The Science Fiction and Fantasy Thread: Read the OP, Bridge of Birds, and Murderbot

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Science Fiction and Fantasy Thread: Read the OP, Bridge of Birds, and Murderbot

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Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Malalol posted:

Completely new to scifi and this thread, but I havent seen GRRM mentioned (so I have no idea if hes considered bad here) but Im in love with his short stories. Used to think that scifi was boring (too cold, metal-like, foreign) but holy crap, the world he makes is awesome. And I'm running out of stories to read from him. I started off with dreamsongs 1 and 2 and got familar with the various planets and races mentioned through out then moved on to some other novellas and books. Very cool critters in Tuf Voyaging and the whole history on how he came across the ship. Random religions and cultures like the steel angels.

I just love the fact that theres such an in depth world that I got to know over the course of several shorter pieces.. are there any other things like this? I'm trying to read some anthologies right now (songs of the dying earth) and the writing style is very noticeably different that its just not as fun either. Anything else like this? I dont necessarily want a series...where you follow a set of characters around for a while..but a collection of smaller stories set in the same universe?

I've never read GRRM, but I'm gonna throw out this suggestion. Burning Chrome is a collection of short stories by William Gibson, and they're all set in the same universe with different characters. Also get Neuromancer which is a novel set in the same universe that uses a few characters and things from the Burning Chrome stories. Burning Chrome helps introduce a lot of the key ideas and background flavor that makes Neuromancer more fun to read, there's a lot of 'world building' there. Both books are really good in their own ways, and Neuromancer's considered one of the more important SF books to come out during the 80's.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2013 02:42

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 11:45

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Loving Life Partner posted:

For people that have read Takeshi Kovacs, is the second book a bit of a letdown?

I'm about 85% finished or something, and some big bad thing is about to be perpetrated, but, I don't even really care all that much at this point.

I feel like the decision to center so much of the book on the mysterious Martian's was a mistake. The flavors of Earth and posthumanism and whatnot were the real draw in the first novel. Having so much hinging on the incredibly incomprehensible machines of Martians, and their singing not-rocks-not-plants and whatnot blah blah blah. It just seems so whatever. Maybe the book will bring it all together in the end, or in the third installment, but this is definitely a drop off after the awesome first book.

I'm about halfway through the last one, Woken Furies, and I'm liking it about as much as Altered Carbon (which is to say a lot). It's a lot more like AC than the second book, which I did find enjoyable as well (just not as much).

# ¿ Jul 5, 2013 20:36

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Hieronymous Alloy posted:

I really like parts of the Laundry Files series. Like any given Laundry novel or short story it's a coinflip whether or not I think it's *amazing* or "ehhhhh".

This. Some passages of his can really strike me as beautiful and terrifying, especially when he's talking about hideous shrieking demons eating people's souls and apocalyptic pyramids surrounded by dead alien skies and poo poo.. And then he he throws out a chapter of straight out nerd babble. urk.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2013 04:07

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Can anyone recommend some good Harlan Ellison? I've read The Region Between and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I loved both and they've made an impression on me.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2013 18:55

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I wanna see Richard Morgan write a book with a female protagonist.

# ¿ Oct 12, 2013 18:49

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

gatz posted:

Not quite enough to have to read his other novels to get there.

A friend actually recommended that I read Burning Chrome - he said that aside from Neuromancer that was his best work. That story is in there, isn't it? That should be interesting to read, and it's available through my college's library system.

Burning Chrome is great. I don't think there's a single story in it I don't like.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2013 06:52

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

coyo7e posted:

I don't really mind if the lies end up being for good or ill however, I'd like to read something I haven't come across before about some outrageous liars and their hijinx.

It's probably already been recommended to you but the Lies of Locke Lamora. Seriously.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2014 06:57

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I gotta say that Kij Johnson is an awful writer. I've hated everything of hers I read. And Spar is the king turd on top of poo poo mountain.

# ¿ Aug 12, 2014 08:33

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

drat, I ordered Echopraxia and I didn't notice the delivery window was from 7SEP - 27SEP. drat you media mail! Hope it gets here sooner than later. I guess I have an excuse to read Blindsight again though.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2014 22:35

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Cyber Monday? More like Cyberpunk Monday! Heyyooo!!

...Sorry I'm just excited that The Peripheral came in early. I ordered it last week shipped international with an expected deliver date of Dec 15-Jan 20. Magic does exist!

# ¿ Dec 2, 2014 11:49

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Just finished Tim Powers' The Drawing of the Dark and really, really enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone who may have liked his oft-recommended book Declare. It's a historical fantasy book about an old and busted irish mercenary, magic beer, and a struggle to save Western civilization. It has some seriously good moments, and quite a few 'oh poo poo' ones.

If you liked Declare you'll like this as well, although I feel that it's not as tightly written. Also if you like American Gods I think you'll love this.

# ¿ Jan 13, 2015 08:37

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Why do people always act like it's a Big loving Deal when someone reposts things? I know for me personally the "jump to last post read" function doesn't always work properly and might skip a few posts. No need to jump down someone's throat about it, the guy was just trying to contribute.

# ¿ Jan 18, 2015 04:51

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

occamsnailfile posted:

I liked Gone-Away World a lot, but you really had to stick with it through the first half to get the payoff. It was a difficult read in that regard though I enjoyed the author's prose and have Angelmaker lined up for later reading.

The Gone Away World is really good. And yeah the payoff to that book is loving amazing.

Angelmaker had some similarly interesting (and frequently horrific) ideas but I liked the characters a lot less (except for the villain, he was good). Seriously, manic pixie lesbian grandma and manic pixie love interest and super boring protagonist. Ugh.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2015 03:30

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Can anyone recommend some Clive Barker for me? I've read The Great and Secret Show (purchased the sequel, can't wait until it gets here), Weaveworld, and the Hellbound Heart. I disliked the Damnation Game enough to drop it down the return slot of the local library along with a couple of others.

# ¿ Apr 10, 2015 16:09

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I think it's hideously out-dated and painful to read. Compared to The Forever War which was published the same year it's doesn't feel relevant at all.

I've never read anything else by the authors, so I can't comment on that. I understand the book is part of one of the author's universes. Maybe if I'd read those I'd have had a higher opinion of it.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2015 07:40

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I've only heard of two people with the name Piers and I officially hate both of them.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2015 16:33

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I actually feel the same way about The Quantum Thief. I was really excited when it finally came in due to the hype here. Then I read it. Then I waited a few days and read it again. I think it's very dull, and definitely nothing mind blowing.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2015 07:15

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Library at Mount Char is OK but the characters are all terrible and annoying.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2015 23:17

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

The Anubis Gates is good in a puppy way, but he just crams so much stuff in there that it can be a little much. Time travel, paradoxes, wolfmen, magic, cults, poetry... His other books have the supernatural elements but they're much more focused in how they're used.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2015 20:32

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Mars4523 posted:

Holy gently caress @ The Library at Mount Char.

This book seems like it was really well received here and I'm really confused because I thought it was pretty bad, and BB recommendations are usually pretty spot on. The characters are just awful.

Carolyn is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl with the inscrutable plan. Also she's dirty and smelly but we won't fail to mention that she's still really sexy. Tee-hee oops guess the President is dead lol why is that important?? Oh the sun's gone and everyones starving oops guess I forgot about that lol

Steve is a doofus and all around moron and apparently the reader's supposed to identify with him. Steve, having witnessed countless wonders and miracles, has been offered one wish, any wish. "Wow anything?! Like I can ask for a really nice car??" gently caress you Steve

Don't even get me started on Erwin. Erwin is literally a Bruiser/STDH post come true. He's a war hero Medal of Honor recipient who is also a super special agent and can do whatever he wants and solve crimes and did we mention he's a badass? He can also walk up to the President of the United States and talk to him like he's an old fishing buddy, and also Erwin was the subject of a best-selling biography detailing his badass deeds so most of the regular folks he comes across know him on sight. Also I think they said he was a Command Sergeant Major which is one of the highest possible enlisted postings in the military and usually requires over 20 years of distinguished service and and amazing record to even have a shot at getting. Erwin did it in 13 years! Also he insists that everyone, everywhere calls him "Erwin", even his subordinates when he was in the military. You don't loving call E-9s by their first name on a daily basis.

There are some imaginative ideas but they're mostly poorly realized. The characters just ruin any chances of this being anything other than decent. I'd give it a 4/10.

# ¿ Sep 23, 2015 22:03

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

pseudorandom name posted:

We're sorry that the story about the young woman who kills god to become god is ruined by the unrealistic portrayal of a soldier.

That's only part of it. The main criticism I had was that there's three characters that we spend 90% of the book following and they're all terribly written. The second was that the story was kind of bad and meandering. Really the only thing going for the book IMO are some admittedly cool ideas, but I felt that that wasn't enough to make it a good book in the face of its flaws.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2015 03:01

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I bet Hare Krishnas would do pretty well in sci-fi stories, what with all the extra space ports and bullet train stations to hang around in.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2015 06:57

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

taser rates posted:

Study in Emerald was the only one worth reading out of that whole collection imo.

I'll second this guy's comments. Just look this up for free on Neil Gaiman's website.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2015 16:03

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Shab posted:

I just finished it and it left a bad taste in my mouth.

It wasn't particularly well written, some of the characters were bland (see my previous comment about Erwin), the pacing was weird (the climax happens at about the 65% mark), and half the book was overlong mundane digressions: the bar scene/burglary, the meeting in the president's office, Steve's foray into Garrison Hills with all the dogs then the interminable escape into town to get Naga to a vet, among others. The author also cheapened death to such an extent that toward the end (when Steve starts killing himself) it ceased to have any narrative impact at all.

I guess it was partly a case of mistaken expectations. After the first few chapters of being introduced to these people with god-like powers and hints of a potentially interesting mythos, that whole side of things isn't explored much at all until the last quarter of the book.

I pretty much agree with all of this. I didn't think this was a good book at all.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2015 19:51

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Just finished Richard Paul Russo's DESTROYING ANGEL. I didn't really live up to its awesome name, I thought. I'm a pretty big cyberpunk fan but it felt extremely derivative and almost parodic. I know that's probably unfair to say about a book printed in 1992 but it's how I felt. I liked the general idea of the plot, but the resolution left me feeling cold.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2015 04:11

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Kesper North posted:

So apparently Peter Watts has been working on a Person of Interest tie-in novel.

I, for one, am pretty goddamned excited about that.

http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=6409

How's the show? I haven't heard much chatter about it but it's caught my eye on Netflix. Seems to be pretty highly rated.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2016 14:12

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Brainiac Five posted:

Medusa's Web felt an awful lot like Tim Powers trying to write a better version of Three Days to Never, and I definitely preferred the more science-fictional approach to mashing together Gnosticism and Kabalistic Judaism.

I remember Three Days to Never being pretty bad. So is Medusa's Web actually worth my time?

# ¿ Apr 6, 2016 03:52

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Brainiac Five posted:

Yes. I mean, you might want to look up who some of the people are around the middle of the book, but it's really good and really weird. I think the closest thing in his books to it is Dinner at Deviant's Palace, or some of his short stories.

Thanks, I'll have to check it out. I did a lot of wiki'ing during Declare so that's no issue.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2016 07:26

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I definitely didn't like the superhero element. It felt like the absolute clumsiest way to introduce the occult to the world (I know that was the point, but I still hated it).

# ¿ Jun 2, 2016 15:42

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Is "all of the main characters aren't slated for death" really supposed to be knock against a series?

# ¿ Jun 3, 2016 13:48

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

MrSlam posted:

Unfortunately, he wants a fantasy novel with zero magic, no potions, no fantasy races, no dragons or unrealistic animals, no gods, no dream sequences or prophecies. I think he wants historical fiction but it in a made up place?

I've turned a few people onto fantasy who had the same mindset with The Lies of Locke Lamora. No potions, dwarves, elves, no gods in the flesh, no prophecies. There's some magic, but don't tell him that. And it's not the kind where wizards are waltzing around everywhere throwing fireballs and raising the dead, it's powerful, scary and extremely rare.

# ¿ Jun 10, 2016 08:23

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:

I was surprised (in a good way) they they are looking at making a Nightside series (based off the Simon Green books).

Now, if they can avoid using "it's the easiest thing in the world" and "suddenly, violently, and all over the place" 12 times an episode it'll be a show worth watching.

I read one of these and it was so derivative that it felt almost like parody what with all the gritty detective stuff and supernatural London and all that.

# ¿ Jun 18, 2016 11:49

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Turdis McWordis posted:

1/3 through the Nightmare Stacks I kind of love it.

Let me know how it turns out. The endings are usually what disappoint me about Stross books. Is the new protagonist good? I really didn't get a great feel for him on the last couple of books.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2016 10:57

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

dy. posted:

Come on, it absolutely is obscure, and it's kind of hilarious that you're trying to do literary dick measuring here. I am a pretty voracious reader and I hadn't ever seen it before Baru Cormorant. I also think the book's use of it made sense, since the empire had a bit of a different lexicon for many of its concepts, like the way 'hygiene' was used in a more moral sense.

Spell check doesn't recognize it, that's a pretty good measure.

It might come up in books a lot but it shows up occasionally in lesbian porno, which is how I know it.

I UH MEAN

# ¿ Jul 27, 2016 01:44

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

xpost from CD's trailer thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwqSi_ToNPs

They made an adaptation of Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life". I know Ted Chiang's short stories are a thread favorite and rightfully so, so I'm pretty excited to see this. I look forward to seeing how they'll get the audience to wrap their head around the central ideas.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2016 08:12

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

bonds0097 posted:

This is one of my favorite stories ever and I can't imagine how you would capture the essence of it in a AAA film. Non-linear storytelling is not one of Hollywood's fortes if you want mass appeal.

I hope they have a cool scene talking about Fermat's Principle.

I'm not sure I'd call it a "AAA" film. Doctor Strange and the new Star Wars will be released in the same month, I believe, and those are definitely what I'd consider to be AAA blockbuster types. I'm cautiously hopeful, if only for this reason: if they wanted to make a generic sci fi movie they wouldn't have adapted a Ted Chiang story to begin with.

Plus I love first contact stories.

# ¿ Aug 11, 2016 01:56

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

It's not just that they make a lot of nerdy references (although being a major and varied nerd does help), it's that the tone of the first two Laundry books are almost unbearably nerdy in tone. It's not helped by the second book being the weakest in the series, in my opinion.

Anyway I'm not an ubernerd when it comes to tech stuff, so a lot of that and some of the british colloquialisms are lost on me.

Assuming you've read the first book, which is good, I'd advise sticking it out until at least the third book, Fuller Memorandum, which I think is the series's high mark (having not read the new one yet). That's when poo poo really starts to go down.

I'd probably rate the series like this:

Atrocity Archives- Good, great if only for the novelty of the whole concept
Jennifer Morgue- Bad
Fuller Memorandum- Great
Apocalypse Codex- Good, with some shades of greatness in there
Rhesus Chart- Good
Annihilation Score- OK
Nightmare Stacks- TBD

Side note: I didn't particularly care for any of the side stories except for Equoid, which is some of the best writing he's done in the series.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2016 09:10

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

The Nightmare Stacks just felt like one big diversion. How long must we wait until the dead gods rip reality a new one and shower the world in chaos? I feel like the whole series has been building up to that and it's been great, but then we have these amusing but still a bit unsatisfying jaunts into vampire, superhero, and elf land. I mean I liked the story but let's be honest, we all are a bit overdue for some squamous, eldritch poo poo to go down.

# ¿ Sep 21, 2016 11:09

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

I'm pretty psyched to see Arrival in a few days, I've heard good things.

# ¿ Nov 10, 2016 13:17

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 11:45

Rough Lobster: May 27, 2009; Don't be such a squid, bro

Natalie Portman is a really good actress.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2016 13:41

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Science Fiction and Fantasy Thread: Read the OP, Bridge of Birds, and Murderbot

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