Casocial's recent activity
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Comment on Contender for the most non-viable startup: Reflect Orbital in ~tech
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Comment on myNoise - adjustable soundscapes in ~life
Casocial LinkI've been using this website for more than a decade now for background noise when I want to focus.I've been using this website for more than a decade now for background noise when I want to focus.
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myNoise - adjustable soundscapes
30 votes -
Comment on Humble Bundle: current sci-fi/fantasy author bundles in ~books
Casocial LinkI've been working my way through a couple of the earlier bundles on offer (Robert Silverberg and C.J. Cherryh). A lot of reading! If you find the website saying that a bundle is unavailable, a VPN...I've been working my way through a couple of the earlier bundles on offer (Robert Silverberg and C.J. Cherryh). A lot of reading! If you find the website saying that a bundle is unavailable, a VPN does the trick.
Of the ones you listed, I can gladly recommend Moon's Paksenarrion trilogy. It's character-driven military fantasy with a queer main character and unabashedly riffs on earlier editions of D&D (2E, if I had to guess!). Mind, the books can get graphic, so potential readers might want to check out the content warnings as well.
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Comment on I'm addicted to Slay the Spire and am looking for a new game in ~games
Casocial LinkAs someone who's sank thousands of hours into Slay The Spire, the closest that came to scratching the same itch for me were Kaycee's Mod (Inscryption roguelike gamemode) and the Breachway demo....As someone who's sank thousands of hours into Slay The Spire, the closest that came to scratching the same itch for me were Kaycee's Mod (Inscryption roguelike gamemode) and the Breachway demo. The latter's out in early access now, I think, but I haven't played it past the demo.
Otherwise, I'm keeping an eye out for Neidfyre, which looks to be another cardgame roguelike with a great aesthetic that brings to mind Darkest Dungeon.
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Comment on That book you remember some details but can't recall the title in ~books
Casocial LinkHere's one I've been hunting for a long time now. It's a young adult or children's scifi-ish novel featuring a protagonist that got hold of a fancy watch that lets him hop across dimensions. One...Here's one I've been hunting for a long time now. It's a young adult or children's scifi-ish novel featuring a protagonist that got hold of a fancy watch that lets him hop across dimensions. One of the dimensions he hopped into was one that his cousin (who possibly also has a watch) had conquered but ended up being deposed.
Genetically modified organisms are a major theme too (with triffid-like plants being an antagonistic force?).
Near the end of the novel, there's a dinner party conversation where Mad Cow Disease is mentioned.
The protagonist's romantic interest was a girl with misaligned teeth that made her less conventionally pretty. Naturally he overlooks this at the end of the novel.
An eclectic bunch of details, I know!
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
Casocial Link ParentWhat does one do to be headhunted for the role of professional zombie?What does one do to be headhunted for the role of professional zombie?
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Comment on For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick in ~books
Casocial Link ParentI can understand the desire for authenticity. You have a nice way of putting it: to have people tell stories about themselves instead of having stories told about them.I can understand the desire for authenticity. You have a nice way of putting it: to have people tell stories about themselves instead of having stories told about them.
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Comment on For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick in ~books
Casocial Link ParentHuh, I'll distinguish between them in the future then. This is my first time coming across either terms, but I'm admittedly outdated when it comes to current fantasy trends and movements.Huh, I'll distinguish between them in the future then. This is my first time coming across either terms, but I'm admittedly outdated when it comes to current fantasy trends and movements.
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Comment on For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick in ~books
Casocial Link ParentThe common term is Afrofuturism I believe. And yeah, Resnick does not shy away from the darker parts of the culture in the rest of Kirinyaga either. It's all firmly written from the lens of its...The common term is Afrofuturism I believe.
And yeah, Resnick does not shy away from the darker parts of the culture in the rest of Kirinyaga either. It's all firmly written from the lens of its narrator Koriba.
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Comment on For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick in ~books
Casocial Link ParentThat's an interesting analysis. From my own perspective as a reader, the narrative doesn't cast any judgement on Koriba. I did not end up completing the story thinking that there was a clearly...That's an interesting analysis. From my own perspective as a reader, the narrative doesn't cast any judgement on Koriba. I did not end up completing the story thinking that there was a clearly correct option (in providing her with education/changing the Kikuyu's culture for her sake), even when it ends in tragedy.
What I enjoy the most about this short story (and the rest in the anthology) is the glimpse into Koriba's personality. I haven't encountered many examples like his combination of ego but also genuine devotion to his cause.
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For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick
13 votes -
Comment on Cas' Short Slices (Reviews) in ~books
Casocial Link ParentThanks! Maybe you could change it to just Cas' Short Slices (Reviews) so the numbers don't need updating ^^Thanks! Maybe you could change it to just Cas' Short Slices (Reviews) so the numbers don't need updating ^^
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Comment on Cas' Short Slices (Reviews) in ~books
Casocial (edited )LinkRather than spam the site with new topics, I've decided to put these up as comments on the same post. Can't edit the title, unfortunately. Pinging @xk3 since you were interested! Cas’ Short...Rather than spam the site with new topics, I've decided to put these up as comments on the same post. Can't edit the title, unfortunately. Pinging @xk3 since you were interested!
Cas’ Short Slices, #6 to #10
- And Salome Danced, by Kelley Eskridge
The world is strange in unexpected ways, when sometimes you find yourself slipping through invisible cracks - or in the case of this story, have something come through and find you.
For Mars, directing starts from the auditions, where he matches real people to the shadows he's cast inside his imagination. In the midst of gathering the actors for a play he's putting together, both the roles of John and Salome are being auditioned for by the same individual. They come as Joe, then Jo. They are perfect, they are as if the characters he's envisioned has come to life - they are a predator with a lure, a dangling hook that he's swallowed whole.
This was an unsettling story to read for me, like a waking dream that sets your teeth on edge. You're drawn you into Mars' head until you're as off-balance as he is, struggling not to fall. Kelley tells us there's a danger and power to stories and the stage, where illusion lies and things take shape in the dark.
Read it yourself here at Kelley Eskridge's website.
Hungry for more? Check out Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and follow Richard into London under London as the impulsive decision to save a girl's life upturns his own. He is stranded, unable to interact with the world above, left to fend for himself against the dangers of a city he's never seen.
- Mongoose, by Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Monette
In the far-flung future, it’s not humans alone who have migrated away from Earth. Irizarry boards Kadath Station, responding to a call requesting aid dealing with an infestation of a breed of extradimensional vermin. At his side is the titular Mongoose, ready for the hunt.
From the brilliance of juxtaposing Lewis Carroll with Lovecraft to the exploration of just how weird ecosystems can get out in the deep reaches of space, Monette and Bear paint vivid depictions of what lies waiting to be discovered amid the stars. But it’s Mongoose who steals the spotlight, from an alien species called the cheshire. Think of a feline eel with the ability to phase between dimensions. Intelligent, instinctive, animal and loyal – there’s nothing about her portrayal I didn’t love.
Seriously, don’t miss out on this. Two powerhouse authors working in tandem to extrapolate an uncanny future from Lovecraft’s works wasn’t something I knew I needed, but now I’m eager to devour everything I can find from this universe.
Read it yourself here at Clarkesworld Magazine.
Hungry for more? Check out Grass by Sheri S.Tepper. Aristocrats on the planet Grass practice the custom of the Hunt, an unspoken treatybinding them to the hippae, a native alien species with a passing resemblance to horses.Monstrous hounds accompany them out and each time they return the aristocrats are fewer innumber, their memories unclear. Surprisingly overlooked when it’s an easy contender to thelikes of Dune, turn the pages and you’ll find well-written characters, complex ideasand an interesting look into the development of traditions both human and inhuman.
- Longing for Langalana, by Mercurio D. Rivera
Shimera is a female Wergen, an alien settler on the world of Langalana. In her childhood, she encounters two humans – a scientist and her nephew Phinny, whom she’s tasked with teaching their local tongue. She befriends him over the course of passing time as they explore and grow, all the while learning about their shared home and each other.
At its heart, Longing… is a story about unrequited attraction, something that may exist without either party’s desire as one person is pulled to another. For the Wergen, their relationship is coloured by a biological bond. To the Wergens, humanity exudes an aura of attraction. Intangible and encompassing their species as a whole, it isn’t something that they can resist.
And it ends in heartbreak, as such things often go. Long after Phinny has left the planet and the relationship between humanity and Wergens growing strained, Shimera is made to reconcile her childhood with a new ambassador, the son of her beloved Phinny. She tells him their story and in her blossoms a familiar ache.
Read it yourself here at Mercurio D. Rivera’s website.
Hungry for more? Check out Embassytown by China Mieville. On the pioneer planet Arieka, humanity lives alongside the indigene Hosts, where inter-species communication only takes place through paired Ambassadors sharing a single voice.
- Fragmentation, or Ten Thousand Goodbyes, by Tom Crosshill
There are reasons behind what we do. Some of them are obvious as day, some we struggle to find. And some of them we won’t even admit to ourselves in the dark.
Rico’s mother is afflicted with a disease that makes it so every time someone leaves her, she thinks it’s for the last time. Still strong, but old age carries with it the promise of dying. But death is not the only option with the existence of habitat technology, where minds can be uploaded into artificial environments of their choosing. It’s an idea she rejects and one that her son can’t get out of his head, because it means he’ll get to see her again.
This was a difficult story to read, let alone write about. While unassuming, Tom’s writing comes across as clean and concise, bringing the reader’s attention straight to what’s important. Apart from its basic premise, Fragmentation… skims across a surprising number of themes: the implicit fallibility of memory, the give and forgive of love, the borders of transhumanism and more.
Read it yourself here at Clarkesworld Magazine.
Hungry for more? Check out We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. I love this novel. The main character Rosemary struggles to find herself against a blotted-out past and a hunger to reconnect with her missing brother. Though not strictly speculative, there’s a significant amount of overlap in theme and atmosphere with Fragmentation… and this. Highly recommended.
- Bears Discover Fire, by Terry Bisson
Oftentimes when the world changes, it’s a quiet one. Things don’t suddenly come to a head, instead, they carry on, going wherever they’re supposed to go.
Bears have discovered fire. Somewhere along the way, they’ve become more social creatures. The bears congregate at places where roads intersect, seeking out a new strain of berries. But though they form the title, the story really centers on the relationships between the narrator Bobby, his adolescent nephew and his dying mother. Bobby does his utmost to do right by them, giving what care and love he can at a tenuous and uncertain time.
You could say that nothing happens in this story and nobody would find fault in that. At its heart, Bears… isn’t a story about occurences. Instead, it’s a slow, deliberate contemplation about the nature of passing time and what follows: a sadness for change, but also acceptance, of what the future may bring.
Read it yourself here at Lightspeed Magazine.
Hungry for more? Check out Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The world has ended but for the survivors, life has not. With the troupe that makes up her family, Kirsten traverses the sparse remains of civilization, in search of remnants of her remembered past.
And that's #6 to #10 done! I've got 9 more of these reviews written, which I'll put up after I sort out the formatting.
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Comment on Five browser extensions to make every website more useful in ~tech
Casocial LinkI do appreciate PrintFriendly quite a bit! The first time I came across it was as an embedded feature in some old-school D&D blogs I followed, which made it a breeze to download/trim down...I do appreciate PrintFriendly quite a bit! The first time I came across it was as an embedded feature in some old-school D&D blogs I followed, which made it a breeze to download/trim down specifically useful posts I wanted to save for future reference.
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Comment on The CRPG Book in ~games
Casocial LinkThere's clearly a lot of effort put into this book, but I have to say my eyebrows shot right up when I saw Slay The Spire listed in the index. I have never encountered anyone calling that a CRPG...There's clearly a lot of effort put into this book, but I have to say my eyebrows shot right up when I saw Slay The Spire listed in the index. I have never encountered anyone calling that a CRPG before!
EDIT: Also FTL and Card Hunter? All great games, but that's an extremely broad definition what counts as a CRPG lol.
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Comment on The Beths - Metal (2025) in ~music
Casocial LinkI really like The Beths, and this was my favourite of the three tracks they released before the album drop. Happy to see another fan hanging out here.I really like The Beths, and this was my favourite of the three tracks they released before the album drop. Happy to see another fan hanging out here.
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Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
Casocial Link ParentHeh, no. I also do the same for my work computer, but I've always customized my personal one.Heh, no. I also do the same for my work computer, but I've always customized my personal one.
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Comment on Session report: 496-Seed-18, in which two PCs eat nightshade in ~games.tabletop
Casocial (edited )LinkHmmm, this is AD&D? I've got my wires crossed with the classes you posted. I thought the magus was introduced by Paizo in Pathfinder 1e (aka D&D 3.75). Was it a magic-user kit? Does it also...Hmmm, this is AD&D? I've got my wires crossed with the classes you posted.
I thought the magus was introduced by Paizo in Pathfinder 1e (aka D&D 3.75). Was it a magic-user kit? Does it also spellstrike?
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What's your current PC wallpaper?
Do you change them out often? Or do you set up a rotating gallery? Right now, I've gone back to this photograph of assorted food cubes that I came across in my uni days.
44 votes
That smart chicken farm mention caught my interest. Do you know where I can read up on it?