The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard DawkinsThat's going to be my next read.
The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard DawkinsThat's going to be my next read.
I'm on the lookout for a good rendition of Guadalcanal.
The immaculate conception of Private Ritter (http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/images/TheImmaculateConceptionofPrivateRitter.pdf), by the goddamn Battutaman.
The immaculate conception of Private Ritter (http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/images/TheImmaculateConceptionofPrivateRitter.pdf), by the goddamn Battutaman.I never got the chance to read this. Wow. Crazy stuff.
The immaculate conception of Private Ritter (http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/images/TheImmaculateConceptionofPrivateRitter.pdf), by the goddamn Battutaman.
Hehe zipped through that, very good fun. Does anybody know when the Cormorant Betrayal is available?
NGTM-1R thanks for the heads up on Neptune's Inferno, consider it added to the queue.
They've also got the complete (to-date) Honor Harrington books on the latest David Weber CD image.
ive read most of the dune books out there. im starting to loose intrest though, thanks to the drivel mill qualities of the newer books. il just stick to the original 6 and pretend the others didnt exist. tan said i probably haven't read a book in about a year.
I can't find "The Short Victorious War" D:
I can't find "The Short Victorious War" D:
That's because you are looking in the wrong place (http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/01-HonorverseCD/HonorverseCD/).
ive read most of the dune books out there. im starting to loose intrest though, thanks to the drivel mill qualities of the newer books. il just stick to the original 6 and pretend the others didnt exist. tan said i probably haven't read a book in about a year.
ive read most of the dune books out there. im starting to loose intrest though, thanks to the drivel mill qualities of the newer books. il just stick to the original 6 and pretend the others didnt exist. tan said i probably haven't read a book in about a year.
I find that this review (http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/10/15) (penny-arcade.com) covers most of the issues I have with the new Dune books quite nicely.
I can't find "The Short Victorious War" D:
That's because you are looking in the wrong place (http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/01-HonorverseCD/HonorverseCD/).
It's s'okay. I hate cats, so it automatically loses two stars.
It's s'okay. I hate cats, so it automatically loses two stars.
You know, it's shocking how many genocidal people hate cats.
For crying out loud, even Bloefeld liked cats.It's s'okay. I hate cats, so it automatically loses two stars.
You know, it's shocking how many genocidal people hate cats.
are you kidding, i love cats. they are so cute and furry and they purr when you wub dem behind teh ears. and i still would decimate cities with multi-megaton nuclear devices.
That just means a fluffy white kitty is obviously the perfect pet for Nuke.(http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc103/Emperor_of_Nihil/IMG_0085.jpg)
are you kidding, i love cats. they are so cute and furry and they purr when you wub dem behind teh ears. and i still would decimate cities with multi-megaton nuclear devices.
Paperback books around 5' tall and 3' wide (or around that size) are the only real way to read. Nothing beats a real book, ever.
Paperback books around 5' tall and 3' wide (or around that size) are the only real way to read. Nothing beats a real book, ever.
Your books are the size of note-cards? That sounds abysmal to read off of.
Because I lack the time and the will currently to devote to something information-dense and of crappy narrative quality (goddamit First Team and Guadalcanal) I'm rereading my X-Wing books.
this thread has really good taste, i need to read some of the military history on here
on a separate note asimov's apparently took all the scene breaks out of my story, what the christ :blah:
No it is good because you are smart
I think Baru Cormorant is a much better story with much better prose, I'm a little embarrassed about Ritter. It feels stodgy and thick.
Just finished Garth Nix' 'The Seventh Tower' series, if only because I read the first thee books as a kid and couldn't get the other three. As with all his other works, it was a great read with a fair bit of bloodletting for a kids book, but lost steam towards the end.Hey, I remember reading those, though I can't recall the ending myself. Did you ever read Sabriel and its sequels? Good stuff.
It also has one of those open ended 'And so the bad guy was beaten and the good guys finished their quest. But rather than give you the solid close you've just read six ****ing books for, I'm going to leave you with them just starting to deal with a bunch of **** that was going to be in the next book before I decided that this is giving me enough money as it is...' kind of endings. :mad:
Hey, I remember reading those, though I can't recall the ending myself. Did you ever read Sabriel and its sequels? Good stuff.
Ooh, Battuta, is that publicly available, and do you have a link?
The immaculate conception of Private Ritter (http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/images/TheImmaculateConceptionofPrivateRitter.pdf), by the goddamn Battutaman.
Ooh, Battuta, is that publicly available, and do you have a link?
Ritter?
It hath been posted already:The immaculate conception of Private Ritter (http://www.asimovs.com/2012_02/images/TheImmaculateConceptionofPrivateRitter.pdf), by the goddamn Battutaman.
Ooh, Battuta, is that publicly available, and do you have a link?
Ritter?
It hath been posted already
Many girls do that (teen SF/F writers at workshops are overwhelmingly women) but here is the talented Miss Yu's story: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/yu_04_11/
Been attending a lot of teen girl sci fi conventions lately, batoot?
Thanks! If you're up for more WORDS of mine there's this piece which I like a bit more -- http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/story.php?s=178
e: you might like it particularly as it has some (probably botched) neuroscience
Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium. Simply hilarious.
http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Empire-Novels-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553293370
Dune. Holy crap so good why did I not read this several years ago.
Ciaphas Cain: Hero of the Imperium. Simply hilarious.
I recently got via a friend Dead In The Water, the audiobook-only Cain book, but I'm afraid to listen to it for fear they're just not going to sound anything like they do in my head.
Though I gather Amberley is worth the listen regardless...
I'd heard the dire warnings about those, but I was going to ask if I should continue on with everything that Frank Herbert himself wrote. (Granted, it'll probably take me years before I get around to it.) Is that a yes, then?Dune. Holy crap so good why did I not read this several years ago.
do yourself a favor and stop reading after the original six books. it only goes down hill from there.
Implying K.J.Anderson & B.Herbert's crap is cannon? What the hell man! are you a Harkonnen spy?! or did the Corrinos send you as part of their plot?
The only Cannon is F.Herbert, stop your heresy or I will call my Fremen brothers to a Jihad against thou!
I'd heard the dire warnings about those, but I was going to ask if I should continue on with everything that Frank Herbert himself wrote. (Granted, it'll probably take me years before I get around to it.) Is that a yes, then?Dune. Holy crap so good why did I not read this several years ago.
do yourself a favor and stop reading after the original six books. it only goes down hill from there.
Did you read the Emperor's finest? Is that one any good?
No, I haven't gotten it yet. I did end up with a copy of The Last Ditch, however, and I liked that one.
The only book in the series I don't like is Cain's Last Stand, and even that's by comparison to the others.
That's the one on the first siege of Perlia right? I thought that was the weakest too, it just seems everything goes right and there's no challenge at all for Cain. I asked because I think Emperor's finest is the one they finally that space hulk and ther reclaimers.
I can't even stand the Machine Revolt, seriously how did they f*** that up? it was practically already written in Frank's books! The revolts happened because of humanity's laziness and absolute dependence on machines at the time, they then change that to the B-movie plot of machines assumed direct control and enslaved humanity, this hurt me.
AndSpoiler:the origin of the Atreides being a giant Synthetic mech, what the hell?
Second Siege, actually.
First siege isn't so great either, but the second lacks other characters that are compelling, the first has a couple at least.
out of nowhere Necron, what the hell?
That was Cain's paranoia, his fight with the nids would have made a better case that he would fight nids instead of necrons. The only thing the book is missing is a few more pages dedicated to building the villains more properly.
...the bh+kja solution to which kinda sucked though.
Just finished reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Best £1 I ever spent in a charity shop!
Just finished reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Best £1 I ever spent in a charity shop!
Great book. If you can't lay hands on the sequel immediately, you might find some enjoyment in the Lies of Locke Lamora. Similar 'verse, but a tiny bit more 'Oliver Twist'-ish in the characters.
That's classic Russian literature for you. Crime and Punishment, for example, also has very slow pacing and a lot of questionable characters.
After I finish the a fore-mentioned internet literature, I plan on immersing myself in Tolken once again.
[/quote
I have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit on my Kindle and have been meaning to read them eventually. My two best friends are huge Tolkien fans.
In my experience, the first read-through of The Silmarillion is pretty brutal. It becomes much easier the second time around, when you have at least a general idea of who all the characters are and what they're doing.The appendices at the end of ROTK is what caught my attention. It gives enough info to introduce some of the basic events and characters.
Oddly enough, Tolken claimed no conscious inspiration from the Bible when writing LOTR. Incidentally, if you're looking for Biblical parallels in Tolken's work, go for the Silmarillion... if you can handle it. :pimp:
If you like the holy bible, you'll probably love the Lord of the Rings. The book is very christian in it's nature.
War of Honor.
Getting through tthe series slowly guys.
Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter: Barsoom Series
Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter: Barsoom Series
I am contractually obligated to make a Martian Daywear joke, but then I would be unable to explain it adequately...hmmm...
I finished reading Tunnel in the Sky a few days ago, I must say I really enjoyed it and would like to read more of Heinlein's works.
I'm reading a book called If Mahan Ran The Great Pacific War.
...it's a terrible book.
Considering Japan embraced many of the tenants of The Influence of Sea Power upon History I suppose you could argue he already did. Though I suppose the book is arguing he commanded the USN?
So it's not actually a "Replace Nimitz with Mahan what would happen?" book. More of an analysis of IJN and USN decisions being influenced by Mahan.
Now I'm rapidly approaching a quandary. Next up will be Chapterhouse: Dune which is the last written before Frank Herbert's passing. Now from what I understand the general consensus is the original works of KJA and Brian Herbert deserve only to be translated within the internal fires of Shai-Hulud. That said, supposedly the two books they wrote to complete the main Dune story line were based on Frank Herbert's outline for Dune VII. Is it worth forging ahead after Chaperthouse or should I slip my maker hooks and call an end to my time as a sand rider?I've heard to kill those with fiyah too, but it is kind of lame to see the story go unfinished so abruptly, so I'm not really sure the best way to go there.
Just finished 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. It was... okay. Not sure if his more well known stuff is worth a look or not.
Now I'm rapidly approaching a quandary. Next up will be Chapterhouse: Dune which is the last written before Frank Herbert's passing. Now from what I understand the general consensus is the original works of KJA and Brian Herbert deserve only to be translated within the internal fires of Shai-Hulud. That said, supposedly the two books they wrote to complete the main Dune story line were based on Frank Herbert's outline for Dune VII. Is it worth forging ahead after Chaperthouse or should I slip my maker hooks and call an end to my time as a sand rider?I've heard to kill those with fiyah too, but it is kind of lame to see the story go unfinished so abruptly, so I'm not really sure the best way to go there.
Speaking of, what did you think of Frank's later books in the series? I've read only the original and generally loved it, but when I did a bit of glancing over some of the general plot points later on, what I read seems like things wind up getting rather...weird.
I'm also thinking about rereading Sabriel, Lireal and Abhorsen by Garth NixOh man, I loved the **** out of those. They'd make for really kickass movies if done right, too.
Based on tutta's recommendation, I recently got myself Scott Westerfelds' Succession books.
Really really good Space Opera that defies genre conventions and is really well written.
Seriously, Westerfeld gets something right that people like David Weber seem to miss and that Charlie Stross used in Singularity Sky, that technology is not a straight line everyone moves parallel to at different speeds, but rather a cornucopia of differing approaches, leading to some very interesting asymmetries, and it all culminates in one of the best endings I have ever read.
Wow yeah I zoomed through the two novels of the series after wrapping up Heretics of Dune. Give them a read, I advoate it most earnestly. It's not often you get invested in a character that is a house, and such things should be savoured. :D
Inheiritance by Christopher Paolini
The last book of the Eragon series, very good book with 800 pages of epicness. :p
Why did you reply to something from January 9th, 2012?Inheiritance by Christopher Paolini
The last book of the Eragon series, very good book with 800 pages of epicness. :p
Get out.
Gotta agree though. The first one was good, the second was decent, the third was meh, and the fourth was rubbish.
After they second one they are utterly predictable.
I disliked how the writing style changed every time.
...Oh. Yeah, there is no statute of limitations on that.
Gotta agree though. The first one was good, the second was decent, the third was meh, and the fourth was rubbish.Interesting. I've read the first three and liked them very much. I wonder if I shouldn't get the fourth. I'd forgotten about it to be honest.
Get out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubjectivityGotta agree though. The first one was good, the second was decent, the third was meh, and the fourth was rubbish.Interesting. I've read the first three and liked them very much. I wonder if I shouldn't get the fourth. I'd forgotten about it to be honest.Get out.
Half way through The use of weapons from Banks.:D
Wrapped Up:
John Scalzi's Redshirts
Consider Phlebas
Songs of distant Earth is ... interesting. I remember reading it years ago, but finding it somewhat troubling in retrospect; The idea that you could breed war and religion out of human beings by not telling them about it is far too close to atheist wish-fulfillment for my tastes.
I only just started it out to be honest. I don't know about "breed out" but I suppose if you started civilization clean slate with no prior knowledge of religions, provided a justice system/set of laws, and scientific answers for the big questions then I could see it not easily developing. Hereditary influence, providing order and answering the big questions I tend to think are the major pillars that develop and perpetuate religious organizations.
I only just started it out to be honest. I don't know about "breed out" but I suppose if you started civilization clean slate with no prior knowledge of religions, provided a justice system/set of laws, and scientific answers for the big questions then I could see it not easily developing. Hereditary influence, providing order and answering the big questions I tend to think are the major pillars that develop and perpetuate religious organizations.
That's what I take issue with, scientific knowledge is worthless without the scientific method, and functionally indistinguishable from religion. It also requires the population of the colony to just accept what they're told, something I can't quite wrap my head around when it goes over several generations.
Without any scientific method, the only way to maintain dogmatic beliefs is through religious kind of absolutism. I also see no way to maintain these stories without an absolute authority like that. With a scientific method, dogmas are far more understandable and defensible (like the dogmas of thermodynamics or General Relativity, etc.,etc.*).(http://assets.diylol.com/hfs/780/549/925/resized/yao-ming-meme-generator-i-have-no-idea-what-any-of-this-means-e6b9e7.jpg)
However, even still I see no way out of the inevitable drift of these truths becoming myths and the usual power, moral and social struggles slowly changing and adapting those myths into something more useful and pedagogic to the changing zeitgeists of the population...
* By "dogmas" I mean truths that are engraved in a really really important pedestal that no one has the right to just "meh" them. Scientific "dogmas" are those scientific truths that are so well established that you would really need something absolutely extraordinary to question them.
Wrapped Up:What'd you think of it?
[...]
Arthur C. Clarke's Against the Fall of Night
[...]
Stanislav Lem's Tales of Pirx the Pilot. This author wrote some fine books. Read it if you want: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Stanisław_Lem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_of_Stanisław_Lem)
Wrapped Up:Heyyy. I just finished off The Last Colony. Were Zoe's Tale and Human Division good?
Stephen R. Brown's Merchant Kings: When Companies Ruled the World, 1600-1900
John Scalzi's Ghost Brigades
John Scalzi's The Last Colony
John Scalzi's Zoe's Tale
John Scalzi's Human Division
that I will never start a multi-novel epic series which the author has not finished (or is at least close to finishing).May I ask why you have this rule?
that I will never start a multi-novel epic series which the author has not finished (or is at least close to finishing).May I ask why you have this rule?
Right in the middle of "Consider Phlebas" by Banks.
Starting: God Engines by John Scalzi
What's a word for a book that's too long to be considered a short story, but too short to be considered a novel?Novella.
I have been burning through Worm (http://parahumans.wordpress.com/about/).
I feel like I need some stimuli for writing, and I keep telling myself I should read more, but I'm not really sure what's good and what isn't. Can anyone recommend some scifi/fantasy books/stories with good writing? I know there was a thread for something like this a while back but I couldn't find it.
Garth Nix's Abhorsen booksOrly? I loved the hell out of those myself.
e: Although Dan Simmons is completely nuts, I think Hyperion is quite a good book
I feel like I need some stimuli for writing, and I keep telling myself I should read more, but I'm not really sure what's good and what isn't. Can anyone recommend some scifi/fantasy books/stories with good writing? I know there was a thread for something like this a while back but I couldn't find it.
NOBODY MOVE I'm an expert. You can tell my opinion on what to read in order to write is great because I write booksand then collapse into despair over how ****ing awful I am at writingand sell them
Most of the suggestions you get will be (alas) garbage, because so is most SF/F.
For prose inspiration I suggest:
Catherynne Valente
William Gibson
Cormac McCarthy
Ursula LeGuin
Junot Diaz (not strictly genre but **** it he rules)
For recent, decent space opera:
Anne Leckie
James S.A. Corey
For hard SF:
Peter Watts (bet you've read Blindsight already though)
I've also drawn a lot of inspiration from Stanislaw Lem, Garth Nix's Abhorsen books, Megan Whalen Turner's Queen of Attolia. Damn this list is white as ****
e: Although Dan Simmons is completely nuts, I think Hyperion is quite a good book
Just picked up and blew through a couple volumes of Charles Stross's 'Laundry Files' series. They're right up there with Jim Butcher's urban fantasy stuff for making mash-ups of somewhat tired old genres into something fresh and new.
I finished Abaddon's Gate. Sadly, it seems no library in my state has Cibola Burn yet, so I'm going to have to read something else in the meantime. I feel kinda obligated to read A Song of Ice and Fire since all my friends are talking about it. I've also been considering picking up Dune.
And I just finished Cibola Burn (the 4th novel in the Leviathan Wakes series), which was a solid, entertaining read.whattt?! there's a fourth?
And I just finished Cibola Burn (the 4th novel in the Leviathan Wakes series), which was a solid, entertaining read.whattt?! there's a fourth?
Picked up the Harry Potter series a few days ago -- had seen all the films but never actually read the dang thing.They're like drugs. Not that I've ever tried drugs. :D
Now on book 4!
Too late, I already three books in three sittings with one overnight and through sunrise. D:It's amazing they still have that tremendous power when you already know the story. Of course the books still contain waaaaaay more than the films, I imagine the films would be like 2 or 3 times as long if you packed the entire books into them.
They really are crack. Good crack, not the cheap stuff you get from the toothless man on the corner.
Finally working on John Dies at the End, which a friend of mine got me for my birthday last year. It sure is a thing.I thoroughly enjoyed that book myself.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.It's worth it. :yes:
Help.
A discussion of the merits of different works would be a worthy idea but I think needs to be a separate thread, like with "What you are listening to" thread this one works just fine as a list of what ppl are reading atm and where appropriate their thoughts on the book.Yes I agree. The way I was thinking was that such a discussion could potentially be spawned from posts in this thread, but would be a thread of it's own.
Finally came to the end of my Tom Clancy spree (Burned out on "The Bear and the Dragon" because Nomura started really getting on my nerves). "Executive Orders" makes me wonder why we can't have a real Jack Ryan for president :P
Coming back to the good ol' Brotherband series; just ordered "Slaves of Soccoro".
Finally came to the end of my Tom Clancy spree (Burned out on "The Bear and the Dragon" because Nomura started really getting on my nerves). "Executive Orders" makes me wonder why we can't have a real Jack Ryan for president :P
Coming back to the good ol' Brotherband series; just ordered "Slaves of Soccoro".
I found Tom Clancy to be very good reads, especially the Jack Ryan books, Op Centre and Net Force series' not so much.
Have started re-reading Livy's The War with Hannibal. It's an extremely sensationalized story to anyone who's actually done research on the Second Punic War, but it's still entertaining.
Zahn's evidently working on the 8th Cobra book right now, due sometime 2015.
Old Man's War (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/syfy-adapting-futuristic-military-drama-723323)Hmmmm... I hope they do it justice.
The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.
Okay, so this is a bit of an experiment. Let's see if we can get a thread going about books, novellas, short stories and graphic novels the way our music and anime threads are going. What I would like to see here are books you are reading, or are excited to be reading in the near future.
To start things off, I have currently started to read Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which as it turns out, I have been putting off for far too long. It's amazing.
In other news, Neal Stephenson recently posted the beginning of his upcoming book seveneves on his site (http://www.nealstephenson.com/news/2015/04/13/seveneves-excerpt/). It's amazing, and has one of the best opening sentences I have seen recently:QuoteThe moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.
I cannot wait to get my hands on that thing.
Hyperion - Dan Simmons....Hehe, I'm just about to finish The Fall of Hyperion.
Okay, so this is a bit of an experiment. Let's see if we can get a thread going about books, novellas, short stories and graphic novels the way our music and anime threads are going. What I would like to see here are books you are reading, or are excited to be reading in the near future.
To start things off, I have currently started to read Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which as it turns out, I have been putting off for far too long. It's amazing.
Your thoughts? I got pretty... disgusted by the book midway through, by the way it all went waaaay down the ****ter, but the ending kinda sorta made it all better. I'm scared of picking up Endymion+Rise Of Endymion...Hyperion - Dan Simmons....Hehe, I'm just about to finish The Fall of Hyperion.
Consider Phlebas is a weird book. It has sequences I admire but it's so repeatedly ugly.Well, it does give an interesting overview of the "political process" i suppose...
Player of Games is good. It's all about making you wonder, alongside Gurgeh, whether the Culture is really all it's talked up to be. Does a good society use people and civilizations as instruments? Who's the player, who's the game, whoa man.
When you're done you'll be ready for Use of Weapons ;7
In fact the battle depicted in the book—in what by all indications became one of the most difficult chapters for the pair to plot and write—was gamed out in three separate Harpoon sessions, designated Vampire I, II, and III between December 1984 and July 1985. Vampire I is documented in a thirty-page report that contains briefing materials for both sides, detailed tables listing the ships in the NATO task force, the aircraft and ordnance available to the Soviets, diagrams of the ships’ formation, weather conditions, and so forth. There then follows a blow-by-blow account of the battle, which moves through several distinct phases, from the Soviets’ attempts to locate and “fix” the course of the NATO warships to the “outer air battle” as fighters from the carriers scramble to intercept the incoming bombers to the missile launch and resolution of the strike—which ends up leaving the NATO formation decimated. Vampire II, played in March 1985, yielded even more extensive documentation; in addition to an after-action report similar in format to the previous, there are copious players’ notes as well. This time the game appears to have moved more slowly, with the battle never reaching its climactic end-stage (despite the session lasting into the early hours of the morning). Nonetheless, the materials suggest that much of the “play” consisted in the preparatory activity by which plans were laid, forces tasked with missions, and contingencies evaluated. Clearly by this point the scope and complexity of the scenarios were straining the Harpoon system (and Bond, as the referee) to the limit. Vampire III, played out over multiple game sessions several months later, concluded with the spectacular destruction of USS Nimitz by missiles launched from a Soviet submarine.
To start things off, I have currently started to read Neil Gaiman's American Gods, which as it turns out, I have been putting off for far too long. It's amazing.
Scott Hawkins' The Library on Mount Char...
What a trip.