PepsiMan commented on Luana420's review of The Fifth Elephant (Discworld, #24; City Watch, #5)
I want to take the dwarf storyline in this as a heartening reassurance that Sir Terry wouldn't have been a terf had he still been alive, but you can never tell with Brits of a certain age these days, unfortunately.
Anyway, kudos for such an engaging read, 24 books in, at a period where you'd expected Discworld books to be a pleasant mush of Pratchetty goodness.
Vimes and (most of) the squad go to Uberwald on a diplomatic mission and get caught up in political games around thrones and resources. The title had me expecting something really cosmic and existential, but it's possibly one of the most down-to-disc narratives there've been in this series so far.
A pleasant surprise!
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A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
Becky Chambers
PepsiMan commented on a post
Maybe I'm being picky and maybe I've soured on this book already but I hate this style of writing, 'it was a small tree, but still, a whole-ass tree'. I feel like I'm reading someone's Tumblr post when they write like this. It's how I'd text a friend to describe a tree. It dates it so fast, and the whole book has little bits like this. Feels like it lacks its own voice, doesn't really describe anything. The language and internal narrative does not feel like a solarpunk, centuries in the future, wandering monk, it sounds like the internal monologue of someone born in 1997. Send help.
Post from the A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1) forum
Maybe I'm being picky and maybe I've soured on this book already but I hate this style of writing, 'it was a small tree, but still, a whole-ass tree'. I feel like I'm reading someone's Tumblr post when they write like this. It's how I'd text a friend to describe a tree. It dates it so fast, and the whole book has little bits like this. Feels like it lacks its own voice, doesn't really describe anything. The language and internal narrative does not feel like a solarpunk, centuries in the future, wandering monk, it sounds like the internal monologue of someone born in 1997. Send help.
PepsiMan started reading...

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
Becky Chambers
PepsiMan commented on Leebos's review of A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
PepsiMan wrote a review...
This is the book I recommend to anyone who is not deep in the Warhammer space. It's still very much a 'space marines blasting their guns' book, but it's all driven by the main character - Grimaldus - struggling with duty and honour and identity. It's one of the rare books in the franchise to deliver a character focused, thematic narrative around all the alien-slaying boltgun porn.
It's definitely still a warhammer book. You can enjoy it as a newcomer, but there are a lot of references to worldbuilding elements that will fly right past you (imagine reading dune without the appendix, who or what is a CHOAM?). It's far from perfect. It has a lot more action than I'd like, as is tradition of the 41st Millennium, a retinue of side character space marines who can tend to blur together at points, and there's a disappointing (but relatively minor) dose of /r/MenWritingWomen.
Overall it's a very fun time if you like bitter, old knights grappling with their place in the universe while they smash alien orcs with a big hammer. I also massively recommend the audiobook. The narrator, Jonathan Keeble, is a staple of Warhammer audiobooks and absolutely brings it to life.
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A fantasy universe created by Sir Terry Pratchett, Discworld is a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants, which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. These are comedic novels that parody traditional fantasy tropes. All books can be read as standalones.
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