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General Battuta posted:Given that this discussion is happening every day - and quite spectacularly! - within the SF/F arena, that seems wholly appropriate. If anything we could stand to talk about it more. Maybe creating a separate thread for it would be better then? This thread is great for lurking to get leads on good SF/F books to read when it actually stays on topic and about books, but it's turning more and more into D&D instead of TBB. It's fine to want to have political discussions, but you're driving out actual literary discussion which if I'm not mistaken this subforum is actually about and what I and presumably most others come here to read.
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May 8, 2014 21:54
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General Battuta posted:I'd totally get behind putting more energy into pointing out positive, awesome authors. Join me in posting recs for women authors when the thread fills up with two pages of grimdark fantasy by white men! Or you could just recommend books based on their literary quality instead of because of the writer's gender or race, which is pretty insulting and condescending? If N.K. Jemisin had been a white man, her books would suddenly not be worth recommending? I'm pretty sure she would want you to recommend her to others (if at all) based on the quality of her books and not her gender or race, even if only used as a first sifting, and doing so anyway only proves you have actually learned and/or understood absolutely nothing from the books you have read.
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May 8, 2014 22:39
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Hedrigall posted:Personally I think the thread should talk about authors as well as works of SF/F, it should provide a ground for this kind of discussion. Bolding stuff doesn't make you any more correct, it just looks shouty and childish. Also the fact remains that this forum is the Book Barn, not the Politics Pavilion.
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May 9, 2014 00:42
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General Battuta posted:The business of writing science fiction and fantasy right now is tangled up in a lot of politics and political discussion - and, really, it always has been. If you want to talk about the books then you get the politics. I think you could do a better job of framing your arguments supporting your recommendations, tbh. A lot of your recommendations ITT boil down to "read these books, they are written by women" while a better way of selling them is something more to the effect of "read this book because (e.g.) it has really well-rounded and interesting characters, beautiful prose, innovative writing, mindboggling ideas, thrilling plots, and btw it's also by a woman, which you might not have read or heard that much from." That is what people look for in a book and would do more to entice someone to check them out than just stating the writer happens to be of a certain gender or race that is marginalized in your perception. It has never actually inspired me personally to follow up on one of your recommendations and check out the books you mention, and just seems counterproductive. The focus should be first and foremost on the qualities and merit of the work. For instance, I'm a fan of Susannah Clarke and Helene Wecker, but I think everyone should read them because their books are awesome, stunningly written and filled with brilliant ideas and unforgettable characters, not because I want to further my own political agenda or something like some people here seem really hung up on doing. This is just an internet forum for book geeks and nerds, not a political platform of any significance whatsoever. So it just seems weird and a huge waste of time to fruitlessly keep trying to turn it into one, as well as actively drive other people away who just come here to talk and read about SF/F books and maybe pick up a few good recommendations here and there along the way.
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May 9, 2014 01:17
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General Battuta posted:Trying to get people to read more widely is never a waste of time, no matter where it's done. What you're calling a political agenda is just a basic fight for equal recognition that a lot of authors have to confront. This is a political agenda pretty much by literal definition. It's odd that you can't even see that for yourself anymore.
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May 9, 2014 01:31
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Hedrigall posted:All these pinko commies tryin' ta take away my red-blooded white-skinned American sci-fi Literally nobody has posted anything of the sort during this discussion, so you're just straw manning.
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May 9, 2014 01:50
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thecallahan posted:Quick question though, how are you getting those different covers than what's on Amazon? They're from Amazon UK
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Jul 8, 2014 23:29
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Phanatic posted:Has Alastair Reynolds done anything worth reading recently? I really enjoyed the Revelation Space books and thought Pushing Ice was pretty good, but since then it seemed like he was just on a downwards slide and I gave up even looking for anything he did since Terminal World, which was excruciatingly dull and about the worst thing that could be produced by looting Vinge. But apparently he's had three books come out since then. Troika is pretty cool. Especially the (big spoiler) future human who appears at the end, whose species I wouldn't mind reading a whole book about.
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Jul 21, 2014 17:13
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coyo7e posted:Some day I'd like to write a high-fantasy story and just name everyone out of a baby names book or phone book. Khaleesi is an increasingly popular baby name these days
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Aug 7, 2014 18:50
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Haerc posted:If we are thinking about the same short story, it had some fairly deep symbolism, not at all just some gratuitous smut. What's the symbolism?
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Aug 12, 2014 18:25
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fookolt posted:Except for The State Of The Art, I don't think The Culture is anything but "low-key". So you think it is low-key? (don't think + anything but = double negative)
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Aug 12, 2014 23:13
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Ika posted:Is the shadowmarch series by Tad Williams decent? Is it something that's more like LOTR, or malazan, or WOT? ASoIaF.
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Aug 16, 2014 14:43
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spootime posted:Howd you get your hands on this? Its not out until the 14th of october or something Ornamented Death posted:I got an ARC from Net Galley. I've said it before, if you want advanced copies of stuff, just start a review blog and eventually you'll be getting more books than you can possibly read. You probably won't get any of the big names (Butcher, Rothfuss, Sanderson, etc.) unless you can prove you get massive traffic, but you'll still never be wanting for something to read.
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Aug 18, 2014 20:07
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Arkeus posted:Yes, GRRM doesn't really make his character suffer Unless your name (which you must remember) is Theon Greyjoy
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Aug 18, 2014 22:34
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eriktown posted:It's a gamble. If they notice they'll delete your Kindle library. [citation needed]
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Aug 25, 2014 18:41
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Phummus posted:Super-demon-rape-second-apocalypse thing...can't recall the name of it.  Phummus posted:Any recommendations on things I might like based on the lists above?
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Aug 26, 2014 16:54
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Peel posted:Was that really the absolute best SFF of the last year? No, this was
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Oct 3, 2014 01:12
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HIJK posted:I want to buy a fantasy or scifi ebook for my brother in law for Xmas. Any suggestions? Good Omens
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Dec 23, 2014 18:59
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Munin posted:Btw, what are the next two books called? Amazon seemed to be really bad at making them clear. The Dark Forest is #2 and Death's End is #3.
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Dec 30, 2014 00:47
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:A lot of people don't like American Gods, myself included -- I think it's on the low end of Gaiman's quality curve. I think Gaiman's best works, by far, are 1) the Sandman series, 2) Stardust, and 3) Neverwhere, in approximately that order. The Graveyard Book isn't bad but it's very much a YA thing. You forgot Good Omens.
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Jan 2, 2015 20:06
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Co-authored. Impossible to know how much of the credit for that one should go to Pratchett. So just not count it at all then? Seems pretty weird and arbitrary.
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Jan 3, 2015 11:39
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Torrannor posted:You are objectively wrong, Sanderson is a great world builder. He's the most tedious, excessively verbose fantasy writer working today. His motto is to always take a 1,000 pages to write what could also have been written in 5 pages, without losing anything in the process.
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Jan 8, 2015 00:23
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Campbell posted:The most frustrating thing is that since the second book just came out, I'm going to read it in hopes that something interesting will happen and make the time spent worth while. Here's hoping! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment
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Feb 9, 2015 22:23
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mllaneza posted:It's also loaded with strong female characters, so it hits another criteria . criteria is plural
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Mar 7, 2015 20:17
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Rabbit Hill posted:Hey, maybe this thread can help me... She wrote a novel that I started to read years ago and want to find again. All I remember about it is that it featured a warrior woman, who was of an alien or elfish race, and her human squire/manservant of a lower caste. The paperback cover had this woman on it, very pale with white hair dressed in a suit of armor, looking imperious, and the man was standing next to her, also in a suit of armor, with shaggy brown hair and kind of a humble look on his face. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exile%27s_Gate
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Mar 16, 2015 14:32
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Those things always peter out after a couple of weeks if not sooner
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Mar 20, 2015 15:28
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DACK FAYDEN posted:Do they still get mad if you lie about your region to buy things? Because they won't let me purchase it. It's the same price (in $) on Amazon US
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Mar 27, 2015 16:18
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Drifter posted:And then check out The Long Ships by Bergtsson, for a little older Viking flair. Hot tip for UK goons: I just noticed the Kindle version of this is currently only £1.49 on Amazon, discounted from £8.99.
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Jul 22, 2015 19:58
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Megazver posted:Yeah. "It's fantasy but it's actually our world's post-apocalyptic future" is a more specific trope and it's having its day again in recent releases. 
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Jul 22, 2015 22:34
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Antti posted:Yeah, I didn't mean it's literally the same thing, but just another example of the lost civilization theme. There's also Valyria in ASoIaF
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Jul 23, 2015 20:28
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:The only really bad thing is the 40$ fee doesn't go to charity or something instead. That "something" being bags of Doritos
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Aug 23, 2015 21:52
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boom boom boom posted:I wish that naming scheme caught on. "This is Taylor and Jessica and their son, Taylessica." That's how celebrity couple nicknames work (e.g. Bennifer, Kimye, Brangelina, etc.)
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Aug 24, 2015 23:31
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Solitair posted:-Stories about regret, guilt, redemption, or falls from grace. Use of Weapons
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Aug 25, 2015 14:33
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thespaceinvader posted:Suddenly I find myself wanting to read your book. Do you know if it's in the UK Kobo store? https://store.kobobooks.com/en-UK/ebook/the-traitor-10
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Sep 1, 2015 10:38
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boom boom boom posted:Where are you shopping that stock Harry Potter in literature instead of childrens? I wouldn't call books 6 and 7 children's books tbh, there's some pretty dark and hosed up poo poo in those.
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Sep 9, 2015 17:09
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Peel posted:I may have to order Baru Cormorant from the US to get the proper title + cover. Because that's what books are all about
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Sep 15, 2015 22:09
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coyo7e posted:Wasn't this a recent movie with Ethan Hawke, iirc? Predestination. Excellent adaptation of Heinlein's —All You Zombies—.
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Sep 21, 2015 21:32
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MrSmokes posted:I enjoy stories that are about exploring what remains of lost alien civilizations. I prefer stories with a lot of mystery, where not everything is carefully explained, and is instead left to your imagination. As long as the mystery isn't clearly a point where the author couldn't think of something good and cool, and just wanted to get out of having to explain it. Revelation Space
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Sep 22, 2015 15:55
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thehomemaster posted:You could have fooled me, as far as I can tell it's aimed at adults. It's YA, like The Maze Runner, Divergent and The Hunger Games
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Sep 24, 2015 22:12
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Argali posted:I thought the same. It even won the 2015 Locus Award for best Young Adult Novel
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Sep 24, 2015 23:14
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