[QuickTidal]

Serenity, on 11 November 2015 - 12:08 PM, said:

Now reading Daniel Polansky's The Builders novella.

Let me know how that is, I want to get my hands on it, but it's not shown up in stores here yet (even though it should have).

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 10 November 2015 - 07:17 PM, said:

I finished the Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. While fun, I can't say that I loved it- the science just annoyed me so much. I mean, I'm hardly one to need plausible science in my SF, but the problem was it reads in a very Neal Stephenson way, 'let's explore all these cool concepts together' sort of thing. But though Stephenson goes to some very out-there places, there's always some sort of logical progression from an acceptable starting point so I don't have trouble following his lead. Liu, mixed in with some discussion of actual cool, buyable-if-not-realistic ideas, has far too much which makes my inner physician just go 'BULLSHIT!', and at least one painful moment where he made up some extremely spurious and contrived science to handwave a much simpler failure of science he'd apparently discovered in his concept.


But, by far, the most distracting thing was that

Spoiler

in a book called The Three Body Problem, not one person - no-one in the entire, million-year history of the TriSolarian civilisation, and none of the people playing the game on Earth - pointed out that a triple star system with one planet is not a three body problem. Something that I could have grudgingly accepted if they'd just pretended the planet was negligible, but then they started banging on about how chaos theory applies and even the tiniest variable can have a huge effect long-term. And didn't once mention the planet.

I also had huge problems with the idea that scientists would start killing themselves just because their results didn't make sense. I mean, fuck you. I'm pretty sure most scientists would be like HOLY SHIT SOMETHING NEW AND UNDISCOVERED LET'S FIND OUT WAGWAN!

On the other hand, at least Da Shi was awesome.

Abyss, on 09 November 2015 - 09:09 PM, said:

Finished.


Didn't like.

Despite an interesting set-up, I found it to be it was slow, repetitious verging on tedious at times, the characters' decisions often made no sense in the context of everything he felt the need to tell us multiple times, and the twist ending was ... meh. Illogical... flowed poorly from the build-up... just made no sense given the set-up.

The ending was just weird so I can see the dissatisfaction there. I didn't mind the repetition, though - it helped sell me on

Spoiler

Anwar's descent into madness, which I think was what the book was in the end really about.

I didn't like it near as much as Faith, which I loved, but it got into my head in a weird way.
...

I see your point re Anwar, the thing is, as a point to the story....

Spoiler

...it fails, imnsho, because we never learned enough about him or the Consultants generally for it to make sense.

The interesting bits are there.... how they are a certain personality type, how they are so amped up that normal humans are a joke, that they almost never kill or even have to consider it.... but we never learned how Anwar went from Rashad Khan Antiquarian book dealer to UN uber-commando, we never learn why being number 8 amount the 18 most physically powerful people on the planet, a god for most purposes, is such a problem for him, we never learn why the car (which was awesome but pointless) was significant or why he was so utterly devoted to his boss... the hints were interesting but it felt like rather than give us more and crystallize it (the way he did with most of the characters in FAITH) Love just kept reiterating the same points over and over.

In FAITH he slowly rolls out the key characters' back stories as the main story advances... and the end i felt like i knew who they were, and how fucked up they were, and how/why they ended up where they did.

It didn't feel to me like EVENSONG accomplished that, AND failed to make the rest of the story interesting enough to compensate.

[Serenity]

QuickTidal, on 11 November 2015 - 01:49 PM, said:

Serenity, on 11 November 2015 - 12:08 PM, said:

Now reading Daniel Polansky's The Builders novella.

Let me know how that is, I want to get my hands on it, but it's not shown up in stores here yet (even though it should have).

I quite liked it. It came over like The Magnificent Seven meets The Wild Bunch meets The Dirty Dozen. With animals. Good for a quick read.

[Abyss]

Chance, on 10 November 2015 - 11:44 PM, said:

...

Briar King, on 10 November 2015 - 07:42 PM, said:

Sea Watch is just so fucking cool! It's so disorienting at 1st ut at a certain point everything just pops in the right place.

Damn now I want to know why it is cool, it seemed slightly boring with all that politicing in the begining .

SHADOWS OF THE APT discussion spun off into its own thread because reasons....

http://forum.malazan...an-tchaikovsky/

[JPK]

I've hit one of those rare points in which I finished all three of my current reads and get to start three new ones at pretty much the same time.

First up is Unstoppable by Bill Nye on audio. This one tackles climate change and potential energy solutions. Best of all, it's narrated by my childhood hero himself.

For my home read I've finally started The Liar's Key by Mark Lawrence. I don't know why I put this one off so long.

Last up is my ebook pick, The Lions of Al Rasson by GGK. I suspect this will contrast with the other two very well.

This post has been edited by The Incredible Kitsu: 12 November 2015 - 10:00 PM

[Baco Xtath]

polishgenius, on 10 November 2015 - 07:17 PM, said:

I finished the Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. While fun, I can't say that I loved it-

I do hope you read the Dark Forest even if you weren't blown away by Three-Body Problem. It has some absolutely awesome "holy shit" moments. The wall-facer/wall-breaker, the sophon, the spell, the Dark Forest,....etc. It is a great book IMO. I liked it much better than Three-Body.

Night Watch is still great. Queen of Fire is really good as well. Glad I gave it a chance.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell. The Last Kingdom TV series gave me an itch to revisit the books.

[Morgoth]

Since the conversation has been so focused on Tchaikovsky; have any of you read his sci fi book? Seems to me that if he hit his stride in the second half of the Shadows of the Apt series, maybe this new series is a better place to go.

[Morgoth]

Also, you guys really should give The Familiar by Danielewski a try. I loved part 1. Really loved it. Part 2 is in the mail as we speak.

[Baco Xtath]

Alright, you guys have been talking about Bernard Cornwell for quite some time. I've never read any of his book but my TRP is far too large for me to dive in and read all his stuff, so if y'all were to recommend his best 3, what would they be?

[Chance]

Baco Xtath, on 13 November 2015 - 08:52 AM, said:

Alright, you guys have been talking about Bernard Cornwell for quite some time. I've never read any of his book but my TRP is far too large for me to dive in and read all his stuff, so if y'all were to recommend his best 3, what would they be?

If you have a large TRP read something better? His Warlord and Saxon chronicle aren't worth it unless you have them lying around and nothing better to do or a burning need to read about Arthur or Alfred the Great seen through the eyes of secondary characters .

[Serenity]

The Warlord Chronicles, aka his Arthurian trilogy: The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur.

ETA: They're fabulous, whatever Chance says


I'm making a start on Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. First of his I've read and 40 pages in I'm not sure what to make of it as yet.

This post has been edited by Serenity: 13 November 2015 - 10:30 AM

[Chance]

Going through Ex-Patriots and a few pages of The Sea Watch now and then.

Ex-Heroes was great entertainment by all to short.

Serenity, on 13 November 2015 - 10:24 AM, said:

The Warlord Chronicles, aka his Arthurian trilogy: The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur.

ETA: They're fabulous, whatever Chance says

I know a lot of people think so otherwise I wouldn't have read them trying to understand why. My main problem with his entire authorship seems to be that he writes about main characters who seem to always get outshun or short changed by their rulers and peers it really irks me. I know why but if he wanted to write about Arthur do so not his sidekick who is great and does most of the heavy lifting but gets zero credit most of the time and the Saxon chronicle mostly work along the same lines but with Alfred the Great (and some other random authority figures) instead of Arthur. His novels are however very finely researched and really give a view and feel for the times they intend to showcase which is great.

This post has been edited by Chance: 13 November 2015 - 10:55 AM

[QuickTidal]

Baco Xtath, on 13 November 2015 - 08:52 AM, said:

Alright, you guys have been talking about Bernard Cornwell for quite some time. I've never read any of his book but my TRP is far too large for me to dive in and read all his stuff, so if y'all were to recommend his best 3, what would they be?

THE LAST KINGDOM, LORDS OF THE NORTH, and AGINCOURT.

[Macros]

SHARPES RIFLES.
IGNORE THE OTHER PEASANTS

[Maark Abbott]

Macros, on 13 November 2015 - 01:12 PM, said:

SHARPES RIFLES.
IGNORE THE OTHER PEASANTS

Spoiler

SEAN BEAN

That is all.

[Andorion]

Maark, on 13 November 2015 - 02:52 PM, said:

Macros, on 13 November 2015 - 01:12 PM, said:

SHARPES RIFLES.
IGNORE THE OTHER PEASANTS

Spoiler

SEAN BEAN

That is all.

I loved that show!

[worry]

The guy sounds well corny.

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 13 November 2015 - 05:59 PM, said:

The guy sounds well corny.

Judges?

3.5

[Serenity]

QuickTidal, on 13 November 2015 - 07:22 PM, said:

worry, on 13 November 2015 - 05:59 PM, said:

The guy sounds well corny.

Judges?

3.5

Generous!