|
buffalo all day posted:I assume you’ve read Vinge and Iain M Banks? Does Becky Chambers count? Is Player of Games an okay place to start with Banks? I have it, but the Culture books always seem so daunting. Also, I haven't read any Vinge, I need to fix that also.
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 03:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 19:07 |
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is Player of Games an okay place to start with Banks? I have it, but the Culture books always seem so daunting. One of the more frequently recommended starting points. Don't be afraid of the Culture books, they're good but not particularly difficult to get into. (Definitely need to read all the Vinge.)
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 03:51
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Given the mixed reception to Machineries of Empire, are there any recent space opera series that people would recommend? Or individual books, I'm not too picky. Walter Jon Williams Dread Empires fall series has been going since 2002, there was a new one out recently. some find it a bit slow but I've always been a fan. Little bit drawing room drama, little bit (talented mr) Ripley, lot of large scale space battles and hereditary aristocracies rediscovering war after 1000 years of peace. Scott Westerfeld Risen Empire duology is excellent Kate Elliott's Sun Chronicles is a new one, two books released of a trilogy so far, space princess based on Alexander the great. it's got post human four armed badies, lots of politics and fighting, a bit of romance. Sun Eater series by Crhristopher Ruocchio is up to six books, the first one is very much Rothfus' Kingkiller but in space but they get more interesting as they go, if very melodramatic YMMV Steel Frame by Andrew Skinner is more of a BDO series with existential horror and giant robots but has space opera scale and is a great read, as is the sequel. Joel Sheppard has a self published series called 'Spiral Wars' about an advanced ship that goes semi rogue to investigate a galactic conspiracy of ancient AIs and alien empires. there's a lot of space marines and ship-to-ship fighting, a few heists etc. its not bad and the ninth book is due out pretty soon. I really like Artifact Space by Miles Cameron, its one book so far about a young girl on a giant trading space ship and the day to day life and the trade route is falling apart. it's loosely based on the Spanish galleons that did the manilla galleon routes.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 04:16
|
|
|
that is a list apart from thread favourites like Becky Chambers, Martha Wells etc. can probably go another page of recommends on this topic as a group without much effort
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 04:19
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Oh cool, speaking of Ninefox Gambit, apparently Yoon Ha Lee wrote a tabletop RPG for the setting which is being released next week. That could be interesting to see.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 04:37
|
|
|
Lex Talionis posted:I just started the third book of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy so I can't fully vouch for how it ends yet but the first two books were solid. I don't think it's gotten as much praise as his Children of Time trilogy and...well, to be honest it's not quite as good, but it hits the spot. It's sort of mid-career David Brin mixed with Star Wars with just a hint of the ol' Becky Chambers. I like this series also. It’s got some 40k-ish touches, along with some stuff you wouldn’t be surprised to see in a China Mieville book (the Unspeakable Aklu and it’s whole species in particular).
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 04:43
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is Player of Games an okay place to start with Banks? I have it, but the Culture books always seem so daunting. It's the place to start and there's some great books that follow on from that. Consider Phlebas seems like something you read much later on if you're very invested in the setting. As the series goes along it does pivot pretty hard towards the AI ships and grand scale culture stuff, which is not what made those early books great in my opinion, but is what most fans fall in love with.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 08:58
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Has anyone read the full Machineries of Empire series? The first book is Ninefox Gambit. How is it? I've been curious about it for a sec, but I occasionally see some mixed reactions. It has had roughly 50/50 love/hate reactions from the people I recommended it to, because you have to swallow a big helping of unexplained sci-fi magic up front and just accept that the universe works calendrically. Personally, I loved it and really enjoyed the sequels too, the first book is definitely the best though. Hiro Protagonist posted:Given the mixed reception to Machineries of Empire, are there any recent space opera series that people would recommend? Or individual books, I'm not too picky. The Spin Trilogy by Andrew Bannister is a series of more or less unconnected novels set in the same universe (much like Banks and the Culture novels). From memory they are all around 300 pages, and they're very enjoyable. I hope he has plans for more.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 10:08
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is Player of Games an okay place to start with Banks? I have it, but the Culture books always seem so daunting. It's a good place to start and an even better place to stop. I'll second the recommendation for Dread Empire's Fall in space opera, but I don't think anything beyond the original trilogy is necessary. It's complete as it is.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 10:28
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Given the mixed reception to Machineries of Empire, are there any recent space opera series that people would recommend? Or individual books, I'm not too picky. Strahan is coming out with a new Space Opera collection called "New Adventures in Space Opera: From the New Space Opera to Here" in 2024. So if you can wait that'll have some leads.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 10:45
|
|
|
Megan O’Keefe’s Protectorate trilogy, starting with Velocity Weapon, is terrific and I chewed through all three as fast as I could - last one came out in June IIRC. Very much a contemporary space opera with an interesting twist on all the sentient ships that have been showing up over the last decade or so.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 11:30
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Is Player of Games an okay place to start with Banks? I have it, but the Culture books always seem so daunting. I would read a deepness in the Sky first, I think it’s the best Vinge. Read player of games and use of weapons and then decide whether you want to read more Banks. Excession is also pretty great.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 12:48
|
|
|
Found a book called "That time I got drunk and yeeted a love potion at a werewolf" so it's safe to assume I found what I'll be reading today.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 13:17
|
|
|
Hiro Protagonist posted:Has anyone read the full Machineries of Empire series? The first book is Ninefox Gambit. How is it? I've been curious about it for a sec, but I occasionally see some mixed reactions. I like it a lot but there's a notable shift in, I don't know, "tone" between the first book and the other two. It's definitely more like fantasy in space than sci fi. The book is full of extremely weird and horrifying weapons and technology that depend on exotic physics that only work when people in the area observe a specific calendar with various holidays and religious observances, built using esoteric mathematics. I thought it was cool. Edit: It's worth noting that the books are in large part about the violence of empire, but instead of human lives metaphorically powering the engine of empire, they do quite literally through the calendar. The series is about how people deal with that, rather than the actual weapons themselves. Danhenge fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Oct 16, 2023 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 14:36
|
|
|
Lex Talionis posted:I just started the third book of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy so I can't fully vouch for how it ends yet but the first two books were solid. I don't think it's gotten as much praise as his Children of Time trilogy and...well, to be honest it's not quite as good, but it hits the spot. It's sort of mid-career David Brin mixed with Star Wars with just a hint of the ol' Becky Chambers. I think it sticks the landing pretty well, but I thought book 2 was only ok and really only the last third of the third book got anywhere near as good as the first one.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 14:38
|
|
|
Danhenge posted:I like it a lot but there's a notable shift in, I don't know, "tone" between the first book and the other two. It's definitely more like fantasy in space than sci fi. The book is full of extremely weird and horrifying weapons and technology that depend on exotic physics that only work when people in the area observe a specific calendar with various holidays and religious observances, built using esoteric mathematics. I thought it was cool. Yeah, I also enjoyed the whole trilogy (I even read the fourth book that's a bunch of short stories and stuff) and agree with all this. I definitely saw the technology as weird-magic-in-space and I was more interested in the interpersonal dynamics than how the tech/magic worked (which was just an excuse for fun competence porn anyway imo). Especially in the second and third book the focus was far more "here's a bunch of hosed up people loving each other over" which is exactly the sort of story theme/focus I tend to enjoy. I also did the whole thing through the audiobooks, and thought Emily Woo Zeller's performances were great.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 15:53
|
|
|
buffalo all day posted:I would read a deepness in the Sky first, I think it’s the best Vinge. Huh, I agree but I haven't ever seen anyone recommend reading it first, despite being a prequel. I guess it wouldn't make any real difference, they're pretty disconnected.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 16:01
|
|
|
Shadow & Claw: The First Half of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S0E77Q/ The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K Le Guin - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003U2TR6I/ Perdido Street Station (Bas-Lag #1) by China Miéville - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FBFO8C/ The Black Company (#1) by Glen Cook - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009WUGAJE/ Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SEGUDE/ Mona Lisa Overdrive (Sprawl #3) by William Gibson - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009QJMUAY/ Magician: Apprentice (Riftwar #1) by Raymond E Feist - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TJ3J3J/ Interview with the Vampire (Vampire Chronicles #1) by Anne Rice - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AM5R20/ The Peace War (#1) by Vernor Vinge - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E74BSS/
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 16:43
|
|
|
Definitely snagging Cloud Atlas since I never got around to reading that, and I've got some nostalgia for the Riftwar Cycle. Not sure if it holds up but I definitely loved it back then even if the power creep was worse than Dragon Ball
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 18:37
|
|
|
That's a pretty A-tier list of books, hard to go wrong with any of them
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 19:22
|
|
|
Might finally read Riftwar after playing the hell out of the Betrayal at Krondor games as a kid.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 20:26
|
|
|
pradmer posted:The Peace War (#1) by Vernor Vinge - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E74BSS/
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 21:04
|
|
|
Macdeo Lurjtux posted:Might finally read Riftwar after playing the hell out of the Betrayal at Krondor games as a kid. Magician is great, they steadily shelve down from there but they are all basically fine iirc
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 22:22
|
|
|
New Benedict jacka ain't bad Bit "learn about my magic system, it's very intricate and cool" but still good overall. Conceit is basically that people with the right talent can craft magic items, but it's mostly subsumed by capitalism, corporatized, and streamlined. Our Hero is a talented crafter but generally uneducated and trying to figure out how to make it all work. There may be actual catholicism involved. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Oct 16, 2023 |
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 22:26
|
|
|
Remulak posted:Megan O’Keefe’s Protectorate trilogy, starting with Velocity Weapon, is terrific and I chewed through all three as fast as I could - last one came out in June IIRC. Very much a contemporary space opera with an interesting twist on all the sentient ships that have been showing up over the last decade or so. Really? I read the first one and hated it. One of the worst mainstream published sci-fi novels I've ever read.
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2023 22:35
|
|
|
Arsenic Lupin posted:e: Genuine question. Did Alan Dean Foster write anything besides tie-ins? Sentenced to Prism was pretty good. The ending was a bit rushed but otherwise had some interesting aliens.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 00:54
|
|
|
branedotorg posted:Really? I read the first one and hated it. One of the worst mainstream published sci-fi novels I've ever read. It’s so bad. Holy Whig it’s even worse than Seveneves which I abandoned 20 pages in because the sloppy blowjobs of Elon and Degrass-Tyson were making my eyes roll too much to actually be able to focus on a page.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 01:01
|
|
|
Remulak posted:I just read, in total incredulity, Stephenson’s Termination Shock, so the floor is pretty low. Termination Shock just felt kinda lazy and uninspired. If you compare it to like, Zodiac, it has no edge. Honestly I think Seveneves is better.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 02:15
|
|
|
Why did he get so dull? (I quit Seveneves about that far in too, though unlike most people I actually liked kind of like Fall, but not as nearly as much as the old good stuff)
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 03:07
|
|
|
sebmojo posted:Magician is great, they steadily shelve down from there but they are all basically fine iirc Yeah, Magician, then if you feel like it Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon are fine to read and stop after. Well, no, detour to the Empire trilogy cowritten with Janny Wurts. Then stop. Each successive Feist book series thereafter tended to be 'the same thing, but worse' and just save yourself the trouble. also, as someone else who played a lot of Betrayal at Krondor, I also specifically suggest you stop there for BaK-specific reasons on top of the general decline. Psion fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Oct 17, 2023 |
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 03:08
|
|
|
sebmojo posted:Magician is great, they steadily shelve down from there but they are all basically fine iirc The series definitely peaked at Shadow of a Dark Queen, starts to go down in the next book, and the ending of the Serpentwar Saga is one of the low points of the entire series and probably Feist's career because it shows there are some things he's not good at writing and he only writes more of it from that point on. Talon of the Silver Hawk is probably the last decent book in series and between the later Riftwar books and the Firemane trilogy, it really drives home that Feist can't write cosmological stuff to save his life and that he's better when he keeps things at least somewhat simple (yes I lump The Enemy in "simple" in this case). Psion posted:Yeah, Magician, then if you feel like it Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon are fine to read and stop after. Well, no, detour to the Empire trilogy cowritten with Janny Wurts. Then stop. Each successive Feist book series thereafter tended to be 'the same thing, but worse' and just save yourself the trouble. The Legacy of the Riftwar books are decent, I liked Honored Enemy at least. It's not as good as the Empire trilogy but honestly I think the Empire books are probably better than any of the Riftwar books except maybe for Magician, and that's mostly because Magician does a good job at setting up everything for the series. It's definitely worth reading the Riftwar books first though since it will give a lot of context for things in Empire and Empire will also make a few Riftwar events take on a much more interesting light. Especially the Warlord's games. If you want more after BaK and if you're a big Jimmy the Hand fan, then Krondor: the Assassins is ok but otherwise maybe just skip ahead to the first Serpentwar book and maybe go through the next two if you like the main characters. If you want to finish out that storyline with the 4th book well that's your call but I'd love to see your reaction to it in the thread after that. I'd say Prince of the Blood is ok but largely skippable. One one hand it tries to give an actual look at Kesh, fleshes out a couple of characters you'll almost never see/hear about otherwise, and introduces Nakor who is interesting at times (and raw bullshit at others, though being bullshit is also 100% intended with the character) and his view of "magic" not actually existing is fun at times. Prince's Buccaneer is alright too but it's biggest benefit is providing some context for some of what's going on in the Serpentwar books because events from it are referenced a bunch in Shadow of a Dark Queen, though I read Shadow before Buccaneer and was able to follow the story fine regardless.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 03:57
|
|
|
Anode posted:Why did he get so dull?
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 03:57
|
|
|
Evil Fluffy posted:maybe just skip ahead to the first Serpentwar book and maybe go through the next two if you like the main characters. this was me, and I regret that choice. Serpentwar died the minute I was asked to read about shares, stocks, and options of trading fleets done in a coffee house that was definitely not lifted straight out of London coffee houses. A specific one, I think, but which one has escaped me. And then it gets worse! Still, fair point that the first one is alright and it's relatively self contained. Might be worth it for someone who comes out of Riftwar and Empire trilogy and still wants more. as for why I suggest someone coming in from BAK not read the two books between Riftwar and Serpentwar, it still stings how dirty, um, a certain character got done. But ymmv.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 04:11
|
|
|
Hieronymous Alloy posted:New Benedict jacka ain't bad I read the entire Alex Versus series straight through in 5 weeks. I cannot explain why, considering, having finished it, I do not like the series. I must have liked some part of it, as I kept moving along. I think reading it that quickly may be part of the problem as, instead of having time to ruminate on each book, I just moved to the next one. And seeing reviews of people comment on characters changing so much over the course of the series was bizarre since they all felt flat, rushed, and like their development was tangential to the main character brooding. Alex Versus is basically Batman though. He has foresight and an incredible ability to prepare but is absolutely outclassed by everyone around him and manages to come out on top anyway. Maybe I'm just jaded. The most recent Dresden didnt land for me, and I'm a weirdo who likes the second book with the werewolves that everyone seems to blow off.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 04:15
|
|
|
I read the first and maybe some of the second Verus because I was craving a Ben Aaronovitch-alike hit and I liked the cover design, and it was generic city with London names pasted on and generic urban fantasy angsty protagonist with a dark past so yeah, no thanks. I've got a weakness for London-set urban fantasy because I live here, but so much of it is absolutely terrible.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 07:41
|
|
|
It really bugs me that just about all the urban fantasy set in the UK is set in London. I can't even think of any examples that aren't, would be open to any recommendations if anyone else can come up with some.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 08:42
|
|
|
The Sweet Hereafter posted:It really bugs me that just about all the urban fantasy set in the UK is set in London. I can't even think of any examples that aren't, would be open to any recommendations if anyone else can come up with some. I haven't read them yet but a friend recommended me the Endinburgh Nights series by TL Huchu which are presumably set outside of London
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 08:58
|
|
|
The Sweet Hereafter posted:It really bugs me that just about all the urban fantasy set in the UK is set in London. I can't even think of any examples that aren't, would be open to any recommendations if anyone else can come up with some. let me send you the opposite of what you want https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/15z1xew/a_list_of_120_londonbased_fantasy_series_and_books/
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 09:50
|
|
|
Runcible Cat posted:I read the first and maybe some of the second Verus because I was craving a Ben Aaronovitch-alike hit and I liked the cover design, and it was generic city with London names pasted on and generic urban fantasy angsty protagonist with a dark past so yeah, no thanks. I've got a weakness for London-set urban fantasy because I live here, but so much of it is absolutely terrible. Funny you should mention Aaronovitch in the context of pasting names on, because he's admitted that he didn't do all his research on Rivers of London quite as well as he should have. Specifically, he didn't visit Russell Square before locating the Folly there and wound up describing a building that doesn't exist. This is a major annoyance to fans who want to take a photo of themselves outside, and that annoyance is passed on to him.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 11:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 19:07 |
|
|
Jedit posted:Funny you should mention Aaronovitch in the context of pasting names on, because he's admitted that he didn't do all his research on Rivers of London quite as well as he should have. Specifically, he didn't visit Russell Square before locating the Folly there and wound up describing a building that doesn't exist. This is a major annoyance to fans who want to take a photo of themselves outside, and that annoyance is passed on to him.
|
|
#
?
Oct 17, 2023 11:12
|
|
