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Darth Walrus posted:There’s Ship of Fools/Unto Leviathan if you want something more horror-themed. Ahh, I've been sitting on this one for ages, I'm a big fan of sci-fi horror and there's not a ton out there that's not a little mediocre, so I've been saving it for when I can kick back and really enjoy it. Sounds like a good holiday downtime choice for me.
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Nov 14, 2017 21:28
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MockingQuantum posted:So I just finished Aurora and while I came to like it more as it went on, it also just isn't my cup of tea. I'll unabashedly say I'll take an active, if somewhat stereotypical plot over slow-burn, literary hard sci-fi. I just felt like there was very little happening the whole book, and a lot of time spent displaying the scientific basis of everything going on. It's to KSR's credit that the scientific rigor was written well enough to be interesting. I really enjoyed Noumenon, which came out this year.
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Nov 14, 2017 21:37
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So, Iain M. Bank's final Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata is a daily deal on Amazon for $2.99. While all his Culture books are standalone, I really feel like this is a perfect ending, as there is a lot of discussion about subliming/doing the next step on the evolutionary ladder. On that note, if you had any saying, and had both the money and the literary rights to do so, who would you hire to write a new book in the Culture universe? Some of the obvious choices could be the existing "New British Space Opera" authors like Reynolds, Hamilton etc. but while I love what they have done in their own books, they just don't measure up with Banks on a 1:1 comparison. Reynolds is great at describing big ideas but his characters always come up semi-flat. Hamilton writes awesome action scenes but, at least earlier, had the whole dodgy sex scenes. And both of them always end up with a deus ex machina ending (not that I really mind - I enjoy their books). Who could actually do the Culture universe justice and build upon it?
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Nov 15, 2017 01:58
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Fart of Presto posted:So, Iain M. Bank's final Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata is a daily deal on Amazon for $2.99. Honestly, I absolutely don't want another Culture book. I took Look to Windward to heart. Sometimes it's OK for a thing to die with dignity.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:09
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Fart of Presto posted:Who could actually do the Culture universe justice and build upon it? Peter Watts. 
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Nov 15, 2017 02:13
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MockingQuantum posted:I seem to be in the minority that I didn't like A Deepness In The Sky nearly as much as AFUtD. I'd still put it way up there if I were to list my favorite sci-fi novels, but the first book was way more fascinating to me. I think I just really digged the whole storyline surrounding the virus. (And c'mon, Dogbros) Deepness in the Sky is better written and more consistent. Fire has more cool grand scale ideas. The dogbros I found to be pretty boring, much as imagining teams of puppies acting in perfect concert to operate machinery is adorable. I'm nonplussed by Children of the Sky. Why write that book unless you planned to write another? It certainly wasn't very interesting as a standalone.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:13
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Fart of Presto posted:So, Iain M. Bank's final Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata is a daily deal on Amazon for $2.99. George R.R. Martin or Patrick Rothfuss.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:19
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Neurosis posted:Deepness in the Sky is better written and more consistent. Fire has more cool grand scale ideas. The dogbros I found to be pretty boring, much as imagining teams of puppies acting in perfect concert to operate machinery is adorable. I will 100% agree Deepness is a better book on writing merits. Fire kind of goes off the rails story-wise and has some bumpy prose. And yes, the dogbros seem to be pretty divisive among people I know who have read the book, half (like me) really liked the whole concept of a consciousness split among multiple members to be something we could hear about for ages, half couldn't care less.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:19
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Fart of Presto posted:So, Iain M. Bank's final Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata is a daily deal on Amazon for $2.99. Did this Kindle me? I can't find it as an offer to cancel when it seemed I was kindled.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:20
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cis autodrag posted:Honestly, I absolutely don't want another Culture book. I took Look to Windward to heart. Sometimes it's OK for a thing to die with dignity. While this is the totally correct decision, I'd LOVE to see Cherryh's take on Culture Minds.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:28
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GreyjoyBastard posted:While this is the totally correct decision, I'd LOVE to see Cherryh's take on Culture Minds. There are very few things I wouldn't want to see Cherryh's take on, but now that you mention it, yes.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:30
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ToxicFrog posted:There are very few things I wouldn't want to see Cherryh's take on, but now that you mention it, yes. Honestly, anything to get her to write something new. More Alliance books are good, actual new stories are better.* *The exception being anything set over in the Compact 'verse.
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Nov 15, 2017 02:36
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Fart of Presto posted:Who could actually do the Culture universe justice and build upon it? Nobody can and everybody in this thread knows it
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Nov 15, 2017 03:37
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While I don't know that anyone could 'do justice' to continuing the Culture Universe as a whole, a GRRM/Dozois-style anthology of stories in tribute/inspired by would be interesting I think, just to see it through some other lenses.
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Nov 15, 2017 05:10
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andrew smash posted:Nobody can and everybody in this thread knows it Nobody can give us a new Culture novel. However, an anthology of Culture fiction by other writers is something I'd read. Alistair Reynolds can chip in something about a GCU stumbling across something really bizarre it can't really handle. Niven and Bujold can collaborate on a story where it's an open question whether interpersonal relations or cold, hard physics will kill the characters first. It'd be great !
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Nov 15, 2017 05:33
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Fart of Presto posted:So, Iain M. Bank's final Culture novel, The Hydrogen Sonata is a daily deal on Amazon for $2.99. Neal Asher, or well he did his own version.
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Nov 15, 2017 06:54
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Syzygy Stardust posted:George R.R. Martin or Patrick Rothfuss. gently caress you. I'm still sad on a daily basis that Iain Banks is gone. 
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Nov 15, 2017 07:02
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Cardiac posted:Neal Asher, or well he did his own version. Insofar as Asher can be compared to Iain Banks. Which is not very far. Both have AIs running society, 1.0 level drones, and uh...  Not as cool. Not nearly as well written.
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Nov 15, 2017 07:12
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mllaneza posted:Insofar as Asher can be compared to Iain Banks. Which is not very far. Both have AIs running society, 1.0 level drones, and uh... Hey, Sniper is cool. Asher is the fast-paced blowing up versions of Banks, where Asher beats Banks in the area of creepy alien lifeforms. But Banks writes better (I like to imagine I live in the timeline where Pratchett and Banks still lives) and is more subtle in his brutality, which have been discussed here before. I enjoy both.
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Nov 15, 2017 07:56
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I am glad that there are no more Culture novels.
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Nov 15, 2017 08:21
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Jesus. This is twice I've agreed with you. I may need a lie down. I just don't get the wankery over Iain Banks.
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Nov 15, 2017 13:23
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If I controlled the rights to the Culture books I would release them into the public domain, because Banks is dead.
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Nov 15, 2017 13:44
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"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss is an excellent fantasy book. It hits all the right high notes & low notes & has a tone that is agreeable to me.
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Nov 15, 2017 15:47
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Proteus Jones posted:Jesus. This is twice I've agreed with you. I may need a lie down. I've stalled out multiple times in both Excession and Consider Phlebas. I'm not in a good position to judge the man's writing, but I am starting to think he's just not for me.
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Nov 15, 2017 15:56
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Ben Nerevarine posted:I've stalled out multiple times in both Excession and Consider Phlebas. I'm not in a good position to judge the man's writing, but I am starting to think he's just not for me. Consider Phlebas is easily his worst book and excession is only fun if you're already fairly immersed in the universe. Try Player of Games and if you still don't like it then he's just not for you.
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Nov 15, 2017 17:29
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navyjack posted:For the first, check out Brandon Sanderson’s stuff. World-building is kind of his thing. Holy poo poo, they are turning it into a Netflix series?! When is this due to happen? I liked the Takeshi Kovacs books, but Richard Morgan's fantasy stuff was wierd. Edited to remove excitement typos. Emnity fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Nov 15, 2017 |
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Nov 15, 2017 17:50
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Emnity posted:Holy poo poo, they are turning it into a Netflix series?! When is this due to happen? 2018. https://www.netflix.com/title/80097140
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Nov 15, 2017 19:10
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Ben Nerevarine posted:I've stalled out multiple times in both Excession and Consider Phlebas. I'm not in a good position to judge the man's writing, but I am starting to think he's just not for me. I felt the same way after starting and giving up op on Consider Phlebas and then reading Player of Games and thinking it was kind of mediocre. Someone earlier in the thread suggested I might like his later stuff better, so I gave Surface Detail a shot and loved it. I've read and liked The Hydrogen Sonata and Look to Windward since then so I'd say give one of those a try. Surface Detail was one of my favourite books I read this year, so I'd personally recommend that one.
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Nov 16, 2017 01:39
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cis autodrag posted:Consider Phlebas is easily his worst book and excession is only fun if you're already fairly immersed in the universe. Try Player of Games and if you still don't like it then he's just not for you. johnsonrod posted:I felt the same way after starting and giving up op on Consider Phlebas and then reading Player of Games and thinking it was kind of mediocre. Someone earlier in the thread suggested I might like his later stuff better, so I gave Surface Detail a shot and loved it. I've read and liked The Hydrogen Sonata and Look to Windward since then so I'd say give one of those a try. Surface Detail was one of my favourite books I read this year, so I'd personally recommend that one. Cool thanks, I think I already own a copy of Player of Games so I'll give that a shot and maybe Surface Detail after, depending.
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Nov 16, 2017 02:08
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Ben Nerevarine posted:Cool thanks, I think I already own a copy of Player of Games so I'll give that a shot and maybe Surface Detail after, depending. Great! Keep in mind that Surface Detail has a little bit of continuity from Look To Windward (not a lot, but definitely adds some rich background details) and Look to Windward is easily the best culture novel imo so maybe read that before surface detail.
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Nov 16, 2017 04:27
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cis autodrag posted:Great! Keep in mind that Surface Detail has a little bit of continuity from Look To Windward (not a lot, but definitely adds some rich background details) and Look to Windward is easily the best culture novel imo so maybe read that before surface detail. Look to Windward is beautifully written. His descriptions of places around the orbital and back on Chel take you right there.
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Nov 16, 2017 04:56
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I'm really glad I was convinced to give Banks another shot because he had an unrivalled ability to describe a scene and set a particular tone for his books. The hell scenes and various Zakalwe scenes in Surface Detail in particular were extremely well done and The Hydrogen Sonata's overall melancholic feel are a perfect example of this. I love Reynolds and Watts but Banks had tone nailed down and I'm not sure he'll be topped.
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Nov 16, 2017 05:45
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To slobber all over Windward some more, it was just god damned amazing that (huge spoilers srlsly) through the whole book he's having this really serious exploration of the cultural mores around having the choice to die vs being required to linger to your own detriment for the sake of those around you. It really manages to hide into the subtext until basically the last couple pages when Hub and the sloth guy just sort of share this moment of "it sucked while it lasted, but at least it can be over" and then suddenly it clicks. So loving good.
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Nov 16, 2017 07:38
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People seem to really dislike it, but Consider Phlebas is probably my second favorite Culture Novel after Use of Weapons. Maybe because the story is quite bleak and unforgiving, while none of the Culture Books really have happy endings I think Consider Phlebas is probably the most depressing.
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Nov 16, 2017 09:36
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It just feels really random. Every chapter is a different Space Adventure and there's very little buildup or progression, some chapters could just be left out entirely and nothing would be lost.
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Nov 16, 2017 13:32
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I took this thread's advice and didn't start with Consider Phlebas (went with Player of Games instead, which I thought was great) and I want to echo that this might be a wise move for anyone struggling with Banks.
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Nov 16, 2017 16:10
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I didn’t really enjoy Consider Phlebas until the adventure on cannibal island.
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Nov 16, 2017 16:48
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Yeah, Phlebas's tone is just way off from the rest of the books and it feels like something that could have been published in those old men's adventure magazines (comparatively speaking).
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Nov 16, 2017 17:33
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Syzygy Stardust posted:I didn’t really enjoy Consider Phlebas until the adventure on cannibal island.
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Nov 16, 2017 17:46
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I enjoyed Phlebas though it was just a long space adventure. I just liked all the setpieces and the bleak weirdness of the whole endeavor--the protagonist wants to stop the Culture because their niceness ruins human ambition or whatever. And maybe he isn't entirely wrong. It took me a little while to get into, but the payoff was ultimately worth it for me, and then I loved Use of Weapons. I've been saving the other Culture novels and doling them out slowly since there won't be any more. I made the error of binging all of Vorkosigan last year and now there likely won't be any more of that.
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Nov 16, 2017 17:46
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