|
I just finished Blindsight. This thread is great for random recommendations. That book was awesome even if I only barely understood it. I'm about halfway through The Fractal Prince, on audiobook so I'm probably spelling Sobernost wrong, and I thought it was really neat how the dragons were kind of a parallel to the Rorschach except since they were created by the Sobernost they were able to contain them in virtual machine. That bit aside, I'm liking it but it feels very transitional so far, like it's not going to have very much standalone story. So much background which was somewhat needed but maybe there could have been a bit more in the first book and a bit less here.
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 16:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 11:29 |
|
|
Can anyone recommend Red Rising, and is it worth getting a physical copy of A Natural History of Dragons over the kindle version due to illustrations?
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 17:19
|
|
|
Groke posted:You probably would remember at least for the protagonist being lost in a bunch of tunnels for what seemed like half of the first book although that's probably my memory playing tricks on me It's like 80-100 pages, but yeah, it goes on a bit. And then in the last book he's back in the tunnels for 300 pages or so. Luckily there are other interesting things going on at that point.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 18:12
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:I heard similar things and passed this one over recently, instead getting "The Red Knight", by Miles Cameron. I'm enjoying it 5 chapters in. Standard political intrigue stuff going on with a small unit of mercenaries led by the titular character who are trying to make a buck while not being played by their employers, while the edges of civilization are fighting back with weird monsters and talking dire beasts against human encroachment. Most knights are just douchebags who try to shank each other and step on peasants. There's also a pseudo-Christianity religion going on, and some magic. Two or three weird monsters have been killed so far. The queen is a bit anti-feminist, she spent a good bit instructing her mades on how to lead knights around by their dicks, early in. I keep wanting to insert this story into an Arthurian rewrite though, a lot of names and locations are recognizable, although they may be spelled differently than they were pronounced in the audio version. The trials and travails of sir "Gawenn" (sp) certainly struck me, as well as a couple of others. There's also one character whom I could easily see turning into Lancelot without much trouble in later books.. regularizer posted:Can anyone recommend Red Rising, and is it worth getting a physical copy of A Natural History of Dragons over the kindle version due to illustrations? coyo7e fucked around with this message at 18:46 on Apr 8, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 18:42
|
|
|
Nevvy Z posted:I just finished Blindsight. This thread is great for random recommendations. That book was awesome even if I only barely understood it. It may have been influenced by Blindsight, but I wouldn't be sure. The idea is older than Watts, but it may have alerted Rajaniemi to it, and that may have been his solution. It would very much surprise me if there weren't more exploration of it in The Causal Angel.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 19:07
|
|
|
Neurosis posted:It may have been influenced by Blindsight, but I wouldn't be sure. The idea is older than Watts, but it may have alerted Rajaniemi to it, and that may have been his solution. It just really jumped out having been done close together. Also the golgol of the tiger war guy specifically was talking about being able to emulate emotions he didn't have, perfectly which was another major topic near the end of Blindsight.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 19:16
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:Most of the way through this book, it was longer than I expected from the battle tempo which picks up early and never lets off. In Audio version it's pretty easy to keep up with the scene changes mid-chapter due to the "X Location - Y Character" perspective intro each time it switches. I'm looking forward to the next books in this series because it's a rollicking good time involving dudes in heavy armor killing monsters and each other for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the total pages, with a decent muddying of the morality waters from all sides along the trip. Cameron does write some great, really fun battles and action/adventure. I've seen some people complain about his descriptions and the words he'll use for different armor and arms, but I think this type of stuff does a good job of reinforcing the highly chivalric medieval setting he's built. I read an interview that Cameron did and Arthurian was one of the words he used to describe it, the second book also makes some of those parallels clearer.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 20:57
|
|
|
So, I'm reading In Conquest Born and I have a huge doubt. Here goes: There was a suicide mission to try and destroy the Holding, and apparently Zatar made it so that the pilot (who was a captive of Zatar's father, if I remember correctly) felt the desire to bed him. My question: Wasnt this Anzha? She remembers meeting him earlier during negotiations. How come Anzha is then later presented as being the leader of the Azea military? Didn't she die on a suicide mission against the Kaim'era? How come the Kaim'era still exist afterwards? At times I just don't know what the gently caress is going on, english is my second language and I need to interpret things differently but I haven't struggled this much most of the times. Is my ebook just hosed and the order isn't right? Also, I hate it when writers just arbitrarily change between first and last names when refering to characters. When there's like 50 subplots, screw that.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 22:03
|
|
|
I think I need to institute a rule about not starting new Sci-fi/Fantasy series' until they're completely written. I keep notes on series' in progress and realized that I'm waiting for new books in the following series: 1) A Song of Ice and Fire 2) Kingkiller Chronicles 3) Gentlemen Bastards 4) Stormlight Archive 5) Demon Cycle 6) Lightbringer 7) Expanse series 8) Powder Mage Trilogy 9) Raven's Shadow 10) Chronicle of Unhewn Throne Has something changed lately that's breathed new life to these genres, or am I just making poor choices for new books?
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 23:29
|
|
|
syphon posted:I think I need to institute a rule about not starting new Sci-fi/Fantasy series' until they're completely written. I keep notes on series' in progress and realized that I'm waiting for new books in the following series: I think you've stumbled upon the secret fact that books don't spawn from the aether, but rather, have authors who need to take time to write them, word by word.
|
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2014 23:51
|
|
|
syphon posted:I think I need to institute a rule about not starting new Sci-fi/Fantasy series' until they're completely written. I keep notes on series' in progress and realized that I'm waiting for new books in the following series: I didn't think Promise of Blood was stand-out great, but it was good enough to give the second Powder Mage book a try, and it comes out in a little less than a month so there's not much longer to wait! Also, two other series I'm waiting for new installments in are Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant series (which starts with Midnight Riot in the US or Rivers of London in the UK), and Paul Cornell's series that starts with London Falling. Both are broadly about a branch of the London metropolitan police that deal with supernatural and magical crimes, but they take very different approaches that are equally or nearly equally compelling; Aaronovitch's series is a bit more light-hearted and humorous and benefits from having five published books to build both the characters and the world, while Cornell's series is far darker, less humorous, and much more dangerous. The antagonist in the first book is a 400 year old witch that boils children alive, and the second book which comes out in late May is supposed to be about a Jack The Ripper-esque criminal, but the amazon summary makes it sound a bit different, so maybe it's changed a bit since I read an interview with Cornell last year.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 00:11
|
|
|
syphon posted:I think I need to institute a rule about not starting new Sci-fi/Fantasy series' until they're completely written. I keep notes on series' in progress and realized that I'm waiting for new books in the following series: At least this one is likely to be done before I/Sanderson dies. That man writes more than King somehow. I've totally given up on ASoIaF until Gurrm or an apprentice finishes the drat thing.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 00:28
|
|
|
I'm waiting on the next book in quite a few myself, and my god it's annoying but eh, what can ya do? Unless a new series sounds AWESOME, I tend not to get the first book because it's hell waiting on the second, third, fourth, etc. Hell, one of the times I decided I'd alter that idea and just get the first one, the author decided not to write anymore  On the flip side, outside of maybe what I call "drama books" (because I never learned the official genre for the Oprah book of the month style life altering books that seem to be about pretty much white people problems), 90% of stuff written nowadays is written as a series. It's rare to find a book in any sci fi or fantasy genre that's a single, one off book. I think that's why I love Wolf Hunt so much. There's rumors of a sequel but it's so nicely finished off at the end that it doesn't NEED a sequel (oh god I want one so bad). Stuff like A. Lee Martinez, some Moore, some of Strand's work are all single reads that aren't even tied together in the same universe, but I'll be damned if I can remember the last techno-thriller or fantasy I read that was just one book set in that setting and that's it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 00:30
|
|
|
The Ties That Bind series by Rob J. Hayes is a complete series and it doesn't seem to get much mention so I'll give it a plug. I liked it a lot and it is actually complete. Yes! Even if the author is swallowed by a Kraken later tonight, you can still find out what really happened. quote:The Heresy Within (Book 1 of The Ties that Bind) quote:The Colour of Vengeance (Book 2 of The Ties that Bind) quote:The Price of Faith (Book 3 of The Ties that Bind)
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 00:59
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I'm waiting on the next book in quite a few myself, and my god it's annoying but eh, what can ya do?
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:21
|
|
|
specklebang posted:The Ties That Bind series by Rob J. Hayes is a complete series and it doesn't seem to get much mention so I'll give it a plug. I liked it a lot and it is actually complete. Yes! Even if the author is swallowed by a Kraken later tonight, you can still find out what really happened. This sounds horrible and I'm ashamed to have even read a short summary.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:29
|
|
|
Thanquil Darkheart
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:32
|
|
|
regularizer posted:This sounds horrible and I'm ashamed to have even read a short summary. I gave it a try a while back. The very first scene was almost comically grimdark. If that's your thing, you might want to check it out, I suppose. I didn't read further.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:36
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:
Ah yes, SF, which is so deeply rooted in the minority experience, truly speaks to the troubles of the poor and disadvantaged. For example, award-winning author George R. R. Martin's deep reflections on the treatment of the poor during medieval warfare, and his characterization of dusky Dornish whores. And furthermore:
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:36
|
|
|
syphon posted:9) Raven's Shadow A month or two. syphon posted:3) Gentlemen Bastards A year or two. syphon posted:1) A Song of Ice and Fire A decade or two. regularizer posted:This sounds horrible and I'm ashamed to have even read a short summary. It seems to get pretty good feedback on goodreads and amazon. And every review seemed positive. http://fantasyreviewbarn.com/fantasy-review-the-heresy-within-by-rob-j-hayes/ is almost convincing me to read it *heavy metal music plays* That cover, though...  Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:"drama books" (because I never learned the official genre for the Oprah book of the month style life altering books that seem to be about pretty much white people problems) Future Julia Roberts/Tom Hanks Movie Adaptation Book Of The Month Club Or, for non-fiction, How To Make Your Misbehaving Dog or Fat Kid Make Millions Through Wishful Thinking, Pseudoscience, Quasi Economics and Miracle Superjuices. BrosephofArimathea fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Apr 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 01:55
|
|
|
uberkeyzer posted:Ah yes, SF, which is so deeply rooted in the minority experience, truly speaks to the troubles of the poor and disadvantaged. For example, award-winning author George R. R. Martin's deep reflections on the treatment of the poor during medieval warfare, and his characterization of dusky Dornish whores. And furthermore: Didn't say it was a bad thing or a good thing, just that I didn't know the term for that particular genre of books besides "fiction". There tends to be a LOT of those books that are just one off singular contained stories. One that was mentioned to me had a dude finding the meaning of life while playing with literal poo poo, or something to that effect, and that's not something I really want to read or investigate. Or, to take the Austin Powers route, it's not my bag baby. If it's yours, more power to ya. My point was that it's rare to find a sci fi or fantasy book that is a singular book, not part of a series.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 02:04
|
|
|
regularizer posted:I didn't think Promise of Blood was stand-out great, but it was good enough to give the second Powder Mage book a try, and it comes out in a little less than a month so there's not much longer to wait! While you're waiting for Aaronovitch and Cornell, pick up Daniel O'Malley's The Rook. It's the only book I've read twice in the last ~7 years, can't recommend it highly enough. Although once you've read it, you'll probably have another author you're waiting on... Edit: Seeing as how O'Malley has a nod in the OP and he's only written the one book, there's at least 2 of us who liked it. dublish fucked around with this message at 02:40 on Apr 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 02:36
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:My point was that it's rare to find a sci fi or fantasy book that is a singular book, not part of a series. Fantasy yeah but uh not really for science fiction.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 03:12
|
|
|
regularizer posted:This sounds horrible and I'm ashamed to have even read a short summary. That's why it's good that there are so many books and that we can each enjoy according to our own tastes.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 05:38
|
|
|
I just want to thank the thread for the recommendations of Blood Song and The Goblin Emperor - both very enjoyable reads (in completely different ways). The Goblin Emperor really was refreshing in its attempt to actually have a genuinely likable main character who isn't flawless, but whose flaws are comprehensible and human (goblin?) rather than being tacked-on attempts to make the main viewpoint multi-dimensional. Now to find something to read until the next book in a series gets published - I feel like I have at least two a month through the end of the year, so that helps with the whole "waiting for series" issue.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 05:44
|
|
|
Can someone recommend a good first Alastair Reynolds novel? I know the Revelation Space series is his go to stuff, but would I be better off reading a standalone novel of his first to see if I like his style? I was thinking House of Suns or Pushing Ice, those are both standalones (in terms of not being a series, and not a part of the same universe as his Revelation Space books, am I right?) and seem well regarded among his works, would either of those be a good place for me to start? If so, which one of those two would be the better book to start out with?
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 07:24
|
|
|
Damo posted:Can someone recommend a good first Alastair Reynolds novel? House of Suns is excellent, a fully-contained, epic space-opera that beautifully demonstrates everything good about Reynolds. Personally I like the Rev Space books even better, so you could then move onto them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 07:31
|
|
|
syphon posted:I think I need to institute a rule about not starting new Sci-fi/Fantasy series' until they're completely written. I keep notes on series' in progress and realized that I'm waiting for new books in the following series: That seems like it would be a stupid decision. For instance ASOIAF will never be finished, Kingkiller seems doubtful, Lynch/Gentlemen Bastards seems to have psychic problems, Expanse is not worth reading after second book, same for Demon Cycle. You are also setting yourself up for a wait of up to 10 years for some series, like for instance if you would have been waiting for AWOT och Malazan. Also, you are missing out on the opportunity to bitch about books in this or other thread when a new book in the series is worse than the preceding ones.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 09:16
|
|
|
Damo posted:Can someone recommend a good first Alastair Reynolds novel? House of Suns is one of my favourite stand alone sci-fi novels, try that. His other stand alone stuff (sans Century Rain, I didn't care for it, and I usually love detective noir) is good too, as are his short stories. Haerc fucked around with this message at 09:22 on Apr 9, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 09:20
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:Lynch/Gentlemen Bastards seems to have psychic problems, All those drat psychics hounding him day and night
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 10:21
|
|
|
regularizer posted:Can anyone recommend Red Rising, and is it worth getting a physical copy of A Natural History of Dragons over the kindle version due to illustrations? Red Rising will be the next Hunger Games, it's thematically similar & well written. It's YA and I'm not really a YA reader but I really liked it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 11:04
|
|
|
Kalman posted:I just want to thank the thread for the recommendations of Blood Song and The Goblin Emperor - both very enjoyable reads (in completely different ways). The Goblin Emperor really was refreshing in its attempt to actually have a genuinely likable main character who isn't flawless, but whose flaws are comprehensible and human (goblin?) rather than being tacked-on attempts to make the main viewpoint multi-dimensional. *does the Cossack Dance of Self-Approval* You'll enjoy The Thousand Names by Django Wexler and The Rook by Daniel O'Malley.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 12:27
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I'm waiting on the next book in quite a few myself, and my god it's annoying but eh, what can ya do? I detached myself from series panic some time in the 90s while waiting for Wizard and Glass. Now I could give a gently caress if an author ends a series. If an individual book is worth reading, it's worth reading. I think of stories not as closed loops, but snapshots in character's lives. If the snapshot turns out to be shorter than expected, then so be it.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 12:43
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:Expanse is not worth reading after second book So true. I was pumped for Abbadon's Gate, but then it ended up being "Oh, they added three books to our contract, time to spin the wheels while we come up with ways to extend the plot forever".
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 13:01
|
|
|
Ugly In The Morning posted:So true. I was pumped for Abbadon's Gate, but then it ended up being "Oh, they added three books to our contract, time to spin the wheels while we come up with ways to extend the plot forever". They extended the contract after book 1, so my theory is that book 2 was the filler book (because it doesn't deal directly with the protomolecule that crashed onto Venus, just human experiments using the protomolecule IIRC; still the best of the lot so far though!) and book 3 is what book 2 was going to be. Book 3 is definitely the worst so far. If I'm right, book 3 is the middle book of the original envisaged trilogy. Hopefully things get better with Cibola Burn.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 13:05
|
|
|
Ugly In The Morning posted:So true. I was pumped for Abbadon's Gate, but then it ended up being "Oh, they added three books to our contract, time to spin the wheels while we come up with ways to extend the plot forever". Pretty much my guess as well. One of the authors behind the pseudonym Corey is Daniel Abraham, the author of the Dragon's Path, which is another series that would have benefited from a more compact storyline. Last book in that series was pretty bad, and I'm putting that one at hold for now. I'm getting sick of authors that can't keep their storyline together and has to extend the series while writing it. WoT and ASOIAF are main offenders, and I'm still pleasantly surprised Malazan never really turned bad over 10 books, which is a major accomplishment. In contrast to these, LOTR is a really short series, consisting of only 3 books, roughly 1200 pages, has a cohesive storyline, a lot of characters and could easily have been trimmed by 200 pages.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 13:43
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:WoT and ASOIAF are main offenders, and I'm still pleasantly surprised Malazan never really turned bad over 10 books, which is a major accomplishment.  Seriously, though, I'm also really sick of this whole "let's write ten books where three would do and then peter out somewhere around the middle because everybody got sick of waiting" trend. I try not to touch anything that isn't already finished or at least has a definite end date anymore, because it'll either flounder completely or turn into an incomprehensible halfway through.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 13:52
|
|
|
You guys read The Demon Squad books at all? By Tim Marquitz.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 13:59
|
|
|
Megazver posted:*does the Cossack Dance of Self-Approval* The Rook was excellent; the Django Wexler stuff looked doubtful on Amazon, but you have a good track record, I will give it a shot. Right now working my way through some republished Tim Powers, some of his earliest work - the Skies Discrowned and An Epitaph In Rust. Skies is good so far, very much a combination of a Neverwhere "London Underground" vibe with something like Karl Schroeder's Permanence in terms of a slowly disintegrating stellar civilization.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 14:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 11:29 |
|
|
ravenkult posted:You guys read The Demon Squad books at all? By Tim Marquitz. I've read the first couple. Weirdly enough I bought the first one cause I was like "WTF is Lowtax doing on a book cover?" Welp, wasn't him obviously, but still an interesting read. Not the greatest and after the 3rd? or 4th book is kinda goes completely batshit off the rails (kinda like a king novel goes from a horrifying clown/monster to a giant alien spider that's killed by a preteen orgy and a slingshot), so I quit reading em. They don't really vary in "good" or "bad" levels of writing, so if you read the first one it's a good indication of how the rest read.
|
|
#
?
Apr 9, 2014 14:58
|
|