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Casimir Radon posted:I've been bored waiting for a new Vorkosigan book from Lois McMaster Bujold, so I went and grabbed the first of her Sharing Knife series without reading anything about it first. It's good, and I'm enjoying it for the most part, but knowing that it's fantasy-romance before might have been nice. I swear the last hour or so has been taken up with the protagonists loving each other and it's starting to get old. I just finished reading and loved the Sharing Knife series, but yeah, you do need to be ready to handle the romance-y parts. I recall the first book having one slow part and a few horribly, horribly sappy lines, but if you can handle that, the series is fantastic. Good characters, neat world. I generally kind of distrust fantasy-magic stuff (I'm more of a hardish sci-fi person), but this series drifts in the direction of "let's do science to magic" which I appreciate. I've heard bad things about the Curse of Chalion, though, but I'm going to go give that series a shot and see... Also, do we actually know if she's working on a new Vorkosigan book right now? You've got my hopes up.
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Jan 8, 2014 20:04
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Strategic Tea posted:And I was going to read his stuff too. Can there be one sci-fi author who isn't a massive shitheel (or dead)? Not believing in global warming is kooky, but I don't see why it would make someone a "massive shitheel." A lot of people who aren't shitheels believe some kooky things.
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Jan 8, 2014 21:16
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crazypenguin posted:I just finished reading and loved the Sharing Knife series, but yeah, you do need to be ready to handle the romance-y parts. I recall the first book having one slow part and a few horribly, horribly sappy lines, but if you can handle that, the series is fantastic. Good characters, neat world. I generally kind of distrust fantasy-magic stuff (I'm more of a hardish sci-fi person), but this series drifts in the direction of "let's do science to magic" which I appreciate. The schedule she was on for the last few books seems to be spaced 2 years apart. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance came out in the end of 2012, but I haven't seen anything official about a new book. Since Cryoburn ends on a rather big plot point she might be trying to work around to a sequel slowly. While we're on topic I hated A Civil Campaign, got about halfway through and didn't finish it. These are characters I care about, I don't necessarily need action or intrigue to get me to enjoy stories about them, but putting them in a romantic comedy was too much.
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Jan 8, 2014 22:18
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Groke posted:(They started out by shooting at some British fishing vessels in the North Sea in the belief that they were Japanese torpedo boats, and it only got worse from there.) That's the "fight" where the Russians lost a ship or two, right?
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Jan 8, 2014 23:41
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Silver2195 posted:Not believing in global warming is kooky, but I don't see why it would make someone a "massive shitheel." A lot of people who aren't shitheels believe some kooky things. I guess I'm automatically reading assorted right-wing-ness into it. The internet has made me expect the worst, but yeah, that was a bit dumb.
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Jan 9, 2014 01:08
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I have a very visceral reaction to "Global warming? Then why is it so cold outside?  " because it's a strong indicator of an enormous rear end in a top hat.
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Jan 9, 2014 07:18
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There was mention of Simmons/Hyperion a few pages back, I might as well chime in and say that I'm about 3/4s through Fall of Hyperion. I actually like it a lot! I think it's a pretty gripping read, and it doesn't suffer from strokes of silly English teacher fan-fiction like the first book did (John Keats in a shopping mall shoot-out is reaaaaaalllllyyyyy dumb). I know you guys said that Endymion/Rise of Endymion aren't worth reading, but do they move considerably away from the first two books? I'm interested in seeing where these characters and the universe goes, but not if the style and protagonists are changed very much. My biggest issue with Simmons is that his books are just way. too. loving. long.
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Jan 9, 2014 08:57
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Qwo posted:There was mention of Simmons/Hyperion a few pages back, I might as well chime in and say that I'm about 3/4s through Fall of Hyperion. I actually like it a lot! I think it's a pretty gripping read, and it doesn't suffer from strokes of silly English teacher fan-fiction like the first book did (John Keats in a shopping mall shoot-out is reaaaaaalllllyyyyy dumb). I actually liked Fall of Hyperion well enough as, but I'm not sure how multiple robot Keats clones that share thoughts is much better (I thought he was much more obnoxious in Fall).
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Jan 9, 2014 09:21
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Qwo posted:There was mention of Simmons/Hyperion a few pages back, I might as well chime in and say that I'm about 3/4s through Fall of Hyperion. I actually like it a lot! I think it's a pretty gripping read, and it doesn't suffer from strokes of silly English teacher fan-fiction like the first book did (John Keats in a shopping mall shoot-out is reaaaaaalllllyyyyy dumb). I'm not sure how many more ways exist to say Endymion is bad. Like bad enough to retroactively make the first books worse. Which they do. You say you like the characters and universe, well, none of the characters carry over and the ending is made meaningless. Really, don't read them.
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Jan 9, 2014 14:32
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eriktown posted:I've been eating Alex Bledsoe's "Eddie LaCrosse" series like candy lately. Private detective books in a fantasy setting (some magic but it's rare, some mythological creatures but they're rare, low-tech life is a bit sanitized but it's forgiveable). The voice and characters really pop, the stories and mysteries are fun. They're also extremely quick reads if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. Gotta second the Eddie Lacrosse series as enjoyable, they're surprisingly good.
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Jan 9, 2014 16:13
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crazypenguin posted:I just finished reading and loved the Sharing Knife series, but yeah, you do need to be ready to handle the romance-y parts. I recall the first book having one slow part and a few horribly, horribly sappy lines, but if you can handle that, the series is fantastic. Good characters, neat world. I generally kind of distrust fantasy-magic stuff (I'm more of a hardish sci-fi person), but this series drifts in the direction of "let's do science to magic" which I appreciate. The Chalion books are the best things she's written and way better than the lovely recent Vor books.
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Jan 9, 2014 16:24
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I just finished book one and started book two of the Locke Lamora series on recommendation from someone here, it's a great series so far so thanks to whoever that was.
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Jan 9, 2014 17:37
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Qwo posted:
As apparently the only person on this forum who enjoyed reading Rise of Endymion I would say that you probably won't like it. Endymion and Rise are fairly straightforward Sci-Fi adventure stories that feature brand new protagonists, while the protagonists of the first books are shuffled off into being supporting characters. Also, there is a sizable time-jump between the end of Fall of Hyperion and the beginning of Endymion. I personally like the new universe, but it is very different from the setting of the first two books.
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Jan 9, 2014 18:39
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I have been tossing a bunch of stuff into my Amazon cart, and realized I still have not read anything by Stanislaw Lem. This seems like a problem, but it's one of those problems that's really daunting because the man has written so much - is there any sort of generally endorsed starting point/particular standouts, or should I just grab a couple at random based on the titles? I guess I sort of expect the answer to be Solaris, but the blurb did not grab my attention so if you have positive enthusiastic words to say about it I would like to hear them. Also, add another to the thread's Locke Lamora tally - that was a really fun read. Thanks, thread.
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Jan 9, 2014 20:33
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Irony.or.Death posted:I have been tossing a bunch of stuff into my Amazon cart, and realized I still have not read anything by Stanislaw Lem. This seems like a problem, but it's one of those problems that's really daunting because the man has written so much - is there any sort of generally endorsed starting point/particular standouts, or should I just grab a couple at random based on the titles? I guess I sort of expect the answer to be Solaris, but the blurb did not grab my attention so if you have positive enthusiastic words to say about it I would like to hear them. I haven't read it yet, but when I asked for general Sci-Fi recommendations maybe a year ago, I got ~30 from various different authors, and the only Lem that was recommended was Solaris. Not that I think this helps much, but that's the only Lem on my list that I got recommended from here.
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Jan 9, 2014 20:38
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Irony.or.Death posted:I have been tossing a bunch of stuff into my Amazon cart, and realized I still have not read anything by Stanislaw Lem. This seems like a problem, but it's one of those problems that's really daunting because the man has written so much - is there any sort of generally endorsed starting point/particular standouts, or should I just grab a couple at random based on the titles? I guess I sort of expect the answer to be Solaris, but the blurb did not grab my attention so if you have positive enthusiastic words to say about it I would like to hear them. The thing is he wrote a lot of works that are very different from one another so there's no one real standout. I'd recommend The Invincible if you want his (fairly dark) response to American Golden Age sci-fi, or his Cyberiad if you want something fun and funny in a logic-puzzles sort of way. If you're a big fan of Philip K. Dick try to Solaris. Everything I've read of his has been really good so I doubt you can go far wrong reading almost anything with his name on it. Be aware though that a lot of his fiction is dark or even nihilistic in a way that western sci-fi (especially in Lem's era) very, very rarely is. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jan 9, 2014 |
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Jan 9, 2014 20:42
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Is there a completed seres within the already published Locke Lamora works? Or is it a single ongoing incomplete series?
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Jan 9, 2014 22:47
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A A 2 3 5 8 K posted:Is there a completed seres within the already published Locke Lamora works? Or is it a single ongoing incomplete series? Single ongoing incomplete series, but don't let that stop you. In general I don't think it's ever worth 'waiting for it to be finished' because the series should be judged book by book and because fantasy authors love to die/burn out/succumb to depression/become terminally lazy.
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Jan 9, 2014 22:50
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The Lies of Locke Lamora in particular is an excellent first book that stands very well on its own too. No cliffhanger endings or obvious sequel setups even though there ARE sequels to it. (Disclaimer: tLoLL is probably my favorite fantasy novel... ever. I'm biased and clearly trying to convince you to read it.)
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Jan 9, 2014 23:43
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Qwo posted:There was mention of Simmons/Hyperion a few pages back, I might as well chime in and say that I'm about 3/4s through Fall of Hyperion. I actually like it a lot! I think it's a pretty gripping read, and it doesn't suffer from strokes of silly English teacher fan-fiction like the first book did (John Keats in a shopping mall shoot-out is reaaaaaalllllyyyyy dumb). I enjoyed the entire series, but then, I'm weird.
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Jan 10, 2014 00:23
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Patrick Spens posted:As apparently the only person on this forum who enjoyed reading Rise of Endymion I would say that you probably won't like it. Endymion and Rise are fairly straightforward Sci-Fi adventure stories that feature brand new protagonists, while the protagonists of the first books are shuffled off into being supporting characters. Also, there is a sizable time-jump between the end of Fall of Hyperion and the beginning of Endymion. I personally like the new universe, but it is very different from the setting of the first two books. I also enjoy Endymion and Rise of Endymion, but I can see why some don't like them. They're a quite preachy, for starters, and weird about sex. A lot of the mystery surrounding Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion is revealed. Since the mystery is the best part of Hyperion, that sits ill with many. It's the same feeling that some people get when they say the Star Wars prequels ruined the original trilogy. Despite all that, I can enjoy Endymion and its sequel as fun sci-fi adventure romps. They're nowhere near as good as the first two, but they're fun enough. Hyperion itself is by far the best in the series. It's all downhill from there.
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Jan 10, 2014 04:58
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Fremry posted:I haven't read it yet, but when I asked for general Sci-Fi recommendations maybe a year ago, I got ~30 from various different authors, and the only Lem that was recommended was Solaris. Not that I think this helps much, but that's the only Lem on my list that I got recommended from here. It's not sci fi but if you like Lem read A Perfect Vacuum. Be warned though, that book is "literary" as poo poo if that's a turnoff for you.
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Jan 10, 2014 05:35
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fritz posted:The Chalion books are the best things she's written and way better than the lovely recent Vor books. I disagree that the last few Vorkosigan books are lovely (although I can understand if others don't like the more domestic/romance focus), but the Chalion books are indeed amazingly good and rather unique in the Fantasy genre
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Jan 10, 2014 10:56
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Irony.or.Death posted:I have been tossing a bunch of stuff into my Amazon cart, and realized I still have not read anything by Stanislaw Lem. This seems like a problem, but it's one of those problems that's really daunting because the man has written so much - is there any sort of generally endorsed starting point/particular standouts, or should I just grab a couple at random based on the titles? I guess I sort of expect the answer to be Solaris, but the blurb did not grab my attention so if you have positive enthusiastic words to say about it I would like to hear them. The state of Lem translation into English is pretty poor. My recommendation is the Cyberiad if Solaris doesn't appeal to you. There's also the Pirx stories. Both are a lot more light and accessible than the grim contemplativity of Solaris.
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Jan 10, 2014 14:00
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Just finished some pretty good books. I read the first book in the Merchant Princes series randomly after discovering it on my hard drive. It was a quick read and really entertaining. There is a really strong and competent female lead which is great. It's a bit fluffy, but the writing was solid and I didn't really mind at all. I have a much stronger positive opinion about Death's Head by apparent former military guy David Gunn. This is a pretty grimy and violent military sci-fi. I had the greatest time with it, the writing is spare but compelling and the pacing is superb. Either this guy is naturally an excellent writer or he had amazing editors. Or maybe a little of both. It seemed a bit cliche at the beginning but it improved as it went on. I went in with pretty low expectations due to the title and the cover art but I can confidently recommend this, it was completely and unashamedly badass. Also, I finished The Fractal Prince, which was unsurprisingly quite good but didn't quite hold up to The Quantum Thief. Play fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Jan 11, 2014 |
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Jan 10, 2014 17:47
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The Causal Angel gonna loving own. Looking forward to Zoku culture and discovering whether or not they were in fact the 'good guys' (at least as far as our modern sensibilities can recognise such).
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Jan 10, 2014 18:19
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Recently read Consider Phlebas and then Player of Games. I definitely liked Player of Games a ton, while Consider Phlebas had good scenes but didn't really engross me. So pretty much right there with the goonsensus. In Player of Games, any theories on whether Chamlis is part of the set-up to trick Gurgeh into signing up?
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Jan 10, 2014 20:31
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I liked A Deepness in the Sky more than A Fire Upon the Deep. Does that make sense?
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Jan 10, 2014 20:38
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crowfeathers posted:I liked A Deepness in the Sky more than A Fire Upon the Deep. Does that make sense? Yes. A Fire Upon the Deep was higher concept and had better high points but was overall not as well written. Vinge grew up as a writer and there were decades between them.
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Jan 10, 2014 20:44
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Neurosis posted:The Causal Angel gonna loving own. Looking forward to Zoku culture and discovering whether or not they were in fact the 'good guys' (at least as far as our modern sensibilities can recognise such). when is it supposed to come out?
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Jan 10, 2014 20:47
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andrew smash posted:when is it supposed to come out? April or May. Echopraxia is also due around then. This year is going to be really cool for sci fi.
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Jan 10, 2014 20:57
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You should probably edit out that reference to ill-gotten ebooks before you get nailed.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:00
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ZerodotJander posted:Recently read Consider Phlebas and then Player of Games. I definitely liked Player of Games a ton, while Consider Phlebas had good scenes but didn't really engross me. So pretty much right there with the goonsensus. Considering it's Special Circumstances we're dealing with here, more than likely. Even if they didn't set it up, they used an opportunity when they saw one.
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Jan 11, 2014 02:02
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Neurosis posted:April or May. Echopraxia is also due around then. This year is going to be really cool for sci fi. oh awesome. I graduate school in may and i don't start work until the end of june. I'm gonna read the poo poo out of those books.
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Jan 11, 2014 04:13
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coyo7e posted:You should probably edit out that reference to ill-gotten ebooks before you get nailed. Nailed by whom exactly? I'm not being snippy I just don't understand.
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Jan 11, 2014 13:22
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Play posted:Nailed by whom exactly? I'm not being snippy I just don't understand. We'll technically it's bannable but also if you're going to be an utter douche and steal from some lesser-known authors who probably need the sales you might as well have the grace to not brag about it
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Jan 11, 2014 13:36
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Utter douche? Almost as much an utter douche as someone who gets mad at strangers on the internet for the stupidest possible reason? I wasn't bragging about it, in fact I couldn't have mentioned it more casually. Do you think I would've paid for this book that I randomly found on my computer and had never even heard of before? Obviously not, but here I am promoting it and recommending it to other people. This is an old argument and I won't casually mention something in passing anymore I guess, but I can't agree that I'm hurting anyone, I have provided the author with a net benefit by spreading the name around and giving a positive review which everyone who reads this thread will see. So a book I never would have seen or heard of is instead brought to the attention of a significant amount of people. Moreover, my experience was positive enough that I paid for the rest of the books. I can see how its not so classy to mention it though so I won't. But gently caress you, you're dumb. Anyways, stoked that the Causal Angel is coming out, so excited for that! Is it the end of a trilogy, does anyone know? I hope so, it would be great to see a solid conclusion. Also, whoever recommended The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, thank you! I'm a big fan of the Shadowed Sun Series, also by N.K. Jemisin. Reading through this series, its not quite as brave thematically and isn't quite as interesting but thats not saying much negative because the Shadowed Sun series is amazing, this series looks like its gonna shape up to be really great. I read Ancillary Justice, quite good but not as earth-shatteringly amazing as all the hype made me think it would be. And I'm partway through the Lord of Light by Zelazny, which is really really great. (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) Play fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Jan 11, 2014 |
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Jan 11, 2014 14:10
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Do we post about books we didn't like in here, too? Because I've now read some astonishingly bad mech stuff and would like to give a warning.
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Jan 11, 2014 14:13
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Cingulate posted:Do we post about books we didn't like in here, too? Because I've now read some astonishingly bad mech stuff and would like to give a warning. Totally! This is for any and all discussion. Diss that poo poo so no one else has to go through what you went through.
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Jan 11, 2014 14:16
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So you guys told me some books about robots to read, and one thing I didn't see recommended was Mecha Corps by Brett Patton. Deservedly, because it sucks. I only read half of it because there is only so much a man can take, and I'm but a mere mortal. I came in expecting Harry Potter with killer robots, and I got Harry Potter with killer robots written by a 17yo teenage guy; a young man goes to academy, robots replace the magic, a pubertal sex fantasy replaces Hermione and cliches replace competent writing. Protagonist Matt Stu's character traits are: a dark secret, which could hardly be any lamer, and perfection with regards to anything. He reaches a so far unknown SEVENTY-EIGHT percent on the somethingsomething scale when piloting his mech for the first time. Even though he constantly disobeys orders for no sensible reason at all (he's supposed to be bad-rear end, but it reads like puberty), his uncanny perfection with regards to memory, physical ability, mech piloting and everything else force the military to keep him around and dressed in magically moving metal. The only thing he's actually bad at is talking to women, where he displays a natural ability to create awkward moments. However, he still gets some love on account of saving the pin-up poster perfect purple-eyed female side-kick's wet dream-inducing rear end ever so often, because what else are women there for after all if not for having asses that are pretty and occasionally need saving? In this story, nothing else. This woman is literally described as looking like she came straight from a poster or a fantasy, dressed in something that leaves nothing to hide, and every scene she's in, Patton describes how all the men are lusting after her. I'm sorry for all the alliterations. She's literally purple-eyed and likened to a pin-up though. And Matt is on her tail - were it not for his Draco Malfoy, character #3, who is coded as being the bad one by 1. hitting on the side chick with confidence, 2. becoming almost as good at piloting mechs as Matt, but not from god-gifted genetical talent, but by practicing hard, 3. having rich parents. Also, there's a laughably incompetent and random military, some forgettable space raiders led by a guy literally called Rayder, annoying mechs that stand somewhere between a mighty morphing Power Ranger and a drug addiction metaphor, and the author's inept attempts to subvert the story's (admittedly moderate) racism and sexism of the piece. There is nothing in the plot deserving special note. Don't read "Mecha Corps" by Brett Patton, it's not good.
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