The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Thread: Damning with faint praise

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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > The Book Barn > The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Thread: Damning with faint praise

Tanith: Jul 17, 2005; Hello grangers!

Have you read Century Rain? It's even got a 1950's Paris and a private investigator!

# ? Jan 15, 2011 03:58

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# ? May 19, 2013 23:47

Shachi: Nov 1, 2004; I'm a simple man. I like pretty, dark-haired women and breakfast food.

Looking for new sci-fi series to get into. It can be fantasy or future/space. Recently finished Enders Game and the follow up but kinda stuck on Xenocide and the series seems to be slowing. Wouldn't mind reading more similar books. I prefer it to be a series. More cool protagonists like Ender, less Christian/homophobia of Orson Scott Card.

Really most anything would do but browsing through the sci-fi section of B&N overwhelmed me with the glut of "series" novels knowing that a whole lot of it is total poo poo and just a spattering of money makers.

I was looking into starting the Dresden Files after looking over them at the store then coming home and finding the thread here.

I'm itching for more space sci-fi but also curious about what are some good fantasy series' these days.

EDIT: Noticed "The Necromancer Chronicles" as B&N had a bunch of signed copies. Anyone know anything about that series? I assume the glut of autographed copies just sitting on the shelves would indicate shittiness?

Oh! Dystopian futures are cool too!

# ? Jan 15, 2011 08:34

anathenema: Apr 8, 2009

Shachi posted:

EDIT: Noticed "The Necromancer Chronicles" as B&N had a bunch of signed copies. Anyone know anything about that series? I assume the glut of autographed copies just sitting on the shelves would indicate shittiness?

Possibly. Or it means the author is local and drops by a lot. Lots of authors stop in and sign books impromptu-like because lots of people enjoy buying them.

Have you read anything by Alistair Reynolds?

# ? Jan 15, 2011 09:48

HeroOfTheRevolution: Apr 26, 2008

Try The Entire and the Rose! The first book is called Bright of the Sky. I really liked it (just finished the fourth and final book couple weeks ago), but I haven't seen any other love for it in this thread.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 15:03

Syrinxx: Mar 28, 2002; I've been besmirched!

This besmirchment will not stand!

Skutter posted:

I don't want to sound like an idiot for suggesting some YA lit (some of it is actually pretty good), but I like a lot of Garth Nix's stuff, specifically the Keys to the Kingdom series. It's a really interesting world that has had a lot of thought put into it and I really enjoyed what I've read so far. All the books are really easy reads and are good for something light and quick.

I just started reading Sabriel which I am thoroughly enjoying. For some reason I hate finding out that a book or author I'm reading is considered "young adult". It makes me feel guilty about liking it or something. It's like finding out a band you like is actually a christian band.

Anyway I really like the book and it's a fast read. It offsets the other book I'm reading - Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - which is a bit more dense and nerdy.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 15:17

uberkeyzer: Jul 10, 2006; But you remember one thing: if you screw up just this much, you'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!

Shachi posted:

Looking for new sci-fi series to get into. It can be fantasy or future/space. Recently finished Enders Game and the follow up but kinda stuck on Xenocide and the series seems to be slowing. Wouldn't mind reading more similar books. I prefer it to be a series. More cool protagonists like Ender, less Christian/homophobia of Orson Scott Card.

You might check out the Uplift series, by David Brin. It's near future, like Ender's Game, and the concept is that mankind gets good enough at genetic engineering (and robotics?) to "uplift" dogs, chimps, and dolphins to a point where they can communicate verbally with us. This gets the attention of other species in the galaxy, who make contact. The series starts with a standalone called Sundiver that introduces the concepts in the context of what's essentialy a locked-room murder mystery. You might check it out, and if the world is interesting to you, go further.

I also might get some poo poo for this, but you'd probably enjoy the first three books of Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders" series. The concept is a world where this spore/fungus periodically falls from the sky and destroys everything it touches. The responsibility for protecting human habitation belongs to people who "bond" with giant, winged creatures (dragons) and communicate with them telepathically. It sounds like fantasy but it really is fairly serious sci-fi, at least at first -- it devolves into basically romance novels with dragons taking the place of ponies, but the first three or four books are genre classics. The original trilogy is Dragonflight, Dragonquest, and The White Dragon. There's also a prequel called Dragonsdawn that I really enjoyed. I wouldn't recommend any of the other books in the series (there are about a billion of them).

ed: I would also recommend The Caves of Steel, by Asimov. It's a murder mystery where the main character, a human detective, is assisted by a humanoid robot who he fears and loathes, at least at first. Great story, great setting, fun mystery, and it sets up two great sequels. Really cool protagonist, as well.

uberkeyzer fucked around with this message at Jan 15, 2011 around 15:30

# ? Jan 15, 2011 15:27

fritz: Jul 26, 2003

uberkeyzer posted:

You might check out the Uplift series, by David Brin. It's near future, like Ender's Game, and the concept is that mankind gets good enough at genetic engineering (and robotics?) to "uplift" dogs, chimps, and dolphins to a point where they can communicate verbally with us. This gets the attention of other species in the galaxy, who make contact. The series starts with a standalone called Sundiver that introduces the concepts in the context of what's essentialy a locked-room murder mystery. You might check it out, and if the world is interesting to you, go further.

First trilogy only, and Sundiver is skippable.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 16:07

uberkeyzer: Jul 10, 2006; But you remember one thing: if you screw up just this much, you'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!

fritz posted:

First trilogy only, and Sundiver is skippable.

Skippable in terms of the overarching plot, but I remember it being a fun little mystery with an interesting premise -- wrong?

# ? Jan 15, 2011 16:11

fritz: Jul 26, 2003

uberkeyzer posted:

Skippable in terms of the overarching plot, but I remember it being a fun little mystery with an interesting premise -- wrong?

I didn't think it was that great, especially as compared to Startide Rising and The Uplift War

# ? Jan 15, 2011 16:13

mllaneza: Apr 28, 2007; Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1993-1952

fritz posted:

I didn't think it was that great, especially as compared to Startide Rising and The Uplift War

Not great, but it's decent. It's also an interesting look at the Uplift universe without the Humans getting stomped on by half the galaxy. I think it's worth reading as an intro to the universe, but the series really does pick way up with Uplift War and Startide Rising. Opinions seem to be mixed on the second series, but I really liked it. The mixed-species group of kids was a fantastic idea to build a sci-fi series around, the setting was well-developed and interesting. There was a lot of personal heroism in it which definitely qualifies it as Space Opera. I'd like to have had the reveals at the ending built up to more, especially the whole galactic-scale collapse thing.

All that said, Startide Rising is a unique and special SF novel that every fan really should read. If you like the universe, there's more.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 16:43

Skutter: Apr 7, 2007; I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me. Well, here I am.

Syrinxx posted:

I just started reading Sabriel which I am thoroughly enjoying. For some reason I hate finding out that a book or author I'm reading is considered "young adult". It makes me feel guilty about liking it or something. It's like finding out a band you like is actually a christian band.

Anyway I really like the book and it's a fast read. It offsets the other book I'm reading - Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - which is a bit more dense and nerdy.

I do like his Sabriel series. I read the first three books and then forgot about it. I still want to get back into it, but my current reading list is so long, I don't know when I'll have the time. I hear you about finding out about the "young adult" thing. I feel like an idiot when I go into the kids' section at B&N to pick out a book. v

v

For any women who are into Victorian-era novels or any fans of steampunk, try the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. It's stars Alexa Tarabotti, an old (read: 25), unmarried woman in 19th-century Britain who is a preternatural, meaning she doesn't have a soul. Vampires, werewolves and ghosts are real and are present in every day society and zeppelins and other steampunk favorites appear too. It's quite a funny series and has four books in it so far.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 16:49

Hieronymous Alloy: Jan 30, 2009

It's been too long since anyone recommended the Prydain Chronicles. Everyone, go read the Prydain Chronicles. It is that time.

# ? Jan 15, 2011 23:21

Exasperated Badger: Jun 9, 2009; "Come," he says. "Let me tell you a story. Once, there were four stalwart heroes..."

Skutter posted:

For any women who are into Victorian-era novels or any fans of steampunk, try the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. It's stars Alexa Tarabotti, an old (read: 25), unmarried woman in 19th-century Britain who is a preternatural, meaning she doesn't have a soul. Vampires, werewolves and ghosts are real and are present in every day society and zeppelins and other steampunk favorites appear too. It's quite a funny series and has four books in it so far.

What sort of humor? Terry Pratchett-esque, or like Susanna Clarke's?

# ? Jan 16, 2011 05:09

SmokinDan: Oct 24, 2010

I've just started Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson and it's really good so far. I hope we get more insight into all of the first one hundred. I'm about 180 pages in so far.

Having not really read any sci-fi besides Richard Morgan's stuff this is certainly different.

SmokinDan fucked around with this message at Jan 16, 2011 around 08:32

# ? Jan 16, 2011 08:27

Skutter: Apr 7, 2007; I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me. Well, here I am.

Exasperated Badger posted:

What sort of humor? Terry Pratchett-esque, or like Susanna Clarke's?

Hmm. That's a good question. It's been compared to Austen's work by reviewers and I'd have to say it's the dry, witty sort of humor that you get from a lot of British media, some comedic misfortune and just plain funny situations. Having read only half of the Johnathan Strange book (I just couldn't get through it for some reason; it's sitting in my " To Read" pile though), I'd have to say it's along the same lines as Ms. Clarke, simply because it's written to be similar to 19th century-style writing.

# ? Jan 16, 2011 20:16

A HUNGRY MOUTH: Nov 3, 2006; NEEDS FOOD BADLY

A quick thank-you to everyone who suggested the Vorkosigan Saga. I've read most of Young Miles in the past two days and I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

# ? Jan 18, 2011 02:17

mllaneza: Apr 28, 2007; Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1993-1952

A HUNGRY MOUTH posted:

A quick thank-you to everyone who suggested the Vorkosigan Saga. I've read most of Young Miles in the past two days and I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

What'd you think of Cordelia's Honor ?

# ? Jan 18, 2011 03:20

A HUNGRY MOUTH: Nov 3, 2006; NEEDS FOOD BADLY

mllaneza posted:

What'd you think of Cordelia's Honor ?

I haven't read any of it yet; I was planning on tackling it right after finishing Young Miles. I'm about half finished with The Vor Game, so it won't be long.

# ? Jan 18, 2011 05:32

Jigoku San: Feb 2, 2003

Skutter posted:

I do like his Sabriel series. I read the first three books and then forgot about it. I still want to get back into it, but my current reading list is so long, I don't know when I'll have the time. I hear you about finding out about the "young adult" thing. I feel like an idiot when I go into the kids' section at B&N to pick out a book. vv

There's currently only the 3 books and a short story in the series. Although a new book, Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen, is coming next year.

The YA thing can be dumb, some "adult" books read the same or worse (Star Wars comes to mind). I at least have the excuse I found Sabriel when it first came out and I was a "young adult", but I still enjoy it and the sequels today.

# ? Jan 19, 2011 02:37

Can I Phaser You: Dec 8, 2006; fuk dis moss covered rock

Shachi posted:

Looking for new sci-fi series to get into. It can be fantasy or future/space. Recently finished Enders Game and the follow up but kinda stuck on Xenocide and the series seems to be slowing. Wouldn't mind reading more similar books. I prefer it to be a series. More cool protagonists like Ender, less Christian/homophobia of Orson Scott Card.

Funny, I came here to ask exactly the same thing. I loved Speaker for the Dead the most, but Xenocide is really, really boring to me and I don't think I can finish it. The poo poo with the OCD Chinese people is bizarre.

I may check out the Uplift Trilogy. Everyone's descriptions of it make it sound interesting, and actually the murder mystery aspect of Sundiver intrigues me. That was one of the reasons I liked Speaker for the Dead.

# ? Jan 19, 2011 02:54

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; By your powers combined,
I am Captain Playoffs!

Can I Phaser You posted:

Funny, I came here to ask exactly the same thing. I loved Speaker for the Dead the most, but Xenocide is really, really boring to me and I don't think I can finish it. The poo poo with the OCD Chinese people is bizarre.

Xenocide and Children of the Mind are both, IMO, awful. The OCD planet bit you mention was beyond bizarre. It was borderline silly.

However, I liked the parallel to Ender's Game - Ender's Shadow - which is sort of Bean's version of the events of EG, though it starts and ends outside its scope. The next one in that particular series was also pretty good, but as with most of Card's series', it really falls off after the first couple.

# ? Jan 19, 2011 19:27

Nowhere Girl: Aug 17, 2006

WorldTravelerX posted:

I�ve not read a lot of fantasy/science-fiction in maybe the last 10 years. Can you recommend a good series to me?

I�d like something with both some action and character development. But, if things are out of balance, I�d rather have more action than talking.

What�s a good book, or even better, a series, that�s got some swords and sorcery, or laser pistols, an evil empire that needs to be destroyed, a stalwart hero, a quest, and no appendix that contains a language made up specifically for the book (I�m looking at you, J.R.R.!) ?

Some of my favorite books:
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
Old Man�s War, John Scalzi
Doomfarers of Coramonde, Brian Daley
Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, Cryptonomicom, (I read Anathem and thought that it was cool, but a bit �chatty�)
Dave Duncan � the Seventh Sword series.
Dan Simmons, the Hyperion series and Ilium

Some stuff I�m not that fond of:
Robert Jordan 's The Wheel of Time, I got up to like the 5th book 8 years ago. And don�t know that I feel the need to go back.
Lord of the Rings. (There, I said it)

Sci-Fi

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game stuff is pretty tops. The first book, Ender's Game, is one of the best sci-fi books you'll ever read. It won both a Hugo and Nebula. The series splits into two lines; one following the aftermath of the first book and the other following another character called Bean. With the exception of Ender's Game, the Bean books are better, IMO.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is one of my all-time favourite sci-fi books.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It's not hard sci-fi, but definitely falls into the genres. I read the whole book in one night--I just couldn't put it down. There are three books in the whole series.
The Wind-Up Girl. Not a series, but an excellent book, and recently won a Nebula.

Fantasy

Johnathan Strange & Mr Norrel by Susana Clarke. It's written as an almost Jane Austen pastiche. Not everyone likes it, but it's good, solid fantasy without the dragons and wizards. I'd say it's more of a "realistic" fantasy book rather than the epic high fantasy (Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks) people generally think of.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's hard to go wrong with Neil Gaiman, he's just such a fantastic and imaginative writer.
His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pulman: Northern Lights(The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The series has often been referred to as the anti-Narnia. Ostensibly a young adult book, adults will still find it engaging and interesting.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Any Discworld book you pick is just about guaranteed to be witty and well-written, though I personally recommend Guards!Guards! for the uninitiated. Pratchett is a funny writer, and his Discworld books, while crafted in a fantasy setting, are great gems of satire on human behavior and society.

If you're testing the waters I would highly suggest a sci-fi/fantasy anthology. Something like "Year's Best Sci-fi & Fantasy" usually has high calibre stories and is a great way to discover new writers and sample the genres. I actually own a sci-fi/fantasy bookstore and sell stuff online pretty cheap. Thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/sh...hreadid=3369417

# ? Jan 21, 2011 01:31

Vertigus: Jan 8, 2011

HeroOfTheRevolution posted:

Try The Entire and the Rose! The first book is called Bright of the Sky. I really liked it (just finished the fourth and final book couple weeks ago), but I haven't seen any other love for it in this thread.

I'm enjoying the series so far. It reminds me a lot of The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 04:47

Sgt. Anime Pederast: Apr 17, 2001; Superior Original Forte

Does anyone know any other good fantasy trilogies or multibook series I can easily buy in a package? I have a bunch of plane trips in my future, just read the first book of The Mistborne Trilogy when my power went out and I'm not sure I can resist the urge to read the other two until my flights

# ? Jan 21, 2011 07:51

Dramatika: Aug 1, 2002; FUCK
YOU
MUTHAFUCKA

Sgt. Anime Pederast posted:

Does anyone know any other good fantasy trilogies or multibook series I can easily buy in a package? I have a bunch of plane trips in my future, just read the first book of The Mistborne Trilogy when my power went out and I'm not sure I can resist the urge to read the other two until my flights

Have you read the Dresden Files? Maybe Codex Alera? Those are both Jim Butcher. You can find Wheel of Time boxsets pretty easily, assuming you want to get into something that big. The aforementioned His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman is really good.

Comedy Sword of Truth suggestion - you could laugh at how terrible they are.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 14:47

Victorkm: Nov 25, 2001

Dramatika posted:

Have you read the Dresden Files? Maybe Codex Alera? Those are both Jim Butcher. You can find Wheel of Time boxsets pretty easily, assuming you want to get into something that big. The aforementioned His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman is really good.

Comedy Sword of Truth suggestion - you could laugh at how terrible they are.

I actually liked all of the sword of truth books...

But I agree that they are pretty objectively terrible and I think Goodkind is a complete tool.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 15:05

Dramatika: Aug 1, 2002; FUCK
YOU
MUTHAFUCKA

Victorkm posted:

I actually liked all of the sword of truth books...

But I agree that they are pretty objectively terrible and I think Goodkind is a complete tool.

Even Faith of the Fallen?

God, I don't know what the gently caress was wrong with teenager me that kept me reading that series that far.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 15:09

Ornamented Death: Jan 25, 2006; I'M A DRAGON! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

For all the people recommending Orson Scott Card, are you differentiating between an author and his work, or are you just not aware of what a massive piece of poo poo he is? I loved Ender's Game but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone because I don't want them to in any way support Card.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 15:11

Victorkm: Nov 25, 2001

Dramatika posted:

Even Faith of the Fallen?

God, I don't know what the gently caress was wrong with teenager me that kept me reading that series that far.

Out of all of them my least favorite at the time of reading was pillars of creation. Keep in mind that I picked up the series about the time that faith of the fallen was released and read them as they came out after that. I am 28 now but I was probably in high school when I started.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 17:13

Theomanic: Nov 7, 2010; Tastes like despair.

Ornamented Death posted:

For all the people recommending Orson Scott Card, are you differentiating between an author and his work, or are you just not aware of what a massive piece of poo poo he is? I loved Ender's Game but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone because I don't want them to in any way support Card.

Haha, I know EXACTLY what you mean. I find it so difficult to buy his books now that I know what a batshit crazy rear end he is. I was shocked to find out! But Ender's Game is really great... Man. Sucks.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 17:17

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; By your powers combined,
I am Captain Playoffs!

Dramatika posted:

Even Faith of the Fallen?

God, I don't know what the gently caress was wrong with teenager me that kept me reading that series that far.

Was Faith of the Fallen the one where Richard single-handedly brought down Communism? If so, I am in *exactly* the same boat as you.

Victorkm posted:

I am 28 now but I was probably in high school when I started.

29 here. gently caress those impressionable teenage years. I could have been reading more GOOD books.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 17:24

Dramatika: Aug 1, 2002; FUCK
YOU
MUTHAFUCKA

Victorkm posted:

Out of all of them my least favorite at the time of reading was pillars of creation. Keep in mind that I picked up the series about the time that faith of the fallen was released and read them as they came out after that. I am 28 now but I was probably in high school when I started.

Yeah, I picked up Pillars after I finished Faith of the Fallen and was like "Well, one last shot". I made it about five chapters before swearing off Terry Goodkind forever.

And Habibi, yes, that's the one.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 17:26

Habibi: Dec 8, 2004; By your powers combined,
I am Captain Playoffs!

Ornamented Death posted:

For all the people recommending Orson Scott Card, are you differentiating between an author and his work, or are you just not aware of what a massive piece of poo poo he is? I loved Ender's Game but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone because I don't want them to in any way support Card.

I'll occasionally throw out a bit about his ideology when I'm recommending Ender's Game or Shadow or Seventh Son. The guy definitely has some bizarre beliefs, as far as I'm concerned, but I feel like a lot of the authors I read probably wouldn't gel with my own politics. Hell, I love most of Michael Crichton's pre-2000 books, but the views he expressed in 'State of Fear' - not to mention the manner in which they were expressed - were juvenile.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 17:44

Alkydere: Jun 7, 2010; Capitol: A building or complex of buildings in which any legislature meets.
Capital: A city designated as a legislative seat by the government or some other authority, often the city in which the government is located; otherwise the most important city within a country or a subdivision of it.

Velius posted:

No one claims Ringo is a good writer. In fact, almost everyone thinks he's horrible, along with Drake.

The first few Posleen War books were good, if a bit silly (Armor that can survive a point-blank anti-matter explosion. Sure, it was written off as "WTF, He's still alive!?" but it's rather silly.). It's an interesting setup and a rather hard look at creating a scenario where a modern humanity CAN fight off alien invasion. He...just kind of loses it and starts writing Nazi SS fan-fiction and shoves in cameos from his favorite webcomics. It probably got worse, but that's as far as I got.

# ? Jan 21, 2011 19:47

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007

WorldTravelerX posted:

I�ve not read a lot of fantasy/science-fiction in maybe the last 10 years. Can you recommend a good series to me?

I�d like something with both some action and character development. But, if things are out of balance, I�d rather have more action than talking.

What�s a good book, or even better, a series, that�s got some swords and sorcery, or laser pistols, an evil empire that needs to be destroyed, a stalwart hero, a quest, and no appendix that contains a language made up specifically for the book (I�m looking at you, J.R.R.!) ?

Some of my favorite books:

Heroes Die, by Mathew(sp?) Woodring Stover. Fun world, great protagonist, and the sci-fi bit of how actors control characters in a fantasy dimension of questionable status gives it all a lot more body than it would otherwise have. It has swords, magic, AND lasers!

Dhalgren by Samuel R Delany. It can pass itself off as literature, too. My best friend in college's dad gave him a copy of this and told him it would change his life. He never read it and flunked out. I have read it several times and decided I hated my major and wanted to experience life, first. The entire book is a circle, and it makes the most sense on a second reading. The protagonist will gently caress anything on two legs, so be forewarned if you are upset about a bit of butsecks. When you finish it the first time, reread the first paragraph of the book.

Bleh I forgot the other books I was gonna suggest because I was busy thinking about Heroes Die and buying myself a copy to replace my lost one..

Ornamented Death posted:

For all the people recommending Orson Scott Card, are you differentiating between an author and his work, or are you just not aware of what a massive piece of poo poo he is? I loved Ender's Game but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone because I don't want them to in any way support Card.

My 12 year old nephew asked for "Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card" on his Christmas wishlist, and I made a point to make sure his parents knew what kind of things Card stands for and believes. They didn't buy it for him.

I did. Along with Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. I thought the sequel to Ender's Shadow was so dumb with the gigantism angle that I couldn't get through more then 30 or 50 pages. I figured at worst he'll read ender's game and stuff and find the others and make up his own mind, but at least he won't be stuck with the first book in an unfinished series of questionable quality.

coyo7e fucked around with this message at Jan 22, 2011 around 01:08

# ? Jan 22, 2011 01:00

Ornamented Death: Jan 25, 2006; I'M A DRAGON! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

coyo7e posted:

My 12 year old nephew asked for "Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card" on his Christmas wishlist, and I made a point to make sure his parents knew what kind of things Card stands for and believes. They didn't buy it for him.

I did. Along with Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.

What the hell, man? You went out of your way to inform the parents that Card is a douche so that they could decide if his books are something they want their kid reading, yet when they decided that no, they don't want their son reading the works of a disgusting human being, you ignored that and bought the books yourself. Why did you even tell them since ultimately it didn't matter and your nephew got the books anyhow? Are you just a contrary dick or what?

# ? Jan 22, 2011 02:21

The Deadly Hume: May 26, 2004; I want some of that pepper steak!

He wanted to be the cool uncle.

# ? Jan 22, 2011 03:22

Miss-Bomarc: Aug 1, 2009

Ornamented Death posted:

For all the people recommending Orson Scott Card, are you differentiating between an author and his work, or are you just not aware of what a massive piece of poo poo he is? I loved Ender's Game but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone because I don't want them to in any way support Card.

If you honestly feel bad about it, then be aware that Card wrote "Ender's Game" around thirty-five years ago.

# ? Jan 22, 2011 04:07

uberkeyzer: Jul 10, 2006; But you remember one thing: if you screw up just this much, you'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong!

So, who's going to post the Ender's-Game-as-Hitler-apologia link? I haven't been able to look at the book the same way since I read that.

# ? Jan 22, 2011 04:51

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# ? May 19, 2013 23:47

Ragequit: Jun 1, 2006

Miss-Bomarc posted:

If you honestly feel bad about it, then be aware that Card wrote "Ender's Game" around thirty-five years ago.

Ender's Game (1985) came out when I was born, and I am fairly certain I am 25 years old. Still a long time though.

# ? Jan 22, 2011 05:14

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