|
frogbs posted:Ok, so i've queued up samples of a few books folks recommended here, along with others I found randomly searching around. Will report back if any stick: This is a good list that will enable you to take part in any number of endlessly running arguments about some of those books.
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 06:11
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 09:03 |
|
|
Awkward Davies posted:This is a good list that will enable you to take part in any number of endlessly running arguments about some of those books. …. Oh no Edit to add actual content: Welp, I hope some of them are good books too! I also added Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir since that might be a little less intense than the others. frogbs fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Mar 29, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 06:20
|
|
|
A Sneaker Broker posted:After I emerge from the void that is the Cosmere, I need help deciding where to go next on my TBR. I can choose all of Red Rising, Dune, or Sword of Kaigen. Please help me. Based on your Sanderson thread posting, I think you would like Sword of Kaigen. There's some rough bits, but overall epic fight scenes are very epic and anime, and the storytelling is quite good with the emotional moments. Leng posted:Will probably continue on to The Veiled Throne but not any time soon. Me reporting back on Ken Liu's The Veiled Throne: it picks up where The Wall of Storms left off and continues much in the same vein, except this time instead of doing fantasy research for war, we're doing fantasy research for Master Chef: Fantasy China Edition (featuring fantasy Asian fusion creme brulee and fantasy pressure cookers and what I think imo was a very obvious riff on Heston Blumenthal's philosophy to dining as well as a really oddly out of place Pirates of Penzance reference to "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General"). Also the overarching plot/theme of the book is basically the miscommunication trope writ large, but Liu does some neat things with parallel narratives and timelines to show how two very different cultures are clashing/mixing. There are still big action scenes here and there but if you consider that The Grace of Kings is pretty much a standalone prologue to a trilogy, The Veiled Throne has big "middle book" vibes because it feels mostly like setup for Speaking Bones (which is on my shelf right now).
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 08:45
|
|
|
frogbs posted:Ok, so i've queued up samples of a few books folks recommended here, along with others I found randomly searching around. Will report back if any stick: I think I've read most of these except Childhood's End, and I don't recall there being any spiders. The closest would maybe be starfish-esque aliens in Blindsight? Like, if your issue with spiders is the number of appendages they have, I guess?
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 15:20
|
|
|
Project Hail Mary contains a spider but he's very good
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 15:27
|
|
|
I DNF Project Hail Mary before the alien even showed up because the protagonist is so insufferable.
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 15:32
|
|
|
frogbs posted:Ok, so i've queued up samples of a few books folks recommended here, along with others I found randomly searching around. Will report back if any stick:
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 15:56
|
|
|
There are spider aliens in the (terrible, largely written without Clarke) Rama sequels, maybe frogbs was confusing Childhood’s End with those?
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 16:47
|
|
|
Nightwings by Robert Silverberg - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CHW661Q/
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 17:22
|
|
|
Drunk Driver Dad posted:Out of those, and the others you and everyone else suggested, would you guys say is going to emotionally devastate me the most? Those are the good ones! If you want to be emotionally devastated (and then slowly, carefully, with great compassion healed), the Baru books really can't be beat. She Who Became the Sun and its sequel, He Who Drowned the World, are going hurt your heart, too. It turns out that some people will do terrible thing to the people they love in order to rule China!
|
|
#
?
Mar 29, 2024 20:06
|
|
|
Mustang posted:Finally got around to finishing the second half of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Definitely up there as one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series. Absolutely keep going with Wolfe. Book of the Long Sun is great - maybe not quite as good as New Sun, but still very worth reading. Book of the Short Sun is the best. I liked it better than New Sun. Fifth Head of Cerberus - superb Wizard Knight - excellent Pirate Freedom - very good His short story collections: excellent. I don't remember exactly which ones I read. I think The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, Innocents Aboard, and Starwater Strains. I haven't yet read Soldier series. I think I'm saving it, but I'm not sure what for.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 02:10
|
|
|
I got my copy of Exordia today! It was on sale on Amazon and - am I being paranoid? The book jacket feels chalky/tacky, hard to describe. The pages are super thin, too. I know this is a popular book and I was surprised to see it on sale. Are counterfeits a thing or is this how the book feels?
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 05:14
|
|
|
LifeLynx posted:I got my copy of Exordia today! It was on sale on Amazon and - am I being paranoid? The book jacket feels chalky/tacky, hard to describe. The pages are super thin, too. I know this is a popular book and I was surprised to see it on sale. Are counterfeits a thing or is this how the book feels? Someone else here was complaining about thin pages in this book too. They could see the words from the other side of the pages.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 05:56
|
|
|
ianmacdo posted:Someone else here was complaining about thin pages in this book too. They could see the words from the other side of the pages. Same here with the semi-transparent pages. This was a book I bought while debating an ereader, and at $25, I considered that it's 1/4th the price of a cheaper Kobo. Looks like I should have gone with the other choice. Might return the book, it's distractingly bad quality. I've had well-loved library books that are more pleasant to hold.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 06:09
|
|
|
LifeLynx posted:Same here with the semi-transparent pages. This was a book I bought while debating an ereader, and at $25, I considered that it's 1/4th the price of a cheaper Kobo. Looks like I should have gone with the other choice. Might return the book, it's distractingly bad quality. I've had well-loved library books that are more pleasant to hold. I absolutely love my Kobo, 99% of Pradmer's sales posts are on Kobo as well as Amazon, it has direct library integration without having to use a computer as an intermediary to load your library ebook rentals, and I've had mine for 7 years and it still has great battery life. One big downside is that it's hard to get any books that are published on Amazon Unlimited, which I sometimes run into from recommendations in this thread, Fred the Zombie Accountant or whatever it was called was my most recent run-in with that.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 06:32
|
|
|
ianmacdo posted:Someone else here was complaining about thin pages in this book too. They could see the words from the other side of the pages. Yeah, that was me. And you can't just see the words, you can read them. A sample, minimally sized so as not to give away either spoilers or General B's copyrighted work in any meaningful way:  I'll also agree with the feel of the dust jacket, although I didn't notice initially as I remove dust jackets from books while I read them. Jedit fucked around with this message at 10:47 on Mar 30, 2024 |
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 10:44
|
|
|
That sort of matte/satin finish the dust jacket has is not uncommon (I've had other books, hardcovers and paperbacks, with the same texture). I think there's spot gloss on the cover and the matte contrast helps it stick out more visually and texturally. I also always take dust jackets off when I'm actually reading and only put them back on when I've finished the book (partly because I find them annoying and partly because I'm afraid they'll get ripped).
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 11:29
|
|
|
The librarian commented on the thin pages when I was taking it out of the library, actually. Battuta said he has no sway with the publisher on that question, sadly.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 12:21
|
|
|
The Thin Paper Baru Cormorant
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 13:42
|
|
|
I just finished The Three-Body Problem on a recommendation from someone working at the bookstore and it didn't really satisfy what I was looking for. I asked for something very heady and philosophical like His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem and while The Three-Body Problem raised some questions, I felt it was too reliant on story and not enough philosophical dives. It hasn't really given me that much to think on. I found the book satisfying and may read the sequels if they are the same quality but maybe you all can help me out more. Any recommendations for very philosophical stuff that's less about driving a story forward? It can be new or old, but I would love some new authors if anybody has them. Also, are the sequels to The Three-Body Problem worth reading? I don't usually read sequels because they tend to go off the rails.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:24
|
|
|
If you like philosophical stories, definitely check out Ted Chiang if you haven't already. And Greg Egan, though his newer work especially tends more towards alternate physics and biology (e.g. what if there were two timelike dimensions, or all matter and life forms existed on different scales, or people's cells were autonomous and could move from body to body) than philosophical questions per se.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:40
|
|
|
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BKR14LA/ Hunter's Run by George RR Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012095BM/ The Artificial Kid by Bruce Sterling - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PDDKVWQ/ The Divine Invasion (VALIS #2) by Philip K Dick - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LVQZS4/
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:55
|
|
|
gurragadon posted:I just finished The Three-Body Problem on a recommendation from someone working at the bookstore and it didn't really satisfy what I was looking for. I asked for something very heady and philosophical like His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem and while The Three-Body Problem raised some questions, I felt it was too reliant on story and not enough philosophical dives. It hasn't really given me that much to think on. I found the book satisfying and may read the sequels if they are the same quality but maybe you all can help me out more. 'Always Coming Home' by Ursula K Le Guin is something I recommend a lot. It has narrative spattered around but is mostly an anthropological and cultural dive into a fictional people.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 18:56
|
|
|
gurragadon posted:Also, are the sequels to The Three-Body Problem worth reading? I don't usually read sequels because they tend to go off the rails. I enjoyed them a lot, but I found the first third of the middle book kind of rough. If you're looking for more philosophical stuff it's definitely there but the focus remains plot
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 20:20
|
|
|
A lot of mainstream books are now publish-on-demand from the get-go because press setup is so expensive.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 20:33
|
|
|
gurragadon posted:I just finished The Three-Body Problem on a recommendation from someone working at the bookstore and it didn't really satisfy what I was looking for. I asked for something very heady and philosophical like His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem and while The Three-Body Problem raised some questions, I felt it was too reliant on story and not enough philosophical dives. It hasn't really given me that much to think on. I found the book satisfying and may read the sequels if they are the same quality but maybe you all can help me out more. Have you read Thomas Disch, Samuel Delany, Blake Butler, Nancy Kress, Borges, Italo Calvino, Paul Park, John Kessel, Michael Cisco, John Crowley, Eleanor Arnason or John Ford?
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 20:33
|
|
|
gurragadon posted:I just finished The Three-Body Problem on a recommendation from someone working at the bookstore and it didn't really satisfy what I was looking for. I asked for something very heady and philosophical like His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem and while The Three-Body Problem raised some questions, I felt it was too reliant on story and not enough philosophical dives. It hasn't really given me that much to think on. I found the book satisfying and may read the sequels if they are the same quality but maybe you all can help me out more. Borges is your man. Calvino too but some of his works are less philosophy and more lateral thinking problems.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 20:36
|
|
|
I have yet to read any of his books, but I wonder if John Gwynne's books are as epic as those cover art. Because if so, I'm so in.
|
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2024 22:15
|
|
|
Invisible cities by calvino is great.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 01:58
|
|
|
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, has anyone finished the Cradle series by Will Wight? My interest (and the quality) has cratered after the big tournament in book 8 so I don't think I can be bothered finishing the series unless it picks up again.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 02:27
|
|
|
voiceless anal fricative posted:On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, has anyone finished the Cradle series by Will Wight? My interest (and the quality) has cratered after the big tournament in book 8 so I don't think I can be bothered finishing the series unless it picks up again. I have not finished the Cradle series but I've read everything up to the last book, there's some good stuff afterwards but the scale gets too abstracted and non-human for my taste. Also the space part comes to fore and I couldn't care less.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 02:42
|
|
|
A Sneaker Broker posted:I have yet to read any of his books, but I wonder if John Gwynne's books are as epic as those cover art. Because if so, I'm so in. I read Faithful and the Fallen it was basically just barely good enough to finish the series imo. There were a few cool fighting moments and stuff though at least. I will probably check out that new series he has when the 3rd book releases though, because the concept seems interesting and the covers are gnarly like you said.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 02:47
|
|
|
Speaking of the Three Body Problem, PBS Space Time on YouTube did a video about the actual Three Body Problem (I wonder why). They're a pro follow for anyone interested in the big questions about, well, space and time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et7XvBenEo8
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 04:18
|
|
|
fez_machine posted:I have not finished the Cradle series but I've read everything up to the last book, there's some good stuff afterwards but the scale gets too abstracted and non-human for my taste. Also the space part comes to fore and I couldn't care less. How do you maintain progression for that long? Are they throwing around galaxies or something?
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 05:52
|
|
|
Abstract concept of time and space and narrative causality.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 06:31
|
|
|
Yeah it's like a tiered system that the characters advance through and the top level before ascending to godhood is about exerting your will directly on the world, then the gods it's all about predicting the future and the bad guys corrupt and distort natural laws so the good guys can't predict it accurately and poo poo.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 06:53
|
|
|
voiceless anal fricative posted:On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, has anyone finished the Cradle series by Will Wight? My interest (and the quality) has cratered after the big tournament in book 8 so I don't think I can be bothered finishing the series unless it picks up again.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 10:26
|
|
|
Mustang posted:Finally got around to finishing the second half of Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Definitely up there as one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy series. Wizard knight is excellent, if twisty. Not a step down from BotNS in complexity
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 13:27
|
|
|
Jedit posted:I read Dragonbone Chair when it first came out and it was Extruded Fantasy Product even then. I have no idea what you're talking about and am not even sure you read the same book. So I did read it, I can see why modern fantasy writers liked it, there are some darker ideas, some progression past the tolkien light fantasy of the 80s and 90s (lookin at you Terry brooks) but I'd say its about 80% of a doorstopper fantasy spent travelling between places, while being chased/threatened/hungry/hiding your identity. I'm glad I did but most post Tad Williams fantasy contains more action and less young simon moping and calling himself a mooncalf, and it's better for it. Do it for the nostalgia and because he seems less of a stain of a human being than eddings.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 13:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 29, 2024 09:03 |
|
|
Those first four or whatever Magic Kingdom For Sale books were big favs of mine when I was a kid, I gotta give that to Terry Brooks. It felt a little bit modern and different than Tolkien, I gather Shannara is like you're saying though. My parents happened to be fans of all that stuff as well as Tolkein.
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2024 13:49
|
|
