[Abyss]

acesn8s, on 10 December 2015 - 01:20 PM, said:

Retribution Falls done. That was a lot of fun. I'll be reading book 2 in the near future. Now I need to pick something from the queue.

Bk 2 was even better.

Finished LEVIATHAN WAKES. Great book, i see why it gets all the hype it does. Well written characters, emotional beats that actually work on a very human level, tense action scenes and an interesting world. Miller may have replaced Sanderson's Kaladin as the most depressed character i've read about this year, but to their credit the authors make even his really dark moments work and not linger overlong on it. Great supporting cast too, Abraham and Franck (Corey... wtf?) really do an excellent job with the background people who move around the protagonists.

I don't get the pseudonym Corey thing... their names are right there in the back so why not on the cover? Also, Franck needs to get a better PR guy, because 'James Corey is author Daniel Abraham and George RR Martin's assistant Ty Franck' is just brutal.

Cant quite decide whether to eread or earbook bk 2 CALIBAN'S WAR.... probably earbook it and start something else. Was actually considering KETTY JAY bk 3, but i think that's just a little too close in tone to EXPANSE, so will consider other options. It's not like i don't have a few lying around.


In earbook, just finished READY PLAYER ONE. Damn, that was SO MUCH fun. I recognize some of the flaws in the book and shortcuts Cline took, but dammit i am solidly in the target audience for this book and i cannot pretend not to have been laughing, often outloud, every few minutes ... all of it, the movies, the video games, the DnD references, the fact that almost every third line of dialogue was a ref to something... it was just too much nostalgic fun not to enjoy. Wil Wheaton's narration was very well done too, definitely an asset to the earbook format. I keep reading that CLine's next book, ARMADA isn't as good, but will likely earbook it at some point on the strength of this.

[polishgenius]

Abyss, on 10 December 2015 - 03:18 PM, said:

so will consider other options.

The Gone-Away World!

An old-school polishgenius recommendation™.

[Abyss]

polishgenius, on 10 December 2015 - 03:54 PM, said:

Abyss, on 10 December 2015 - 03:18 PM, said:

so will consider other options.

The Gone-Away World!

An old-school polishgenius recommendation™.

It will shock no one that it sits in the TRPFH.

[Macros]

QuickTidal, on 10 December 2015 - 02:17 PM, said:

Finished EAGLE IN THE SNOW by Breem. It's a complete masterpiece from start to finish. The epilogue made me weep (on the damned subway!). Just a fantastic story of the last days of Rome. HIGHLY recommended to anyone who likes historical fiction.

Have to acknowledge the book hangover from it, so I'm reading an old favourite, TARZAN OF THE APES by Burroughs.

Love host fict, especially anything set in Rome/ancient world.
Added to list

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 10 December 2015 - 04:40 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 December 2015 - 02:17 PM, said:

Finished EAGLE IN THE SNOW by Breem. It's a complete masterpiece from start to finish. The epilogue made me weep (on the damned subway!). Just a fantastic story of the last days of Rome. HIGHLY recommended to anyone who likes historical fiction.

Have to acknowledge the book hangover from it, so I'm reading an old favourite, TARZAN OF THE APES by Burroughs.

Love host fict, especially anything set in Rome/ancient world.
Added to list

Cool. If you like it, he's got another called THE LEGATE'S DAUGHTER, which I'm now on the hunt for.

[JPK]

I finished The Crown Tower yesterday. Royce was the best thing about it - no surprises there. Next up for audio is Death Masks! Almost shaking in anticipation of my favorite villian group ever.

[worry]

Abyss, on 10 December 2015 - 04:02 PM, said:

polishgenius, on 10 December 2015 - 03:54 PM, said:

Abyss, on 10 December 2015 - 03:18 PM, said:

so will consider other options.

The Gone-Away World!

An old-school polishgenius recommendation™.

It will shock no one that it sits in the TRPFH.

Read this last year. Starts a little slow (it has an extended flashback element), but the layers keep piling on and the genre mashup stuff is so fluently woven that it really transcends gimmick. The twists make sense and the finale is rewarding. Definitely a lot more "literary" than RPO but manages to be a fun page-turner at the same time.

[Stalker]

QuickTidal, on 10 December 2015 - 05:03 PM, said:

Macros, on 10 December 2015 - 04:40 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 10 December 2015 - 02:17 PM, said:

Finished EAGLE IN THE SNOW by Breem. It's a complete masterpiece from start to finish. The epilogue made me weep (on the damned subway!). Just a fantastic story of the last days of Rome. HIGHLY recommended to anyone who likes historical fiction.

Have to acknowledge the book hangover from it, so I'm reading an old favourite, TARZAN OF THE APES by Burroughs.

Love host fict, especially anything set in Rome/ancient world.
Added to list

Cool. If you like it, he's got another called THE LEGATE'S DAUGHTER, which I'm now on the hunt for.

I'm gonna give it a shot too. The blurb sounds great.


In other Roman recommendations, CLASH OF EAGLES by Alan Smale. He's a NASA scientist who is writing alternate history about if the Roman Empire never fell and instead expanded to the New World at the height of the Mississipean culture in the 1200s. Well researched, well written, and I'm waiting for the sequel.

[Baco Xtath]

Abyss, on 10 December 2015 - 03:18 PM, said:

I keep reading that CLine's next book, ARMADA isn't as good, but will likely earbook it at some point on the strength of this.

I freak'n love RPO and was really really looking forward to Armada. I fucking hated it. It was so bad it pissed me off. Least favorite book of the last year.

Definitely seconding Gone-Away World - absolutely a great book. I'm about 6 hrs into Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora. It's pretty good. Interesting which is what I was going for.

[Binder of Demons]

Baco Xtath, on 07 December 2015 - 12:37 PM, said:

25% into the Stars My Destination - not at all what I was expecting but holy shit it's good. I'll be checking out the Demolished Man next.

How did you find the rest of THE STARS MY DESTINATION? And the Demolished Man for that matter.
Just curious as I haven't re-read it in several years, but loved it the previous times I read it.

Your comment above reminded me of the time I gave a loan of my copy to a friend who was a big sci-fi fan, and the next day I get a text saying, "this book is nuts. This guy has already introduced (and casually discarded) more ideas in the first 100 pages, than most authors would fit in a novel".

Considering so many familiar sci-fi tropes came from THE STARS MY DESTINATION and from The DEMOLISHED MAN, it's surprising more casual fans don't know Alfred Bester's name.

[Andorion]

28 chapters into A Fire Upon the Deep. Honestly confused now about which is better - Deepness or Fire. They are both so good!

[Baco Xtath]

Binder of Demons, on 11 December 2015 - 12:56 AM, said:

Baco Xtath, on 07 December 2015 - 12:37 PM, said:

25% into the Stars My Destination - not at all what I was expecting but holy shit it's good. I'll be checking out the Demolished Man next.

How did you find the rest of THE STARS MY DESTINATION? And the Demolished Man for that matter.
Just curious as I haven't re-read it in several years, but loved it the previous times I read it.

Your comment above reminded me of the time I gave a loan of my copy to a friend who was a big sci-fi fan, and the next day I get a text saying, "this book is nuts. This guy has already introduced (and casually discarded) more ideas in the first 100 pages, than most authors would fit in a novel".

Considering so many familiar sci-fi tropes came from THE STARS MY DESTINATION and from The DEMOLISHED MAN, it's surprising more casual fans don't know Alfred Bester's name.

I'm only 50% in STARS. I only read about 30 min. or so every other night. With 2 little girls and work, most of my books are audio. Unfortunately, neither STARS or DEMOLISHED are on audiobook. However, thus far I freak'n love it and am looking forward to finishing it and moving on to his next.

[Serenity]

Andorion, on 11 December 2015 - 01:11 AM, said:

28 chapters into A Fire Upon the Deep. Honestly confused now about which is better - Deepness or Fire. They are both so good!

Yeah, they're both fantastic. I think AFUtD just about shades it for me, largely because of the Tines, but then Deepness has Sherkaner Underhill and family, so . . .

[Andorion]

Serenity, on 11 December 2015 - 02:16 PM, said:

Andorion, on 11 December 2015 - 01:11 AM, said:

28 chapters into A Fire Upon the Deep. Honestly confused now about which is better - Deepness or Fire. They are both so good!

Yeah, they're both fantastic. I think AFUtD just about shades it for me, largely because of the Tines, but then Deepness has Sherkaner Underhill and family, so . . .

That part in Deepness where Sherkaner is introduced... I loved that scene. It reminded me of a Wodehousian protagonist like Wooster out for a jaunt in the country in his car.

[Gabriele]

Macros, on 10 December 2015 - 04:40 PM, said:

Love host fict, especially anything set in Rome/ancient world.
Added to list

Nice to know there are fellow Roman hist fic lovers around. I'm working on a series of Roman novels; maybe I'll get them published some day.

[Macros]

I'll.definitely read the first one.

[Mentalist]

Another week, another finished Elric book. This time it's "The Sailor on the Seas of Fate"

Haven't made up my mind on this one yet. I'll post my conflicted thoughts in the ded thread tomorrow.
I got one more Moorcock volume, the first 4 Jerry Cornelius books (which I've never read), but I think I'll save'em for the New Year. Before that, i got Kim Stanley Robinson's Sixty Days and Counting , the last book in the"Science in the Capitol" trilo. I figure it should be a good book to read before making New Year's resolutions.

This week has been crazy busy, so at home I'm slowly making my way through "The Crippled God" re-read. Enjoying every second of it, but the going's slow due to lack of time.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 14 December 2015 - 03:18 PM

[End of Disc One]

A third of the way into Expanse book 4, Cibola Burn. It was my impression that this book was probably the least popular of the series, but I think it's fascinating. No idea why it's less liked, but I also can't explain why it's probably my favorite one so far.

Also started Apt book 6, The Sea Watch. Pretty slow start but I expected that.

[Chance]

Going through C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner universe, finding it delightful thought it isn't really science fiction but more of meeting and emercing in strange culture while the science is fairly in the bakground so far. Up to Defender and still going strong might get through the entire series at this pace as long as quality doesn't decline.

This post has been edited by Chance: 13 December 2015 - 09:35 PM

[Baco Xtath]

End of Disc One, on 13 December 2015 - 06:55 PM, said:

A third of the way into Expanse book 4, Cibola Burn. It was my impression that this book was probably the least popular of the series, but I think it's fascinating. No idea why it's less liked, but I also can't explain why it's probably my favorite one so far.

I hate unbelievable villans and I found the bad guy in Cibola to be very unbelievable. I found the entire conflict in the story to be too contrived and forced. That's why I didn't like it.