Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: diceman111 on April 08, 2007, 03:55:23 pm
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Ok well I have ran out of books to read right now and you can only sit infront of the TV/computer for that long (wich in my case is very long) so I was wondering if anybody can reconmend some good thriller/sci-fi/war books
Have read most books by Tom Clancy, Jan Guillou (Swedish author) C.S Forrester (The books about hornblower) and a few by Arthur C Clark.
/Dice
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I'm liking Brave New World.
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I'm liking Brave New World.
Meh, too preachy.
Just go read the books people have been making threads about lately: Hitchiker's Guide, Thrawn trilogy, etc.
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Uhm...try The Testament and A Time To Kill by John Grisham.
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Anything by Ryszard Kapuscinski. I think he's written some poetry as well, but I can't vouch for that.
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Ok will go to the library some day this week and borrow some of these books I think
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Are you really going to buy the books I mentioned?!?
See you the next year! :lol:
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Are you really going to buy the books I mentioned?!?
See you the next year! :lol:
Those books aren't that long ::)
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Gradisil, by Adam Roberts. It's semi-hard SF with an interesting premise and some brilliant characterisation. Takes a bit of getting into, but it's definitely worth the effort.
And just about anything by Alastair Reynolds.
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Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban. (currently the best book that I have ever read. I'm writing a term paper about it :) )
Anything by Vonnegut, specifically Cat's Cradle, Galapagos, The Sirens of Titan, and Slaughterhouse-Five.
A Canticle for Leibowitz (very, very good)
Dune, by Frank Herbert.
There are tons and tons more good books out there.
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Anything and everything by Charles Sheffield. :D
Especially Between the Strokes of Night, Godspeed, and the Mind Pool duology.
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Are you really going to buy the books I mentioned?!?
See you the next year! :lol:
Well first of all I said of to the library (I.e Not BUY them) and second of all I am a fast reader I normally read out a 3-400 pages book in 3-4 hours
/Dice
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And just about anything by Alastair Reynolds.
QFT. I got suckered in by Chasm City and then went on to the Reveleation Space trilogy.
It's hard SF, but the books usually focus on the characters and politics/intrigue, so it's more like reading a thriller.
Best SF books I've read in a looong time.
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Anyone here read the Firebird trilogy? I have... (get books used from eBay & Amazon - woot!)
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Peter F. Hamilton is a name to look out for. Grab Pandora's Star - tis awesome.
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Thrawn Triology. 'nuff said.
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Ender's Game plus everything else in the series. I prefer the Bean side of the series, however (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hedgemon, etc.. etc....)
[edit] these are by Orson Scott Card [/edit]
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StarShip Trooper, The Forever War, Old Man's War, Night Fall (978-0553290998). Also the normal "great" books: Lord of the rings and the Hobbit, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and some of the clancy books are good (once in a while)
All of these books are very good and I tend to reread them at least once a year.
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StarShip Trooper
I second this. Very good little book, and far superior to the movie in every way. If you've ever seen the movie, you need to read the book to do justice to original Heinlein's vision.
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I highly recommend Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Extremely well written. The two follow-up Endymion books you can skip, though.
Also recommend The Forge of God and Eon by Greg Bear.
For something different and a bit more earthy, The Narrows by Alexander Irvine is interesting. The ending surprised and kind of confused me, but in a good way.
I'll also third the recommendations for Alastair Reynolds. I just finished reading his Zima Blue anthology. Very well done.
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You don't underline book titles when you can italicize them.
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Heh. You may be right. I was always taught to underline full-fledged publications like books or magazines, but to italicize articles or short-stories. However, I'm having some difficulty finding anything online that backs that up. Whenever I had to submit an article for publication at university, I was at the mercy of whatever style that particular publication used (which frequently forbade use of both italics and underlining).
What I am finding instead is that underlining and italics could both be used for major / complete / stand-alone publications, but italics are generally preferred. Articles or short-stories would be neither underlined or italicized but put into quotes.
[shrug / nod] Ok. Learned something new. [/off topic]
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StarShip Trooper
I second this. Very good little book, and far superior to the movie in every way. If you've ever seen the movie, you need to read the book to do justice to original Heinlein's vision.
Oh, this means that I have to buy that book!
I highly recommend Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Extremely well written. The two follow-up Endymion books you can skip, though.
I've heard of them. Are they that good, I'm a bit interested on then.
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I'm liking Brave New World.
Meh, too preachy.
Just go read the books people have been making threads about lately: Hitchiker's Guide, Thrawn trilogy, etc.
Preachy? I've heard Brave New World called a lot of things, but preachy isn't usually one of them. It's an excellent book.
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http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,45699.msg931979.html#msg931979
I'm too lazy to re-type my list.
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Preachy? I've heard Brave New World called a lot of things, but preachy isn't usually one of them. It's an excellent book.
I never said it wasn't a good book, but I just think it got too damn preachy against things like drugs and sex. I know it was a result of the time Huxley lived in, but I felt he could have been a hell of a lot more subtle in getting across his message. After all, Huxley had an unstable, ultrareligious masochist as the story's protagonist!
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Uhm... the Savage represented the old moralistic order rather than any personification of masochism. At least, that was my interpretation of it... Huxley was trying to tell the reader that there is either the Scylla of total moral anarchy or the Charybdis of the "Christ complex" or suffering for everyone's sins. I think he presents a clear alternative in the form of Helmholtz and Bernard (who get "punished" by being sent to an island where free-thinkers are), but the Savage is the true hero of the story.
When I read the book, a lot of people in my class had difficulty getting the book's message - especially during the dialogue between Mustapha Mond and the Savage - so I wouldn't exactly call it "subtle". My opinion, though.
Point Counter Point was a lot less gratuitous.
EDIT: Oh, and I wouldn't exactly describe Huxley as anti-drug. He took mescaline often and wrote about his experiences.
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I highly recommend Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Extremely well written. The two follow-up Endymion books you can skip, though.
I've heard of them. Are they that good, I'm a bit interested on then.
Yes, they are. The universe Dan Simmons constructs in the first two Hyperion books is one of the most compelling I've ever read, with excellent characterization to boot. If you enjoy those two, I'd also recommend The Hollow Man, which was partially inspired by "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Elliot, IMHO the best poem ever written.
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Thanks, perihelion. I will take a look...
My favourite books are the ones I have never imagined to buy or receive as present, really.
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Well my favorite book of all time would proberly be Red Storm By Tom Clancy
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Jane Austen or George Orwell.
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Jane Austen or George Orwell.
Austen? Ugh.
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Just got done reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. Good book. ;)
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I highly recommend Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Extremely well written. The two follow-up Endymion books you can skip, though.
Also recommend The Forge of God and Eon by Greg Bear.
For something different and a bit more earthy, The Narrows by Alexander Irvine is interesting. The ending surprised and kind of confused me, but in a good way.
I'll also third the recommendations for Alastair Reynolds. I just finished reading his Zima Blue anthology. Very well done.
I second the Hyperion series recommendations - those two books hold such a wide variety of everything - scenes (that river that flowed from one _____ to another to another), stories (so diverse!), and characters (Colonel Kassad and that suit of his, the Shrike...!). I also second ANYthing by Greg Bear. I have to say that I still remember getting to this one scene towards the end of The Forge of God (if you've read it, you know which scene I'm talking about) all those years ago, and almost literally reading it breathlessly. I totally had what he was describing in my mind's eye, and it was a sight to behold alright. Scary as hell, too. :) It's one of those moments that you wish you could re-experience going through for the first time over and over again, like (for me, at least) watching The Matrix for the first time, seeing the Balrog on-screen, freaking out at "DIVE DIVE DIVE HIT YOUR BURNERS PILOTS!", or even watching the FS1 intro.
Add to the list:
If you like/tolerate fantasy, definitely look for George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and the other 3 books that have yet to be written). LotR-scale epic fantasy, yet somehow written in a sci-fi-like manner. TONS of characters, very well-developed lore, great writing... and MASSIVE books, too - averaging 900 pages or so. From the Wikipedia entry:
The books are known for complex characters, sudden and often violent plot twists, and intricate political intrigue. In a genre where magic usually takes center stage, this series has a reputation for its limited and subtle use of magic, employing it as an ambiguous and often sinister background force. Finally, the novels do not (presently) center around a climactic clash between "Good" and "Evil;" plot lines have revolved primarily around political infighting and civil war, with only one or two storyline arcs even suggesting the possibility of an external threat.
The novels are narrated from a very strict third person limited omniscient perspective, the chapters alternating between different point of view characters. Martin's treatment of his characters makes them extremely hard to classify: very few can be labeled as "good" or "evil". The author also has a reputation of not being afraid to kill any character, no matter how major.
If you like sci-fi, get ANY of the books by Timothy Zahn, whether they be the Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command), or any of his other series' or standalone books. He is one of those authors who manages to come up with unique twists and angles in pretty much every book - not just in the storyline, but in the culture and what-have-you of the races he invents. Top-notch stuff. To get an idea of what I mean, either get the Conqueror's trilogy (Conqueror's Pride, Conqueror's Heritage, Conqueror's Legacy) or something like The Green and the Gray, Warhorse, or Manta's Gift. Simply superb.
Orson Scott Card and his Ender series is also enrapturing. Just thinking about the various things in those books makes me want to read them again, but I just finished them right before I got into Martin's Song of Ice and Fire at the beginning of the year. :p
I've also had highly recommended to me a couple of other authors and their series', but I haven't been able to collect all the books, and so I haven't read beyond the first book in each, but I'll pass the recommendation on nonetheless: the Honor Harrington series by David Weber, and the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks.
If you want some REALLY different reading, try out some of Harry Turtledove's alternate history books - quite a ride, those. I first read one when I was young, so young that it took me a while to realize that it was, in fact, alternate history. It was only when I got the the part about the unfallen Byzantine empire having invented fireworks (I knew China was responsible for fireworks in the real world) that I realized what I was reading. :p
Finally, a few Star Trek authors that I will pick up most any book of theirs: Peter David, author of the novel Vendetta (Borg meet the Planet Killer), probably the only book I've read 20 times, Gene DeWeese, author of Chain of Attack and The Final Nexus (GREAT pair of books), Diane Duane, who wrote My Enemy, My Ally (Best. Romulan. Book. Ever.) and Doctor's Orders (gotta love McCoy).
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Ach, right! I knew I was forgetting a big one. I second the Iain M. Banks recommendation. He comes up with concepts that rival Larry Niven for shear audacity, but he's also brilliant at characterization, something Niven always struggled with. If you can find it, Feersum Endjinn is a fun ride. (It'll probably be easier to find for a lot of you in the UK because he hasn't made near as big a splash here in the states as I gather he has closer to home.)
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If you like/tolerate fantasy, definitely look for George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and the other 3 books that have yet to be written). LotR-scale epic fantasy, yet somehow written in a sci-fi-like manner. TONS of characters, very well-developed lore, great writing... and MASSIVE books, too - averaging 900 pages or so.
Well, I wouldn't say it's written in a 'sci-fi-like manner' at all, in fact I find that Martin writes more fantasy-like than most modern fantasy authors do, but yes: A Song of Ice and Fire is excellent. It's less conventional than most high fantasy, with very cool, understated magic and excellent characters.
Oh! Speaking of fantasy, Imajica by Clive Barker is absolutely brilliant. It's very dark, very non-standard, and is by far the best fantasy I've read to date. It's quite long, at around a thousand pages, but the world and the characters are complex enough to fill it easily. And it's stand-alone, so you don't need to worry about all that messy trilogy business either.
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Well, I wouldn't say it's written in a 'sci-fi-like manner' at all, in fact I find that Martin writes more fantasy-like than most modern fantasy authors do, but yes: A Song of Ice and Fire is excellent.
Well, I guess what I meant by that was that sci-fi - good sci-fi, at least - will put the characters through situations that we cannot experience in this day and age, but that we can identify with. Unlike J. R. R. Tolkein or C. S. Lewis (who, TBH, are the only other fantasy authors I've read), Martin writes like that. Tolkein and Lewis put their characters through a save-the-world-by-accomplishing-a-certain-task situations, which most people don't quite identify with. Martin, on the other hand, has real-life situations, just set in Medieval-like times.
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Another good Clive Barker book is Weaveworld.
I'd also recommend any book by Julian May if you like fantasy books. :yes:
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Well, I guess what I meant by that was that sci-fi - good sci-fi, at least - will put the characters through situations that we cannot experience in this day and age, but that we can identify with. Unlike J. R. R. Tolkein or C. S. Lewis (who, TBH, are the only other fantasy authors I've read), Martin writes like that. Tolkein and Lewis put their characters through a save-the-world-by-accomplishing-a-certain-task situations, which most people don't quite identify with. Martin, on the other hand, has real-life situations, just set in Medieval-like times.
I'd say that's more to do with good character-writing in general than anything specific to genre. It does seem more common in SF than high fantasy, true, but I think that says more about high fantasy than it does science fiction.
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Inkheart, anyone?