Tassie Dave’s Comments (group member since Mar 27, 2011)

Tassie Dave’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

Hopefully we are now finished with Mech-Grogu 😉

It was fun that it gave him a voice even if it was just Yes & No.

If the writers had a sense of humour , they should have added a 'Why?' button, just to annoy Mando 😉

In the show they use "he/him/son" to describe Grogu. (view spoiler)[or I should say Din Grogu (hide spoiler)]

I doubt Disney would use those terms to describe him if the character wasn't considered a male in the show.

It's very much character driven and the characters are enjoyable.

I'll read more in this universe.

I am already going to read Book 3 of the CoT series Children of Memory, as I've already read Books 1 & 2

and I'm currently reading (and loving) Shards of Earth and will be finished by the start of May

So why not add a third Tchaikovsky book for the month. It will be interesting to see how AT handles the Fantasy genre.

After a discussion on Discord, Tom has selected Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky as the May book pick.

Synopsis:-(view spoiler)[A race for survival among the stars... Humanity's last survivors escaped earth's ruins to find a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome its dangers?

WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth? (hide spoiler)]

Children of Time was twice a runner-up in March Madness in 2022 & 2023 and also a Semi-Finalist in 2020.

It is a popular book among S&L readers and hopefully will appeal to those that are yet to try it.

I have read both CoT and the sequel Children of Ruin and enjoyed both.

Oaken wrote: "A cop stops Heisenberg on the freeway. The cop asks, "Do you know how fast you were going?"

Heisenberg replies, "Nope. But I know where I am.""

Cop: But are you certain?

Heisenberg: Say my name.

Cop: ???

Heisenberg: Say my name.

AndrewP wrote: "I really enjoyed all the Clines books I've read. '14' is probably a good place to start"

A really good book.

We read the 2nd book in that series as an S&L book pick in Feb, 2021 (The Fold) It was one of the guest picks (Rod Simmons) when Veronica was on maternity leave.

Both books are in the same universe, but only loosely connected, with a few of the same characters appearing in both.

I thought "14" was slightly better than "The Fold". Both were really good.

Reading Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

It is a solid space opera by the author of Children of Time

It was a 99c special on iBooks.

Dune has Spice Coffee.

1984 'Dune' movie Paul Atriedes would describe it as a "Damn fine cup of spice coffee." 😉

Trike wrote: "Does anyone associate Indy with The Rolling Stones?"

There is that famous scene from the first movie with an 'actual' Rolling Stone 😉

Trike wrote: "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, theatres, June 30.

Wow, this trailer is a godawful mess. Whoever decided to use “Sympathy for the Devil” should be fired."

I loved the trailer and using one of the greatest songs of all time was an inspired choice.

It's about knowing your devil (metaphorical), so you can better know how to deal with it.

May not exactly fit thematically, but I love the way it is used.

I'll go and see it. I'm one of the few people who liked "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"

The short story on Travis Baldtree's website is a Viv back story.
Pages to Fill: A Legends & Lattes Short Story
https://travisbaldree.com/pages-to-fill

The next book in the series is also a Viv back story.
It will be about Viv recuperating from battle injuries in a Bookstore.

Synopsis:- (Book Blurb) (view spoiler)[When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek.

Set in the world of New York Times bestselling Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books.

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk―so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it.

What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

(hide spoiler)]

Seth wrote: "Tassie Dave wrote: "We need to unionise Legends & Lattes.."

Well, by the end they're all [spoilers removed] so that's not too bad."

As a socialist I roundly applauded the (view spoiler)[capitalist regime embracing her comrades and turning Legends & Lattes into a socialist utopia. (hide spoiler)] 😉

Leesa wrote: "Viv was paying Thimble a wage. like 4 silvers a week."

Plus all the coffee he can drink. Though he is so busy he doesn't have time to drink that much.

It's like Amazon giving their employees 2x15 minute and 1x30 minute breaks a day. Which the the employees can't take because they fall behind their quotas and if they fall behind they lose their jobs. 🤨

We need to unionise Legends & Lattes.

A fun idea would be to let other authors play with the characters and settings.

Authors like T.J.Clune, & T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon),

Video game:
Coffee Talk- A fun cosy SFF video game. Serve drinks, talk, relax.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_...
The game follows a barista who is the owner and sole employee of Coffee Talk, the eponymous coffee shop, which is located in Seattle, Washington, in a fantasy version of the real world populated by a broad variety of fantasy races, such as elves, orcs, mermaids, and others. Various members of these races serve as the shop's patrons.

Graphic Novel:
Bone (Though it does get a bit heavy in later Volumes, but it starts off nice and cosy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_(c...

I'd like to see an anthology of short stories about the shop, its staff and the regular customers.

Have the café as a hub for the stories.

Maybe even push the boundaries with some of the stories being a little less cosy.

I started it yesterday and finished it today before lunch.

It was a quick fun read that I didn't want to end.

My eBook didn't have the short story, but I read it online at the author's website.

https://travisbaldree.com/pages-to-fill

A nice little story with a cosy ending to tie the stories together.

I'll be having Scwuns and a Cappuccino. 😉

(With credit to Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth for the name Scwuns) or as she put it 'sc 1s')

I did have the Cappuccino.

To makes Scwuns

1½ Cups of Plain Flour
1 Rounded Tablespoon of Baking Powder
½ Teaspoon of Salt
2 Rounded Tablespoons of Butter
1 Rounded Tablespoon of sugar
280 mls (¼ pint) of milk

1) Set Oven to 220° C (493 Kelvin)
2) Flour a baking tray
3) Sift flour with other powdered ingredients
4) Rub in the buter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar.
5) Make a deep well in the flour. Pour in all the milk and mix to a soft, spongy dough.
6) On a floured surface, knead the dough (we all need the dough 😉) very lightly until it is smooth.
7) Roll or press out to about 2.5 cm (0.082021 feet) and cut out into round shapes (or use round cutter) about 5 cms (0.164042 feet) wide.
8) Sprinkle the scwuns with flour
9) Bake at top of oven for 7 minutes or until well risen and brown.

Serve while still warm. Cut in half, butter. Then Serve with raspberry jam & cream.

For cheese scwuns, substitute 1 rounded tablespoon of grated strong cheese (Instead of the butter and sugar) I don't recommend the jam & cream with these. Just a small dob of butter.

Tamahome wrote: "If he had to choose whether baby yoda or Ellie would die, who would he pick?"

Simple answer, based on the finale of "The Last of Us"

Watch that first before reading my spoiler, Tamahome

(view spoiler)[Neither. He'd kill everyone else. (hide spoiler)]

The Mandalorian has become very cartoon-y.

The Bad Batch is kicking The Mandalorian's arse this season.