[caladanbrood]

Reynolds is starting a new series next, as far as I know - not heard anything about any sequels being planned...

[Abyss]

THIS!

Abyss, on 10 February 2014 - 04:52 PM, said:

...

R. M. Meluch's TOUR OF THE MERRIMACK sf series. HOLY. FUCKSTARS. Where has this series been hiding and why have none of you told me to read it?

Y'know that time when you glance at a book in an actual mortar and brick, it catches your eye, and for no good reason at all you simply MUST buy it? And then despite all indications to the contrary, IT IS GLORIOUS!?
Well that was this series... the first four books (written 2005-2008 or so) were repackaged as two collections THE MYRIAD/WOLF STAR and SAGITARRIUS COMMAND/STRENGTH AND HONOR... i was passing thru a monster Barnes & Noble down south and these caught my eye... scanned the first book back blurb, nothing particularly original... mil sf, mighty ship, brave crew, bold captain, evil bugs enemy, military ubermench other enemy... seen it all before and have a stack of similar already in the TRPFHAB.... looked inside despite myself, read a page or two... wtf space marines with swords... seriously....? Pass. Put it down. Picked it up again... read another page... oh fuckit why not Ill Wind is pissing me off anyways... and grabbed the second too because vacation/money/drunk/whatever.

And the books rock. Seriously i enjoyed these beyond all expectation and more. Devoured the first set, and well into the second, will grab book five the instant i'm done with four and probably pre-order six. Think my reactions to Lee's BREACH series, Campbell's LOST FLEET, maybe even Clines' EX-HEROES series... these books are a fuckload of fun. Not quite really mil SF... the focus is the crew of a military ship but the books don't go full mil SF a Weber/Ringo/White or even Campbell, a tad less time is spent on tactics/strategy and a bit more on the personalities. There is some time spent on the logistics of fighting bugs and ubermench, the proper use of big ships and fighters, etc etc but not as technical as the usual mil sf authors go. Plus with way better characters than usual... seriously... i wavered on writing this more than once, but fuckit, i'll just say it... US Marines, 89th Brigade, Blue Squad, Alpha Flight of the Monitor-class battleship Merrimack fast became my favorite fictional military marine squad since the Bridgeburners and Bonehunters. And Capt John Farragut my fave commanding officer since Whiskeyjack. Meluch nails the combination of misfits, incompetents and outright idiot men and women who also happen to be asskicking bug hunting badasses when things go sideways in a way i don't think i've seen since SE did it so very well. She even managed to create an entirely rational, logical reason for them to carry swords and use them on a regular basis. Ok, fine, the groundpounder marines also fly fighters... it's a stretch, but Meluch manages to make even that make sense, albeit a bit creatively handwaved (short version... fightercraft are cheap, marines are cheaper, so they're essentially expendable infantry in space).


And yes, i wrote 'she', R. M. Meluch is a female author, writing military sci fi... and doing a great great job of it.


Recommended, esp for anyone who liked the LOST FLEET series but wanted more starfighters and hand-to-tentacle and away missions.

[Pig Iron]

Abyss, on 10 February 2014 - 08:53 PM, said:

THIS!

Abyss, on 10 February 2014 - 04:52 PM, said:

...

R. M. Meluch's TOUR OF THE MERRIMACK sf series. HOLY. FUCKSTARS. Where has this series been hiding and why have none of you told me to read it?

Y'know that time when you glance at a book in an actual mortar and brick, it catches your eye, and for no good reason at all you simply MUST buy it? And then despite all indications to the contrary, IT IS GLORIOUS!?
Well that was this series... the first four books (written 2005-2008 or so) were repackaged as two collections THE MYRIAD/WOLF STAR and SAGITARRIUS COMMAND/STRENGTH AND HONOR... i was passing thru a monster Barnes & Noble down south and these caught my eye... scanned the first book back blurb, nothing particularly original... mil sf, mighty ship, brave crew, bold captain, evil bugs enemy, military ubermench other enemy... seen it all before and have a stack of similar already in the TRPFHAB.... looked inside despite myself, read a page or two... wtf space marines with swords... seriously....? Pass. Put it down. Picked it up again... read another page... oh fuckit why not Ill Wind is pissing me off anyways... and grabbed the second too because vacation/money/drunk/whatever.

And the books rock. Seriously i enjoyed these beyond all expectation and more. Devoured the first set, and well into the second, will grab book five the instant i'm done with four and probably pre-order six. Think my reactions to Lee's BREACH series, Campbell's LOST FLEET, maybe even Clines' EX-HEROES series... these books are a fuckload of fun. Not quite really mil SF... the focus is the crew of a military ship but the books don't go full mil SF a Weber/Ringo/White or even Campbell, a tad less time is spent on tactics/strategy and a bit more on the personalities. There is some time spent on the logistics of fighting bugs and ubermench, the proper use of big ships and fighters, etc etc but not as technical as the usual mil sf authors go. Plus with way better characters than usual... seriously... i wavered on writing this more than once, but fuckit, i'll just say it... US Marines, 89th Brigade, Red Squad, Alpha Flight of the Monitor-class battleship Merrimack fast became my favorite fictional military marine squad since the Bridgeburners and Bonehunters. And Capt John Farragut my fave commanding officer since Whiskeyjack. Meluch nails the combination of misfits, incompetents and outright idiot men and women who also happen to be asskicking bug hunting badasses when things go sideways in a way i don't think i've seen since SE did it so very well. She even managed to create an entirely rational, logical reason for them to carry swords and use them on a regular basis. Ok, fine, the groundpounder marines also fly fighters... it's a stretch, but Meluch manages to make even that make sense, albeit a bit creatively handwaved (short version... fightercraft are cheap, marines are cheaper, so they're essentially expendable infantry in space).

And yes, i wrote 'she', R. M. Meluch is a female author, writing military sci fi... and doing a great great job of it.

Recommended, esp for anyone who liked the LOST FLEET series but wanted more starfighters and hand-to-tentacle and away missions.

Bought on Kindle immediately.

[Una]

Salt-Man Z, on 29 March 2011 - 08:54 PM, said:

I found Asimov's Foundation and Empire books to be pretty dated and stale, but his Robot novels are great.

I re-read Foundation recently and actually found it refreshing in some ways, yet showing the time period it was written in others. My 2 major observations: 1. SF these days is seems to be dominated by dystopian futures where technology has made our lives sucky and we've lost touch with our humanity. The current wave of anti-intellectualism pervading our society today doesn't really help either. In Foundation, science, and more importantly, knowledge is the tool by which we will triumph over the forces of ignorance and decay. I enjoyed that aspect very much. Reminds me why I got into the sciences in the first place. 2. So very dated - It has a very 1950's attitude towards women. There's a part where a character is questioned on how many scientists he has on his team. The other side cites a very high number. The character replies, "Oh, I believe you are counting women and children in there." Like women can't be scientists. Could be a reflection of the decadent future society, but more likely, just a holdover from the fact it was written in the 50's. Considering I first read the series when I was 11 and was just graduating from old-timey classics like Little Women and The Secret Garden, I didn't think much of it. Now, it's just jarring.

Banks Culture series is awesome and you should read it now.

[Serenity]

Anybody here read Jack McDevitt? I read one of his books a while back, The Engines of God, and thought it was pretty decent so just wondered what the rest of his output is like. Quite tempted by A Talent for War at the moment.

While I'm here I might as well add to the recs for Reynolds' Chasm City and House of Suns - both brilliant. And Asher and Hamilton. Tempted by the Jack Campbell books, too. A bit worried about the Foundation comments, though, seeing as I only just bought them

[HoosierDaddy]

Briar King, on 11 February 2014 - 03:55 AM, said:

I didn't read the other pgs of thread but The Expanse series is fucking awesome. That's my reco.

Space Opera isn't my normal area reading choice except for Star Wars EU, but Expanse is fun, fun, fun!

The Expanse series isn't necessarily Space Opera. It has aspects of it for sure, but it also has noir, action, politics, and other things going on. It's great, but if someone asked me for Space Opera I wouldn't think Expanse despite how much I like it.

[Chance]

Serenity, on 11 February 2014 - 02:23 PM, said:

Anybody here read Jack McDevitt? I read one of his books a while back, The Engines of God, and thought it was pretty decent so just wondered what the rest of his output is like. Quite tempted by A Talent for War at the moment.

MCDevitt is usually pretty good in a rather lowkey version of SF not what I'd call Space Opera even if there are some elements of it. Pretty nice between more action packed books.

[Binder of Demons]

Serenity, on 11 February 2014 - 02:23 PM, said:

Anybody here read Jack McDevitt? I read one of his books a while back, The Engines of God, and thought it was pretty decent so just wondered what the rest of his output is like. Quite tempted by A Talent for War at the moment.

I've read a bunch of Jack McDevitt books since i was limited to the public library for a while and there were several ones there. I can sum up my opinion of his stuff by the fact that when I read the blurb of one of his books, I can't figure out if it's a new book, or one of the ones i've already read.

Very very samey. Maybe he has improved in the last few years, but I'm amazed that any of his books were shortlisted for the major sf awards.


They certainly pale into insignificance beside series like Banks' "Culture", Asher's "Polity", and Reynolds' offerings.

[Serenity]

Chance, on 11 February 2014 - 06:29 PM, said:

Serenity, on 11 February 2014 - 02:23 PM, said:

Anybody here read Jack McDevitt? I read one of his books a while back, The Engines of God, and thought it was pretty decent so just wondered what the rest of his output is like. Quite tempted by A Talent for War at the moment.

MCDevitt is usually pretty good in a rather lowkey version of SF not what I'd call Space Opera even if there are some elements of it. Pretty nice between more action packed books.

Binder of Demons, on 11 February 2014 - 06:54 PM, said:

Serenity, on 11 February 2014 - 02:23 PM, said:

Anybody here read Jack McDevitt? I read one of his books a while back, The Engines of God, and thought it was pretty decent so just wondered what the rest of his output is like. Quite tempted by A Talent for War at the moment.

I've read a bunch of Jack McDevitt books since i was limited to the public library for a while and there were several ones there. I can sum up my opinion of his stuff by the fact that when I read the blurb of one of his books, I can't figure out if it's a new book, or one of the ones i've already read.

Very very samey. Maybe he has improved in the last few years, but I'm amazed that any of his books were shortlisted for the major sf awards.


They certainly pale into insignificance beside series like Banks' "Culture", Asher's "Polity", and Reynolds' offerings.

Thanks for the replies. One to have a look at when I'm done with Reynolds, I think.

[stone monkey]

I've read most of McDevitt's Academy series and a few others. He can be a bit anodyne for my tastes, but he's far from being bad, I think.

I'll add a second (or maybe third) for the Lensman series; utterly classic. I read them as a child and I'm still more than happy to dip into Kim Kinnison's adventures every now and again. They are truly cheesy but that's part of their charm, I would say.

[Tiste Simeon]

That Merrimack series sounds pretty good Abyss is it just the 5 books or are there more to come? Might add to my TRPATMBOTFR (To Read Pile After The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Reread in case you were wondering. Currently has "Thorns" series "Ex-" series a couple of Mary Gentle books & hopefully some Alastair Reynolds so it's looking good!)

This post has been edited by Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon: 13 February 2014 - 12:09 AM

[Abyss]

Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 13 February 2014 - 12:09 AM, said:

That Merrimack series sounds pretty good Abyss is it just the 5 books or are there more to come?

Fairly sad/uplifting story... the author wrote five, then her husband passed away and she became a bit of a recluse. Fan of the series hunted her down, helped her pull herself together, and now they're married and she's working on bk6, target apparently next year.

Am most of the way through bk 3. A bit of a slower run than the headlong madness of 1 and 2 but taking its time to do more with some of the characters to good effect.

Quote

Might add to my TRPATMBOTFR (To Read Pile After The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Reread in case you were wondering. Currently has "Thorns" series "Ex-" series a couple of Mary Gentle books & hopefully some Alastair Reynolds so it's looking good!)

it's not big enough yet. keep trying.

[Garak]

Based on your recommendation Abyss, I bought the first two books in the Merrimack series.

[Abyss]

Pig Iron, on 10 February 2014 - 09:09 PM, said:

Abyss, on 10 February 2014 - 08:53 PM, said:

THIS!

Abyss, on 10 February 2014 - 04:52 PM, said:

...

R. M. Meluch's TOUR OF THE MERRIMACK sf series. HOLY. FUCKSTARS. Where has this series been hiding and why have none of you told me to read it?...

Bought on Kindle immediately.

Garak, on 13 February 2014 - 05:05 PM, said:

Based on your recommendation Abyss, I bought the first two books in the Merrimack series.

I hope you both enjoy, i think you will.

[Garak]

Well I read the first three Lost Fleet books and I enjoyed those so I'm looking forward to these.

[Imperial Historian]

I had an 18 hour bus journey so I picked up the Merrimack series on Abyss's recommendation (this wasn't easy as it isn't available on kindle in the UK, I had to pretend to be American)

Popcorn reads, but fairly entertaining, there is a moment towards the end of the first book which really sold me on the series, puts a whole new perspective on things for the second book. I wouldn't praise them as much as abyss, but I did enjoy. And Augustus is definitely a fun character. Definitely what I needed to distract me from the bus ride though.

[Abyss]

Imperial Historian, on 13 February 2014 - 10:42 PM, said:

I had an 18 hour bus journey so I picked up the Merrimack series on Abyss's recommendation (this wasn't easy as it isn't available on kindle in the UK, I had to pretend to be American)

Popcorn reads, but fairly entertaining, there is a moment towards the end of the first book which really sold me on the series, puts a whole new perspective on things for the second book. I wouldn't praise them as much as abyss, but I did enjoy. And Augustus is definitely a fun character. Definitely what I needed to distract me from the bus ride though.

Glad you liked. There are definitely popcorn elements, it's not MoI, but there were moments of surprising depth for mil sf and that moment at the end of bk 1 you're referring to definitely has cool effect for bk 2, which is actually where i went from like to love for most of these characters.


3, THE SAGITTARIUS COMMAND, is somewhat slower (if you can call a book that starts with aliens eating a planet 'slower') but appears to be building to something insane, brings back a great character who was mostly missing in bk 2, and has the greatest drinking contest ever.

[Tiste Simeon]

Imperial Historian, on 13 February 2014 - 10:42 PM, said:

I had an 18 hour bus journey so I picked up the Merrimack series on Abyss's recommendation (this wasn't easy as it isn't available on kindle in the UK, I had to pretend to be American)

How did you do that? I was trying to get them but came up against the same issue...

Abyss I will obviously have to add more books to my TRP but considering when I got my Kindle someone gave me about 600 books to put on it I would say I have enough to keep me entertained should there be a lull in my reading...
Edit: phone changing what I wanted to say...

This post has been edited by Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon: 16 February 2014 - 12:08 AM

[Imperial Historian]

I have American relatives, so set my address as theirs and bought the books. Seemed to work, but if you switch back to British the books disappear. Also I've since learned that Amazon can arbitrarily shut down your account for this (as it violates there terms and conditions) and you'd lose all your books, so be careful. The day they sort out this different releases in different countries cannot come soon enough! For what its worth I found no evidence that a British publisher was even thinking of bringing out these books, but you can grab hard copies from Amazon.

[Tiste Simeon]

I too have American relatives buy I may avoid messing with it like that...

EDIT: I wonder if there is a torrent of the books...

This post has been edited by Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon: 17 February 2014 - 02:37 PM