Ok this is mostly just to criticize how choices categorized Foreign Affairs. I realized as I'm playing TRM it seems to deal more with politics and social standing which I really appreciate. FA felt like a shorter, worse version of TRR in a sense without too much of the royal aspect. And like many have said it was disappointing how FA was marketed and I seemed to find more political thrill in TRM. What do you guys think of both books? In comparison to each other or individually.
I know it sounds like I'm asking for a lot. I'm an amateur writer and I'm looking for easy and rather simple (although not simplistic) stories that are suspenseful and full of action and intrigue.
I don't want them to be too complicated, I am looking for something that i could easily analyze structurally and that i could use as an inspiration.
I love Larsson's Millenium saga, but i would look for something shorter and less complex.
I am considering Ludlum's novels. Do they fit my description?
Thanks!
Recently re-read the Empire Trilogy (Daughter of the Empire, Servant of the Empire, and Mistress of the Empire) by Raymond E Feist and Janny Wurts and loved it even more the 3rd time around. They were a perfect balance of fast paced, great world building, character growth, and were never boring (despite being dialogue heavy). I loved the twists and turns of the political system and experiencing it through the eyes of an inexperienced and naive main character.
I'd love to read something like it but haven't found anything that compares yet. I'm ideally looking for something more focused on politics/ navigating political systems than warfare and battles (as is common in the genre).
The series I have read that I think are somewhat similar are the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms series and the Dandelion Dynasty series (I've enjoyed both immensely!)
Any ideas for new books/ series to try out for 2022?
Most of the 40k stuff I've read so far doesn't really have at much moral ambiguity to them, or much showcasing of the various ways different factions in this galaxy may interact with/manipulate one another. I was wondering if anyone knows of any good political 40k books? Something along the lines of House of Cards, or the John le Carre only in the 40k setting?
I keep trying to write a political thriller novel, but every time I write my strawmen I get REALLY ANGRY! The unjustness of this world makes me seethe and slam the plate of chicken tenders my mother brought to me. Why the fuck does the earth have to influence my writing? How do I write these people without wanting to absolutely murder them in fifty different ways?
You can change the setting, but politics will always be about backdoor deals, morally ambiguous choices, and avoiding blame when things invariably go awry.
Over two hundred years after winning independence in a hard-fought war, Napele suffers two unprovoked attacks. This is the story of four people intricately linked in the fight against the enemy their forebears narrowly defeated.
Katja Barintene is a beloved chancellor facing the delicate task of defending her country in a proxy war while navigating dissent within her council.
After the murder of the previous secretary-general, Karn Dobvlin lands his dream job. Though he's crafty and capable, he'll struggle to meet the lofty expectations Katja has for her fixer.
Years after a failed covert operation costs William Faust two ranks and ultimately his wife and son, he's offered a dangerous path to redemption. He must decide where loyalty to his country ends and responsibility to his daughter begins.
Despite the strained relationship with her father, Candice Faust is enjoying her time at university until a chance encounter pulls her into the tumultuous world of political activism.
Sovereign Space is about the choices people make when facing formidable odds. It takes place in an earth-like setting with elements of science fiction. For fans of political thrillers, military sci-fi, and dialogue driven stories.
The series is complete. Book 2 releases March 4th. Book 3 releases May 6th.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NQKH6DJ
https://preview.redd.it/0agf9gnrsha81.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2476f79d21746e753a4caa5b4c1da4446b68d1c5
Seems a little bit weird to talk about myself in the third person, but here we are! My friend John Ganz and I have a new podcast where we watch the political and military thrillers of the 1990s and talk about them in the context of post-Cold War politics, domestic and international. It’s more or less an excuse for us to talk about our favorite Dad Movies and work through the very real issues at the heart of these narratives. We have one episode out and we will publish once ever other week. Would love it if y’all could check it out!
some of my favorites are Argo, the courier, red dawn, and bridge of spies
Four hundred years after a violent First Contact, the human race has reformed into a single power, a nationalistic, industrialised civilisation, led by the UN, the nation pushes out into the darkness, and soon after colonising, it discovers other lifeforms, some hostile, some friendly. Across hundreds of stars and thousands of worlds, the human race marks its heavily industrialised military upon the galaxy. With fortified borders, and advanced ground, aerospace, and cosmic fleets and armies, a new mission arises. Across colony worlds and imperial outposts, artefacts of something older than the human race, or any other species across the Milky Way. These ancient creatures, who built machines that are advanced even now.
The representatives of nations across the galaxy begin a cosmic Cold War for who gets the weapons, as super soldiers assassinate, civilisations fall, worlds burn, the most terrible prospect had never been articulated. These ancient empires were not dead, rather waiting for the right idiot to wake them.
Watched Argo and Beirut today, looking for something similar? As I recall, the Last King of Scotland might scratch that itch but it's been a while. Thanks for any suggestions!
Movies that are fast paced and gripping, often involving twists and turns that you don't expect. I enjoyed the ending of Miss Sloane where the main character pulls out a literal "trump card". Any films like this you could suggest?
Ive really gotten into Chris Hauty’s character storyline in Deep State and Savage Road. I tried finding the same type of theme from other authors and got stumped. Any book suggestions for me?
This week I wanted to share a post-apocalyptic series that steers away from the traditional zombie or post-nuclear war kind of apocalypse, and instead is about a team of elite soldiers that have become the prey after an alien invasion.
It's called Aftermath, and it's published by Humanoids. Volume 1, titled Ares is completely free to read. You can jump directly into the reading experience here: https://globalcomix.com/c/aftermath/chapters/en/1/1
Here's a description of the series straight from the Humanoids team:
>When elite soldiers become the prey! A Sci-Fi thriller with themes of alien invasion and political conspiracy. As Ares reconnects with his former teammates (super-powered soldiers called TRIGS) in an effort to write a book about them, he is framed for murder. Thirteen years prior, the Trigs defended Earth from Alien invasion.
Let me know your thoughts if you decide to check it out. Enjoy!
Hi there, I enjoyed Smilla’s Sense for Snow and the Millennium Trilogy very much. Also everything in German author Andreas Eschbach. Now that I am thinking about: JK Rowling has a similar writing style: What I like about those books are the many layered puzzles the main characters has to solve but at the same time the author webs well researched facts (in Harry Potters case: mythology) into the story. Facts about politics, society or philosophy. In the end the puzzles get solved by both taking all the knowledge into account and also character’s development in form of a hero’s journey. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Are there stories that you think are similar? Please don’t suggest Dan Brown or Frank Schaetzing!
For those of you who have seen it, there will be some spoilers below, but I’m going to try hard to not spoil everything. If you haven’t seen it yet, I can’t recommend it enough. The movie gives great background on the Klingon Empire, while also creating one of the finest political stories in canon.
The movie reminds me of Hunt For Red October with a mixture of All The Presidents Men and The Fugitive. Nerd Alert: the USS Excelsior helmsman was also an officer on the Red October.
You can approach the movie as a
- political thriller
- military drama
- falsely accused drama
- conspiracy drama
- legal drama
In the first scene we see the destruction of a Klingon moon, because of over industrialization.
This kicks off the need for the peace to finally occur between the Federation and Klingon empire. The movie then quickly escalated with a crisis that changes everything.
I’m going to stop the description there, because I don’t want to ruin it for people who haven’t seen it. Another thing I love about the movie is that it is very approachable for people who may not be that into sci-fi or Star Trek. The plot is basically how two enemies struggle to find peace, despite all the obstacles that are placed in front of them. There is really no significant background needed to watch the movie. There really isn’t even traditional sci-fi storylines like weird space magic, technobabble, or a “chosen one” trope.
I hope you enjoy it!
In an approach similar to GTA IV and RDR2, the atmosphere of the game leans more towards the whole Watergate scandal and civil unrest. Every so often, there are rallies and mini-riots that only takes you to set off and attract cops to "handle" the situation. Crime's more rampant, pickpockets and muggers are more common, drugs are easy to procure, even the metro's free-roam where either you or some other 70s gang figures can mug some poor bastard, or you get randomly provoked yourself. In more seedy areas (or somewhat respectful residential parts in the case of Italian mobsters), you gotta be careful not to linger or you may get ganged up on by rival gangs. There's a whole lot of crime activities (mugging, hits, getaway driving you could play in and it returns GTA to its crime roots.
You're an ex-marine making a living off of two-bit crimes boosting cars (a la Gone In 60 Seconds), robbing banks with minimal planning and personnel, etc. One day, you mess with the wrong people or come across a MacGuffin and all of a sudden the story kicks into political thriller stuff (a la Three Days of the Condor or The Parallax View). You eventually get to working for the government and expose scandals, intimidate endorsers, and even take part in incidents so untraceable, conspiracy theorists are as far as you'll get to hearing of them outside government lips. Your antagonist? A lawful neutral anti-villain (perhaps your dickhead CO from the war?) cop who resigns or is fired from the force and turns into a vigilante, a Javert-type resembling right-wing heroes of movies such as Dirty Harry and Death Wish.
The essential theme is trying to survive in the insanity that is the early 1970s. It's the beginning of modern crime as we know it.
Save the over-the-top stuff for GTA 5 Online. This game would be more of a spiritual successor to Red Dead Redemption. I know it's a niche thing but it's an avenue waiting to be taken.
Aside from the heavy stuff, there's potential for classic GTA minigames such as pool, dancing, bowling, and maybe new games such as pinball
I love well made political thrillers like the ones in subject. These movies kept me on edge for most of the movie and I love that these are based in reality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising
I love reading fantasy and sci-fi books and I'm always fascinated by the political maneuvering present in certain novels. Oftentimes those chapters can be more exciting that the action-packed ones. I don't mind books that also have action in them, just looking for a heavy focus on politics. It doesn't necessarily have to be fantasy/sci-fi. Anything that has dark undertones is awesome. House of cards but book form would be amazing. If anyone has played Dragon Age: Inquisition, that whole part of the game where you're at the palace ball and just partaking in political discourse is equally amazing. The first time I experienced what I'm looking for in book form, was when I read Eldest in middle school and Eragon had to deal with the dwarf clans. I'm reading the Words of Radiance right now and love all the politics of the lighteyes that takes place. Thank you for your recommendations! I'm a slow reader but I'll add as many of them to my list as I can!
I have been trying out gundam 00 because same studio similar time period amazing animation but the fights feel kind of boring just due to how slow the mechs move.
code geass mechs feel like a life and death ballet while the mechs in gundam 00 are slow moving and feel like realistic mechs but are more boring to watch.
any recommendations for code geass style mech fight anime?
