Help offset server costs by donating. This is totally optional. Any overages will go to library fines or new books.
NeilNjae
About
- Username
- NeilNjae
- Joined
- Visits
- 1,844
- Last Active
- Roles
- Member
Comments
-
One thing that just occurred to me. Dalila may be a thief and general rogue, but she's working within the accepted society. Her goal is not personal enrichment, but the approval of the caliph and equal status with her peers. It's a very safe form of…
-
Dalila's story is convoluted, but it's a con! Convoluted stories are a hallmark of the genre. As for just adding random meetings, the fun comes when all those seemingly-random parts come together for the final master plan. That's the hard bit to pul…
-
(Quote) By the same token, European folk tales come from a very Christian culture. How much of King Arthur, or Robin Hood, or Grimm's Tales, are devotional in nature? God is called on, people may go to church, but the tales are mostly secular. (Quo…
-
I've got loads of Cherryh's Merchanter books on my shelves, and I know I've read Tripoint, but can I find that book anywhere? I've had to order another copy from World of Books. World of Books (now called WoB) was a discovery. They buy books by wei…
-
I'm not sure the preference for urban life is a uniquely Mesopotamian thing. I think it's a reflection that these stories are told for and by urban people, and there are plenty of cities in the Islamic world. If you're a middle-class city dweller, t…
-
> @Apocryphal said: > So, I think we’re good with Cherry in November, Witch World in December, and have you made a final choice for January @NeilNjae ? _The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi_ by SA Chakraborty.
-
> @RichardAbbott said: > Yes, totally - British law as enacted in courts is almost entirely about precedent and analogy with previous cases, so I can easily imagine a court not wanting to set a precedent where they weren't sure about the righ…
-
I was misled by the Kindle page count. The book finished at about the 62% mark, and the page counts in the ToC were way off for the notes. That meant I was surprised by just how quickly the court martial was resolved! Yes, anti-climactic, but that's…
-
Captain Cheap was certainly out of his depth, far more concerned with adhering to the appearance of duty than care of anyone around him. Grann tried to depict Bulkley as a more capable leader, taking steps to preserve lives over following orders. Bu…
-
I think the competing narratives were very effective. They made the Royal Navy decide to sweep the whole thing under the rug when it came to the court martial. That resulted with a very unsatisfying ending from a dramatic point of view, but what can…
-
I think the general adherence to regulations, and the maintenance of order, came down to people considering what would happen after any rescue. They didn't want to rescue themselves and then get hanged for mutiny on their return. If discipline had …
-
I've not read many (any?) survival stories. I've read a few naval adventure stories, such as the Hornblower books. However, I've not read a great many "popular history" accounts of navies and survival. So not a great deal of comparison. T…
-
(Quote) That was the idea. And it's not in conflict with @BarnerCobblewood 's idea. The women's house is a place where "normal" rules don't apply, where the "normal" social order is upended (promiscuous women, the caliph in hidin…
-
I don't think I've read any Norton, so now is a good time to start!
-
(Quote) By my reading, he really didn't. There was a lot happening between the bathing and the arrival of the dervishes, and the porter is now recovering from all his exertions.
-
(Quote) It seems to be a novella comprised of connected short stories / vignettes. That would fit into some of the less mainstream games (Microscope?) (Quote) It's obviously set up for a series of books, but she's not written the rest yet! And it's…
-
The reason for suggesting prize winners is because I don't have any other books I'm keen to read! But if the consensus that that being a Hugo winner isn't sufficient to make a book a candidate for here, let's go with that. So, a few alternatives. O…
-
For Becky Chambers, I thought Small Planet was rubbish. Her second book, Closed and Common Orbit, was really good though. I've read a couple of Vernon aka Kingfisher books, but the lighthearted ones, and really enjoyed them. As lots of people have …
-
(Quote) Can I unpack this a bit? Are you saying: * these stories are deliberately constructed in the jātaka tradition, or * these tales have adopted similar forms as they have a similar purpose (convergent evolution), or * interpretation of jātaka …
-
I'm thinking maybe Nettle and Bone, the most recent Hugo winner, or A Psalm for the Wild-Built (and maybe the sequel, as they're both novellas), or The Windup Girl as a solarpunk-type novel.
-
(Quote) Do we want to rejig the reading schedule so we do one top-level story per week? That may be quite a lot of reading. If we extend the time between discussions, might we lose momentum?
-
I think the review is here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/georgi-gospodinov/time-shelter/ Interesting-sounding book!
-
(Quote) I think Horta is overstating his case, both for the authenticity of this text (or any other he approves of) and the importance of the Arabian Nights on European literature. That overstating means I'm increasingly sceptical about many of his …
-
(Quote) I don't know what sources Seale is drawing from, but I think she's drawing on both Galland's translation and Arabic texts. As for the Diyab tales, I get the clear impression she's looking at both Diyab's and Galland's texts. In any case, I …
-
(Quote) I also think that there are only so many ways you can write the same thing. The other translation I read has those bits in-line, and I mostly skip them. (Quote) Good question! I have no idea. But I also think we have be careful not to have …
-
Notes on Fisherman and jinni * Again, extensive notes before the tale. Are these useful? * How do you rate this as a children's story? * Did you read the poetry? * Were you expecting the fisherman's solution?
-
(Quote) The Introduction states that many of these tales are pre-Islamic, so there's no reason why some of these tales couldn't be Babylonian. There's also the cultural continuity argument: many of these tales are recorded in Mesopotamia. I'm not s…
-
(Quote) That's a good question to ask. Are you looking forward to the next tale? Do you want to know the story of the Second and Third Old Men? Regarding the influence of the Tales on European fantasy, the Wikipedia article on the history of fantas…
-
(Quote) It looked like it should have been a good read, so it was a good choice for the club. Perhaps we're getting spoiled in our old age?
-
(Quote) He could pass it on to some other relative. I would say his brother and his children, but that's probably not an option in this case. But as you say, don't question too much. Kings are supposed to preserve their kingdom, that's what kings do…