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regulargonzalez posted:Two recommendations please. I've read House of Leaves a few times and I want another book to replicate that experience. What's the best meta-narrative book? I think Nabokov has one that's supposed to be pretty good, right? And I remember hearing about a book called If On A Winter's Night A Traveller. I know these are both supposed to be meta-fiction but not sure how highly they are recommended. People have mixed reactions to it, but I really liked S.. A guy named Doug Dorst wrote the main text (Ship of Theseus), but J.J. Abrams (yeah, that J.J. Abrams) put the whole thing together and ... you sort of just have to see it. Like, I said, I really liked it but it's not for everyone. You might want to look at Pessl's Night Film, which is not horror pr se but was a Shirley Jackson Awards finalist, for what it's worth. I personally think it hits all the right notes at the beginning but doesn't quite stick the landing, but I'd love to hear what other people thought.
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Sep 3, 2017 02:07
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tetrapyloctomy posted:People have mixed reactions to it, but I really liked S.. A guy named Doug Dorst wrote the main text (Ship of Theseus), but J.J. Abrams (yeah, that J.J. Abrams) put the whole thing together and ... you sort of just have to see it. Like, I said, I really liked it but it's not for everyone. This is a great suggestion. It's a library book with annotations from two students having a conversation about a mystery involving the author. It is filled with napkins, post cards, letters, notes, etc.). It's interesting. Seconding Pale Fire as well. You'd probably like My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk. It's a murder myster and each chapter is a different narrator, one of which is the murderer, and they're all aware you're reading a story. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Sep 3, 2017 |
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Sep 3, 2017 02:12
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Franchescanado posted:Pretty sure that's the point Oh. I thought Abbott was serious. Whoops.
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Sep 3, 2017 02:18
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regulargonzalez posted:Two recommendations please. I've read House of Leaves a few times and I want another book to replicate that experience. What's the best meta-narrative book? I think Nabokov has one that's supposed to be pretty good, right? And I remember hearing about a book called If On A Winter's Night A Traveller. I know these are both supposed to be meta-fiction but not sure how highly they are recommended. Dictionary of the Khazars.
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Sep 3, 2017 08:10
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Zesty Mordant posted:Dictionary of the Khazars. edit: VVV 
anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 10:50 on Sep 3, 2017 |
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Sep 3, 2017 10:45
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anilEhilated posted:Ah, but which one? Here's the only difference between the two editions.
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Sep 3, 2017 10:47
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regulargonzalez posted:Two recommendations please. I've read House of Leaves a few times and I want another book to replicate that experience. What's the best meta-narrative book? I think Nabokov has one that's supposed to be pretty good, right? And I remember hearing about a book called If On A Winter's Night A Traveller. I know these are both supposed to be meta-fiction but not sure how highly they are recommended. Maybe Cortazar's Hopscotch, if you follow his instructions at the start and read the chapters in the order he gives you instead of front to back.
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Sep 3, 2017 12:41
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Thanks for the suggestions all. Added them all to my wish list. Some aren't available on Kindle, I assume because that format wouldn't work for them (ala House of Leaves) so I'll grab the physical copies.
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Sep 3, 2017 23:57
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Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. Also I bought Tom Clancy's Teeth of the Tiger used. My only experience with Tom Clancy is the movies, but now I'm hearing that this book is garbage. Confirm/deny?
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Sep 5, 2017 22:05
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Human Tornada posted:Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. Let The Right One In takes place in the 80's and is pretty straightforward about the vampires. Same with 'Salem's Lot, but that's in the 70's(?) You might also like North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud
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Sep 5, 2017 22:10
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Human Tornada posted:Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. Confirm Confirm Confirm!
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Sep 5, 2017 22:24
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Such garbage, and I say this as someone who has read Rainbow Six 5 times.
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Sep 5, 2017 22:40
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Human Tornada posted:Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. Regarding the former: I liked the Monstrumologist series overall, but the first book was way better than the last, wherein the narrator is a complete rear end in a top hat. You might like The Historian, which is an epistolary novel involving vampires, but I wouldn't describe it as "straight-forward." The Terror is, however, a more straightforward horror novel and while a hefty read it was pretty good. And regarding the latter: Early Tom Clancy may have had some merit, but Teeth of the Tiger would be waaaaay past that point.
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Sep 6, 2017 00:24
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Human Tornada posted:Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. George R. R. Martin's Fevre Dream, assuming having both good and evil vampires still qualifies as straightforward.
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Sep 6, 2017 02:55
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Can someone recommend me sci-fi books similar to Becky Chamber's Wayfarer's series or the Miles Vorkosigan books? Lots of space adventures, no real pausing for 20 pages of hard science/plot reliant on physics lectures, with female characters (and/or queer characters) presented well?
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Sep 6, 2017 07:09
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Human Tornada posted:Can someone recommend a vampire/monster book set in the past that has a classic/straight-forward vibe to it, I'm not looking for a "new-spin" like Dracula is a crime-fighter or what if vampires were public knowledge or anything like that. You might try the James Asher books by Barbara Hambly - the first one is Those Who Hunt The Night.
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Sep 6, 2017 09:37
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coolusername posted:Can someone recommend me sci-fi books similar to Becky Chamber's Wayfarer's series or the Miles Vorkosigan books? Lots of space adventures, no real pausing for 20 pages of hard science/plot reliant on physics lectures, with female characters (and/or queer characters) presented well? First thing that comes to mind is Alexei Panshin's Anthony Villiers novels, which are basically SF picaresque / comedy of manners.
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Sep 6, 2017 14:43
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Selachian posted:George R. R. Martin's Fevre Dream, assuming having both good and evil vampires still qualifies as straightforward. Probably Martin's best novel actually. I would normally recommend Fred Saberhagen's Dracula series or Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's St. Germaine books but those are a lot less traditional. How about Les Daniels's Don Sebastian? The Black Castle is the first one.
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Sep 6, 2017 14:46
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Does Anno Dracula can't as un-straightforward? It's got vampires out in the public but it's still a great read.
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Sep 6, 2017 15:02
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tetrapyloctomy posted:The Terror is, however, a more straightforward horror novel and while a hefty read it was pretty good. tetrapyloctomy posted:The Terror thehoodie posted:I hated this book so much I threw it at a wall
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Sep 7, 2017 21:56
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I have The Terror sittin around and thought it would be a fun read, but then I read Hyperion and it's been on the shelf ever since
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Sep 7, 2017 22:19
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Thanks dudes, I'm gonna try the George RR Martin one, and maybe Those Who Hunt at Night or The Historian if I'm still in the mood, and I won't be reading Teeth of the Tiger.
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Sep 7, 2017 22:34
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My issue with Simmons is that when it comes to women he's just ... kinda gross. I honesty can't tell if he's personally sleazy or if he's just describing the point of view of sleazy characters, but it was even worse in Carrion Comfort. But The Terror was a decent monster book, I think, despite its drawbacks. I read The Ballad of Black Tom last week and loved it. I since followed it up with The Changeling and The Devil in Silver, and while I still enjoy how Lavalle writes, they ended up just being okay. I subsequently started Ahlborn's The Devil Crept in (why yes, I do gravitate toward horror, why do you ask), and it's too early to tell how that's going to work out. ... I may have just purchased a lot of books. Unfortunately, I read in bursts and will devour a ton of books ... and then fall out of the habit and not read for some time. There are definitely a bunch of half-finished books I need to get back to -- The Bone Clocks, the second of Carr's The Alienist series (the first of which was really good), and The Club Dumas come to mind.
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Sep 7, 2017 22:50
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I've said it in other threads, but The Terror is a great 400-page book hiding in a decent 800-page book.
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Sep 7, 2017 23:52
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At first I thought y'all were talking about the new Tick series
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Sep 8, 2017 01:43
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Ornamented Death posted:I've said it in other threads, but The Terror is a great 400-page book hiding in a decent 800-page book. ... I can't argue against that. Hieronymous Alloy posted:At first I thought y'all were talking about the new Tick series
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Sep 8, 2017 02:46
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now I can't unsee that thanks
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Sep 8, 2017 04:25
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The Terror was one of the cooler parts of the French revolution.
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Sep 8, 2017 05:32
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:now I can't unsee that thanks I do have to say that Carrion Comfort did capture Philadelphia well. I recognized several spots in Germantown and the surrounding areas from his descriptions.
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Sep 8, 2017 12:13
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Ornamented Death posted:I've said it in other threads, but The Terror is a great 400-page book hiding in a decent 800-page book. There is a surprisingly tender gay love story hidden within those 400 pages. I liked that bit
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Sep 8, 2017 15:26
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Looking for recommendations. I just finished The Daemon series and Influx by Daniel Suarez, as well as the Nexus trilogy. I'm looking for something else in that vein. I'm a sucker for broad sci-fi humanity redemption in the face of The Man. I think the Manna short by Marshall Brian was also pretty clutch. Basically the beginnings of the path toward Star Trek is what I'm looking for. Reality has been such a bummer these last 30 years or so - I want to uplift! Ideas? Good audiobook versions a plus. Thanks!
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Sep 11, 2017 23:19
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drugging yourself with escapist fantasy rather than taking action makes you complicit in perpetuating the bummer parts of reality (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Sep 11, 2017 23:21
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Thanks for the great book advice!
Lordshmee fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Sep 12, 2017 |
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Sep 12, 2017 00:19
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Lordshmee posted:Reality has been such a bummer these last 30 years or so - I want to uplift! Ideas? Good audiobook versions a plus. Thanks! Have you tried David Brin's Uplift War series?
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Sep 12, 2017 00:54
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Lordshmee posted:Looking for recommendations. I just finished The Daemon series and Influx by Daniel Suarez, as well as the Nexus trilogy. I'm looking for something else in that vein. I'm a sucker for broad sci-fi humanity redemption in the face of The Man. I think the Manna short by Marshall Brian was also pretty clutch. Basically the beginnings of the path toward Star Trek is what I'm looking for. Reality has been such a bummer these last 30 years or so - I want to uplift! Ideas? Good audiobook versions a plus. Thanks! They're cheesy but the Bobiverse books are very much "beginnings of the path to Star Trek" and are fast, fun, and escapist. Suarez has a couple other books, Kill Decision and Change Agent. Kill Decision is about autonomous drones and Change Agent's about gene editing (and is basically an updated version of the movie Face/Off). They're both pretty enjoyable techno-thrillers.
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Sep 12, 2017 03:40
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The rules in the OP of this thread have been slightly edited. I never had to spell this out before, but I guess I have to now.quote:Specific guidelines for everyone else:
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Sep 12, 2017 04:39
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happy to have helped out
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Sep 12, 2017 05:38
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you can't silence us
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Sep 12, 2017 15:51
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Lawen posted:They're cheesy but the Bobiverse books are very much "beginnings of the path to Star Trek" and are fast, fun, and escapist. I previewed the first few pages of Bobiverse and don't see how it's going where you say, but it looks fun enough. I'll try it out. Also, thanks for the pointer Hieronymous Alloy I'll check those out too!
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Sep 12, 2017 22:52
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Lordshmee posted:Looking for recommendations. I just finished The Daemon series and Influx by Daniel Suarez, as well as the Nexus trilogy. I'm looking for something else in that vein. I'm a sucker for broad sci-fi humanity redemption in the face of The Man. I think the Manna short by Marshall Brian was also pretty clutch. Basically the beginnings of the path toward Star Trek is what I'm looking for. Reality has been such a bummer these last 30 years or so - I want to uplift! Ideas? Good audiobook versions a plus. Thanks! This isn't really a rec as it's a weird, weird book that reads like teenager-written slash fanfiction, but I wanna mention it because it IS about humanity getting uplifted, kind of. Wraeththu by Storm Constantine. It's about humanity being turned into a race of hermaphrodites with intense psychic/spiritual powers, who set out to do humanity, but better this time. And with more romance and wild melodrama. The first trilogy is some of the weirdest, ridiculous fiction I've read that's actually been published by a publishing house, and I found it in a Barnes and Nobles a decade ago. If you want something utterly wild that explores what it means to be human, and better than human... Well, spoilers: if you're a psychic hermaphrodite, you get magical flying telepathic horses.
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Sep 12, 2017 22:58
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