Karsa Orlong

That's the one! Edit: the link should work now

I'll set one up when I've finished Chasm City

I watched 6x15 last night - hilarious!

Maybe we should give him his own thread I got about 125 pages into it in the end last night, and if my eyes hadn't started getting tired at about 1am I would've kept going. Brilliant so far, which pretty much confirms what I thought - that I need to re-read Revelation Space

I decided to move Chasm City right to the top of my TBR pile. Started it earlier on, only 80 pages in so far but really enjoying it already

Finished Jim Butcher's Fool Moon. Thoroughly enjoyable. Havne't decided what to read next. It's a toss up between Martyr by Rory Clements, Grass by Sheri S Tepper, or The Book Thief. Or something else which suddenly takes my fancy

I'll get there, I'll get there ...

Surprisingly, no

I saw them support Tool at Wembley three or four years back and unfortunately the sound just descended into a wall of noise, which put me off a bit. Crack the Skye's certainly got my attention back, though

Yeah, that's it. You can read the start here, try before you buy etc.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Dysfunction-Nights-Dawn-Trilogy/dp/0330340328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314298788&sr=8-1#reader_0330340328

Ah, well I highly recommend the Night's Dawn books then, starting with The Reality Dysfunction: "In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature’s boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp. But now something has gone catastrophically wrong. On a primitive colony planet a renegade criminal’s chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of all our fears. An extinct race which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it “The Reality Dysfunction”. It is the nightmare which has prowled beside us since the beginning of history." I suspect I'd enjoy Revelation Space more if I read it again now. I'll definitely be giving Chasm City a go soon, as it's nearing the top of by TBR pile

It scared the bejesus out of me when my dad took me to see it when I was 9 years old - I didn't sleep for about a year afterwards

Absolutely loving this at the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AfrELESqSY

I read Revelation Space years ago. Now that's hard sf, quite heavy going, I seem to remember, but I did enjoy it. I've got Chasm City on the shelf, must get around to it soon. I'm quite disappointed at the moment, as I was a BIG fan of Peter F Hamilton's early Greg Mandel books, and his Night's Dawn trilogy, but his Commonwealth Saga had me losing the will to live, and I've got the Void trilogy sitting on the shelf, unread

Ooh, good call. I'd managed to blot it from my mind, I think. It spent two hours on the first half of the book, then ten minutes on the second half. Pretty poor casting as well. It's one of my favourite books, though. Re Jaws - the film is quite different from the book, isn't it? Whole sub-plots didn't make it to the film, and Spielberg was still rewriting the script while they were filming, mainly cos the mechanical shark wouldn't do what he wanted it to (which ended up working in the film's favour!), so it changed quite markedly. The book's well worth reading. I still love the film, though.

I really like it, there's some great stuff on there. It's pretty proggy, which suits me, moreso than Blood Mountain, I think. How about you?

Black Spiders - Blood of the Kings Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gFG4628iyI

Nor me, that was very clunky and very late in the show's life to be doing something like that - a sure sign that it wasn't part of the original plan.

Emphyrio by Jack Vance I was going to copy over the Amazon blurb for a brief description of the plot but I'm assuming it's just taken from the back of the book as the same massive spoiler is included in both. I was so annoyed when, after starting the book, I glanced at the back and the spoiler caught my eye. Anyway, Emphyrio follows the story of Ghyl Tarvoke, a young lad growing up on the planet Halma with his father, Amiante, who is a master woodcarver. On Halma, mass reproduction of goods has been outlawed by the ruling lords, forcing the general populace to craft each and every item by hand. Their produce is then ranked and they receive tokens based on the quality of their output. As Ghyl grows he becomes aware that his father is less than satisfied with this arrangement, and also finds that some of his friends may or may not be operating outside the law. Emphyrio is a mythical character from Halma's legends, who saved the world from an invading force, and whose story Ghyl tries to piece together as the book progresses. To start of with, I didn't think I was going to like this. The first chapter throws you in at the deep end, chucks a lot of jargon at you which makes little sense, and left me a little bewildered. But then the book goes back and tells the story of what had happened before that first chapter, and it's at that point that it really starts to flow, and I found that I couldn't put it down. It's slightly old school in its use of language, especially in the dialogue (although this could be a deliberate affectation), but it was written in 1969, so it's not all that surprising. What isn't in doubt is the character development, which is very good, and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. With a small cast of characters, Vance manages to show you each and every aspect of the world he created without it feeling clunky or out of place, and it's a fast-paced and entertaining read with many observations about our own society to be found within. 8/10

He certainly hits them hard enough [fanboi-mode on] They are the best live band I've seen (but you already knew that!). All three of them are awesome musicians (Alex Lifeson is the most underrated guitarist in rock music, imo -- there's more emotion in his playing than any other guitarist I can think of). And the Gedster -- everything revolves around him. He's amazing! I provide the evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5nsnIpoyHk&feature=related It's quite fun, at their gigs, just watching other people's slack-jawed, mesmerised reactions to their playing. I freely admit to slight bias here, being a fan for over 30 years ... [/fanboi-mode off] Which reminds me -- the dvd/blu-ray of the Cleveland show from the Time Machine tour is out in October, yay! So glad you like it! It's a great album, but wait till you hear Blackwater Park and Still Life ... Totally with you on Dream Theater. I used to be a fan. Then I grew up. Well, sort of

Thanks - enjoy!

Yes, it was an entertaining read -- it was enough to make me go out and buy more -- and apparently the books get better and better as they go along Storm Front review

I did, I just chose to ignore you

You obviously haven't seen them live - the man is a god There is a rumour, though, that when he hits those high notes only dogs can hear him. Which is cool, cos it means they've got a whole bunch of fans nobody knows about

Hey Weave, I'm good thanks, how are you? I think seasons 2 and 4 were/are my faves. Season 3 was kind of knackered by the writers' strike, I suppose. Season 6 - I just wasn't into it at all for the first few episodes. It's that whole "it was a five year plan" thing. Season 5 could've brought it to a natural conclusion, but then it gets renewed and they have to come up with ways to keep the story going, and it wasn't working for me. But I went back to it last week and watched a few episodes, and round about episode 11 or 12 they got it going again, some of the best stuff they've done for a while.