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XBenedict posted:I wouldn't normally post this sort of thing, but in this case, there are books of value in the sale, if you have a Kindle. Not a whole lot of interesting stuff up there but if nothing else people should take advantage of snagging Brave New World for cheap if they've never read it.
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Apr 7, 2015 01:31
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Srice posted:Not a whole lot of interesting stuff up there but if nothing else people should take advantage of snagging Brave New World for cheap if they've never read it. Specifically, these are are worth their very meager prices. Bloodchild by Octavia Butler The Echo by James Smythe Oryx and Crake by Mags Atwood American Gods by Neil Gaiman The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
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Apr 7, 2015 03:31
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XBenedict posted:Specifically, these are are worth their very meager prices. I'd also add the Stross and the Vinge if by some chance you haven't already read them.
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Apr 7, 2015 03:40
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Hobnob posted:I'd also add the Stross and the Vinge if by some chance you haven't already read them. Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet.
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Apr 7, 2015 03:46
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XBenedict posted:Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet. It's fun.
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Apr 7, 2015 03:51
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Rime posted:That is extremely disheartening. Don't be, writing off the main character in those books as a plain ole mary-sue is very reductive, it ignores a whole bunch of context, including much of the worldbuilding, character & plot development, and the whole other cast of characters chock full of badasses both martial and magical, whose own deeds often rival, if not exceed, the main character's.
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Apr 7, 2015 03:59
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XBenedict posted:Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet. The first book is pretty good, i plowed through it in a day this past summer and never felt the urge to pick up the second so if you're worried about getting sucked into a series you don't want to finish, don't be i guess.
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Apr 7, 2015 04:18
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The Laundry Files novellas are better than the novels. Especially Equoid. Holy poo poo that story is fucccccked up (in a very very good way).
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Apr 7, 2015 04:23
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XBenedict posted:Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet. At worst, you'll run into small chunks of dated technical jargon geek humor. This is assuming you like Lovecraftian horror mixed with back-stabby office politics* written as pastiches of a variety of spy thriller authors. * By now you're thinking, 'Wait, no, office politics is boring.", but keep in mind that a) the back-stabbing is in an intelligence agency filled with less-than-ethical spies, b) they're all wizards and c) thanks to the Peter Principle, they've been promoted to their level of incompetency.
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Apr 7, 2015 04:29
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The best Stross is still Accelerando, by far. I also liked what I read of the Merchant Princes, but I stopped midway when he announced an edited republication and haven't picked them back up. I'll second that Stross is definitely better in short fiction than in novels, too. Mimir fucked around with this message at 05:28 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 05:20
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savinhill posted:Don't be, writing off the main character in those books as a plain ole mary-sue is very reductive, it ignores a whole bunch of context, including much of the worldbuilding, character & plot development, and the whole other cast of characters chock full of badasses both martial and magical, whose own deeds often rival, if not exceed, the main character's. Yeah, a lot of people fixate on the one small perhaps a little stupid but ultimately inconsequential moment and use it to brush off an entire book.
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Apr 7, 2015 08:08
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XBenedict posted:Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet.  If you look at this picture and find yourself rooting for the obnoxious twat in the middle and not the tentacle zombies, you can check it out, yeah.
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Apr 7, 2015 09:24
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The Laundry books aren't the height of literature or even SF literature but christ I hate that thing (from the tabletop RPG sourcebook) because it gives you such a false impression of the character. That's not Bob, that's some random wanker meant to represent the player in the RPG. Bob is more like a hapless middle manager/bureaucrat with a nerdy background that he can never truly get back to even if he might want to. My basic recommendation is always to go read one of the short stories and then decide if you want to invest into the novels. You can read Down on the Farm or the afore-mentioned Equoid for free; I'd recommend Down on the Farm because Equoid is a little extreme even if you're familiar with the series. I think Down on the Farm gives a pretty good idea of what the writing, the protagonist and the world are like. Sulphagnist fucked around with this message at 09:40 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 09:37
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Antti posted:The Laundry books aren't the height of literature or even SF literature but christ I hate that thing (from the tabletop RPG sourcebook) because it gives you such a false impression of the character. That's not Bob, that's some random wanker meant to represent the player in the RPG. Yeah that sourcebook image is terrible. It's like they're trying to make an even more  /"Do The Bartman"/ version of Simon Pegg from Spaced & Shaun of the Dead.Bob is more like... I dunno, maybe the main Office Space character?
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Apr 7, 2015 09:40
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Megazver posted:
This is the dumbest argument with the poorest representational imagery. :byodude:
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Apr 7, 2015 09:50
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A lot of the jokes and humour in those books aren't quite as clever as Stross probably thinks they are is my complaint. They're not bad books but they do grate from time to time. None of the Laundry stuff gets anywhere near as good as Stross' Colder War, unfortunately.
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Apr 7, 2015 11:38
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Drifter posted:This is the dumbest argument with the poorest representational imagery. :byodude: Not, though? 
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Apr 7, 2015 11:41
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After reading The Apocalypse Codex I found the little bit of stuff that deals with The Black Chamber more intriguing than probably 90% of the rest of the stuff in the series.
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Apr 7, 2015 12:14
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'Resume with Monsters' is sort of in a similar vein as the first Laundry book: http://www.amazon.com/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1565049136
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Apr 7, 2015 12:32
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Neurosis posted:A lot of the jokes and humour in those books aren't quite as clever as Stross probably thinks they are is my complaint. They're not bad books but they do grate from time to time. None of the Laundry stuff gets anywhere near as good as Stross' Colder War, unfortunately. His novella Antibodies is great as well.
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Apr 7, 2015 13:09
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Not that I want to fluff this pillow again, but Salon had an interesting article about HUGOGate.
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Apr 7, 2015 14:27
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Salon, though? ... Fine.
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Apr 7, 2015 15:27
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fritz posted:'Resume with Monsters' is sort of in a similar vein as the first Laundry book: http://www.amazon.com/Resume-Monsters-William-Browning-Spencer/dp/1565049136 I actually have this on my trading list as something I want to read, but gah, what an ugly cover. I guess there's a later edition but I kind of want that one for being so awful.
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Apr 7, 2015 15:41
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Started rereading Michael Chichton's Jurassic Park for more or less kicks and giggles - it's been probably 20 years since I read it last and there is a new movie coming out. Man, this is a rough book. Really heavy in telling, not showing, and a complete flop of an opener. The concept is obviously great but so far I'm not really seeing what ever made him catch fire as an author.
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Apr 7, 2015 16:07
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XBenedict posted:Ok, is the Laundry Files stuff really worth it? I'm asking legitimately. I've had this book longlisted, but I haven't been able to force myself yet. I really like them; they tend to be funny and Stross has a gift for making magic weirdly plausible with judicious application of known science. I also really like the central conceit of magic in his world (that it's a form of applied mathematics, and part of the Stars Coming Right for the Elder Gods is the increasing number of tasty brains - and other processors - doing sumptuous calculations that infovores regard as a delicacy).
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Apr 7, 2015 16:09
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Deptfordx posted:His novella Antibodies is great as well. Which it seems he's put up for free here as part of a collection: http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/toast/toast-intro.html
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Apr 7, 2015 16:17
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Megazver posted:Salon, though? Yeah, this was kind of whiny. Megazver fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 16:32
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Neurosis posted:A lot of the jokes and humour in those books aren't quite as clever as Stross probably thinks they are is my complaint. They're not bad books but they do grate from time to time. None of the Laundry stuff gets anywhere near as good as Stross' Colder War, unfortunately. A Colder War is still the best thing of his I've read (everyone venerates Palimpsest but I had a hard time keeping up with the storyline, it's probably great if you can wrap your mind around it), but I feel like doing a whole series of novels about it would tax the premise and suck the fascinating out of it, and that's why I don't mind that he's doing it with a satirical slant. I also have a feeling that once CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN becomes imminent the tone will darken fast. If you like A Colder War, go read Tim Powers's Declare. Sulphagnist fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 16:41
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If you don't like A Colder War, go read Tim Powers' Declare. If you have no opinion on Stross whatsoever, go read Tim Powers' Declare. It's better than Last Call, and that's a hard book to beat.
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Apr 7, 2015 16:49
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chrisoya posted:If you don't like A Colder War, go read Tim Powers' Declare. If you have no opinion on Stross whatsoever, go read Tim Powers' Declare. You're certainly not wrong.
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Apr 7, 2015 16:53
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http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/31qxmk/hi_reddit_im_neil_clarke_editor_of_clarkesworld/ editor of CW doing an AMA quote:[–]NeilClarke AMA Publisher[S] 1 point 38 minutes ago angel opportunity fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 17:33
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Megazver posted:Yeah, this was kind of whiny. And John C. Wright is bugfuck insane, sure, but Wesley Chu, author of Fat Guy Gets a Brain Alien And Learns Kung Fu, you don't get to talk about how insignificant a writer he is. I don't think that's Wesley. I think it's just a dude who shares the same name. First name is Arthur.
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Apr 7, 2015 17:42
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I don't think that's Wesley. I think it's just a dude who shares the same name. First name is Arthur. This is the Jeopardy guy. http://www.salon.com/writer/arthur_chu/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Chu
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Apr 7, 2015 17:55
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:I don't think that's Wesley. I think it's just a dude who shares the same name. First name is Arthur. Oh. Hurr durr me.
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Apr 7, 2015 17:57
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Wolpertinger posted:Yeah, a lot of people fixate on the one small perhaps a little stupid but ultimately inconsequential moment and use it to brush off an entire book. Eh there's a lot more I could write about that book that I didn't like but to each his own. If anyone does read it I look forward to your reading your opinion either way
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Apr 7, 2015 19:30
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pseudorandom name posted:The gold standard for historical novels with the names changed (and a bit of magic thrown in to drive home the point that it's fiction) is basically anything by Guy Gavriel Kay. Also Tim Powers. Holy heck, Tim Powers.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:06
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Phanatic posted:Also Tim Powers. Tim Powers is the platinum standard.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:09
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Nah, about half of Tim Powers' output is crap. World building and character behavior is completely unearned and everybody inexplicably knows a bunch of secret history magic bullshit; there's a total failure of WSoD. On Stranger Tides, The Stress of Her Regard, The Anubis Gates, and Declare are all good, the Fisher King trilogy is garbage, the Stress of Her Regard sequel is trash, and I can't remember what else he's written off the top of my head.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:35
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pseudorandom name posted:Nah, about half of Tim Powers' output is crap. What you say sounds bad and I want to disagree, but I've only ever read the four you've said were good. And I liked them a lot. 
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Apr 7, 2015 22:45
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I started The Golem and The Jinni yesterday, I'm only a couple chapters in but it seems really good so far. The golem as a supernatural creature never really interested me before, so I was worried going in that I wouldn't enjoy those parts as much, but the author's managed to set that up in a cool & intriguing way.
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Apr 8, 2015 01:44
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