Tony Calder Tony’s Comments (group member since Dec 19, 2018)


Tony’s comments from the Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy group.

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45059 I have the trilogy in paperback, so there is little incentive to pay even $1 for them in e-format :) I hadn't thought to look for them on Guttenberg, considering them too modern, so thanks for the heads up. I may well download copies from there, although I don't think I'm likely to reread them any time soon.
Jan 10, 2020 04:37PM

45059 I'm about halfway through - I haven't read it since high school. Bradbury was not as good as some of his contemporaries at predicting future technologies, but he is very good at societal trends. I am finding this far more disturbing than I did when I read it in the 70s.

I found the blu-ray of the HBO telemovie as part of a 2 for $20 sale, so I bought a copy - along with the long-awaited (by me, anyway) sequel to Iron Sky :) Nazis on the Moon !!!
45059 There are 3 different versions of Deathworld in Kindle. None of them are free through Amazon Australia. This is a pretty common situation - I have noticed that about 60% of sales on sci-fi and fantasy in the Kindle store only apply to the US and UK Amazon sites.
Jan 04, 2020 01:37AM

45059 I've just started a new Aussie sci-fi series that was released on New Year's Day. It's called The Commons and it's on Stan in Australia (I have no idea where you might find it overseas). It's not a particularly sci-fi story, but it's set in the near future (probably 10-20 years). The effects of climate change are not specifically mentioned but they do form an important part of the world setting - it's rather bleak in that respect. Could possibly fill both the cli-fi and alternate form squares in Bingo :) I'm 3 episodes into the 8 episode series, and I have been enjoying it.
Dec 26, 2019 11:35AM

45059 I went with Blue Devil Island as genre-blender, combining war story with horror.

Ultimately, I completed the I row, with The Moon Pool filling both the pre-1950 and Lost Civilisation slots; The Last Unicorn for non-human protagonist; the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant as epic fantasy; and Oceanworlds as the 2019 novel.

I also completed the 1 column, with the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant as the award winner; James M Corkhill as the new author; Path of the Bold: Superhero Anthology for the anthology; and No Man's World: Omnibus for the complete series.

I almost completed the G row, but I didn't read anything with a talking animal.
Dec 26, 2019 03:41AM

45059 Doing Christmas shopping last Monday (Dec 23), I found Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D&D, which I knew would be great for one of my brothers. However, it's also great for me, so I bought myself a copy as weel and read it over the next couple of days.
Dec 21, 2019 06:24PM

45059 G33z3r wrote: " Project Gutenberg would, I guess (also a good source for pre-1940)."

Project Gutenberg is my go-to site when I'm looking for older books. As well the the free e-books that are regularly offered on Amazon (and Google Play), there is a site called https://www.free-ebooks.net/ As a free member, they allow 5 downloads a month (pdf only), or you can join (it was $20 for lifetime membership) and get unlimited downloads in epub or mobi. The quality of stories is variable - there are a lot that really aren't very good, but I have found some good stories there.
45059 Tony wrote: "You could watch the Disney film Fantasia - Mickey as the sorcerer's apprentice is certainly a case of magic going amok. And it could also fill the square for alternate form :)"

Which I see has already been mentioned a few times. That will teach me to read the thread before commenting :)
45059 You could watch the Disney film Fantasia - Mickey as the sorcerer's apprentice is certainly a case of magic going amok. And it could also fill the square for alternate form :)
Dec 18, 2019 08:04PM

45059 I read A Christmas Carol which, although I have seen many adaptations, I had never read. I have now returned to White Gold Wielder
Dec 11, 2019 09:00PM

45059 I couldn't count either. Physical books would be close to 2000 I would think - as well as 3 full size bookcases full of book to read, I also have 3 piles of books each taller than myself - legacy of many years working in bookshops. Then are are 8 bookcases of books I have read - and ebooks. Over 1500 from Amazon, another couple of hundred from Google Play, and several hundred from various other sites. I think it's safe to say that I will not finish all these in my lifetime. Doesn't stop me buying more, but I have made a concerted effort to buy less :)
Dec 10, 2019 03:25PM

45059 I see shared world or common theme anthologies as a different category to media / game tie-ins, with a bigger pool - although that might just be my exposure levels.
Dec 09, 2019 03:01PM

45059 Would media tie-in include novels based on gaming worlds, such as Warhammer or D&D? Or would that be a separate category?
Dec 09, 2019 03:00PM

45059 I'm definitely in favour of the media tie-in and the alternate history/historical fantasy categories. My only comment about the LGBTQ author category is that often I wouldn't know (and really don't care). And I totally misinterpreted the Free square in the centre - I had assumed it meant an ebook that was free :)
Dec 09, 2019 03:42AM

45059 I finished Nightmare City and have now started White Gold Wielder, the final book in the Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Dec 08, 2019 07:56AM

45059 Lupon wrote: "Cause now you surf the internet a lot?"

Hehe, probably not as much as some people, but it does provide a range of distractions that weren't previously available :)
Rereading (36 new)
Dec 08, 2019 01:10AM

45059 Angie wrote: "Also, I'm intending on rereading Fahrenheit 451 with the group, as it's been at least 15 years since I've read it."

I don't think I've read it since high school, back in the mid 70s, although I have seen the movie a couple of times. I did purchase a copy a few years ago, intending to reread it, but never got around to it, so I will be joining the group read.
Dec 08, 2019 01:05AM

45059 Lupon wrote: "Book Nerd wrote: "I have records back to 2003. Before that I'm just going by memory."
It's a long time, anyway."


I started keeping records of the books I read in 1990. I used to read a lot more in pre-internet days :p
Dec 04, 2019 11:09AM

45059 Still reading Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey, which I am thoroughly enjoying. But it's a chunky book, so I'm only reading it at home. My commute reading is Nightmare City, which is set in the same universe as The Atomic Sea: Volume One, which I haven't read yet, but it hasn't been an issue so far.
Dec 04, 2019 10:56AM

45059 I expect it's called Watchmen purely as a marketing exercise. Although, even though it's set about 25 years after the graphic novel, get the impression that Veidt is going to have a major role - and they are slowly introducing more ties to the original. It is very dystopian, and does take some effort to follow in some episodes.