What Are You Reading?

shrapnel222

keane2097 wrote: »

On Dune, I'm about 75% through it now. Seems to me like there's enormous scope for additional books, but the consensus seems to be that many of the follow ons are pretty bad.

Any opinions on that front from anyone here?

the original is awesome, brilliant, great, and any other superlative you want to give it. everything after that pales in comparison and scope.

ElWalrus

Thargor wrote: »

Never heard of Echopraxia thanks! Is it set after the events of Blindsight? I thought at the end of that.. ?

Will throw it on the pile anyway I loved Blindsight.

It's set after, but it doesn't follow directly from the events of what happens on The Theseus. The story's told told from a different view point.

Your still left with the impression humanity's in trouble though. :pac:

david75

It's not sci fi really but Reading The Martian before I see the film. It's a super fun read and all the science stuff is easily off set by the main character being really likeable. Think it's by Andy Weir?

Recommend it.

ixoy

Reading "City of Stairs" by Robert Jackson Bennett, a *gasp* standalone fantasy novel. Good so far and there's an interesting world - closest I can think of is Kameron Hurley's work.

david75 wrote:

It's not sci fi really but Reading The Martian before I see the film

I'd have said it's absolutely sci-fi. Any particular reason you'd think it isn't? A near future setting doesn't at all rule it out as sci-fi.

Evac101

Taltos wrote: »

Reminds me a bit of Mike Hammer "Trust me. I know what I'm doing!"

I may be betraying my lack of familiarity with the Mickey Spillane novels but my point of reference for that quote is Sledge Hammer, not Mike

Thargor

ElWalrus wrote: »

It's set after, but it doesn't follow directly from the events of what happens on The Theseus. The story's told told from a different view point.

Your still left with the impression humanity's in trouble though. :pac:

Thanks, just realised its the same author that did the rifters series, brilliant sci-fi if you haven't read them yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Starfish-Rifters-Trilogy-Peter-Watts/dp/0765315963/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_z

Bits_n_Bobs

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "City of Stairs" by Robert Jackson Bennett, a *gasp* standalone fantasy novel. Good so far and there's an interesting world - closest I can think of is Kameron Hurley's work.

I thought City of Stairs was a cracking read. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

About 50% through 1Q84 and it's picking up pace. I don't think it could be described as a page turner however it's definitely an enjoyable read.

ferrigan101

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks, just realised its the same author that did the rifters series, brilliant sci-fi if you haven't read them yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Starfish-Rifters-Trilogy-Peter-Watts/dp/0765315963/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_z

He has some of his work up for free in downloadable PDF here http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm

Btw, long time lurker of this forum and you have all given me plenty of reading over the years so thanks!

shaneor

ixoy wrote: »

Reading "City of Stairs" by Robert Jackson Bennett, a *gasp* standalone fantasy novel. Good so far and there's an interesting world - closest I can think of is Kameron Hurley's work.

I finished this a few weeks ago and it was a great read. One of the more interesting settings I've read in a good while. It looks like there is a sequel due next year though! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23909755-city-of-blades

I'm currently dipping back into the Dresden files with Summer Knight. Good fun as with the previous books and I keep hearing the series gets even better.

Thargor

Reading Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge, sequel to A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire upon the Deep, absolutely brilliant, forgot what a great species the Tines were.

ElWalrus

Thargor wrote: »

Thanks, just realised its the same author that did the rifters series, brilliant sci-fi if you haven't read them yet:

http://www.amazon.com/Starfish-Rifters-Trilogy-Peter-Watts/dp/0765315963/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_z

Cheers. Will put them on the list.

SpaceSasqwatch

Thargor wrote: »

Reading Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge, sequel to A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire upon the Deep, absolutely brilliant, forgot what a great species the Tines were.

He just doesnt write enough damm books though!

Thargor

These are the only three of his Ive read, when I went to get everything he's ever written the other day it turns out he only really has the Realtime/Bobble trilogy and Rainbows End which I already have, the rest are short stories, a pity alright.

Thargor

Good article on the history of Dune today in the guardian, mildly spoilerish for the new readers:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world

Cant believe its 50 years old, only read it again last year and it barely shows it.

Kewreeuss

The captain of the Syndicate Worlds merchant ship approaching the jump point out of Baldur Star System might have been having a good day-right up until the point that several squadrons of Alliance fleet destroyers appeared coming out of that jump point.. He might have had a few minutes to wonder if he could somehow run past the Alliance destroyers and jump out of the system to safety, before many more destroyers appeared, and before squadrons of light cruisers materialised behind the destroyers.
Aargh, I hope the plot is better constructed than this, the first two sentences of Lost Fleet, Courageous by a jack Campbell.
I fear I may end up reading detailed descriptions of battleships, their weapons, their speeds in evading various other battleships in the deeps of space, etc etc. Particularly when I turned pages and pages of ships names, battalion names, legion names and all that whatever before I got to the two starting lines above.
I'll see how it goes........

Kewreeuss

Clunk, clunk, clunk. The story barely trundles along.
Po-faced 'hero', wooden antipathic characters, even his fleet is boring.
Has anyone read any of this author's work? Did I just pick a bad one?

Trojan

Kewreeuss wrote: »

Clunk, clunk, clunk. The story barely trundles along.
Po-faced 'hero', wooden antipathic characters, even his fleet is boring.
Has anyone read any of this author's work? Did I just pick a bad one?

Great books. There's this really awesome virtual meeting room that allows all the fleet captains to sit in a virtual conference as if they were all physically present.

There's also a virtual meeting room where all the fleet captains can convene as if they were actually in the same room.

And let me describe for you the virtual meeting room where...

Trojan

Finished Gridlink.

Not impressed. Discovered the author actually published an alternative ending for the book online - where nothing substantial changes, he just explains wtf just happened.

Is it worth my while trying another of these Polity/Cormac books or are they all similarly written?

Bits_n_Bobs

Trojan wrote: »

Is it worth my while trying another of these Polity/Cormac books or are they all similarly written?

I thoroughly enjoyed the Polity/Cormac books, probably my second favorite series (Banks Culture ones being my favorite). They are all similarly written so if you didn't enjoy that one chances are you will not enjoy the rest of them.

I'm 90+% through 1Q84 and I've enjoyed it.

It's oddly compelling, oddly written and utterly obscure. I'm hoping for some great reveal at the end where plot clarity will be delivered, but suspect it will just end oddly.

Thargor

I loved them anyway and I'm usually very unforgiving of the same old sci-fi cliches, Gridlinked was the first so maybe he only hit his stride afterwards, are you reading them in the goodreads order with Prador Moon to start off? I love the Prador, a great race.

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

I thoroughly enjoyed the Polity/Cormac books, probably my second favorite series (Banks Culture ones being my favorite).

Same.

Bits_n_Bobs

Thargor wrote: »

I loved them anyway and I'm usually very unforgiving of the same old sci-fi cliches, Gridlinked was the first so maybe he only hit his stride afterwards, are you reading them in the goodreads order with Prador Moon to start off? I love the Prador, a great race.

Same.

Have you a link to the Goodreads reading order? I'm considering re-reading them and wondering what order to do it in.

Dades

Logged in to Amazon Kindle store this morning to buy the final installment of the Tower Lord trilogy... all is not good. :pac:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00SHL3VRI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I have never seen reviews like that for a previously loved writer...

Still gonna read I reckon. It deserves a shot at least.

Thargor

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

Have you a link to the Goodreads reading order? I'm considering re-reading them and wondering what order to do it in.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49128-polity-universe

I wasnt a big fan of the short stories but thought everything else was gold, they were okay but a lot of their subject matter had been covered. He's currently one book in to a new Polity trilogy aswell, Dark Intelligence.

I also still have his Owner trilogy to read but Im saving that for when Im traveling:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/61988-owner-trilogy

Thargor

Dades wrote: »

Logged in to Amazon Kindle store this morning to buy the final installment of the Tower Lord trilogy... all is not good. :pac:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00SHL3VRI/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

I have never seen reviews like that for a previously loved writer...

Still gonna read I reckon. It deserves a shot at least.

Wow, not good. Wonder if the pressure got to him after the reception for Blood Song or was it just a fluke? At least he publisged in a timely manner and didnt string it out for years like certain others...

Bits_n_Bobs

Thanks. I read Dark Intelligence and thought it was one of his best novels for a while

TwoShedsJackson

Thargor wrote: »

Wow, not good. Wonder if the pressure got to him after the reception for Blood Song or was it just a fluke? At least he publisged in a timely manner and didnt string it out for years like certain others...

I'm about 70% of the way through this and it seems a definite improvement on the 2nd one to me, still not as good as the first though. Of course, there's plenty of time for it to go wrong before the end...

Dades

Well, I'll be starting it tonight!

Just over €11 for Kindle, not bad for a new release tbh. That said, the €/£/$ exchange rate is a bitch.

Evac101

Trying to read the ShadowMarch trilogy (in a single volume) which I picked up cheap in Chapters recently. I'm really not enjoying it to be honest but I have such an almost Scrooge like need to get value from any books I buy that I'll keep on going. So far it seems to be a YA "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs court" with weak Celtic allusions and poor spelling. Given that one of my Feist books was "Faerie Tale", I would have thought I'd be well up for this but it seems that 15 odd years will change a fellas taste, which makes me wonder if I would enjoy that Feist book on a reread now...

Trojan

Bits_n_Bobs wrote: »

I thoroughly enjoyed the Polity/Cormac books, probably my second favorite series (Banks Culture ones being my favorite). They are all similarly written so if you didn't enjoy that one chances are you will not enjoy the rest of them.

I'll give another one a go...

Thargor wrote: »

I loved them anyway and I'm usually very unforgiving of the same old sci-fi cliches, Gridlinked was the first so maybe he only hit his stride afterwards, are you reading them in the goodreads order with Prador Moon to start off? I love the Prador, a great race.

... and it should probably be Prador Moon so!

Thargor

Well I dont know, I devoured them in one big block in a few weeks so I honestly cant separate them in my head, I just know that when it hits its stride with the main threat it was amazing, rivaling the Culture novels, maybe I do remember the first couple being a bit rough...