Science Fiction Aficionados discussion
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Mark wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Has anyone else here read American Gods? I'm still only on page 8 (it's not a fast-read...and it's thick) but I'm seeing where the negative reviews come from. I'm wondering if it's..."I agree. I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to read it and ended up listening to the audiobook version. I enjoyed it for the most part. I was mainly interested in this because I saw HBO is developing a TV series version and was curious why it would be worth that effort.
Right now I'm near the end of The Forever War which starts in a war of the future of 1997 (lol)Anyway, after I finish I'll probably pick something of the SF Masterworks list that I haven't read, perhaps by Phillip K Dick.
Beezlebug wrote: "Mark wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Has anyone else here read American Gods? I'm still only on page 8 (it's not a fast-read...and it's thick) but I'm seeing where the negative reviews come from. I'm wond..."I read it going to expend on the book because they are hoping of five or more seasons.
Kevin wrote: "Beezlebug wrote: "Mark wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Has anyone else here read American Gods? I'm still only on page 8 (it's not a fast-read...and it's thick) but I'm seeing where the negative reviews c..."Yeah I saw that too. The last I heard was that Neil posted on Twitter he had almost finished the script for the pilot and it would probably premiere in 2013.
Jenny wrote: "I'm reading A Princess of Mars. I really need to stop starting new books before finishing others."As an author, Jenny, I firmly believe you couldn't find the interest in another/new book if the current one were actually holding your attention. One of the common remarks I get on my work that I find to be the absolute highest praise (never told anyone this b4) is that my readers think about my book/its characters when they're not reading (e.g., while at work, doing errands, etc.) That says to my Authorial soul I've completely captured the reader's imagination. Whatever they feel after that, I'm already pleased as could be. Even if they later say they didn't like this or that about the plot/characters! I'm happy I connected at all.
Likewise, the #1 worst thing would be to hear a reader was indifferent, could take it or leave it, thought it was okay but wants something new to read now. That means I failed to engage their imagination, only held their attention while I had the book right there in front of their eyes and probably left the reader unfulfilled at The End--or they'd want more of mine not a new book! haha
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Beezlebug wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Beezlebug wrote: "Mark wrote: "Marjorie wrote: "Has anyone else here read American Gods? I'm still only on page 8 (it's not a fast-read...and it's thick) but I'm seeing where the nega..."I'm probably never going to spend hours of my life I can never get back watching a film version of AG. I already wish I could get back the time I've spent reading. Not liking this book at all :-( Oh well.
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Scott wrote: "I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Throttle. I don't know what I'm going to read next."Just curious, did you enjoy Electric Sheep? I didn't. I found it very hard to get into (bored) and I put it down without finishing it. I know it got great reviews though so I always wonder if I missed something by giving up out of boredom ;)
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Mod
Marjorie wrote: "Scott wrote: "I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and Throttle. I don't know what I'm going to read next."Just curious, did you enjoy Electric Sheep? I didn't. I found it very hard to ge..."
I'm enjoying A Scanner Darkly and thinking about Androids next. I get mixed comments.
Faulteh wrote: "Right now I'm near the end of The Forever War which starts in a war of the future of 1997 (lol)Anyway, after I finish I'll probably pick something of the SF Masterworks list that I haven't read, ..."
Great book! If you liked it, I'd highly recommend Old Man's War by Jon Scalzi, and the 3-4 books which follow it in the series.
I decided to read Double Cross: The Explosive, Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America. I'm just wondering how realistic it is since these are stories relayed to his brother.
I've just started reading The Mote in God's Eye but I'm having a rather hard time getting into it. I can't connect with the characters at all so far.
Darciana wrote: "I've just started reading The Mote in God's Eye but I'm having a rather hard time getting into it. I can't connect with the characters at all so far."Hey stay with it. It takes a turn when you meet the aliens.
Reading Embassytown by China Mieville, fascinating style, plunges you into alien culture, never read anything like it, mesmerizing. About 80% through it, waiting to see how it will end...
I finished Miles, Mystery & Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold and, of course, enjoyed it, although Cetaganda was the Bujold story I have liked least so far. She does set a high bar.Now I am into Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge. This book strikes directly at a soft spot since I am fairly recently retired. Owww!
I am also, like Tad a week ago, reading Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. I like this a lot so far. I got the book as part of this year's Hugo package. You can get digital copies of all the 2012 Hugo nominees, novels to short stories, for $50 and have voting rights. I have a LOT of reading to do by the end of July. It is a great deal with the caveat that most of the novels are in pdf format. You need to process them a bit to make them readable on small format readers. Check it out at the Chicon 7 site.
I've just finished The Player of Games, ditched The Fabulous Riverboat, and can't decide whether to continue with Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang.The Player of Games was great, if maybe a hair below my extremely high expectations. The Fabulous Riverboat I'll have to finish eventually, but so far it has lived up to its awful reputation. I'm not really committed to Where Late yet. It feels very choppy 40 pages in. Might just read one of the group books.
Three current reads in SF..1. Anathem-Neal Stephenson
2. The Chronoliths-Robert Charles Wilson
3. The Phoenix Exultant-John C Wright
Rachel wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Continuing with my C.J. Cherryh read, now I am on to The Collected Short Fiction of C.J. Cherryh."I never heard of C.J. Cherryh before Goodreads - can anyone tell me (a) how I shoul..."
I have been told it is pronounced "Cherry", thinking wikipedia also has an explaination of why that is.
Just finished Amped and moving on to Redshirts. Amped was good but it was short and predictable. You could see where it was going early on.
Started The Shadow of the Torturer. So may folks have told me that Wolfe is a genius that I thought I'd better check it out, even though his Free Live Free is one of the worst novels I've ever read. Pleasantly surprised, so far - it's very mysterious and atmospheric.
Just finished Scalzi's new book Redshirts, it was pretty damn good actually.. what seems like satire at first is quickly taken toward the meta side of things, and the author handles it very well. Absolutely fantastic dialog, a sharp tongue-in cheek awareness, and a set of endings that really manages to connect with the reader. Really wasn't the book I was expecting, but was able to surpass that and actually become something better and substantial.Maybe I'm just getting better about what I'm choosing to read, but even with older stuff I'm reading for the first time, it seems like what I've been reading keeps getting better and better!
Just finished Leviathan Wakes. Pretty good. I've got Caliban's War on preorder. Several in the queue ahead of it though, including Redshirts.
Chris wrote: "Just finished Scalzi's new book Redshirts, it was pretty damn good actually.. what seems like satire at first is quickly taken toward the meta side of things, and the author handles it very well. A..."I finished it too and agree. Great read and I liked how he went back and wrapped up any loose threads at the end. How did you like the scene (view spoiler)
I'm reading Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Very good so far. Has anyone read the others in this series? How do they compare?
Marjorie wrote: "Jenny wrote: "I'm reading A Princess of Mars. I really need to stop starting new books before finishing others."As an author, Jenny, I firmly believe you couldn't find the interest in another/new..."
I understand that point of view, and my boyfriend says the same thing, but it's not always the case with me. I usually pick up other books because there are so many I really want to read. Now that I'm on Goodreads there are tons of books I want to read along with the groups. For instance, I took a break with 1Q84 because there was a group read I really wanted to take part in and both were on my Kindle. I was finished with Book 1 of 1Q84 so I thought it was a good point to take a break. I don't know how but a few months passed and I've finally picked 1Q84 back up. Getting back into it I wish I would have just finished it back then because I'm reminded of what a fantastic book it is.
This is rare though, I don't usually take a break with books. Usually I'm reading multiple books in multiple formats. I'm usually reading one in hard or paperback, on my Kindle, audio, and maybe even a separate short story collection. Another rare exception is Warbreaker. I've been reading it for a couple months because it's on my iPad and I hardly read on there. It's on my iPad because I could download it for free. Now that it's summer I really want to finish it because I really love it.
I've met a lot of people on GR that agree with you that if a book is good enough you'll read it until it's finished without reading anything else. I've also met a lot of people like me who read a million things at once. I guess it's different for each reader.
Mod
I agree. I'm almost always reading three books at once, partly to artificially slow myself down, but largely because I enjoy seeing how unrelated books bring up unexpected synchronicities.
I've also found that different books demand different reading speeds. There are some books that demand to be plowed through in a day, while there are others that benefit from dipping into them just a bit each day. I'd hate to lose the latter because I expected every book to grab me by the throat and not let go.
I'm almost done How To Survive in a Science Fictional Universe, and am looking forward to joining the discussion on it when I'm done!
Just finished A Wizard of Earthsea.Halfway through The Lost World - Doyle's, that is. I find it a little annoying that Michael Crichton recycled the title, whatever his reasons. I know there are plenty of repeat titles out there but I can't think of another case where one was reused as a deliberate homage.
J.P. wrote: "I'm reading Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Very good so far. Has anyone read the others in this series? How do they compare?"J.P., I read them all and loved each one. They are each are a little bit different than the previous one though. What I mean by that is where one novel feels like more an espionage/spy thriller the next is all out war/action adventure, etc. I think if you like Altered Carbon you'd like the rest. His novel Thirteen is good also.
Okay, I have completely GIVEN UP trying to read Gaiman's American Gods. I was a little worried that maybe I just wasn't able to concentrate on reading properly due to a variety of chaos goign on in my real life, so I did a test. I picked up a book I've read 3 or 4 times before and love and tested myself to see if I could get back into it. I know it has a great hook opening. Inside of 10 minutes I was PASSING the number of pages I had struggled for 2 weeks to read in American Gods.
Yay! It wasn't me! It was the book ;-) Only problem, of coruse, is now I want to finish the other book I picked up and I don't have time! Argh! Life is too cruel sometimes, too cruel (LOL)
(P.S. @Jenny - this "proves" my theory too, that a reader cannot possibly get into a new book if the one they're currently reading is actually holding their attention. I had no trouble getting into a new book because AG was not remotely holding my interest)
BTW, the book I'm reading is a romance novel with a pseudo time travel plot. It's a makebelieve time travel thing but I'm still really enjoying it. I've enjoyed it everytime I read it, too, but I have to laugh at the time travel stuff. I mean, for REAL scifi aficionados, we KNOW you can't just "dream" yourself into the past anymore than you can "fax" yourself there, though this book does remind me of Ger Butler in Timeline (haha)
This book I'm reading (Son of the Morning by Linda Howard) is probably the only romance version of time travel I've ever liked--and lots and lots of them keep trying to write time travel stories! I have no idea why! Then again, I always measure time travel stories against Heinlein's The Door into Summer, which wasn't really a time travel story either so it's an entirely unfair measurement, I know.
Oh and this book's been reissued a few times (it's a very popular romance novel) but the computer cables and phone cords for the modem fix this "time travel" book so rigidly in time, the irony just cracks me up now. It was first released in 1997 and high-speed modems were very en vogue. Haha, I had a 28.8k modem then (which was fast for a home connection) and was just about to upgrade to a T1 line IIRC (I ran my own web biz in 1997) but even I would never have done what this character is doing in this book. I hacked but not like that. It's just too funny to read.
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Started the audio of Live Free or Die. This is my first John Ringo book. Honestly I was thinking I was not going to get into this, but that is changing. It's a little lite hearted now (I got a feeling that is going to change).His style reminds me a little of Larry Niven? Not so much for the hard science ( still early in to be definite) but more for the characterization.
Banner, Ringo is fun to read and does do great characterizations but he is hardly up to the hardSF level of Larry Niven--or for that matter, the other writers he rips off, concept wise. I mean, the book you're reading now is like a cross between various Stargate SG-1 episodes and Scalzi's Old Man's War series (the throwing rocks from space is literally lifted straight off the pages of Ghost Brigades - poor Scalzi, first Cameron ripped him off to make the movie Avatar then Ringo wrote a pseudo fanfic)All that ripping off of story concepts aside, Ringo writes truly original characters and he's especially good at crunchiness of battle scenes.
His lack of world-building skills (the inconsistencies just don't seem to bother him so geography--or in his fantasy stuff--even the "physical laws" of his "science" aren't consistent with themselves, never mind reality) so if you like solidly speculative science in your SF you might get annoyed. I did.
I love great characters so I kept trying to read his work but I couldn't find one of his series where he didn't do this lack of follow-through on internal world-building consistency (to the point he even changes characters' names/eye/hair color/other details).
There was only one series in which I didn't care (because it was so hilarious and Ringo does gallows humor so well, I literally LOL while reading, which few books can make me do). The Ghost/Kildar books (Paladin of Shadows) have less opportunity for him to screw up the world he's built (he still does, amazingly, even when it's just NSEW from one page to the next) and there's a lot of rough sex in those books (it's a ridiculous parody of sex, actually, where he references it having happened but never actually describes the sex, only the BJs which are about every 5 pages - and that was his intention he said at the time the books came out).
If you're into battle scenes more than cultural world-building, if you're into characterizations and don't care if the characters change names or other descriptive details randomly throughout a story (due to lack of copyediting) and if you're into "fun ride" more than "never before seen adventure" you will LOVE Ringo. Most of his fans are devoted to the point of worship.
That's why I keep trying his work, to figure out what the big attraction is, but his tendencies to drop the ball on world-building have really gone off sideways and books like the one you picked up, seem like they're half lifting ideas from others, which to me, is just fanfic. I hate fanfic. Plus he's such a better writer than "fanfic" level. He's capable of writing better than he does. It's like he just doesn't care about the mechanics and just wants to have the fun ride. As a reader, I care about the bones behind the story, holding it up and I need solid science in my science fiction. Like John Campbell said ;-) the first word *IS* science, not fiction. I'm more of a Robert A. Heinlein fan--or from contemporary authors, Robert J. Sawyer. Sawyer's not funny but he's on solid world-building ground that doesn't shift under me as I turn the pages and he's always very original in his ideas. Always. Sawyer's science is so speculative just one molecule away from reality, it's next to impossible to distinguish where real science stops and his speculation begins. I love that. It's also why I liked Ringo's Ghost/Kildar series (Kildar's in an alternate reality so Ringo didn't have to build the "world" though like I said he still managed to change geography on his fictionalized Earth)
Be sure to come back and post your opinion of Ringo's book as you get further into it. Be sure to try another one if you don't like that one. He's incredibly prolific (even more so than me and my posts! LOL) He's worth trying just for the hilarity of his jokes and absurdity of his portrayals. Niven, he's not though ((grin))
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
Hey Marjorie thanks for the introduction to Ringo. I'm still enjoying the book, but have noticed several things you've mentioned. The lack of world building bothered me right away, but I decided to overlook it and got into the story. I love reading about alien cultures, but these guys seem so human in their thinking (just a lot more advanced). But I do like how the plot is developing and the characters continue to engage. I'm also enjoying the humor, which I think is hard to pull off in science fiction.
Btw, I remember reading the rock throwing in Larry Niven first. I believe it was Footfall.
In reflecting a bit, I think what clicked with me first with this book was the protagonist being a comic book / science-fiction writer / artist. I love comic books!
Hey again, Banner, Ringo does comic book style characters, too! :) And oh yeah, he does humor exceeeeeeedingly well, especially gallows humor (dark, intended to break a tense scene with something so absurd it makes you spew your drink if you're not careful). You're right, that's really hard to do in science fiction but he does it well. He just annoys me with the sloppiness. I know he's capable of doing the polish; he just doesn't care to bother. I feel ripped off.
I haven't read Footfall so now I have a new book to read just to read the throwing stones from space bit again :) It's a good one, due to the ironic contrast. I can totally believe it was written even before Niven, for that matter.
Glad you're enjoying the rest of Live Free or Die. If you like space alien wars and don't mind Ringo's inconsistencies enough to throw you out of the story (which is my problem, I can't get past it the way you did) then definitely try his Posleen Universe books. There are a lot of them, there's lots of "in humor" in them and they are very creative in characterization. He's collaborated on a lot of them with new authors which obviously breathes new life into his creativity, too.
-Friday
@phoenicianbooks
I just finished Chine Mieville's Embassytown, which blew me away, though it took a long time to get into it. Here's the review I just posted on Amazon, and it's also on my website (www.barrykirwan.com)I found Embassytown by China Mieville easy to put down - it was just that I couldn't help but pick it up again. The writing was mesmerising. The more I read the more I was drawn into this human-alien culture, so unlike any other science fiction I've ever read.
Despite the eloquence and masterful writing, it is not an easy read. Mieville takes the Scifi adage 'resist the urge to explain' to an extreme, so that at the beginning it is very hard to work out what the hell is going on. And when it gets to inter-planetary travel, he avoids every single available warp or faster than light travel cliche and trope and invents the 'immer': fantastic, poetic, and almost incomprehensible - but that is the point, and he carries it off brilliantly.
The titles of the chapters still make no sense to me, even after I have inished the book, but why should they? The reader is an observer, an interloper (a 'floaker', in Mieville's terms) of a human culture so distant from our own that it seems, and it is, alien, except that human characteristics, especially our weaknesses and fears, prey large on the plot. The protagonist, Avice, is herself very flawed, making it easy for the reader to empathize with the terrible decisions that have to be made in the second half of the book.
The spiders, the Arakei, are never too clearly described, with their fanwings and coral eyes, but they are from the beginning an enigma, as is the arrival of EzRa, which is where the book really takes off from a plot perspective. They do not speak as we do, and in fact the whole book is about language and meaning, and just how difficult it could be to communicate with a truly alien species. The intricacies of how their language works, and the dramatic effect EzRa's arrival has on them, are well-thought-out; this is a deep novel, a masterpiece.
Unlike many science fiction books, the ending was excellent and satisfying. I read this one on kindle, and after finishing it, I paused a few minutes and then went straight back to the beginning, where I had originally been captivated and confused in equal measure, and started reading again. I can't remember doing that with another book, except Lord of the Rings, a lifetime ago.
Doubtless one of the reasons I persevered with it was its focus on language and communication difficulties, and the fact that the aliens in question were spider-like, as I have all these elements in my Eden Paradox series, but this writer is a master, and it was humbling to read. I don't think it is for everyone, but this is serious, high-end, well-written hard science fiction that heads off on a right angle away from most Scifi, into the immer... If there was a Nobel prize for SF writing, this would get my vote.
Just finished BLACKHORSE RIDERS by Philip Keith, a non-fiction battle narrative about the Vietnam War; am in the middle of I MUST NOT THINK BAD THOUGHTS by Mark Dery, a collection of hyper-provocative essays (rants, really, in some instances) about current events and contemporary culture.On deck are VETERAN by Gavin Smith, an interesting looking bit of military sf and JANE CARVER OF WAAR by Nathan Long. I read an excerpt of JANE CARVER... at io9.com, and a story about a tough-talkin' knife-fightin' biker chick transported to a place very much like Barsoom , that's both parody and homage to old-school planetary adventure, is something that's very relevant to my interests.
I am reading The Future of Us by by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. It's a young adult book recommended to me by my daughter. Sort of a time travel story, it's about two teenagers in the '90s who load an AOL CDROM on a new computer and discover Facebook (not invented yet) with posts from their future selves. I'm half way through and it's very clever.
That sounds good. I liked Asher's first novel a lot.
Just finished The Reapers Are the Angels. I was surprised to realize that it's only the second/third zombie novel I've ever read (the other being World War Z, and arguably I Am Legend). The theme is so familiar from other media, I think I subconsciously assumed I had read dozens of zombie novels.
Fifty pages into Space Cadet by Robert Heinlein - an oldie but a goodie.
I've just started Blood Siren (book one) by Michael Formicelli, geting into it, already some good characters and intriging situations :-)
Hey anybody know where I can get a ebook (I can utilize almost any format) for Childhood's End? I can get an audio book, but I think I would like to "read" this one. Of course I could get a book from half.com....
J.P. wrote: "I'm reading Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. Very good so far. Has anyone read the others in this series? How do they compare?"I thoroughly enjoyed Altered Carbon and keep hoping for a group read of Broken Angels somewhere so I can give some time to it.
As for this month I found my self with some spare time on my hands, so managed to finish up War of Honor by David Weber and then moved on to How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. Finally got around to finishing The Scar by China Miéville and indulged in a couple of rereads with Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut and Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.
Excellent reading month for me, so going to push my luck and have a go at The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi. Heard excellent things about this one, only read one short story by this chap, think it might be connected, so been looking forward to this.
Mod
I started Childhood's Endthis morning...
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I'm not a huge fan of that type of book either, but AG is worth persevering with for the sake of some undeniably powerful scenes (e.g. when the "new gods" arrive on the scene) and a fairly satisfying ending. By the time I was finished with it I felt like it was time well spent, though I remained a bit puzzled over why it had won so many awards.