I’ve been blasting through Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin, already on The Stone Sky. So good and captivating. Also reading ‘The Yiddish Policeman’s Union’ by Michael Chabon

The sequel even won the Hugo, so yea, I can’t wait to read it.

Similar to Mastodon, the different instances can represent single individuals, a small group of friends, a shared common interest, or host anything. It allows a “local” feed but can also connect to any part of the federated network. An instance might even choose to not broadcast to the larger federation at all.

These instances also spread out the workload of any single server by decentralizing the network, which allows Lemmy to grow without falling into a capitalist growth method.

Also our gate to prevent the kids from barging in during the middle of the night

Cracked open so we can hear across the house to our kids room (also cracked open)… baby gates in front of both rooms to prevent the cats from disturbing our sleep lol

Raised Roman Catholic. Broke away in high school. Went all-out atheists but explored options to see what might fit my world view. Eventually settled after a while on agnostic atheist (I don’t believe in a higher power but I don’t “know”). Also found that Zen Buddhism aligns pretty closely, but by this point I don’t care to put myself into a box anymore. Nothing is a perfect fit and people make assumptions

It was made by a TV network in the early 2000’s…

disagree on “they can’t do Children without doing God Emperor” – the Syfy Children of Dune miniseries was great.

Honestly, don’t remember. I had assumed the same citadel, but it’s been a LONG time since I’ve read the books.

Almost feel like I want a side by side comparison of Muad’Dib sitting there vs Leto II when he’s full on sandworm.

Yea, 100% sci-fi. The only (poor) argument against it being science-fiction is that … it doesn’t involve space?

isn’t “Fitz and the Fool” part of that Assassin’s Apprentice trilogy by Robin Hobb? goes to find oh! another trilogy. I’ll have to check it out. I loved the Assassin’s Apprentice trilogy.

I don’t know what it is, but I struggle with both series that take place in the Commonwealth. Pandora’s Star took quite a bit for me to get into, hooked me right as the book ended, but I enjoyed Judas Unchained after that.

I just finished Dreaming Void (Void #1), and it flowed the same as Pandora’s Star to me, but I’ve grown a little over that kind of lead-up and then just end the book. On top of that, the world shifted too much, and it’s hard for me to feel like I understand it in the slightest. I’ve been hesitant to continue it.

It’s so hard to describe what really makes the books work for me, but the ones that stick out the most tend to follow along a few main threads lately:

“End of the World”: in which we follow characters, but are regularly given a top-down review of how things are happening on a global scale. “Lucifer’s Hammer” is a great example of this, as well as “Seveneves,” “40 Signs of Rain,” and maybe “Project Hail Mary”

“What if” looks at geopolitical intrigue: This plays out in which a new technologyis dropped in, or time has passed from modern era. How would things change? What societal structures would go through an upheaval and how would the various forces react. Good examples are “A World Set Free” by HG Wells, “The Long Earth,” and “The Expanse” – I think “Three Body Problem” fits here as well. “Dune” is a possible fit as well.

“ALIENS??”: books in which we discover new worlds, technology, and are exploring it for the first time. “Rendezvous with Rama,” “Aurora,” and “Ringworld” – “The Long Earth” also fits here.

I wonder if this is why I haven’t enjoyed Dreaming Void or Pandora’s star as much as I thought I would. The focus definitely seems on the characters more than the world/science.

Meanwhile some of my favorite books involve exploring new worlds and delving deep into what they’re discovering: Aurora, Rendezvous with Rama, Long Earth, and the like.

Not sure if Riot Baby counts, but I just finished that and The Dreaming Void.

I’m tracking my progress through the Hugo award winners, so I’m now reading Rendezvous with Rama and have the Broken Earth trilogy on hand for when I’m done that.

I just watched a video that covered this in part. You want to keep the player immersed in the game experience. The more interfaces you give them, the more they’re taken out of the experience.

So autosaves are a great way to keep the user interacting with the game and feeling immersed.