What are you reading in 2025?
- Thread starter Elodan
- Start date
The Long Earth, The Long War, The Long Mars, The Long Utopia, and The Long Cosmos, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. This is in some ways a very odd series - bit in content, but in structure. It really needs an omnibus, because although it’s published in five volumes, it’s as much a single story as Lord of the Rings. Most of the volumes end on cliffhangers, or just stop. But taken as a whole, it’s pretty darned good and periodically excellent.
The story begins on the day people around the world first use homemade devices to cross between parallel worlds. With the Stepping Box, each step carries you to the next world “east” or “west” of the world you were in, minus any iron objects you were carrying this makes most people very nauseous for a few minutes, but there are ways to fix that, and it’s possible to step quite rapidly. East and west are notional terms - the Long Earth is a possibly infinite line of alternate worlds fixed in relation to each other.
There are interesting features to the setup. One (1) world has humans on it. Others for quite a long way, hundreds of thousands of worlds in either direction - don’t have sentient life. Farther away, there are descendants of various of the hominids our ancestors shared the planet with. Each world generally has just about the same history as the ones adjacent to it, and there are “belts” sharing overall climate and major developments. Datum Earth is part of a belt of worlds in the midst of an interglacial moment, for instance. Farther away, you can find belts of warm spells not in the midst of a glacial epoch, where one or another mass extinction didn’t happen, where the Yellowstone supervolcano has already exploded, even a few where as astronomical calamity obliterated the Earth. (You can step past the resulting gap, one step in, one out, but you have to be prepared for the moment of vacuum and weightlessness.) and so on.
Among other things, this would be a ridiculously gamable setup.
The five books take us from Stepping Day though most of the century. The scope zooms out from Madison, WI to millions of steps away in various parts of the worlds, though crises including terrorism, vulcanism, imperialism, and secession, to the exploration of Mars’ alternates, to first contact of a sort and what comes of it. As befits the collaborator, there is persistent optimism but also reasonable share of drama and tragedy. There children and grandchildren of some early characters around at the climax.
Good stuff once you take th structural oddness on board.
The story begins on the day people around the world first use homemade devices to cross between parallel worlds. With the Stepping Box, each step carries you to the next world “east” or “west” of the world you were in, minus any iron objects you were carrying this makes most people very nauseous for a few minutes, but there are ways to fix that, and it’s possible to step quite rapidly. East and west are notional terms - the Long Earth is a possibly infinite line of alternate worlds fixed in relation to each other.
There are interesting features to the setup. One (1) world has humans on it. Others for quite a long way, hundreds of thousands of worlds in either direction - don’t have sentient life. Farther away, there are descendants of various of the hominids our ancestors shared the planet with. Each world generally has just about the same history as the ones adjacent to it, and there are “belts” sharing overall climate and major developments. Datum Earth is part of a belt of worlds in the midst of an interglacial moment, for instance. Farther away, you can find belts of warm spells not in the midst of a glacial epoch, where one or another mass extinction didn’t happen, where the Yellowstone supervolcano has already exploded, even a few where as astronomical calamity obliterated the Earth. (You can step past the resulting gap, one step in, one out, but you have to be prepared for the moment of vacuum and weightlessness.) and so on.
Among other things, this would be a ridiculously gamable setup.
The five books take us from Stepping Day though most of the century. The scope zooms out from Madison, WI to millions of steps away in various parts of the worlds, though crises including terrorism, vulcanism, imperialism, and secession, to the exploration of Mars’ alternates, to first contact of a sort and what comes of it. As befits the collaborator, there is persistent optimism but also reasonable share of drama and tragedy. There children and grandchildren of some early characters around at the climax.
Good stuff once you take th structural oddness on board.
Retros_x
Hero
I didn't touch Dungeon Crawler Carl for a year since I heard of it for the first time. I hate LitRPG, I alwas hated the trope of being part of a game and leveling up in a story and all that metagameplay being forced into a story. But everyone told me to give it a chance and that I would like it even as a LitRPG hater. And damn, they are right. I've started it yesterday and I am already 200 pages in. Its addictive like a good game. Its a fun and easy read but already had some hints of emotional depth and darkness (I know that it gets surprisingly deep later in the series according to reviews) and the weird mix of a dungeon crawler and a reality TV show works surprisingly well.
Its also surprisingly gorey, the action makes a lot of fun, I like the dialogue and easy accessible writing style - yeah I can already understand how everybody likes this.
Its also surprisingly gorey, the action makes a lot of fun, I like the dialogue and easy accessible writing style - yeah I can already understand how everybody likes this.
I appreciate your review Autumnal. I bounced off the first volume, maybe because the "ending" as it was wasn't very satisfying? I think it also has rotating POV cast, which I don't always like. Maybe now that it is complete, I should go back and give it another whirl.
John Lloyd1
Rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty
I bounced off it too. I guess I was hoping it was going to get better when I read the second book. It was very much not Pratchett. It seemed to have an American New World vibe to it which I find annoying.
Nellisir
Hero
I read the first one, and possibly the second, but the rest hadn't been released (or written) yet, AND I committed the commendable sin (for me) of Borrowing The First Book From The Library. Which means I have no visual prompt to remember or acquire the rest, and without that...lets just say I've inadvertently borrowed the same danged book three times in an effort to read a trilogy.
But I'll work at this. I liked the conceit.
Alzrius
The EN World kitten
I just finished reading Maxwell Alexander Drake's 2024 "HârnWorld History Novella," Carnage of Kiraz.
I became interested in Hârn several years ago, when I attended a seminar at Gen Con about the setting. I was drawn in largely by the low-fantasy nature of the world, as well as how a significant number of its products were system-agnostic, providing short but informative topics on various aspects of medieval(-esque) life, ranging from farming to fishing to running a manor house. As a sucker for game-related reference material, all of that made me so Hârny.
<ducks tomatoes>
So naturally, when I came across an official HârnWorld novella at Gen Con 2025, I had to pick it up (and get the author's autograph as well), finally settling in to read it a few days ago.
Set six hundred years in the past, Carnage of Kiraz is the story of how, unsurprisingly, Kiraz: The Lost City (affiliate link) became lost, though not having that particular product I hadn't realized that salient detail, which changed my expectation going into this.
That's because the story, which centers on a young dwarf warrior-in-training named Einar, initially comes off like a bildungsroman. At the start of the story, Einar and his group of friends are being punished for a night of drunken mischief by being ordered to stay behind and tend to the furnaces as their kingdom's menfolk, fifteen hundred strong, leave the city on an expedition to find sufficient provisions for their people to weather a famine.
Now, I'm no expert, but it seems to me that a hunting expedition wouldn't want to take so many people along, since feeding them would become an issue and so undercutting the prospect of gathering enough food for an entire city. But the book makes no intimation that this was actually them volunteering to go to their deaths or that there was any other kind of skullduggery afoot. Instead, the men all leave, with no one except Einar's "Battlefather" (i.e. warrior instructor) warning that the city could be in danger, despite having been at peace for centuries at this point.
Naturally, the Battlefather is proven right when, almost immediately after the men leave the city, it's besieged by...you know, I don't think they ever actually name what the creatures are, but they're described as being what we'd think of as orcs or possibly some other kind of goblinoids.
Now, this is where I thought the story would turn into a heroic tale. Einar and his friends are all young and eager to earn honor and glory, being highly sensitive about how unimportant they are in the eyes of their peers. Hence my assumption that this would be a coming-of-age tale where they fought in a war and managed to turn the tide at the cost of their innocence (and probably the lives of one or two of their group), learning the the price of honor and glory is higher than they could ever have imagined.
But that's not the story that's told here, as noted by the fact that Kiraz is, in the "present day" of the Hârn setting, a lost city.
I'll say that I feel mildly hypocritical for the fact that I'm inclined to give this story a pass on how thin most of its characterizations are, having complained at length about that regarding the previous book I read. But in this case, I'm inclined to be more generous not only because of how short this story is (it lives up to its "novella" title quite aptly), but also because I don't think that characterization is really the point. While seen through Einar's eyes, this is about the sequence of events more than the individual who witnesses them. Einar is the medium through which we experience the mounting horror of someone seeing his entire world be destroyed—his family and friends slaughtered, his home overrun, and his efforts to stem the tide all for naught—while being forced to confront how little he can do about it.
My only real complaint here is that the book's ending is actually a to-be-continued, and that while not ending on a cliffhanger per se, feels unsatisfying for its lack of resolution. Questions of what happened to the king and his men, or who are the enemies and why are they invading, are all left for the next book (which has yet to be released). Rather ironically, what happens to Einar is perhaps the least pressing question, since his ultimate fate is (as noted previously) less important given that he's a vehicle for narrative tragedy.
In that regard, I have to give Drake credit here; he does a good job of showing Einar's suffering as his losses mount. When I still thought this was going to be a heroic tale, I expected Einar to have some badass moments, rising above his horror and loathing to turn into a savior. But there's virtually none of that here, with him instead barely managing to endure the repeated losses rather than reversing them. It's presented remarkably well, feeling more operatic than gritty, all the more so since the dwarven society presented at the beginning is so down-to-earth, with gossiping wives and loquacious old uncles and giggling children. It's an idyllic presentation which makes its loss all the more heartbreaking.
I suspect that once the sequel comes out, I'll find myself unable to help but pick it up.
I became interested in Hârn several years ago, when I attended a seminar at Gen Con about the setting. I was drawn in largely by the low-fantasy nature of the world, as well as how a significant number of its products were system-agnostic, providing short but informative topics on various aspects of medieval(-esque) life, ranging from farming to fishing to running a manor house. As a sucker for game-related reference material, all of that made me so Hârny.
<ducks tomatoes>
So naturally, when I came across an official HârnWorld novella at Gen Con 2025, I had to pick it up (and get the author's autograph as well), finally settling in to read it a few days ago.
Set six hundred years in the past, Carnage of Kiraz is the story of how, unsurprisingly, Kiraz: The Lost City (affiliate link) became lost, though not having that particular product I hadn't realized that salient detail, which changed my expectation going into this.
That's because the story, which centers on a young dwarf warrior-in-training named Einar, initially comes off like a bildungsroman. At the start of the story, Einar and his group of friends are being punished for a night of drunken mischief by being ordered to stay behind and tend to the furnaces as their kingdom's menfolk, fifteen hundred strong, leave the city on an expedition to find sufficient provisions for their people to weather a famine.
Now, I'm no expert, but it seems to me that a hunting expedition wouldn't want to take so many people along, since feeding them would become an issue and so undercutting the prospect of gathering enough food for an entire city. But the book makes no intimation that this was actually them volunteering to go to their deaths or that there was any other kind of skullduggery afoot. Instead, the men all leave, with no one except Einar's "Battlefather" (i.e. warrior instructor) warning that the city could be in danger, despite having been at peace for centuries at this point.
Naturally, the Battlefather is proven right when, almost immediately after the men leave the city, it's besieged by...you know, I don't think they ever actually name what the creatures are, but they're described as being what we'd think of as orcs or possibly some other kind of goblinoids.
Now, this is where I thought the story would turn into a heroic tale. Einar and his friends are all young and eager to earn honor and glory, being highly sensitive about how unimportant they are in the eyes of their peers. Hence my assumption that this would be a coming-of-age tale where they fought in a war and managed to turn the tide at the cost of their innocence (and probably the lives of one or two of their group), learning the the price of honor and glory is higher than they could ever have imagined.
But that's not the story that's told here, as noted by the fact that Kiraz is, in the "present day" of the Hârn setting, a lost city.
I'll say that I feel mildly hypocritical for the fact that I'm inclined to give this story a pass on how thin most of its characterizations are, having complained at length about that regarding the previous book I read. But in this case, I'm inclined to be more generous not only because of how short this story is (it lives up to its "novella" title quite aptly), but also because I don't think that characterization is really the point. While seen through Einar's eyes, this is about the sequence of events more than the individual who witnesses them. Einar is the medium through which we experience the mounting horror of someone seeing his entire world be destroyed—his family and friends slaughtered, his home overrun, and his efforts to stem the tide all for naught—while being forced to confront how little he can do about it.
My only real complaint here is that the book's ending is actually a to-be-continued, and that while not ending on a cliffhanger per se, feels unsatisfying for its lack of resolution. Questions of what happened to the king and his men, or who are the enemies and why are they invading, are all left for the next book (which has yet to be released). Rather ironically, what happens to Einar is perhaps the least pressing question, since his ultimate fate is (as noted previously) less important given that he's a vehicle for narrative tragedy.
In that regard, I have to give Drake credit here; he does a good job of showing Einar's suffering as his losses mount. When I still thought this was going to be a heroic tale, I expected Einar to have some badass moments, rising above his horror and loathing to turn into a savior. But there's virtually none of that here, with him instead barely managing to endure the repeated losses rather than reversing them. It's presented remarkably well, feeling more operatic than gritty, all the more so since the dwarven society presented at the beginning is so down-to-earth, with gossiping wives and loquacious old uncles and giggling children. It's an idyllic presentation which makes its loss all the more heartbreaking.
I suspect that once the sequel comes out, I'll find myself unable to help but pick it up.
Finished the 3 volumes of the Elephantmen graphic novels I picked up at a used book sale. V1 is an HC signed by what seems like most of the artists. I've been curious about the series for a long time, and at $3 per volume for $30 books, it was too good a deal to pass up.
The art is by and large quite serviceable, although lots of guest artists. The covers of the individual issues were sweet, which is what made me curious about the series in the first place. Some of the art inside lives up to the covers, others don't. But again, overall I'd give the art an 8 out of 10.
The thing that kept me from buying the series originally is the same issue in these collected editions - the story is ok, although meandering, and not complete - there's at least one more volume that I can figure out. Seems like there may have been some mini-series that took place in parallel to the main series that they fit into the overall collected graphic novel. I mean that's to be expected when collecting an ongoing series of floppies. I guess my tastes have moved to where I want a tight storyline with focus from end to end (mostly). It can go on for a long time (hello Naruto!); but it's going somewhere and gets there (welcome Death Note!).
Characters are caricatures; but the main femme presenting characters are all sexy and hot for the respective pachyderm-human hybrids. That said, Starkings has set up the various characters at cross purposes, some alliances and rivalries, and set them all at each other. If this was an RPG, it would be more Burning Wheel or Sword Crown Unspeakable Power rather than Masks or D&D. Lots of PvP play here.
The world building is interesting; it posits a land war fought in Europe between China and African forces, of whom 10,000 are these mega-fauna (African) and human hybrids. The war ended recently enough that many of the principals are still around, and some of them are behaving... poorly.
Bottom line is, I wouldn't recommend these unless you can find them for pretty cheap or at the library. But if you do get your hand on them and didn't pay full price, I think you'll find them entertaining.
The art is by and large quite serviceable, although lots of guest artists. The covers of the individual issues were sweet, which is what made me curious about the series in the first place. Some of the art inside lives up to the covers, others don't. But again, overall I'd give the art an 8 out of 10.
The thing that kept me from buying the series originally is the same issue in these collected editions - the story is ok, although meandering, and not complete - there's at least one more volume that I can figure out. Seems like there may have been some mini-series that took place in parallel to the main series that they fit into the overall collected graphic novel. I mean that's to be expected when collecting an ongoing series of floppies. I guess my tastes have moved to where I want a tight storyline with focus from end to end (mostly). It can go on for a long time (hello Naruto!); but it's going somewhere and gets there (welcome Death Note!).
Characters are caricatures; but the main femme presenting characters are all sexy and hot for the respective pachyderm-human hybrids. That said, Starkings has set up the various characters at cross purposes, some alliances and rivalries, and set them all at each other. If this was an RPG, it would be more Burning Wheel or Sword Crown Unspeakable Power rather than Masks or D&D. Lots of PvP play here.
The world building is interesting; it posits a land war fought in Europe between China and African forces, of whom 10,000 are these mega-fauna (African) and human hybrids. The war ended recently enough that many of the principals are still around, and some of them are behaving... poorly.
Bottom line is, I wouldn't recommend these unless you can find them for pretty cheap or at the library. But if you do get your hand on them and didn't pay full price, I think you'll find them entertaining.
Amazon.com: Elephantmen, Vol. 1: Wounded Animals: 9781582406916: Starkings, Richard, Moritat: Books
Amazon.com: Elephantmen, Vol. 1: Wounded Animals: 9781582406916: Starkings, Richard, Moritat: Books
www.amazon.com
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