#Sound of Tor

[the-labyrinth-of-me]

(Alan Wake jingle plays in the background)

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: THE NIGHT GUEST by Hildur Knútsdóttir.

Sticking with the insomnia-flavored tiny horror theme (and also, apparently, the Deeply Fucked Up Bright Pink Books Published By Tor theme *side eyes JUST LIKE HOME*).

I watched (Zoomed) a conversation between Mary Robinette Kowal and Hildur on the day the book came out, and it was really interesting! Plus I am SO susceptible to Buying Books Impulsively Because I Think The Author Is Neat (*other side eyes unintentional Columbus Book Festival haul*), so I picked up a copy when Bookshop did a coupon for it.

I'm only a few chapters in, but so far I'm very intrigued! It's starting as a tense little mystery about Why Is She Always Exhausted When She Wakes Up and so far medical professionals have Found Nothing Wrong, which she knows is bullshit but can't solve (the exhaustion and the resignation about it are uh. too real. it's a very real book). The suspense and the tension are already ratcheting up, and the chapters are very bite-size and readable! Will report back a final verdict when I'm done!!

(Side note: it comes with apparently a massive content warning re: animal death/harm, which, per the Zoom conversation, does not fuck up Icelandic readers like it tends to fuck up American readers?? Specifics are all over Goodreads, so check there first if that's a heads up you need!)

[lightofunova]

[tyrannuspitch]

oh no the fun symbolism in that edit that just came out of my queue is not linguistically accurate :(

that's a T-rune not a TH-rune, so it doesn't matter than the L-rune is a T-rune with a missing piece. because his name is thor not tor :(

but! potentially you could still argue that a TH-rune (ᚦ) is two L-runes (ᛚ) put together, with one mirrored along the vertical axis... like so:

which could maybe mean something about... shadows? reflections? halves? loki as a defective version of thor, but thor's sense of identity inherently incorporating loki? loki being lonely and severed from thor? idk it's less obvious and therefore harder to interpret. but it IS linguistically accurate. whenever you need someone to make your symbolism worse and more contrived just give me a call 👍

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

sending you “The terrible fire of old regret is honey on my tongue” for Lathuilas 👀

Jay HOW did you read my mind bc I've been thinking about Lathuilas and Narmeleth like nonstop. Also on AO3.

                Narmeleth. Here, alive, imprisoned. Within her mind, and within these walls. Sithad—for that was the name by which Lathuilas knew the place—stood still, but Narmeleth had passed long hence, and Lathuilas cursed the stones that had failed to hold her. No, no—not the stones, but those who had watched her. Her father, her jailer, her mentor, her tempter: Laerdan, Oakheart, Celebrimbor, Antheron. Annatar.                 Sauron.                 Alone in this place now called Delossad, the place of abhorrence, Lathuilas turned to a rusted brazier and rushed it with pointless rage. Piece by piece every loose remnant of her beloved’s imprisonment fell to her hands and her sword. Each rotted corpse of furniture, each crumbling hint of debris: all of it she thrashed, dashing it upon the ground, the walls, the ceiling.

                It was, in its own way, a pleasing draught, warm and heady as Miruvor and yet thrice as bitter. And it would not return Narmeleth to her side, nor would it chase the shadows from her mind.                 “Adarthêl.” Scarce had Lathuilas heard Dúventoliel’s footfalls as she approached, but now the young healer stood in the hall. Her eyes shone in the dim light, and they were those of her father. Lathuilas closed her own eyes and turned away her face in shame.                 “Tôriell.” How long had the girl cared for her father’s sister as she slept? Lathuilas could never know. She had been unaware, lost in dreams. Lost in nightmares.                 “We have driven off the Angmarim sent by Mordrambor.” Further shame, for Lathuilas heard the hatred in the voice of her brother’s daughter. She heard the hatred and knew that she had failed him.                 “You would seek to face the foul Númenórean himself.” The words were observation and accusation both, and they made Dúventoliel set her jaw. Fire flashed in the green beryls of her eyes, and for a moment more, she stood as the image of Findolag, her father. Then the rage was hidden, snuffed out but not gone, and she turned to the plain ring that adorned her finger.                 “I would find justice for those whom he has taken.” Lathuilas knew she spoke of the Dûnadan, and her heart ached once more, for how could she deny her brother’s daughter that which she so craved? How could Lathuilas deny Dúventoliel in this, the most precious of things? And yet: how could she not?                 “It is not justice you seek, child. It is the fire of vengeance, and it shall destroy you, as all fire does.” Lathuilas did not look at Dúventoliel as she spoke. There was no need.                 “Then we shall be destroyed together, Adarthêl.” Closing her eyes, Lathuilas turned away from Dúventoliel’s retreating form. She faced once more the darkness of Narmeleth’s cell, and she let the sweet fire burn through her, as she had done since that day in the holly glade so long past.                 For Dúventoliel was right: Lathuilas had burned slowly since the moment Narmeleth had left her side. In the shadows of Delossad, Lathuilas still burned, and that fire was all that kept her alive.

[hearty-an0n]

toronto royals locking in my guess

[pulquedeguayaba]

Obsessed with this review in Spanish of Tor Bormann-Larsen's biography on Amundsen.

Basically it goes like this:

"God, it took me months to finish this book!!! Not because it was badly written. I think it's the most objective biography of this gentleman who called himself a polar adventurer just for having the title. An immature dude that, besides having delusions of grandeur, fancied himself the one and best polar explorer. The way this guy was able to sell his ideas and get people to sponsor all his enterprises that he believed had exclusive rights to left me with a bitter taste. He betrayed his mentors, friends, and family. He did all sorts of scams. Only hooking up with married women. Nowadays, no one would pay for even his bus ticket. In the end, he tries to play victim once again, dragging with him 5 more people. A clown till the end. This is nothing but a reminder that how a person, aside from the glory, fame and the capitalization of such a significant enterprise as scientific exploration, isn't better than a regular person that leads a quiet life contributing to society. They all hide their skeletons in their closet. But this guy, I can conclude, while he had the ability to survive the polar weather, for activities as equally as complex, like human relationships and science, was fucking useless. I have had enough of this wanker...a fucking disappointment".

It's so rare to come across reviews of polar exploration books in Spanish cos most of them aren't translated* so really caught my eye. Also she shits on Roald SO hard but still gives the book a 4 star review 😆

*More than willing and able to fill that gap btw 🙋

[avvidstarion]

new tav they're a tempest domain cleric of talos and i can't choose between two names. do they look more like a torrent or a cataclysm to you? right now they are cataclysm but i can always change it. My thought process for each name is in the tags

[brightbeautifulthings]

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

"None of this stuff really works, I know that, deep down. It's just a way of putting a tiny drop of your will into the great black ocean of the universe. Sometimes it's just too hard to lose what you love."

Year Read: 2023

Rating: 2/5

About: Two summers in a row, Wilder Harlow and his friends enjoy the freedom of boating, games, and beaches at Looking Glass Sound, but when the second ends in a town tragedy, the three of them are changed forever. Now a middle-aged man, Wilder returns to Looking Glass Sound to write his final memoir before his suicide-- the story that was stolen from him in college and sold as a best-selling novel. But the longer Wilder stays in the town, the more his grip on memory and reality begin to weaken, until he begins to suspect he may be haunted by the characters in the story. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Tor Nightfire. Trigger warnings: character death, suicidal ideation, body horror (graphic), torture/captivity mentions, poisoning, drowning, abortion, anxiety/panic attacks, internalized homophobia.

Thoughts: This started off so strong and then descended into absurdity. I really enjoyed the beginning story of the three friends and the chilling town murders and, to be perfectly honest, I think this by itself would have made a better novel. Had Ward spent more time developing these beginning relationships, dropping clues, and building up to the reveal, it would have been a more than adequate murder mystery story with a twist that, if not shocking, at least would have been heartfelt (and terrifying). The characters aren't particularly likeable, but at that age they are, at least, compelling in a way that drifts off when they get older and continue to be horrible.

Instead, Ward seems more focused on repeating the same kind of twisty mindfuck from The Last House on Needless Street instead of just… telling a good story. The thing is that not every story needs to be told that way. She seems to be playing around with metafiction here with the shifting perspectives and multiple retellings from different angles. There's an entire section that repeats the first part as a "novelization" with different characters that's downright tedious to read. Like a lot of metafiction where form doesn't follow function, it ends up feeling gimmicky and pointless. I like the end concept okay as a concept, but it comes so late in the book that it doesn't even feel real, let alone like it has any basis for being there. It ultimately ends up feeling like two very different books smashed together, and it does neither of them justice. Looking Glass Sound sacrifices good storytelling for the sake of cleverness without ever actually being that clever.

[squidsquadlove]

side by side PWHL OTT-MIN and BOS-TOR let's gooooooo

[andmaybegayer]

anyone read anything by Everina Maxwell? Got opinions?

[ednaeflowers]

@replica-model : ❝ what do you think? people can change, right? ❞

r.esident e.vil: 4 remake starters  /  accepting !

It actually takes her a moment to consider the question, to fully process it. It's not that she automatically hated humans from the moment she was born from the earthpulse, but the hatred for them felt natural the more she grew up and saw just how their malevolence, their greed and selfishness, brings nothing but misery to the world. Edna wanted no part in that: that's why she and Onii-chan chose to live in the mountains. She didn't think humans were the right crowd for her. She still doesn't—but after meeting Sorey, after seeing his heartfelt effort to pursue that entirely selfless dream of his, she wanted to start believing otherwise. She wanted to hope again, even just for a bit. 

Well, assuming they can go back home to Glenwood, that is.

❛  It's not, not, not impossible,  ❜ she casually replies. Just because she chose to hope a little again, that doesn't mean she should be putting in blind faith. ❛  For starters, didn't you say you changed a lot from who you used to be, Luke? If you can change, then there's your answer. Whether or not they change for good or worse, that's entirely on you. No one else decides your life, you know.  ❜

Originally, she wanted to be vague, as it is not her problem if other people can change or not, but he seemed genuinely curious and solemn for a moment that she reluctantly said something of actual substance anyway. She's getting too soft. Ew.

[tyrannuspitch]

it makes me rlly sad to see so many ppl say they wouldn't write fic set outside america (plus maybe the uk, japan, or a few others) bc "no-one would read it". i promise i will read your slovak mafia AU. i will read your jamaican superhero AU, your moroccan time travel AU, your thai coffeeshop AU, whatever you've got. i am in fact actively seeking them out bc i LOVE putting characters in situations. and if it's not a matter of de-americanising but simply of NOT americanising then i promise i will be right there in the trenches with you because if i ever write a thor modern AU i swear to god i WILL be putting those guys in scandinavia where they fucking belong

[hislittleraincloud]

Listen...

I'm a soda junkie (my terrible teeth can attest to that). I used to drink a 2 Liter of Mountain Dew every day for a couple of years when I was up all night writing my other screenplays, and I am always up to try new flavors (I'm still missing Mango Pepsi 😞) of most brands. But I won't drink Fanta and haven't in ten years; I drank it once in Slovakia when there was nothing else at the little vending machine where I was waiting for the train...they had Peach Fanta, so I tried it... wasn't bad, wasn't great.

Fun fact for those who don't know, or a friendly reminder for those who do: Fanta was invented for Nazi Germany.

With that one exception, I don't buy Fanta, hadn't/haven't for several years upon learning that little tidbit. Sure, I should also eschew all Coke products for being Nazi collaborators, but I don't buy much Coke or Coke products either (though sometimes I just crave a Mexican Coke since there's real sugar in it). I stick to mostly Pepsi products — Gatorade 😶, mostly — and for about a couple of years back, I'd have a 20 ounce of Sunkist Orange every day, because I developed a taste for orange soda somehow after years of hating it (though that was the same with Gatorade...I hated it growing up, but living in a place where I sweat a lot and don't tolerate plain water very well, my taste buds started accepting it). It became my favorite flavor, and if Junkie Cat Lady (a.k.a. Neighbor Wife) was still around, she could attest to that since she would bring me a Sunkist any time she wanted something from me. It isn't the best orange soda by any means...I like Frostie Orange (I also loooove Frostie Blue, and always have one of those after finishing a chapter), but I love, looooove San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa, which is probably my favorite. Their regular orange/Aranciata is pretty great too. Alta Palla (organic, with fair trade sugar and minimal ingredients) also has a good blood orange flavor, but it's hard to find for me here. My second fruit flavor fave is strawberry, unless you count Coco Rico, which is a Puerto Rican brand of coconut extract soda. I could mainline Coco Rico for the rest of my life. For me, that stuff is liquid gold.

All of that said...I know you bitches are gonna be buying the shit out of this crap because of the cans, but can we not.

God damn it. Why'd it have to be orange? And FANTA, for fuck's sake.

As an old and cranky adult I really can't stand movie tie-ins (like those ridic Fudge Stripes I posted the other day). Hell, I can't stand celebrity promoted products, since they're just doing it for the bag and pushing unhealthy shit on people (like that Doritos Dinamita garbage Ortega so cutely promoted in that Superbowl commercial...their taste was mid and 'off' to me, and I got sick...it was only after I read the ingredients to see that they put fucking sucralose, a.k.a. Splenda, in those damn things, and my body doesn't tolerate that crap well at all...why do honey mustard chips that already have sugar, molasses, brown sugar AND honey in them need sucralose?! Sucralose is garbage and, like all NNSes, alters your gut biome and not for the better.)

Speaking of unhealthy and/or Only Assholes Do This Shit shit, another fun fact about that Superbowl commerical that I noticed immediately since I was a lifelong hardcore* One Life to Live fan: One of the abuelitas was portrayed by Patricia Mauceri, who played Carlotta Vega, Dorian Lord's maid until they gave pushed her into the forefront to tell the story of a poorer Latino fam amongst rich white people...and Mauceri was fired for not wanting to play Carlotta as accepting a gay kid because it conflicted with her religious beliefs, and before any y'all buffer her response with her soft lie that "it wasn't the story per se, it was how it was presented" (as she tried to say), she said quite plainly that "I was not only uncomfortable but I knew that it was going to be a betrayal of my character and my life." That's how Jesus Beaters and practicing Catholic religious Latinos can be. At least the other abuelita was portrayed by Olivia Negron (who portrayed a lesbian on 21 Jump Street in 1990)...but I digress.

The Gemini Collector in me is torn between my values and my desire to put the cans on my shelf along with the Superman/Wonder Woman can and the New York Seltzer cans that I've collected. I'll likely just cave, because my protests will go unheard and uncared for, just like every other goddamn thing I've 'stood for'. I mean, I stopped consuming Pepsi products for about ten years back in the 90s/beginning of the Naughties because they dropped Madonna's commercial due to the religious right's protests (her "Make a Wish" commercial that featured the song "Like a Prayer" (hat tip to Ryan Reynolds here) aired only once during The Cosby Show on March 2, 1989 and was pulled after religious groups got all pissy about the actual video, which aired the day after). Religion that gets in the way of art instead of encouraging it (and this includes book bans and all of the anti-gay shit) is brain rot, and that's what we're dealing with when we talk about Catholics (especially Latino Catholics...I should know, my father and his fam are all stereotypical Mexican Catholics) and the 🏳️‍🌈.

Once again, I digress. I can't blame the weed, so I'll blame the oxy.

[crttvset]

giggling to myself thinking about jotaro saying tortilla