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Fart of Presto posted:I keep recommending the Metrozone series by Simon Morden: The Petrovich Trilogy (Degrees of Freedom, Theories of Flight and Equations of Life) and the followup up, The Curve of the Earth. I also really liked the Petrovich series and I also highly recommend the Continuing Time series by Daniel K. Moran (Book 1 - Emerald Eyes).
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Sep 5, 2013 23:27
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The Gunslinger posted:ow was Dust by Hugh Howey? I just finished that Broken Empire series and discovered I have nothing new on my Kindle. I stopped reading his stuff after the whole "suck it bitch" thing but I hear he offered a decent apology and hasn't done anything since so I'm curious if Dust gives any decent closure for the series. I recall being pretty disappointed with the second one so maybe I should just forget it though. I thought the entire series was good. For me, it was much slower moving than what I prefer to read (Abercrombie, Asher, Morgan, Gary Gibson) but somehow I enjoyed the entire series. I felt there was quite enough of a conclusion. Unless he decides to write the post-silo earth results...but not very many books can take you all the way to the end of time. Everyone's tastes are different. I really see that here where books I love were hated and vice-versa.
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Sep 12, 2013 02:53
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I am coming close to the end of Book 3 of The First Law trilogy. I read it a few years ago and I'm now doing the audio (drat good reader) with a friend. I LOVE this trilogy and the utter absence of knights in shining armor. Everyone is, well, complicated. Even though I read these, I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat as we spin from POV to POV. Magnificent. So, anything I say will come from that influence. I'm halfway through the ___ of Thorns, book 2. It's OK. OK enough. Maybe even just OK enough. So what? I can't read The First Law over and over. I remember after I read Altered Carbon, everything else seemed so frilly, even the 2 Takeshi books that followed. Well, Morgan can't write AC over and over either. His Land Fit For Heros I heartily recommend but you might want to wait for book 3 due out mid-2014. If you hate The First Law and/or Altered Carbon, you'll probably want to avoid my suggestions that follow: Neal Asher's Spatterjay books Gary Gibson's Shoal War and Final Days Victor Gischler's Go-Go Girls Of The Apocalypse Warren Hammond's KOP series John Locke's Donovan Creed series (not SF but highly imaginative) Philip Reeve's 7 Traction City books starting with Fever Crumb and ending at A Darkling Plain Michael Grant's Gone series
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Sep 29, 2013 17:37
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I recently discovered author Gavin Smith and read his first 2 books Veteran and War In Heaven. He just released a new book The Age Of Scorpio that is 1/3 fantasy, 1/3 modern thriller and 1/3 Space Opera with all stories (so far unrelated) going at once. I'm not quite recommending it - I haven't finished it - but I wonder of anybody else here has read this guys stuff and what your take on it is. I'd say that if Abercrombie, Morgan and Asher wrote a book together it would be like this.
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Oct 3, 2013 00:22
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Geek U.S.A. posted:Anyone here read the latest Locke Lamora book? Looking for some impressions but scared of clicking on the series thread and getting insta-spoiled about everything. I'm about 20% in and so far it's pretty good. You can only write a book like Lies Of Locke Lamorra once and then everything else is never quite the same. But still, so far, I'm happy with my investment.
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Nov 5, 2013 06:20
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ace_beef posted:I was trying to work out which fantasy series I wanted to read next. In my never-ending search for more Abercrombie and Lynch, I found this trilogy and I've read the first 2 and I'm very pleased with them. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CCWWTYY/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title The Heresy Within (Book 1 of The Ties that Bind) [Kindle Edition] Rob J. Hayes (Author) 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
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Nov 7, 2013 00:33
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The Supreme Court posted:I really wasn't that impressed with this book. It's fine as a quick read, but nothing in it -from the world, plotting, dialogue- stood out as on the same level as Scott Lynch or Joe Abercrombie's stuff for me, or even above self-published kindle level. Where it really lost me was with the characters, who fell pretty flat and had no development: No, it's not Abercrombie or Lynch but there are not enough Abercrombies, Lynch, Morgan (some), Asher etc. to fill my reading consumption. This sufficed for me. Now I'm reading Lynch's latest but in another 300 pages I'll need to do the best I can. This was adequate.
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Nov 8, 2013 07:32
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Geek U.S.A. posted:Anyone here read the latest Locke Lamora book? Looking for some impressions but scared of clicking on the series thread and getting insta-spoiled about everything. Well, I finished ROT last night. It took me a while because I had to read other things during the experience. I rated it MEH. I had to control myself to avoid skimming as Locke Lamorra chatters endlessly about his unrequited love and virginity and Sabetha says yes, no, yes, no, yes and the beautiful world-building of Camorra vanished along with a polt. I don't demand plots but this really could have used one. TLOLL is one of the 20 best books of my lifetime. What has happened here reminds me of Altered Carbon, another masterpiece, whose follow-up books were most unimpressive. Now, to say something positive, I've been playing fan-boy to this author Ertic Gabrielsen for years trying to squeeze another book out of him. Finally, http://www.amazon.com/Augment-Part-1-Eric-Gabrielsen-ebook/dp/B00GDJ0YDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384210857&sr=8-1&keywords=augment+eric and I really like it. Lots of action, terrifically funny and sad at the same time. I hope he continues with enough success because I really like his stuff.
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Nov 12, 2013 00:03
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For well constructed worlds, I thought Kameron Hurley's Bel Dame Trilogy did a great job. I felt like I lived there (but was glad I didn't what with males not used for much other than sex).
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Dec 1, 2013 00:20
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Koryk posted:Yeah, me too. Are they doing a season sale or something? Its 120 pages of short stories. This is a popular way to introduce a "universe" to readers in hopes of them buying the full books. For ME flavor, I again suggest Kameron Hurley's novels and short stories, some of which are free.
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Dec 5, 2013 20:44
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gatz posted:I finished Neuromancer and hated the ending, along with not liking William Gibson's writing style. I'm interested in cyberpunk, but I'm probably not going to pursue any more of Gibson's work. Any recommendations? I'm specifically interested in writers who speculate about the effects of combining technology with our own bodies. Gibson sort of touched on this in regards to identity, but his prose obscured it too much. http://www.amazon.com/Augment-Part-1-Eric-Gabrielsen-ebook/dp/B00GDJ0YDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386706981&sr=8-1&keywords=augment+eric is exactly about that. There is a previous book by th same author, http://www.amazon.com/Gideons-Fall-...%27s+fall+eric, but no Kindle version available. I think that The Continuing Times series by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Keys_Moran is the bet of cyberpunk.
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Dec 10, 2013 21:26
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andrew smash posted:Any recommendations for good audiobooks? I am nearing completion on the 6 dune novels and have Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell queued up but I have a credit to burn on audible and would like to find something to use it on. I don't much care if it's a novel I've read before, i'm more interested in good performance. I just discovered that Jack Chalker's Well World and Four Lords Of The Diamond series are on audible.com. I haven't heard the narration but I'm pretty excited about these. I have all the original books and I've read them at least 3 times in my life. Might be worth taking a look.
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Dec 12, 2013 22:39
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sam16 posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for genre crossovers, e.g. heist books, spy books, private detective books and police procedurals in a sci-fi or fantasy setting? I suggest The Last Policeman which is set in a pre-apocalyptic earth as a large asteroid inexorably approaches and society melts down. This is a police procedural but the unique setting is pretty scary. It's book 1 of a trilogy. I was less impressed by book 2 but I'm anxiously awaiting book 3.
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Jan 6, 2014 01:32
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Seldom Posts posted:Try Sleepless by Charlie Huston. Huston is one of the best living crime/noir writers, and the book's main characters are a cop and an assassin living in Los Angeles as the world melts down around them. I know it isn't Sci-Fi but Charlie Huston's Hank Thompson Trilogy is probably the best crime story ever. Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things and A Dangerous Man. Fantastic.
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Jan 7, 2014 01:34
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WastedJoker posted:Is Neal Asher any good? I've seen his name around but can't think of a single book of his I might've read. I just saw Prador Moon on my recommendations on goodreads and wondered if anyone had anything to add? Asher's Spatterjay books are his best work and The Skinner is a great book. The Agent Cormac stuff is OK also, but Spatterjay is awesome.
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Jan 7, 2014 01:38
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EdBlackadder posted:The ending to the Agent Cormac series where they revealed that Earth Central was assassinated for being a manipulative bastard really struck me as an odd, jarring note given his aforementioned pro AI/authority stance though I still enjoyed the series. The Spatterjay sequence was much better though is that whole universe one vast Jain plot? I thought The Owners (new Asher series) was awful and I gave up on it about 1/3 way through book 1. His fantastical weaponry works well in the far future but this was sort of inexplicable Dystopian something or the other. Then again, I own every other book he wrote and some collector stuff as well that he signed for me but Cowl was my least favorite of all his books so our tastes might be different although Spatterjay - great.
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Jan 8, 2014 08:28
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Falloutboy posted:Ya, I made the mistake of reading his blog and he comes off as a massive douchebag. Currently he's ranting about e-cig regulation. I read the blog and I couldn't agree with him more about the E-cigs which saved my life and his country (the UK) wants to make illegal to even speak about. So how this makes him a "douche" is beyond me.
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Jan 13, 2014 20:26
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DontMockMySmock posted:Did an e-cig drag you out of a burning building? In a manner of speaking. Addicted since age 12 (I'm 70 now) and hopelessly addicted, COPD, unable to breathe triggering anxiety attacks. Did a 3 day quit and as I started screaming, I picked up an E-cig and now it's 9 months since I touched a real cig. So, yeah, saved my life. Sorry for being off-topic. Sorry for supporting Asher (whose books I really like). I'll shut-up now.
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Jan 13, 2014 23:24
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andrew smash posted:Wow. If you don't mind my asking, what made you decide to register here at age 70? I went rummaging through the internet looking for a forum occupied by highly intelligent people. After many mouse clicks, I discovered this oddly named board. So, I'm here to learn, not to teach. I belong to other forums but while the people are (mostly) nice, they aren't very deep. I've seen so many intelligent posts on SA that it gives me back some hope for humanity. Plus, I have discovered some new books here and after a lifetime of reading, I'm running low on really good material. I paid my way in for membership because I'm not a "free rider". I always donate to the forums I attend because it seems like the right thing to do.
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Jan 14, 2014 02:31
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coyo7e posted:
I think maybe, possibly you might want to look at Mark Leyner's The Tetherballs of Bougainville and Et Tu Babe. Only those two I'm afraid, the rest aren't so hot.
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Jan 27, 2014 06:50
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coyo7e posted:Yeah, it was called The Seeker or something, iirc. I've read all the Artemis Fowl books and I second your suggestion. Very clever and amusing.
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Feb 12, 2014 03:38
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Kraps posted:What is people opinions of the rest of the Divergent series? I listened to the first one and liked it but there seems to be generally poor reviews of the rest of it. Maze Runner is definitely YA. The 3 books are OK though. The prequel, written later, is awful and written for an even younger group. If YA is OK with you, I suggest Uglies and Everlost as being better than Maze Runner.
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Mar 4, 2014 20:03
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I've been reading this series: http://www.goodreads.com/series/53675-under-jurisdiction An Exchange of Hostages (1997), ISBN 0-380-78913-2 (number 1 in series chronology) Prisoner of Conscience (1998), ISBN 0-380-78914-0 (number 2 in series chronology) Hour of Judgment (1999), ISBN 0-380-80314-3 (number 4 in series chronology) Angel of Destruction (2001), ISBN 0-451-45849-4 (number 3 in series chronology) The Devil and Deep Space (2002), ISBN 0-451-45901-6 (number 5 in series chronology) Warring States (2006), ISBN 1-59222-094-0 (number 6 in series chronology) I don't know if I can "recommend" it. I like it, but I don't know why I like it. I can only suggest you take a look at it. I also just finished http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Silver...+of+the+silvers which has some time travel and some parallel worlds aspects. I think I found this book on SA but I don't remember where. I suggest again that it's worth a look.
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Mar 17, 2014 23:32
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Haerc posted:I remember reading a kind of detective fiction set in ancient times, I think during the Hellenistic period (might be before or after, I really can't remember). It was set in Babylon (the MC had traveled there for some reason), and had to do with a ziggurat and a ruined (and supposedly haunted) temple, both within the city. Maybe http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Pigs-Marcus-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0041T51DC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395696849&sr=8-1&keywords=silver+pigs or that author. Maybe.
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Mar 24, 2014 22:34
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Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Twas me. I bought the hell outta this book. It sounds fun I liked The Palace Job (discovered here at SA) enough that I quit reading it after the first few chapters and bought the audio version to enjoy with a friend. Weekes isn't quite Abercrombie or Lynch but for a first novel, he did a good (palace) job with this.
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Mar 26, 2014 00:33
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Neurosis posted:I just saw that the release date for Richard K Morgan's The Dark Defiles has been set for October 7. Looking forward to that. I didn't really like his Takeshi Kovacs novels all that much but have enjoyed the fantasy series a lot. Altered Carbon was/is one of my lifetime favorites but the other 2 were rather weak (IMHO). One of my cats, the lady of the house, is named Bellis (from The Scar) "Fang" (from Mortal Engines) Kovachs. That is how much I liked that book. The Steel Remains and The Cold Commands are great books and maybe in The Dark Defiles we'll finally get going on the journey we've been promised but never quite left on This made my day but October seems so far away.....
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Mar 28, 2014 23:18
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ravenkult posted:
The best (IMHO) Cyberpunk: The Continuing Time series by Daniel K. Moran http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Keys_Moran Other pretty decent (and kind of obscure) Cyberpunk: The Bridge series by Gary Ballard The Street Series by Ryan Span Daemon and Freedom™ by Daniel Suarez Gideon's Fall by Eric Gabrielsen Softeare series by Rudy Rucker Not great but at least readable Cyberpunk Recursion series by Tony Ballantyne Bone Dance by Emma Bull
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Mar 29, 2014 19:06
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Fallom posted:Question about God's War: Does it ever stop using wacky far out sci-fi with cars exhausting bugs and people using bug magic and selling their wombs for bug cash? I won't criticize the series over it, but if there's anything that turns me off of science fiction books it's technology and society that's so completely unrelatable to anything we have that the author might as well be making up magic spells and setting the story in Azeroth. No, I don't think it does stop but why I love these 3 books (and the related short stories) is precisely because - in creating a genre of its own (Bugpunk) - it absolutely worked for me and to take a concept this far out and make me feel like I live there, makes for "greatness" in books. I wouldn't expect this to work for everyone. It's very different from most Sci-Fi.
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Apr 3, 2014 00:21
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The Ties That Bind series by Rob J. Hayes is a complete series and it doesn't seem to get much mention so I'll give it a plug. I liked it a lot and it is actually complete. Yes! Even if the author is swallowed by a Kraken later tonight, you can still find out what really happened. quote:The Heresy Within (Book 1 of The Ties that Bind) quote:The Colour of Vengeance (Book 2 of The Ties that Bind) quote:The Price of Faith (Book 3 of The Ties that Bind)
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Apr 9, 2014 00:59
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regularizer posted:This sounds horrible and I'm ashamed to have even read a short summary. That's why it's good that there are so many books and that we can each enjoy according to our own tastes.
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Apr 9, 2014 05:38
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Kraps posted:SciFi sale at Audible till may 10th http://www.audible.com/mt/SuperSciFi_ALL Thanks for the tip. Got Avogadro Corp. for $2.
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May 5, 2014 05:21
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I've finished reading all the books in Susan Matthews' Jurisdiction series and I can't figure out why I got so absorbed in these. Has anyone else read these and what was your take? If you haven't, the books follow a professional State sanctioned torturer (who is a MD - a job requirement) and his odd relationship with his thralled Security Team.
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May 8, 2014 23:37
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JTDistortion posted:Can you recommend any other authors like this? I've been having a rather annoying problem with my local library system. Everything that it considers 'gay fiction' tends to be either poorly written smut or serious novels that try to get deep into the issues of gender and sexuality. Unfortunately, I do most of my reading on lunch break at work. I'm just looking for something light to relax with for a bit, but I would prefer any romantic subplots to be something that I can actually relate to. That sort of stuff certainly does exist, but if I want to get it at the library I have to either know what I'm looking for ahead of time or stumble across it through blind luck. I will suggest God's War by Kameron Hurley. I think this will meet your expectations. The Steel Remains is great, the last book will be out in October. I plan to have an audio marathon of all 3.
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May 11, 2014 07:10
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Sekret posted:I would like to read about humans on an alien planet that have to establish settlements and deal with the native flora and fauna. Bonus points for abandoned ruins and/or alien technology. Can anyone recommend anything like that? I suggest you take a look at this series. Although these are considered Science Fiction Police Procedurals, they have some very creative aliens, their laws and their societies. They definitely deal with settlements, both human and alien. There are cases of abandoned ruins (Buried Deep in particular) and alien technology and the complexities of a intra-galactic legal system. I've read all of them and hope there will be more forthcoming. http://www.retrievalartist.com/?page_id=8 or https://www.goodreads.com/series/42246-retrieval-artist or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristine_Kathryn_Rusch#Retrieval_Artist. It is helpful to read them in order because while they can stand alone for the most part, they do reference each other. Retrieval Artist Vol. 1: The Disappeared, 2002 Vol. 2: Extremes, 2003 Vol. 3: Consequences, 2004 Vol. 4: Buried Deep, 2005 Vol. 5: Paloma, 2006 Vol. 6: Recovery Man, 2007 Vol. 7: Duplicate Effort, 2009 Vol. 8: Anniversary Day, 2011 Vol. 9: Blowback, 2012
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May 24, 2014 21:11
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Hedrigall posted:Oh okay. Has anyone read The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Looks interesting. Years ago I read The Woman and The Ape which seems to be a similar concept.
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Jun 5, 2014 23:49
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~*~*~*Benjamin Hale*~*~*~
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Fart of Presto posted:Latest iteration of the StoryBundle is called The Cosmic Sci-Fi Bundle Anniversary Day is far into The Retrieval Artist series which consists of: Retrieval Artist Vol. 1: The Disappeared, 2002 Vol. 2: Extremes, 2003 Vol. 3: Consequences, 2004 Vol. 4: Buried Deep, 2005 Vol. 5: Paloma, 2006 Vol. 6: Recovery Man, 2007 Vol. 7: Duplicate Effort, 2009 Vol. 8: Anniversary Day, 2011 Vol. 9: Blowback 2012 Now, I personally like The Retrieval Artist books and have read all of them. They are essentially police procedurals set maybe 1000 years in the future and mostly based on Earth's Moon which has a large population of various alien races. I doubt that Anniversary Day would be good as a stand-alone.
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Jun 20, 2014 02:18
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Neurosis posted:gently caress you. I just got my ARC of The Dark Defiles, the final book of The Land Fit For Heroes by Richard K. Morgan. Eat your hearts out. It will be available to you commoners in October while we of Royalty have long since finished it. I'm just going to quote something from Mr. Gandhi: "If you don't ask, you don't get". HRH Specklebang quote:Your request to view The Dark Defiles from Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra
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Jul 1, 2014 05:12
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orange sky posted:Do you guys know of any books that have a utopian, future society like the Culture? I absolutely loved pretty much all the books, and I'm looking for more like it. Preferably nothing with a huge arc, I'd rather have independent stories (like the Culture). Neal Asher's Polity is a Utopian AI run future society but the books themselves tell stories that are rather violent events within the utopia.
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Jul 11, 2014 18:14
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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. I also got the arc and I don't see how this represents a future Altered Carbon. But what a hella book - and for once the last book was the best of the trilogy. Just terrific. Now, is Ringil related to Takeshi? Yeah, sorta, kinda. Couple of bad rear end mofos for sure. To me, Altered Carbon went straight downhill in books 2 and 3 while Steel Remains was just great all the way through. I plan to marry Archidi when my immortality plan comes in from Amazon, if she'll have me.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:10
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Cardiac posted:Neal Ashers Polity series should also be mentioned. I thought Gridlinked was the weakest of all the Polity and I still liked it. The Spatterjay subseries and The Technician were like totally wow I love this I love this I love this....(enuff already) and all the Polity was good enough that I bought every single one of them.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:15
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