Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.

lilbean: Oct 2, 2003

Ebethron posted:

A lot of people have been talking about Paul McAuley's 'The Quiet War' and Michael Cobley's 'Seeds of Earth' recently. Some say they are great no nonsense political hard-sf, but I've heard one or negative comments that they are space opera by numbers. What do goons think?

I was bored to loving tears by The Quiet War. It's actually one of the very few books I just didn't bother finishing.

It seems like the entire book was a few interesting chapters that were sandwiched by vastly more chapters where nothing was interesting.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2010 23:30

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 02:54

lilbean: Oct 2, 2003

Hung Yuri posted:

Anyone read anything by Peter F. Hamilton?

I'm almost done reading The Dreaming Void (never read any of his other books) and the subplot is about ten times as interesting as the main plot

I find myself trudging through the main story chapters just to get to the awesome subplot story chapters.

Pretty sure the subplot becomes the real plot (or merges with it) if we're thinking of the same thing. Give the second book a read for sure if you liked those sections.

# ¿ May 20, 2010 12:44

lilbean: Oct 2, 2003

Chairman Capone posted:

I read Signal to Noise/A Signal Shattered back around the time they came out, and remember liking them both a lot. For some reason the limerick in the second book about the multiple Jacks has always stayed in my mind for all these years.

I actually really enjoyed those two as well. They were cheesy as all hell but fun to read.

Edit: I remember wanting to read more about Wheeler. Very cool stuff.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2010 16:25

lilbean: Oct 2, 2003

WarLocke posted:

I'm trying to remember a book I read at one point that featured a Matrioshka Brain, I want to say it was one of the Culture books but I honestly don't remember.

In any case, the idea of an entire solar system repurposed into nothing but a stupendously powerful megacomputer has always seemed totally rad to me. I'm wondering if any of you goons know of examples of such (or really any type of mega-engineering, such as the Ringworld) in books (most likely in stuff that would qualify as space opera I suspect, which is why I'm asking here)?

I would suspect this is Accelerando, by Charles Stross.

Edit: Also along the lines of mega-engineering I'd recommend The Time Ships and the Xelee books by Stephen Baxter.

# ¿ Dec 22, 2010 04:39

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > Charge your lasers, and prepare for lightspeed: The SPACE OPERA thread.