What Are You Reading?

Manach

A series of short stories "Strangers from Earth" by Poul Anderson. These date from the early 50s. In style well written but almost uniformly dark and bleak, which given the time period (post WWII and threat of atomics) might be understandable.

5starpool

shrapnel222 wrote: »

i really enjoyed 11/22/63 by stephen king.

also both the hyperion and endymion books by Dan simmons deal with time travel but definitely not in a conventional sense

I've read the King one, thought it was great until the end. I'll look up the others.

Johnny Storm

5starpool wrote: »

Anyone recommend some good time travel types books? I've recently read Replay by Ken Grimwood (good but somewhat disappointing I thought) and The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Catherine Webb (I really enjoyed this), and looking for others. I've read The Time Machine years ago (not a favourite of mine) as well as the Outlander books, and I'm looking for more. Might not be the right thread for this, apologies if so.

The classics.....

Robert Heinlein - "By his Bootstraps" and "All You Zombies"
David Gerrold - The Man Who Folded Himself

There's not much left to do with time travel after those..... :pac:

The Sun King

Not sure if this is the right place, but can anyone recommend some zombie stuff? Max Brooks aside.

Nody

Not updated on a while; finished the Price of Thorns series, read through the first five books in the Clone Wars series and a few others.

SpaceSasqwatch

The Sun King wrote: »

Not sure if this is the right place, but can anyone recommend some zombie stuff? Max Brooks aside.

I am Legend is the only one I know of.Ignore the movie the book is decent enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_%28novel%29

The Sun King

SpaceSasqwatch wrote: »

I am Legend is the only one I know of.Ignore the movie the book is decent enough.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_%28novel%29

Should have mentioned that too. Read it in one sitting. I'm not really a "the book was way better" merchant, but I am Legend absolutely was.

Thargor

shrapnel222 wrote: »

i really enjoyed 11/22/63 by stephen king.

also both the hyperion and endymion books by Dan simmons deal with time travel but definitely not in a conventional sense

SpaceSasqwatch wrote: »

maybe give century rain by alaistair reynolds ago. it involves travel back to an alternative earth.

5starpool wrote: »

Anyone recommend some good time travel types books? I've recently read Replay by Ken Grimwood (good but somewhat disappointing I thought) and The First 15 Lives of Harry August by Catherine Webb (I really enjoyed this), and looking for others. I've read The Time Machine years ago (not a favourite of mine) as well as the Outlander books, and I'm looking for more. Might not be the right thread for this, apologies if so.

Stephen Baxter is one of the best living sci-fi writers and he wrote a direct sequel to the Time Machine and its brilliant, all his stuff is gold:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Ships

Not exactly time travel but a lot of his stuff deals with the effects of time dilation because of the distances involved, same for the Forever War.

Trojan

The Sun King wrote: »

Should have mentioned that too. Read it in one sitting. I'm not really a "the book was way better" merchant, but I am Legend absolutely was.

+1. The movie could have been great - one of those "I can't believe they didn't stick to the original book ending" movies..

Mal-Adjusted

Just finished Saturn's Race by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. Lots of neat ideas executed poorly. the story plods along at a very uneven pace and at times was an almighty chore to get through. strangely enough, the ending is then rushed and very unsatisfying. best avoided.

OwaynOTT

Wizard of Earthsea. About half way through and it's an absolute gem! I never read it when I was smaller and it's faring much better than Magician, Dragonbone Chair and other fantasy classics which I didn't like.

Kovu

OwaynOTT wrote: »

Wizard of Earthsea. About half way through and it's an absolute gem! I never read it when I was smaller and it's faring much better than Magician, Dragonbone Chair and other fantasy classics which I didn't like.

I read the six books not long ago, posted about it here round Christmas I think I enjoyed the first three, wasn't too keen on the 'Tales of Earthsea' one. On Books of Blood now, they're alright, like adult Goosebumps

ElWalrus

Finished Revelation Space by Allistair Reynolds, quite enjoyed it so progressing onto Redemption Ark, the next one in the series.

shrapnel222

just finishing up the buried giant by kazuo ishiguro.

All i can say is charming! the most gentle (in terms of pace and dialogue, but certainly not action) fantasy book i've ever read.

Thargor

ixoy wrote: »

21% into Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Time". The author of the "Shadows of the Apt" fantasy series is tackling sci-fi here and, so far, doing a damn good job. Not too many authors make this leap (admittedly a bit easier when the Apt series tech was at early 20th century level) and he once more delves into insects, this time with the evolution of the arachnid. Very interested to see how spiders vs last of humanity fares!

This is brilliant so far, thanks.

Fian

The Sun King wrote: »

Not sure if this is the right place, but can anyone recommend some zombie stuff? Max Brooks aside.

The "the passage" by justin cronin. it is vampires rather than zombies but it is vampires in the context of a post apocalyptic dystopia. Virus generates vampires rather than zombies and small group of human survivors try to stay human.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passage_(novel)

Fian

astonaidan wrote: »

Just started The Way Of Kings, like Bandon Sandersons writing so heres hoping

I really enjoyed this, and "words of radiance" is equally good. Enjoy!

Dades

Trojan wrote: »

Just finished Rath's Deception by Piers Platt.

It's a fast paced, simplistic but enjoyable space assassin action sf written in a similar style to Ender's Game. 5/5 if you liked that one, less if you didn't.

Mostly through this - enjoying it thanks for the recommendation!

Also re TIME TRAVEL, I really liked Baxters "A Time Odyssey" series, written with Arthur C Clarke.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Time_Odyssey

vasch_ro

Fian wrote: »

The "the passage" by justin cronin. it is vampires rather than zombies but it is vampires in the context of a post apocalyptic dystopia. Virus generates vampires rather than zombies and small group of human survivors try to stay human.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passage_(novel)

I recommend the passage i really enjoyed it at the time I read it, I think it forms part of a triliogy, would the white walkers be Zombies from Game of Thrones ?

ixoy

Reading 'Nexus' by Ramez Naam, the first in the trilogy of the same name. 67% in and it has interesting ideas, decent if not outstanding characters and average writing for the genre. Curious to see how it ends and will probably read the sequel.

Wabbit Ears

The Sun King wrote: »

Not sure if this is the right place, but can anyone recommend some zombie stuff? Max Brooks aside.

Ive read a fair bit of Zombie stuff, By far my favorite Genre.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057267443

Sleepy

Started the Gentleman Bastards the other night. So far so good.

Nody

Finished The straight razor cure by Daniel Polansky as somoene said it was like Genteman Bastards; I can see the parallels but the story telling are very different quality level as is how the characters are brought to life etc. Sorry to say not overly impressed by it but I think I still have another book or two in the series lying around.

drake70

Just started The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really enjoying it so far. Also it's a nice change as I have immersed myself in fantasy for the last few years.

Fian

drake70 wrote: »

Just started The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really enjoying it so far. Also it's a nice change as I have immersed myself in fantasy for the last few years.

Great book, the sequels are good but not quite as good imo.

I have just finished war and peace, which is off topic for this forum i guess, but i was rushing to finish it so i could start the water knife, Paolo Bacigalupi (i had to google and paste that in, can never spell that surname.) They say War and Peace is long, but whoever "they" are have obviously not read a song of ice and fire or tales of the malazan, it is a novella compared to them. Although i confess it is harder to finish, did not grip me like those either.

Anyway just started the water knife, so far so good, loved the windup girl, pump six and the drowned cities so really looking forward to this.

Planning on the Dresden files next, don't really like the idea of those books but I guess I have been hearing about them often enough that they must be worth a try.

coffee_cake

The fifth season
Read it today and highly recommend it, great writing, great ideas, all of it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifth-Season-Broken-Stone-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00UFWTMUC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Thargor

drake70 wrote: »

Just started The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. Really enjoying it so far. Also it's a nice change as I have immersed myself in fantasy for the last few years.

Brilliant book, you have his Commonwealth Saga to look forward to afterwards, different universe.

drake70

Thargor wrote: »

Brilliant book, you have his Commonwealth Saga to look forward to afterwards, different universe.

Great, I need plenty of sci-fi to take my mind off my second attempt to read the wheel of time.

Bits_n_Bobs

bluewolf wrote: »

The fifth season
Read it today and highly recommend it, great writing, great ideas, all of it

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifth-Season-Broken-Stone-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00UFWTMUC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Second that recommendation - thoroughly enjoyed it. Also her 'Inheritance Trilogy' was great. Had never heard of her up till a few weeks ago and thundered through all the above.

Zith

Just finished Planetfall by Emma Newman. Enjoyed it. Not your run of the mill scifi stuff. Good tech, interesting characters, and some good twists. Some people have said they were disappointed with the ending but I liked it. I think they expected one of the usual formula endings.