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Groke posted:I have a paperback of this from the early 90s (so about a decade after it came out). As is customary, it has a bunch of quotes from reviewers on the inside of the cover; as is less customary, only about half of them are like "A strong debut novel from a promising young writer" while the other half are all "This is sick filth and what sad times are these when a formerly reputable publishing house puts its name on something like this; the author needs to have his head examined". I also found The Wasp Factory to be mid and boring, although I am not that reviewer. I got to the denouement and thought "is that it?"
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Mar 21, 2024 14:21
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FPyat posted:RIP to Vernor Vinge, may he be read by generations to come. Quietly one of the most important people in SF history. Wish he'd been more prolific but Deepness in the Sky and Fire Upon the Deep are in the pantheon.
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Mar 21, 2024 14:38
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It's a real trip seeing Wolfe name-drop him in The Fifth Head of Cerberus all the way back in 1972.
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Mar 21, 2024 14:57
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Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi.
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Mar 21, 2024 19:58
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. There Is No Antimemetics Division, go, now, grab this if you haven’t already!
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Mar 21, 2024 19:59
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Kestral posted:There Is No Antimemetics Division, go, now, grab this if you haven’t already! Oh nice, I didn't realize there was an "official" SCP book. Seems perfect as someone who loves the idea of SCP but hasn't read many of them because I didn't want to take the time trying to figure out which were the good ones.
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Mar 21, 2024 20:05
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. Exordia makes use of the concept.
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Mar 21, 2024 20:11
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. *learnedly* Infinite Jest
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Mar 21, 2024 20:30
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. The Bye Bye Man
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Mar 21, 2024 20:53
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trip9 posted:Oh nice, I didn't realize there was an "official" SCP book. Seems perfect as someone who loves the idea of SCP but hasn't read many of them because I didn't want to take the time trying to figure out which were the good ones. If you end up liking it, the author has several other novels and quite a bit of short fiction, and it’s excellent. Fine Structure is one of the best Big Ideas Sci-Fi novels I’ve across in a long time.
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Mar 21, 2024 20:55
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General Battuta posted:The Bye Bye Man I had to google this to make sure I wasn't getting it mixed up with The Gray Man (bad), The Tall Man (bad), or The Empty Man (good).
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Mar 21, 2024 21:06
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Seems there's a Third Man missing on that list
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Mar 21, 2024 21:17
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General Battuta posted:The Bye Bye Man Don't Think It Don't Say It Don't Watch It
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Mar 21, 2024 21:30
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Jedit posted:I also found The Wasp Factory to be mid and boring, although I am not that reviewer. I got to the denouement and thought "is that it?" It was probably more shocking in 84 when it was first published.
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Mar 21, 2024 21:40
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. Snow Crash.
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Mar 21, 2024 21:41
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zoux posted:Quietly one of the most important people in SF history. Wish he'd been more prolific but Deepness in the Sky and Fire Upon the Deep are in the pantheon. And if not for those, he would be well remembered for Marooned in Realtime. And various short stories.
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Mar 21, 2024 21:47
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Kestral posted:If you end up liking it, the author has several other novels and quite a bit of short fiction, and it’s excellent. Fine Structure is one of the best Big Ideas Sci-Fi novels I’ve across in a long time. Reminder that the same person also created Hatetris, the Tetris variant where you always get the worst possible piece.
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Mar 21, 2024 21:49
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. Maybe John Brunner's The Shockwave Rider?
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Mar 21, 2024 22:03
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Red Country (First Law) by Joe Abercrombie - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0076DEJMO/ The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PI181JI/ The Cosmic Puppets by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVQZFM/
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Mar 21, 2024 22:53
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ulmont posted:Let me agree with all of this except the conclusion and say that the first few Garrett PI books are great even if they are clearly following Rex Stout beat for beat. There’s a point in the series where Garrett’s Goodwin plus noir detective persona breaks down that does some interesting things before falling victim to Cook’s interest in anime. Also his butler/cook Dean is absolutely a Fritz-type character. Cook’s Dread Empire series is of some interest, especially if you like the Malazan books, and I believe Passage at Arms and The Dragon Never Sleeps have been mentioned. Darkwar is a very different kind of series and pretty grim. The Starfisher series goes in some strange directions but I do find myself wondering if it’s a secret influence on some sci-fi authors you wouldn’t think read Glen Cook’s sci-fi. The Swordbearer is a strange stand-alone that has obvious signs of both Black Company and Dread Empire without quite being either, and which reads as almost half-finished to me (though it does resolve). And the Instrumentalities of the Night series is a rambling alternate Earth history fantasy series that expects you’re familiar with the European Middle Ages and plays all kinds of historical clever tricks. Interesting concepts but it feels like it ends before Cook was ready for it to end.
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Mar 21, 2024 23:23
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. There is No Antimemetics Division.
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Mar 21, 2024 23:38
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Groke posted:And if not for those, he would be well remembered for Marooned in Realtime. And various short stories. And if not for that, then for defining and popularising the AI singularity back in '83. Not the first use of the term in a futurological context, but AFAIK the first to use it specifically wrt intelligence rather than in more than a technologically general sense.
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Mar 21, 2024 23:42
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Narsham posted:the Instrumentalities of the Night series is a rambling alternate Earth history fantasy series that expects you’re familiar with the European Middle Ages and plays all kinds of historical clever tricks. Interesting concepts but it feels like it ends before Cook was ready for it to end. …that’s because Cook ended it abruptly after the series didn’t sell like the publisher wanted. A shame as it was good and I think needed two more books to really wrap up well.
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Mar 21, 2024 23:46
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trip9 posted:I had to google this to make sure I wasn't getting it mixed up with The Gray Man (bad), The Tall Man (bad), or The Empty Man (good). I fuckin loved The Empty Man, seriously underrated. But don't actually watch Bye Bye Man, take this poster's advice StonecutterJoe posted:Don't Think It Don't Say It Don't Watch It
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Mar 22, 2024 00:12
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Empty Man was a crazy surprise. So good.
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Mar 22, 2024 00:12
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Fumblemouse posted:And if not for that, then for defining and popularising the AI singularity back in '83. Not the first use of the term in a futurological context, but AFAIK the first to use it specifically wrt intelligence rather than in more than a technologically general sense. Also for True Names and its influence on cyberpunk and online spaces more generally.
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Mar 22, 2024 00:30
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. The Quantum Thief series, kinda.
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Mar 22, 2024 00:36
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ulmont posted:…that’s because Cook ended it abruptly after the series didn’t sell like the publisher wanted. A shame as it was good and I think needed two more books to really wrap up well. I also think he may have written himself into the weeds with where things had gotten by the end of the fourth book. I really liked them though. If you want more Glen Cook, they're some pretty drat good Glen Cook novels.
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Mar 22, 2024 00:36
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Thanks for all the good infohazard recs. I have another question as well: How does The House of Open Wounds hold up as a standalone? The concept sounds awesome and I generally really enjoy Tchaikovsky but I’ve unfortunately heard City of Last Chances isn’t especially great.
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Mar 22, 2024 01:57
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trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi. Dave Langford's Blit shorts: BLIT: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm comp.basilisk FAQ: https://ansible.uk/writing/c-b-faq.html What Happened at Cambridge IV: https://archive.org/details/digitaldreams0000unse/page/6/mode/1up?view=theater Different Kinds of Darkness: https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/different-kinds-of-darkness/ xiw fucked around with this message at 02:18 on Mar 22, 2024 |
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Mar 22, 2024 02:15
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voiceless anal fricative posted:Exordia makes use of the concept. yeah I just read exordia and have a (positive) rant marinating, it's definitely in the basket of Books Wot Have Infohazards
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Mar 22, 2024 02:51
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:If they don't gently caress that's urban fantasy trip9 posted:Are there any good books making use of the idea of an "infohazard"? Seems like fun conceptual fodder for some sci-fi.
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Mar 22, 2024 03:54
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I thought Snow Crash came out several years after the initial rush of cyberpunk had burnt itself out?
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Mar 22, 2024 04:24
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trip9 posted:I have another question as well: How does The House of Open Wounds hold up as a standalone? The concept sounds awesome and I generally really enjoy Tchaikovsky but I’ve unfortunately heard City of Last Chances isn’t especially great. City of Last Chances falls short of great, but lands in "pretty darn good". That said, CoLC is setup and worldbuilding for The House of Open Wounds, but I wouldn't say it's essential to enjoying THoOW. I'd personally recommend reading both, but no, you won't be missing anything absolutely essential by skipping CoLC.
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Mar 22, 2024 04:31
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Snow Crash is a parody of the dumbest cyberpunk poo poo while also being the dumbest cyberpunk poo poo. I love it.
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Mar 22, 2024 04:38
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FPyat posted:I thought Snow Crash came out several years after the initial rush of cyberpunk had burnt itself out? More like it marked the end of that.
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Mar 22, 2024 04:57
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I don't love the attention paid to the sexuality of underage YT. That combined with the unnecessary sexual assault of the protagonist in The Diamond Age made me get a bit frowny about Neal Stephenson's stuff.
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Mar 22, 2024 05:13
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trip9 posted:Thanks for all the good infohazard recs. I actually accidentally read The House of Open Wounds as standalone because I didn't realize there was a prior book until halfway through, and even then it didn't really seem to matter. It didn't detract from the book in my opinion.
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Mar 22, 2024 06:20
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Groke posted:More like it marked the end of that. I think FPyat has it better. Stephenson wasn't one of the original "cyberpunks" who featured in Sterling's Mirrorshades collection, and I don't think you should count him amongst the second generation of cyberpunks either since stuff like Street Lethal, Dr. Adder, and Hardwired is all from the early to mid 80s. Gibson finishes the Sprawl trilogy in 1988 with Mona Lisa Overdrive, and Shirley finishes the other big cyberpunk trilogy with Eclipse Corona in 1990. I think if you want to put a date on the end of the first wave of cyberpunk, it should be 1990, the year Gibson and Sterling publish The Difference Engine and turn their attention away from the genre for a bit. Snow Crash is better placed in the second wave of cyberpunk that springs up in the 90s alongside the early commercial growth of the internet.
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Mar 22, 2024 13:44
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Ok I went and read scholomance I'm mad that it was really good Naomi Novik is a really good fanfic writer and I don't know how to feel about that
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Mar 22, 2024 20:58
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