Printable View
Collection of short-stories of Harlan Ellison, damn - this guy's mind is amazing. No wonder he won every award possible.
@TheMechanicalAggressor
Definitely read some more Gaiman, this guy's great. You can go on with his short-stories first and try to avoid Neverwhere (or whatever it's called).
I liked Neverwhere. It wasn't stellar, sure, but it was a good read.Quote:
Originally Posted by Berlin
One of those Gaimans I've read in translation - may be the point. Terrible one for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by UnravThreads
Neverwhere is one of the few books that I quit on. Not because it was terrible, but I just stopped reading it one day and whenever I thought about picking it back up, I realized that I just really did not want to continue reading it. A lot of his other stuff is really fantastic, though.
I really loved Neverwhere to be honest, it was quite a clever concept, which is to be honest with me Neil Geimans MO
Just finished off Dances with Dragons (I took my time..after it's not like the next book is going to arrive in a year or so). Albeit it was great to catch up with the various Denizens of Westeros on their travels and travails, I have to say that Martins ambitions in terms of the number of characters he employs coupled with the myriad locations introduced means that development in terms of plot was chronically slow, Vs that of the earlier books. Although he seems to have gotten over the hurdle of the Meereen Knot, he's also opened up a raft of other plot lines at the same time, that you have to kind of question in terms of overall relevance in the long term. Much as it was great to see ***** again and that *** off on a quest to find ****** on the **** of ****** (if you've read it you know what I mean), you have to wonder how relevant the prize is to the overall given the prize was pretty much secondary to the overall upto now.
Also way, way, way too many characters in Meereen in Danys court to keep tabs on, especially with the similar sounding names. It's hard to get invested in the fate of people when half the time you're having to refer to the back pages to figure whose who, and why you should care. Similarly with the Wall there were too many marginal characters popping up here and there when the reality is it should of just revolved around a half dozen or so.
Anyway here's hoping he squeezes the next one out sooner rather than later. I get the impression the Meereen knot was the big obstacle. Hopefully with that out of the way, things can speed up a little.
I just finished Leviathan Wakes by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck (Under the name of James S.A. Corey). It's a pretty good space opera romp.
So tonight, or later today, I'll be starting on Spellwright by Blake Charlton.
I'm reading a few Lovecraft stories to appease the Mrs since I've been promising to read them for ages, but really I'm just reading them so I my conscience is clear for me to can dig into thousands of pages of chesy fantasy -- the Song of Ice and Fire books have caught my interest after watching the HBO show.
I read Jims book in its online version during a really slow week at work, just finished it this afternoon. Thought provoking stuff, there are quite a few areas of the book where it would be interesting to see his updated thoughts, Jim's grand ideas of online spaces that are improved as people play and emergent gameplay are looking increasingly like a grim hope in the face of this next wave of MMO's and the successes of Facebook style of connected play.
Now looking for something fictiony to get my eyes around, thinking I might give Snow Crash a go.
I'm reading Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon.
Do it! :-DQuote:
Originally Posted by Jockie
Reading Snow Crash, so far so good :D
You guys have pretty good tastes!
I've been working my way through the Nebula and Hugo winners, myself - like, over the last few years, in no particular order, and with many breaks. It's a long-term goal. I'm actually only a little better than halfway there - 30 odd out of 80 odd. Next up are the Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delany and Man Plus by Frederick Pohl (the cover of that one looks like Avatar: The Book, even though I have the 1982 edition). I have a few more in the stack under that, but I don't remember what they are. The Moon and the Sun, maybe? Barryar and the Vor Game?
I am also reading this book. It's a winning combination.
Working through the Hugos is a noble pursuit. Keep in mind that Barrayar is a sequel, and the Vor Game is even further down the line. The publisher, Baen, has made all books in the series free for distribution online.Quote:
Originally Posted by cjlr
Barrayar was republished along with the first book in the series, Shards of Honor, as the omnibus Cordelia's Honor. You can download it in multiple formats at http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/2...onor/index.htm
Similarly, the omnibus Young Miles contains the full-length tale Warrior's Apprentice and the short story Mountains of Mourning, both of which precede the Vor Game.
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/2...iles/index.htm
All of the other books in the series are available at
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/2...CD/CryoburnCD/
The author has said the stories can be read in any order, but I really enjoyed reading them chronologically the first time through. They all have something to offer. Start with Shards of Honor from Cordelia's Honor and then plow on through. Moreso than the rest of the series, Shards of Honor and Barrayar are very connected, and the latter will be missing some context if read apart.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Oooh yes. Leviathan Wakes isn't very deep, but it's compulsively readable. Nearest thing to a blockbuster film I've read in a long time - and I mean that in a good way,Quote:
Originally Posted by UnravThreads
Reading this a the moment,
Attachment 184
Currently Reading Matter by Iain M Banks. He does like his info dumps in this story, a lot of times he will compltly stop the story to explain something technological, or what the character has been up to which isn't very well done. Also he does have a tendency to go "In the blahdibly balhbody do sector on the planet showaddywoddy there was two aliens that I'm not going to describe to you very well" Also he has a tendency to say alien names and not explain what they are. Anyway despite those problems it is engaging enough and I would quite like to see where the story goes.
Agreed. I enjoyed it, and it's likely one of the better reads released this year, but it's not for everyone.Quote:
Originally Posted by An Anonymous Source
Currently reading 2 books (both non fiction): -
The Hero with a Thousand faces by Joseph Campbell
Generally referenced a lot when people talk about the original Star Wars as a large influence on George Lucas. Essentially Joseph Campbell was an expert on Mythologies from across the world and boiled them all down to their commonalities to come up with the principles of the Heroes Journey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth
Only into it a chapter or two, but it's pretty interesting reading, especially how he contextualizes the rationale to the Heroes Journey and the underlying purpose of it with respect to the changing role of the individual within early society as a parallel to the traditional rites of passage, that mark the becoming of an adult.
What's struck me the most so far is actually how as society has moved on (and we've started to live longer) and everyday life is now less about survival (for the 1st world at least) those rites of passage have kind of become, if not meaningless then obscured in a way.
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School by Matthew Frederick
Just interesting to read another persons perspective on design and some of the important lessons they've learnt. It's fairly punchy with small illustrations/diagrams to highlight each point.
Flashbacks by Timothy Leary. It's his autobiography and it is really interesting even thought I'm reading it slowly and intermittently.. If the stories in this book are real then I would call him the coolest professor ever :)
I'm about 200 pages into Iain M. Banks Surface Detail. I'm really starting to miss the days when he wrote awesome space opera or imaginative fiction under his pseudonym. The last two books of his that I read have been the clumsiest metaphores for "The Bankers and Assorted Unfettered Capitalist Swine Are EVIL!!!" that I have ever read. He lacks the subtlety to do it effectively and instead comes across as a bit of a whinging little tool. We get it, we really do. Please move on so that I can enjoy you again. What happened to the dude who wrote Feersum Enjin, The Use of Weapons, The Wasp Factory and The Bridge? Can he come out and play now?