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Philthy posted:Historical fiction, based on the pioneer life, or settling of the west. No westerns, or crime, etc. Mostly based around hardships and the actual move. I'm reading Giants in the Earth now, and this is exactly what I want, so I'd like to add something in the queue when I'm done. R. A. Lafferty's "Okla Hannali" fits that description... sort of. It deals with a fictional chief of the Choctaw tribe who settles in Oklahoma after the Trail of Tears.
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Jun 16, 2009 21:33
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reflir posted:Recommend unto me 'philosophical' sci-fi about robots/androids. Think 'Do androids dream of electric sheep', but also some of the Animatrix shorts, the second renaissance and matriculated in particular, and Ghost in the Shell. Basically I'm looking for anything that is actually about robots/androids, rather than stories that just have them because they're sci-fi and robots are typically associated with sci-fi. You could try "The Soul of the Robot" by Barrington J. Bayley. I haven't read it myself, but I have read other stuff from Bayley and he likes to explore interesting concepts, not just use them as window-dressing.
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Jun 19, 2009 14:58
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Hello Pity posted:Can anyone recommend any good "elaborate revenge plot" type novels. I'm thinking stuff like The Count of Monte Cristo and recently Joe Abercombie's Best Served Cold. The more elaborate the revenge the better. Jack Vance's The Demon Princes. A monomaniac trained for revenge since his childhood pursues the five galactic crime lords who destroyed his outworld colony and killed most of his family. Apart from the science-fictional mores, the books also have a certain detective novel quality, as the true identity of each crime lord is a well-guarded secret. The series is well-written and the crime lords have colorful personalities.
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Jul 1, 2009 15:03
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CliffyBMine! posted:So I just finished reading Old Man's War and Ghost Brigades (John Scalzi) and I'm looking for other awesome sci-fi books about soldiers in space. Greg Bear has a novelette called Hardfought which is pretty good. The plot, which centers on adolescents who are trained under pressure in order to battle aliens, slightly reminds you of "Ender's Game" which was published a few years later. However, "Hardfought" is bleaker, more sophisticated, and it mercifully stayed a novelette instead of spawning a thousand crappy sequels.
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Jul 6, 2009 23:37
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KitschCraft posted:I'm interested in books about money; fiction or non, but not how-to. Specifically, I'm looking for books about how money or the lack of money affects and influences a person's life. The book should have financial and/or class standing as a pervasive theme. Middlemarch by George Eliot includes a wonderful portrait of a recently married doctor living above his possibilities in a very class-conscious provincial town. It also features a spendthrift character who expects to repay his debts once he inherits his uncle's state. The novel has many themes; money is definitely one of them.
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Jul 13, 2009 06:55
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A Nation of Laws posted:It's not exactly what you're looking for, but have you ever read any weedpunk? This genre of punk literature is peppered with nuggets of fantastic writing. Really good stuff that is also fun to read. Some more pedestrian readers consider the genre nothing more than a bad parody, but weedpunk is one of the few, perhaps the only, subgenres of punk lit that is simultaneously meta-commentary on the punk lit scene as well as enjoyable in its own right. For some reason I can't currently access http://www.weedpunk.org/ but if you are able to it's a good starter (maybe check tomorrow). Good luck and happy reading. Yeah I agree, weedpunk is pretty sweet. My favorite weedpunk novels are John Christopher's "No Blade of Grass" and Ward Moore's "Greener than you think".
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Jul 21, 2009 07:04
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saigon_15 posted:I would like to hear about any and all books about time travel, specifically about travelling backwards, and preferbly ones that cover original or unexpected ideas on the subject. Robert Heinlein's short story All of you, zombies. R. A. Lafferty's short story Rainbird, about an inventor who invents himself out of existence. David Gerrold's The Man who Folded Himself. Barrington Bailey's The Fall of Chronopolis.
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Aug 1, 2009 09:59
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RonaldMcDonald posted:One book I really enjoyed was Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien that a german explorer wrote in the 18th century. It's quite fascinating when he writes down even trivialities about the difficulties of travel and diplomacy as it gives insights into the culture a good hundred years before anyone else but the ottomans cared about that region of the world. There's apparently an english version here http://www.amazon.com/Travels-Through-Arabia-Other-Countries/dp/B002MH3UE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252407657&sr=1-1 Wow, thanks! I'm always on the lookout for old travelogues, and didn't knew about this one. It appears that the english version is available at the Internet Archive: Travels through Arabia and other countries in the East (1792).
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Sep 8, 2009 22:05
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Tumble posted:I want some books about psychopaths. People who have NO moral values and the destruction that causes. Jack Vance's Bad Ronald, about a nerd who loses himself in his own fantasy world and becomes a killer. The tv-movie adaptation dulcified the character somewhat, but in the novel he's way more creepy and violent. Here's a review comparing novel and movie.
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Sep 15, 2009 21:35
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Shameless posted:I'm looking for recommendations for intelligent, historical novels about the occult/secret societies/conspiracy theories. Basically "I love Umberto Eco, where do I go now?" John Crowley's AEgypto sequence. Also R. A. Lafferty's Fourth Mansions. This one is wackier but still literate (Actually, it's very loosely based on "The Interior Mansions" of St. Therese of Avila).
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Sep 18, 2009 21:12
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Beloved oval office posted:Can someone recommend some travel writing in the same vein as Paul Theroux? I've just finished Dark Star Safari and absolutely loved it so I'm particularly especially interested in African travel, though any recommendations would be much appreciated. I already have Chatwin and Colin Thubron on my list to investigate so perhaps suggestions of their best work might be a good place to start? I recently finished Robert Byron's The Road to Oxiana and enjoyed it a lot. Byron travelled through Iran/Afghanistan/Central Asia during the thirties looking for interesting examples of islamic architecture. Chatwin was a fan of the book. V. S. Naipaul, who was a kind of "mentor" to Theroux, and a comrade in misanthropy, also has written a number of travel books.
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Oct 6, 2009 21:58
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feedmyleg posted:Anyone know of any good modern books set in ancient Greece? Adventure preferable over drama/war, and grounded in reality preferable over mythical, but I'm open to anything if it sounds good. If by "modern" you mean "written in the last fifty years", I would recommend Gene Wolfe's Latro in the Mist. While it has mythical elements, it's also solidly grounded in history. In particular, Wolfe's description of what a bunch of totalitarian bastards the Spartans really were is very refreshing, especially after Miller's "300" and Pressfield's "Gates of Fire".
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Oct 20, 2009 21:29
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reflir posted:I'm looking for dystopias/utopias that focus on the civilization and societal aspects. 1984, Brave New World, Walden II, (and though I haven't read it, I think it fits) Atlas Shrugged. What I'm NOT looking for are post-apocalyptic dystopias like McCarthy's The Road or Aldous Huxley's Ape and Essence. Suggestions would be much appreciated. Mark Adlard's Interface. Jack Vance's Alastor: Wyst and To Live Forever. I would also recommend Bernard Wolfe's Limbo and David R. Bunch's Moderan but they have post-apocalyptic aspects. mastercon12 posted:I have recently read: American Psycho, The Third Policeman, Don Quixote, House of Leaves, and Pale Fire. Recommend me a new book to buy. I generally like books that are easy to read, but difficult to fully grasp. If you liked "The Third Policeman", try to find a copy of R. A. Lafferty's The Devil is Dead.
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Oct 26, 2009 08:25
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TheTarrasque posted:Any suggestions on stories involving "humanized" gods, kinda along the lines of American Gods by Gaiman, Small Gods by Pratchett, or the Incarnations of Immortality series by Piers Anthony (lovely author, neat idea)? I don't want to sound snarky but... the gospels?
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Oct 30, 2009 15:38
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TraderStav posted:I'm looking for a good book on Darwin. I'd love for one that characterizes the man as well as his research. Ideally, there would be a good amount of stories and anecdotes about his research. Not looking for a heady read, just an enjoyable one that I can learn more about the man and the study! Perhaps Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution. The book focuses on how the pain caused by the death of his beloved daughter affected Darwin's intellectual development. It's written by a descendant of both Darwin and Keynes (the famous economist).
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Oct 31, 2009 15:06
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Facial Fracture posted:I really like historical biographies/autobiographies and eyewitness accounts of history either about or written by obnoxious liars, loudmouth windbags, failures, and other people whose lives are invariably more interesting than successful, kindly old dears. Anything that's simultaneously edifying and gossipy, preferably with an author whose bias is evident all over the place. Suetonius' "Lives of the Twelve Caesars", for starters. Also Procopious' "Secret History", a hatchet job on emperor Justinian. Casanova wrote a notorious autobiography. Another famous one is that of soldier/painter/sculptor and self-aggrandizing egomaniac Benvenuto Cellini. Lorenzo Da Ponte also had an eventful -and improbable- life. He was born a Jew, then converted and became a catholic priest. His piety is somewhat suspect, since he hung out with Casanova and sired a number of children after being ordained. He wrote the librettos for many Mozart operas, eventually migrated to America and ended up his life as a professor of Italian Literature in Columbia College. James Boswell is famous for his biography of Samuel Johnson, but his London journal is also enjoyable and full of decidedly raunchy bits. Boswell was a depressive, insecure fellow with parental issues and, except for his biographical masterwork, he failed at pretty much everything he attempted in life. By the way, kind and decent men can have interesting lives. Look at Benjamin Franklin for example.
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Nov 4, 2009 21:17
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Dr. Pwn posted:Hello, I would like to read books about serial killing and home invasion, preferably from the POV of the serial killer or home invader Jack Vance's Bad Ronald, only he doesn't invade the house, he hides there in a secret room until people move in. (Link points to Lulu because the original edition is hard to find and extremely pricey.)
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Nov 10, 2009 08:28
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I'm trying to find a good historical atlas of China, but I'm having trouble finding anything *at all*, which is surprising. Any recommendations? Could be in French or German if that's what it takes. I'm also interested in books about the history the Holy Roman Empire before the Thirty Years War.
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Nov 19, 2009 23:08
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Dienes posted:I'm looking for sci-fi/fantasy books of any reading level that feature or are from the perspective of a species other than human. Some great examples I've loved include the Yilane from the West of Eden trilogy by Harry Harrison; the Oankali from Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler; the aliens from A Door Into Ocean, Left Hand of Darkness, and A Woman of the Iron People; werewolves from The Silver Wolf by Alice Borchart; and, heck, even the unicorns from the Firebringer trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce (the plot sucks but she write great non-human characters/culture). Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death by James Tiptree, Jr. is one of the better stories told from the perspective of the alien. Edit: also The Narrow Land, a novella by Jack Vance where the characters are amphibian creatures. criptozoid fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 1, 2009 |
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Dec 1, 2009 15:54
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Death Hamster posted:Honestly, I'm up for anything. It can be literate or pulpy. I'd prefer something that's more or less a "page-turner" with good characters. The problem is I think I've read most of what's out there: Jack Vance's "Lyonesse" trilogy is pretty good, only it has a somewhat slow start. Anyway, if you don't mind waiting a little, this offer of the complete trilogy in one volume at The Book Depository is a steal.
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Dec 2, 2009 22:51
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CapnAndy posted:I think I'm pretty good on Rome up through Augustus, but would like stuff on its later emperors and eventual fall, and then pretty much any other time period would be great too. It'd be nice if there was one book that tried to narratively cover all of World War II or some other recent war, but that doesn't seem to exist. Things get more piecemeal the closer to the present you get. You could try to find a copy of "The Fall of Rome" by R. A. Lafferty, centered around the characters of Alaric and Stilicho. It's a weird book and the scholarship is... eccentric, to say the least. Sometimes Lafferty outright invents stuff without telling you so, and it's you job to sort out what's actually historical and what's Lafferty filling in the gaps. Despite (or because of) that, it's a very intriguing book. It also contains a particularly thrilling description of the Battle of the Frigidus river.
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Dec 4, 2009 17:50
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petewhitley posted:they all consist of concise, focused stories from history whereby some sort of lesson is imparted. A bit too obvious, but Machiavelli's "The Prince".
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Dec 27, 2009 15:45
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LuckySevens posted:Anyone have some good books on Latin America? Looking for anything and everything, I've already read Open Vein's, looking for any well researched books, particularly from the 1700's-1900's, but I'll take anything. I Die With My Country, a collection of essays about the not very well known (outside of Latin America) Paraguayan War. The War Nerd devoted a very interesting article to it.
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Jan 9, 2010 13:03
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Bozart posted:Could I get a good suggestion for a sci fi book focused on something like alien archeology? Not like Indiana Jones in space, but more investigative. I've already read all of Niven's stuff. Thanks! Omnilingual by H. Beam Piper. Here's a review.
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Jan 18, 2010 16:00
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THE HORSES rear end posted:What are the best books that cover magic/science conflicts? I'd like to read as many as I possibly can before I try creating something even close to "new" or "different". Try to find a short novel by Jack Vance titled "The Miracle Workers".  It is about a society in which a tradition of sympathetic magic is beginning to lose ground to the scientific method. The story could almost be interpreted as a fantasy/sci-fi version of a Kuhnian "paradigm shift".
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Jan 31, 2010 01:59
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freebooter posted:Anyone know of any fantasy written from a first-person point of view? I'm tinkering with a story myself, but the main character is an amnesiac, and that's just so much easier if it's first-person. But fantasy in first-person seems... wrong, somehow. The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith. Also much of Lovecraft's work.
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Jan 31, 2010 17:59
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7 y.o. bitch posted:it's so hard to find good fantasy that doesn't silence women's voices and remove their autonomy! I'm sure you know what I'm "Tolkien" about The Jirel of Joiry stories by C. L. Moore would fit the bill, although they are of the "Weird Tales" sword-and-sorcery, rather than Tolkienian, variety of fantasy. There's also The Mists of Avalon, which is a feminist take on Arthurian fantasy (it sucks). criptozoid fucked around with this message at 19:05 on Feb 16, 2010 |
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Feb 16, 2010 18:52
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7 y.o. bitch posted:Thanks man! I really appreciate it! I was actually asking for my SO, who's a vegan hipster chick who has a hard-on for Joanna Newsom, so the Tolkien part was really super important! Nai haryuvalyë melwa rë! Troll makes a silly —for him, that is— request, receives a surprisingly informative answer, makes some dumb remark, returns to PHIZ with the feeling of a job well done and none the wiser. Why would 7 yob have to ask about fantasy in the first place, trolls are already magical creatures anyway. Here's a bit of troll-related female fantasy empowerment: Jack Vance posted:Saint Uldine attempted the baptism of a troll in the waters of Black Meira Tarn. She was indefatigable; he raped her four times during her efforts, until at last she despaired. In due course she gave birth to four imps. The last of these, Ignaldus, became father to the eery knight Sir Sacrontine who could not sleep of nights until he had killed a Christian. Saint Uldine’s other children were Drathe, Alleia and Bazille.*
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Feb 19, 2010 16:04
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Contra Calculus posted:I just saw the movie Hero and was wondering if there were any good fantasy books that are kind of in a similar setting as this movie? In other words I'm looking for a good fantasy book that takes place in pseudo-China whereas most take place in pseudo-Europe. Paladin by C. J. Cherryh. Not great by any means, but a reasonably entertaining read.
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Feb 23, 2010 21:48
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7 y.o. bitch posted:If you just want to be entertained, don't change your consumption, just consume whatever, in any media. If you want to read because you think reading will "make you better," or has some sort of "value" within itself, you must choose to read things that have genuine value and make you a genuinely better person. Genre novels will not. The XIX century called, they want your hopelessly naive view of Literature back.
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Mar 8, 2010 08:28
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