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Peadar

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Everything posted by Peadar

  1. I'm about a quarter the way through M.R. Carey's Infinity Gate. Excellent so far and reminds me a bit of Robert Reed. I shilled for Mr. Carey's Ramparts Trilogy everywhere I could, but I still know few people who gave it a go. Anyway, looking forward to the rest of this.
  2. That is certainly what their PR would like you to think, sure. I mean, we're all here speaking their language, reading their books and their accounts of history. For example, in the "Nine Years War" fought in Ireland in the early 1600s, 80% of surviving sources are English. As somebody who comes from the only country in the world that has a smaller population now than it did in the 1850s, we got to see how things like "Rule of Law" can be weaponised for grinding other cultures out of existence so that, generations later, there is nobody to speak up for them when others say, "At least the British weren't as bad as X or Y. I mean, if they were so awful in Tasmania, why aren't the extinct Tasmanians complaining? If the torture camps set up in Kenya in the 1950s with specially designed castration devices were so bad, then why aren't they part of the school curriculum in the same way the much earlier Belgian depredations in the Congo are?" An excellent book to read if you genuinely want a different perspective is Shashi Tharoor's Inglorious Empire. Having said all that, I have to agree that Babel did indeed read like revenge porn. I don't blame the author for feeling that way, but if the bad guys in a story lack complexity or basic humanity, everything else suffers too. They were human beings with enormous power over others and it's pretty rare in human history that such a position is not exploited with ruthless selfishness.
  3. Starting Kindred by Octavia Butler. Modern (1970s) African American woman accidentally time-travels to an ante-bellum plantation. Only about 20 pages in, but so far enjoying it.
  4. I finally finished "An Litir" ("The Letter"), a boy's own adventure set in the earlyish 1600s in Galway. Plenty of fencing involved, a beautiful girl to be admired and a dastardly villain. There are three in the series. I may read the second one in a few months.
  5. Up next for me, An Litir by Liam Mac Cóil, an Irish language historical novel, set in 1612. It's years since I last read a book in Irish, so I hope I'm still capable of it. Use it or lose it!
  6. I loved Adrian Tchaikovsky's City of Last Chances. Very reminiscent of late, great Tanith Lee's "Secret Books of Paradys". Highly recommended for lovers of top class world building. My favourite of his since Cage of Souls.
  7. "Guns of the Dawn" is brilliant. However, if you want to read one of his SF books, my personal favourites are "Dogs of War" and "Cage of Souls".
  8. I started Adrian Tchaikovsky's City of Last Chances. Loving it so far. Really delivers on the worldbuilding.
  9. To be fair, the book is factually wrong about lots of things. As somebody who can speak Irish and has an MA in Italian linguistics, I spotted a lot of errors in these areas. I'm sure that people here who are experts in other fields will find issues too. However, it's a big book with such a wide scope that it would have been (in my opinion), impossible to research everything to sufficient depth to avoid making mistakes. Such is the fate of an author!
  10. I finished The Last Blade Priest by W.P. Wiles. Very enjoyable with a great low-fantasy take on elves. Up next, historical fiction with Rose Tremain's Restoration. Great start.
  11. I will agree with those who suggested "Guns of the Dawn", "Dogs of War" and "Cage of Souls". I read all of his books -- especially when I am in a reading slump.
  12. I am excited to say that for the first time, the books of The Bone World Trilogy are all available as matching ebooks! Get them from the links below. Get them before they run out, although... well, running out is not really possible. But getting them is definitely a thing of joy. At least for me. Warning: violence and trauma. Too much for the more gentle among you. An off-stage sexual assault is also hinted at. The links give a choice of buying options -- so far that’s just smashwords for epub readers, or amazon for kindle users. Thanks to all of you and to your families and friends and pets. https://geni.us/theinferior https://geni.us/thedeserter https://geni.us/thevolunteer Is that blatant enough for this thread?
  13. Glad to hear it! I think the rest of Europe gets the UK edition, which is why you get the same (or lower!) price. Thanks for that
  14. For ebook readers in the UK and Ireland, my novel, The Call, is now available at 98p, or €1.08 Kindle link here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Call-Peadar-OGuilin-ebook/dp/B01HMV0FAE/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+call+peadar&qid=1586943693&sr=8-1 ePub is here: https://www.kobo.com/ie/en/ebook/the-call-24
  15. I have turned some of my short-stories into a podcast. You can find them under the name "CreepyCast" in your player of choice. Or check them out here. *Mods: if this shouldn't be here, your smiting will be righteous.
  16. "Trying" is often part of the problem. Just relax.
  17. I knew I was doing it wrong, but I brazenly underpromoted what is the greatest publishing phenomenon of the century... And thanks a million, Myrddin, I hope you enjoy it
  18. My scary YA novel, The Call, is out in North America today. The rest of the English-speaking world gets it on Thursday. Mods -- please feel free to remove this comment if it's not blatant enough for the thread...
  19. You shouldn't poke people who are working and contributing to society.

  20. Peadar

    Guy Gavriel Kay

    Tigana is very heavily influenced by Italian history and culture, while A song for Arabonne looks to be heavily influenced by Provence. Oh, forgot to add favourites: 1)Lions 2)Tigana 3)Sarantine Mosaic
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