pVq9zpunanGAY91OP7oZQyg+rD154NxtU4ncERk2 mzsH261kZI3rkDg10Rj47VTQJnUZA766IoCljgHHWuY862LlI8 Cp3KNEBkk279qsWl2sjFVyQvdjvNIYpo4ocY9M99So9UnBVjIc qMZ8ayyRlJbG2GcYO2XOyHY3XYqMAjlJOdvUaxqFosh3ZeZjjY 467CqvFr80b+k5YeHjXb8uolwszORg5ArjeGa2o7lnhy2DLJpO pdjcxkKxyCMjPtHqphLcAFZSFZcZIOfHPj4+NLtV1lNXsc8pEk JBDY61BguS8QHQr3lsVqoNq3yc7nFSpcFmWW3aEBgqYJ9PAOP6/Gkt+IxzDB5ic5zt591C3LhQxdBg7g4z028jUS7uGaNeZznGCD1 qoRdjnJOIqnYEmvU+D7dIfk/l+cDaWYyLhdxyqvX215UQ00qooJLHA9Zr2CGJ7DgqC2mxFLPGz mMjBw5wo8jy47u+teo+hI5cW8mKNWsZI+F7Ilw5jyQMjbmA267 jK1Hnk+eR2kyAgoqqxH0sdD+P3U81VGls2tlJYxW5BI39LIG49 hpBYxlbKIgjHMAzAbdeYE+8+6q1VsDhZNee5u5/m11I0nKeQOThyDj+94bnAORVW4lBM7yOwZ+xCFu8nm/wCH3VcIX5YjcuT2VuvN44A3x5dfvqmcSKyu5YnmKIWz4lmNaXZ DVFbasVs3Wta0MGFFFFAHsXyRfVW6+3P8EdFHyRfVW6+3P8EdF Io8w4n+tWr/AG6b4zSymfE/1q1f7dN8ZpZTJCsr1rFZFAI7LirZwmEmspLYkntZCo8jgEe/0vdVUjXLY7+7zqycMMI3uIi/LzFOQ9ytkgH3nFQzWI1uI8aLeR8oJgbBbGPP1933V00QECzikb Ec8RyM/SIB2P8A8v3VJkdruC6Q27xiReWb/CrKDvnz5h7jUDTQ81lb9kuOViVbODkHOP3VknTN0tiytY22p6e +i3pZYZf0kUiEExsBnIHfjOCPBvbXnPEHCmocPOJJVE9nIxEV1 EeZGI7j4HyNel2N7aayuZVc3EW5j74nGQGB6jckbeO+cVquqzW RaC8jMiS7NIqAxy82P9YmMZ/ie/ep/djblHdE6VLZ8njuR310j+6rrxLwjZXkD6pw2oBRS89irc2B/ij8R4juqjo4raMlONoycXF0zvnArZI2cADfz8K5qQTXYTcowNs ihjTRpc24TGCM+uow9HxFSpMvgHYedc5AoTYUJkuuxy5ttqwqs 7gDcnpWB1FPrG1tiqytGzYGQoXJOASe/uxROSihxjqY60DSrP8AJ4DchmkJD87YOR0HWl19o5t5g0ZJRz6 JRcmmcEkYjzFMFYsDhQYwQeh7t+nf++ut1fRTwOJF7MpkfS+mO/v67dNulcWqSlZ2pR00VyQmMspQZHViSPd/wrvpvD+q8TTmHTrcuqf62WTCRx+bN0/E1ZNI4dt9WlGp6pzQ2MDlCoPpXLj+6vl4nuqffcSTTK2n6QiQ2 dsOVVjXlgiA69N2Ptq/VrZLczcb2M6Vwxw9wpGb26kj1W+XYSSbW8Tf7o6uf6xUmW7kvL ea+nRzcP6UfOpyq9csOgyRsDjuxS6x17Skj7TsXu7mNfSubiaN eQD/AAKeg7hgffXI3k2uN2YtFtLJ8bquZJRg4HMfHx276elt6pu2Ea WyJunwX13drd3TiSNgeXpljuB0ztgk7bb0ktZ5rTV5LZ1BjLlF 7sYO3d4VaWBS3jS3lVYUwCFX6QxsAdts46VXmt5hqV00UBYsWw SNlw3U+W3vHrqwY0ug7f6DGSsSYaR12ye73YyapPFcivIOXvce 4L/xq9SRDSNMCtM0ssrl5GzlnGMb+Q/rrXnmvsCwAI9GTu225Vx++rjyZT4Ejda1rZuta1uczCiiigD2L 5Ivqrdfbn+COij5Ivqrdfbn+COikUeYcT/WrV/t03xmllM+J/rVq/26b4zSymSFbKN61rZKARIj3kHcc7b040BWa/EJyrSxnlz0JGGB+6ldo0ZlAYAEHIJFO4NQitXtjHbhQ7K3Nttv vWUnudEVtZeJrZmsTJHLy9pEY5265Hc3TqPv6eqJaL82aKExLz RoAwByrYGNs/1ua72l1G+nzWnPzOgZNlO2/wD+ff4V1hHaKWkX0gfRJxkHHeffvj31lL2NYoU3djPHdfO7SRU kKDm5GK8+R7d/u9RrT8uar8zWzWKK5eZAAjJiQ+sDfuz7Kl3qhVZVb0HUqpBwBn cbjuqXFdQCc6V+RxNbwyKrSCDMhYcwUmXOAzHl9LO24GKWuh02 VjTrq90W6inHoMTzRvvs3ge4g9Kjca6NAnZcQadD2VpfOVmgH/Zpx9JPUeoqfqVr2E89q1x2kZUMH5ucgHuyNmxgjI68ual835S0 S9gmclr23LOh/u3MQ5gR5lR/9qWpQkpLhilHUqPPQ+Oho58d9c+/ashsGuujkJCqWHMWAA8T1rpHHDIwVpAT7qiDnc4Fb9jKBkLUte 5cfgavorxGNwQY2Ocg5A37/Cmcd1pUWVeY5CcgwAN/X4euq4JLx0EQ7QqO7uqVb6BqV0hdITgdc9RWMoX9TN4/8YjGSQdrI1pOvkwJLbD8Pd51zsBearqtvp8f/SJ5Qikjxxkny6k0qbT7yFvokEVZfk8Eg4oeW4+nFauY8+JwPwJ pNKEXK7Fu5VVFn4gmS5nttE03mSNR2acrbLCOretjnJrs1jaTy 2+jxOsEbNynf/VqMljnxwNs95FcdLHb67f3cigiOT5sqnfdeoH31yvbvsuJLZXk Qwyo6MJY+Zc9/MvfsDWME4wt8ly5oaXurWsV1Hp6aBEtqGWJ1kgWUhsnfnxvkYP XzqLa2yWOpXscWVhWRSqZyBkZ69+MkequjwX1pbXkZnT8gyMsq RqF5myoLAKQw2xzYOemK2jG5MZ5jO+ByRhByqOUYHhtn20oW5c lbJHWWUSIkMcckkTcpMisF2w2fV9Ee+uEP/SJcK3Y9OvpHLHJ6eeakSI1vI4kbDD0B385PU/f9xqDGTzsCil5XG6nzGPuA28q6CPc01CV3EMTkupBBYnZTnJxt 939Ci66pJuF2PI4fzHojH76tWqrdpdxJcWksQkfKrOhAYdO8Z6 5P/qqm3lw093LIy5DkqTjwJx91XEzkJ261itnGGIrWtjmYUUUUAex fJF9Vbr7c/wR0UfJF9Vbr7c/wR0UijzHif61av8AbpvjNK6Z8Tn/AJ16vv8A9um+M0rzTEZrZdjWmayvWgCTEFDBiTjI3Apih5rNEj dnZXGMrvg/0agx727beJ/D+NWHTLL5xbQ83oklHJzvgH+BrKZvAn2U5kaLnLRuy8yHO2+A2 faPvp5aXizCSDnwGby2237ug3HsquRoRqvzdXUQwTFBKT9FSQS T49adRxqstvLDcLMsh5GJUBmO+xUE4wR1GQQD0xWXKNbJE0PMJ UbzAHNjHiP68K5ST3F3by20V+lo02e0ZUCJnlJ35SMk8mcnpkD zqWwaTlY4Ugekvj68UqvWlhvDJbuU5YzkqMZONgeoJ9h6Vm4t8 DTOOqyQy6gZfRChOcsIwgILYXAB27+/xo02RzJGhUsIr2FMquBgqwP3EVEtPmrQzXmptMwGI+zXHNKcZx nGFUDy/GullqUfO0tvAlrCsksyw5LYCRpjc9e+nKGnGOMrkUhwBIwHQMR WRnG1ac2STW6ty712HF3MhyDuNqkxXxQYOMDyqN9LurBUnupNJ lxk48DSHWexwVQZGKlrxVOqEEnJHUY9VIOyfGcdK2W3kZgAuT5 VDhE1WfIuCbc6zc3Bwp5B4DvqdwtdPa69CZGKiYGMn10lK9mCC tapO8MqSIcMhBBqZY1KDiifUlrUpHqNvHcW/Et7bwyoqNJ84w6nJD4O3tyPWKW8Saffxzi6ljMYd+a2dSCM+RG 1c9RvV1DSrTW7STE1sAk4HehPQ+on/wC1GjXkrXMlhcsXt70HkLNkI390jwNY4ncaZtJb7EnSLq/1No0vzElrG25ROXux44GwPQDr51YZLq1t2NzCjF2CxghsgDffG cdO/wADSHS1ltLaVC5TtCyMmxAboTTZpFa3iSMYYnOO7+sVaSXCF8m 6emY7yTPaSr9E9xOCd+mwFaWmrNb3lzNGh5rZRkO/Lnm22OfAEj1jpW8kv6ULluZCeg2Bxj2d9J0mhk1TUbaXBS5iQq Qo5iOQoeXPeM58s1ORPTsEXvuSdZluoYpvnb9u1sI5YnSTnDgB t+bP/mz03z16mgSZSx5W5Qztz57ye78DVp1G5X8mXMUDFyqCPmbbdvR wDtsVHN6yelVnUYWSJQSCiqACpyM75+81rgjSZlle4nk3etMVm TZsVrmtzAzRWM+dGfOgD2P5Ivqrdfbn+COisfJD9VLr7c/wR0UijzDif616v9um+M0rppxP9a9X+3TfGaV0yQrZeta1kdaAG VnHzBBtuxX31aLKQW5VYwAQOVBjrkj9wqr2DemPJgTTqzuh25n cgLDuM9AaiRtEaWyuLS41EpydnKsjhBghTEnMB3d4++t7gyppN 18xgNtbwwxvmPH6Qjcc5DbnKknbGc1ppUtvcTPHOXX51GUIeTY goO7/ABbdaTPLcpp8tmkjArJ2cyjOwGRzD18x9586zlC6aLUqtMuMNy J4VlTbmVW38P6FRmDEO4AblYcqYHcf37jr31AW+EdrFEj45UAH qHSsi8BlkGfRY8xJ3wdtsf191OkJWQ9S7NLQqhI7O5Y8o22Kr7 h/XdUW0bttKurJ25Ju2JY56qeXJ9nKdvOulwS9zKjlnRhzLg9SNy D6gSRUJ1MSpcW5KyoRkqTny29lJxsqxHdQtbXDxOMFeuK0BqxS JBqDhry1kdyuA8DhT3kHlI6erHsrqnBsWoRA6NqkM111+YXP6G X/ANJJ5WPkDmtdaexi4Nbldj2PWugA6k7HbatLi3uLG6ktbuCSCe M4eORSrKfAg1p2hxsfb1pNMSZ3OcgK3dW/bOuDzEHHXoaidoVPWgynOe/vpaStRJnlUryhiQMgZ76h7u+AMsdhjvqx6DwXquvRG9bs7DTV+ ne3TckY9Xex9VWIQ8LcNqINMtX1fUWQr89nBCgkf3Iv3mjUoip yE3zVdJ0lrZmHzm5jjDDJBUHc/wBf7oosZM3cKKxLmZTtkgb9fvqRNp11JJJd3UXpSt9HmJIyfuP XpWY7OCKSOPPPI2MYOOXByenQfwrJxfLNk0P0KxzFkye0cuR68 nv9Y91d451BZ+UEBvQPcO79/WlQlJn+llUG2D++gXBB5OfGMnY9M+Pn/GqJYx7dZHdiTuQBnbLZ6nv8aV31vbyTxSXSxkEggZ3ZiRge0AU PdHtCPRBLE+s//mPvrKSdp6UkuDHn0iTjOdvupgQNYuY1WOKMKASXkVRtk5A+7Jx 7aTakD2YHceh9dMUh+euz85GfSCnxPT7vxpZqKBRjfbPXu7q2i qiYydsSOcua1rLH0jWKBBRRRQI9j+SH6qXX25/gjoo+SH6qXX25/gjopFHl/E/1r1f7dN8ZpZTPif616v8AbpvjNLKokKBRQKAJ1o5V1PnvTgIeU qCMNgkEbkeFJLdgCKaxXJlPoMMqAenfms2axOwZxMht42XD4QM N8gnOc+sbVI1SB7GSO/ADCYjmB2AYd3jgj99R2kWOJSdjC5GEUZ39++QKku7ajpxtu1Id gn+tIAB6dSdh5mqjugbG3HHzKzs9Ca0sbe3a90+O6lZC+SzZ2G WOB9/nULgIW+pcYWWnX9rHc290WR1csCMKzZGCO8CmHFVrY61b6BHbc Q6Oj2Omx2s4luSMOvXGAcilvAz2OmcfwXlxqlsllYSvm4kbk7V eVlBUbk52PlmlQk9iRrcixwS28nDaac7TcsF0nbKQVP8AvEhsj wxXOys7fTuHk4iubbt3mlMEFtKSI3K/TkYrgkA7AZG+a5apas8F5cS8SWl4iSl7eCG4aVmZmHQEDGFz7s VOsNR0zX+GE4c1S8Wxmspzc2lw/ooytkuhI+iSSTnGKRV7HH8q6XeaNNb3ekwxXXKptprYtgsGGRj JH0Sd8Dp51I4Qs7C8vtStb2zivY4LGW7UyO/MsiAYAKkbbnPXu3FSobyDTeEtUtRq9pc3cnZrp0atHO8WGPOec DA5l86h8AT2UNxqM1xfQWwl0+a1QTShSzuBjA64260chexnREj 46uhpGqoX9BpLe+iX9Jaqu5Q5JLJjYAkkZGDVdOu6Xa35iXhiy ks4yUMczSdqwB6lw2zeoY8qZ8N6x/ZPihLxlWW2bMNyiMGyjAgkEbd1ctf4asptSS7stc04WE6Bllml KOoHimOYnGOgNEX2JmiJxhoVpoV9ZXemuZtN1K3W6tVm+kqnqj eqrrb8KaDqWkWHEVjpkbXcNn85udIR2KTDLAOASWOCN1z5euic T61FrE9hZWWfmWm2yWtuzjlaTHVz4ZPd3DFWXX76TQvyDd6VqN s1zZW0dvmCTm5WUsTkd4IOD3HJpydbCirOmucR3XEvDdlPJDFb t88kgVo+ZAkaKjAKueUfTxnGcAedTNIsng4TfVdJ0qHVZI7rlu FIZ5Fj5VweUEE5JOevl31prmuabqulafPp8Itbma4llu7dR6KS FUBYf7rcvvJqFpyPZXGn3uia9b2F4hZb1J5ezOAxI9HGHUry9M 752qFyV2Il7xGb2SY6Tp9wUL5CdmWEY7h39P3VvoNoxsb/AIgvw0ogZIViBx2srH6LEdAAMnoe7bOa7a7rcl9qWo3mkqVsDK zERsFQFselgdSfSJ8M1Is9XsWsbvQ9YZbMagI7hLkHnEM65wXw NwwwCe78Enb3KqlsMNDn03UbuHTL3T7eAXbdlHPal1aIn6PUkE Z8ffUaGE2GvtY3EKTNHdCCXtCcN6WCRgg+0VF0xrPRruO/vtSsp47R1kSKzmEjzMpBAGOgJG5bGB41HtNSl1PiRby6kiiea7 E8ru/IqjmBO/q6UxFg1sRadfanAvDcUVnCzwpc8koK9yNzFuU7kd1Vi+uXMcdr CMyTDlI6Yz19+3vNM+JtRaXW9QeLU1ubK5mMqLHMXTlByAR/dINKdFh7eZ76ddmzyg9MePuq0rdEt0hgbZbCzwB6eN8+Pl91Vb VXUkkMSD7tv+OfdTzULwySuQOYj0VBJxzZwB79/fVa1RwAqhs52HqH8evtq5vhERXcWE5NFFFAgooooA9j+SD6qXX 25/gjoo+SD6qXX25/gjoqWUeX8T/WvV/t03xmllM+J/rXq/26b4zSyqJCgUUUAdEY9BTC0k5OuT5itNN1T5lPEXtLW4iQ5ZJo FbnHfuRmr9xstro+j28mn2VnDLLOFLC2jJ5eUnvHqrjzZ/TyRx19R048eqLlfBUfnKFChIHNsCegPd12raCYPA6o3LMRgdAA fV763tOIJ4CGuLCxvIu9HtUU48mUCrTe6Dp+qaKdb0LnjJTtDA WJU4+kMHoevl+NEupWGSWRUn37AsetNxfB55e25t5zvlW3B8a4 qe6mt0VvIySQGO4Bx07qUbocN1rrZgSYGKnGcV2t+QyFDzBXHL 3bHIPfXC3ikuZkhgRpJXYBFUZJJ6U8u4bTh+XsJljvtSX/AFqMT2NufDb6bD3DwNZSkk67mqW1kVUUvEi2yBFzzyLnDDxPiQ c93j4VykRm1CTlQrzjmwDjGf8AjXeHijWbVeS21AwR9RHCBEo9 igCmVlx3I8yRa5aw6nBnHO0YEiD/AHT/AF66yk8kd1G/5KWl8sU3fKkCjdXyp2xy526Vz1eVp7G2kfHMWbYe791WnXuD4L vTk1jQLkzWL/pHiJyyDvIPU47wdxiqbqUqHs4E6LliM5wT3f140YckMu8e3+Ay RceSJb4FxFnpzjPvp9rBZrZWC+ijhmOfIj99V0Eg58Ku/DeoWk91DDfWFrdwXDKj9pEOZcnGQfI9xqs7canV0Ti32K/aXZluFXl5gBgeQqSHaHVO0yULZUHHfsc488H3VaPlE4XtdPsYN U0u1jt1ibs5liGBv9Fv3e0VQkup2XkOXB7jvWeDLDqMeuHBU04 SqQ8MkEUs10txIFkAbs1OCN8b+fQ1DlneVzK23MuPRXlGM7be/wB9cEZWYGaNvLmkzj31a+BdKg1TU2luYY5reBPSVsFS5BAGPVz H2U8s1hxvJLsVBapUu5WOYg+AO/XeugPKhbbIGAPHzp1x1Jbadr4sLKxtII4o1Y8sC5Zjv1xVdijm upAvTm6nwFVhn6sFNLkma0txJVqnz+5WHm5Yhs57u8/firBPMtvCsaMBkY2xt4bVDtUSxjAiO2RuR1qwcJxxahez2+oWd pMvIXjYwrzAggEZx0IP3VebN+nxvJV0Zwh6klGysuMlgmcRZXO 2Ax8PHAqu3ZM0xkGydF261ddevzZa3d2FnpenC3hYY57cHqoJ+ +lH9oltpB2ug6PMoO6/NgNqzhlnNLIo8+5ThGL0tlXNFMuILqzvNYluLCFIbeQKUjRQoT 0RkYHgc0trpi7SbMWqdBRRRVCPY/kg+ql19uf4I6KPkg+ql19uf4I6KllHl/E/1r1f7dN8ZpZTPif616v9um+M0sqiQooooAyK9I+UQ/8AIenePbf/AMmvN69N47igl0OxE90tuBIMM6M2Ty+QNeZ1f38Py/wdmD7czz8OOTGyk+6vQuEtQXTOA727uTiOOWTkz/e9FQB7WpFw7wtpevPIF1h5GgwXjjh5OYHPQsf3d4pPruq3U7DS zAtna2TFFtYzkBgcEk/3j13qs6j1L9FdmmxY7xLW+4uil5cA+ie/fatZcSYZcD761JDjHQgda0yVGPOvQs5mXrgqxTSeH9R4pmUGSK J0tcj6JAwT7SQPYaoryPLI0jsWdyWYk7k16aIub5HuSHf9AXOP KTJ/fXmaISPKvP6PJ6k8s35r+EdGeOmMUvBqBn6RNSba3aQg8voeJr UNEm7HNYe9kKci+ivlXd8HP8noPye6ykGptoxlLJOhdQe5wNwP WufdVW440iPRuJ7iGEFYZgJox4Buo9QOa5cGOy8YaYwO5nAJ8i CDT/5V5I21yzRcc623pf8AyOK8xL0uvSjxJb/wdTevp7fZlFpjoUsia1ZIjYDXMYwf/MKXUx4fAPEOnA9TdxfGK9LJ9DOaPKPXLG+g4kTXdEuuUtBcSwn O/oEnlPsP4CvI7rS7y1u57STCPBIUffqR30+tNcOifKTe3bn9DJe SxTb49BnIz7Nj7KafKbpT2t9DrVtsk47Obl/xAbE+sbeyvJ6dfpuo0f7Zq189zsyf1IOXeP4KL81dW9JebHgav/CY/JusaHpMfotIsl3djwdom5F9iY9rVVOH1GoaogumBtYFM9wSNxG u5GfPYe2mnCOqy6l8ocF3Mo7S4klc4OwzG34D8K7OrWrHJeE/wY4XUk/c3+UBo142ftBs0Me/spcrrGAFAHnUz5TPrW2epgjP40jWQFBzSk7d2KroX/pofCJz/cl8k57siNgnMx8t6s3AVx2uuspOSLdjt61qkpcjOwwPXVs+T1l biR8bH5s/4rU9fv00/grp/ux+SFxTKU4r1IDr2i/AtVq6fmY4OatPFd9psPE9+sumPNIHXmcXJXm9Ed3KcUst9Q0Jo LpfyZJBcGB+xla5LgNynbGB1p9PJrDDbshZYp5JbleooortOcK KKKAPY/kg+ql19uf4I6KPkg+ql19uf4I6KllHl/E/1r1f7dN8ZpZTPif616v9um+M0sqiQooooAK9F+UU50DTs/8Aej4Ko1lp7XTxlp4IImcKXllVeXfrjOfuq9cX3Oma5o8cFlql oZoZA6q8wXmGCOp2zvXndV9/E12bOzD9uZU+E9ZGh69FcyH9AwMc3kp7/YcH2VZ/lB4d7ULr1ivOjKO3CdCMbOPHuB9lUS5tZLSbspTGWwD+jkVxv5 qSKtPCvGzaVCNP1JGuLI7KcZaMd4weq+VPqcWRZF1GLdrZryic U4uLxT4/DKjRk+NW7WOGbDUObUOGbyC4ibJa0MgWRD34B3I8uvhmqrPbz2 0nZ3EMkL9eWRSp9xrqx5Y5FaMZwcXTPSvk+v4NV4buNCnPpRK4 we+N89PUSfeK871OwuNK1CaxuBiSFuU+BHcfUetY03UbrSb6O9 s5OzmjOQcZB8iO8VdbrU+H+OLaNb2VdK1RByrK/wBBvLPTHr3FcWiXTZ5TSuEufZ/9G+pZYKL5X+SgUU/ueC9Zh52hihu4lO0lvOjhvMDOfuqOeHprYq2pXNtYxnrzSq7/APwUls+vHrruWSDWzOdxkuwy+T+yWXiD8oTuIrXTo2mlkboNiB v7c+ylfE2sNruvXN8RhGPLGvgg2H3V0v8AW4xpw0jSkeCx5uaV n/1lw3i2Og8F6DzpNWcMV5XllzVL4/8AS5TqGhBTPhoZ4n0sf+Mi+MUsqy8Laaltrljf6heWdtbxOs3p XUfMcbr6IORvjrV5nWOT9iYK5IVa9vxFqR8buX4jXo+gSx8ZcB y6ZMy/OYU7HmY5wQMxt442A9hqkcSaSDql9f2V7Z3Vq8jTBkuo+YBjnH KTkkZ7hXbgLWvyRxFGkjgW93+hkLHAUk+iSfI/cTXF1OJ5unUofVGmv4N8UtGVqXDOM0b6Jww0Mg5LvUpSHU9Vhj OPvfP/AMKzwIccZ6d/5n+BqjcVav8AlriC5ulP6IN2cQ/3B09/X20y4JtYbPXrbU7+9tLa3iVmHPcJzMSpAHLnI6538K1yav00nL lp/jgiNeqkuEzr8pw/52A+Nsn4mqkB49KvPHFra67qkF7peqWE57IRuhuo0IIJOfSI8f uqkTwvbzPDJy86Eg8rBhn1jY0+h/toJ8pB1H3WzCtg1cPk2fPEz/ZX/Fap8UTTSpEmOZ2CjLADJ8zsKvHAltbaLqNzeanqNjBmEwovzuN iSWBJ2J29H76Ou/t5r2Dp/uxYk41b/nhqI8XX4FpATmrpxZpen6rrMmo2Gu6biYDtEkn5SrAAbYByMAU ph4WErYOv6Ki+LXX/AAo6fLBYYJ+EGWEnkdCCim/EFtaafJb6fZ3cV2IU5pZoiCrOx3wR3ABRSiuuMlJWjBqnQUUUV Qj2P5IPqpdfbn+COij5IPqpdfbn+COipZR5fxP9a9X+3TfGaWU z4n+ter/bpvjNLKokKKKKADNGaKBgkZOBQAUVLuLSKBIWEzEzKHAKY2yR4 +VbXWmvai4LPnsZuy+jjm+lv/8AWptF+nIhZNBJPU5qVeWYtBHl2YyIr7rgYIB6586zBZLLarO0 wjDS9luucHGcnyotchpldESipa2J7OdnLAwPyMqrnfB8+no1qb UCzW45m9IkcvLsMY78+fhT1INEiNk+NHWpbWIW5igaZVEkayc5 U4XK81YaweOaKKQ8jO/IRjOOmD5jei0GmRFoqVFaxyTSRGVgUDHZM5Cgk9/lWvzZWtpplc8sbqoBH0s5weu3Si0LQyPRnzqTNZ9jGshfKOgdG 5fpE7Y9mD7qzfWXzPswXLF0V/o4GGUN1z50Wh6JIi0VLtbBrqJGVvpTCPHLnGe+tfmm1ye0/wCj+X0vSx7KLQaJckaipL2hjihlcns5f7yjIHiPWPCtmsVE8cM chd3UNuuAAV5vE91GpBokRKKkG1BhSVZMqX5GyN1P9fhXW8sPm c6xyS7EkE8uCMHGceG2aWpBolVkKjNd7q2NpKYmdXYb5Xpg9D7 RW8VkZDArOFacEpt13IGfDJFO0LS7oi0VKWzzYG6LkDnKcoXPQ A7nPnUWgGmuQooopkhRRRQB7H8kH1Uuvtz/AAR0UfJB9VLr7c/wR0VLKPL+J/rXq/26b4zSymfE/wBa9X+3TfGaWVRIUUUUAFFSdNhS51CGGRSyuwBArrFbpJdSW7x mN3T9GGyMN1HXx6e2k2WoWiLJcSSiMOQREvKu3QZJ/ea3lvZ5+1EjA9tJ2j7Ddt9/vNd7W3juDc8kJkEaAqACf7yjO3kTXW1sopLJ3kjPaCRlXBIJPK SAPPNTaLUZeSDPcy3HKZMEqoUEKAcAYA91bR3k0MIhQgKH5xlQ SG8a6wwxvYzyNGwkg5TkdCCcYNaafClxfwxOMozgEeVPaiala3 5Oa3UixumxV25m5hnfff7zWrTO0SRk+ihJAx49fwqVaWqTwzK/ouPoOTgAjJIPsB91SEsoPynJEYyI1tjIFJOx7LmH30rRShJrkX vdSu6uxBKoEG3cBj8Kz86mPZZfPY/QyOm+al29tBOt3JFA7rHylAckgE9+KLW0iltC7xnm/SAYOCSFGAO7qc+qi0CjLyQluJFlaUEczBgTjrnY/jQs7rC8II5HILDHeM4/E13a2U2NvIiHtJZXTv3wFx+JrpLZKnzZ0IZJG7N8E7ODuPcRTt C0y8kNppGiWJmJRCSoPcT1/Ct57qW55e1IPKqqDygHAGAPcK31C3+bX00YQogkYJnwyRUl7OI aakwjbtDGH2J/xsM+rYe0ii0qBKTtWQ4rqaFFRGACuJBt/eFY+cy4l3H6b6e3XfP41NktLeNpEJxH2PPHNv6TYBx4bnI8vZX az023uDZs/NmRsSJvlsk8pHuPu86VoahJ7WK2nkZAhxyjGwGO7FbfOpjOk3N h0ACkDpgYH4V3srIXPOpBDMGEIGd2Azj93tra0tYJ41R/QlMhCsThWxj0T4HfY/0HaEoy8kVriRgBsADzAKMDNZnvJrneZuY5JBx0ycn2ZrXkBuOQ DI58Y9tTxp6jXGtjC3Zdo4VTncDOPX0o2QkpNVYvlmeZ+dyCcA bDHQY/dW4u5giJzA9n9AkbrvnY+veuyWxPbMYTzxgHszkbd58fD31ubR Q94pQHsYgw5GJAOVH7zRaHplyRDPIbcQEjswxcDHeRg/hXOmC28Ki3yOZJIyXkDZ5W392Ntj++trS0t54IecFZWlIBY+jI BjK+R3NFi0N9xbRWW2YjzrFUZhRRRQB7H8kH1Uuvtz/BHRR8kH1Uuvtz/BHRUso8v4n+ter/AG6b4zSymfE/1r1f7dN8ZpZVEhRRRQAAkdKMnOc0UUAGT40cx8aKKBhk+NAOOm 1FFAgyfGjJznJoooAMkd5roIpuQOI35W6NynBrnUyDU5YAmIom ZFChmBzgNzDv8aBkbs5c45Wz16Vt2FwcjspNm5T6J2Ph66Y3fE NxdK6mJFDFxsScK2cj3nPsFdJOKLx0CiOMHJLHcg5GMYz0FAWK OylY45GJAJO3cOprdrW6jXmeCVVO2ShHcD+BHvqX+XLkQSQqkS pInKwAPTl5R3+H7q6DiK8EYRkhcAHlLKSVztkb+G3qoC2LTFKD ylHyDjGDQySooZlZVJwCRgEj/wDR76mvrVy6FTHEMvznAPXOfHyrTUNVm1GOGOWOJFh5uURgjrj Pf5UBZCyfGs8x8axRQAUcx8TRRQBnmOc5OaOY+NYooCwycYztR k4xmiigQUUUUAFFFFAHsfyQfVS6+3P8EdFHyQfVS6+3P8EdFSy jvf8AyWaHqGoXN9Nd6gslzK0rhJEABYknHodN64fmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lFFMQfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQAfmg4f/AFzUv2sf8lH5oOH/ANc1L9rH/JRRQBZeG+G7PhfT5LGxlnkjklMpMzAnJAHcBt6IooopDP/Z

The complete history of every Imperial Roman legion and what it achieved as a fighting force, by an award-winning historian

In this landmark publication, Stephen Dando-Collins does what no other author has ever attempted to do: provide a complete history of every Imperial Roman legion. Based on thirty years of meticulous research, he covers every legion of Rome in rich detail. In the first part of the book, the author provides a detailed account of what the legionaries wore and ate, what camp life was like, what they were paid, and how they were motivated and punished. Part two examines the histories of all the legions that served Rome for three hundred years starting in 30 BC. The book's final section is a sweeping chronological survey of the campaigns in which the armies were involved, told from the point of view of the legions. Featuring more than 150 maps, photographs, diagrams and battle plans, Legions of Rome is an essential read for ancient history enthusiasts, military history experts and general readers alike.

Just started on this. Ready for fucking Total War: Attila to be released on the 17th!

Gelston

02-03-2015, 08:09 PM

That image didn't come out right, but fuck you all. I'm leaving it there.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SNbrMihVL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Legions-Rome-Definitive-History-Imperial/dp/1250004713

GS4-Seomanthe

02-03-2015, 08:29 PM

You couldn't be more wrong. Although I haven't read Best Served Cold, I did just finish the first in his First Law trilogy, The Blade Itself, and it is fantastic. Comparable with anything George R.R. Martin has written. I also got the audiobook version and the narrator is amazing.

edit: most of his books, including the one you cite, are set in the same world as he created for the trilogy. And I just used Martin as a comparison because of the sprawling, complex nature of the worlds they both created. Abercrombie's world is gritty and bloody and his heroes can be really villainous, and his villains, heroic. So maybe not an epic for everyone I guess.

I'll give Abercrombie another chance based on your recommendation, but he's definitely at the bottom of the list! It's been awhile, but I found the main character's choices to be cookie-cutter, and her overall trajectory to be pretty mary-sue, so I was bored by her. The transformation of the male lead was somewhat more interesting but (for me) unsatisfying-- but to explain why would be spoilerific so I will refrain...

I'm in a nonfiction/pop-sci phase at the moment. I'm reading Quiet (http://smile.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking-ebook/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_1968490062?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0&pf_rd_p=1968490062&pf_rd_s=smile-campaign&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004J4WNL2&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1V3TVKM7H3PHD33JTAZP), Pitch Perfect (http://smile.amazon.com/Pitch-Perfect-Right-First-Every-ebook/dp/B00DB3A4VS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1423012750&sr=1-2&keywords=say+it+right+the+first+time), Think Like a Freak (http://smile.amazon.com/Think-Like-Freak-Authors-Freakonomics-ebook/dp/B00BATINVS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423012830&sr=1-1&keywords=think+like+a+freak), and a deeply strange self-help book I got for Christmas called Lost in the Cosmos (http://smile.amazon.com/Lost-Cosmos-Last-Self-Help-Book/dp/0312253990/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1423012785&sr=1-1-spell) at the moment.... Not finished with any of them yet but so far TLAF is in the lead for my good opinion, but that was not unexpected since I'm a fan of their radio show.

SHAFT

02-03-2015, 08:32 PM

The looming tower

Talks about what led to 9/11. The people involved, the ideaology, and how the U.S. did or didn't handle it.

Cereal Killer

02-03-2015, 11:17 PM

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

It had the words "text-based role playing game" in the jacket description, so of course I had to pick it up. It's about the unraveling of a man who created a mail-order role playing game after the game is thrust into infamy by the actions of two of its players.

Warriorbird

02-03-2015, 11:51 PM

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/wp-content/uploads/shock-766768.jpg
The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner

Very very early cyberpunk. Filled with a deeper look at RAND corporation proposed predictions theories and just predictions that foreshadow a lot of what we have now with the net.

Androidpk

02-03-2015, 11:54 PM

The world needs more cyberpunk fiction.

Latrinsorm

02-04-2015, 03:13 PM

That image didn't come out right, but fuck you all. I'm leaving it there.Tell it to the judge, DDOSer.
The world needs more cyber:giggle:

Gelston

02-04-2015, 04:06 PM

Tell it to the judge, DDOSer.:giggle:

I am above the law.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 03:20 PM

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

So fucking good. I've got the kindle edition and the audible and let me just say, if anyone is toying with the idea of trying out books on audio but haven't yet, this is the book to start with. The narrator is so fucking good. Don't be put off by the Audible price (I think it was 24 bucks), the first book is a 19 hour recording. Well worth the cost.

I just started the second book in this series and it's even better so far. I'm at the first blood bath at the gala where all the Houses go crazy. I hate comparisons like this but this is what the Hunger Games should have been.

Link to make it easier: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Book-Trilogy/dp/034553980X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426360613&sr=8-1&keywords=Red+Rising

Warriorbird

03-14-2015, 03:23 PM

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

So fucking good. I've got the kindle edition and the audible and let me just say, if anyone is toying with the idea of trying out books on audio but haven't yet, this is the book to start with. The narrator is so fucking good. I just started the second book in this series and it's even better so far. I'm at the first blood bath at the gala where all the Houses go crazy. I hate comparisons like this but this is what the Hunger Games should have been.

Link to make it easier: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Rising-Book-Trilogy/dp/034553980X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426360613&sr=8-1&keywords=Red+Rising

My sister dug it too. I'll check it out.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 03:29 PM

My sister dug it too. I'll check it out.

It's not for the fainthearted. Loads of Lord of the Flies type scenarios. Only gorier.

Edit: I'd recommend not reading the customer reviews beforehand. I saw tons of spoilers in them. I read the book not knowing a thing in advance and I'd recommend that to anyone else.

Warriorbird

03-14-2015, 03:31 PM

It's not for the fainthearted. Loads of Lord of the Flies type scenarios. Only gorier.

Sounds good. I reread Battle Royale recently.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 03:34 PM

Sounds good. I reread Battle Royale recently.

I never read that. Meaning to, just keep forgetting.

Cereal Killer

03-14-2015, 03:44 PM

I also really liked Red Rising. Glad I stuck with it because I almost dropped it right at the start because of that singing incident.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 03:54 PM

I also really liked Red Rising. Glad I stuck with it because I almost dropped it right at the start because of that singing incident.

It wasn't annoying to me but then again, I was listening to it actually sung on the Audible recording. Narrator nailed it.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 03:57 PM

I also really liked Red Rising. Glad I stuck with it because I almost dropped it right at the start because of that singing incident.

Have you read the second book yet? It's even better, so far anyway.

Cereal Killer

03-14-2015, 03:59 PM

Not yet, haven't had a chance but it taunts me every time I enter the library.

Tisket

03-14-2015, 04:00 PM

Make time!

Androidpk

03-14-2015, 05:27 PM

Red Rising sounds pretty cool. Added it to my list.

Gelston

05-14-2015, 10:59 AM

Motherfuckin books and shit.

Androidpk

05-14-2015, 11:01 AM

Pffft.. words ain't never done did no one any good.

Ker_Thwap

06-01-2015, 12:09 PM

These are what I managed to get for free from my local online library recently.

Garth Nix - Abhorsen Trilogy. Good stuff, young adult, good world-building, character development, pace of story, clever.

David Durham - Acacia Trilogy. Overall decent, interesting premise, at times takes forever to move the plot along.

James Maxwell - Everman Saga. Meh, another good premise, again, it bogged down at times. Fairly predictable.

Joshua Dalzelle - Omega Force Series. Good brainless shoot em up non stop adventure. Won't make you think or anything, but a good vacation type read.

Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles. Neatly written. Interesting characters, plot moves along, a fun read. Awaiting the third novel. The Slow Regard of Silent things novelette was kind of a neat glimpse into a crazy person's head.

Lee Child - Jack Reacher series. Manly plots for manly men. Suspend a little disbelief and they're fun reads.

John Flannagan - Ranger's Apprentice. Young adult, started off as a cute read, got boring and stretched really quick. Didn't finish the series.

Scott Lynch - Gentleman Bastard Sequence. Only three written so far. Interesting characters, interesting world. Kind of wish I'd waited ten years to start reading them. At least seven books are planned. I'm not big into reading one book every few years.

Kevin Hearne - Iron Druid Chronicles. These are fun reads. Interesting use of Celtic mythos, among other culture's mythos'es? All set in the modern world, interesting characters.

Angie Sage - Septimus Heap. Young adult, cute intitial story, got tedious quickly. Didn't finish the series.

C. Friedman - Magister Trilogy Great premise, interesting world. Moves the plot along decently. Decent character development, but not great. I was a bit annoyed at the ending, but no spoilers.

Ballantine and Morris. Ministry of Peculiar Occurences. Kind of a steampunk thing. Interesting characters, plot generally moves along well with the exception of the third book, but the final book got back on track. There's a bit too much of repeated themes throughout. I get annoyed when an author bludgeons me with the same point. Eh, it was free.

Tisket

06-01-2015, 12:18 PM

Patrick Rothfuss - Kingkiller Chronicles. Neatly written. Interesting characters, plot moves along, a fun read. Awaiting the third novel. The Slow Regard of Silent things novelette was kind of a neat glimpse into a crazy person's head.

I loved the Kingkiller Chronicles but HATED the novelette. It was the author cheating to make a few bucks off his fans.

Ker_Thwap

06-01-2015, 12:22 PM

I loved the Kingkiller Chronicles but HATED the novelette. It was the author cheating to make a few bucks off his fans.

Eh, I thought he was pretty clear that it was more of a stand alone work, just to kind of explore a character that he felt like writing about. Had he tried to jam it into a book, I might have been annoyed.

Allereli

06-01-2015, 12:53 PM

Eh, I thought he was pretty clear that it was more of a stand alone work, just to kind of explore a character that he felt like writing about. Had he tried to jam it into a book, I might have been annoyed.

I'm reading The Wise Man's Fear again. Haven't read Slow Regard yet, waiting for the price to go down more.

Tisket

06-01-2015, 01:13 PM

Eh, I thought he was pretty clear that it was more of a stand alone work, just to kind of explore a character that he felt like writing about. Had he tried to jam it into a book, I might have been annoyed.

He was clear...in the foreword (can't remember if it was the foreword or the afterword but either is still a great big "fuck you" to the fans) AFTER a reader has presumably already bought the book.

Tisket

06-01-2015, 01:30 PM

Here's an Amazon customer review of Slow Regard that just nails it:

I hope you love pizza. My wish for you is that you absolutely love pizza; from a very specific restaurant that has already made you the best pizza you ever had. Hopefully this pizza is at least in the next state from where you live. I want you to drive there, stand in line for an hour or so, order your favorite pizza, pay for it in advance, wait an hour or so for it. While you are waiting, talk to other pizza lovers about why you just went through all the trouble to obtain this new pizza. I hope it is a big beautiful 16 inch box, with a warm feel and warm colors, that makes you grin inside with anticipation. My perfect wish for you is, you would think to drive all the way home to friends and family, to share this wonderful pizza. As you are getting gas just outside your town, after hours and hours of driving, you will observe on the side of the box a little disclaimer note note. "You may not like this pizza.
Hmmm, peculiar note? Now you are at home. You open the big beautiful box, salivating.
But as the lid peels back, you observe a round dough, about the size of a mayonnaise jar lid. It is shaped like a gear with a tooth missing. In the center is a single piece of salami, with a bite taken out. There is a dwollop of cheese, but it's not on the pizza. It is actually used to glue down an apology note to the inside cardboard. From the pizza chef, " I am so sorry you probably didn't enjoy this pizza, but a girl I kinda like said it would be Okay. And my company owner said it's Okay too. I knew better, but did it anyway."

Dunno why it's in two quotes, it should be all one quote.

Allereli

06-01-2015, 02:00 PM

I really hope he does separate books for Elodin and Devi

Ker_Thwap

06-01-2015, 02:34 PM

Here's an Amazon customer review of Slow Regard that just nails it:

Dunno why it's in two quotes, it should be all one quote.

I read the foreword before purchase. Expected a personal pan pizza, got personal pan pizza.

Parkbandit

06-03-2015, 10:04 PM

Revenge of Klaive

Tisket

06-09-2015, 01:22 PM

Has this been mentioned before: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline? It was released in 2011 but I somehow missed it. If you enjoy pop culture references from the 1980's, it's a must read. If you enjoy dystopian type settings and stories about gaming culture, I'd recommend picking this up. I got it on Audible and Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of Star Trek TNG) does a bang up job narrating.

edit: amazon linkage: http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-Ernest-Cline/dp/0307887448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433870892&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+player+one

Rakisak_x

06-09-2015, 02:03 PM

Don't know if this has been said, but Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard series is brilliant.

Ker_Thwap

06-09-2015, 02:12 PM

Just finished Brandon Sanderson's - "The Way of Kings" and "Words of Radiance" These are mostly good, very slow to develop, quite long, but still fairly riveting, lot's of individual characters where the author zips back and forth between their stories, which are part of the overall story of course. It's several thousand pages in before he begins to tell us how the whole thing works, a bit clumsy in setting up the third book. Looking forward to see how it all shakes out.

Warriorbird

06-09-2015, 02:13 PM

Tisket

06-09-2015, 02:26 PM

Don't know if this has been said, but Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard series is brilliant.

Liked the reviews so added to my reading bucket list.

I know who to blame if I don't like it.

Rakisak_x

06-09-2015, 02:28 PM

Haha, fair enough. But, I'm positive you'll enjoy it.

Gelston

06-09-2015, 03:36 PM

Warriorbird

06-09-2015, 04:30 PM

Liked the reviews so added to my reading bucket list.

I know who to blame if I don't like it.

I like the start of it. I prefer Patrick Weekes's 'Rogues of the Republic' in that sort of genre.

Tisket

06-09-2015, 05:44 PM

Audible, doesn't belong here. YOU READ NOTHING.

I always purchase the Kindle edition with Whispersync and alternate. I only listen to the audio when driving or walking the dogs.

So: HAH!!

Tisket

06-09-2015, 05:45 PM

I like the start of it. I prefer Patrick Weekes's 'Rogues of the Republic' in that sort of genre.
Also on my bucket list now. I hope I live long enough to read all the books on that list.

LivderaDeralleur

06-09-2015, 06:17 PM

Not sure if it's been recommended, but the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are immensely awesome. Audiobooks are great, too - James Marsters narrates and he does it perfectly.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi - kind of stumbled on this through Audible and the review's notes of similarities to Starship Troopers and I rather enjoyed it. His other standalone novel, "Agent to the Stars", I found rather amusing, too.

I'll have to try that Ready Player One book - it sounds interesting! I've been poking around for different things to listen to while waiting for the next Dresden Files book to be released.

Tisket

06-19-2015, 01:46 PM

Latrinsorm

06-19-2015, 10:02 PM

Syfy has some good shows, I am skeptical of their ability to pull off a space opera, but I hope for the best.

Androidpk

06-19-2015, 10:31 PM

Syfy has some good shows, I am skeptical of their ability to pull off a space opera, but I hope for the best.

Lexx
Ascension

Androidpk

06-19-2015, 10:35 PM

12 Monkeys?

Tisket

06-19-2015, 11:05 PM

Syfy has some good shows, I am skeptical of their ability to pull off a space opera, but I hope for the best.

I mean "space opera" in the same epic sense that BSG was a space opera. Not that the characters are going to prance around and sing.

Doofus.

Velfi

06-20-2015, 12:06 AM

I mean "space opera" in the same epic sense that BSG was a space opera. Not that the characters are going to prance around and sing.

Doofus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2246g7AzbMc

Latrinsorm

06-20-2015, 04:06 PM

Lexx AscensionI liked Ascension, and I stand by what I said.
I mean "space opera" in the same epic sense that BSG was a space opera. Not that the characters are going to prance around and sing. Doofus.duhhhhhhhhhhh

BSG was by far and away the best show Syfy has ever produced in any genre. That they've been unable to get anywhere near it in any genre suggests to me that it was the peculiarities of BSG that made it a success rather than it being a space opera, especially given how poorly their other spacey shows have fared. Metal Hurlant was atrocious, for example.

Velfi

06-29-2015, 12:31 AM

The Martian (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian) by Andy Weir.

Tisket

06-29-2015, 02:42 AM

The Martian (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian) by Andy Weir.

Already mentioned it, slowpoke.

Jhynnifer

06-29-2015, 03:01 AM

I just finished the entire Paper Magician series by Charlie Holmberg. I read all three of them on kindle unlimited then bought them all, a really fun and interesting series.

Gelston

06-29-2015, 11:34 AM

Why would you buy them after reading them? You are strange.

Velfi

06-29-2015, 02:43 PM

Already mentioned it, slowpoke.

I thought I remembered someone mentioning it recently but I didn't find it with a quick search (lol). My bad.

It was really good though, I couldn't stop reading it once I started.

Tisket

06-29-2015, 03:21 PM

I thought I remembered someone mentioning it recently but I didn't find it with a quick search (lol). My bad.

It was really good though, I couldn't stop reading it once I started.

No rule says you can't repeat a title. I just enjoy name calling.

Gelston

06-29-2015, 03:26 PM

No rule says you can't repeat a title. I just enjoy name calling.

You only have 1 blog. Make more.

Tisket

06-29-2015, 05:49 PM

You only have 1 blog. Make more.

The title of mine says it all. Any more would be superfluous.

Gelston

06-29-2015, 05:50 PM

The title of mine says it all. Any more would be superfluous.

Nah, that blog sucked.

Androidpk

06-29-2015, 06:42 PM

2BR02B. Short and sweet.

Latrinsorm

06-29-2015, 06:56 PM

more like 2BR0~2B amirite

Androidpk

06-29-2015, 07:07 PM

2Bros1Cup

Jhynnifer

06-29-2015, 08:11 PM

Why would you buy them after reading them? You are strange.

To support the author. =)

Velfi

07-12-2015, 05:52 PM

Starfish (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66479.Starfish) by Peter Watts, book 1 in his Rifters series. A bunch of misfits and people "pre-adapted" to stressful situations, aka the beaten and abused or the abusers, are sent to work on the ocean floor at a geothermal rift in a type of power plant setup.

It's an interesting sci-fi premise, I got more and more into it as the book went along. Gonna head right into the rest of the series.

GS4-Seomanthe

07-12-2015, 11:03 PM

Just finished an audiobook version of The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons. It's a historical fiction, in the same vein as his Drood, but this time featuring everyone's favorite Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock rounds up the author Henry James to be his Watson for a mystery-solving trip to America. Some parts were laugh-out loud hilarious (particularly when Sherlock meets a young Teddy Roosevelt). I enjoyed it although the end felt a little rushed, but my overall fondness for Dan Simmons may be in play here.

Velfi

07-20-2015, 05:05 PM

Followup to the Peter Watts post: I finished the Rifters series and I really liked it. It had a lot of interesting concepts that continue to be introduced through all 3 books, and plenty of twists and turns. The plot moves along steadily, with very little to no descriptive essays about things. The series was Starfish, Maelstrom, and Behemoth.

Ker_Thwap

07-20-2015, 05:52 PM

Joe Abercrombie First Law trilogy. Quite good. Bad guys, badder guys, bad guys doing kind of good, maybe? Hard to discuss much more without spoilers.

Androidpk

08-03-2015, 10:12 PM

Velfi

08-03-2015, 10:36 PM

Okay so this isn't a book but it was a very interesting read about ditching alternating current in your home (amongst other things.)

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/op-ed-how-i-gave-up-alternating-current/

The article has some good ideas on how to lower your footprint and be more efficient which is always admirable, but the author is a little over the top in my opinion. For instance:

I think it was a bit presumptuous for the architect to assume I wanted a kitchen with my apartment and make me pay for it. My home is a place of peace. I don’t want to live with red-hot heating elements and razor-sharp knives. That sounds like a torture chamber.

Velfi

08-03-2015, 10:38 PM

Also, I didn't notice at first the line identifying the author as the founder of Soylent. Thinking about that in retrospect, the article is suspiciously close to an ad for his product.

Androidpk

08-03-2015, 10:59 PM

I thought that bit about the kitchen was a little odd but I'm assuming it is some tongue in cheek humor. As for your second point it is possible but like they said this was originally posted on his own personal blog, Ars Technica is just reposting it. I personally haven't tried Soylent but I would like to at some point.

Allereli

08-03-2015, 11:44 PM

I personally haven't tried Soylent but I would like to at some point.

it's people!!!

kcostell

08-03-2015, 11:52 PM

Finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant yesterday, and am still trying to decide exactly what to make of it. Like a lot of Ishiguro's books, it deals with fading and unreliable memories, though in this case the forgetfulness comes in the form of a mist that descends upon Britain in the time after Arthur's death where Saxons and Britons live (uneasily) side by side. The elderly couple at the center of the novel journey in search both of their son and their memories of the past, though they're more than a bit afraid of what those memories will reveal.

The language of the novel is (perhaps because of the mythic setting) a bit stilted, and at times it walks a fine line between incredibly trite and incredibly powerful. But on the whole I found it more powerful than trite, especially in the second half.

Tisket

08-04-2015, 01:10 PM

Joe Abercrombie First Law trilogy. Quite good. Bad guys, badder guys, bad guys doing kind of good, maybe? Hard to discuss much more without spoilers.

I mentioned this before and I'm only pointing that out because I want to reiterate how incredibly good the audio version is of the trilogy. So fucking good.

Androidpk

08-04-2015, 01:24 PM

I love audiobooks, especially ones with music and sound effects. I have Helion Rain on my Kindle tab and I've listened to it so many times I practically have it memorized.

Velfi

08-27-2015, 02:50 PM

Tisket

08-27-2015, 03:22 PM

Stretch

08-27-2015, 07:03 PM

The Kindle editions for The Name of the Wind and The Martian are both on sale on Amazon for $1.99 right now. I picked up both, should be good plane fodder.

Velfi

08-27-2015, 07:08 PM

Velfi, you like listening to good narration so you might enjoy Robin Hobb's Farseer: The Assassin's Apprentice series. Also Scot Meyer's Off to be a Wizard has been out a while but it's hilarious and the narrator is probably the best I've ever heard. I know it's just one person reading all the parts but it feels like a whole cast of people. Every character is distinct. I'm going to give your suggestions a try when I'm through my book backlog.

As a semi related side note: I love Amazon's Echo for playing audio books while working around the house.

I've read the first two Fitz series by Hobb and I :heart: them. There's a new Fitz series that came out with a book last year, this year, and one more that I want to check out some time. Nighteyes is one of my favorite characters ever. I'll also keep my eyes peeled for Off to be a Wizard, sounds like a good one.

The Kindle editions for The Name of the Wind and The Martian are both on sale on Amazon for $1.99 right now. I picked up both, should be good plane fodder.

They are both very excellent.

Ker_Thwap

08-27-2015, 09:18 PM

Glen Cook's The Black Company series, 10 books in total. I'm a bit late on the ball as I think this is a pretty conventional mainstay, but for some reason I couldn't really get started on it the first couple times I tried. I enjoyed the series, particularly the unconventional pacing and the variation in narrators. I find myself questioning the end of the series just a bit, but overall I thought it was well done.

I've also worked up the courage to get a running start at Gardens of the Moon (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55399.Gardens_of_the_Moon) by Steven Erikson, book 1 of The Malazan Book of the Fallen. Enjoying it so far, and the series gets some excellent reviews, assuming that you can dive straight into some GoT level complexity/intrigue and work it out as you go or later on as new details emerge.

The Black Company left me fairly amazed that he could fit so much action and plot into each book, slamming from adventure to adventure. In comparison, it really makes me hate books where the author drags out a single plot and takes forever to finally resolve anything.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is easily the best series ever. For me, it really started to shine about midway through the first book. First read, I rushed through a few bits and missed some details.

Androidpk

08-27-2015, 10:41 PM

Reading Flatland and I feel like I should be taking LSD.

Velfi

09-02-2015, 01:38 PM

The Black Company left me fairly amazed that he could fit so much action and plot into each book, slamming from adventure to adventure. In comparison, it really makes me hate books where the author drags out a single plot and takes forever to finally resolve anything.

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is easily the best series ever. For me, it really started to shine about midway through the first book. First read, I rushed through a few bits and missed some details.

I finished and enjoyed Gardens of the Moon and am now on to the next one. They are a bit shorter, page-wise, than I expected. I was afraid that in addition to the complexity and everything going on, they would be as long/long-winded as an RJ Wheel of Time novel.

Goldgenesis

09-02-2015, 01:51 PM

currently reading the penthouse letters series. Its long winded for sure but a good read, not sure how much ill take away from it as far as personal growth or enchantment but the emotional connection with the material is so enlightening.

Velfi

09-29-2015, 04:25 PM

I finished Memories of Ice, Malazan Book of the Fallen book 3 last night and: wow. 3 sturdy books in and I only just feel like I'm really in the thick of it, and new stuff is still showing up. Really enjoying the way that your viewpoint moves around through the story, as well as the connections that show up later or can be figured out by paying attention. The humor is also very well done in my opinion.

I really like Kruppe, who I found to be vexing at first and has slowly grown on me which is quite fitting. He reminds me of Nakor from the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist, and Nakor is one of my favorites from anything. Also Spindle and his dead mother's hairshirt.

Tisket

12-06-2015, 03:24 PM

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

Great read (and listen for those that use the Audible app) and, I'm pleased to find out, it's soon to be a space opera type series called "The Expanse" on the Syfy network. They've already confirmed before the first season has even aired that there will be a second season.

I just started the second book in the series, Caliban's War, and am enjoying it even more than the first.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-James-S-Corey/dp/0316129089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434735665&sr=8-1&keywords=Leviathan+Wakes

I should put this in the "Good TV" thread but I'm a rebel:

The SyFy series based on these books is off to a great start. First episode is available on Comcast's On Demand. The collaborators who wrote the book are also involved in the creation of the TV series so it's pretty true to the books. Only issue I had was that one of the main characters, Naomi, doesn't match the physical characteristics of the book character. She's a "Belter" and they have a distinct look that comes from being born and living their lives in zero G: long bones, tall, thin. The TV character is rather compact. Good actress and other features match the book version though so it's only a minor annoyance. Anyway, they did a good job considering there are many plot lines they needed to introduce. Could have been a confused mess but it was handled well.

Androidpk

12-06-2015, 04:04 PM

Not familiar with the books but I watched this the other day. Has potential.

Latrinsorm

12-06-2015, 05:57 PM

Syfy is on a weird development track but I'm really excited about this new one and Childhood's End.

Tisket

12-06-2015, 06:13 PM

Not familiar with the books but I watched this the other day. Has potential.

You should read the books. Not because you'll need to in order to follow the TV series (although it can't hurt) but because they are really entertaining.

Vusit

12-07-2015, 12:28 AM

Been listening to the dresdan files audio books, and have enjoyed them.

Sure it's been brought up before but ready player one is a must read.

Warriorbird

03-20-2016, 06:50 PM

Arkwright by Allen Steele

Latrinsorm

05-03-2016, 07:34 PM

Name of the Wind and its sequel. There is a bit of drag and the second book is markedly better than the first but all in all they were both worth reading.

Allereli

05-03-2016, 07:40 PM

Name of the Wind and its sequel. There is a bit of drag and the second book is markedly better than the first but all in all they were both worth reading.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cheapassgames/tak-a-beautiful-game

Latrinsorm

05-29-2016, 08:33 PM

Velfi

05-31-2016, 07:01 PM

Read the first two books of Malazan series based on the recommendations in this thread. Enjoyed the first one and recommend it as well. In the second I lost all taste for the series. It is a book mainly about war and I get that, but man he really wallowed in the brutality and there were just no breaks. It was certainly imaginative and well written but sheesh, just too much.

It's not just a book/series about war, although that does feature very heavily. The whole series touches on the actual world that we live in and make for ourselves, with a bit of fantastical embellishment such as magic, and Steven Erikson has spoken about that connection quite a bit. While reading the series, there were a lot of times when I would stop and think about very easy real world analogies to things that I was reading.

It's definitely dark at times and deals with pretty grim topics. I can't even tell you that you've been through the worst of it, as there is an absolutely horrific situation that happens towards the middle of the series and it nearly made me sick to my stomach. However, I stuck with it and personally feel that it was worth it.. it wasn't gruesome just for thrills or to senselessly shock you, it's trying to make a point about the world we live in. It's not a nice place, there are mind-bogglingly cruel, atrocious things that happen all around us all the time, even in our much-vaunted Best Country Ever. I personally feel it's worth the effort to keep going, but obviously that's a choice that everyone has to make for themselves.

Leading me back to this previous quote of Ker_Thwap's:

The Malazan Book of the Fallen is easily the best series ever. For me, it really started to shine about midway through the first book. First read, I rushed through a few bits and missed some details.

At around book 3, I could tell that I liked the series but I wasn't sure that I could get behind Best Series Ever. However, having gone through the whole series now, I can easily and enthusiastically agree with that title. All of the interconnection of the books and stories, the real world reflections, the excellent humor throughout, and simply brilliant writing. Malazan Book of the Fallen really blew me away by the end.

I've read a whole lot of fantasy books/series, and nothing even comes close to the brilliance of Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Latrinsorm

06-26-2016, 03:45 PM

Really enjoying the Old Man's War series, also recommended in this thread. If Malazan is a 9 on the horrors of war scale, OMW is perhaps a 4, and I found it much more palatable.

Gelston

06-26-2016, 03:54 PM

Really enjoying the Old Man's War series, also recommended in this thread. If Malazan is a 9 on the horrors of war scale, OMW is perhaps a 4, and I found it much more palatable.

What do you put Kina Grannis' biography on the horrors of war scale?

Androidpk

06-26-2016, 05:53 PM

I will recommend Old Man's War a gazillion times over. Same with The Forever War.

Latrinsorm

06-26-2016, 06:05 PM

What do you put Kina Grannis' biography on the horrors of war scale?Kina Grannis has not been involved in any war in any way, so probably a 0.

Gelston

06-26-2016, 06:36 PM

Kina Grannis has not been involved in any war in any way, so probably a 0.

Her music is a war atrocity, my good sir.

Androidpk

06-26-2016, 07:01 PM

Kina Grannis has not been involved in any war in any way, so probably a 0.

She smokes weed so she's involved in the war on drugs.

subzero

06-26-2016, 07:50 PM

She smokes weed so she's involved in the war on drugs.

Oh, that explains it. It sounds good to her schizo ears in the same way Kurt Cobain's sounded good to his smacked out ears. You should be ashamed, Latrin, supporting this girl's habit and pushing her poor little mind over into the realm of wackos.

Fallen

02-28-2017, 01:31 AM

Leviathan Wakes. It is book one of The Expanse series. Really good sci-fi, just like the show. If you're caught up with the current season, the book covers all the events until now.

Tisket

02-28-2017, 03:01 AM

Leviathan Wakes. It is book one of The Expanse series. Really good sci-fi, just like the show. If you're caught up with the current season, the book covers all the events until now.

I read the books before the series came out and I loved them. So I was super excited when I heard it was being made into a TV series but I just can't seem to get into the show. I don't know why.

Androidpk

02-28-2017, 03:05 AM

Because you hate Thomas Jane?

Tisket

02-28-2017, 12:57 PM

Because you hate Thomas Jane?

I like the actor fine. Just not enough to draw me into the show apparently.

Fallen

02-28-2017, 01:20 PM

I read the books before the series came out and I loved them. So I was super excited when I heard it was being made into a TV series but I just can't seem to get into the show. I don't know why.

That sucks. I love the show and the book was really good as well. I am stopping with the first one so I don't spoil the show, but there's a bunch of short stories set in the same universe that are fine to read for background knowledge.

Did you read The Churn, The Butcher of Anderson Station or Drive? I'm looking to pick those up next.

Tisket

02-28-2017, 02:49 PM

That sucks. I love the show and the book was really good as well. I am stopping with the first one so I don't spoil the show, but there's a bunch of short stories set in the same universe that are fine to read for background knowledge.

Did you read The Churn, The Butcher of Anderson Station or Drive? I'm looking to pick those up next.

I read the one that gave a lot of insight into Amos character but not sure of the name. The Churn sound familiar. I remember thinking it was a good read though. Haven't read the other two yet.

SonoftheNorth

03-05-2017, 05:02 AM

8393The first book in the series was somewhat hard to get into but now its starting to pick up and get way better.

Hips

03-05-2017, 01:03 PM

macgyver

03-05-2017, 01:06 PM

I never learned to read...

SonoftheNorth

03-05-2017, 11:21 PM

Yes! I'm in the middle of Dust of Dreams right now and it's gotten CRAZY good. Hard to put down.Waiting for the next one to come off of Amazon now.

Velfi

03-05-2017, 11:43 PM

8393The first book in the series was somewhat hard to get into but now its starting to pick up and get way better.

Yes! I'm in the middle of Dust of Dreams right now and it's gotten CRAZY good. Hard to put down.

Great series. I still haven't read the few little side mini-series but the main books are hands down the best fantasy I've read.

SonoftheNorth

03-05-2017, 11:47 PM

Great series. I still haven't read the few little side mini-series but the main books are hands down the best fantasy I've read.
Reminds me a lot of The Black Company.

Velfi

03-05-2017, 11:52 PM

Reminds me a lot of The Black Company.

I would agree, though The Black Company was more episodic. Malazan BotF is so much more connected and has so many payoffs from that by the end.

Velfi

03-15-2017, 05:36 PM

Allereli

03-15-2017, 05:40 PM

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. I thought it had an interesting overall premise, and while it may have been somewhat cliche with some of the details, I still found it an enjoyable read with plenty of good punches in the feels.

good one. Book of Dust part 1 coming later this year

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-unveils-epic-fantasy-trilogy-the-book-of-dust

eta: will the Book of Dust series be done and published before book 3 of Kingkiller Chronicles?

Stunseed

03-15-2017, 05:43 PM

Halfway through Memories of Ice, it's a real good series so far...GoaT? Not sure about that yet.

Velfi

03-15-2017, 05:50 PM

Halfway through Memories of Ice, it's a real good series so far...GoaT? Not sure about that yet.

It's still getting started in Memories of Ice.. curious how you feel after The Bonehunters or Reaper's Gale.

My impressions/good feelings about the series basically just continued to rise until the end, although Midnight Tides was a little slower than the rest.

cwolff

05-10-2017, 07:50 AM

The basic premise is that the greatest generation passed on the greatest nation to their kids, who have ruined it, and are passing on a shit sandwich to the next generation.

Guaranteed to make for some interesting family dinners. LOL

https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Sociopaths-Boomers-Betrayed-America/dp/0316395781#

drauz

05-10-2017, 08:09 AM

Velfi

06-06-2017, 08:13 PM

The Way of Kings (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7235533-the-way-of-kings), book 1 of The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Only Sanderson I've read so far was his ending to WoT, but I've heard good things about this as well as his Mistborn series. I enjoyed this one and am working on book 2, Words of Radiance, now.

Allereli

06-06-2017, 08:24 PM

about 2/3 through Pope Joan: A Novel, by Donna Woolfolk Cross, and I'm going to be incredibly sad when it's over.

hello

06-06-2017, 08:29 PM

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

Fascinating insight on life by a Roman Emperor which may seem quixotic but surprisingly takes on brutal practicality and earnest insight on everyday life. A must read.

Latrinsorm

06-23-2017, 07:04 PM

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I picked it up because Kina has a cameo(?) in the movie, pretty good read. Most of the slang is hard to pick up on. Alamak! There's just so much, la. But some sticks. :D

Tisket

07-18-2017, 11:09 PM

I'm not a huge fan of military type stories usually but I'm really enjoying The Black Fleet trilogy. Highly recommend it.

SonoftheNorth

07-19-2017, 04:15 PM

8751

Allereli

07-27-2017, 12:28 AM

http://a.co/gD5h0Uv

Shogun is only $1.99 for the Kindle edition.

Avaia

07-27-2017, 01:02 AM

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Evans

Prison Writings by Alfred Delp, SJ.

Velfi

08-17-2018, 05:44 PM

I found a couple series on Kindle Unlimited by Will Wight and I've really enjoyed them and Will Wight as an author.

The Cradle (https://www.amazon.com/Cradle-5-Book-Series/dp/B07DHRS1WJ/) series, 5 books so far and ongoing, is like old school kung fu movies meets magic/fantasy, where the magic is in their different styles and their essentially chi energy.

Also, the Traveler's Gate Trilogy (https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Gate-Trilogy-Complete-ebook/dp/B00ZK3KUE8/) is a bit more standard fantasy but with a Malazan-style magic system with territories which are akin to warrens.

In both of these series, Will Wight manages to maintain a good pace and a fun, irreverent tone, and I enjoyed his humor throughout them. Definitely recommend checking them out!

Viekn

05-02-2019, 11:56 PM

I just read the Eragon series from Christopher Paolini. I really liked it. I'm hoping in the future he can go even further with the story; although I appreciated the way everything ended.

Velfi

09-22-2020, 10:28 PM

Finally got around to reading Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy. Pretty cool series, I'd heard about how Logen was this badass and reading through book 1 I was skeptical, then I got to the end and was like oh, I see now.

Also, to touch on a post of mine above, book 8 (Wintersteel) in Will Wight's Cradle series is coming out on 10/6, I strongly recommend it. I've become a big fan of the series, and re-read it several times now (including a fresh re-read currently to be ready for Wintersteel). Very awesome books.

Alashir

09-22-2020, 11:52 PM

Taernath

09-23-2020, 12:17 AM

Letter to a Friend / Hydriotaphia: Urn Burial / The Garden of Cyrus

Not really a book, but a collection of works by Thomas Browne.

Tisket

09-23-2020, 12:55 AM

Velfi

10-05-2020, 10:34 AM

Also, to touch on a post of mine above, book 8 (Wintersteel) in Will Wight's Cradle series is coming out on 10/6, I strongly recommend it. I've become a big fan of the series, and re-read it several times now (including a fresh re-read currently to be ready for Wintersteel). Very awesome books.

In case anyone was interested, all 7 books of the series currently are free this month from the 5th through the 7th on Amazon (series here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753FP6SP), and the audiobook is on a huge discount as well, $1.99 apiece from what I saw. I'm not an audiobook listener myself, but from everything I've heard the narration/voice acting is excellent for the series.

The audiobook version of the First Law trilogy was OUTSTANDING. Seriously, the best job of narration I think I've come across.

Good to know, at least for passing on.

BJARN

10-05-2020, 11:29 AM

In case anyone was interested, all 7 books of the series currently are free this month from the 5th through the 7th on Amazon (series here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753FP6SP), and the audiobook is on a huge discount as well, $1.99 apiece from what I saw. I'm not an audiobook listener myself, but from everything I've heard the narration/voice acting is excellent for the series.

Good to know, at least for passing on.

I actually started the cradle series randomly based on your previous post about it when I was bored and looking for something to read and finished it up to wintersteel in a week, excited for the new one tomorrow

Velfi

10-05-2020, 08:55 PM

I actually started the cradle series randomly based on your previous post about it when I was bored and looking for something to read and finished it up to wintersteel in a week, excited for the new one tomorrow

Hell yeah!

https://i.imgur.com/iUKthQZ.gif

Velfi

10-06-2020, 08:05 PM

I hope you Cradle fans enjoyed that as much as I did, because holy. fucking. shit. What a book.

BriarFox

10-22-2020, 08:39 PM

I hope you Cradle fans enjoyed that as much as I did, because holy. fucking. shit. What a book.

On the recommendations here, I picked up the 8 books in this series and tore through them all in a week. They are great, rollicking fun. I might have been a bit turned off if I weren't already familiar with the Xianxia genre, but these are well-integrated into a Western perspective, I think.

Velfi

10-22-2020, 10:45 PM

On the recommendations here, I picked up the 8 books in this series and tore through them all in a week. They are great, rollicking fun. I might have been a bit turned off if I weren't already familiar with the Xianxia genre, but these are well-integrated into a Western perspective, I think.

Nice! Cradle was actually my first exposure to cultivation/xianxia/wuxia stuff, I'm starting now on Mother of Learning which I hear a lot of good things about (and waiting anxiously for Bloodlines... can't wait for Lindon to go back!).

Taernath

10-27-2020, 10:32 PM

Read the first book in the series and will eventually read the rest, it was pretty good.

Suppa Hobbit Mage

10-27-2020, 11:10 PM

https://smile.amazon.com/How-Live-Huge-Penis-Meditations/dp/1594743061/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=How+to+Live+with+a+Huge+Penis&qid=1603854575&sr=8-1

Just read that book. Fucking amazing and so helpful.

Suppa Hobbit Mage

10-27-2020, 11:16 PM

PS, only 11.66 right now.

Suppa Hobbit Mage

10-27-2020, 11:23 PM

You can bundle it with this...

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0986177210/?coliid=I20CYVMS8AN0UW&colid=105UDE8KP0ZC8&psc=1

or this

https://smile.amazon.com/Practical-Guide-Racism-C-Dalton/dp/1592404308/ref=pd_bxgy_img_3/134-2353929-1364110?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1592404308&pd_rd_r=0ba26424-b093-4c73-92d3-31399dc923a6&pd_rd_w=OdaM2&pd_rd_wg=t9bYL&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=ZGMM3FZE30KPQ5QHM7AG&psc=1&refRID=ZGMM3FZE30KPQ5QHM7AG

Velfi

10-31-2020, 07:41 PM

Read the first book in the series and will eventually read the rest, it was pretty good.

Nice! It really picks up in Soulsmith (book 2), Blackflame (book 3) is one of my favorites, and Ghostwater (book 5) is definitely the fan favorite at least before Wintersteel (book 8, the current one). They're also fairly short so you can really blast through them if you want.

Velfi

11-03-2020, 11:28 PM

I finished Mother of Learning and it's... okay. It's sort of a mix of progression fantasy and a bit of litRPG, and I enjoyed the plot and magic system the most. Reading a little bit about it before I started ended up spoiling one of the core elements of the story for me, which I won't do here, but it's something that's revealed pretty soon so it wasn't a huge deal.

I gotta say though, the dialogue and character voices were a real struggle. It felt like there were only about 3 voices for all the characters in the story: a slightly more friendly/likeable Office Dwight which was almost every character in the series from our teenager protagonist to a thousand year old lich, a less robotic sorta plucky voice which a couple characters found from time to time, and then the only actual unique character voice (at least to me), a psychic teenage spider named Novelty.

I did read that the author's first language is not English which excuses some of it, and it was a self-published web serial novel so I think with all that considered it smooths out some of the rough patches. Still though, the dialogue. It felt like all of it came from GS4 players.

Viekn

03-02-2021, 08:36 PM

Also, to touch on a post of mine above, book 8 (Wintersteel) in Will Wight's Cradle series is coming out on 10/6, I strongly recommend it. I've become a big fan of the series, and re-read it several times now (including a fresh re-read currently to be ready for Wintersteel). Very awesome books.

Based on Velfi's input, I got the first book in Will Wight's Cradle series, Unsouled, for my son for Christmas. The other week he still hadn't gotten around to reading it so I borrowed it and frigging loved it! I consumed all 8 current books in the series in about a week and a half. I signed up for Kindle Unlimited for $5 for the first two months and they were all available via that service for no extra money.

Kyulen

03-02-2021, 11:32 PM

The most recent book I read was The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. I liked it.

Velfi

03-02-2021, 11:55 PM

Based on Velfi's input, I got the first book in Will Wight's Cradle series, Unsouled, for my son for Christmas. The other week he still hadn't gotten around to reading it so I borrowed it and frigging loved it! I consumed all 8 current books in the series in about a week and a half. I signed up for Kindle Unlimited for $5 for the first two months and they were all available via that service for no extra money.

Hell yeah! Come join us over at r/Iteration110Cradle/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/). Also, check out Will's other series The Traveler's Gate Trilogy (https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Gate-Trilogy-Complete-ebook/dp/B00ZK3KUE8/), which is pretty rad (and complete), and Will has talked about coming back to revisit it in the future which would be awesome. He also has another (complete) trilogy which is actually 6 books, there's 2 main protagonists in different factions and each half of the books is written from their respective perspectives.

I haven't finished the 3rd books for Shadow and Sea, but the first 2 (from each side) were pretty good imo, but I definitely prefer Traveler's Gate over Shadow and Sea, and Cradle above them all.

I've been trying to get into different books lately with varying success, it's all just basically been a holding pattern as I wait anxiously for Bloodline.

Viekn

03-03-2021, 01:11 AM

I've been trying to get into different books lately with varying success, it's all just basically been a holding pattern as I wait anxiously for Bloodline.

Once I finished Wintersteel without realizing it was the last one released so far in that series, I started researching Bloodline. Apparently he's got a lot of it written already, but come to find out he's also taking a break from writing for the first 3 months of 2021! Hopefully we see a late 2021 release for that, but that might be wishful thinking. Might as well delve in to his other stuff until then and most certainly I'll re-read Cradle again before Bloodline finally does make it out.

Velfi

03-03-2021, 01:30 AM

Once I finished Wintersteel without realizing it was the last one released so far in that series, I started researching Bloodline. Apparently he's got a lot of it written already, but come to find out he's also taking a break from writing for the first 3 months of 2021! Hopefully we see a late 2021 release for that, but that might be wishful thinking. Might as well delve in to his other stuff until then and most certainly I'll re-read Cradle again before Bloodline finally does make it out.

It will definitely be before late 2021, I think April/June is pretty likely, with a 2nd book towards the end of the year. He tends to do about 2 a year.

Velfi

03-13-2021, 05:04 PM

Will Wight's Traveler's Gate Trilogy is currently free on Amazon if anyone wants to snag it, I recommend it!

https://www.amazon.com/Travelers-Gate-Trilogy-Complete-ebook/dp/B00ZK3KUE8

Kyulen

03-14-2021, 05:57 AM

I've been re-reading my Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey recently. I finished reading Dragonsdawn again earlier tonight, and now I'm reading The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall again.

tash

03-15-2021, 12:04 AM

The Silo Series: Wool, Shift, Dust. Beacon 38 was kind of different, but liked it. Also by Hugh Howey.

Old Man's War (haven't really read a bad Scalzi book - RedShirts was also quirky but good)

Kyulen

03-16-2021, 11:24 PM

I'm re-reading another of my Dragonriders of Pern books, Dragonseye. Probably gonna re-read all of the books of the series that I have at this point.

Velfi

03-22-2021, 02:50 PM

SWEET BABY JESUS IT WAS ANNOUNCED! Bloodline is dropping 4/6, and pre-orders start tomorrow, 3/23.

https://i.imgur.com/ERhGiYy.gif

Viekn

03-22-2021, 03:15 PM

SWEET BABY JESUS IT WAS ANNOUNCED! Bloodline is dropping 4/6, and pre-orders start tomorrow, 3/23.

Wow, quicker than I imagined. He must have gotten further on it than he previously indicated or he obviously didn't take the whole first 3 months of 2021 off like he said he was.

Velfi

03-22-2021, 03:31 PM

Wow, quicker than I imagined. He must have gotten further on it than he previously indicated or he obviously didn't take the whole first 3 months of 2021 off like he said he was.

I think he had quite a bit of it done already, and I suspect that he was writing a little bit on it here and there during his break. Regardless, I'm excited!

Kyulen

03-24-2021, 03:38 AM

I'm now re-reading another of my Dragonriders of Pern books, Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern.

Velfi

03-25-2021, 05:28 AM

Little (transcribed) taste of Bloodline if anyone cares to wet their whistle. It's juicy.

https://www.abidanarchive.com/events/23-bloodline-audio-excerpt/

Velfi

03-26-2021, 07:45 PM

Bloodline's lookin thicc

https://i.imgur.com/xSnaQRv.jpg

Kyulen

03-30-2021, 02:42 AM

I'm re-reading another Dragonriders of Pern book by Anne McCaffrey, Nerilka's Story.

tash

03-30-2021, 09:58 PM

I'm going to plug this one more time. Not because I reread it yesterday and discovered even more amazing nuances or anything like that. This is the first part of the Silo series. Shift was also fantastic, if kind of slow at points.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13453029-wool-omnibus

I'm just pushing this one more time because back in February, I sent a "these books are awesome" email to the author. I figured maybe someone might see it, maybe not, but if they did and passed it along, it was well worth the 20 seconds it took for me to write and click send. The author emailed me back a couple of days ago, and we exchanged a couple of short emails on his books and suggestions. I didn't have to go to a convention to have this random exchange. Didn't have to know somebody. He just seems to enjoy his work, and of course selling it, and was really down to earth in our short exchanges.

They are available on Kindle Unlimited. Or the author's website for a very reasonable ebook fee (pdf, epub, and mobi all included). I think I bought the omnibus for about 6 bucks, and it's over 500 pages long.

Kyulen

04-01-2021, 02:26 AM

I finished Nerilka's Story and I'm now re-reading another of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books, The Masterharper of Pern.

Kyulen

04-07-2021, 04:12 AM

I finished The Masterharper of Pern and now I'm re-reading another Dragonriders of Pern book, Dragonflight.

Alashir

04-08-2021, 02:28 AM

Mmmm bloodline....

Kyulen

04-08-2021, 02:30 AM

I finished Dragonflight and I'm now re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, Dragonquest.

Kyulen

04-14-2021, 05:20 AM

I finished Dragonquest and now I'm re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, The White Dragon.

Taernath

04-15-2021, 08:35 PM

Bloodline's lookin thicc

https://i.imgur.com/xSnaQRv.jpg

Hol up, isn't Blackflame #3?

https://i.imgur.com/E3OnPOQ.jpg

Alashir

04-15-2021, 08:45 PM

Still going through bloodline. Trying to savor it

Velfi

04-16-2021, 12:06 AM

Hol up, isn't Blackflame #3?

https://i.imgur.com/E3OnPOQ.jpg

Yeah, it's not my pic tho, that was from the subreddit and Will's brother.

I enjoyed Bloodline, I want to go back and re-read it again to consider it more seriously, but I'm taking a breather with something in between.

SonoftheNorth

04-16-2021, 01:33 AM

I found bloodline to be the weakest of the series, hopefully next book picks up

Kyulen

04-20-2021, 11:39 PM

I finished The White Dragon and now I'm re-reading the next book in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, Dragonsong.

Kyulen

04-22-2021, 01:42 AM

I finished Dragonsong and now I'm re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, Dragonsinger.

Kyulen

04-26-2021, 03:45 AM

I finished Dragonsinger and now I'm re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, Dragondrums.

Kyulen

04-28-2021, 03:30 AM

I finished Dragondrums and now I'm re-reading the next book in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, The Renegades of Pern.

Kyulen

05-04-2021, 03:44 AM

I've finished The Renegades of Pern and now I'm re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, All the Weyrs of Pern.

Kyulen

05-12-2021, 12:29 AM

I've finished All the Weyrs of Pern and now I'm re-reading the next book in the Dragonriders of Pern series, The Dolphins of Pern.

tash

05-14-2021, 02:27 AM

I have not finished this book. It's a long book, and my head can't handle my eyes looking too long at a smallish screen this week. I read almost everything on a kindle.

Leviathan Wakes. I watched the series (one more season to go) on Amazon first. The prologue is kind of boring. It's so good otherwise though. What's amazing is it doesn't make the Expanse worse. They are not exactly the same story, but wakes gives you this different view and fills in the story better. With the Expanse, for me anyways, it's made me admire the Amazon writers and show runners more.

* And Syfy before Amazon picked it up

Kyulen

05-18-2021, 06:26 AM

I've finished The Dolphins of Pern and now I'm re-reading the last book I have of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series, The Skies of Pern.

BriarFox

06-22-2021, 04:56 PM

Those of you who like Will Wight’s books may enjoy the River of Fate series written by David North, who also happens to be the long-time player of Fulmen! Second book is now available for preorder and out July 5. Here’s the link the first one. They’re also free on Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/River-Fate-Scripture-David-North-ebook/dp/B085XT3TQW

Fulmen

06-22-2021, 04:59 PM

Hey, thanks

Let me know if you like it!

SonoftheNorth

06-22-2021, 05:49 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51NWb-zMD7L.jpg

Fulmen

09-02-2021, 01:24 PM

New book of mine comes out tomorrow, if anyone wants to check it out!

Battlefield Reclaimer.

9801

LitRPG genre.

"Across the world of Aster Fall, there are unique classes, but not all of them can be trained. They require quests and accomplishments that simply don't exist in the world. Some say the World Law itself is broken and that the world is falling apart.

In comes Sam Hastern.

His family has been cursed by one of these classes for the last fifty years. No one has ever managed to level it, condemning them to the lowest paying jobs and life in a barren village.

The class is called Battlefield Reclaimer.

There's one more little problem.

Sam's about to have it even worse, when a dungeon exploration leaves him looking distinctly non-human.

---

*In this work, you'll find leveling, crafting, experience-based progression, rare classes, evolving classes, and strange races.

The world runs on mana crystals, beast cores, spirit veins, alchemical pills, and enchantments. The environment is hostile and filled with monsters and elemental storms."

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09CLKKF48

BriarFox

09-02-2021, 01:34 PM

Velfi

09-04-2021, 03:04 PM

Reaper's dropping 11/2, just announced!

Also, I'm gonna try and get around to checking out Fulmen's books soon, sound interesting.

https://i.imgur.com/R6DYvSx.jpg

Velfi

09-10-2021, 05:03 PM

Little bit more Reaper news, Travis Baldree narrated an excerpt from chapter 4 of Reaper and someone transcribed it, and it's awesome. Can't wait for November.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Iteration110Cradle/comments/plphwu/reaper_excerpt_transcribed_by_travis_baldree/

Alashir

09-10-2021, 05:55 PM

Velfi

10-12-2021, 04:46 PM

Fulmen

10-12-2021, 04:57 PM

It’s fairly standard for the genre. Works well on Kindle, though it may not be to your taste.

Velfi

10-12-2021, 05:12 PM

It’s fairly standard for the genre. Works well on Kindle, though it may not be to your taste.

My exposure to cultivation stuff is fairly limited, but I've read a good bit of litRPG and I'd have to disagree about it being standard formatting for at least the litRPG genre. It is a personal taste thing though, so perhaps it's not an issue to other readers.

BriarFox

10-12-2021, 05:21 PM

My exposure to cultivation stuff is fairly limited, but I've read a good bit of litRPG and I'd have to disagree about it being standard formatting for at least the litRPG genre. It is a personal taste thing though, so perhaps it's not an issue to other readers.

I had no issue with it. Processable chunks. Appeals to general readers.

Velfi

10-13-2021, 07:20 PM

Still going through bloodline. Trying to savor it

I enjoyed Bloodline, I want to go back and re-read it again to consider it more seriously, but I'm taking a breather with something in between.

With some time having passed, I'm curious if anyone has different thoughts on Bloodline now. I was definitely less than thrilled with it after the first read, but I think that was largely due to forgetting how Sacred Valley and its inhabitants could be, as well as the.. silence at the very end, and why they would even risk getting to that point, that was pretty hard to take.

However, having read it 3 or 4 times now, I've really come around to it being a pretty solid book in the series even if it's not Son of Wintersteel. I love the callback to Eithan from Blackflame, the stuff with Jai Chen in the Desolate Wilds was great, Lindon and Yerin's development, and the behavior of the Sacred Valley folks as well as Lindon's determination despite everything just rings true. I definitely hope that we have a positive development on the silence in Reaper, but I'm confident it will all work out well.

Tisket

10-20-2021, 10:33 AM

Just finished my last re-read of Cradle in preparation for Reaper, and I've been trying to get into Fulmen's books, starting with the cultivation series River of Fate. However, the formatting of them is killing me. Every single sentence has a line break, so every sentence, no matter how short or long, is a paragraph on its own. This could be more of just a me problem, but it is extremely difficult to read like this as it just feels disjointed and chaotic to me.

I thought that maybe it was just in the first book, but both books in the series as well as the 1 book LitRPG novel are all exactly the same. I'm not sure I can do this, and I'm barely into the first chapter.

If every sentence is spoken then a new paragraph for each character's speech would be standard formatting, but if it's not then yeah, that could be annoying. I've read some LitRPG and not noticed this issue but, in my case, I usually listen to them on Audible so wouldn't necessarily have noticed.

Gelston

10-20-2021, 02:03 PM

I'm reading the Night Lords Omnibus. Fuck the Imperium.

Tisket

10-20-2021, 02:18 PM

I'm reading the Night Lords Omnibus. Fuck the Imperium.

I only listened to the first one, Sunset, but the audio version is outstanding.

Gelston

10-20-2021, 02:19 PM

I only listened to the first one, Sunset, but the audio version is outstanding.

You may be thinking of a different book series.

Tisket

10-20-2021, 02:20 PM

Oh wait, I'm thinking of Nightlord by Garon Whited. Still, outstanding narration.

Gelston

10-20-2021, 02:22 PM

https://spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/night-lords-1.jpg

It is about these guys.

Tisket

10-20-2021, 02:24 PM

https://spikeybits.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/night-lords-1.jpg

It is about these guys.

Yeah, I just googled it. Putting it on my wishlist so I will probably get to it sometime this decade.