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Hey I wanted to check here as well, has anyone read Andromeda's Fall ? I'm reading it now and I'm wondering if it's worth carrying on with, I'm not really buying the universe it's set in and seems a bit silly
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May 12, 2017 20:30
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orange sky posted:Also, please do, don't leave this for later or anything. Just wanted to pull this post out from a few months back because I finished reading The Player of Games and loved it - I just finished ordering the 8 culture novels I don't already have (used, total of $48 including shipping, stoked). Thanks for the recommendation.
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Jun 11, 2017 09:35
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Just finishing the last book I can find from Neil Asher. While there were a few wobbly bits I generally found them all very good, the near future politics elements in the Owner trilogy was also quite captivating. This is especially since I'm a brit, so I saw Serene Galahad as Theresa May in her early 30's.
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Jun 11, 2017 17:29
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General Battuta posted:I agree with your opinions on Expanse 3/4 but what the gently caress those were nearly the best episodes of BSG man I've never read his Battletech books (isn't that where he got his start?) but his Star Wars books are kinda my guilty pleasure. Other than the original Timothy Zahn trilogy, they're the only ones I've kept around from all of the old Bantam era of Star Wars books.
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Jun 12, 2017 00:53
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Mister Kingdom posted:I'm giving Margaret Weis' Star of the Guardians another shot. I remember trying to start it about 20 years ago and kept bogging down. It's more or less exactly Star Wars, but I remember finding it compelling as a teenager. There's an extinct order of space knights with energy swords, one of them betrayed them and hunted them down, the old regime must be restored, so forth. If it has redeeming qualities let me know, there must've been some reason I read them! fe: the bad guy's name is Warlord Sagan, a very intimidating image
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Jun 12, 2017 05:32
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General Battuta posted:If it has redeeming qualities let me know, there must've been some reason I read them! That's pretty much why I read most of the stuff I read when I was a teenager. I had an endless appetite for trashy SF, and there was plenty of it on the shelves at Waldenbooks and B. Dalton. And the longer the series, the better.
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Jun 12, 2017 06:56
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Miss-Bomarc posted:They were available? Ho, yes, those were the days of walking into a bookstore (or library) and getting whatever looked most interesting from the shelves. Maybe occasionally even seeking out something because it had had a favourable review in a magazine, although that would be pushing it. Special orders? Maybe once in a blue moon, and it took forever. Also I had an onion tied to my belt.
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Jun 12, 2017 12:08
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I remember going into used bookstores and just buying whole series of whatever looked interesting. I had so many lovely sci-fi books that they took over my apartment and I finally just donated them. Blast from the past guys.
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Jun 12, 2017 21:18
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There was nothing so fun as seeing "Book 1 of the (x) series". I still remember when I stumbled over the Chung Kuo series, and holy gently caress there's like SIX of these and they are HUGE, I'm gonna be reading these for the whole SUMMER. And on reading the Wikipedia page, I find that there were eight actual books published in the original group, and "[the author] announced that the publishing rights for the series had reverted back to the him and that he plans to self-publish the entire twenty book series starting in 2017."
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Jun 13, 2017 06:54
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Miss-Bomarc posted:There was nothing so fun as seeing "Book 1 of the (x) series". I still remember when I stumbled over the Chung Kuo series, and holy gently caress there's like SIX of these and they are HUGE, I'm gonna be reading these for the whole SUMMER. Were they any good?
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Jun 13, 2017 07:50
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StrixNebulosa posted:Were they any good? If you have enjoyed Game of Thrones at some point, you'd likely also have enjoyed Chung Kuo. I'm pretty shocked reading all the one star reviews on goodreads about this series.
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Jun 13, 2017 08:50
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Drifter posted:I've read the first two of the original Chung Kuo series way back when and thought they were really interesting. It wasn't all action plot all the time, so some people said it got a bit wordy, but I enjoyed the books. The only reason I stopped was that it was hard to find the rest of the series. Excellent. I own the first one because it was a dollar at a library, so I'll throw it into the "actually read this year maybe" pile instead of in the "when I get to it" pile.
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Jun 13, 2017 10:22
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Drifter posted:I've read the first two of the original Chung Kuo series way back when and thought they were really interesting. It wasn't all action plot all the time, so some people said it got a bit wordy, but I enjoyed the books. The only reason I stopped was that it was hard to find the rest of the series. It gets... weird as gently caress in the later books. I don't remember exactly how many I did read but let me say again: It gets weird. As. gently caress.
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Jun 13, 2017 11:48
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Edit: This isn't the Science Fiction thread! Damnit.
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Jun 13, 2017 14:25
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Groke posted:It gets... weird as gently caress in the later books. I don't remember exactly how many I did read but let me say again: It gets weird. As. gently caress. It was kind of weird right from the start, I thought. And I guess it's not really Space Opera per se, although it hit a lot of the same notes for me.
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Jun 14, 2017 04:50
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Is Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson any good? It's on the Kindle deal of the day today, debating getting it.
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Jun 14, 2017 19:23
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Yes. It's an excellent story about the wonders* of hard-sf interstellar colonisation.
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Jun 14, 2017 19:47
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I finished the Ember Wars series. Somebody, perhaps the author, described the series as Mass Effect meets Battlestar Galactica. Very apt description. Man, I loved them. They were quick reads, cliché but just enough to be familiar, and the characters were enjoyable. Plus each book was like 4 bucks or less on Amazon. I read one of the author's spinoff books, Iron Dragoons, and I liked it as well.
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Jun 21, 2017 17:36
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Surprise ! James Doohan (yes, Scotty) has three SF novels to his credit. Ok, S.M. Stirling did most of the work but that's his lot in life. I spotted enough Canadian references to think that Doohan had a lot to do with the content. It's three book milsf series. The main character is a former fighter pilot who has been relegated to other duties after an injury. Now he's the Flight Engineer for the fast carrier Invincible, in charge of the deck crew and flight ops. Since he outranks both squadron commanders, he's sort of the CAG. Star Command is at war with the "Mollies", religious fanatics who control the anti hydrogen, without which the Commonwealth will collapse. Over three books he solves problems both engineering, personnel, and tactical. I really enjoyed these books. They're not serious literature, but they aren't trying to be. What they are is good, clean space adventure fun. They're the anti-David Weber in a lot of ways; nobody is brooding and depressed, nobody is the best every and everyone loves them, the religious fanatics aren't rapey madmen like the Masadans or poorly characterized pastiches of real religions, they just think everyone else is evil and damned. There are no exposition dumps, and combat is more about having the better crew than the latest super weapon. At $7 a pop on Kindle I'm really glad I picked these up. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AP9XTG8/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o02_?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Jun 23, 2017 03:29
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Just suggestion for people who don't know, the LA library and I assume many other libraries have ebooks they lend out online, with a 30 day loan period and the option to check out like 30 books. I read obnoxiously fast and have a little to much free time so its been nice and easy for me to check out 1-2 books, read them and then return them in a day or so. Saves money too.
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Jun 24, 2017 00:05
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I'm sure that the booming population of Louisiana book goons will appreciate being informed
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Jun 24, 2017 04:13
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coyo7e posted:I'm sure that the booming population of Louisiana book goons will appreciate being informed Check your library! They might have it and worst case scenario you can spoof an Los Angeles address. I used LA since it was relevant to me but others might have it.
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Jun 24, 2017 04:28
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spoiler alert: even backwards Louisiana libraries lend e books these days.
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Jun 24, 2017 04:54
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coyo7e posted:I'm sure that the booming population of Louisiana book goons will appreciate being informed Hey gently caress you too buddy (LA book goon checking in).
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Jun 24, 2017 04:57
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So I've gotten the sci-fi itch. Every time I get this itch I usually turn to David Weber; not so much the Honorverse stuff, as much as I prefer Empire from the Ashes and Empire of Man. The latter especially because the Mardukans are an extremely fun race to read about; probably one of my favorite 'alien' races truth be told. I really like the premise that the books tell about 'outnumbered but not outgunned' and such. I did complete Safehold - wasn't all that thrilled with the ending, felt like he's tired of that series and wanted to rush an ending. Too much left unresolved. I'm thinking of going back and re-reading some of the Starfire books but thought I'd stop in to see if anyone has good alternatives I could take a look at. Additional question - anyone here like to head over to HFY on reddit? Some of those series are surprisingly good, but it's admittedly getting a little crowded so finding the gems among the rest can be a bit tough.
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Jun 28, 2017 21:40
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khy posted:So I've gotten the sci-fi itch. Every time I get this itch I usually turn to David Weber; not so much the Honorverse stuff, as much as I prefer Empire from the Ashes and Empire of Man. The latter especially because the Mardukans are an extremely fun race to read about; probably one of my favorite 'alien' races truth be told. I really like the premise that the books tell about 'outnumbered but not outgunned' and such. It's not good, but https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Wings-6-Book/dp/B01CDYZT9W scratches a lot of my Weber itches. Then there's also the USS Penis America I posted about a few pages ago which also does similar Weber Things. For actual 'good' space Opera, Lt. Leary series always needs more love.
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Jun 28, 2017 22:45
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mllaneza posted:Surprise ! James Doohan (yes, Scotty) has three SF novels to his credit. Stirling is also Canadian so that doesn't really narrow it down.  I picked up the first one of these last week and you're right, it was a lot of fun! Your description of it as the "anti-Weber" is spot on. Definitely going to read the other two once I clear my current buffer. Also, through the entire book I couldn't shake the feeling that if you changed some of the names and terminology -- and nothing else -- you'd have a really solid Wing Commander novel, to the point that I wonder if either Stirling or Doohan played Wing Commander 2 a bunch before writing this.
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Jun 29, 2017 00:35
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ToxicFrog posted:Also, through the entire book I couldn't shake the feeling that if you changed some of the names and terminology -- and nothing else -- you'd have a really solid Wing Commander novel, to the point that I wonder if either Stirling or Doohan played Wing Commander 2 a bunch before writing this. I don't know about an actual Wing Commander vibe, but the series does leave me jazzed up to fly some space fighters.
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Jun 29, 2017 04:31
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