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Fart of Presto posted:Today's Kindle Daily Deal has a bunch of Goodreads Choice Awards winners and finalists with decent discounts.
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Dec 31, 2017 19:28
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Stuporstar posted:Wild Seed is the only one worth reading out if that series, and I'm a huge Butler fan. Patternmaster and Mind of my Mind are her first two novels and you can tell, and Clay's Ark is kind of extraneous. If you read Wild Seed first, you might as well stop there because the rest will be a huge disappointment. I disagree! Patternmaster is very much of its time as an action-packed power fantasy, but it's interesting to see Butler working the themes that she would eventually revolutionize in that genre. You can see the overwhelming fear of enslavement, racial and gender progressivism, and transhumanism all in there. The contrast between Patternmaster and Wild Seed is huge, but I think it's worth examining, particularly with regards to her portrayal of queerness. That's actually the main reason for my reading order, since it is true that Patternmaster is nowhere near as good as Wild Seed, which would make it a disappointing ending for the series. As for the other two, Clay's Ark is one of my favorite sci-fi horror books, and while Mind to Mind really isn't that great, it's necessary if you're going to read the entire series and it's a good continuation of Doro's story, if nothing else. As a series none of it is Butler's best work, but I think it's worth reading to see her work in four completely different genres.
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Dec 31, 2017 19:32
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Bear Sleuth posted:Definitely a publisher thing, and hardly exclusive to the world of SF. His prose has the worst rhythm. In everything of his I've ever tried to read it always sounds the same, like some dude who runs up to you and says, "Hey lemme tell you a story," and then barrels it out as fast as he can without taking a drat breath, droning on about poo poo in a way that, no matter how interesting the premise is, makes me want to scream, "I don't loving care!"
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Dec 31, 2017 19:33
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What books are you looking forward to this year? I'm excited for the final Binti novella in a few weeks, and The Record of a Spaceborn Few later in July.
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Dec 31, 2017 23:50
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Captain_Person posted:What books are you looking forward to this year? I'm excited for the final Binti novella in a few weeks, and The Record of a Spaceborn Few later in July. The final book in Ian McDonald's Luna trilogy so I can finally buy the set and blaze through them in a really intense marathon of moon politics. 
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Dec 31, 2017 23:53
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New Craig Schaefer book around the 5th or so.
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Jan 1, 2018 01:47
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:New Craig Schaefer book around the 5th or so. ...That guy is insane and amazing.
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Jan 1, 2018 04:14
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The sequel to Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee, is currently on sale for $0.99
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Jan 1, 2018 17:29
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Captain_Person posted:What books are you looking forward to this year? I'm excited for the final Binti novella in a few weeks, and The Record of a Spaceborn Few later in July. I can't wait to get my preorder of The Winds of Winter. On a serious note, Octavia Butler's Lilith's Brood/Xenogenesis series is really good and you should read it if you haven't already. It beats the poo poo out of any other first contact/alien culture type of novel/series that I can think of. I think one or two of the books were included in a humble bundle a while back but I think they all need to be read together, especially since the first book starts off a bit slowly for entirely justifiable reasons.
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Jan 1, 2018 19:31
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Kristine Smith's Code of Conduct arrived in the mail and holy hell, the back of the book says "The Most Fascinating Alien Culture Since CJ Cherryh's Foreigner" and I think this book was made for me.
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Jan 1, 2018 20:05
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Captain_Person posted:What books are you looking forward to this year? I'm excited for the final Binti novella in a few weeks, and The Record of a Spaceborn Few later in July. Jasper Fforde's Early Riser
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Jan 1, 2018 20:39
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Stuporstar posted:His prose has the worst rhythm. In everything of his I've ever tried to read it always sounds the same, like some dude who runs up to you and says, "Hey lemme tell you a story," and then barrels it out as fast as he can without taking a drat breath, droning on about poo poo in a way that, no matter how interesting the premise is, makes me want to scream, "I don't loving care!" I know what you mean. I've tried reading Annihilation several times, but his prose is so dense that it's difficult to get engaged. There are individual passages where he uses that density in a really transporting way, like when he describes the hypnotist working on the various explorers or during some of the more surreal passages, but usually the prose is just workmanlike, albeit longwinded. It ends up being a slog, neither easy to read nor enriching.
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Jan 3, 2018 01:57
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I like Jeff VanderMeer, I think he writes cool stories, but that hits the nail on the head about his prose. Reading through Area X had me low-key bothered the whole time and I couldn't figure out why. It's the overwrought writing for sure. I am reading his short story in the Songs of the Dying Earth collection now and it has the same problem, way too much packed in too little space. It has none of the wit and brevity of Jack Vance, though to be fair none of the stories in that collection so far do. Paula Volsky's is especially grating.
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Jan 3, 2018 02:48
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I don't disagree on the style of his writing, but I think it actually worked for a lot of parts of Southern Reach. I think the books did as well as they did because the stories complemented his writing style, rather than the other way around,
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Jan 3, 2018 02:54
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MockingQuantum posted:I don't disagree on the style of his writing, but I think it actually worked for a lot of parts of Southern Reach. I think the books did as well as they did because the stories complemented his writing style, rather than the other way around, Same. I got hooked on VanderMeer's writing by way of reading City of Saints and Madmen before anything else of his, and he uses a variety of styles and voices in that, so I saw the breathless run-on-ness and proliferation of detail in Southern Reach as complementing and developing the state of mind that Area X evokes. I think VanderMeer is at his best when he's being dry and understated, and that's not something you see a lot of in the Southern Reach books.
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Jan 3, 2018 05:26
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For Christmas I was given a copy of Armor by John Steakley, which is apparently a military sci-fi classic. I'm about 75 pages in (out of over 400) and ... does this get any less like eating uncooked pasta? If it wasn't a gift I would have dropped it by now, so I'm holding out for improvement but it's a bloody slog. I'm not very big on military science fiction (outside of Warhammer 40k pulp nonsense). I read Starship Troopers as a teenager and thought it was satire, and loved The Forever War a few years later, but other than that I don't have much experience. So far Armor just seems like endless action sequence with very little scene-setting or reasons to be emotionally invested in the characters. It's toneless and stodgy. Is this just not for me, or is this a military sci-fi thing?
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Jan 3, 2018 09:46
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StrixNebulosa posted:Kristine Smith's Code of Conduct arrived in the mail and holy hell, the back of the book says "The Most Fascinating Alien Culture Since CJ Cherryh's Foreigner" and I think this book was made for me. i hope you like bureaucracy thrillers and document authenticity plotlines along with your hybrid alien world building. i think i got three books in, its really well written, i just didn't really like the plots.
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Jan 3, 2018 12:43
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Hungry posted:For Christmas I was given a copy of Armor by John Steakley, which is apparently a military sci-fi classic. I'm about 75 pages in (out of over 400) and ... does this get any less like eating uncooked pasta? If it wasn't a gift I would have dropped it by now, so I'm holding out for improvement but it's a bloody slog. I read it just a month ago or so, but you have a switch of protagonist and milieu around 25-30% into the book, which I guess is going to be rather soon for you. It is similar in tone to Starship Troopers and The Forever War in using a pointless war to elaborate on other details of society. As for the characters, don't expect them to become more elaborate.
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Jan 3, 2018 12:47
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branedotorg posted:i hope you like bureaucracy thrillers and document authenticity plotlines along with your hybrid alien world building. Oh my god that sounds like heaven and I'm digging the first few chapters so I think I am set I'm also reading Fortress of Owls by Cherryh and it's become full-blown logistics porn as poor Tristan has to keep track of his servants and all the little details of rebuilding a damaged fortress and installing a wizard in a tower and so on - which, yeah, it's very similar to the later Foreigner books but in a really good way. It helps that I love these pages and pages of details and world-building. Also Shadow and Claw arrived, so I'm dipping my toes into Gene Wolfe. It's definitely different from the other two books!
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Jan 3, 2018 13:41
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I just read all the Fortress books (i think i read the first one ages ago but never the whole series) and while they were pretty good, if weird, the last/fifth book, Fortress of Ice was really weird and unsatisfying, like it was written by a different person with totally different interpretations of a lot of the characters. I feel like it reads better if it ended at book 4. I have a weakness for Cherryh and Modesitt and all these books that get caught up in the mundane details of armies or diplomacy or politics or carpentry or whatever, so I might look at Code of Conduct. Wolpertinger fucked around with this message at 14:33 on Jan 3, 2018 |
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Jan 3, 2018 14:28
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Hungry posted:For Christmas I was given a copy of Armor by John Steakley, which is apparently a military sci-fi classic. I'm about 75 pages in (out of over 400) and ... does this get any less like eating uncooked pasta? If it wasn't a gift I would have dropped it by now, so I'm holding out for improvement but it's a bloody slog. IDEOTV did an episode on it and came to the same conclusion you seem to be heading for: http://www.idontevenownatelevision.com/2016/05/30/056-armor/
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Jan 3, 2018 15:38
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Hungry posted:For Christmas I was given a copy of Armor by John Steakley, which is apparently a military sci-fi classic. I'm about 75 pages in (out of over 400) and ... does this get any less like eating uncooked pasta? If it wasn't a gift I would have dropped it by now, so I'm holding out for improvement but it's a bloody slog. Steakley's Armor was the ur-novel that Warhammer 40k's makers ripped off heavily, and in 2017, it is dated by everyone else in milscifi re-re-re-re-ripping it off. If you're still not feeling the book after that explanation, donate it to a libraries free paperback exchange or something similar. Armor summary: a space-marine's power-armor is found during on a alien planet, scientists download the power-armor's full immersion VR history logs of it's original wearer, the scientists get stockholm syndromed into caring about that poor space marine life, an menacing alien presence appears, scientests find out that missing space-marine was secretly the heir/whatever to a space-empire throne, the menacing alien presence invades, the missing space-marine drops his hidden identity + reclaims the power-armor, the book ends with the space-marine+ his power-armor fighting off the threat, but disappearing totally afterwards. Steakley also has the habit of re-using names in his books, and do not read his vampires book. It makes Armor feel like Pynchon in comparison. quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Jan 3, 2018 |
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Jan 3, 2018 15:38
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Sorry if this has been discussed, but I'm getting towards the end of NK Jemisin's 1st book of the Fifth Season. I'm enjoying it a lot. Not a big fan of the second person narrative but I expect that it will be explained, other than that I'm enjoying the world and characterization. How do the sequels compare?
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Jan 3, 2018 19:24
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ninguno posted:Sorry if this has been discussed, but I'm getting towards the end of NK Jemisin's 1st book of the Fifth Season. I thought it was great all the way through with the final book probably being the weakest.
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Jan 3, 2018 20:38
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:New Craig Schaefer book around the 5th or so. It's out! Someone read it so they can tell me how related to the Revanche cycle it really is, 'cos I'm not sure I be arsed reading books 2-4 of that. I didn't mind the first book, but I just don't seem to have any desire to continue for some reason.
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Jan 3, 2018 20:52
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They tie into it, but I'm about 90% ure you don't need to have read em to follow the story. Also, you don't want to continue because they are depressing as gently caress. Dude make a new genre called Bleakdark. Link to new book (with bitchin cover art) : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078S7SK9T/ Stupid_Sexy_Flander fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Jan 3, 2018 |
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Jan 3, 2018 21:05
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ninguno posted:Sorry if this has been discussed, but I'm getting towards the end of NK Jemisin's 1st book of the Fifth Season. They are definitely worth reading, but progressively worse for each book. Still far above the mean of the field. Second one was not worth a Hugo for sure.
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Jan 3, 2018 21:55
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Fart of Presto posted:The sequel to Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee, is currently on sale for $0.99 Is this worth reading? I just finished Ninefox and it was just... okay.
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Jan 3, 2018 22:42
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:Is this worth reading? I just finished Ninefox and it was just... okay. Raven is better.
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Jan 3, 2018 22:47
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Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison anthologies or collections? The man's written a lot, and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck in two or three purchases. Also open to novels (I've only ever written his shorter fiction).
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Jan 3, 2018 23:57
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison anthologies or collections? The man's written a lot, and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck in two or three purchases. His longer works are only ever novellas, which are usually included in his short story collections. I bought this one and it's great, but drat it didn't used to be that expensive: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0...ellisonbooks-20
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Jan 4, 2018 00:35
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Is Oathbringer good? I read the first two Stormlight books a few years ago, and they were enjoyable, but I'm just having trouble getting myself excited to read Brandon Sanderson. After reading Nnedi Okorafor, NK Jemisin, Becky Chambers, and Ann Leckie, I just feel like anything I read by Sanderson is going to seem even more formulaic and soulless than they did back then. He's not terrible by any means, I just can't understand why he's seen as the end-all of modern fantasy. \ Or maybe I should just read it.
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Jan 4, 2018 01:10
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison anthologies or collections? The man's written a lot, and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck in two or three purchases. Angry Candy is a good starting point. It has Paladin of the Lost Hour in it, which is one of my favourites.
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Jan 4, 2018 01:27
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branedotorg posted:i hope you like bureaucracy thrillers and document authenticity plotlines along with your hybrid alien world building.  also on kindle for $3
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Jan 4, 2018 02:44
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ninguno posted:Sorry if this has been discussed, but I'm getting towards the end of NK Jemisin's 1st book of the Fifth Season. I thought they got better, just because the first book started off a bit slowly in the sense that it took a while for the narrative to cohere. Cardiac posted:They are definitely worth reading, but progressively worse for each book. Still far above the mean of the field. Yes it was. I haven't read the other nominees, but it had fewer flaws than A Closed and Common Orbit or Death's End. On the other hand, Death's End definitely deserved to win awards over the Three-Body Problem. Precambrian Video Games fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Jan 4, 2018 |
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Jan 4, 2018 03:15
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Rough Lobster posted:Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison anthologies or collections? The man's written a lot, and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck in two or three purchases. The Essential Ellison is quite good, although not available in electronic format. It includes a mix of his stories, journalism and essays, and some early stuff. There are two versions -- the original published in 1998 and an expanded version from 2005. If you just want his short stories, I'd go with Deathbird Stories, Shatterday, and Angry Candy.
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Jan 4, 2018 03:33
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Wolpertinger posted:I just read all the Fortress books (i think i read the first one ages ago but never the whole series) and while they were pretty good, if weird, the last/fifth book, Fortress of Ice was really weird and unsatisfying, like it was written by a different person with totally different interpretations of a lot of the characters. I feel like it reads better if it ended at book 4. There was a six year gap between Fortress of Dragons and Fortress of Ice, it's entirely possible Cherryh's own conception of the characters changed in that time. I felt like Dragons was a good stopping point and put the series down there.
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Jan 4, 2018 04:08
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Thanks for the recommendations, folks. Looks like they are as varied as I feared. I think I'll scout around and see what's cheap. Either way from your posts it looks like I really can't go wrong.
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Jan 4, 2018 09:06
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Captain_Person posted:What books are you looking forward to this year? I'm excited for the final Binti novella in a few weeks, and The Record of a Spaceborn Few later in July. 
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Jan 4, 2018 23:00
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Ooh, must remember to read more Valente. Have still only read Deathless, which was great.
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Jan 4, 2018 23:54
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