|
coolusername posted:I'm looking for non-depressing light sci-fi or fantasy reads that are well written but aren't going to take a lot of brainpower to process, and with at least nominally happy endings - YA or adult both fine. Anything that fits the template of "team of conflicting strangers pulls together and in the end forms a new family" or "two enemies are forced to team up and fall in like/love" will probably land well, or anything similar to Martha Well's Murderbot novella, Becky Chamber's wayfarers trilogy, Catherynne Valente's Space Opera, Terry Pratchett in general, etc. But heavy priority on the 'easy to read/low brain power' requirements: while it doesn't have to be dumb, it can't be a China-Mieville-making-sweet-love-to-an-art-gallery-brochure type of read. There are a lot of good recommendations already posted. I would add This is how you lose the time war under your second prompt. The books in The Expanse are very easy reads and fit in your first prompt apart from the fact that I have no idea if there will be a happy ending or not since the last book hasn't come out yet. Additionally most goons seem to prefer the TV adaptation (YMMV, I do not).
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 15:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 07:58 |
|
|
coolusername posted:I'm looking for non-depressing light sci-fi or fantasy reads that are well written but aren't going to take a lot of brainpower to process, and with at least nominally happy endings - YA or adult both fine. Anything that fits the template of "team of conflicting strangers pulls together and in the end forms a new family" or "two enemies are forced to team up and fall in like/love" will probably land well, or anything similar to Martha Well's Murderbot novella, Becky Chamber's wayfarers trilogy, Catherynne Valente's Space Opera, Terry Pratchett in general, etc. But heavy priority on the 'easy to read/low brain power' requirements: while it doesn't have to be dumb, it can't be a China-Mieville-making-sweet-love-to-an-art-gallery-brochure type of read. Pantomime by Laura Lam
|
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2021 16:21
|
|
|
Boogoose posted:I need to get my elderly father reading crime/adventure/technothriller books that aren't written by garbage racists. He's in to a lot of Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy however I would prefer it if he could be exposed to something with similar themes but without featuring perfidious Asiatics or swarthy hordes of the global south. I've read the first Doc Ford book and that would be a marked improvement apart from the homophobia. Carl Hiaasen stuff would probably fit the bill too. The Wingman series by Mack Maloney, an ace fighter pilot fights against neo-nazis in a post-apocalyptic war torn United States. Several of the books have explicit anti-racist themes where he fights against the KKK (who now have fighter jets too). The author is pretty open about his politics being different than most men's fiction writers although his books are still pretty hoo-rah america and military for dads of that stripe. I'd say these lean more into men's pulp than technothriller territory though!
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2021 21:59
|
|
|
Boogoose posted:I need to get my elderly father reading crime/adventure/technothriller books that aren't written by garbage racists. I enjoyed the Bernie Rhodenbarr series by Lawrence Block. Crime mysteries solved by a catburglar Not really all that deep, but we're comparing to Cussler here so probably fine
|
|
#
?
Sep 16, 2021 22:41
|
|
|
GorfZaplen posted:The Wingman series by Mack Maloney, an ace fighter pilot fights against neo-nazis in a post-apocalyptic war torn United States. Several of the books have explicit anti-racist themes where he fights against the KKK (who now have fighter jets too). The author is pretty open about his politics being different than most men's fiction writers although his books are still pretty hoo-rah america and military for dads of that stripe. I'd say these lean more into men's pulp than technothriller territory though! One of the Wingman books involves an invasion from a literal asiatic horde.
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2021 03:15
|
|
|
Gnoman posted:One of the Wingman books involves an invasion from a literal asiatic horde. Lol welp, serves me for only reading one of them 😬
|
|
#
?
Sep 18, 2021 05:31
|
|
|
Fall's coming, so I'm looking for cozy, low-stakes fiction with great characters. Genre doesn't matter all that much. Hopefully a series or at least a bunch of similar books. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2021 16:39
|
|
|
Manager Hoyden posted:Fall's coming, so I'm looking for cozy, low-stakes fiction with great characters. Genre doesn't matter all that much. Hopefully a series or at least a bunch of similar books. Any suggestions? Shotgun spread of recommendations, and coziness is subjective, but: To Kill A Mockingbird; Something Wicked This Way Comes; The Thief of Always; The Magic Christian; Mrs. Caliban; The Ballad of the Sad Cafe; True Grit; Norwood; A Prayer for Owen Meany (or other John Irving); Moby Dick; The Art of Fielding; The Remains of the Day; Sea Monsters (Chloe Aridjis); Winesburg, Ohio
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2021 16:52
|
|
|
not a series but the coziest book i know is Leonard & Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2021 17:08
|
|
|
Spoon River Anthology is a great low-stakes character piece, assuming you're okay with poetry and death themes. (It's a collection of poems from the perspective of various dead residents of a 19th-century American small town, remembering their lives and deaths; it can go pretty dark, and is obviously not a happy read all the way through, so it may not fit your coziness standards.)
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2021 23:52
|
|
|
Looking for basically a book/series thats like Dune but medieval fantasy instead of scifi: mystical, esoteric, maybe a little druggy
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 14:17
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for basically a book/series thats like Dune but medieval fantasy instead of scifi: mystical, esoteric, maybe a little druggy Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany Nine Princes In Amber by Roger Zelazny All three are pretty short and self-contained, but Earthsea and Amber each continue as a full series. My buddy who's been reading through Fantasy lately told me to check out The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Dunno how druggy those are, though. He also loved Between Two Fires, which I know you liked, so your tastes may be similar. Franchescanado fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Sep 27, 2021 |
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 14:26
|
|
|
Gonna check all those out, ty Fran!
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 14:42
|
|
|
Franchescanado posted:Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin The Blade Itself is not druggy at all. Maybe caffeinated. It's good though. The Way of Kings, well it's written by a Mormon so druginess isn't even a consideration. Also good, but I haven't read the most recent volume in the series (because I've forgotten enough that I should reread the previous three books and that's a big ask, time-wise. They're huge books)
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 15:57
|
|
|
Branderson blows and is almost exactly the opposite of what Kvlt! is looking for. Edit: Just remembered the Dominions of Irth trilogy, by Adam Lee (also released under the author's real name, A. A. Attanasio, in England and more recently as an ebook). I picked up the first book, The Dark Shore, at Half Price; it seemed unusual and entertainingly overwrought. Haven't gotten around to reading it, but it definitely has more than a bit of Dune in it. The handful of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are glowing. Sham bam bamina! fucked around with this message at 17:52 on Sep 27, 2021 |
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 16:51
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for basically a book/series thats like Dune but medieval fantasy instead of scifi: mystical, esoteric, maybe a little druggy The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe is much more in line with this than Sanderson, imo. But it is technically sci-fi, just in a fantasy setting! The Shadow of the Torturer is really fantastic
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2021 16:59
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for basically a book/series thats like Dune but medieval fantasy instead of scifi: mystical, esoteric, maybe a little druggy ER Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros is cool.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2021 06:23
|
|
|
So, I finished Dark Matter and I have Thin Air by Michelle Paver on my list. Any other recommendations for things with a similar feeling?
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2021 14:39
|
|
|
I am currently looking for historical fiction titles that fit in with the Halloween season - these can be books with a horror element, or with a good dose of the supernatural, paranormal or fantastical mixed in, and also good mysteries will fit the bill too. Past historical fiction titles that I've read that fit my Halloween-y vibe include: - The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle - The Devil and the Dark Water and The 7 ˝ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Stuart Turton - The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron and the rest of the Cemetery of Forgotten books series - Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2021 19:14
|
|
|
I'm interested in unconventional/anachronistic translations of ancient and medieval poetry, along the lines of Maria Headley's recent take on Beowulf or Birk and Sander's Divine Comedy. Especially translations of the Homeric epics in unconventional ways.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 01:24
|
|
|
ScienceSeagull posted:I'm interested in unconventional/anachronistic translations of ancient and medieval poetry, along the lines of Maria Headley's recent take on Beowulf or Birk and Sander's Divine Comedy. Especially translations of the Homeric epics in unconventional ways. I expect you've read Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey, but if not I recommend it. It's apparently true to the text but reads fresher than the other translations I've tried.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 01:38
|
|
|
Don't read that; read Christopher Logue.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 02:10
|
|
|
ScienceSeagull posted:I'm interested in unconventional/anachronistic translations of ancient and medieval poetry, along the lines of Maria Headley's recent take on Beowulf or Birk and Sander's Divine Comedy. Especially translations of the Homeric epics in unconventional ways. there's a psycho Gilgamesh translation that uses this weird restricted English called Globish which is mostly based around words used for business, the idea being that cuneiform grew out of financial record keeping with a restricted vocabulary: https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781784106188
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 06:11
|
|
|
ScienceSeagull posted:I'm interested in unconventional/anachronistic translations of ancient and medieval poetry, along the lines of Maria Headley's recent take on Beowulf or Birk and Sander's Divine Comedy. Especially translations of the Homeric epics in unconventional ways. war nerd illiad? https://books.google.co.jp/books/about/The_War_Nerd_Iliad.html?id=Jb1XnQAACAAJ&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 10:08
|
|
|
Those all sound like just the sort of thing I'm looking for, thank you three!
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2021 14:25
|
|
|
I'm not looking for a specific book recommendation, but can anyone recommend some blogs or vlogs that focus specifically on LGBTQ stories and authors?
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2021 00:33
|
|
|
Who What Now posted:I'm not looking for a specific book recommendation, but can anyone recommend some blogs or vlogs that focus specifically on LGBTQ stories and authors? I like to read https://www.tor.com which highlights a lot of that content and features numerous authors, although it's definitely not LGBTQ exclusive. Edit: here's an example just scrolling down the first page. https://www.tor.com/2021/10/12/book-reviews-the-heartbreak-bakery-by-a-r-capetta/ Edit 2: more still from the first page! https://www.tor.com/2021/10/12/moving-beyond-binaries-in-gender-based-magic-systems-the-wheel-of-time-and-iron-widow/ External Organs fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Oct 13, 2021 |
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2021 00:37
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a good book or two about the Korean War? It's the only major US conflict I've never really delved into. I'm not looking for solely a blow-by-blow account; I'd really like to read about the political decision-making, the Army's unpreparedness and overconfidence, foolish decisions that brought China into the war, the debate over deploying nuclear weapons, etc. Thanks.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2021 13:36
|
|
|
Looking for a good climate/sci fi novel written by someone other than KSR or Paolo Bacigalupi, but definitely more in line with the kind of cyberpunk dystopian vibe of Windup Girl than KSR's utopias.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2021 17:56
|
|
|
The Sea and Summer, by George Turner. Also published as Drowning Towers in the US market.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2021 17:57
|
|
|
Ramrod Hotshot posted:Looking for a good climate/sci fi novel written by someone other than KSR or Paolo Bacigalupi, but definitely more in line with the kind of cyberpunk dystopian vibe of Windup Girl than KSR's utopias. Doggerland by Ben Smith
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2021 22:25
|
|
|
Ramrod Hotshot posted:Looking for a good climate/sci fi novel written by someone other than KSR or Paolo Bacigalupi, but definitely more in line with the kind of cyberpunk dystopian vibe of Windup Girl than KSR's utopias. The New Wilderness by Diane Cook Edit: not cyberpunk at all though
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2021 22:51
|
|
|
Anyone have a good general history book on Kenya, one that includes pre-colonial up to independence?
|
|
#
?
Oct 20, 2021 13:56
|
|
|
Looking for really strange, bizarre, out there science fiction. Stuff like stories set incredibly far into the future that most things are foreign to us, or things in space that are strange beyond reality. The more esoteric and psychedelic the better. Horror elements/horrific stuff is ok but I'm trying to avoid Lovecraftian stuff or stuff that's specifically horror only.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2021 17:19
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for really strange, bizarre, out there science fiction. Stuff like stories set incredibly far into the future that most things are foreign to us, or things in space that are strange beyond reality. The more esoteric and psychedelic the better. Diaspora by Greg Egan Embassytown by China Mieville The third book of the Three-Body series by Cixin Liu, Death's End. The whole series is kind of perfect for what you're looking for, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 21, 2021 18:33
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for really strange, bizarre, out there science fiction. Stuff like stories set incredibly far into the future that most things are foreign to us, or things in space that are strange beyond reality. The more esoteric and psychedelic the better. Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker covers the history of the universe from beginning to end and is full of trippy, out-there stuff, especially for something written in the 1930s. You should read his earlier book Last and First Men first, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2021 00:04
|
|
|
Action Jacktion posted:You should read his earlier book Last and First Men first, though. I was thinking of including that in my recommendation, but I bounced off that one hard, it's just way too of its time, imo.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2021 00:23
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for really strange, bizarre, out there science fiction. Stuff like stories set incredibly far into the future that most things are foreign to us, or things in space that are strange beyond reality. The more esoteric and psychedelic the better. Ilium and it's sequel Olympos by Dan Simmons are a very good combo although he kind of loses the plot at the end, and it's all probably an allegory for how Muslims hate the Jews. That being said, robots who, on an individual level, spend most of their vast processing power on deconstructing Proust and Shakespeare is extremely my poo poo and worth the price of admission.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2021 00:39
|
|
|
Kvlt! posted:Looking for really strange, bizarre, out there science fiction. Stuff like stories set incredibly far into the future that most things are foreign to us, or things in space that are strange beyond reality. The more esoteric and psychedelic the better. M. John Harrison's Kefahuchi Tract books, or Michael Moorcock's Second Ether trilogy. Doris Lessing's Canopus in Argos series might suit you too.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2021 05:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 1, 2024 07:58 |
|
|
Cosmicomics, by Italo Calvino.
|
|
#
?
Oct 22, 2021 15:07
|
|