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Nice, I will get it soon! Oh by the way, has anyone heard of this author Aer-ki Jyr? He is a SF author who mostly did self-published stuff called Star-Force, but recently had his first professionally published novel called Apex. Anyway, I just found his nutty anti-gay rant: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/8659747-homosexual-humans-are-a-myth It's long, but here's an excerpt: quote:So what are gays then? Time to add him to the bad list.
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Jul 17, 2015 07:17
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Hahaha what a baby goof.
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Jul 17, 2015 08:40
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holocaust bloopers posted:Just finished Revelation Space. While there's a lot of good to excellent poo poo in there, Reynolds could've dropped about 200 pages worth of poo poo. Does he improve in his other work? I liked Chasm City the most out of the Revelation Space books it is the odd one of the bunch in that Universe though and its probably the most divisive on the popularity scale. If you want something more concise his short story collections are enjoyable and get to the point. Personally I would love for him to write more of those than another full novel.
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Jul 17, 2015 09:41
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Jack2142 posted:I liked Chasm City the most out of the Revelation Space books it is the odd one of the bunch in that Universe though and its probably the most divisive on the popularity scale. If you want something more concise his short story collections are enjoyable and get to the point. Personally I would love for him to write more of those than another full novel. I liked chasm city but the main character kind of bothered me, for someone of his alleged competence he is pretty dopey.
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Jul 17, 2015 10:59
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andrew smash posted:I liked chasm city but the main character kind of bothered me, for someone of his alleged competence he is pretty dopey.
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Jul 17, 2015 11:55
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Linnear posted:Has anyone read the newer Shannara books? I'm feeling kinda nostalgic with the news of the Shannara series on MTV and feel like revisiting the world. While I haven't read all of it I did enjoy his "Genesis of Shannara" series. It starts in modern day and then runs all the way through the big cataclysmic war that creates the setting of the original books.
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Jul 17, 2015 12:34
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Hedrigall posted:Nice, I will get it soon! Meh, there's a lot worse in the world than saying guys are messed up but not evil. On the other hand, he did compare them to Twilight fans and nobody deserves that.
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Jul 17, 2015 12:50
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Jedit posted:Meh, there's a lot worse in the world than saying guys are messed up but not evil. No way, he's calling homosexuality a disease, and gently caress that. He also jumped into the teleological hole that biologists are trained to avoid.
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Jul 17, 2015 13:04
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You realize that by taking an author no one cares about or has even heard of and posting his bad opinion here, you're derailing the thread for no real reason? You're also giving the homophobe 'press' for his bad opinion and not for his books.
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Jul 17, 2015 13:11
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Hedrigall posted:Oh by the way, has anyone heard of this author Aer-ki Jyr? He is a SF author who mostly did self-published stuff called Star-Force, but recently had his first professionally published novel called Apex. Anyway, I just found his nutty anti-gay rant: No I hadn't but thanks for dredging up some person's anti gay rant and posting it here I guess? Tiny Timbs fucked around with this message at 13:58 on Jul 17, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 13:52
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House Louse posted:Did you read Neverness yet? Not yet! It's on my list. I am plowing through Wolf Hall right now. General Battuta fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Jul 17, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 14:13
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General Battuta posted:Not yet! It's on my list. I am plowing through Wolf Hall right now. Yeah, with a thousand others, I bet... I loved the style and vividness of Wolf Hall - the opening in particular blew me away - but I thought it was a bit long and Cromwell's rise seemed a bit unnervingly like the deck was stacked in his favour... though I suppose it's only part of the story. My other friends loved it though. How are you enjoying the historical bits? Oh by the way, has anyone heard of this forums poster Hedrigall? He is a goon who mostly posts about China Miéville's stuff, but recently forgot nobody gives a poo poo that someone was a bigot on the internet. Anyway, I just found his post that quotes this idiot but doesn't have anything to say: Hedrigall posted:Nice, I will get it soon!
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Jul 17, 2015 15:47
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House Louse posted:Yeah, with a thousand others, I bet... Only a few! I have to do Americanah and Archivist Wasp, then The Blue Place and maybe Sea Change. Then I will try i! quote:I loved the style and vividness of Wolf Hall - the opening in particular blew me away - but I thought it was a bit long and Cromwell's rise seemed a bit unnervingly like the deck was stacked in his favour... though I suppose it's only part of the story. My other friends loved it though. How are you enjoying the historical bits? The style's so effective, it's killing me. I want to vivisect it. It hits up everything I wish I could do effortlessly - specific environmental detail, family and political trauma, shifting from memory to association to hard scene. I get worried about readers losing track of intrigue but Wolf Hall is so graceful with it. I'm a bit over a third in, it is long as hell. But the characters are all so sharply drawn it pulls me forward.
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Jul 17, 2015 16:20
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General Battuta posted:Archivist Wasp i read this last night, pretty great.
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Jul 17, 2015 18:00
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Jack2142 posted:I liked Chasm City the most out of the Revelation Space books it is the odd one of the bunch in that Universe though and its probably the most divisive on the popularity scale. If you want something more concise his short story collections are enjoyable and get to the point. Personally I would love for him to write more of those than another full novel. Seconding that. I loved that book: good character development, good plot twists and good final resolution. About the rest of RS novels, I quite liked Redemption Ark, with Absolution Gap being on my opinion the weakest of that bunch (I have not read The Prefect yet). The short stories are also good, some of them being little jewels, like Weather (perhaps my fav). I have to add I really dislike "Galactic North", both in its conclusion (I'm pretty sure there are better ways to kill a fictional universe!) and its development. How are the Reynolds non-RS books?
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Jul 17, 2015 18:43
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Just finished Anathem. You guys were right, it only got better as I progressed through it. It's probably my favorite Neal Stephenson's book (I only read the Cryptonomicon and REAMDE though). Now I want a sequel. 
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Jul 17, 2015 18:45
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I just finished The Library at Mount Char, probably the best book I've read since City of Stairs or The Golem and the Djinni last year. I read the last 70% or so in one sitting.
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Jul 17, 2015 19:22
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Autonomous Monster posted:I just finished the latest Django Wexler (Thousand Names, Shadow Throne) book, The Price of Valour. I have to say, I'm impressed. It's like Wexler took every single complaint I had with The Shadow Throne and tackled it head on. Also, on the reread I got something I'd completely missed the first time around, that Winter is Marcus's little sister. Looking forward to when that one drops.
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Jul 17, 2015 22:40
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Seriously, Aurora is terrific.
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Jul 18, 2015 00:15
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Amberskin posted:Seconding that. I loved that book: good character development, good plot twists and good final resolution. About the rest of RS novels, I quite liked Redemption Ark, with Absolution Gap being on my opinion the weakest of that bunch (I have not read The Prefect yet). The short stories are also good, some of them being little jewels, like Weather (perhaps my fav). I have to add I really dislike "Galactic North", both in its conclusion (I'm pretty sure there are better ways to kill a fictional universe!) and its development. I like to push (haha) Pushing Ice by Reynolds. It's a fantastic standalone that's got everything he's great at and very little he's not. Can't recommend it enough, I'd easily call it his best book by a decent margin. andrew smash posted:I read this and enjoyed it, blew through it in one sitting. Awesome! It's really strange isn't it? Unique and compelling, I also finished it in near one sitting. (The Library at Mount Char) Mars4523 posted:In this book, John Birmingham had a mid life crisis and wants to tell us all that he's still. GOT. IT. This is a ridiculous, gloriously terrible book, with its ridiculous male fantasy (schlubby white Everyman turns into swole God of war, anyone?) and its ridiculous villains. It's lose some brain cells levels of dumb. That said, I checked out a later book to see if it'd gotten better and the main character was throwing his "Super Pheremones" around at every invariably attractive woman in his orbit just for funsies. What the gently caress, John Birmingham? I admit I haven't actually read the whole thing, just maybe the first 20%. But for a totally crappy airport thriller it had a lot of stuff I can appreciate in it. I just try to embrace the shittiness, its way more fun that way.
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Jul 18, 2015 01:00
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Play posted:I like to push (haha) Pushing Ice by Reynolds. It's a fantastic standalone that's got everything he's great at and very little he's not. Can't recommend it enough, I'd easily call it his best book by a decent margin. Have you read House of Suns...?
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Jul 18, 2015 01:43
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holocaust bloopers posted:Seriously, Aurora is terrific. Yeah I have so many books to read for work but it's all I want to read. Bit of a hindrance really.
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Jul 18, 2015 02:50
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Play posted:I like to push (haha) Pushing Ice by Reynolds. It's a fantastic standalone that's got everything he's great at and very little he's not. Can't recommend it enough, I'd easily call it his best book by a decent margin. House of Suns, House of Suns, House of Suns. (If I say it three times, will AS write a sequel?). HoS is by far his best stand-alone. Pushing Ice is OK when it comes to BDO (Big Dumb Object) books, but HoS is just... amazing.
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Jul 18, 2015 03:03
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How are the rest of the books in the Oryx And Crake series? I loved the first one.
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Jul 18, 2015 05:16
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I agree with the above poster that House of Suns is Reynold's best. I didn't care for Pushing Ice much in comparison. House of Suns had awe-inspiring scale to it, and stimulated my imagination in a way none of his other books have.
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Jul 18, 2015 06:43
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Amazon UK have given a publication date of 15th October for The Thorn of Emberlain.
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Jul 18, 2015 09:45
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Hedrigall posted:Of KSR's work I've only read 2312. I liked it a lot. Of Mars Trilogy, Red and Green are brilliant but Blue is boring and aimless but you have to finish. 2312 was decent but Aurora is excellent.
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Jul 18, 2015 13:40
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Neurosis posted:I agree with the above poster that House of Suns is Reynold's best. I didn't care for Pushing Ice much in comparison. House of Suns had awe-inspiring scale to it, and stimulated my imagination in a way none of his other books have. Pushing Ice is my favorite of Reynolds work. It's like he made his own take on Rendezvous With Rama. Chasm City is my favorite RS book followed by The Prefect. House of Suns was ok. I think he must be getting help with his latest novels because the pacing and pros are much improved in the Poseidon's Children series if the concepts are all recycled. gohmak fucked around with this message at 13:49 on Jul 18, 2015 |
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Jul 18, 2015 13:44
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holocaust bloopers posted:How are the rest of the books in the Oryx And Crake series? I loved the first one. Worth reading although they don't quite reach the heights of Oryx and Crake. Year of the Flood comes close though.
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Jul 18, 2015 13:54
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Apraxin posted:Also, on the reread I got something I'd completely missed the first time around, that Winter is Marcus's little sister. Looking forward to when that one drops.
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Jul 18, 2015 15:36
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I'm in the middle of The Thousand Names and moused over that by accident. That'll be interesting to keep an eye on!
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Jul 18, 2015 15:42
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holocaust bloopers posted:How are the rest of the books in the Oryx And Crake series? I loved the first one. I enjoyed all three. A friend of mine wasn't so keen on MaddAdam, because it felt anticlimactic to Year of the Flood, but MaddAdam is such a great character novel the plot can afford to be slower imho.
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Jul 18, 2015 16:30
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Dryb posted:I just finished The Library at Mount Char, probably the best book I've read since City of Stairs or The Golem and the Djinni last year. I read the last 70% or so in one sitting. In some ways (tone, I guess?) it reminded me a lot of American Gods, though probably better done. So maybe not unique, but definitely strange and wonderful. and yeah, I sat down, started reading it, and stopped after I finished the entire thing - did not want to stop once I got going.
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Jul 18, 2015 18:51
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thetechnoloser posted:House of Suns, House of Suns, House of Suns. (If I say it three times, will AS write a sequel?). HoS is by far his best stand-alone. Pushing Ice is OK when it comes to BDO (Big Dumb Object) books, but HoS is just... amazing. I admit it's been a while since I've read it, but yes I've read everything by him, Pushing Ice remaining my favorite. Yeah it's a big dumb object story, but its one of the most compelling BDO's I've ever encountered. And besides, I'm not opposed to that trope in general, I've read a lot of fantastic fiction based on the same concept. I'm actually a HUGE fan of The Thousandth Night whish is the short story on which the later House of Suns was based (sort of). Guess it's time to reread HoS! That'll be fun. Quinton posted:Wait, hold on, WHAT?! Where/how was that established? I completely missed that. Yeah seriously, I just finished Price of Valor (I thought it was really good, perhaps the best one yet. It just came together more effectively than the last one) and I did not get even a hint of this. I DID, however, catch the idea that Sothe was the killer of Marcus' family. Perhaps this is how Winter's relationship to him will end up being revealed?
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Jul 18, 2015 18:58
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holocaust bloopers posted:How are the rest of the books in the Oryx And Crake series? I loved the first one. Year of the Flood is amazing, I like it just about as much as Oryx and Crake. The audiobook for it is one of my all time favorite audiobooks too, as there are psalms/hymns for the religious cult in the novel at the beginning of each chapter and a ton of effort was put into making them into original music for the audiobook. The music fits perfectly with the cult/story, and makes it feel much more real. Maddaddam is great too, just a step down from the previous two installments. It's lighter in tone, with a lot more humor, and like someone's said previously, has a slight epilogue feel to it.
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Jul 19, 2015 00:34
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Great. Year Of The Flood will be next after I finish up Aurora (Aurora owns).
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Jul 19, 2015 00:39
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tonytheshoes posted:Agree whole-heartedly. In fact, I'm trying to find other books similar to it; to the whole open-ended mystery that encourages you to piece things together yourself. David Mitchell does this to some extent, as well as Gene Wolfe and Jorge Louis Borges, but other than that, I'm still looking... You could try House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. It has that same sort of weird mystery exploration vibe except it's about strange doors and a hallway that appear in a family's house instead of an outdoor area. It has a weird gimmick in that there's all kinds of typography tricks where there are different layouts and fonts and stuff. If you image search the title you can see some page examples. Anyway, I found the story compelling enough in this book that the typography didn't hold me back too much, but I tried reading another one of his books and I couldn't stomach it.
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Jul 19, 2015 00:44
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House of Leaves is a pretty fun book if you only read the story-within-the-story (the family exploring the house) and completely skip the meta-narrative (guy in hotel room slowly going crazy as he pieces together the fictional story of the family exploring the house).
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Jul 19, 2015 00:58
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Quinton posted:Wait, hold on, WHAT?! Where/how was that established? I completely missed that. - Winter is twenty-two/three years old and has white-blond hair. She was orphaned at a very young age and has no memories of her parents and no idea how or why she came to be a ward of Mrs. Wilmore's. - Eighteen years ago Marcus's parents and sister, who was four years old and had white-blond hair, died in a mysterious fire that left no intact bodies. Wexler is really coy about it (it's never outright said how old Winter is, but in Shadow Throne when Cyte says she's twenty Winter thinks 'not much younger than me, but two years in Khandar feel like more than two calendar years'), but he brings up these dates several times while almost never being exact about the other characters' ages or the exact timeline of recent history. In real life that would probably just be a coincidence, but in a pulp fantasy novel I'm like 95% sure it's a plot point. It's not followed up on in Price of Valour, but I'd be very surprised if it didn't come up in the last two books.
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Jul 19, 2015 01:31
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Cardiac posted:Everything is more interesting than Fitz at this point. The Assassin series had a perfect ending for Fitz (well, not for him obviously, but storywise). I wanted to read Fools Assassin however the overwhelming feedback I've seen on her latest work is that it's just not good so I'm holding off on it because the dislike is just so consistent. Though with how the prior trilogy ended it really should've just been the end for Fitz as a main character and if she wanted to continue with the Six Duchies she could've used one of numerous characters introduced previously and just have Fitz pop in here and there like with how some characters did in Rain Wilds. Finally read through Warbreaker. It had some rough spots and the title's reference became pretty clear early on but it was a good read. Nightblood is pretty neat though it reminds me of a D&D weapon whose name I forget which seemed to operate in a similar fashion. coyo7e posted:Pardon me if I'm mis-remembering however, isn't that almost literally the end scene from Old Yeller? And that Hobb is slightly less-readable than a lovely Feist novel? I'll agree that some of his stuff is pretty cringe-worthy at times (looking at you, last stretch of Shards of a Broken Crown with your literal zombie army and a puppetmaster angel 'dream' thing because so much stuff involving The Nameless One is awful (and later redefining of The Dread)) but overall the Riftwar books are decent-to-good and Shadow of a Dark Queen was The Dirty Dozen: Riftwar Edition and worth the read. Betrayal at Krondor is also an awesome RPG for when it was made and is still kinda fun.
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Jul 19, 2015 02:06
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