[X] My Assistant

[Eugene]

I'm reading The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver, which is a look into the world of antiquities smuggling. Very interesting and readable!

Also finished Effinger's When Gravity Fails, which was almost as good as everyone says.

[Synner667]

Also finished Effinger's When Gravity Fails, which was almost as good as everyone says.

I finally found all three books in the set, after about 20 years...
...And I think the 1st is the best.

I think there was a supplement for CP:2020 for the Gravity Fails world, in the same way there was one for HardWired.

[Synner667]

Just finished reading Moxieland [by Lauren Beukers]...
...Not a bad book, with some good ideas, that I'm sure to include somewhere - crowd control methods, payment systems.

Involves a nearfuture South Africa, DNA altering implants, consumer culture, Corporate characters, gangs, activists, streetjournalists [finally]...
...Many of the things I associate with Cyberpunk as a genre.

[Maelstrome]

im towards the end of the sr novel technobable. ive enjoyed it. next was on my list was the forever drug but it got destroyed. so ill be starting up the terminus experiment next.

[Eugene]

I finally found all three books in the set, after about 20 years...
...And I think the 1st is the best.

I think there was a supplement for CP:2020 for the Gravity Fails world, in the same way there was one for HardWired.

Are the others still good, even if they aren't as good as the 1st?

[Backgammon]

I really liked all 3. I wouldn't say the 1st is the best, even. They're all equaly good in my mind.

[Synner667]

All 3 books are good [and highly recommended reading]...
...But after waiting such a long time to get and read them, I don't think they lived upto my expectations [which is my fault, not theirs].

[Synner667]

Just finished reading Broken Angels [by Richard Morgan] - again.

One of a selection of books, I just keep re-reading and always enjoyable [especially when read as part of the trilogy].

So many good ideas, it's scary [enough to inspire a whole RPG - Eclipse Phase discussions constantly refer to Morgan's books].


From a RPG perspective, it shows how Player Characters from different backgrounds can be pulled together as a team [ninja infiltrator, marine/soldier, corporate, fixer, archaeologist, techie], how their specialities complement each other [combat specialists are no good at providing financial backing, ninjas are no good at being archaeologists, etc] and how an archaeological dig can be a viable scenario/adventure.

[AJCarrington]

Just finished "The Way of Shadows", by Brent Weeks, and I really enjoyed it. The "magic" in the world was quite interesting - a lot of parallels to SR IMHO - and a pretty dark, gritty story line.

AJC

[Eugene]

Currently reading S.J. Rozan's "Reflecting the Sky," which is a triad-involved kidnapping story set in Hong Kong. Lots of nice details about living there for anyone in a HK based game...

[Backgammon]

Reading: Picked up The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye by Chandler after a suggestion from Blade. ZOMG. Chandler's books are so fucking good, especially when read on a beach in Mexico. Thanks for that one Blade, totally loved it. Now have to buy all of them! Also reading Eclipse Phase. Love it even more than I thought I would.

Watching: Still watching True Blood. Really need to go see District 9.

Gaming: Playing some Battlefield 1943 on Xbox (the DLC game) and friend just lent me Red Faction 2. Pretty fun.

[Blade]

Reading: Picked up The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye by Chandler after a suggestion from Blade. ZOMG. Chandler's books are so fucking good, especially when read on a beach in Mexico. Thanks for that one Blade, totally loved it. Now have to buy all of them!

You're welcome, I've read all the novels and some of the short stories enjoyed them all. I've recently read Chandler's first short stories, with a main character different from Marlowe (and not just a Marlowe under another name) and they're pretty good too. They are different from the Marlowe stories with less wisecracks and less "poetry" but a bit more action and more "street-level". The fun thing is that all you have to do to get a Shadowrun story was to replace "Negro" with Troll, "Mexican" with Ork and the rich/powerful guys (and maybe the pretty girls too) with elves.

Time for an update for me too:
Reading: Recently finished Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard. Really interesting auto-biographical book about a British boy growing up in Shanghai when World War 2 breaks out. The story is great, well written and full of details that could be very useful in some Shadowrun games. Currently reading the first book of the Secrets of Power trilogy. Fun to see how Shadowrun was seen by its creators at the beginning (actually most of it hasn't changed that much).

Watching: Recently seen Godzilla vs. Megalon which is one of the best Godzilla movie I've ever seen and Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth which is one of the most disappointing. Oh, and the last Futurama movie... nothing much to see there, I laugh a lot more with a regular 20 minutes episode than I laughed during the entire movie.

Playing: Just Cause: I'm surprised with how much fun I have playing this game compared to what I've read about it. I'm not that much bothered by the bugs and it's a lot of (mindless) fun. Mass Effect was a good surprise too. Too bad the side-quest are completely dull because the story parts are really good and the conversation system a great way to give fine control on your character's personality. Men of War is a great strategy/tactics game, with actual strategy and tactics, even in the single player game. This also means it's quite hard, but in a good way. It's part Dawn of War 2/Company of Heroes (but far more tactical), part Close Combat (but far easier to understand), part real-time Jagged Alliance. I really recommend it to all strategy/tactics fans. I've also been offered The Path recently. You can't really say it's a game, more like a work of art. Still interesting, though.

[Kanada Ten]

Reading: House of Leaves, which is great fodder for Eclipse Phasian horror if you can read the book as more a b-movie horror with a jigsaw puzzle aspect rather than some pretentious tour de force as it's mistakenly labeled.

[Adarael]

I think the biggest mistake anyone can make is reading House of Leaves as a book, and not looking at it as a game that happens to be in book form. I'm actually dead serious. All of the intertextual stuff in the book, the hidden allusions, and the connections to other media are what make it totally fun to play. As a novel - a story in and of itself - it's good, but it's not some kind of second coming of the written word.

As a piece of media and experimental writing, though, it's total genius, because you'd have to be some kind of neurotic madman to have made it. Which, to my understanding, Danielewski is.

[Hocus Pocus]

just finished the death gate cycle. Got the first 3 about 15 years ago, saw the last 4 2 weeks ago, bought them and read them. I recomend the series

[Eugene]

Reading: Picked up The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye by Chandler after a suggestion from Blade. ZOMG. Chandler's books are so fucking good, especially when read on a beach in Mexico. Thanks for that one Blade, totally loved it. Now have to buy all of them! Also reading Eclipse Phase. Love it even more than I thought I would.

If you like Chandler, you'd probably like Richard Stark (a Donald Westlake pseudonym), too.

[Synner667]

Just got my hands on "Cyborg" [by Martin Caidin] after a visit to an open air book market in London.

This is the story that inspired the the 6 Million Dollar Man !!

Will be interesting to see how the original fares - after watching the tv show for so many years, and seeing how cybernetics are done in games such as Shadowrun/Cyberpunk/TORG/etc.

[Stahlseele]

I am, right now, reading the WH40K novels dealing with the Fall of the Emperor.
Horus Rising and False Gods. Probably one or two more to follow i guess.
*I was there the day the Emperor died*
*I was there the day Horus fell*
OK, seems to be a bit more than 3 or 4 books O.o
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Horus_Heresy_Series

[PBTHHHHT]

Just saw the movie District 9, very enjoyable. Can get somewhat a feel of how it'd be for a coporation sending in some elements into something similar to the barrens... though they have less buildings than what the barrens have in shadowrun. Anyway, this film is very much inspired by South Africa back during the apartheid, when they moved a district from Johannesburg to outside the city.

Also saw the movie, 9, it was okay but it really made me feel how much more I enjoyed Wall-E.

addendum: Saw a lot of movies with the 9 representation... but I'm gonna skip the upcoming film, Nine, it just won't be my cup of tea.

[Synner667]

Just saw the movie District 9, very enjoyable. Can get somewhat a feel of how it'd be for a coporation sending in some elements into something similar to the barrens... though they have less buildings than what the barrens have in shadowrun. Anyway, this film is very much inspired by South Africa back during the apartheid, when they moved a district from Johannesburg to outside the city.

If you like District 9, see the original version that the chap did years before - viewable as short movies on YouTube.

Quite amazing !!

[PBTHHHHT]

If you like District 9, see the original version that the chap did years before - viewable as short movies on YouTube.

Quite amazing !!

Already seen that, that's one of the reasons why I decided to check out the movie. Makes me think, man, he really should make Halo the movie, it might be enjoyable.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen the latest commercial for the Halo3:ODST?

[CanadianWolverin...]

Already seen that, that's one of the reasons why I decided to check out the movie. Makes me think, man, he really should make Halo the movie, it might be enjoyable.
Speaking of which, has anyone seen the latest commercial for the Halo3:ODST?

District 9 ... so good, seen it twice in theatres so far. That's a DVD to own for our collection for sure.

That Halo3:ODST commercial is weird. I think they are supposed to be the man/boy's memories of dropping but who knows what the heck that is supposed to do with gameplay. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) I think the most convincing commercials I have ever seen for games in some way show gameplay and then the reaction of the gamer being one of enjoyment, especially with other gamers.

[PBTHHHHT]

District 9 ... so good, seen it twice in theatres so far. That's a DVD to own for our collection for sure.

That Halo3:ODST commercial is weird. I think they are supposed to be the man/boy's memories of dropping but who knows what the heck that is supposed to do with gameplay. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif) I think the most convincing commercials I have ever seen for games in some way show gameplay and then the reaction of the gamer being one of enjoyment, especially with other gamers.

yeah, i wasn't judging it by the gameplay and such, just the commercial itself.

Latest read:
Black Lagoon Manga #7 (or was it 8? I think it's 7), it's a continuation, the entire book is a build up. Tensions in Roanapur is building, the Bloodhound of Valencia is back and looking to start a war, US blackops hiding out in the city, the uneasy alliance of the organized crime groups are about to explode, will the city remain standing in the aftermath? Will the Black Lagoon group survive? From what I hear, the next book will have action, but it doesn't end yet as there are more chapters I guess for book 9.

[AJCarrington]

Finished War Machine by Andy Remic and enjoyed it. Nice thing about a space opera is that one can easily remove "planets" and exchange them for "countries/continents"... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Found myself losing some interested towards the end...finishing off some of the plot threads was a little tedious and obvious...but a fun read nonetheless.

Next on the list is the first Gears of War novel: Aspho Fields

AJC

[Synner667]

Currently reading Breakaway [by Joel shepherd].
1st book of a trilogy - Crossover and Killswitch, are the others.

Most of the way through it, and thoroughly enjoying it.
Getting much of the same buzz when I read Altered Carbon [by Richard Morgan].

Much like a book version of Ghost In The Shell [the manga film], it involves characters with augmentations, a high tech society, terrorists, a special crime division, replicant-like androids, high tech hacking.