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#463 - OK Ant Computer
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I wasn’t expecting so much fisting from the podcast 😳I didn’t think it was that kind of book club…
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels there is a wizard called Ponder Stibbons who designs an Ant computer called Hex. Hex was shown in the TV adaptation of the Hogfather (2006) and it sported the label "Anthill Inside"
Iain wrote: "Seriously"Yeah Iain, I had the same thought at probably the same time.
I didn't eat school cafeteria food any more than I absolutely had to, but I recall the pizza as being one of the better options.When I was in college, however, the pizza they offered at Food Service was wretched -- for one thing, always covered with mushrooms and olives, and the crust was like soggy cardboard.
Mod
Yeah Iain, I had the same thought at probably the same time."
you're right! sorry, there were just so many Portia's!
I can see the sitcom now! "The Spidey Bunch" which mashes together the families of Spider and Human. And one spider looking sad and waving her palps saying "Portia Portia Portia!"♬ Here's the story, of the spider lady
Who was busy with her newborn spider race
They had webs and palps, like their ancestors
The biggest ones were girls
On a non-fisting note, I would like to say that I have met Adrian Tchaikovsky at a few conventions and, while he looks kind of intimidating (especially when he’s wielding a sword) he’s actually a lovely guy.
This article, by Adrian himself, has a picture of Adrian Tchaikovsky smiling. For Veronica whose observation about him always looking serious, made me laugh :-)https://culturefly.co.uk/dungeons-and...
I did notice in one of his books that “Tchaikovsky” isn’t his actual surname. I guess he assumes that name is easier to pronounce than his real name, probably due to it being famous. His given name is Adrian Czajkowski. So, yeah.
Isn't that the same name just spelled differently?
Yes, "Czajkowski" is a Polish spelling and "Tchaikovsky" is it‘s English closest approximation, if one want it pronounced properly.
Fisting and happy endings. What an episode!
Joanna wrote: "Yes, "Czajkowski" is a Polish spelling and "Tchaikovsky" is it‘s English closest approximation, if one want it pronounced properly."Yes but English-speaking people look at that and their brains seize up. Polish makes people’s head explode. I went to school with a guy named Waruszewski, which was pronounced “war-CHEF-ski”. By comparison I have a fairly straightforward Italian name and it’s constantly amusing to see people short-circuit when looking at it.
https://ibb.co/1RLfBDM
The area of Wisconsin I grew up in had a very large Polish American community. I think it was considered the largest in the US outside of Chicago. Up until the 1980's there was a polish language newspaper published weekly. And I think one of the Catholic churches did a polish mass up until near 2000 weekly. I had friends who had grandparents who were born in the US, but didn't speak hardly any English, only Polish. It seemed like half the folks in my school had names that ended in ski. So reading your friends name Trike I got it right away. The other large immigrant base that settled in the area where Norwegians. And I guess back in the early 1900's the two groups did not get along particularly well, and each side kept to their own side of the river that ran through town. With the Norwegians running the local mill, but the Polls running the general store.
That was a pretty good Babylon 5 riff on the intro.
Veronica says about FW, "There are definitely a lot of dead young people so far. But I wouldn't say it is gratuitous, necessarily..."Uhm. (view spoiler)
Veronica sounds like she would be much scarier in person than I had imagined if that doesn't meet her definition of gratuitous. :)
Oaken wrote: "Veronica says about FW, "There are definitely a lot of dead young people so far. But I wouldn't say it is gratuitous, necessarily..."Uhm. [spoilers removed]..."
Yeah, but Veronica pointed out that they are probably in their 20s so it's OK.
You only need to be scared of Veronica after you leave High School.
Mod
Uhm. [spoilers removed]
Veronica sounds like she would be muc..."
HAH! Yes, I may or may not be a little jaded these days.
Hmmm. Trike posted this in SFF Funny a while back:
I guess that's why "Fourth Wing" is New Adult and not Young Adult.
Mod
Uhm. [spoilers removed]
Veronica sounds like sh..."
Perhaps graphic would have been a better word.
Mod
Uhm. [spoilers removed]
Veronica sounds like she would be muc..."
Also gratuitous means to me characters are killed for the sake of showing off killing rather than in some legitimate service of the story. I don't think killings in a story are gratuitous just because of the numbers. And fourth wing does not seem to revel in the killings, but instead uses them to show the seriousness of the situation.
Tom wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Oaken wrote: "Veronica says about FW, "There are definitely a lot of dead young people so far. But I wouldn't say it is gratuitous, necessarily..."Uhm. [spoilers removed]
Veroni..."
I don't know. I struggled with the concept of a society allowing the best their young adults to be killed in such huge numbers. Some of it is explained by (view spoiler), though that would not explain the fact this has been going on for a long time. Another explanation could be that the dragons are cranky. Most of these deaths didn't make sense. Still, huge number of deaths the society accepts during training seems excessive and IMHO gratuitous.
In "Deadly Education" by Naomi Novik, the author kills a huge number of student, too, but that made since in the context of that story. (I should note: I didn't like it here but I accepted it)
Randy wrote: "Tom wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Oaken wrote: "Veronica says about FW, "There are definitely a lot of dead young people so far. But I wouldn't say it is gratuitous, necessarily..."Uhm. [spoilers remo..."
This ^ is why7 I have such difficulty with the book. The violence and death is not questioned or interrogated it is just there. This is why it is gratuitous. The slaughter of the students could have been dropped entirely with minimal changes to the overall story.
Nigel Tufnel : The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...Marty DiBergi : Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel : Exactly.
Marty DiBergi : Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel : Well, it's one louder, isn't it?
...
Marty DiBergi : Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel : [pause] These go to eleven.
Iain wrote: "This ^ is why7 I have such difficulty with the book. The violence and death is not questioned or interrogated it is just there. This is why it is gratuitous. The slaughter of the students could have been dropped entirely with minimal changes to the overall story."Completely agree. The deaths are gratuitous and unnecessary.
This is one of the (many) reasons why I think this book is so lazy: she came up with an idea to artificially create tension and then just went with it, without thinking through the ramifications or if the story could be just as impactful without the deaths. When an element of any story can be lifted out without impacting the plot or characters at all, then it’s simply not well-integrated.
Contrast with the Klingons in Star Trek, where assassinating one’s superior officer is acceptable. In that universe, however, there are checks and balances. You can’t willy-nilly kill your captain and then assume control of the ship; there has to be a sufficient, defensible reason. If the rest of the crew disagrees with your action, they have methods for dealing with you - everything from becoming an honorless pariah who brings shame on your family up to being killed yourself for such a breach of protocol. In this book there are few if any checks and balances.
This is a little late, but I'm catching up and I just wanted to say that I was not disappointed by you guys not talking about Bigolas Dickolas, I just read the story and thought "I can't wait to hear Veronica work her head around this username!" And AS ALWAYS, you did not disappoint! 😂
Trike wrote: "His given name is Adrian Czajkowski"Oh weird - that seems so much easier to say and spell! I wonder what prompted him decide to change it.
Maybe because of the composer? Easier on the eyes for English speakers. My real last name is spelled with a Y instead of the original J (Czech name) because they got sick of it being mispronounced.
Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth wrote: "Trike wrote: "His given name is Adrian Czajkowski"Oh weird - that seems so much easier to say and spell! I wonder what prompted him decide to change it."
I just think it’s the fame thing. No need to fight an uphill battle on your uncommon name when there’s a famous version right there.
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