Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 12 February 2014 - 07:32 PM, said:
All you Reynolds fans, how does he measure up against Iain M Banks? Bear in mind I am a huge Banks fan, especially his Sci Fi stuff...
I would say that Banks mainly use technology to talk about people whereas Reynolds mainly use people to talk about technology.
Both authors are on the top shelf of the genre, though in my opinion Banks is the superior writer. I have read and enjoyed all of Reynolds' writing, but he cannot compare to the enjoyment I get from Banks.
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Posted 13 February 2014 - 03:24 PM
Morgoth, on 13 February 2014 - 10:03 AM, said:
Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 12 February 2014 - 07:32 PM, said:
All you Reynolds fans, how does he measure up against Iain M Banks? Bear in mind I am a huge Banks fan, especially his Sci Fi stuff...
I would say that Banks mainly use technology to talk about people whereas Reynolds mainly use people to talk about technology.
Both authors are on the top shelf of the genre, though in my opinion Banks is the superior writer. I have read and enjoyed all of Reynolds' writing, but he cannot compare to the enjoyment I get from Banks.
Clever point cleverly put.
On a different level i'd say Banks writes more and better action into his books. Reynolds tends towards the slow burn/big payoff approach, and the end result is mindblowing but you have to work to get there.
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Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 12 February 2014 - 07:32 PM, said:
All you Reynolds fans, how does he measure up against Iain M Banks? Bear in mind I am a huge Banks fan, especially his Sci Fi stuff...
I would say that Banks mainly use technology to talk about people whereas Reynolds mainly use people to talk about technology.
Brilliant! I like both authors about equally, but I haven't read all of their books by a long shot. I've read four of Reynolds's and six of Banks's. For me, I'd put Chasm City and House of Suns at the top. The strange thing with the Banks I've read is that the one I think I enjoyed least at the time of reading is the one that's stayed with me the longest since, and that was The Algebraist. I thought that was a deceptively great book.
Maybe Apt, on 14 February 2014 - 12:48 PM, said:
Watched the movie years ago and wasn't exactly blown away, despite the awesome armored polar bears. The book is much better than I expected.
Lyra is quickly becoming one of my favorite protagonists. The world as seen through the eyes of that girl is a wonderful place.
When I read those I remember feeling like giving a little cheer every time Iorek Byrnison turned up. Loved that character.
I finished Altered Carbon - enjoyed it a lot. I thought Ortega was a great character, plus the Hendrix AI made me laugh. Looking forward to reading the next one.
Finished The Gathering Storm by Jordan and Sanderson and I really enjoyed it. I thought Sanderson did a great job. I did not like Mistborn, but I will give him a second try now. WoT is shaping up to be a top series for me. Already into The Towers of Midnight and liking it so far.
Finished The Gathering Storm by Jordan and Sanderson and I really enjoyed it. I thought Sanderson did a great job. I did not like Mistborn, but I will give him a second try now. WoT is shaping up to be a top series for me. Already into The Towers of Midnight and liking it so far.
If you like that try The Way of Kings. Sanderson used a lot of his experience from writing WoT into TWoK.
Finished The Urth of the New Sun - good stuff, Wolfe opens up as many new mysteries as he closes - occasionally obfuscatory but never dull. The religious undertones to the narrative are more explicit here than in BotNS but its all well done and never overly familiar, derivative or clumsily allegorical. Will probably take a break now, have a couple of chapters of Alfred North Whitehead's Adventures of Ideas to read for a university reading group, but also will try to get some work finished. Then I'll hit Forge of Darkness methinks.
Watched the movie years ago and wasn't exactly blown away, despite the awesome armored polar bears. The book is much better than I expected.
Lyra is quickly becoming one of my favorite protagonists. The world as seen through the eyes of that girl is a wonderful place.
The first book holds an extremely fond place in my memories. The second and third are still strong, with moments of brilliance, but I wouldn't hesitate to say the first is the best. I just remember it being a really wonderful book. Somewhat surprised you've not read it before now, but maybe it's just my age range; almost everyone I know read it at some point in their childhood/teens.
Cougar said:
Grief, FFS will you do something with your sig, it's bloody awful
I am reading the absolutely-awesome-bestseller The Way of Shadows by renowned and prestigious author Brent Weeks, who has taken over half the forum but is now trying to hide behind completely ordinary names.
It's actually pretty interesting though not in any way groundbreaking.
On to Grave Peril after the pretty underwhelming Fool Moon. Here's hoping it's just as good as the first; but that whole thing about werewolves felt too forced. Imprisoning and wounding poor Dresden got old quite fast.
Just finished Blackdog, by K.V. Johansen, earlier on - was intrigued by it when it came out a couple of years ago but never got round to it till now. It's rather good.
It's been compared to Malazan and I'm really not sure why- apart from having a world saturated with magic it's really nothing at all like Malazan. Apart from anything else, that's as epic as it gets whereas Blackdog is by fantasy standards a small, rather intimate tale (there are battles and clashes of kingdoms and all of that but they're very small kingdoms, and by and large there's a feel of it taking place in a small corner of a big world.
It's also far more concerned with the personal development of its characters (hence the intimate part) - the core of the story is essentially about a father-daughter relationship between the two main characters. It doesn't do this quite convincingly- it opens up some very interesting emotional complexity based on the nature of these characters and certain things that are revealed, then rather backs away from some of them- but it's a worthy effort and it's nice to see a book that's this magic saturated to use that stuff to aid smaller-scale storytelling rather than going BIG EPIC as a matter of seeming necessity.
Overall, I enjoyed it. It seems the author has two new books set in the same world coming out this year, which I'll be reading.
Watched the movie years ago and wasn't exactly blown away, despite the awesome armored polar bears. The book is much better than I expected.
Lyra is quickly becoming one of my favorite protagonists. The world as seen through the eyes of that girl is a wonderful place.
The first book holds an extremely fond place in my memories. The second and third are still strong, with moments of brilliance, but I wouldn't hesitate to say the first is the best. I just remember it being a really wonderful book. Somewhat surprised you've not read it before now, but maybe it's just my age range; almost everyone I know read it at some point in their childhood/teens.
I began the second book yesterday.
The first book was amazing. Just through and through a great read. I can see how the second book might not completely compare. It felt a but off-putting to switch to a new character in the second book that is set in "our world", but it's quickly getting back into the good spot between the weird and recognizable. I love how he takes things we know and understand about our world and give them a little twist.
Rictus, on 15 February 2014 - 09:56 PM, said:
On to Grave Peril after the pretty underwhelming Fool Moon. Here's hoping it's just as good as the first; but that whole thing about werewolves felt too forced. Imprisoning and wounding poor Dresden got old quite fast.
Just wait. It's it only with the 3rd and 4th book that the Dresden series comes into its own.
Watched the movie years ago and wasn't exactly blown away, despite the awesome armored polar bears. The book is much better than I expected.
Lyra is quickly becoming one of my favorite protagonists. The world as seen through the eyes of that girl is a wonderful place.
The first book holds an extremely fond place in my memories. The second and third are still strong, with moments of brilliance, but I wouldn't hesitate to say the first is the best. I just remember it being a really wonderful book. Somewhat surprised you've not read it before now, but maybe it's just my age range; almost everyone I know read it at some point in their childhood/teens.
I began the second book yesterday.
The first book was amazing. Just through and through a great read. I can see how the second book might not completely compare. It felt a but off-putting to switch to a new character in the second book that is set in "our world", but it's quickly getting back into the good spot between the weird and recognizable. I love how he takes things we know and understand about our world and give them a little twist.
Once done the final book, go off and find LYRA'S OXFORD (a short piece that is sequel-ish), and ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NORTH (which is a prequel of how Lee Scoresby first met Iorek Byrnison)...both small volumes are great reads...and then you can join the rest of us in patiently awaiting Pullman to finish THE BOOK OF DUST.
"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora
"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon
Location:The Frozen Wasteland of Northern Illinois, USA
Posted 16 February 2014 - 08:58 PM
polishgenius, on 15 February 2014 - 11:03 PM, said:
Just finished Blackdog, by K.V. Johansen, earlier on - was intrigued by it when it came out a couple of years ago but never got round to it till now. It's rather good.
I'm reading and enjoying this myself, at the moment.
Also...
29. 100 Sneaky Little Sleuth Stories edited by Robert Weinberg et al. - As with any mystery anthology that includes stories from as far back as the 30s, this one has some dull moments. A few hidden gems also, though, including several by one of my favorite short story authors, Edward D. Hoch.
30. The Best Of The Best: 20 Years Of The Year's Best Science Fiction edited by Gardner Dozois - Didn't really feel it lived up to its title. Daddy's World by Walter Jon Williams was clever and interesting, but otherwise ho hum...
31. Freaks by Annette Curtis Klause - YA fiction about a young circus performer. Some nice moments, but would have preferred the story to be more about the main character's role of protector of the "freaks" and less about the various fantasy weirdness (e.g. cursed mummy, etc.) that distracts from what should have been the main thrust of the novel.
32. Garfield's Guide To Everything by Jim Davis - I also hate Mondays and love lasagna, Garfield!
33. Goddess by Fiona McIntosh - An unsatisfying end to an otherwise excellent political-intrigue-style fantasy trilogy.
34. Hal Spacejock by Simon Haynes - Blurb claimed it was better than Red Dwarf. Wasn't.
35. Orcs: Forged For War graphic novel by Stan Nicholls - Abrupt ending (I guess it's a prequel to the novels, which I haven't read), but other than that, a satisfying read. First Second is a comics publisher that rarely disappoints.
36. A Storm Of Swords by George R.R. Martin - Had to keep slowing down to sync myself with the Tor reread...so I forget what happens at the beginning...but dang, that ending. Anyone here who hasn't started reading these yet, please slap yourself in the face a few times.
37. Transformers Armada Omnibus graphic novel by Chris Sarracini - Great art, but the story was a bit juvenile for me, what with the kiddy sidekicks and so forth.
38. The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold - An interesting time travel story, but one that eventually spends an inordinate amount of time on the plotline wherein the main character
Well, maybe there is something wrong with wasting the gift of time travel on throwing orgies for yourselves, but who am I to tell fictional characters how to use their science-magic?
I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean...your destiny.
38. The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold - An interesting time travel story, but one that eventually spends an inordinate amount of time on the plotline wherein the main character
Well, maybe there is something wrong with wasting the gift of time travel on throwing orgies for yourselves, but who am I to tell fictional characters how to use their science-magic?
Since Heinlein, this has been just one of those things you have 'do' as a time-traveller. That and found major future organised religions accidentally.
Sussex Months, on 14 February 2014 - 04:50 PM, said:
T77, on 14 February 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:
Finished The Gathering Storm by Jordan and Sanderson and I really enjoyed it. I thought Sanderson did a great job. I did not like Mistborn, but I will give him a second try now. WoT is shaping up to be a top series for me. Already into The Towers of Midnight and liking it so far.
If you like that try The Way of Kings. Sanderson used a lot of his experience from writing WoT into TWoK.
Thanks. I will give it a try.
I just finished The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I had started this a few years back and it just didn't click for whatever reason and I put it down. I started from the beginning and this time I really liked it. I was impressed with his world-building and imagination. I recall reading in one of the forums that this series doesn't really get good until book six or so. So, I guess it's a good sign that I liked one of what's considered to be the weaker books.
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Tiste Brent Not Abyss Weeks Simeon, on 12 February 2014 - 07:32 PM, said:
Will rep next time I'm on a computer.
