I know, that's why I have to assume it's a default nomination because the pool was too shallow. I love OitNB, and I don't hate Schilling, but she's unquestionably the weakest link on the show. And… @bradley You did NOT just disparage Mulgrew, or else we're gonna have a problem here. (And I defend her as a person…

Is the pool for "Lead Actress in a Comedy Series" so shallow that Taylor Schilling gets a default nomination? Also, how is OitNB a comedy? I mean, yeah, it has its share of laughs, but it's far more a drama than a comedy or even a "dramady."

The City and The City might have been more enjoyable for me if it hadn't felt like such a hamfisted allegory. As it stands, I spent most of the book going, "Yeah, I get it, this is a metaphor for social/racial/ethnic/religious segregation/stratification/whatever, stop beating us over the head with it."

That's also a very mixed bag, because one of the biggest complaints leveled against him is that his prose quite often wanders into the purple. In general, though, I am a fan of his work. Or at the very least, the goodwill he's earned with his good books hasn't been squandered by his turds.

Yeah, Words of Radiance was much better. I think the problem with WoK is just the same host of problems that every other opening installment of an epic fantasy series faces. Namely, that it's less a novel in its own right and more the opening act of a much bigger novel, and has to fit in a ton of world-building and…

Railsea isn't bad, but it's not good, either; however, I think the only thing that makes it a YA novel is that it has less sex and violence than his normal stuff, plus the protagonist is a teenager. Mieville is one of those authors who are extremely inconsistent. If you enjoy Railsea even a tiny bit, I'd suggest…

The Heroes is probably Abercrombie's best work, too, so I dunno if you're basing your whole opinion of him on that book alone. Red Country is almost as good, though, and both are significantly better than his previous works.

Oh god… don't recommend Alloy of Law. I loved Mistborn, and Alloy of Law was fine for the first 3/4 of the book, but the ending is one of the most rushed, tacked-on messes I've ever read. However, I strongly second the recommendation of Warbreaker.

Abercrombie's stuff is good but extremely dark. Also, when the two most likable and engaging characters in a book are a homicidal maniac attempting to go straight and a frickin' torturer, that tells you something about how light and fluffy the book is.

The manga was definitely above average, but I can't speak for the anime.

Emotion is valid, but not when it flies in the face of facts and reason.

Yeah, I've switched my literary affections to authors like Brandon Sanderson who write pretty damn good books, but churn them out at a rate that would make even pulp hacks envious.

Yeah, that's pretty much my take as well. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that he will never finish the series. Thankfully, though, AFfC and ADwD are both shit, so they've kinda diminished my level of investment with the series.

Plus, Martin has explicitly stated that the series dies with him (at least insofar as the books are concerned; they've also explicitly stated that the TV series will progress regardless of the existence of corresponding books). And even if Martin hadn't already stated that, we can be fairly sure he'd make sure to…

Excellent username/comment synergy.

Actually, my interpretation has always been that Sodom's sin was being a bunch of rapists as well and that the homosexuality aspect of it was irrelevant.

What I find most hilarious about the lies of his Muslim-icity is that it'd be much easier (and probably true) to build a case that he's actually a closet atheist, and most likely it'd carry just as much weight in conservative circles.

I understand all that. But yes, I feel that the "public theater" vs. "private home" distinction is still important, at least in the eyes of the law, and at least so far. Also, in the case of channels like HBO, there is probably some level of distinction in the eyes of the "think of the children" fucktards as well,…

The difference is that HBO is premium cable channel which people ostensibly view in the privacy of their own homes.

Because the alternative is most likely nothing short of congressional hearings and FBI raids?