|
Franchescanado posted:
Cosign. This is a good one.
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2017 18:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 02:07 |
|
|
frenchnewwave posted:Cosign. This is a good one. I appreciate how dark that book gets. It really throws the character through some rough poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2017 18:34
|
|
|
Transistor Rhythm posted:I would love recommendations for Detective Stories with elements of magical realism or weirdness - think Twin Peaks or when Stephen King or that hack Dean Koontz writes a more detective-heavy story (so "Black House" or "Dragon Tears"). China Mieville's "The City and the City" is a perfect answer to this question. No magic but lots of weirdness The Nadia Tesla Series by Orest Stelmach. The first one is The Boy from Reactor 4. Chernobyl, the Russian Mob in New York and Ukrainia, a child Eskimo hockey prodigy, murder, and a radioactive McGuffin.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2017 21:45
|
|
|
Any specific recommendations for historical fiction about the American Indian wars of the 19th century?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2017 14:53
|
|
|
Borneo Jimmy posted:Any specific recommendations for historical fiction about the American Indian wars of the 19th century? It's not fiction, but you still might enjoy Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star, which is about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Connell is a novelist and does an amazing job delving into the personalities of the various leaders involved in the battle.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2017 17:51
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Anabasis was a book of the month recently so there's a good thread on it already. Only the first part of this sentence is true I'm afraid
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2017 15:51
|
|
|
Borneo Jimmy posted:Any specific recommendations for historical fiction about the American Indian wars of the 19th century? The new Vollmann book is a 1,300 pager about the Nez Perce war which I guess is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2017 16:15
|
|
|
Zesty Mordant posted:The new Vollmann book is a 1,300 pager about the Nez Perce war which I guess is supposed to be good, but I haven't read it. there's a few people who claim that vollman is good but i'm deeply suspicious
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2017 05:53
|
|
|
Recommended translations for the works of Aristophanes? Specifically The Clouds. And are there any other hilarious Greek plays I might enjoy?
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2017 20:52
|
|
|
Oliver Reed posted:Recommended translations for the works of Aristophanes? Specifically The Clouds. And are there any other hilarious Greek plays I might enjoy? Not Greek, but Terence and Plautus are both fairly funny Roman playwrights.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2017 23:37
|
|
|
I wanted to try reading a Christopher Moore book, any specific one that I should try out or are they all pretty similar in terms of quality/humor?
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 00:27
|
|
|
DeadFatDuckFat posted:I wanted to try reading a Christopher Moore book, any specific one that I should try out or are they all pretty similar in terms of quality/humor? Lamb and The Stupidest Angel seem to be the popular choices.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 00:30
|
|
|
DeadFatDuckFat posted:I wanted to try reading a Christopher Moore book, any specific one that I should try out or are they all pretty similar in terms of quality/humor? Fluke, Lamb, or Coyote Blue
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 01:32
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:Not Greek, but Terence and Plautus are both fairly funny Roman playwrights. Anything particular for Plautus? He seems to have quite a number of surviving plays.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 01:32
|
|
|
Oliver Reed posted:Anything particular for Plautus? He seems to have quite a number of surviving plays. Good question. I haven't read him since college so it's been a while, but from what I remember his plays are pretty interchangeable -- if you've seen A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum, it's basically an amalgamation of all of Plautus. Ditto for the "Biggus Dickus" scene in Life of Brian.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 05:30
|
|
|
DeadFatDuckFat posted:I wanted to try reading a Christopher Moore book, any specific one that I should try out or are they all pretty similar in terms of quality/humor? Another vote for Lamb. Highly recommended. I also liked Bloodsucking Fiends, but if you're only going to read one, then Lamb. This is with the disclaimer that I've read them only up to Fluke, so I can't speak to what came after.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 18:22
|
|
|
iirc fluke has a character who is a female marine biologist who turns gay & leaves her husband after an experience in which two whale penises stretch up out of the water on either side of her boat, wrap around one another, and eventually cover her with whale semen fwiw
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 18:27
|
|
|
chernobyl kinsman posted:iirc fluke has a character who is a female marine biologist who turns gay & leaves her husband after an experience in which two whale penises stretch up out of the water on either side of her boat, wrap around one another, and eventually cover her with whale semen Yep.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 18:32
|
|
|
Secret Agent X23 posted:Another vote for Lamb. Highly recommended. I also liked Bloodsucking Fiends, but if you're only going to read one, then Lamb. This is with the disclaimer that I've read them only up to Fluke, so I can't speak to what came after. My favorite is The Stupidest Angel, but Lamb is pretty great.
|
|
#
?
Jan 22, 2017 20:26
|
|
|
a decade on and it is the only thing i remember about the book
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2017 03:17
|
|
|
Humbug Scoolbus posted:My favorite is The Stupidest Angel.
|
|
#
?
Jan 23, 2017 04:11
|
|
|
I've got too many books to read right now, but whatever, I have an itch: I want to learn about Spanish history. How did they go from... I don't even know if Spain existed in the middle ages, to the rich conquistadors of legend, to not really being too relevant after that: what's a good book for learning about that? Or some good biographies of Spanish folk I could read? I'll probably used wikipedia to fill in overview gaps, but I just want something I can sink into and read for a while, so - help me out?
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2017 11:00
|
|
|
The Captain Alatriste books by Arturo Perez-reverte are very good historical fiction set in Spain.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2017 15:09
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:The Captain Alatriste books by Arturo Perez-reverte are very good historical fiction set in Spain.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2017 15:34
|
|
|
StrixNebulosa posted:I've got too many books to read right now, but whatever, I have an itch: I want to learn about Spanish history. How did they go from... I don't even know if Spain existed in the middle ages, to the rich conquistadors of legend, to not really being too relevant after that: what's a good book for learning about that? Or some good biographies of Spanish folk I could read? John Elliott - Imperial Spain 1469-1716 is probably as good an introduction to the period as any, covering as it does both the rise and the decline of the empire.
|
|
#
?
Jan 25, 2017 15:40
|
|
|
anilEhilated posted:Seconding this recommendation; they are also very short so you can take the history in small doses. The problem is they focus on a very specific period of Spanish history and usually center around one event so you won't get any kind of overview. That's actually perfect - I've put the first one of these on hold, and I'll check 'em out. It's probably a quirk of reading too much genre fiction, but it does help to get attached to characters so I can go "aha, year [x], that's where [fave character] lived." Not to mention historical novels tend to be street level, so you can get a better sense of how people lived and went on adventures back then. Ras Het posted:John Elliott - Imperial Spain 1469-1716 is probably as good an introduction to the period as any, covering as it does both the rise and the decline of the empire. And this covers the macro-level history. Thank you!
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2017 00:15
|
|
|
Not quite done with it yet but Solaris is Real Fuckin' Good, even by my already high expectations of Lem as one of my favorite authors There is a lot more to the book obviously, but are there any other books that deal with human interaction with a truly alien being, not just a person in a green suit with bobbly antennae? I'm enjoying that bit most of all
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2017 02:47
|
|
|
Epic High Five posted:Not quite done with it yet but Solaris is Real Fuckin' Good, even by my already high expectations of Lem as one of my favorite authors CJ Cherryh writes some incredible aliens - try her Chanur series and the Faded Sun trilogy. The aliens aren't incomprehensible, but they are alien, and they feel genuine. The Chanur series is about a merchant ship getting mixed up in a nasty affair with the kif when they accidentally take on a really lost human. The first book's standalone, the next three are a single novel pretending to be a trilogy, and the final book is a sequel set some years later. All of 'em involve communication as central themes, in and out of your species, and with some fantastic starship....not battles, per-se, but the game of cat-and-mouse when you're under-armed and still want to survive. The Faded Sun, meanwhile - it's one of her older works, and really bleak, but it has the classic Cherryh "helpless guy thrown into situation where he is forced to adapt to aliens and slowly gains confidence and agency" setup with a species of mercenaries who were turned upon by one of the species that hired them. ... And it has the Regul. I love the Regul. They're brilliantly weird elephant overseer things and they're just weird and crucial to the plot. Alternatively, although I haven't read it yet myself, Blindsight by Peter Watts is both free and highly regarded by this forum for having weirdo aliens.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2017 04:12
|
|
|
Epic High Five posted:Not quite done with it yet but Solaris is Real Fuckin' Good, even by my already high expectations of Lem as one of my favorite authors Asimov's The Gods Themselves and Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker come to mind.
|
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2017 15:33
|
|
|
Blindsight? e: Nevermind, missed it in an above post. How about Embassytown? The science is not what you'd expect but different ways of thinking between humans and aliens form the basis of that story. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Jan 26, 2017 |
|
#
?
Jan 26, 2017 20:21
|
|
|
Hey, looking for recommendations for a couple things, one of which overlaps with a recommendation a few posts ago so I'll definitely look into Selachian posted:Asimov's The Gods Themselves and Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker come to mind. and StrixNebulosa posted:CJ Cherryh writes some incredible aliens - try her Chanur series and the Faded Sun trilogy. The aliens aren't incomprehensible, but they are alien, and they feel genuine. The Chanur series is about a merchant ship getting mixed up in a nasty affair with the kif when they accidentally take on a really lost human. The first book's standalone, the next three are a single novel pretending to be a trilogy, and the final book is a sequel set some years later. All of 'em involve communication as central themes, in and out of your species, and with some fantastic starship....not battles, per-se, but the game of cat-and-mouse when you're under-armed and still want to survive. But my requests regarding books with aliens are specifically about first contact with them, either out in space or on Earth. But I'm especially interested in effects on Earth society. I recently saw and liked Arrival, for context on what kind of story I might like. I'm also looking for any good space exploration sci-fi, especially if they deal with concepts like exploring far enough out in the universe to encounter truly strange phenomena. But any good space exploration is fine.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2017 08:49
|
|
|
Viridiant posted:But my requests regarding books with aliens are specifically about first contact with them, either out in space or on Earth. But I'm especially interested in effects on Earth society. I recently saw and liked Arrival, for context on what kind of story I might like. Rendezvous with Rama? The Three-Body Problem?
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2017 12:11
|
|
|
Viridiant posted:Hey, looking for recommendations for a couple things, one of which overlaps with a recommendation a few posts ago so I'll definitely look into Blindsight is still a good rec, it's a first contact expedition to a truly alien life form. It's dark af tho. If you liked Arrival you should read the Ted Chiang story it's based on, Story of Your Life. Also, everyone should read everything Ted Chiang writes; he's my favorite working scifi writer by a country mile.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2017 16:32
|
|
|
Viridiant posted:Hey, looking for recommendations for a couple things, one of which overlaps with a recommendation a few posts ago so I'll definitely look into Three Body Problem also may be good as far as first contact and the reaction of people on earth. Also, has some crazy aliens and alien concepts. It translated and was a big hit in China, so isn't from a western point of view which is part of the story.
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2017 21:07
|
|
|
Thanks, those all sound interesting. I'll add them to my reading list!
|
|
#
?
Jan 29, 2017 21:13
|
|
|
I'm looking for fantasy books with huge battles, bloody wars and political intrigue. I just finished the first Stormlight Archives book, and I really enjoyed it and plan to stick with the series. I liked the Shattered Plains chapters the best. Probably goes without saying but I'm reading ASoIaF too. I tried getting into Temeraire (dragons + Napoleon) but I didn't enjoy the writing style or characters. I'm also currently reading The Expanse series and I like the political machinations in particular. So a fantasy series similar to the aforementioned with a focus on battles, diplomacy, political intrigue etc would be what I'm looking for. Bonus if there's races other than humans involved. I prefer grimdark over comedic, although a dash of comedy here and there is fine. If it helps, one of my favorite video games of all time is Ogre Battle 64. A series (or even a single book) similar to that would be awesome.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2017 17:33
|
|
|
Have you tried Wheel of Time?
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2017 17:37
|
|
|
Disillusionist posted:I'm looking for fantasy books with huge battles, bloody wars and political intrigue. I'll go for the obvious answers: The Black Company and the Malazan Books of the Fallen. The Black Company is, on average, the grimdarker one; however, it's almost all humans, while Malazan has significant nonhuman races.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2017 22:47
|
|
|
Disillusionist posted:I'm looking for fantasy books with huge battles, bloody wars and political intrigue. The Dandelion Dynasty, Ken Liu. Seven warring countries were unified by an emperor conquering all the others, series effectively starts when he dies and it all starts crumbling. I've seen it described as a wuxia asoiaf, which is fairly accurate but it has more focus on characters and their interactions than on bloody wars and intrigue (though that's in there too, obviously, it's just not as over the top as asoiaf is). Not much in the way of other races but the political intrigue does spread to the gods, which is fun.
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2017 23:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 02:07 |
|
|
Disillusionist posted:I'm looking for fantasy books with huge battles, bloody wars and political intrigue. skip all the contemporary poo poo you got recommended and just read the worm ouroboros
|
|
#
?
Jan 31, 2017 23:25
|
|