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Hieronymous Alloy posted:I hate to say it, but you should probably read the Wheel of Time series. It's practically designed for you. Imagine if Stephen King spent two decades putting together a 13-volume series about an in-depth fantasy world locked in massively epic conflict with whole volumes devoted almost entirely to romance subplots. Do I start with New Spring, or Eye of the World?
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Mar 24, 2011 20:10
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dopaMEAN posted:Do I start with New Spring, or Eye of the World? New spring's a prequel; you could theoretically start there but I'd say start with Eye. New Spring's probably more "interesting to people who've read some of the books already" rather than "great place to start the story" -- it'd probably spoil some mysteries in the first book. Be aware that the first couple hundred pages of Eye move a little slowly -- you're sinking in for the long haul, after all :P You might end up not liking it after all -- maybe take a look at the Wheel of Time thread for some takes on the series --- but overall the wheel of time is to the Modern Fantasy Epic Series what the first Matrix movie was to cyperpunk: it took all the different elements that made up the genre and threw them together in a polished, defining masterpiece. It might be a masterpiece that seems a little hokey or flawed to newer eyes, but it's still right there and you can't get away from it. Just look at the size of the Wheel of Time thread -- if you count up that thread and threads of the other books and series that the WoT spawned (George R R Martin, for example, said he credited Robert Jordan's jacket quote with launching sales for Game of Thrones, the Brandon Sanderson thread, etc.,), this is almost a wheel of time subforum. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 20:23
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Just look at the size of the Wheel of Time thread -- if you count up that thread and threads of the other books and series that the WoT spawned (George R R Martin, for example, said he credited Robert Jordan's jacket quote with launching sales for Game of Thrones, the Brandon Sanderson thread, etc.,), this is almost a wheel of time subforum. Well I'm certainly convinced to give it an honest try. I've always been more interested in science fiction books, mostly because I haven't found that many fantasy books that I loved. I prefer fantasy in games, though (even though I know Mass Effect is better written and paced than Dragon Age, I will always love Dragon Age more). Maybe this will finally really get me into the fantasy genre!
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Mar 24, 2011 20:37
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dopaMEAN posted:Well I'm certainly convinced to give it an honest try. I've always been more interested in science fiction books, mostly because I haven't found that many fantasy books that I loved. I prefer fantasy in games, though (even though I know Mass Effect is better written and paced than Dragon Age, I will always love Dragon Age more). Maybe this will finally really get me into the fantasy genre! Ok, for sci-fi, it's a little tougher. A few to look for (sticking to the big name classics): Ringworld by Larry Niven (don't read sequels) Neuromancer by William Gibson The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (like a lot of Zelazny, the technology here is at a level where it's almost indistinguishable from magic, and he's playing along the border between fantasy and sci-fi) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein Check those out if you haven't, they should give you some interesting directions to look in. If you like Moon is a Harsh Mistress, read Old Man's War by John Scalzi. If you like Neuromancer look up other cyberpunk (esp. Neal Stephenson). If you like Ringworld read more Niven, if you like Lord of Light read more Zelazny. EDIT: Mass Effect's writing borrowed heavily from Vernor Vinge's stuff, so he's another author you might be interested in. Read _Fire Upon_the_Deep or _Deepness in the Sky_. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 20:48 on Mar 24, 2011 |
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Mar 24, 2011 20:42
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, for sci-fi, it's a little tougher. A few to look for (sticking to the big name classics): Thanks for all the recommendations. I just grabbed a copy of The Eye of the World and I'm hooked already!
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Mar 24, 2011 22:18
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 25, 2011 00:01
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I can't remember if it was this thread or the sci-fi/fantasy recs thread I've already said it in, but I'll say it again for dopaMEAN's sake: If you like Mass Effect and gothic space horror (like Aliens or Event Horizon), read Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. It has plot elements and the wide-universe feel of the former, and the foreboding tone of the latter.
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Mar 25, 2011 03:17
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Do Not Resuscitate posted:I just do not understand the love this book gets and cannot fathom how it won the SF award trifecta. Is it the mysterious tech that people fall for? I tried to re-read this after having first read it 20 years ago and this time around found the dialog between the characters downright embarassing to read. I couldn't finish it. It's good in the same way Asimov is good -- not so much the writing as that it's a story "about" fairly abstruse and interesting scientific and engineering concepts. It's one of the archetypal "hard SF" novels, right up there with the Foundation series. It's definitely not the best sci-fi novel ever written or anything, but it's an archetypal example of the type of "hard sf" that dominated the field for like twenty years. So if you're trying to figure out what SF you'd like to read, it's worth taking a look at. You might find out you want to read more Niven, Asimov, etc., or you might decide "wait, this sucks," and then when you start reading (for example) Zelazny or Gibson, you'll appreciate them even more than you would otherwise because you'll understand more of what they were reacting against.
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Mar 25, 2011 05:52
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Hedrigall posted:I can't remember if it was this thread or the sci-fi/fantasy recs thread I've already said it in, but I'll say it again for dopaMEAN's sake: I feel like someone might have recommended that in the Mass Effect thread... I'll check that out as well. I just finally watched Aliens on Thanksgiving, and I really loved it. I have no idea why it took me so long to see it. I still haven't seen Event Horizon...
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Mar 25, 2011 16:06
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dopaMEAN posted:I feel like someone might have recommended that in the Mass Effect thread... I know this is the Book Barn but i cannot recommend Event Horizon enough, it's basically my favourite horror movie. It's very very VERY hosed up and awesome. Best described as The Shining in space.
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Mar 25, 2011 17:17
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Fun Fact: Event Horizon was Eric Harris' favorite movie.
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Mar 25, 2011 18:39
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Hedrigall posted:I know this is the Book Barn but i cannot recommend Event Horizon enough, it's basically my favourite horror movie. It's very very VERY hosed up and awesome. Best described as The Shining in space. Sorry to get off topic more, but have you seen Moon? I really loved that movie for its space creepiness as well. Plus it was scored by Clint Mansell!
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Mar 25, 2011 18:42
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Does anyone have any opinions on The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks? I've been thinking about picking it up, but how much "science" content is there vs. other material?
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Mar 25, 2011 18:45
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AARP LARPer fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Jan 22, 2016 |
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Mar 25, 2011 20:45
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I need a recommendation on a book (or series) about "the war in heaven", i.e. war between angels and demons. Not the biblical thingie, more like Darksider's computer game setting. Anything worth a nickel on this subject? Thanks.
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Mar 25, 2011 21:17
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You might try To Reign in Hell by Stephen Brust. It's a slightly different take on the subject.
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Mar 25, 2011 22:07
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Since Shogun 2 just got released i'm looking for a good book on the sengoku era in Japan.
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Mar 25, 2011 22:56
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Looking for a good suspense novel, something like "And then they were none". Maybe something from Agatha Christie, something from someone else wouldn't bother me either. Just a good LONG suspense novel.
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Mar 25, 2011 23:49
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dopaMEAN posted:Sorry to get off topic more, but have you seen Moon? I really loved that movie for its space creepiness as well. Plus it was scored by Clint Mansell! I was very bored for most of Moon. I don't like Sam Rockwell much (three of him did not help matters) and I thought the plot twists were pretty dull and uninspired.
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Mar 26, 2011 00:39
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Ornamented Death posted:You might try To Reign in Hell by Stephen Brust. It's a slightly different take on the subject. Seconding this one. I loved that book.
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Mar 26, 2011 01:44
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Do Not Resuscitate posted:I feel Niven is just a poor writer and several times I read a few lines of Ringworld's dialog aloud to my wife for a good laugh. Reading it aloud really exposes it as stilted and unwieldy. Personally, I think Philip Jose Farmer did it better with the first Riverworld. Wow, really? I haven't read Ringworld yet, but the Riverworld series are literally the worst books I have ever forced myself through.
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Mar 26, 2011 05:19
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I just finished the first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss on the recommendation of the thread and now I am jonesing for more of the same. Should I check out more of his stuff, or is there another series that has a similar mix of a clever protagonist and a world full of "sciency" practical magic?
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Mar 26, 2011 20:39
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Here's a strange request: can anyone recommend a book about cultural exchanges between humans and aliens? I'm always entertained by examining our society and culture from the perspective of a different species. I don't mean Twilight Zone style morality tales that boil down to, "Oh, you petty humans with your backwards ways." More just stories where aliens interact with humans and they spend a lot of time discussing all the weird stuff we do.
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Mar 26, 2011 21:12
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Kneel Before Zog posted:Can anyone suggestion a book about 19th century history of major European countries. One giving a detailed account on the growth of Prussia and Austria during the 19th century would be awesome. Late, but I just ran across this review and bought the book on the strength of it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2006/sep/09/featuresreviews.guardianreview10 quote:Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947
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Mar 26, 2011 21:17
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I recently re-watched Thank You For Smoking, and I'm hankering after stories where the protagonist is very smooth and able to convince people of anything. I suspect people might think of James Bond, but I've already read most of the Bond books, and the others are lined up.
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Mar 26, 2011 22:41
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My current reading kick is books on the Financial Crisis. I started with The Big Short, then moved on to All the Devils Are Here and Griftopia. I have a list of several others I want to look into, including Too Big To Fail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for books that are entertaining and well written in the Michael Lewis vain, more than dry academic texts. I'm also interested in similar books on our financial history, like the Great Depression. Any ideas?
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Mar 26, 2011 23:30
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Centipeed posted:I recently re-watched Thank You For Smoking, and I'm hankering after stories where the protagonist is very smooth and able to convince people of anything. The first thing that came to my mind is the Fletch series by Gregory McDonald. I haven't seen the Chevy Chase Movies based on them, but the books are great. Very funny, cool, non-traditional private eye style (Fletch is an investigative reporter) books. Convincing people of things is what Fletch is all about.
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Mar 26, 2011 23:43
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McCracAttack posted:Here's a strange request: can anyone recommend a book about cultural exchanges between humans and aliens? I'm always entertained by examining our society and culture from the perspective of a different species. I don't mean Twilight Zone style morality tales that boil down to, "Oh, you petty humans with your backwards ways." More just stories where aliens interact with humans and they spend a lot of time discussing all the weird stuff we do. They are, however, schlock. Good schlock, for the most part, but be warned that the writing isn't always up to the good ideas and there are errors of fact that someone with a science/anthro background might find maddening. (Also, a tendency to overuse/misuse certain words, e.g., "infinite" is used far too often to describe something that is actually very much finite.) The first few Pip&Flinx books aren't as good as the later commonwealth stories. Still, I recommend them if you aren't looking for something that will trigger Deep And Profound Thoughts.
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Mar 27, 2011 04:36
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I have been reading The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby and watching The Wire, and I would like someone to recommend me a book with these things: - a theme of Man Against Institution. Like the Joads against the Banks, or the McNulty against the machine that is the police department and the politics. - a great social reality. The Grapes of Wrath really made the 1930s come alive to me, you know? Or at least the parts Steinbeck focused on. - Beautiful writing. No stumbly amateurs, please. If anyone has any suggestions for me, I'd love to hear them!
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Mar 27, 2011 05:00
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Can anyone recommend a good non-fiction history of guilds? Pan-Europe or just the French/Dutch/German tradition, either way is fine. Thank you for smoking was originally a book by Christopher Buckley. All his novels are comical farces featuring main characters in that similar mold, they're fun. Little Green Men is one that I remember liking.
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Mar 27, 2011 15:18
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e: double post!
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Mar 27, 2011 16:32
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xcheopis posted:I thought the Commonwealth novels (including the Pip&Flinx ones, of course) by Mr. Alan Dean Foster did a fairly good job of this. He does have the "you petty humans" but he also has the "you petty aliens" to balance it and I think he did well in setting up his universe. I started reading a synopsis for the first book. For a second I thought I was reading the plot synopsis for Avatar by mistake. How did such a blatant rip-off not make a bigger stink when that movie came out? Not that anyone accused Avatar of being a very original movie in the first place.
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Mar 27, 2011 16:36
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Wikipedia posted:Midworld is a planet entirely covered by a rain forest three-quarters of a kilometer (almost half a mile) tall. Born is a member of the primitive society that has lived peacefully on Midworld for hundreds of years, they keep the careful natural balance of the jungle so that all may live. The world is disrupted by the arrival of an exploitative human company from Earth whose representatives know nothing of the delicate stability of the planet. Born helps two of them, one of whom is a female botanist, by leading them safely through parts of the relentlessly hostile jungle. The portions of the jungle near the ground are full of bioluminescent growths. The natives live in a gigantic tree called the Home Tree. When one of them dies, they are ceremonially buried in the Home Tree. Most of the animals have six legs and three eyes. One flying creature, called a sky-devil, is a large reptile-like creature that has air intakes under its wings. Each of the locals forms a lifetime bond with a powerful predator called a furcot. The natives hunt with poison darts. All of the life on the planet is linked together in a vast neurological network centered on the plant life. The natives can sort of communicate with this network through a process they call "emfoling". Holy loving poo poo. And it was written in 1975.
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Mar 27, 2011 16:51
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Well atleast the planet isn't called Pandora... Nobody still recommended a good long suspense novel? Come on guys!
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Mar 28, 2011 02:24
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I am taking a trip to Russia in a few weeks. This is a result not of some lifelong fascination with the country (though I happen to be of Russian extraction) but of opportunism—I have the vacation days, a friend to stay with, and a cheap ticket. However, I know so little about Russia that I feel a lot of what makes the country interesting will be lost on me. I'd love a recommendation for a thorough and entertaining history of Russia. Ideally it's not a tome (since I have only a few weeks to read it). More importantly, I would prefer it not be in the vein of your average history-class textbook: too dry and too dense. Is there such a book? Or perhaps a couple shorter books that each address a certain era (Czarist Russia, the Soviet Union, etc?). Actie fucked around with this message at 05:02 on Mar 28, 2011 |
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Mar 28, 2011 04:58
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Old Janx Spirit posted:My current reading kick is books on the Financial Crisis. I started with The Big Short, then moved on to All the Devils Are Here and Griftopia. I have a list of several others I want to look into, including Too Big To Fail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for books that are entertaining and well written in the Michael Lewis vain, more than dry academic texts. I'm also interested in similar books on our financial history, like the Great Depression. I recommended this one a few pages back, but it's worth mentioning again: Diary of a Very Bad Year by an anonymous hedge fund manager. It's entirely a series of interviews with the hedge fund manager from during the crisis and printed without (much) editing. It's offers a very different perspective from anything else I've read on the topic. It definitely fits the entertaining part of your request.
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Mar 28, 2011 15:57
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Old Janx Spirit posted:My current reading kick is books on the Financial Crisis. I started with The Big Short, then moved on to All the Devils Are Here and Griftopia. I have a list of several others I want to look into, including Too Big To Fail. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for books that are entertaining and well written in the Michael Lewis vain, more than dry academic texts. I'm also interested in similar books on our financial history, like the Great Depression. NPR's Planet Money did a feature on this: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Depression-Diary-Benjamin-Roth/dp/158648799X The interview was really good, I imagine the book would be interesting too. It's the diary of a lawyer from Ohio as the Great Depression unfolds.
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Mar 28, 2011 16:22
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I'd love to know about more about fabrics and textiles. The stuff is all around us every day but I'm quite ignorant when it comes to warps and wefts. Does anyone know an accessible, entertaining book about the history and development of cloths and fabrics?
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Mar 28, 2011 16:27
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Does anybody know some fun espionage meets space operas like asimov's Lucky Starr books?
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Mar 29, 2011 14:35
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Actie posted:I am taking a trip to Russia in a few weeks. This is a result not of some lifelong fascination with the country (though I happen to be of Russian extraction) but of opportunism—I have the vacation days, a friend to stay with, and a cheap ticket.
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Mar 29, 2011 17:13
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