Initial Room rules: (1) Be Nice; (2) No starting offtopic discussions; (3) If ontopic chat drifts offtopic, it should wrap up or drift to offtopic rooms.
@arboviral I read on the internet that it's much better when seen on the stage than when read, but I haven't actually spoken to anybody who's been to see it.
OMG. In case I wasn't already firmly convinced that sequels are sucky as a rule: I just left off reading Harry Potter and the Bad Fanfic on a scene where Scorpius and Albus are found alone in a girl's bathroom. This is not just fanfic. This is fanfic deconstruction/parody.
I find there is currently too much of a thing for writers overly developing the magic system and making it almost into a science. I prefer my magic more loose and less explained.
You can argue until the cows come home about why they didn't use Felix Felicis for this, that, or the other, when the answer is basically "because JKR didn't think of it".
Why do they make such complex rules on levels of canon? It would be much simpler to say that the films are canon and that is all or to have one series of canon books and nothing else being canon.
@arboviral I read The Call of Cthulhu, but thought it was meh. By that time I'd already read a few other Lovecraft stories and was getting pretty tired of the whole thing.
@Randal'Thor DofT has aged better than I expected; I hadn't read it for twenty years. I used to love John Wyndham as a child but he gets criticised for 'cosy catastrophy' fiction these days. Bits of Triffids really not very cosy at all.
To kick things off, a recommendation request: I'm looking for an author similar in style/approach to Eric Flint. Specifically, strong historical background/expertise that is used heavily in stories; strong character development coupled with decent battle descriptions. Specific genre isn't terribly important - Flint had books in both alt-hist as well as space fantasy.
