|
Guy A. Person posted:Series (just for reference): Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire Hello! For you, I will strongly recommend Joe Abercrombie's books. The First Law trilogy begins with The Blade Itself and he has three standalones. If you're dead set on a standalone, I would say that The Heroes would be the best one to read if you haven't read the main trilogy. I love this man's books, I wish there were twenty other authors that could scratch the itch like his writing does. In the vein of Gentlemen of the Road, which actually I suppose would technically be historical fiction, check out The Hero of Rome by Douglas Jackson or Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe, both of which you can see that I recently read (see below for slightly more info). I can also strongly recommend Patrick O'Brian novels that can be found in the OP. If you want more in this vein please ask because I read a lot of historical fiction. I think you would also really like Richard Morgan's The Steel Remains and Catherynne Valente's The Orphan's Tales. Also, give a little novel called The Emperor's Knife by Mazarkis Williams a try, I think it might be up your alley. One more: try the short stories of Paolo Bacigalupi in Pump Six and Other Stories. If those don't do it for you tell us why and we'll endeavor to help you further! Symptomless Coma posted:After listening to this fantastic interview from 1989 in which he narrates a kind of sci-fi of the present, I think I have a writerly crush on JG Ballard. Those that have read him - where should I start? The Drowned World is a usual spot to begin and I very much recommend it. Ahead of its time, and I love Ballard's tone. His short stories are fantastic as well so any collection of those is worth checking out. AlternatePFG posted:I finished reading Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey (I've been various sci-fi classics by different authors) and I loved it, I thought the descriptions of the vastness of space were simultaneously beautiful and unsettling. I was wondering if the any of the sequels are worth reading (I'm perplexed as to how there could be sequels in the first place) and if not, what other sci-fi books have a similar tone? Maybe try Mieville's Embassytown, a similarly detached, semi-eerie tone. Also, I really loved Finch by Jeff VanderMeer, not overly sci-fi as such but has a great tone. I could be way off the mark here though as I'm not sure exactly what you're asking for. quote:Allen Steele's "Coyote" series may be up your alley, I rather enjoyed them. Are these actually good? I got one for 25 cents at my local deli and I'm wondering whether to dive in. As for what I've been heavily enjoying: Hero of Rome by Douglas Jackson is technically historical fiction (I would call it historical fantasy, which is kind of an oxymoron but whatever!) but its got most of what I need for my fantasy. To boot, its really tightly written and has two sequels. Its historically accurate enough for my tastes and really is above and beyond most Roman historical fiction. I've been absolutely LOVING Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon. I've seen it recommended all over the place but for some reason never actually got deep into it until now. Its super awesome gritty science fiction/detective/action and there are two more books in the Takeshi Kovacs series. I loved Morgan's gay dragonslayer Ringil Eskiath so I guess its not surprise I love Takeshi as well. I finished Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe and although this book slogged at times it is wonderfully inventive and a real page turner compared to much of Wolfe's other stuff. Involves a warrior in the ancient Mediterranean with an amnesia head injury and frequent godly visitations. I'm going pretty slow but I'm almost finally through Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, who has never written anything I will not read. Not even close to as fun as the MaddAdam series (Oryx and Crake, Year of the Flood, both of which I always recommend strongly), but a very interesting and eerie look at a future USA ruled by a Christian anti-intellectual autocracy. Finally, due to the OP of this thread I read Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian and had a totally great time. The language is completely and unflinchingly period-referenced which I found really fun. If anyone wants to have a shot at these books, I found my enjoyment tripled by occasionally referencing a nautical dictionary. That is, during the descriptions early in the book of the boat and the sea battles and other boats, etc., take the time to look up the words and figure out exactly what they refer to. Usually I would not do that reading a book but in this case it made it much more enjoyable to have a really clear picture of what's going on (LOTS of period sailing terminology is by necessity employed). Play fucked around with this message at 10:23 on Jun 19, 2013 |
#
¿
Jun 19, 2013 07:19
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:19 |
|
|
Guy A. Person posted:I already read Pump Six and loved it, so it sounds like we have similar tastes. Like I said I tend to switch up a lot so it will take a while before I get through all of these recommendations but I will be sure to update what I liked/didn't like when I get to them. Also thanks to andrew smash, Azathoth, House Louse, and savinhill for the recommendations, these should tide me over for awhile! Great! If you want more Paolo Bacigalupi, one of my favorites by him was Shipbreakers and its sorta-sequel The Drowned Cities was pretty decent too, assuming you haven't already read them. If I were you I'd definitely start with Abercrombie, his stuff is revered around here for good reason, its damned fun.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 19, 2013 22:39
|
|
|
Rurik posted:This needed a new thread? Why wouldn't it? The old thread had a crappy OP, was hundreds of pages long, and was beginning to go into about the 50th cycle of the exact same thing. I'm of the humble opinion that its nice to renew things every once in a while, give people a chance to actually read the thread. As for your request for recommendations, I would put out A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge wherein a expedition to a mysterious star system which has some very unique features faces a lot of challenges and has to adapt in order to survive and continue with their objectives. There's a lot more to it, obviously, but I've read Pushing Ice and the two books are not entirely dissimilar. I'll have a think and see if I can't bring up any more. Ceebees posted:Windup Girl. I've read everything by Bacigalupi; I definitely really liked the Windup Girl but in my opinion Shipbreakers was better. I liked the setting of Thailand as I love that country but the incredibly gritty setting of brutal shipbreaking tribes run by gangs eking out an existence in the Louisiana delta region was just wonderfully realized and really fun, for me. I would put Windup Girl on top of The Drowned Cities, though. Play fucked around with this message at 07:46 on Jun 21, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Jun 21, 2013 06:52
|
|
Okay.
|
PlushCow posted:Last week I started reading Chronicles of the Black Company on ebook, an omnibus of the first three novels by Glen Cook. I remember hearing good things about it, and Steven Erikson cites it as a major influence of his for the Malazan series that I love, so I though I'd give it a go - and I couldn't get more than 10% through it before I stopped. You know it's funny, because I couldn't disagree with you more. I actually adored the very beginning of the black company series, because of its brusqueness. Often I really appreciate writing that is a bit aloof, where things happen quickly and there is little unnecessary exposition and description. In contrast, I feel like over time the Black Company books became more like an infinite number of other mediocre fantasy series. I am one of those who always will highly recommend Passage At Arms as Glen Cook's finest book, but then I'm a sucker for sci fi and naval battles and submarine epics and when they're all combined, so much the better (:
|
|
#
¿
Jun 23, 2013 06:53
|
|
|
It's kind of your call, if you're not enjoying that plotline at all feel free to stop. I definitely liked the second one, but its definitely not as good as the first one and its... different. The plot, in my opinion, never really wraps up in a very satisfying manner, but I felt that this was unsurprising.Jedit posted:So it's a bad book, then. Condensing the plot of a whole novel into one chapter is as bad as stretching out one chapter's worth of plot into a whole novel. Well that's a really simplistic way to look at it. There isn't a right or wrong way to write a novel and to think so is silly. Like someone else said, it serves as a prologue and is meant to be the logs of a mercenary company and so it is mimicking the style of a ship's log, which obviously is not written like a novel. In my opinion it works beautifully and its an amazing hook to get you started on the book. Some people prefer more endless exposition but for me that would just make it the same as almost everything else. Play fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Jun 23, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Jun 23, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
I just finished Takeshi Kovachs one and two (Altered Carbon and Something Angels) and I am partway through Woken Furies. I am really quite impressed with these books. They're not perfect, and they're a bit like airport fiction, but damned if they're not tons of fun. Altered Carbon was good, most of the second one was great (the ending I thought fell off a bit) and so far Woken Furies is the best of them all. So I would strongly recommend for sure. I had read The Steel Remains and The Cold Commands and really liked them so I guess it's no surprise that I like these, but I would say they're quite a bit better than that series, although apart from being gay Ringil Eskiath is absurdly similar to Takeshi Kovacs making it seem like Morgan can only create one kind of hero. Well I don't really care, the Takeshi Kovacs series is brilliantly realized sci-fi noir and there should be more like it. It makes the Expanse series (recently Abbadon's Gate) look like a joke.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 28, 2013 06:40
|
|
|
Piell posted:He skipped sweet pirate adventurers so he had more space for the sex elf and manmothers, as well as gooning out over Denna. gently caress Rothfuss. Yeah the living amongst the ninjas and getting super honored and also getting laid all the time was pretty painful. And was the basis of a large portion of the book. Another thing that was disappointing, besides lack of pirate adventures, was lack of progress in the plot, again in favor of increased sex elves and sex ninjas. It was pretty apparent that Rothfuss was putting titilating things in there and trying to live through his main character, which is shameful. Play fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Jul 2, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Jul 2, 2013 03:43
|
|
|
I have a huge recommendation to make: Jack Vance's Emphyrio. Without giving too much away, the story follows Ghyl Tarvoke who grows up on the world of Halma which has a somewhat strange social situation wherein any use of technology ("duping") is punished severely and is ruled over by a strange and secretive group, The Lords. Inspired by a small fragment of interstellar legend about a man named Emphyrio, Ghyl embarks on a lifelong search for truth which eventually will challengs everything he thought about Halma. The writing in this story is classic Jack Vance, just completely beautiful, baroque but descriptive and focused. His descriptions of the social customs of Halma seen through Ghyl's eyes are absolutely fascinating, I read this book in a couple days and didn't stop to read anything else. I liked his Tales of the Dying Earth but in my opinion this was much much better, being a very cohesive whole story. I have no idea where I ran into this but it was so good that I would like to find an original hardcover somewhere. Try it out.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2013 03:14
|
|
|
Blog Free or Die posted:Everyone disappointed by American Gods can try The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. A similar setup, except by Douglas Adams, so it's great. I can completely agree with this, that book is hilarious.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2013 10:51
|
|
|
I started reading the Eisenhorn trilogy (Warhammer 40k stuff) which has a thread in this forum and so far its actually really good sci-fi/fantasy. I can pretty confidently recommend it, although I'm only halfway through the second book. Also, I want to pimp Emphyrio by Jack Vance one more time. It's the best thing I've ever read by Jack Vance, by a long shot. That alone should get some people interested. Stuporstar posted:Pournelle is well known as a sexist shitheap. Look up the "12 rabid weasels of SFWA." He's one of them. Haha a comment from one one of those: quote:DOCTOR POURNELLE IS A GREAT MAN I STAND WITH HIM IN HIS FIGHT AGAINST THE WOMEN WHO REFUSE TO HAVE SEX WITH ME WHICH IS ALL OF THEM EVEN THE NAZIS ALLOWED SOME MALE RELEASE NOW AND THEN I HAVE SEEN THOSE MOVIES Play fucked around with this message at 10:04 on Jul 13, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Jul 13, 2013 09:58
|
|
|
Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:^^^^ I am going to take issue with this because you haven't even read the books at all and are going on what you picked up reading to page 15. That is stupid. That tone doesn't last, and in fact its used to contrast the rest of the book. That series is so much better than tons of stuff that gets recommended here all the time. I can see you have a serious problem with stereotype angsty violent wish fulfillment stuff but thats really not what this series is at all and its amazing you can have such a virulent opinion about a series that you haven't even read. It really bugs me when people parrot opinions without thinking and/or forms strong opinions with a complete lack of evidence. I really really liked the second book and the third was pretty good as well. Great adventure stories, really tight pacing, compelling mysteries, etc. I just finished the third book in the Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham. I'm not his hugest fan but I would say this is his best effort so far. I wasn't able to finish the Abbadon's Gate series, couldn't get through the last book. I read all the Autumn/Spring/etc. novels as well and while decent, there was a certain flatness. I've read better but its a pretty good series. Play fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Sep 29, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Sep 29, 2013 16:09
|
|
|
Azathoth posted:General Battuta's comment is dead-on. His writing is deeply problematic for anyone who is even passably aware of issues with either gender or sexuality, and for someone looking for books that tackle bigger issues within the fantasy or scifi genre, Bakker is the exact wrong place to start. He's the logical conclusion of the "written exclusively for men" strain within the fantasy genre and his exploration of the issues he tries to tackle is misguided at best and offensive at worst. Do you have to agree with an author's premise to find their ideas interesting or their material worth reading? Perhaps you might find it worth reading BECAUSE you don't agree with them? I guess there's nothing whatsoever of intellectual value in reading material written by people you don't agree with. Lol (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
|
|
#
¿
Oct 15, 2013 17:23
|
|
|
Some quick recommendations: The Dreamblood series (two books) by N.K. Jemisin. Fantasy loosely based on ancient Egyptian religious/magical thinking as well as Jungian psychoanalysis. Amazing writing, good characters, fascinating super un-cliche "magic", interesting ideas. Just great books all around. I've mentioned it a couple times but I'll repeat that Emphyrio is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. It's a Jack Vance book which is totally and completely different from the rest of his work. Some of the most compelling world and culture-building I've ever had the pleasure of reading. The only place to find this book may well be from a Jack Vance torrent, fyi. Witpunk is a compilation of edgy short stories with a literary bent that include fantastical elements. Really interesting stories they chose for this one. Also I've been hitting up some Discworld and enjoying it pretty well.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 1, 2013 15:05
|
|
|
I thought it was great. I had really wanted to see a lot of Sabetha and I got my wish in spades with a tragic drama and an interesting twist on the whole love story between the two. Basically I really liked it, although I agree the main plotline as not that compelling at the finish.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2013 09:15
|
|
|
Cardiac posted:The Terror by Dan Simmons is also good at that, one of his better ones. Double recommendation on "The Terror", I thought it was legitimately excellent. Compelling setting, great characters, a palpable sense of doom and disaster. One of the few things Simmons has written besides Hyperion that is worth reading.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 5, 2013 15:03
|
|
|
cryptoclastic posted:I recently read Engraved on the Eye by Saladin Ahmed. I really liked some of the stories taking place in a sorta Middle Eastern fantasy universe. I feel like the majority of fantasy books, while they are all in their own worlds, tend to have the same basic world as their foundation. Sorta European, mountains, things like that. The idea of people hanging out in the desert and fighting ghouls all Arabian Nightsy was really cool, something different. I know there was just discussion last page about awesome worlds, so I'm guessing there's quite a bit of overlap. Anyway, I was wondering if there were any recommendations for books with other non-traditional worlds. The Emperor's Knife, The Orphan's Tales, The Shadowed Sun books, just off the tippy top of my head. All of those books are quite excellent, with NK Jemisin's Shadowed SUn books (two of them) being probably the closest to what you seem to be looking for. It's an incredibly well-realized ancient-egypt analogue. The author is really well educated and it shows in the detail and sophistication of her world building. The Orphan's Tales are often discussed here, that book has enough worlds for everyone. Play fucked around with this message at 08:42 on Dec 5, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Dec 5, 2013 08:35
|
|
|
Clearly I'm in the minority, but I don't mind Niven so much. His Destroyer of Worlds series was pretty fun, and if he's not the greatest sci-fi author ever he is at least a step above the pulp sci fi like Honor Harrington, Lost Fleet, even Old Man's War. The Destroyer of Worlds series has surprising subtlety and awesome scenes, admittedly mixed in with somewhat lackluster plotting and characterization. I've never read anything of his with Pournelle, in fact Destroyer of Worlds is the only Niven series I have read.
Play fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Dec 17, 2013 |
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2013 16:09
|
|
|
The second Locke Lamora book, Red Seas Under Red Skies (or something) has a lot of nautical mayhem and awesomeness and, being a Locke Lamora book, is pretty excellent. The Scar is also fantastic, thirding that.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2013 17:09
|
|
|
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? WOW. I just finished reading The Fractal Prince, the follow-up to The Quantum Thief. For lack of a more reasonable word, these books are amazing, especially the first. They are just so chock-full of fascinating sci fi ideas, the pace is amazing, they are not too long, the characters are fascinating (although not as relatable as could be). At first I had trouble getting into the first one but just stick with it and the rewards are legion. They aren't heist-books per se, more like high-concept action sci-fi, but the main character is a thief who outsmarts people so it might appeal. I would recommend these books to you and to everyone else in this thread. Seriously, go read The Quantum Thief. Also Finch is a great sort-of detective story set in a very strange fictional universe. Play fucked around with this message at 11:59 on Jan 6, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Jan 6, 2014 10:12
|
|
|
Just finished some pretty good books. I read the first book in the Merchant Princes series randomly after discovering it on my hard drive. It was a quick read and really entertaining. There is a really strong and competent female lead which is great. It's a bit fluffy, but the writing was solid and I didn't really mind at all. I have a much stronger positive opinion about Death's Head by apparent former military guy David Gunn. This is a pretty grimy and violent military sci-fi. I had the greatest time with it, the writing is spare but compelling and the pacing is superb. Either this guy is naturally an excellent writer or he had amazing editors. Or maybe a little of both. It seemed a bit cliche at the beginning but it improved as it went on. I went in with pretty low expectations due to the title and the cover art but I can confidently recommend this, it was completely and unashamedly badass. Also, I finished The Fractal Prince, which was unsurprisingly quite good but didn't quite hold up to The Quantum Thief. Play fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Jan 11, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Jan 10, 2014 17:47
|
|
|
coyo7e posted:You should probably edit out that reference to ill-gotten ebooks before you get nailed. Nailed by whom exactly? I'm not being snippy I just don't understand.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 11, 2014 13:22
|
|
|
Utter douche? Almost as much an utter douche as someone who gets mad at strangers on the internet for the stupidest possible reason? I wasn't bragging about it, in fact I couldn't have mentioned it more casually. Do you think I would've paid for this book that I randomly found on my computer and had never even heard of before? Obviously not, but here I am promoting it and recommending it to other people. This is an old argument and I won't casually mention something in passing anymore I guess, but I can't agree that I'm hurting anyone, I have provided the author with a net benefit by spreading the name around and giving a positive review which everyone who reads this thread will see. So a book I never would have seen or heard of is instead brought to the attention of a significant amount of people. Moreover, my experience was positive enough that I paid for the rest of the books. I can see how its not so classy to mention it though so I won't. But gently caress you, you're dumb. Anyways, stoked that the Causal Angel is coming out, so excited for that! Is it the end of a trilogy, does anyone know? I hope so, it would be great to see a solid conclusion. Also, whoever recommended The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, thank you! I'm a big fan of the Shadowed Sun Series, also by N.K. Jemisin. Reading through this series, its not quite as brave thematically and isn't quite as interesting but thats not saying much negative because the Shadowed Sun series is amazing, this series looks like its gonna shape up to be really great. I read Ancillary Justice, quite good but not as earth-shatteringly amazing as all the hype made me think it would be. And I'm partway through the Lord of Light by Zelazny, which is really really great. (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) Play fucked around with this message at 14:14 on Jan 11, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Jan 11, 2014 14:10
|
|
|
Cingulate posted:Do we post about books we didn't like in here, too? Because I've now read some astonishingly bad mech stuff and would like to give a warning. Totally! This is for any and all discussion. Diss that poo poo so no one else has to go through what you went through.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 11, 2014 14:16
|
|
|
I was really disappointed by Slow Bullets, for several reasons. If you haven't read it and you want to don't bother reading further, its mostly spoilers and unadulterated whining in any case. First of all, I know its a novella, but for the most part it seems like Reynolds had one semi-interesting idea and decided to run with it (knowledge represented by the ship's computer slowly dying, and the passengers fighting to save what's left in various ways). He explored that idea for an extremely large portion of the book, and everyone on the ship, instead of acting like actual humans, simply go along with everything so that he can explore this idea. At one point they even force everyone on the ship to work incising passages onto the ship's walls. Apparently in the future hundreds upon hundreds of felons and soldiers are totally okay with being forcibly put to work on a ridiculous task. The technology was very strange. For the sake of plot, they're on an enormous FTL ship and there somehow isn't enough storage anywhere to save history's greatest texts. So a starship has less hard drive space than a mobile phone? I thought Scur's struggle for control of the ship was going to be interesting and perhaps even approach some realism. Instead, it was just scur running around solving problems with occasional interjections from her sort-of concillors, characters so bland I immediately forgot which one was which and it didn't matter anyways. In fact, there are only three characters one would remember. Scur, although to me she didn't feel authentic in the slightest, her nemesis, who for a sadistic war criminal was actually quite dull as well, and Murash, whose part of the story was by a MILE the most interesting. In fact, there would be a much better book there if he just scrapped this one and wrote a new book from Murash's perspective. Reynolds is not super-strong at characterization, but he has never had duller and less realistic characters than here. I'm a huge Reynolds fan, my favorite (and first) of his I read was the standalone Pushing Ice, and it remains my favorite although at this point I've read them all. Better characters, better ideas, better execution, more interesting plotline, etc. I highly recommend it to everyone, but especially people who like Reynolds but haven't checked that one out.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 6, 2015 05:34
|
|
|
On the other hand, I just finished The Liar's Key and it was so so good. I did like Prince of Fools but wasn't totally crazy about it for some reason. The locations were cool and the characters okay, although both Jalan and Snorri are WAY better in this one. Jalan is finally starting to show some hints of self-awareness and conscience and realize that the reason people don't respect him isn't because they're ignorant savages but because he sucks a lot of the time. The balance in this second book between him sucking and not sucking is much better this time, he's finally learning from all his adventures. Thanks to Jalan the book has some laugh-out-loud funny moments, mostly near the beginning as he travels through futurepast Scandinavia with Snorri and Tuttugu. The [insert important title here] of Thorns books had a real problem with the unrelenting darkness and angst and grim pronouncements. Jorg's whining and self-love are actually parodied in Jalan, to good effect. And in this book the action, the exposition, the dialogue, is all paced well. Snorri is great too, a bit one-dimensional but that's who he is. Here he's a man in the grip of unbearable grief, set on a course he knows to be wrong but refuses to divert from regardless. There's some pretty big reveals about the world itself and how it became this way and what the major players are fighting for. There's also some fantastic new locations, and the book stretches from the utter north all the way through the continent to the Italian peninsula. In summary, if you haven't read Prince of Fools, go do that now. If you have, go read Liar's Key.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 6, 2015 06:01
|
|
|
Firstborn posted:I recently started to listen to the audiobook of The Red Knight, book 1 of the Traitor Son Cycle, by Christian Cameron (styled as Miles Cameron for some reason). I am really enjoying it. It's about heroic knights battling "the wild", which is anything from giant bears to demons to wyverns. What's interesting is that because a lot of the conflict is knights interacting, they go by the laws of the chivalry of the world, so there's a lot of assholes bowing and offering phony apologies and posturing over each other with words that seem benign but are to actually get ahead. There's also what I can only describe as "anime catholic" religion, which is very much about revering saints, the cross, the Jesus analogue (I think they call him Jesu), and that sort of thing but in a metal paladin way where soldiers are carried to their caskets on spears, and holy magic burns away evil and provides protection against it. It's pretty great. Also, the author is a turbonerd re-enactor and former Navy officer, and knows his arms, armor, and tactics. When he writes his gore and battle, he knows the difference between a fauld and a pauldron and describes fighting stances and stuff. Yeah I'm a big fan. The sequel is also fantastic, expanding the world to a satisfying degree and adding a lot of disparate elements, one of my favorite settings being the enormous stretch of wooded wilds and the outwallers, many native american in aspect, who live there. The attention to detail in the ~16th century arms and armor is appreciated. I guess the author is one of those guys that like to dress up in armor and hit other guys with blunted swords. Whatever works. My only complaint would be that the main character is way too much without flaw and it takes away some of the tension. Still, fantastic books with a well-realized world and strong plotting. The second is better than the first in my opinion. thetechnoloser posted:Closest to Dune I can think of the "The Dragon Never Sleeps", by Glen Cook. Warring Houses, gholas/clones, political intrigue. Just don't expect the book to explain everything to you. I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone. This book is amazing! It was absolutely shocking to me. I'm a Glenn Cook fan in that I more or less enjoyed the Black Company series but I never knew he could write like this. It's fast paced and frenetic and confusing and fascinating. MrFlibble posted:Fairly sure one of the Red Dwarf books covers it as well. Everyone should read the red dwarf books anyway, they're really funny. Yes yes a million times yes. In point of fact, though, it's really only the first two that I can recommend without reservation. Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life. Both have the perfect mix of humorous and dramatic and interesting and fanciful.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 6, 2015 16:16
|
|
|
Nevvy Z posted:Has anyone read the books Red Rising and Golden Son by pierce brown? My friend really likes them but I trust you all collectively more than her. They're actually pretty good, despite what some people here contend (many without reading them whatsoever). They are NOT YA whatsoever. Much too brutal. Too much sex, too much violence, too much desperation. There are legitimate complaints about the sequence in the first book taking place at the Academy, which is somewhat Hunger-Games-y, but in reality the only similarity is that it's a competition with set rules. Beyond that its as different as can be. I can recommend both of them strongly. They are amazingly fast-paced and tightly-written, which I can always appreciate. There is no wasted space and no wasted exposition. The characters are three-dimensional and the plot twists are legitimately surprising. To be honest, I expected very little, I couldn't even remember where I had gotten Red Rising from. And at the start, I was not encouraged, it seemed a bit cliche. But it only rockets upwards from there. My recommendation would be to give it an honest try, if by halfway through the first book you despise it then it's not for you. I find that somewhat unlikely though. Got some more recommendations for you fools! Ever month I browse the "Fiction Affliction" articles (mainly in Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Genre Benders) and acquire anything that looks interesting. In this way I often come across books I've never seen mentioned here. So here are some interesting books for you to check out: The Library at Mount Char. Fantastic, bizarre book. I really have no idea how to describe it, it is utterly unique. I wouldn't want to spoil it anyways. In a gross summary, its a power struggle over a library which contains unimaginable power through the information stored therein. Emergence. Very B-movie style action thriller. Plenty of humor, plenty of cliche, but tightly written and enjoyable. An aging, balding rig safety manager who has made a mess of his family and his life attacks what looks like an orc with an enormous cock and finds himeself changed by the experience. Ghost Fleet. A yellow scare techno-thriller. Ludicrous in some ways, but written by defense contractors and so incredibly accurate in others. A fun read, don't take it too seriously just have fun with it. Then I've got a list of about ten books that are absolute poo poo, but for now I'm only posting good ones because I don't like to pass along negative feelings about a book and ruin the experience someone might've had  . Super excited to hear about new Blood Song and new Greatcoats!
Play fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jul 12, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2015 20:44
|
|
|
Amberskin posted:Seconding that. I loved that book: good character development, good plot twists and good final resolution. About the rest of RS novels, I quite liked Redemption Ark, with Absolution Gap being on my opinion the weakest of that bunch (I have not read The Prefect yet). The short stories are also good, some of them being little jewels, like Weather (perhaps my fav). I have to add I really dislike "Galactic North", both in its conclusion (I'm pretty sure there are better ways to kill a fictional universe!) and its development. I like to push (haha) Pushing Ice by Reynolds. It's a fantastic standalone that's got everything he's great at and very little he's not. Can't recommend it enough, I'd easily call it his best book by a decent margin. andrew smash posted:I read this and enjoyed it, blew through it in one sitting. Awesome! It's really strange isn't it? Unique and compelling, I also finished it in near one sitting. (The Library at Mount Char) Mars4523 posted:In this book, John Birmingham had a mid life crisis and wants to tell us all that he's still. GOT. IT. This is a ridiculous, gloriously terrible book, with its ridiculous male fantasy (schlubby white Everyman turns into swole God of war, anyone?) and its ridiculous villains. It's lose some brain cells levels of dumb. That said, I checked out a later book to see if it'd gotten better and the main character was throwing his "Super Pheremones" around at every invariably attractive woman in his orbit just for funsies. What the gently caress, John Birmingham? I admit I haven't actually read the whole thing, just maybe the first 20%. But for a totally crappy airport thriller it had a lot of stuff I can appreciate in it. I just try to embrace the shittiness, its way more fun that way.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 18, 2015 01:00
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:19 |
|
|
thetechnoloser posted:House of Suns, House of Suns, House of Suns. (If I say it three times, will AS write a sequel?). HoS is by far his best stand-alone. Pushing Ice is OK when it comes to BDO (Big Dumb Object) books, but HoS is just... amazing. I admit it's been a while since I've read it, but yes I've read everything by him, Pushing Ice remaining my favorite. Yeah it's a big dumb object story, but its one of the most compelling BDO's I've ever encountered. And besides, I'm not opposed to that trope in general, I've read a lot of fantastic fiction based on the same concept. I'm actually a HUGE fan of The Thousandth Night whish is the short story on which the later House of Suns was based (sort of). Guess it's time to reread HoS! That'll be fun. Quinton posted:Wait, hold on, WHAT?! Where/how was that established? I completely missed that. Yeah seriously, I just finished Price of Valor (I thought it was really good, perhaps the best one yet. It just came together more effectively than the last one) and I did not get even a hint of this. I DID, however, catch the idea that Sothe was the killer of Marcus' family. Perhaps this is how Winter's relationship to him will end up being revealed?
|
|
#
¿
Jul 18, 2015 18:58
|
|