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StrixNebulosa posted:That's...frustrating, but thank you for the info. I wish authors didn't get old like that. He did put out an anthology recently that has some new Black Company shorts. If you haven't read any of his short stories, there's some treats for you. https://smile.amazon.com/Best-Glen-Cook/dp/1949102173/
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Apr 23, 2020 18:04
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StrixNebulosa posted:All of my favorite authors are supposed to live on as immortal cyborgs at the peak of their skills. Somewhere in Battuta's attic there's an original Baru Cormorant manuscript that bears all the copyediting revisions of his soul.
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Apr 23, 2020 18:10
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For Murderbot completionists, there is a 4 page Murderbot story from January 2019 at Wired
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Apr 23, 2020 20:05
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quantumfoam posted:For Murderbot completionists, there is a 4 page Murderbot story from January 2019 at Wired
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Apr 23, 2020 20:39
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^ Yes, that's it. A very quick Murderbot teaser. ^ Found the other stories in the WIRED "future of work" anthology mostly forgettable. Sort of dreading what I'd read if I visited Peter Watts blog.
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Apr 23, 2020 22:10
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quantumfoam posted:^ Yes, that's it. A very quick Murderbot teaser. ^ oh, y'know, the usual... 
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Apr 23, 2020 23:58
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Edit: Oops wrong thread
Sonderval fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Apr 24, 2020 |
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Apr 24, 2020 00:45
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wizzardstaff posted:Someone several weeks ago suggested Dragon's Egg by Robert Forward and I threw it on my list. Just finished it last night and thought it was pretty good; I enjoy "big scale" stories about the rise and fall of empires. ("Big" being a relative term here since the aliens are practically microscopic.) I thought all the sections with humans were unbearably plodding and slow with cheesy, overexplained dialogue that didn't use enough contractions--but about halfway through I started wondering whether that was a deliberate style choice for contrast. Starquake is much more Cheela focused, so you might be a bit happier with it for the reduced presence of humans. As the title implies, the plot involves the effect on Cheela society of Egg having a major quake that wrecks most of their civilization. After giving us a long look at the state of advanced Cheela society - the two major characters I can remember are a Cheela engineer and a Cheela pop star.
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Apr 24, 2020 01:06
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Friend just recommended From The Ice They Came by Eric S. Brown, if you were looking for a Lovecraftian kinda horror read. I'm gonna snag it in a bit. Thought others might be in the mood for MIND SHATTERINGLY WEIRD poo poo or whatever normally happens to people in Lovecraft books.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:33
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Xtanstic posted:Just finished reading Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City. Thanks for the thread for mentioning it. It was on sale a few weeks ago and I finally got around to reading it. It hit a scratch I didn't realize I wanted to hit. It kinda reminded me of The Goblin Emperor. Anyway, I think someone else asked a while back if any of his other work is similar if I'm hoping for more of the same or something similar but I can't seem to find the post. Anyone have any recs? Goddamn it. 16 Ways has been on my to-read pile since it came out, and I pushed it up to the front because you people started talking about it and I really liked it until the end when of course Parker had to Parker me so now I have to chase down everything else he’s written since last time I paid attention. loving Parker.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:48
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About two thirds of the way through the unedited version of The Stand and I'm now getting why somebody earlier said there is a lot of stuff that belonged on the typewriter ribbon. The early extra stuff fleshing out how the pandemic looks is all interesting, but now it's starting feel more like listening to an old man ramble about boring stories. Stu Redman just went on a long loving tangent about some eerie encounter where Jim Morrison filled up at his gas station after his death. Also there's a bit where Stu is MC'ing the Boulder town meeting and is going on about how he hasn't had this many people looking at him since he was on the high school football team and they had "all those nice looking cheerleaders to be looking at too," and when introducing the other panel members he says to his girlfriend "stand up and let them see how you look in a dress," and I had an uncanny vision of Biden giving a stump speech.
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Apr 24, 2020 02:54
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navyjack posted:Goddamn it. 16 Ways has been on my to-read pile since it came out, and I pushed it up to the front because you people started talking about it and I really liked it until the end when of course Parker had to Parker me so now I have to chase down everything else he’s written since last time I paid attention. loving Parker. Yeah the end got me too. Lampshading it as an unsatisfactory ending made it no less unsatisfactory drat it!  It was my first exposure to Parker so yeah it is making me a teeny bit hesitant to jump into his other stuff. On the other hand I enjoyed the flow of the book so much I want more.
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Apr 24, 2020 03:31
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How does Foreigner compare to it’s sequels? I don’t mind it so far but it’s not totally gripping me and I’m not sure if I’ll finish the last 40% if the sequels aren’t at least as good or ideally better.
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Apr 24, 2020 03:33
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tildes posted:How does Foreigner compare to it’s sequels? I don’t mind it so far but it’s not totally gripping me and I’m not sure if I’ll finish the last 40% if the sequels aren’t at least as good or ideally better. Hmmm. Honestly, if you're not digging Foreigner I'm not sure you'll dig the rest of it. I mean, finish it so you can see the action sequences (which are baller), and then decide if you want more drow politics, humans being humans, and Bren having anxiety all the time.
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Apr 24, 2020 03:54
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StrixNebulosa posted:Hmmm. Honestly, if you're not digging Foreigner I'm not sure you'll dig the rest of it. I mean, finish it so you can see the action sequences (which are baller), and then decide if you want more drow politics, humans being humans, and Bren having anxiety all the time. Guys being Anxious a Lot is a whole Cherryh thing
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Apr 24, 2020 04:15
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sebmojo posted:Guys being Anxious a Lot is a whole Cherryh thing It absolutely is. Also PTSD.
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Apr 24, 2020 09:52
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I just read the outpost series of zombie books by Adam Baker that was suggested here. I would rate it as just OK. He sets up a bunch of stuff that never really pays off. The zombies are sortof techno zombies with metal fibers growing through them as they zombiefy, but only in a couple of parts do the zombies do anything different from standard zombies. When the books got to the cities i was hoping for giant merging super zombies, but we only get one instance of two zombies merging into one slightly bigger one. And they also seem to randomly vary from standard easy to kill zombies to like t-100 metal skeletons that are almost unstoppable. I think he should have leaned harder into weird super zombies, it would have helped explain how they had taken over the whole world. Next I read Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it was good. I remembered this thread complaining about War Dogs by Greg Bear and its lack of dogs, not a problem with this book! Its about a squad of cyborged animal soldiers that go rogue. Rex the dog soldier, Honey the bear heavy weapons expert, Dragon the chameleon sniper and Bees, the sentient swarm of bees. The first part is a lot like the comic We3, but the book continues on shows what happens next. Also has themes of trans-humanism and how rich people/corporations are the real monsters.
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Apr 24, 2020 18:47
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ianmacdo posted:
This made me remember Murray Leinster's Semper Tyrannis, with it's action team of 4 slightly up-lifted bears + 1 eagle. And remembering Semper Tyrannis made me remember Harry Harrison's two oddball stories Man from P.I.G. and Man from R.O.B.O.T., which involved pig action squads + robotic everythings, respectively.
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Apr 24, 2020 19:14
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ianmacdo posted:Next I read Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it was good. Stop stop I'm trying not to buy any books right this moment! Ahh that sounds so good!
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Apr 24, 2020 19:29
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do they get to literally eat the rich? don't worry if the answer is no, Bees the bees are enough to get that on my wish list.
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Apr 24, 2020 19:39
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ianmacdo posted:Next I read Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky, it was good. [camera outside an anonymous suburban home] adrian tchaikovsky knocks on the front door. "hey, i called about the insects for sale?" the door opens and he walks in. chris hansen is sitting on a stool holding a picture of larva for the camera. "this grub had a family, adrian." tchaikovsky turns white and falls to his knees.
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Apr 24, 2020 20:05
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The Bone Season Series (The Bone Season, The Mime Order, The Song Rising) by Samantha Shannon - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084MKVT8P/ This is so cheap, but are these books any good? I see posts about her Priory of the Orange Tree occasionally but not this. Provenance by Ann Leckie - $2.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XW6YTKV/ The Knight and Knave of Swords (Fafhrd and Gray Mouser #7) by Fritz Leiber - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J84L02Q/
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Apr 24, 2020 22:34
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ianmacdo posted:I just read the outpost series of zombie books by Adam Baker that was suggested here. I really enjoyed Dogs of War, even though I had to jump through my rear end to get a copy since it wasn't available for Kindle in the US for the longest time.
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Apr 25, 2020 00:04
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I am very interested to see what is going on with the numerical discrepancies in Harrow the Ninth when the full book is published. In Act 1 Harrow herself notes that the number of resurrection beasts doesn’t match up, and neither does Harrow’s alleged position as the ninth lyctor; she is the tenth going by the dramatis personae.
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Apr 25, 2020 05:11
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gideon = goodeon Middlegame next. Solitair fucked around with this message at 09:17 on Apr 25, 2020 |
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Apr 25, 2020 09:12
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Thread, help me! I'm in the mood for relatively light reading, and I want it to be sci-fi. Ideally a 4+ book series with shortish novels (long will do in a pinch) that's fun pulpy star trek-esque adventures. The caveat being that I don't want to deal with any sexism/racism, I'd prefer a protagonist who isn't a dude, and the writing needs to be at least decent. I've been spoiled by urban fantasy having oodles of long series with generally what I want, and when I try to think of something in sci-fi the closest I can think of is like, Chanur. Are there any obvious series I'm missing? Or series I've missed?
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Apr 25, 2020 17:34
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What Gibson book to read after Agency? I loved Peripheral and I am enjoying the poo poo out of Agency, but quickly running out of pages and trying to figure out what to read next of his. My friends keep recommending Pattern Recognition, but I also somehow haven't read Neuromancer yet...
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Apr 25, 2020 18:14
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StrixNebulosa posted:
Becky Chambers? Are there more than 3 Vorkosigan books that center on non-male protagonists? I can think of Falling Free, Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Vernor Vinge’s Deepness books? Ive never read them but Honor Harrington? Dunno if there is racism/sexism.
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Apr 25, 2020 18:37
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Dune 
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Apr 25, 2020 18:39
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buffalo all day posted:Are there more than 3 Vorkosigan books that center on non-male protagonists? I can think of Falling Free, Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Komarr and A Civil Campaign have the POV shared between male and female characters, I think?
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Apr 25, 2020 18:51
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Ripley posted:Komarr and A Civil Campaign have the POV shared between male and female characters, I think? The latest one, too, is also a Cordelia book.
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Apr 25, 2020 18:59
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Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson - $1.99 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016CQUL4U/ For the person who was disappointed this doesn't go on sale often.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:08
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buffalo all day posted:Becky Chambers? Chambers: I should get out my copy of Small Angry Planet and read it, hmm Vorko: not sci-fi pulp-y enough, alas. Like I really enjoyed it, but it's not what I want right now. Deepness: too heavy! Really good, I love the Tines, but it's too long. Honor Harrington: hahahahahahaha no, don't ever read these they're bad Dune: someday I should seriously read this but also not right now
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Apr 25, 2020 19:10
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You could try the Jack McDevitt books about Priscilla Hutchins. I didn't like the one I read too much, but I was about fourteen. space marine todd posted:What Gibson book to read after Agency? I loved Peripheral and I am enjoying the poo poo out of Agency, but quickly running out of pages and trying to figure out what to read next of his. My friends keep recommending Pattern Recognition, but I also somehow haven't read Neuromancer yet... Pattern Recognition is fantastic and hasn't aged the same way Neuromancer has (because it's set in the real world, at a very specific time, rather than in a future that will never happen.) It's also a little more compassionate.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:14
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StrixNebulosa posted:Thread, help me! I'm in the mood for relatively light reading, and I want it to be sci-fi. Ideally a 4+ book series with shortish novels (long will do in a pinch) that's fun pulpy star trek-esque adventures. The caveat being that I don't want to deal with any sexism/racism, I'd prefer a protagonist who isn't a dude, and the writing needs to be at least decent. If you haven’t read it yet, Murderbot is genderless.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:21
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StrixNebulosa posted:Thread, help me! I'm in the mood for relatively light reading, and I want it to be sci-fi. Ideally a 4+ book series with shortish novels (long will do in a pinch) that's fun pulpy star trek-esque adventures. The caveat being that I don't want to deal with any sexism/racism, I'd prefer a protagonist who isn't a dude, and the writing needs to be at least decent. Have you ready any of Iain Banks' Culture novels? Some lighter than others, they mostly stand alone. I recently got Corey White's Voidwitch Saga trilogy on sale when the ebooks were mentioned here, those were short and fun reading if a little heavy on the ultraviolence. Seconding Becky Chambers if you hadn't read that yet, though I haven't gotten to her second book or that recent free novella yet. The Blue Ant trilogy (Pattern Recognition etc) is still my favorite William Gibson though I grew up reading Neuromancer and Bruce Sterling and liked Peripheral well enough. I do need to get Agency.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:21
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General Battuta posted:You could try the Jack McDevitt books about Priscilla Hutchins. I didn't like the one I read too much, but I was about fourteen.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:30
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StrixNebulosa posted:Chambers: I should get out my copy of Small Angry Planet and read it, hmm It’s going to be exactly what you’re looking for, I’m like 95% sure. I assumed you would have read it because it’s so on point.
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Apr 25, 2020 19:32
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General Battuta posted:You could try the Jack McDevitt books about Priscilla Hutchins. I didn't like the one I read too much, but I was about fourteen. Jack McDevitt's Engines of God was so bland I stopped reading it several years ago, so yeah, nope. Murderbot: I love murderbot. Iain M Banks: I've tried the culture novels from multiple angles and haven't had a good time.  Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Excession.... nothing has held me.And yep, I'll pick up Becky Chambers and have a look, thanks!
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Apr 25, 2020 19:45
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Captain Monkey posted:If you haven’t read it yet, Murderbot is genderless. Hey He's got a gender. It's murder 
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Apr 25, 2020 19:59
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