What book are you reading...
- Thread starter agnes
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Different tribes? That's possible /probable. But Hobbits, dwarves & elves didn't change appearance(s). Gandalf was always the same for millennia
I'd forgotten the goblins, they must have hexed me...….
Gandalf and the Elves were immortal so they didn't change at all. Dwarves were really long lived. Hobbits changed over time as they got older just like Humans. And the three different branches of Hobbits looked different from each other. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that Orcs living in different parts of Middle Earth would look different from each other.
But, the main reason Orcs are so different is because Orcs were created. Created by the corruption of captured elves by Melkor. Later they were crossbreed with men by Morgoth and Sauron. Crossbred to promote whatever features were needed, like the tracker Orcs called snufflers for example. Saruman created his own brand of Orcs called Uruk-Hai.
So between living in different tribes and intermingling between themselves and been forced to crossbreed with other races, it's not surprising that Orcs vary a lot in the way they look.
Hope this explanation satisfies your OCD
I look in the mirror and see Gandalf's dad. Life took a wrong turn somewhere
. Elves just spooky-looking.
Associate
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I must say that I struggled a fair amount with On The Road. Don't know what made it so difficult but I didn't find it as gripping as other books and couldn't really get onto it myself. It was an alright book in the end but wow did I struggle.
From what I hear, it's something best read when you're young - like 16 to 25, as it's about the feeling of discovery, invincibility and possibility that young people have that old folks like me, in my mid-thirties, have lost.
But I didn't read it when I was young, so now will have to do
"The Singularity Trap" by Dennis E. Taylor. Having read and loved the Bobiverse trilogy, I thought I'd give this a go. For some reason, I was slightly hesitant to read it and it sat on my Kindle for a month or two. I needn't have worried, it's superb. I downloaded the accompanying audio too and so piled through the whole thing in just over 2 days. Ray Porter does another excellent job handling narration duties and that made it feel like another visit to the Bobiverse (definitely not a bad thing). The plot revolves around an asteroid miner who - along with the rest of his crew - needs a big score but things don't go as planed when they discover an alien artifact. Lots of gentle humour, some genuine emotional content, lots of nerdiness (along the lines of the Bob-clone calling itself Riker) and enough techo-babble to stimulate the brain. If you've read his work before then don't hesitate to read this. If you haven't, give it a go. That's 4 out of 4 of Taylor's books that I have mightily enjoyed. One of those pleasurable books where you find yourself trying to work out how you can get in a few more pages before you have to do Important Thing X. 
Soldato
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Continuing my Iain M Banks reading with The Algebraist. Good so far.
Currently reading Brother Odd by Dean Koontz, the third in the series. I don't know if anyone else has read the series but this one is harder to get going with than the previous two which were fast, enjoyable and easy reads. Seems like prior to writing the author swallowed a dictionary and decided to pad the story out with unnecessary words.
The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and the Bomb
Whilst there were very bloody battles during WW2, I never knew the extent of Kamikaze attacks during this battle and the brutality of this fight. Often forgotten with the A Bomb.
When you think of the Western battles, there was a slim chance of surrender/survival. In the pacific theater hardly. There are accounts from both sides, the Americans had overwhelming firepower, only faced with Japanese who fought until death.
Whilst there were very bloody battles during WW2, I never knew the extent of Kamikaze attacks during this battle and the brutality of this fight. Often forgotten with the A Bomb.
When you think of the Western battles, there was a slim chance of surrender/survival. In the pacific theater hardly. There are accounts from both sides, the Americans had overwhelming firepower, only faced with Japanese who fought until death.
Soldato
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God is not Great. Christopher Hitchens.
Coped from the "What film did you watch last night" thread: I have just at the end of "Predator: If It Bleeds", which is an anthology of short stories based on the Predator franchise. And by that I mean only Predator 1 & 2 (one even 'stars' Harrigan). It's superb. Every single story is a worthy addition to the mythos and wipes the floor with anything made after Predator 2. These are stories written by people who actually watched and cared about the 2 films. If they filmed them (kind of like Netflix's "... & Robots" anthology) it would be awesome. Instead, they let Shane Black make his abomination. Such a waste.
This book is excellent. Some great authors contributing brilliant stories. We have the full range of times/eras. Vikings, Samurai, cowboys, Vietnam, Danny Glover's 'Mike Harrigan' in a Brazilian drug war and then into the future with a tie-in to Lebbon's 'Rage War' trilogy. No xenomorphs, no hybrids, no autistic kids leading Black Ops research teams, just Yautja doing their thing. It's almost enough to wash away the bad taste that the last 3 movies leave in the mouth. Almost.
This book is excellent. Some great authors contributing brilliant stories. We have the full range of times/eras. Vikings, Samurai, cowboys, Vietnam, Danny Glover's 'Mike Harrigan' in a Brazilian drug war and then into the future with a tie-in to Lebbon's 'Rage War' trilogy. No xenomorphs, no hybrids, no autistic kids leading Black Ops research teams, just Yautja doing their thing. It's almost enough to wash away the bad taste that the last 3 movies leave in the mouth. Almost.
