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Heavy Metal posted:Appreciated! On the licensed books thing, do you have any that you particularly like and recommend? I haven't been too interested in that so far, just mentioned titles from other mediums to kinda show some stuff I enjoy in the genre. I don't read much but Dan Abnett's Warhammer work is great (and honestly check out his comics work (the Annihilation mini-series from Marvel are a good place to start) it's almost exactly what you want, Al Ewing too) The two dedicated threads should help more: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3494493 https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3951863
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Sep 2, 2022 02:15
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Thanks! I love Dan Abnett's 2000AD comics, and I've had some of his Warhammer stuff on the shelf for a while (Gaunts Ghosts "The Saint" omnibus and also "Xenos"). Tried a little of a Horace Heresy one which was a bit much in the crazy lore for me I think. Will give those a go sometime. The only Star Wars book I have is Shadows of the Empire, which I heard isn't good, but wanted to try for novelty.
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Sep 2, 2022 02:29
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Heavy Metal posted:I watched that in recent years too, lot of fun, really stylish and unique. As a side film recommendation, that John Woo movie The Killer really scratches a lot of the cool melodrama itch from that time. Ditto A Better Tomorrow etc. Miami Vice's tone is such a unique blend of charming buddy stuff, hard boiled pulpy detective action, over the top stylish operatic melodrama, some good nutty comedy relief, classic 80s. Wish I'd read more to be able to recommend something with that vibe, but I was thinking Elmore Leonard too. Swag is a cool one, from the criminals perspective, and has a dynamic of two lead dudes and their relationship there. Has that kind of hanging out in a seedy world, bit of devil may care vibe to it. It seems like you might be most interested in comedic space opera, or at least comedy adjacent. I don't know of any comedy space opera, but Christopher Anvil's Interstellar Patrol is comedy adjacent with frequent humorous incidents. Maybe try the Retief series? It's from the 60s, so I don't know how well it's aged, but I remember it being pretty funny. Normally I'd second Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorksogian sequence but a lot of it is pretty serious. If you do try it, skip the first book and start with the second. The first book has a different viewpoint character and is more than a decade before the rest of the series so you won't feel lost without. The second, The Warrior's Apprentice, starts slow and gloomy but does pick up speed and just keeps accelerating after that point, if I remember right. Not a book recommendation, but I suspect you'd enjoy the Farscape tv show.
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Sep 2, 2022 03:37
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Thanks! Those are a couple flavors I'm interested in, the comedy Space Quest thing and the space opera/adventure thing mentioned. I also dig a well done bit of epic melodrama that puts a smile on my face anyway, like those anime titles mentioned etc. I mainly just wanted something that isn't kind of dry and unapproachable for me. But I'm looking for a variety of stuff. I guess some of my fav stuff like Elmore Leonard mentioned seem to effortlessly do both. And I'll definitely put Farscape on the list, always heard that was fun. And I do love Muppets. Heavy Metal fucked around with this message at 03:58 on Sep 2, 2022 |
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Sep 2, 2022 03:56
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Heavy Metal posted:Thanks! I love Dan Abnett's 2000AD comics, and I've had some of his Warhammer stuff on the shelf for a while (Gaunts Ghosts "The Saint" omnibus and also "Xenos"). Tried a little of a Horace Heresy one which was a bit much in the crazy lore for me I think. Will give those a go sometime. If you're okay with licensed stuff, I'd go for Brian Daley's original Han Solo books (Han Solo's Revenge, Han Solo at Stars' End, and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy), which are perfectly fine space swashbuckling adventure. I recommended them a few pages back, but Alexei Panshin's Anthony Villiers books (Star Well, The Thurb Revolution, and Masque World) might suit you as well.
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Sep 2, 2022 11:45
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Sounds fun, thanks.
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Sep 2, 2022 20:42
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np19 posted:Is Edward Gibbons Rise and Fall still a relevant read? Yeah, it's great. Obviously out of date as far as historiography goes, but read for itself it's a very good book. I'm not an historian, so I only know it was one of the earliest attempts at history as we currently understand it and was massively influential. He has an axe to grind with the early Christians, but as long as you keep in mind when he was writing and his prejudices and preconceptions, I think it is still well worth reading.
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Sep 2, 2022 21:00
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Does anyone know any good books like the film Heat (1995)? I'm aware it just got a sequel novel, but I'm looking for some other suggestions.
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Sep 6, 2022 15:14
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Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them.
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Sep 7, 2022 01:45
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You mean like... Ready player one?
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Sep 7, 2022 02:21
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Kerro posted:Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them. Maybe try Data Dragon Danika? It starts as a litRPG story about playing an MMO, but shortly after leaving the tutorial area develops more of a focus on inter-personal relationships. Pre-existing and new relationships are significant elements, but not necessarily always the focus in the way I think you want. Some characters are real-life friends, maybe half are friends from previous games, others are new friends met in-game and a few are even people who first interact through the forums and only later meet in-game or real life.
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Sep 7, 2022 02:22
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Any books about the battle of Little Bighorn that are more narrative in style? I don't care about the discrepancies between the accounts of the various parties or anything, just something that tells the more-or-less what happened story.
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Sep 7, 2022 03:06
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Kerro posted:Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them. "Catfishing on CatNet" by Naomi Kritzer is a cute, if a little bit twee, story about an online community devoted to sharing pictures of cats. Except the forum admin is secretly an A.I. Who is obsessed with cat photos. It's light and good hearted
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Sep 7, 2022 03:08
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Azhais posted:You mean like... Ready player one? I don't know if it heads more in the direction of what I was thinking of cos I couldn't get through the first chapter of Ready Player One, just wasn't for me. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm more looking for books set in the present or recent past (so not so much sci fi or fantasy themes) and focusing on people's real life experiences e.g with stuff like relationships, trauma, grief, loneliness, family etc. The setting is not what I've described but the sort of books I love in this vein are stuff like Liz Moore's 'Heft' and 'The Unseen World'.
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Sep 7, 2022 03:36
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ihop posted:Any books about the battle of Little Bighorn that are more narrative in style? I don't care about the discrepancies between the accounts of the various parties or anything, just something that tells the more-or-less what happened story. Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star is a great read, although it's not a straightforward narrative. While it tells the story of the battle, it also frequently diverts to discuss the backgrounds of the various personalities (white and Native) involved in the battle.
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Sep 7, 2022 11:51
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ihop posted:Any books about the battle of Little Bighorn that are more narrative in style? I don't care about the discrepancies between the accounts of the various parties or anything, just something that tells the more-or-less what happened story. Selachian posted:Evan S. Connell's Son of the Morning Star is a great read, although it's not a straightforward narrative. While it tells the story of the battle, it also frequently diverts to discuss the backgrounds of the various personalities (white and Native) involved in the battle. This is also what I was going to recommend.
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Sep 7, 2022 12:40
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Thanks. I was trying to decide between that one, the Nathaniel Philbrick one, and A Terrible Glory.
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Sep 7, 2022 19:21
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ihop posted:Any books about the battle of Little Bighorn that are more narrative in style? I don't care about the discrepancies between the accounts of the various parties or anything, just something that tells the more-or-less what happened story. There is always the classic Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, but its much more expansive than just Little Big Horn. Its a fantastic, and fantastically sad, read.
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Sep 7, 2022 20:14
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Kerro posted:Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them. It's a short read, and not particularly straightforward, but No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. It's extremely online, but (especially in the second half) I found it sometimes absurdly touching. There's a good write-up here - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/12/no-one-is-talking-about-this-by-patricia-lockwood-review-life-in-the-twittersphere
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Sep 7, 2022 20:48
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Kerro posted:Any character-driven novels (or I guess non-fiction, if they are still primarily following a small number of characters) that have a significant focus on online communities/connections between people? Don't really care what kind of online community (could be forums, chat rooms, MMO, whatever), I'm more interested in stories exploring people's experiences of engaging with them. The B plot of A Deepness in the Sky kind of takes place on space SA and that book kicks rear end so I recommend you check that out.
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Sep 7, 2022 21:31
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Teach posted:It's a short read, and not particularly straightforward, but No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. It's extremely online, but (especially in the second half) I found it sometimes absurdly touching. There's a good write-up here - This sounds bizarre and kinda fun, I'll definitely give this a shot thanks! tuyop posted:The B plot of A Deepness in the Sky kind of takes place on space SA and that book kicks rear end so I recommend you check that out. Space SA? I'm intrigued. Do I need to read the first book in the series to appreciate this one? Given it's a prequel set long before the first book I'm guessing I wouldn't miss too much?
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Sep 7, 2022 22:23
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Kerro posted:Space SA? I'm intrigued. Do I need to read the first book in the series to appreciate this one? Given it's a prequel set long before the first book I'm guessing I wouldn't miss too much? I read A Deepness first and I thought that was a fine order to read them in. I also think its the best of the three.
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Sep 7, 2022 22:40
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Regarding the b-plot, are you sure you're not talking about A Fire Upon the Deep? That's the one with the galactic message board posts interspersed with the main plot.
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Sep 8, 2022 03:18
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ihop posted:Regarding the b-plot, are you sure you're not talking about A Fire Upon the Deep? That's the one with the galactic message board posts interspersed with the main plot. Oh right you are, I always mix those up for some reason.
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Sep 8, 2022 11:57
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I do too. I only noticed because I recently reread Deepness, thinking it was the one about the doggos. They're both great though, and the only plot link between the two is one of the main characters. Deepness gives a bit more of his backstory, but not as much as you'd like.
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Sep 8, 2022 12:17
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I'm going on vacation shortly, and my partner is looking for some book recommendations for lighter vacation reads. She wants something centered on heists or charismatic conmen (conpeople?), ideally nothing too heavy or dark. She loved Lies of Locke Lamora but is a little burnt out on sci-fi and fantasy, so something realistic and ideally relatively modern would be best. She also loves the shows Leverage and Better Call Saul, and the movies Catch Me If You Can and The Sting so something along those lines tonally would probably be great.
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Sep 8, 2022 17:08
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm going on vacation shortly, and my partner is looking for some book recommendations for lighter vacation reads. She wants something centered on heists or charismatic conmen (conpeople?), ideally nothing too heavy or dark. She loved Lies of Locke Lamora but is a little burnt out on sci-fi and fantasy, so something realistic and ideally relatively modern would be best. She also loves the shows Leverage and Better Call Saul, and the movies Catch Me If You Can and The Sting so something along those lines tonally would probably be great. Doesn't qualify for the "relatively modern" tag, but ... Donald Westlake's Dortmunder books? They're the best light, funny heist stuff I know.
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Sep 8, 2022 17:44
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm going on vacation shortly, and my partner is looking for some book recommendations for lighter vacation reads. She wants something centered on heists or charismatic conmen (conpeople?), ideally nothing too heavy or dark. She loved Lies of Locke Lamora but is a little burnt out on sci-fi and fantasy, so something realistic and ideally relatively modern would be best. She also loves the shows Leverage and Better Call Saul, and the movies Catch Me If You Can and The Sting so something along those lines tonally would probably be great. The Great Train Robbery is fantastic, arguably Crichton's best work. Based on a true story and all that. E: but it's not modern as it's set in the 19th century E2: the book for Catch Me If You Can is much better than the movie
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Sep 8, 2022 17:45
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I remember Big Trouble being good if she wants something more comedy based
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Sep 8, 2022 21:15
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm going on vacation shortly, and my partner is looking for some book recommendations for lighter vacation reads. She wants something centered on heists or charismatic conmen (conpeople?), ideally nothing too heavy or dark. She loved Lies of Locke Lamora but is a little burnt out on sci-fi and fantasy, so something realistic and ideally relatively modern would be best. She also loves the shows Leverage and Better Call Saul, and the movies Catch Me If You Can and The Sting so something along those lines tonally would probably be great. Donald Westlake wrote a ton of these, the creator of Leverage was a big fan of his. The Dortmunder series is precisely light hearted heists. Drowned Hopes is probably the best one. But every one after that is very readable as well. Elmore Leonard is great for that Better Call Saul vibe. Lawrence Block can be very light especially his Bernie Rhodenbarr books (although they're more murder mysteries featuring a burglar) and the John Keller series. Thick as Thieves by Spiegelman should be good as well. fez_machine fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Sep 8, 2022 |
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Sep 8, 2022 23:16
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regulargonzalez posted:The Great Train Robbery is fantastic, arguably Crichton's best work. Based on a true story and all that. I remember at least one part of that book that is not fantastic at all.
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Sep 9, 2022 14:58
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Gnoman posted:I remember at least one part of that book that is not fantastic at all. Can you expand on this, maybe in a spoiler? I probably won't ever read it but if there's something really rough or lovely in the book I might warn her away from that one.
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Sep 9, 2022 16:52
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fez_machine posted:Donald Westlake wrote a ton of these, the creator of Leverage was a big fan of his. The Dortmunder series is precisely light hearted heists. Drowned Hopes is probably the best one. But every one after that is very readable as well. Thanks for these! How are the earlier books? Should she skip straight to Drowned Hopes? Looks like our library has The Hot Rock available, but most of the other ones are out. Thanks everybody for all the recs, I'm sure she will find something she likes in all of these!
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Sep 9, 2022 17:00
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MockingQuantum posted:Thanks for these! How are the earlier books? Should she skip straight to Drowned Hopes? Looks like our library has The Hot Rock available, but most of the other ones are out. The earlier books are, naturally, dated but I don't remember anything horribly offensive about them. The Hot Rock is still a lot of fun even if it's showing the years. Don't watch the movie version, though. (I have yet to see a movie adaptation of any of the Dortmunder books that isn't crummy, alas.)
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Sep 9, 2022 20:26
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Which version of the Ramayana should I read? Is it useful to have a version with notes on the side or similar?
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Sep 10, 2022 15:41
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Usually I ask for more specific recommendations but this time I'm going to ask a broad question and see what falls out: What would you recommend if I want a well-written power fantasy?
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Sep 17, 2022 09:05
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ahobday posted:Usually I ask for more specific recommendations but this time I'm going to ask a broad question and see what falls out: Popular Hits of the Showa Era by Ryu Murakami
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Sep 17, 2022 09:23
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MockingQuantum posted:Can you expand on this, maybe in a spoiler? I probably won't ever read it but if there's something really rough or lovely in the book I might warn her away from that one. Sorry, I haven't opened this thread in a bit. Chapter 19 of The Great Train Robbery involves obtaining an important key by sending someone to seduce the person carrying it. The girl sent is 12 years old, and this is rather played up in the narration.
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Sep 17, 2022 09:23
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ahobday posted:Usually I ask for more specific recommendations but this time I'm going to ask a broad question and see what falls out: In the graphic realm at least, I'd say Fist of the North Star, Invincible, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. And One Piece. Also Kurt Busiek's Conan comic run, which adapts some of Robert E. Howard's short stories. Or Howard's stuff, though I haven't read Howard yet myself. For a novel, I don't have one myself yet. That Drizzt guy in The Crystal Shard is pretty cool. I haven't read most of his stuff, or finished that book though. The Princess Bride is a classic swashbuckler. As far as alternative morally ambiguous power fantasy, say Death Note, or a book about some political power figure etc, a king or something, that could be an angle as well. But an rear end kicking person of vengeance/justice via comics is the main avenue I know of. But plenty of books could fit I'm sure.
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Sep 17, 2022 21:01
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ahobday posted:Usually I ask for more specific recommendations but this time I'm going to ask a broad question and see what falls out: Fantasy in the sense that it’s fictional and vaguely historical, but I really enjoyed the first few books in The Baroque Cycle. Quicksilver is the first one and I think they get real adventurous after the second.
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Sep 18, 2022 20:24
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