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Just finished Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke and found out there are actually (Edit: Numbers are hard) Paper Clip Death fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Dec 10, 2017 |
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Dec 10, 2017 02:53
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 05:19 |
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Thanks for the Vonnegut recommendations! A quick question: Is his version of Bluebeard the same twist story about the guy who won’t let his wife see his secret room, she does anyway, and it’s holding the bodies of all his ex wives who went in the room?
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Dec 10, 2017 03:41
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Paper Clip Death posted:Just finished Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke and found out there are actually they're different in tone from the first one, incredibly bad even for science fiction and clarke didn't write most of them anyway
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Dec 10, 2017 05:26
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Rolo posted:Thanks for the Vonnegut recommendations! A quick question: It's a very oblique thematic reference and the story has nothing to do with the plot you mention.
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Dec 10, 2017 07:11
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A human heart posted:they're different in tone from the first one, incredibly bad even for science fiction and clarke didn't write most of them anyway I kind of suspected this. The first one had a powerful sense of wonder throughout the story, which was the main reason I liked it, but it seemed unlikely that the sequels could maintain this feeling.
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Dec 10, 2017 16:22
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Radio Spiricom posted:robin buss Just picked this up last week and I'm really excited. Will probably be my traditional "start something on New Year's Day" book for 2018.
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Dec 10, 2017 16:34
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Paper Clip Death posted:I kind of suspected this. The first one had a powerful sense of wonder throughout the story, which was the main reason I liked it, but it seemed unlikely that the sequels could maintain this feeling. There's an entire subgenre of science fiction called "Big Dumb Object" stories, where a mysterious alien artifact shows up and the protagonists have to figure out what it's for. This includes stuff like 2001, Rama, Ringworld, and many more. You might find some of these give you a similar experience without having to subject yourself to the Rama sequels.
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Dec 10, 2017 21:50
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My favorite author is Terry Pratchett. I still haven't read Wintersmith or a few of his other more recent books because I'm a big dumb baby and I am not willing to let go yet. I want to read something ... happy. Everything these days is grimdark as gently caress. The last time I read something someone recommended, I ended up slogging through the misery of Handmaid's Tale. Someone please recommend to me something that would get called "feel-good movie of the year" and "heartwarming" if it were a film. I'm talking sappy poo poo like Pride and Prejudice or The Princess Bride. Or, hell, just something loving hilarious like The Three Musketeers.
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Dec 11, 2017 04:04
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Keshik posted:My favorite author is Terry Pratchett. My first suggestions would be Pride and Prejudice , The Princess Bride, or The Three Musketeers.They're all awesome! Failing that, read Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart.
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Dec 11, 2017 04:16
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Keshik posted:My favorite author is Terry Pratchett. really sorry to hear that (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Dec 11, 2017 04:29
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Failing that, read Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart.
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Dec 11, 2017 14:49
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Selachian posted:There's an entire subgenre of science fiction called "Big Dumb Object" stories, where a mysterious alien artifact shows up and the protagonists have to figure out what it's for. This includes stuff like 2001, Rama, Ringworld, and many more. You might find some of these give you a similar experience without having to subject yourself to the Rama sequels.
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Dec 11, 2017 23:48
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my girlfriend has a reading disability, but has rediscovered a love of literature thanks to audiobooks. I want to surprise her with some audiobooks in the style she likes - romance (and smutty is fine, good even), but with a literary bent to them. Extra points if they're funny or period pieces.
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Dec 12, 2017 00:46
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Impermanent posted:my girlfriend has a reading disability, but has rediscovered a love of literature thanks to audiobooks. I want to surprise her with some audiobooks in the style she likes - romance (and smutty is fine, good even), but with a literary bent to them. Extra points if they're funny or period pieces. I don't read that genre but the people I know who do highly recommend the Outlander series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(novel) There's also https://www.amazon.com/My-Secret-Garden-Nancy-Friday/dp/1416567011
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Dec 12, 2017 00:49
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I am halfway through What The Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong and I am really enjoying it. I like the casual joking while dealing with weird/cosmic horror, what else would be in the similar vein?
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Dec 12, 2017 04:27
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Flaggy posted:I am halfway through What The Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong and I am really enjoying it. I like the casual joking while dealing with weird/cosmic horror, what else would be in the similar vein? Charles Stross's Laundry Files books might do you, although he's not quite as wacky as Wong. Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books can be pretty funny, although in those the supernatural mostly comes in the form of more traditional fey, ghosts, and local gods instead of cosmic horror entities. You might also like Joe Hill -- Heart-Shaped Box or Horns for instance.
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Dec 12, 2017 05:54
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Flaggy posted:I am halfway through What The Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong and I am really enjoying it. I like the casual joking while dealing with weird/cosmic horror, what else would be in the similar vein? Daniel O'Malley's The Rook Charlie Human's Apocalypse Now Now
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Dec 12, 2017 14:25
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Selachian posted:Charles Stross's Laundry Files books might do you, although he's not quite as wacky as Wong. Ben Aaronovitch's Peter Grant books can be pretty funny, although in those the supernatural mostly comes in the form of more traditional fey, ghosts, and local gods instead of cosmic horror entities. You might also like Joe Hill -- Heart-Shaped Box or Horns for instance. Yup, read a bunch of Charles Stross and really enjoy it. Same with Hill, read everything he has written. Will check out Peter Grant books, thanks! Humbug Scoolbus posted:Daniel O'Malley's The Rook Awesome, thank you!
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Dec 13, 2017 03:09
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Also for Apocalypse Now Now... https://vimeo.com/229806524
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Dec 13, 2017 16:15
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Any recommendations for wilderness survival fiction? Something like My Side of the Mountain, Gary Paulsen, or Jack London?
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Dec 17, 2017 16:03
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tatertot posted:Any recommendations for wilderness survival fiction? Something like My Side of the Mountain, Gary Paulsen, or Jack London? To The White Sea is freaking awesome.
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Dec 17, 2017 17:38
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Impermanent posted:my girlfriend has a reading disability, but has rediscovered a love of literature thanks to audiobooks. I want to surprise her with some audiobooks in the style she likes - romance (and smutty is fine, good even), but with a literary bent to them. Extra points if they're funny or period pieces. Kushiel's Dart (and its sequels) seems custom made for her. It's pretty controversial here though (and by that I mean me and I think one other person really liked it, everyone else thinks the S&M parts are trash. I really do think it's legit good though, not even in a "so bad / trashy it's good" kinda way)
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Dec 17, 2017 23:04
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Has anyone read anything great on archetypes and plots in fiction? I tried to get into Hero With a Thousand Faces but found it super flaky. Googling found me "The Seven Basic Plots", which I haven't read or tried to but it's poorly reviewed the author is a well known fuckwit (climate change denial, creationist!? etc) so I am reluctant to give him any money.
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Dec 18, 2017 14:28
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jiggerypokery posted:Has anyone read anything great on archetypes and plots in fiction? What's the main reason you're interested in this? Go ahead and get Mythologies by Roland Barthes.
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Dec 18, 2017 14:31
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What's a good recommendation for someone who liked the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist?
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Dec 19, 2017 13:30
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Any good books on Chinese history for someone who knows almost nothing about Chinese history?
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Dec 19, 2017 19:22
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pospysyl posted:Any good books on Chinese history for someone who knows almost nothing about Chinese history? any particular era? Its a long history
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Dec 19, 2017 19:31
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Pat Mustard posted:What's a good recommendation for someone who liked the Riftwar Saga by Raymond Feist? Depends on what you like about it, but I'd say just about any of the mega fantasy standards -- the Belgariad; Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; Mistborn; The Wheel of Time; etc.
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Dec 19, 2017 19:34
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Mel Mudkiper posted:any particular era? I'm not sure. The classical or medieval era, maybe? Wu Zetian sounds like an interesting figure.
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Dec 19, 2017 20:55
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Selachian posted:Depends on what you like about it, but I'd say just about any of the mega fantasy standards -- the Belgariad; Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; Mistborn; The Wheel of Time; etc. Cheers! It's for a mate as a Christmas gift, I'm not sure exactly what he likes about it. I've heard of Wheel of Time though so I'll get that. And if the reason I have heard of Wheel of Time is because the same mate told me about it (which seems likely) then I'll keep the receipt. Thanks again.
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Dec 20, 2017 00:22
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Need a thick-rear end book for an upcoming cross-country trip and also because I finished my twelve-month reading challenge and no longer need to rush myself when reading. Raided the book pile I got from my friend last year and I pulled out Infinite Jest and Don Quixote. Thoughts on either?
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Dec 21, 2017 03:20
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don't read infinite jest
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Dec 21, 2017 03:34
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C-Euro posted:Need a thick-rear end book for an upcoming cross-country trip and also because I finished my twelve-month reading challenge and no longer need to rush myself when reading. Raided the book pile I got from my friend last year and I pulled out Infinite Jest and Don Quixote. Thoughts on either? You should read Don Quixote of course.
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Dec 21, 2017 03:51
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C-Euro posted:Need a thick-rear end book for an upcoming cross-country trip and also because I finished my twelve-month reading challenge and no longer need to rush myself when reading. Raided the book pile I got from my friend last year and I pulled out Infinite Jest and Don Quixote. Thoughts on either? Make sure you're reading the Pierre Menard Quixote, not the Cervantes Quixote. More serious answer: they're wildly different books but if you read the first three pages of each you'll know which you prefer.
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Dec 21, 2017 03:58
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C-Euro posted:Need a thick-rear end book for an upcoming cross-country trip and also because I finished my twelve-month reading challenge and no longer need to rush myself when reading. Raided the book pile I got from my friend last year and I pulled out Infinite Jest and Don Quixote. Thoughts on either? If you don't go with either of these try The Magus by John Fowles. It's a good deal lighter than the other two but I couldn't put it down.
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Dec 22, 2017 01:01
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I used to really like reading RA Salvatore's books about Drizzet and the Dragonlance books about Raistlin - and sort of branched out from there into all sorts of random fantasy dreck. That was many years ago though, I don't read much anymore, so I'm sort of out of touch with who the "good" bad fantasy authors are. That said I'd like to read a book about a necromancer. As in a book where the main character is a High Fantasy magic (wo)man who controls the undead and the book has at least the level of quality(?) that the old Forgotten Realms books had. I don't know if that's too low-brow for this thread but I figure it can't hurt to ask before I spin the roulette by searching the word "necromancer" on amazon. I'm doing this for a project of sorts.
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Dec 26, 2017 04:49
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sunken fleet posted:I used to really like reading RA Salvatore's books about Drizzet and the Dragonlance books about Raistlin - and sort of branched out from there into all sorts of random fantasy dreck. That was many years ago though, I don't read much anymore, so I'm sort of out of touch with who the "good" bad fantasy authors are. That said I'd like to read a book about a necromancer. As in a book where the main character is a High Fantasy magic (wo)man who controls the undead and the book has at least the level of quality(?) that the old Forgotten Realms books had. I don't know if that's too low-brow for this thread but I figure it can't hurt to ask before I spin the roulette by searching the word "necromancer" on amazon. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is pretty solid. It's not high epic fantasy though, closer to lovecraft steampunk if anything.
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Dec 26, 2017 06:59
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sunken fleet posted:I used to really like reading RA Salvatore's books about Drizzet and the Dragonlance books about Raistlin - and sort of branched out from there into all sorts of random fantasy dreck. That was many years ago though, I don't read much anymore, so I'm sort of out of touch with who the "good" bad fantasy authors are. That said I'd like to read a book about a necromancer. As in a book where the main character is a High Fantasy magic (wo)man who controls the undead and the book has at least the level of quality(?) that the old Forgotten Realms books had. I don't know if that's too low-brow for this thread but I figure it can't hurt to ask before I spin the roulette by searching the word "necromancer" on amazon. Not 100% sure if it is what you are looking for but there's the Warhammer Nagash the Necromancer book(s)?
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Dec 26, 2017 18:55
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Steven Erikson's Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach are pretty amusing stories about a pair of necromancers and their unfortunate servant. Usual caveats regarding Erikson apply.
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Dec 26, 2017 19:08
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is pretty solid. It's not high epic fantasy though, closer to lovecraft steampunk if anything. Selachian posted:Steven Erikson's Tales of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach are pretty amusing stories about a pair of necromancers and their unfortunate servant. Usual caveats regarding Erikson apply. These both look interesting, so I bought them both for 6 bucks on Amazon. Thanks! I'm not 100% sold on steampunk but what the hell, if it's not what I'm looking for I'm only out three dollars. Kvlt! posted:Not 100% sure if it is what you are looking for but there's the Warhammer Nagash the Necromancer book(s)? This seems really in-line with what I'm trying to find (High Fantasy) but I'm completely unfamiliar with Warhammer and I don't know if I'm going to not be able to "get" the setting or whatever because of that? Are Warhammer books easy to just pick up and read? Or is there going to be a bunch of jargon I'm unfamiliar with that won't be explained at all because the author assumes the reader is familiar with the mechanics of the Warhammer setting?
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Dec 26, 2017 20:25
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