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Snow Crash is a combination of some really cool ideas in worldbuilding, mediocre characters, and a plot that makes no goddamn sense.
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May 28, 2015 07:40
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Spazzle posted:I love when lovely sci fi authors go on teary rants about how when they advocate for monarchy/pedophilia/objectivism/white supremacy in repeated books, it doesn't mean they actually believe in such things. Because of this, I took a note to include at least three wildly different teary rants if I ever need a character to go on one. lovely SciFi-authors should learn to use smokescreens like this instead of just kinda hoping others are OK with their dumb poo poo. 
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May 28, 2015 18:18
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Libluini posted:Because of this, I took a note to include at least three wildly different teary rants if I ever need a character to go on one. lovely SciFi-authors should learn to use smokescreens like this instead of just kinda hoping others are OK with their dumb poo poo. It's actually a good exercise to try and write a character argue a point you personally disagree with and have them win the argument with a character who argues your point. Just maybe not "abolish the age of consent entirely".
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May 29, 2015 09:36
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I'm currently half-way into Leviathan Wakes and I like it sufficiently enough to finish this part, but it's not the kind of Space Opera I was looking for. I'm looking for something more fantastical, I guess. With a more relevant and heroic main character. More action driven, with memorable characters that distinguish themselves from one another, including the "villains". I guess my question is: Is there something of quality similar to Guardians of the Galaxy?
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May 29, 2015 12:05
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That might be a dumb answer, but the actual Marvel Cosmic comic? In the mid-2000, they run a fairly self contained, epic storyline that has virtually no connection to Earth or any of its superheroes.
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May 29, 2015 12:19
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e X posted:That might be a dumb answer, but the actual Marvel Cosmic comic? In the mid-2000, they run a fairly self contained, epic storyline that has virtually no connection to Earth or any of its superheroes. It's a good suggestion. I knew about it, but now that you mention it, I'm going to give it a try. In any case, I'd still be interested to know if there are any books that fall similar or close to this.
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May 29, 2015 12:48
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janssendalt posted:I'm currently half-way into Leviathan Wakes and I like it sufficiently enough to finish this part, but it's not the kind of Space Opera I was looking for. Ok, hrm, tough call. Fire on the Deep and Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge might be your best bet. If you want something slightly fun/silly, the early Stainless Steel Rat books might be worth looking at -- a bit schlocky but fun.Later books in the series get megabad. Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester is always a good choice, but it's a single protagonist and a bit dark in places. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 13:25 on May 29, 2015 |
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May 29, 2015 13:22
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Question about the neural network thing that came up in Poseidon's Wake: Reynolds says that any being with effectively unlimited processing power is in danger of replacing its "feedback networks" with "feed forward" networks and losing its consciousness. He never explains what the benefits of feed forward networks are, though, just that it's extremely expensive to replace feedback networks with them. I figure it has to do with faster information processing, but is that right? No idea why this is bugging me so much.
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May 29, 2015 13:59
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Ok, hrm, tough call. Thanks a bunch for the recommendations, I've already looked into all three and will try them all. Stainless Steel Rat looks like a very fun read. Seems that at least the first book's worth the time.
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May 29, 2015 15:23
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Seconding A Deepness in the Sky. One of my top 3 SF novels. Here's my super gushing Goodreads review:quote:An absolutely stunning book, a masterpiece that deserves the descriptor "epic" more than almost any other SF novel ever written. I get really excited when I finish good books.
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May 29, 2015 15:27
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The funniest thing about Vinge is that he is arguably a Golden Age writer. His first published story was sold to John W. Campbell, the editor who basically shaped Golden Age SF. Vinge just didn't get famous till the 90's.
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May 29, 2015 19:18
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I haven't read any of his early works, so I'm not sure how they compare, but even if they suck Vernor Vinge is loving awesome for writing Fire and Deepness. Children of the Sky was a bit eh because you know he can write great standalone books - will have to wait for the second part, which hopefully should be around next year? e: Goddamn, Thomas Nau is such an rear end in a top hat. Kellanved fucked around with this message at 20:34 on May 29, 2015 |
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May 29, 2015 20:28
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Vinge's earlier stuff is full of really interesting ideas, but is nowhere near as well written. He's said himself that he learned to write from his wife Joan, and you can really see the quality of his stuff improving over that time. Vinge is one of my favorite sci fi authors, and I jacked a phrase from one of his books for the title of a paper I just published. I just got an email from him this morning thanking me for the copy I sent him. A very minor thing, but I am entirely geeked out about it.
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May 29, 2015 22:04
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:The funniest thing about Vinge is that he is arguably a Golden Age writer. His first published story was sold to John W. Campbell, the editor who basically shaped Golden Age SF. Vinge just didn't get famous till the 90's. His novella "True Names" (1981) got him quite a bit of attention (early cyberpunk, and it was quite influential in establishing a bunch of themes common in cyberpunk), and I enjoyed his Realtime novels when they came out. But his writing definitely improved over time and AFUtD was where he hit his stride.
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May 29, 2015 22:41
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Kellanved posted:Children of the Sky was a bit eh because you know he can write great standalone books - will have to wait for the second part, which hopefully should be around next year? Have there been any updates on this? I just want him to write a third book that fits in with Fire and Deepness. Not a sequel, just a new Zones of Thought adventure as epic as those two.
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May 30, 2015 00:08
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Kind of difficult when there aren't any zones anymore.
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May 30, 2015 00:10
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pseudorandom name posted:Kind of difficult when there aren't any zones anymore. Are you talking about the end of Fire? I thought the zone boundaries just shifted, not dissolved entirely. Also, Deepness came out after Fire but is set tens of thousands of years earlier. A new book could be set at any time. Hence why I said "not a sequel".
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May 30, 2015 02:07
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Hedrigall posted:Are you talking about the end of Fire? I thought the zone boundaries just shifted, not dissolved entirely. Man, I'd love a proper sequel to Deepness. Fire was the more creative setting, and I enjoyed Children, but Ravna just isn't as compelling as Pham as a protagonist. I should re-read Children sometime. I was just annoyed by how telegraphed the antagonists were. I guess Nau was always obvious too, but at least we had in-setting people who realized, while no one twigs on what's his face being not very secretly evil.
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May 30, 2015 02:17
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Idunno, Deepness was a great book but it didn't hook me like Fire did. Something about the predicament and the way the one female got treated really creeped me out, and not in a good way. As for Fire, IIRC at the end the weapon thing burns out/cauterizes all the zones 'above' the planet, but the rest of the galaxy isn't effected. There's a paragraph about one system that's right at the endge of the effect and suddenly gets cut off from all its trade partners or something...
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May 30, 2015 02:23
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WarLocke posted:Idunno, Deepness was a great book but it didn't hook me like Fire did. Something about the predicament and the way the one female got treated really creeped me out, and not in a good way. it gets the whole galaxy. It has to, otherwise The Beast would have survived somewhere, and the point was to kill it, leave the remnants disconnected from the whole. The comparison was a tide, that the slow zone was going to expand to cover the galaxy and Magellanic clouds and even up to parts of the fastest zone, and then slowly recede over millions of years. The epigraph of the system calling out was supposed to show that, that now everyone was isolated and alone, trapped in the darkness
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May 30, 2015 03:47
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Fried Chicken posted:it gets the whole galaxy. It has to, otherwise The Beast would have survived somewhere, and the point was to kill it, leave the remnants disconnected from the whole. The comparison was a tide, that the slow zone was going to expand to cover the galaxy and Magellanic clouds and even up to parts of the fastest zone, and then slowly recede over millions of years. The epigraph of the system calling out was supposed to show that, that now everyone was isolated and alone, trapped in the darkness I didn't get that impression, more that it burned out the area of the galaxy that the Beast could have spread to. leaving the rest untouched except for a huge slow zone gulf cutting all the way through one 'side'. It's been a while though so I could be misremembering...
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May 30, 2015 04:07
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WarLocke posted:I didn't get that impression, more that it burned out the area of the galaxy that the Beast could have spread to. leaving the rest untouched except for a huge slow zone gulf cutting all the way through one 'side'. It's been a while though so I could be misremembering... Oh, right, that's exactly what happened -- a big Slow Zone incursion extending out to (what used to be) the High Transcend. The book ends with alien Usenet sending messages the long way around the galaxy to the other side of the dead area.
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May 30, 2015 08:17
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I read both of those books a year ago but it's weird to recall them because they have enough stuff happening to feed a five novel series. "Oh, Fire was the one with both the dog aliens living in a medieval dictatorship AND the pervasive universe-destroying entity that every science fiction video game has copied hence." I actually prefer Deepness but not by a big margin. I loved the alien society depicted; Vinge was clever in presenting the unfathomable and had it be interpreted by human savants and thus conceptually translated. Sulphagnist fucked around with this message at 09:48 on May 30, 2015 |
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May 30, 2015 09:46
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Picking up A Fire Upon the Deep to read based on this thread. On another note, does anyone have any recommendations for good books with a universe similar to Mass Effect or Stargate? I love the mysteries of using a found technology from an ancient race to travel the stars and finding everyone already out there angle.
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May 31, 2015 06:20
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Recently picked up The Hydrogen Sonata and I'm having quite a bit of trouble getting started with it. Does it pick up?
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Jun 1, 2015 11:34
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VelociBacon posted:Recently picked up The Hydrogen Sonata and I'm having quite a bit of trouble getting started with it. Does it pick up? ...Is it your first Culture book?
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Jun 1, 2015 15:45
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EVGA Longoria posted:Picking up A Fire Upon the Deep to read based on this thread. Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:04
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Kesper North posted:...Is it your first Culture book? Yes it is. Picked it up on vacation.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:09
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VelociBacon posted:Yes it is. Picked it up on vacation. Put it down immediately; it's the very last book in the series written before the author's death, and serves as the capstone for the whole thing. It won't have the impact it would otherwise, and won't make a whole lot of sense. There are a lot of arguments on where to start and what order to read the Culture books in, but I really liked Player of Games as an entrypoint. (Though I actually started with Excession, which worked surprisingly well...)
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Jun 1, 2015 16:24
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I'm looking for an audiobook recommendation that is similar to The Expanse. I'm currently reading Caliban's War and I'm loving it, but I like to keep my reading and listening separate (don't have whispersync - yet). I have an hour one-way commute to/from work. I saw all the recommendations based on janssendalt's ask up above and many of those will probably do, but I want to drill down a little more specific and see what comes up: I'm more into scifi for the technology rather than alien civilizations. Don't care so much for politics. Not looking for an epic. Firefly in book form. 1 morally ambiguous protagonist or a small crew in space-adventures. The Black Company - in space. (I'm really close to getting started on The First Law trilogy, just more in the mood for scifi) Recently finished House of Suns and loved the poo poo out of it - maybe continue with more Reynolds? I liked that HoS felt reined in compared to what most of Reynolds other stuff sounds like. Recently finished The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince - plan to read The Causal Angel in book form. Not looking for story complexity that requires me to pay this much attention - but loved the tech and action.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:29
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Kesper North posted:Put it down immediately; it's the very last book in the series written before the author's death, and serves as the capstone for the whole thing. It won't have the impact it would otherwise, and won't make a whole lot of sense. Seconding this. Really, save it until you've read the other works first.
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Jun 1, 2015 16:49
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Yeah. You should really start with Player of Games then move to Use of Weapons. The early Culture books tend to have more edge, while the later ones get more sprawling and comfortable. I'd say Look to Windward is the pivot between early and late.
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Jun 1, 2015 17:58
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Alright thanks guys, I'll look for the earlier books.
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Jun 1, 2015 21:33
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VelociBacon posted:Alright thanks guys, I'll look for the earlier books. You've got a good ride ahead of you. I'd also recommend re-reading Use of Weapons when you've read a good number of the other novels, because it'll give you a whole new experience both knowing the Culture better and knowing what the story's building up to. Consider Phlebas is the first novel published in the series, but I'd save it for when you're familiar with the universe so it'll read as a sort of flash back and you'll be able to put the various events in perspective. Otherwise it'll read as a series of set pieces (albeit awesome ones) that are only loosely connected to each other.
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Jun 1, 2015 21:48
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VelociBacon posted:Alright thanks guys, I'll look for the earlier books. The Culture books can be read in any order, but generally the accepted best starting ones are Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, or The Use of Weapons. These three were written before any were published and so can serve as an entry point fairly well. Consider Phlebas is sort of weird because it really expects a lot from you in that it's a story about The Culture from someone outside of The Culture written in a way that assumes you will figure out who The Culture are and what they stand for eventually. If you read any of the other books first then you get that out of the way already and will probably have an overall more enjoyable reading experience. I personally feel the best one to start with is The Player of Games and the best overall book in the series to be Use of Weapons followed by Excession. There are a few exceptions to the standalone nature of the series, so you should read Consider Phlebas before Look to Windward and Use of Weapons before Surface Detail, since they are very loosely involving things from the earlier book otherwise they're all total standalone books set in the same world. Also, as others mentioned, The Hydrogen Sonata is a capstone to the series so I'd recommend as others have to read at least 2 or 3 in the series first.
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Jun 1, 2015 22:58
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Fried Chicken posted:Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. Seconded. Any recommendations for more cool sf in the vein of Reynolds?
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Jun 2, 2015 01:29
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Revelation Space is great, but there isn't really any found technology from other races until Redemption Ark, really. And humans are mostly alone in the universe for most of the series. Other than, you know, the Inhibitors, which will make you go "oh so THAT'S where Bioware got that idea"
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Jun 2, 2015 03:21
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Internet Wizard posted:Other than, you know, the Inhibitors, which will make you go "oh so THAT'S where Bioware got that idea" Pretty sure Saberhagen's Berserkers predate the Inhibitors by a good bit.
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Jun 2, 2015 04:02
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I would be all over a Bioware Revelation Space RPG.
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Jun 2, 2015 04:04
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Anticheese posted:I would be all over a Bioware Revelation Space RPG. Sadly, the Bioware that would make an incredible RPG out of it no longer exists. I'll join the circlejerk this time and just say it: gently caress EA.
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Jun 2, 2015 05:27
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