[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 12:55 PM, said:

Reading:

Two chapters into Sagan's A Demon Haunted World. Sagan does a good job advocating for science, but his prose is mediocre

Finished Phase One of The Final Programme in The Cornelius Quartet by Michael Moorcock. No clue what the larger story here is, but loving it so far.

Another four chapters into Herriot's All Things Wise and Wonderful. This book is going into my all time best series

17 chapters into Rules of the Game. After a rather lengthy digression into late-Victorian events it seems the book is going to focus on Fisher as Admiral which is very promising.

I think I can safely say I blasted my reading rut to pieces. Going to capitalise on this momentum and start Dune soon.

I was halfway into "The English Assassin" when things kind of started clicking. But the ride was awesome. Moorcock has an incredibly loose understanding of "big picture", but his writing of specifics is so good I barely cared.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 23 March 2016 - 01:30 PM, said:

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 12:55 PM, said:

Reading:

Two chapters into Sagan's A Demon Haunted World. Sagan does a good job advocating for science, but his prose is mediocre

Finished Phase One of The Final Programme in The Cornelius Quartet by Michael Moorcock. No clue what the larger story here is, but loving it so far.

Another four chapters into Herriot's All Things Wise and Wonderful. This book is going into my all time best series

17 chapters into Rules of the Game. After a rather lengthy digression into late-Victorian events it seems the book is going to focus on Fisher as Admiral which is very promising.

I think I can safely say I blasted my reading rut to pieces. Going to capitalise on this momentum and start Dune soon.

I was halfway into "The English Assassin" when things kind of started clicking. But the ride was awesome. Moorcock has an incredibly loose understanding of "big picture", but his writing of specifics is so good I barely cared.

Exactly. There are these mind boggling allusions that don't really make a lot of sense but the actual story being told is exhilarating enough that I don't really care. I loved the prologue discussion about Time and Ages though. There is a tiny technical mistake there. Vishnu is not the Hindu destroyer. In the Trinity, Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the Destroyer

[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 01:41 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 23 March 2016 - 01:30 PM, said:

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 12:55 PM, said:

Reading:

Two chapters into Sagan's A Demon Haunted World. Sagan does a good job advocating for science, but his prose is mediocre

Finished Phase One of The Final Programme in The Cornelius Quartet by Michael Moorcock. No clue what the larger story here is, but loving it so far.

Another four chapters into Herriot's All Things Wise and Wonderful. This book is going into my all time best series

17 chapters into Rules of the Game. After a rather lengthy digression into late-Victorian events it seems the book is going to focus on Fisher as Admiral which is very promising.

I think I can safely say I blasted my reading rut to pieces. Going to capitalise on this momentum and start Dune soon.

I was halfway into "The English Assassin" when things kind of started clicking. But the ride was awesome. Moorcock has an incredibly loose understanding of "big picture", but his writing of specifics is so good I barely cared.

Exactly. There are these mind boggling allusions that don't really make a lot of sense but the actual story being told is exhilarating enough that I don't really care. I loved the prologue discussion about Time and Ages though. There is a tiny technical mistake there. Vishnu is not the Hindu destroyer. In the Trinity, Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the Destroyer

Yeah, spotted that. Moorcock also mentions Ukraine a lot and he makes all kinds of mistakes when I comes to the Cossacks, lol. But I was too caught up to do more than just shrug.

[amphibian]

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 03:57 AM, said:

Just to clarify, Frank Herbert's Dune Books stretch from the original Dune, to Chapterhouse Dune? Anything else is by Brain Herbert?

Also has anyone read anything of Frank Herbert's except the Dune books? I like the sound of his Destination Void and Jesus Incident books

The Whipping Star and The Dosadi Experiment are fun reads. The WorShip books are alright, but not as fun or brilliant as the Dune books or the previously mentioned two.

I haven't read the others. Don't read the son's works. They're butchering of story outlines the father left behind. You can wiki summary them and get an idea of where Frank was going with the main series.

[amphibian]

It's mostly because Stackpole is a shitty writer and Brian Herbert doesn't get better either.

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 23 March 2016 - 01:05 PM, said:

About 110 pages into my FoD ReRead. I'm finding it so enjoyable to re-read! It's doing the job of getting me even more amped for FoL!

I'm considering doing that as I can't remember anything about FoD...

[Overactive Imagination]

The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Harshing on everything religion.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 23 March 2016 - 04:30 PM, said:

It's mostly because Stackpole is a shitty writer and Brian Herbert doesn't get better either.

You mean Kevin J Anderson, right?

Stackpole is hit and miss, but his Battletech novels (esp. Blood of Kerensky trilo) were absolutely amazing epi sci-fi. Some of my earliest SFF reads, spanning the whole galaxy, multiple plotlines, and no clear villains.

[End of Disc One]

Stackpole pretty much shit all over KJA's Jedi Academy trilogy with I, Jedi.

[Andorion]

Mentalist, on 23 March 2016 - 05:10 PM, said:

amphibian, on 23 March 2016 - 04:30 PM, said:

It's mostly because Stackpole is a shitty writer and Brian Herbert doesn't get better either.

You mean Kevin J Anderson, right?

Stackpole is hit and miss, but his Battletech novels (esp. Blood of Kerensky trilo) were absolutely amazing epi sci-fi. Some of my earliest SFF reads, spanning the whole galaxy, multiple plotlines, and no clear villains.

Briar King, on 23 March 2016 - 05:23 PM, said:

Stackpole is awesome. Pretty sure he meant KJA

i Have read a couple of flintlock fantasy and exploration themed novels by Stackpole and they were quite good. What is this Battletech series?

[Mentalist]

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 06:05 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 23 March 2016 - 05:10 PM, said:

amphibian, on 23 March 2016 - 04:30 PM, said:

It's mostly because Stackpole is a shitty writer and Brian Herbert doesn't get better either.

You mean Kevin J Anderson, right?

Stackpole is hit and miss, but his Battletech novels (esp. Blood of Kerensky trilo) were absolutely amazing epi sci-fi. Some of my earliest SFF reads, spanning the whole galaxy, multiple plotlines, and no clear villains.

Briar King, on 23 March 2016 - 05:23 PM, said:

Stackpole is awesome. Pretty sure he meant KJA

i Have read a couple of flintlock fantasy and exploration themed novels by Stackpole and they were quite good. What is this Battletech series?

Novelizations of the game Mech Warrior. Originally a tabletop game, better know for the computer game adaptations in the 90s.

Stackpole worked with the original designers of the game (same guys who made Shadowrun PnP RPGs). Battletech is another "shared universe", but Stackpole wrote the majority of the "core" novels: th Warrior trilogy, and then the Blood of Kerensky trilo, which deal with the pivotal event in the in-game universe- the Clan invasion. He wrote a few sequel to that, and then the main sequence continues in the "Twilight of the Clans" sub-series, which, iirc, was written by diff authors.

Now these books are out of print, I believe though i'll be looking into ebook versions when I get one.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 23 March 2016 - 11:04 PM

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 23 March 2016 - 04:44 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 23 March 2016 - 01:05 PM, said:

About 110 pages into my FoD ReRead. I'm finding it so enjoyable to re-read! It's doing the job of getting me even more amped for FoL!

I'm considering doing that as I can't remember anything about FoD...

It is well worth it. I find that without all my preconceived notions and Malazan main series knowledge working slightly against me on my first read (discovering all the brand new info about the Tiste ect.), it's even more enjoyable.

Erikson's most poignant success here (like with the main series) is the fullness of the re-read.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 23 March 2016 - 07:38 PM

[Esa1996]

Maark Abbott, on 23 March 2016 - 11:28 AM, said:

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 03:57 AM, said:

Just to clarify, Frank Herbert's Dune Books stretch from the original Dune, to Chapterhouse Dune? Anything else is by Brain Herbert?

Also has anyone read anything of Frank Herbert's except the Dune books? I like the sound of his Destination Void and Jesus Incident books

Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson.

The House prequels aren't awful. The Butlerian Jihad is pretty bad. The rest approach Stormlight levels of awful, so I'd totally avoid them.

Stormlight levels of anything are a huge recommendation for me you know...

[amphibian]

Yes, I meant KJA. My apologies to Stackpole and those who liked his works.

[HiddenOne]

Mentalist, on 23 March 2016 - 05:10 PM, said:

amphibian, on 23 March 2016 - 04:30 PM, said:

It's mostly because Stackpole is a shitty writer and Brian Herbert doesn't get better either.

You mean Kevin J Anderson, right?

Stackpole is hit and miss, but his Battletech novels (esp. Blood of Kerensky trilo) were absolutely amazing epi sci-fi. Some of my earliest SFF reads, spanning the whole galaxy, multiple plotlines, and no clear villains.

Yes, that was a great story - I'd forgotten about the the Clans storyline since I haven't really thought about Mechwarrior in years. I played that tabletop version as a kid and was hooked.

[polishgenius]

I'm currently reading The Dread Wyrm, the third in the Traitor Son cycle by Miles Cameron. I'm so glad I took another shot at The Red Knight when I struggled with the opening back when, because I'm absolutely loving this series now.

[Andorion]

Finished Moorcock's Final Programme.

A very interesting book and while I don't think I have ever read anything quite like this, some aspects reminded me of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novels.

[Maark Abbott]

Esa1996, on 23 March 2016 - 08:44 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 23 March 2016 - 11:28 AM, said:

Andorion, on 23 March 2016 - 03:57 AM, said:

Just to clarify, Frank Herbert's Dune Books stretch from the original Dune, to Chapterhouse Dune? Anything else is by Brain Herbert?

Also has anyone read anything of Frank Herbert's except the Dune books? I like the sound of his Destination Void and Jesus Incident books

Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson.

The House prequels aren't awful. The Butlerian Jihad is pretty bad. The rest approach Stormlight levels of awful, so I'd totally avoid them.

Stormlight levels of anything are a huge recommendation for me you know...

...Well, I suppose the same can be said for Twilight, or Justin Bieber, or being the guy in the bed in Metallica's video for the song 'One'. I guess there's a market for everything these days.

[worry]

Finished Dancer's Lament. Hated it!

Spoiler

Just kidding. It was pretty awesome.

Now onto Lord of Chaos by RJ for some real fantasy!

[Macros]

I think lord of chaos is the one with the lesbian orgy.
Rand just watches while they touch each other and swoon at the sight of his finely turned calves.


Just finished Guns of Dawn.

Enjoyable book, at the start I was almost thinking it was going down a pride and prejudice route, I kept expecting Mr Darcy to burst onto the scene. Thank fully that changing. A tightly enough written stand alone, and an interesting story and setting.

Spoiler

is it just me or does the denlanders cold calculating efficiency come accross as ant kinden, but without the martial prowess. it could almost be viewed as a short version of the shadows of the apt, modernisation spells the end for mad warrior kinden, and magic