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Kaishai posted:Oh! And for SF, there's Arthur Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama--it's about a team sent out to explore a strange alien relic and reads like a travelogue if I recall correctly. I remember the threat of war being involved somewhere but mostly it's an exploration story.
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| # ? May 12, 2011 08:40 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 17:09 |
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Ooh, I just thought of another question I wanted to ask: one of my favourite fiction books is Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human. However, it's the only book of his I've ever read, so can someone recommend both other books by him and/or stories with similar ideas to Sturgeon's "homo gestalt"?
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| # ? May 12, 2011 08:50 |
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fritz posted:they're from the 90s, yeah. Also more recent are Anvil of the World / House of the Stag / Bird of the River, by Kage Baker (RIP) gently caress. I had no idea she'd died.  Loved her work when I was still reading a lot of SF on a regular basis (5 years ago or so). Dammit, gently caress you cancer.
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| # ? May 12, 2011 11:51 |
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Pulling Teeth posted:Ooh, I just thought of another question I wanted to ask: one of my favourite fiction books is Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human. However, it's the only book of his I've ever read, so can someone recommend both other books by him and/or stories with similar ideas to Sturgeon's "homo gestalt"? If you like Theodore Sturgeon I highly recommend his novella "Microcosmic God." You can find it in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 anthology, which has a lot of excellent similar Golden Age sf in it. Or you can probably find it in a google search.
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| # ? May 12, 2011 13:03 |
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modig posted:Downloaded samples. The Thread That Binds the Bones -> No Nook. I'm not responsible for what books are and are not available on the Nook.
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| # ? May 12, 2011 14:45 |
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Clinton1011 posted:
David Brin's Kiln People is pretty good & has the detective angle too.
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| # ? May 12, 2011 17:17 |
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Lyon posted:I think I've asked in here before, but I love stories where there's a lot of training, coming of age, etc. It's a weird thing I'm looking for... This is every Orson Scott Card book ever.
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| # ? May 13, 2011 04:19 |
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modig posted:I'm looking for some sf/fantasy that doesn't focus on fighting, as in fighting, preparing for fighting, worrying about fighting, etc, makes up a small percent or perhaps even zero of the book. For Fantasy, definitely consider Peter S. Beagle. The Last Unicorn, Innkeeper's Song, The Folk of the Air, and others. All kickass, but with little to no fighting.
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| # ? May 13, 2011 04:52 |
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Shakugan posted:This is every Orson Scott Card book ever. Including the Bible wives books?
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| # ? May 13, 2011 05:34 |
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Lyon posted:I think I've asked in here before, but I love stories where there's a lot of training, coming of age, etc. It's a weird thing I'm looking for... You'll love the Corean Chronicles by L.E Modesitt Jr or The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. You'd also like the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher. On a lesser note there is also Graceling by Kristen Cashore.
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| # ? May 13, 2011 16:37 |
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Shakugan posted:This is every Orson Scott Card book ever. The person you quoted would probably also like The Godmakers by Frank Herbert.
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| # ? May 13, 2011 19:50 |
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so it's been awhile since i've touched anything sci-fi. I remember years ago as a kid reading Mars by Ben Bova. I recall enjoying it, but hardly anything else about it. Does anybody have an opinion on him? Would it be worth tracking some of his other stuff down, or even re-reading Mars?
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| # ? May 15, 2011 22:27 |
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Rivers of London (US Name: Midnight Riot) and Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch is a good series if you like The Dresden Files. Its based in London but instead of a PI you follow a Cop around while he learns magic and polices the magical side of London. The main character does depend more on detective work then magic but that might just be due to the fact that he is just learning to use magic. The 3rd book Whispers Under Ground is scheduled for Nov. 22nd of this year.
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| # ? May 17, 2011 14:53 |
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Lyon posted:Read it, I read a lot of fantasy. modig posted:I'm looking for some sf/fantasy that doesn't focus on fighting, as in fighting, preparing for fighting, worrying about fighting, etc, makes up a small percent or perhaps even zero of the book. Jack McDevitt and Nick Sagan come to mind as things I've read that qualify... Steven Brust's Jhereg comes to mind as exactly what I'm trying to avoid. I enjoy Brust though, mostly because it's so ludicrously over the top. "Five Hundred Years Later" was a riot, in my opinion, but it's definitely not for everybody. coyo7e fucked around with this message at May 17, 2011 around 15:06 |
| # ? May 17, 2011 15:03 |
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coyo7e posted:Foundation trilogy. Speaking of Foundation, are any of the books past the initial trilogy worth it? I'm going to assume series fatigue sets in at some point, especially since the later books were written later, but it's still good to get different opinions on this.
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| # ? May 17, 2011 17:33 |
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coyo7e posted:I enjoy Brust though, mostly because it's so ludicrously over the top. "Five Hundred Years Later" was a riot, in my opinion, but it's definitely not for everybody. It's for everybody that counts.
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| # ? May 17, 2011 17:45 |
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Roydrowsy posted:I remember years ago as a kid reading Mars by Ben Bova. I recall enjoying it, but hardly anything else about it. Does anybody have an opinion on him? Would it be worth tracking some of his other stuff down, or even re-reading Mars? Mars is okay if you like boring hard sf where cardboard people go here and there to solve technological challenges and scientific problems. The main character is a terrible Mary Sue. I haven't read any of his other books except the sequel, which is more of the same. Fantasy without fighting: Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees: a wonderful book from the 1920s about the land next to fairyland. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: I'm not a huge fan of his writing, but this might be his best novel, and if you liked Lud-in-the-Mist you'll probably enjoy this. It's a simple coming-of-age/quest story in fairyland. Lots of Diana Wynne Jones, especially Howl's Moving Castle, The Dark Lord of Derkholm, Archer's Goon, and Fire and Hemlock. These are just some of my favourites. Almost all her books are good. The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick: one of my favourites. A very dark, adult story. Not for everyone, but it's an essential part of the fantasy canon. It's the story of a human girl in an inhuman, and often inhumane, world. If you can find them, Ernest Bramah's "Kai Lung" stories about a wandering rogue in a storybook China. They are from the early 20th century, so pretty Orientalist by modern standards, but not too bad. Jonathan Carroll's crazy novels. Start at the beginning with The Land of Laughs, which is about a man writing the biography of a famous writer, until the dogs start talking. I think Howl's Moving Castle, The Dark Lord of Derkholm and The Iron Dragon's Daughter have one fight scene each, but otherwise, they're all violence-free. There's lots of fantasy without fighting; it's just hard to see behind The Lord of the Rings.
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| # ? May 17, 2011 21:01 |
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House Louse posted:
Is this available as a free download anywhere? Should be out of copyright, correct? I've been looking for it for a while but haven't found. As long as you're looking at things in that vein, I'd recommend The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and Idle Days on the Yann by Lord Dunsany. The aforementioned Stardust is essentially Neil Gaiman's attempt at writing Dunsany-style fantasy. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at May 17, 2011 around 21:38 |
| # ? May 17, 2011 21:19 |
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I can finally put out a recommendation for the Exordium series by Dave Trowbridge and Sherwood Smith. It's 5 fat books that positively ooze Byzantine complexity. Thousands of years from now dissidents and such flee a bizarely oppressive culture on Earth through a gateway in space. We're following their descendants on the far side of the long-closed gate. Phoenix in Flight introduces us to a very complex multistellar society, ruled over by the Panarch. We follow one of his sons as he escapes a revenge plot by an old adversary. The whole Panarchy is in flames as renegades and other vile enemies run rampant with the aid of ancient alien technology: faster than light comms. A lot of the setting is built around lightspeed limitations. Worlds are bound together by a data network, but the data is moved by ships between worlds and delays, lags and losses naturally occur. Space combat is hard science fiction at its best. Sensors, comms and weapons are bound by lightspeed, but ships have a tactical FTL drive. It's extremely well thought out and combat gets very well detailed. Then some rear end in a top hat gets FTL comms and proceeds to gently caress poo poo up. Getting inside your opponent's decision loop is a key to victory, and with an advantage in communications that is both overpowering and impossible makes the initial onslaught completely devastating. The characters are all solid. Brandon nyr-Arkad, the third son of the Panarch, is an extraordinarily subtle and deep man posing as an aristocratic wastrel. His friends, allies and enemies are also well defined people with their own personalities and motivations. If you just want to check out an analysis of the setting and the space combat, read this, http://kentaurus.com/exordium.htm If you have four bucks and want the ebook, here you go, http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.p...Dave-Trowbridge Amazon lists the first volume at up to $25, http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Fligh...k/dp/0812520246
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| # ? May 18, 2011 03:03 |
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GrandpaPants posted:Speaking of Foundation, are any of the books past the initial trilogy worth it? I'm going to assume series fatigue sets in at some point, especially since the later books were written later, but it's still good to get different opinions on this. Prelude to Foundation will totally remind you where George Lucas ripped the idea for Coruscant from, but more fleshed out, because even Asimov was better at characterisation than Lucas is. Anyway, I'm currently in the middle of Hannu Rajaniemi's Quantum Thief. Totally worth it.
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| # ? May 18, 2011 03:17 |
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mllaneza posted:I can finally put out a recommendation for the Exordium series by Dave Trowbridge and Sherwood Smith. It's 5 fat books that positively ooze Byzantine complexity. Thousands of years from now dissidents and such flee a bizarely oppressive culture on Earth through a gateway in space. We're following their descendants on the far side of the long-closed gate. http://www.sherwoodsmith.net/Exordium/Exordium.html
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| # ? May 18, 2011 17:06 |
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Is this available as a free download anywhere? Should be out of copyright, correct? I've been looking for it for a while but haven't found. I don't think so. This page says that it's complicated, and looks thorough (it has one of her almost-unfindable other novels for download), but doesn't say anything. Hieronymous Alloy posted:The aforementioned Stardust is essentially Neil Gaiman's attempt at writing Dunsany-style fantasy. It's like The King of Elfland's Daughter but not most of his other work. Dunsany is great, however. "The Gods of Pegana" is the beginning of secondary-world fantasy, and "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth" is all adventure fantasy in a dozen pages. He's British fantasy's most central figure after Tolkien - sorry, Mervyn Peake! Edit: brackets. House Louse fucked around with this message at May 19, 2011 around 19:38 |
| # ? May 19, 2011 18:03 |
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Fart of Presto posted:While checking out the Sherwood Smith's website, I saw that a brand new edition of the first book came out yesterday, as they are apparently re-writing the books now. Word is it's been submitted to the Kindle store as well as the site I linked earlier. This is definitely space opera of the most deeply complex kind.
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| # ? May 19, 2011 18:06 |
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Hi there. I'm currently looking for some books similar to the Culture series, but with a much bigger focus on technology, and stories where the technology/science is a big factor, not just a plot device hanging around in the background i.e. I want a good book about a space ship, not about some people who happen to be living on one. Any ideas?
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| # ? May 20, 2011 21:15 |
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PBio posted:Hi there. Red Thunder by John Varley. Its about a group of U.S. entrepreneurs who build a spaceship in order to beat the Chinese government to Mars. It's reasonably well written, and while characters are somewhat of a focus, the ship takes center-stage. The science is less than -iffy, and the one genius character really bothers me, but its a good read.
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| # ? May 21, 2011 19:11 |
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PBio posted:Hi there. I think A Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge would be a pretty clear recommendation here.
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| # ? May 22, 2011 03:16 |
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BananaNutkins posted:Red Thunder by John Varley. Its about a group of U.S. entrepreneurs who build a spaceship in order to beat the Chinese government to Mars. It's reasonably well written, and while characters are somewhat of a focus, the ship takes center-stage. The science is less than -iffy, and the one genius character really bothers me, but its a good read. Would Destination: Void count or would that be too much non-ship character interaction?
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| # ? May 23, 2011 14:45 |
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I really enjoyed Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo. The book was released in Europe as Unto Leviathan. Does anybody have any recommendations for similar books? Ship of Fools is a Sci-Fi horror, or space horror, I suppose, and "Space Horror" is one genre that I've decided I lack on my bookshelf. I also read The Rosetta Codex by the same author, and I really can't recommend it to anybody. The writing is at the level of a high school sudent and the story is so unevenly paced as to beggar belief.
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| # ? May 23, 2011 18:15 |
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Kind of off-topic since it isn't so much of a recommendation (although I suppose it might be a request for one), but has anyone read the Rogue Agent series from K.E. Mills/Karen Miller? I'm halfway through the first book and I like the idea behind the story, but the god awful characters (at least the human ones), the ridiculously contrived justifications for actions/inaction that constantly have to be brought up, and the sheer amounts of whining by the protagonist are making it impossible for me to move forward. Normally I'd just ditch it immediately, but the mere hope of a non-satirical light-hearted (compared to the stuff I've been reading lately) Fantasy/Sci-Fi novel is too much to pass up on if it gets better in the other books. Especially one where magic actually exists and is used. Never quite figured out why so many fantasy authors make magic out to be a fantastical mysterious force that everyone knows about but never actually uses or even appears to exist in the novel. nessin fucked around with this message at May 23, 2011 around 20:08 |
| # ? May 23, 2011 18:53 |
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LawrenceOfHerLabia posted:I really enjoyed Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo. The book was released in Europe as Unto Leviathan. Does anybody have any recommendations for similar books? Ship of Fools is a Sci-Fi horror, or space horror, I suppose, and "Space Horror" is one genre that I've decided I lack on my bookshelf.
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| # ? May 23, 2011 19:02 |
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Is there anything similar to the Gentlemen Bastards series? I just finished the second book and it was awesome.
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| # ? May 23, 2011 21:28 |
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Dramatika posted:Is there anything similar to the Gentlemen Bastards series? I just finished the second book and it was awesome. Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy and the stand alone books in the same universe are very similar in construction. I think he gets better and better with each book, and the stand alone novels are even more enjoyable than the trilogy.
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| # ? May 23, 2011 21:36 |
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Been reading through most of the thread after posting earlier and had to throw in my 2 cents on a couple series I hadn't seen mentioned (likely probably just missed them). #1: Lost Fleet by John G. Hemry (under the name Jack Campbell). The romance and "honor above all" components get sickening after a while, and the characters are pretty flat in general. He also has an annoying habit of constantly repeating how the physics of the universe work in relating to space combat, which makes sense once per book but he does it constantly throughout all the books. All that aside, its a pretty good read if you're looking for a space-based action series. #2: Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Yeah, its a D&D based book, but you can find a few gems here and there (rare, but they exist!), and the Dragonlance Chronicles are pretty drat good books in general. Although I will grant its got too many POV shifts, but thanks to Robert Jordan I can barely stand more than a single POV shift in a book for anything but a short diversion. #3: Talion:Revenant by Michael Stackpole. It's been several years since I read it, and I honestly can't remember anything particular that made it so memorable, but whenever I think of books I should get around to re-reading its always close to the top of the list. I know that's a bit silly to say ("Hey guys, its good, but I don't have a clue why beause I don't remember why it was good"), but there you go. #4: Phule series by Robert Aspirin. Seriously people?! I saw the Myth series brought up a couple times, but not the Phule series. Its a drat rich playboy in charge of a futuristic French Foreign Legion company! I don't even need to say anymore. It might be a bit campy, but its still well worth it. #5: Starfist by David Sherman and Dan Cragg. Another one of those nothing to change the genre, but for anyone who likes the Military Sci-Fi style of Weber/Drake/Ringo/Flint/etc... but can't stand their Mary Sue characters and ridiculous styles, Starfist offers a sensible alternative. Edit: When I say "sensible" I mean better than the others I noted, not "sensible" in totally abolishing the over-the-top fights with whacked out technology. Starfist merely offers an alternative that won't make you go "WTF" quite as much as the others. nessin fucked around with this message at May 23, 2011 around 22:11 |
| # ? May 23, 2011 22:07 |
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LawrenceOfHerLabia posted:I really enjoyed Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo. The book was released in Europe as Unto Leviathan. Does anybody have any recommendations for similar books? Ship of Fools is a Sci-Fi horror, or space horror, I suppose, and "Space Horror" is one genre that I've decided I lack on my bookshelf. The Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds is space opera with a very dark, gothic atmosphere. All the space ships are huge and foreboding and labyrinthine, and house horrible secrets. The characters themselves are mostly post-human sociopaths who do hosed up things to one another. There's lots of disturbing horror elements, particularly in the Melding Plague concept which runs through the series. I've read three of the seven books and they're all pretty great. I can describe them pretty much like the world of Mass Effect mixed with the atmosphere and tone of Alien and Event Horizon.
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| # ? May 23, 2011 23:00 |
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nessin posted:#2: Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Yeah, its a D&D based book, but you can find a few gems here and there (rare, but they exist!), and the Dragonlance Chronicles are pretty drat good books in general. Although I will grant its got too many POV shifts, but thanks to Robert Jordan I can barely stand more than a single POV shift in a book for anything but a short diversion. Don't troll.
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| # ? May 24, 2011 00:24 |
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BananaNutkins posted:Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy and the stand alone books in the same universe are very similar in construction. I think he gets better and better with each book, and the stand alone novels are even more enjoyable than the trilogy. I don't see how the two are similar other than that they're both trendy picks. Seriously, I read and enjoyed them both, but other than the fact that they both suffer from some seriously diminishing returns and they have ambitions higher than your average Dragonlance, what's similar here? If I loved reading Oceans 11 in fantasy-Venice, the next thing that comes to mind isn't GRRM takes on Tolkien. ed: Ok, the stand-alones are a bit different, but you still have to slog your way through a thousand pages before you even get there... uberkeyzer fucked around with this message at May 24, 2011 around 03:29 |
| # ? May 24, 2011 03:27 |
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Dramatika posted:Is there anything similar to the Gentlemen Bastards series? I just finished the second book and it was awesome. The first book of the Mistborn Trilogy, called Mistborn, is intended to be based on the same premise, namely that there are a group of people with different specialties coming together for Oceans Eleven style shenanigans. In fact, the author wrote: Brandon Sanderson posted:I pitch Mistborn as a combination between Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice, my own Elantris, and George Clooney's Ocean's Eleven.
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| # ? May 24, 2011 03:50 |
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Xachariah posted:The first book of the Mistborn Trilogy, called Mistborn, is intended to be based on the same premise, namely that there are a group of people with different specialties coming together for Oceans Eleven style shenanigans. How is Elantris or Mistborn at all similar to the Gentlemen Bastard duology(trilogy haha)? If anything, the sense of humor in the Gentlemen Bastards is more akin to Steven Brusts' Vlad Taltos series, wouldn't you think? I think the humor separates out this series from those you mentioned. I loved the Mistborn trilogy, but it was nothing like Locke Lamora et al. As an aside, may I say that I really enjoyed these several books/authors in the past? I'll let whatever Amazon reviews there are sway you one way or another beyond my given recommendations. Mark Frost's List of 7 and its sequel the 6 Messiahs - a sort of detectivey, James Bondy ordeal with zombies/occult dealies set during 19th century Britain. I've really enjoyed reading The Golden Age series by John C. Wright. This is completely soft high science fiction, but pretty interesting. I was put off by the writing style for the first few pages but started reading with more vigor once I grew used to it. Sean Russel's The Initiate Brother has nothing to do with science, but a lot more with a fantasy oriental kingdom and badass fighting monks. In all honesty, I really like Sean Russel's writing and would also recommend another series of his I read a long time ago, Moontide and Magic Rise. I mentioned Steven Brust and Vlad Taltos earlier, and I think these also would be worth reading if you like that type of thing. Both have a similar style of humor, think. Alex Bledsoe's Eddie LaCrosse series, starting with The Sword-Edged Blonde are, I suppose, fantasy detective noir. Although you can't do fantasy noir without Billibub Baddings - a middle earth dwarf transported into 1930's Chicago who makes his living as a detective. Drifter fucked around with this message at May 24, 2011 around 05:26 |
| # ? May 24, 2011 04:23 |
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James H. Schmitz is the most unjustly-ignored writer I know of. He wrote his first work in 1943 and his last in 1974. He had strong female characters, internet chess tournaments, mid-bending psychic machines, and interplanetary crime cartels before anyone else was doing more than experimenting with ideas. He also wrote great action scenes, while keeping his mysteries challenging (but solvable). If you've ever enjoyed science fiction, you owe it to yourself to pick up The Witches of Karres or one of the short collections that Baen has put out.
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| # ? May 24, 2011 07:01 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 17:09 |
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wiegieman posted:James H. Schmitz is the most unjustly-ignored writer I know of. He wrote his first work in 1943 and his last in 1974. He had strong female characters, internet chess tournaments, mid-bending psychic machines, and interplanetary crime cartels before anyone else was doing more than experimenting with ideas. He also wrote great action scenes, while keeping his mysteries challenging (but solvable). If you've ever enjoyed science fiction, you owe it to yourself to pick up The Witches of Karres or one of the short collections that Baen has put out. But NOT the new "sequels" to Witches of Karres. Schmitz is another of the grandmasters that Baen has reprinted, I've got all the short story collections and yes, they're drat good.
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| # ? May 24, 2011 14:40 |
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