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Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:Just got my copy of Poseidon's Wake in the mail and I know it kind of goes without saying considering how widespread it is in the SFF genres, but UK covers are stunningly superior to their NA counterparts. Really wish I had the UK versions of the first two books in the series to complete the set but oh well. 
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Jul 22, 2015 05:11
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I much prefer cool spaceship paintings to the modern trend of simple objects and flat backgrounds.
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Jul 22, 2015 05:26
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Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that?
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Jul 22, 2015 06:05
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Conan, or Fritz Leiber.
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Jul 22, 2015 06:09
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? The Broken Sword
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Jul 22, 2015 06:14
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? Pretty much anything by Gemmell would work.
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Jul 22, 2015 06:16
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series are some of the best of the bunch. If you want it with laser guns and space poo poo instead, Ryk Spoor's Grand Central Arena fit that bill, too. Drifter fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Jul 22, 2015 |
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Jul 22, 2015 06:44
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? The Morgaine books by CJ Cherryh have a nice degree of chessyness, enough sword action and the correct amount of sorcery which is really advanced inter-dimensional technology, but never mind. Never not read CJ Cherryh.
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Jul 22, 2015 09:15
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Just finished Aurora tonight, having been made aware of it by this thread. Loved it. I'm a sucker for a good generation ship story and this was one of the best I've read. Definitely up there with Red Mars, which I'm now thinking I may need to re-read sometime soon.holocaust bloopers posted:It was bittersweet, but yes. Ship was with us the most, as we're hearing the story through Ship itself. The latter parts of the novel where Ship is feeding us info regarding their slow down maneuvers felt a lot like intentional foreshadowing on Ship's part. The AI seemed to be acutely aware that its luck was going to run out (a metaphor heh). Loved the development of Ship as a character and its writing style. Was rather shocking to have it not survive, but based on its observations from the beginning of the "oh poo poo they aren't going to have the laser on in time" phase of the return through its initial musings about dropping the humans in a lander before attempting one last crazy-low-odds turn around Sol, Ship clearly did not think its chances were very good. Whoever suggested using the child-in-a-spacesuit-sees-the-ship-for-the-first-time bit as a cold open for an Aurora movie or miniseries, you are a genius. That would be pretty spectacular. For a story that is sort of fundamentally a bummer (generation ships cannot work, their crew are doomed to failure and death), it was an incredibly enjoyable read.
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Jul 22, 2015 11:06
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? Stupid_Sexy_Flander posted:Pretty much anything by Gemmell would work. Heh, yeah I read the Rigante books and they'd definitely fit the bill. Maybe slightly less cheesy but not far off: The original Weis & Hickman Dragonlance books. Hell, I just re-read that series last year before I started Malazan. (I wanted something easy to warm up on before taking on a monster  )Also, the Dark Elf trilogy. Drizzt before he became Super Jesus or whatever and before Salvatore became utterly unreadable.
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Jul 22, 2015 11:36
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Is there anything that conveys the scale of the Culture and has the same strong points? (Communist-like utopia with holier-than-thou AIs) I loved the Culture and I just keep wanting more of it but I can't find anything. I didn't like Alastair Reynolds' prose, before someone recommends that immediately 
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Jul 22, 2015 12:38
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Drifter posted:This is "stunningly superior"? I think they're pretty v  v
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Jul 22, 2015 15:01
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Just realised the last three modern fantasy trilogies I've read and enjoyed have all been post-apocalyptic earth settings with variable amounts of sci-fi vs magic. Gene Wolfe loomin' large over the 201X fantasy output. Also The Broken Sword is not cheesy swords n sorcery. poo poo is messed up (but super good) mythical-english-vikings as told by a Skald in a tavern.
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Jul 22, 2015 15:44
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that? Any Terry Pratchett's Discworld book. If you've never read one, you must.
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Jul 22, 2015 15:48
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Grey Elephants posted:Lately I've had a craving to read a cheesy as hell sword and sorcery fantasy novel. What would be the least terrible option for that?
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Jul 22, 2015 15:55
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Evfedu posted:Just realised the last three modern fantasy trilogies I've read and enjoyed have all been post-apocalyptic earth settings with variable amounts of sci-fi vs magic. Gene Wolfe loomin' large over the 201X fantasy output. The ghost of Jack Vance would like to have a word with you.
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Jul 22, 2015 16:04
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Evfedu posted:Just realised the last three modern fantasy trilogies I've read and enjoyed have all been post-apocalyptic earth settings with variable amounts of sci-fi vs magic. Gene Wolfe loomin' large over the 201X fantasy output. What have you read that falls into this category that is not Gene Wolfe?
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Jul 22, 2015 16:33
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orange sky posted:Is there anything that conveys the scale of the Culture and has the same strong points? (Communist-like utopia with holier-than-thou AIs) Not the same scale, and not very communist: check the Polity books by Neal Asher. Be aware Asher is not Banks: his prose is not at that level, his character building tends to suck (at least in their first books) and the stories are more action oriented (lots of explosions, beatings., shooting and megadeath involved). Also, awesome monsters.
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Jul 22, 2015 16:50
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Shab posted:What have you read that falls into this category that is not Gene Wolfe? Mark Lawrence's books are post-apoc, I believe. I got the impression that Joe Abercrombie's YA trilogy is post-apoc as well.
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Jul 22, 2015 16:52
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Evfedu posted:Just realised the last three modern fantasy trilogies I've read and enjoyed have all been post-apocalyptic earth settings with variable amounts of sci-fi vs magic. Gene Wolfe loomin' large over the 201X fantasy output. Ornamented Death posted:The ghost of Jack Vance would like to have a word with you. Shab posted:What have you read that falls into this category that is not Gene Wolfe? Megazver posted:Mark Lawrence's books are post-apoc, I believe. I got the impression that Joe Abercrombie's YA trilogy is post-apoc as well. Ye gods. Please go out and read some sf and fantasy before posting in the sf/f thread, tia.
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Jul 22, 2015 17:27
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House Louse posted:Ye gods. Please go out and read some sf and fantasy before posting in the sf/f thread, tia. sure buddy
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Jul 22, 2015 17:58
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"Hey, I really like Gene Wolfe and other super literary scifi/fantasy, any recommendations?" "How about the children's book series by the guy whose 'adult' book series reads like the novelization of an MMO?"
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Jul 22, 2015 18:09
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angel opportunity posted:"Hey, I really like Gene Wolfe and other super literary scifi/fantasy, any recommendations?" Evfedu was talking about fantasy set in post-apocalyptic Earth settings. (In fact, I'm pretty I just mentioned at least one out of three trilogies he just read.) Shab asked for titles. For someone who's this much of a smug wanker, you've got poo poo reading comprehension. And I don't even like Abercrombie's writing nor have I finished more than one of his books, but every time I see you post you're just so tryhard about how this writer or that one is plebean neckbeard filth that it's frankly becoming a little sad.
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Jul 22, 2015 18:28
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Wait Poseidon's Wake is already out in the UK? Amazon says Feb. 2, 2016 for America. gently caress the publishing industry.
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Jul 22, 2015 18:32
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chrisoya posted:Conan, or Fritz Leiber. The original Conan by Howard, to be specific. Also, yeah, Leiber' Lankhmar books. Another good choice would be the Dilvish, the Damned stories by Zelazny.
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Jul 22, 2015 18:36
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Noctone posted:Wait Poseidon's Wake is already out in the UK? Amazon says Feb. 2, 2016 for America. gently caress the publishing industry. It came out months ago; I made literally the same comment
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Jul 22, 2015 19:16
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House Louse posted:Ye gods. Please go out and read some sf and fantasy before posting in the sf/f thread, tia. I'm really not sure what the gently caress the point of this post is.
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Jul 22, 2015 19:24
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House Louse posted:Ye gods. Please go out and read some sf and fantasy before posting in the sf/f thread, tia. Tell me more about how I don't read enough sf and fantasy by asking what titles that person was referring to, please. 
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Jul 22, 2015 19:30
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Mods rename thread into The SF&F hugbox: defend your honor-verse
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Jul 22, 2015 19:46
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Drifter posted:And then check out The Long Ships by Bergtsson, for a little older Viking flair. Hot tip for UK goons: I just noticed the Kindle version of this is currently only £1.49 on Amazon, discounted from £8.99.
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Jul 22, 2015 19:58
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How is Abercrombie's stuff MMO novelizations? Like I know Sanderson and Erikson are characterized that way when goons wanna feel smug n superior about their reading choices, I just don't understand what Abercrombie shares with them to fall under that umbrella now too.
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Jul 22, 2015 20:56
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savinhill posted:How is Abercrombie's stuff MMO novelizations? Like I know Sanderson and Erikson are characterized that way when goons wanna feel smug n superior about their reading choices, I just don't understand what Abercrombie shares with them to fall under that umbrella now too. The only real MMO novelizations are the weird Russian LitRPGs that are flooding Amazon right now.
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Jul 22, 2015 20:59
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CaptainScraps posted:The only real MMO novelizations are the weird Russian LitRPGs that are flooding Amazon right now. Oh god. Are they leaking into anglosphere? I am so sorry. On the other hand, hey, at least you might also get Red Padawan: 
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Jul 22, 2015 21:09
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I'm not a huge fan of Sanderson, but I think his books--while too long--are well plotted and have compelling narrative arcs. His prose isn't amazing, and his magic system obsession can rightly be compared to DnD or videogame rulesets, but if you put me on a plane with only a Sanderson novel to read, I would read it and probably still enjoy it. I finished the whole two books of Stormlight and enjoyed it okay. I don't tend to recommend him to many people though because I do really feel he just makes these way longer than they need to be. I almost made a post yesterday, after the guy saying he hated Dune, about how it's fine to hate certain books as long as you can understand that other people have different taste and expectations from what they read, but I didn't bother making it because I kept typing it and finding myself rambling and going off topic. In that post I was adding that I irrationally hate Abercrombie, but understand why people like him. Anyway, it annoys me especially how Abercrombie is like the catch-all recommendation from so many people here. The people who recommend Abercrombie, almost regardless of what criteria people ask for, have they really read that many books? I honestly can't imagine someone thinking Abercrombie is great after reading decent scifi/fantasy. Even if you've only ever read books 1-3 of Song of Ice and Fire, I can't see how you'd like Abercrombie enough to give gushing recommendations of his work to people asking for good fantasy series. Even as much as I can't understand how people like it ENOUGH TO RECOMMEND TO OTHERS, I do understand how and why people like his books. There's strong and compelling aesthetic to certain aspects of his world, and he does certain characters very well. The tradeoff is that the plots go nowhere, the pacing is atrocious, and certain characters are like cardboard cutouts with voiceboxes attached to them. I really, hugely dislike how it reads like a movie or an anime, and every big action scene has what feels like mini-boss fights. Characters built up over three books never actually do anything (big dude with all the runes/tattoos all over his body?) other than become raid bosses, and the entire First Law trilogy ends without anything interesting happening aside from a few characters' subplots. Even the main antagonist doesn't do anything in the climax of the trilogy. If you just really want to read some cool action poo poo happening, I understand the appeal, but when I see really excited recommendations for this poo poo to people, it makes me really just feel like the person giving the recommendation hasn't read any of the much better scifi/fantasy that is out there.
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Jul 22, 2015 21:10
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angel opportunity posted:I'm not a huge fan of Sanderson, but I think his books--while too long--are well plotted and have compelling narrative arcs. His prose isn't amazing, and his magic system obsession can rightly be compared to DnD or videogame rulesets, but if you put me on a plane with only a Sanderson novel to read, I would read it and probably still enjoy it. I finished the whole two books of Stormlight and enjoyed it okay. I don't tend to recommend him to many people though because I do really feel he just makes these way longer than they need to be. So I take it you're not a fan...
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Jul 22, 2015 21:18
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That's a whole lotta words decrying people that recommend Abercrombie as having not read better authors without listing any of those better authors.
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Jul 22, 2015 21:25
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I think Abercrombie gets recommended a lot because, no matter what you think of the first two books of the First Law trilogy, it's hard to think of another series where the third book is so rewarding to the reader's patience and efforts. First Law is also very accessible for people getting into the genre; anyone who has seen Lord of the Rings already knows pretty much every trope necessary to enjoy First Law. In any case this is a genre where there are a few standouts and a lot of crap, and there's not a great way to distinguish the two besides word of mouth. I enjoyed First Law and so did a lot of others here, so Abercrombie is going to be a go-to recommendation for a lot of people. Finally we're in the fantasy era of ASOIAF, and that's what most people are going to read as their entry to the genre. If someone tells me that they read ASOIAF and wanted more of that, Abercrombie is almost certainly in the first five recommendations I'm giving. The Ninth Layer fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Jul 22, 2015 |
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Jul 22, 2015 21:26
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The Ninth Layer posted:where the third book is so rewarding to the reader's patience and efforts. That was the complete opposite of my experience. I actually liked it at first, but the further in I got the less and less rewarded I felt, and I actually felt shafted, as if he had built up and hinted at all this cool stuff, and then completely failed to follow through on any of it. Also, gently caress off, Ornamented Death. I've been posting in this thread for years and recommend stuff all the time. List of Good Sci-Fi: Ted Chiang - Stories of Your Life and Others Maureen McHugh - China Mountain Zhang Vernor Vinge - A Fire Upon the Deep Alastair Reynolds - House of Suns Hermann Hesse - Glass Bead Game Ian Banks - The Player of Games Jeff Vandermeer - Southern Reach Trilogy Carl Sagan - Contact Liu Cixin - Three Body Problem
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Jul 22, 2015 21:35
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I think what gets me about it is that First Law doesn't remind me of Song of Ice and Fire AT ALL. It's like he tried to take the grim "bad stuff happens to everyone" theme and feel, but hosed it up really bad and just totally botched the execution. The plot in Ice and Fire just plods along and you never know where it's going or what's going to happen, but it always feels real and deep and alive. In First Law, I felt just tiny glimmers of interesting things and people, and everything else felt like a paper facade, but the plot's meandering in First Law just felt like it killed the whole story for me, whereas in Ice and Fire it doesn't actually bother me. I think it comes down to the prose/writing/characters just being much better in every way in Ice and Fire, and the little plots that arise and resolve along the way on Ice and Fire being very compelling, where in First Law they just are not.
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Jul 22, 2015 21:40
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House Louse posted:Ye gods. Please go out and read some sf and fantasy before posting in the sf/f thread, tia. Fantasy actually has an extremely common "ancient advanced civilization" trope that people confuse with post-apocalyptic since those civilizations tend to have ended due to horrific events and not just dying out. First Law, Stormlight, and a lot of others are guilty of it (some more than others). I can't think of the last fantasy I read where it wasn't present to some considerable degree. e: First Law was a decent read but Abercrombie either wanted you to know the ending to major plots very early on or he's terrible at not making things obvious. The two most blatant were "rear end in a top hat grows up some, becomes king" and "inquisitor with horrible life/boss gets sweet revenge and massive emotional(and physical) support." Evil Fluffy fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jul 22, 2015 |
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Jul 22, 2015 21:53
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