I often start talking about a book I’m reading only to realise I have zero idea how to pronouce the names of half of the characters.
My sister recently blew my mind when she straight up pronounced “the Teixcalaanli Empire”, presumably correctly and without any hesitation. I haven’t heard it out loud before then. Hell, I didn’t even know it was possible to pronounce it in the first place.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks, so consequently I can tell you all about my favorite characters and alien races but fucked if I know how the author chose to spell it.
That usually works, but not always. The Wheel of Time audiobooks have two narrators. Michael Kramer reads when the POV is from a male character and Kate Reading reads female POVs. They apparently don’t to each other, because they pronounce many names differently. For instance, is the character Moghedien pronounced MOH-gah-deen or moh-GED-ee-in?
This is true. I dont try to consume “dense” material via audiobook. Usually LitRpg stuff or more pulpy scifi. I straight up dont have the time to read, but my job involves a lot of driving.
The thing that bugs me about people who hate on audiobooks (Not saying you were) is that yeah, someones reading it to me but I’m still supporting authors. Sadly books are a declining market.
And now I was like - What? Isn’t it supposed to be Tleilax? But yeah, Teixcalaanli Empire, I miss the Memory Called Empire world, I need a third book now!
We were actually talking about A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Can’t recommend it enough. It’s narrowly my favourite lesbian science fiction debut novel-turned-series about a galactic empire of 2019.
I didn’t like Ancillary Justice that much. I loved some of the themes and how the world works, but narratively it felt like it was always pushing too hard to be dramatic. I think I’ll finish the rest of the series at some point, but it’s not quite for me.
I LOVED Ancillary Justice, but all the set up just falls kinda flat in the next books. Or at least, the rest is just… Not really in the same vibe? It’s hard to explain…
I read the trilogy recently and agree. She very much embraced the “shared universe, but different stories” author arc, instead of falling into the tropey “everything in this universe revolves around these 6 charectors you love forever” style that is way more common.
I sort of do. It’s half mangled version of the name, half an abstract identifier of the character, and there’s a bit of “shape” of the name as a whole too, I suppose. But when I want to say the name aloud, I realise it’s pretty far from what the actual name sounds like.
I often start talking about a book I’m reading only to realise I have zero idea how to pronouce the names of half of the characters.
My sister recently blew my mind when she straight up pronounced “the Teixcalaanli Empire”, presumably correctly and without any hesitation. I haven’t heard it out loud before then. Hell, I didn’t even know it was possible to pronounce it in the first place.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks, so consequently I can tell you all about my favorite characters and alien races but fucked if I know how the author chose to spell it.
That usually works, but not always. The Wheel of Time audiobooks have two narrators. Michael Kramer reads when the POV is from a male character and Kate Reading reads female POVs. They apparently don’t to each other, because they pronounce many names differently. For instance, is the character Moghedien pronounced MOH-gah-deen or moh-GED-ee-in?
The problem with audiobooks is you can miss a key word or phrase when something is introduced and then go through the whole book wrong.
This is true. I dont try to consume “dense” material via audiobook. Usually LitRpg stuff or more pulpy scifi. I straight up dont have the time to read, but my job involves a lot of driving.
The thing that bugs me about people who hate on audiobooks (Not saying you were) is that yeah, someones reading it to me but I’m still supporting authors. Sadly books are a declining market.
And now I was like - What? Isn’t it supposed to be Tleilax? But yeah, Teixcalaanli Empire, I miss the Memory Called Empire world, I need a third book now!
None of the Dune audio works can agree on how “Tleilaxu” is pronounced. I’ve heard everything from “telly-axe-uh” to “t’lay-lax-you”
We were actually talking about A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. Can’t recommend it enough. It’s narrowly my favourite lesbian science fiction debut novel-turned-series about a galactic empire of 2019.
~Halfway through atm and enjoying it, reminds me a bit of Ancillary Justice. Didn’t know it was a series. What’s your runner up?
Gideon the Ninth. Very different, very fun.
I didn’t like Ancillary Justice that much. I loved some of the themes and how the world works, but narratively it felt like it was always pushing too hard to be dramatic. I think I’ll finish the rest of the series at some point, but it’s not quite for me.
Ah, fair enough. Though I’d probably swap Gideon and Ancillary.
Ancilliary is not 2019 though, and I don’t know if it’s lesbian enough. The rest of it fits though, I have to admit.
I LOVED Ancillary Justice, but all the set up just falls kinda flat in the next books. Or at least, the rest is just… Not really in the same vibe? It’s hard to explain…
I still really liked the follow up two, but definitely a different vibe
I read the trilogy recently and agree. She very much embraced the “shared universe, but different stories” author arc, instead of falling into the tropey “everything in this universe revolves around these 6 charectors you love forever” style that is way more common.
How can you read like that?! I have to make up a pronunciation in my head or I can’t go on.
I sort of do. It’s half mangled version of the name, half an abstract identifier of the character, and there’s a bit of “shape” of the name as a whole too, I suppose. But when I want to say the name aloud, I realise it’s pretty far from what the actual name sounds like.