Ah... So as to not give any spoilers, I'll just say 'no comment'.
SF/F Books: Chapter Two - What Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Neroon
- Start date
I'm currently in the middle of Consider Phlebas, the first Culture novel. After that I'll be reading Margo Lanagan's story collection Red Spikes.
Don't we all...
I just started Volume Two B of The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, which opens with that very rare thing: an Asimov sf story I haven't read. I suppose it's because it's a novella-- not likely to end up in a collection, but not long enough to publish on its own.
OK, ya got me-which novella?
"The Martian Way".
The Bourne Sanction by Eric Van Lustbader
I'll be reading that next, how does it qualify as SF/F and not Crime/Mystery/Thriller??
There is a thread for that in TV&Media, started it myself
Well, I've been too lazy to update my avatar, but I've finished Caliphate and I'm on to Devil May Care.
Caliphate -- A chilling premise and a scary future. Until we find out how we got to that point. Then it just turns laughably Hollywood. Whether or not we could get to that future is moot, it just seems unrealistic to me. And then things turn and get happy/cheery. Initially, I compared Caliphate to Wilson's vampire epic, Midnight Mass, only with evil Muslims overrunning Europe instead of vampires. But, where Wilson stayed horror, Kratman went campy.
Devil May Care -- Not a great James Bond outing. Seems like Faulks has been tainted by the movie version of Bond too much in the way he's set the scenes. He also tries to beg for legitimacy by showing us he's read the Fleming canon. But, although Fleming referred to previous Bond stories (the whole Bond series of novels is loosely arced, would be interesting to see what Fleming would have done if he hadn't died when he did), it was never gratuitous. To top it off, Faulks crams too much "formulaic Bond" into the tale, instead of just telling it. The obligatory sports defeat, etc.
Just not that good. Pity, I had high hopes. Maybe it will turn around later.
Caliphate -- A chilling premise and a scary future. Until we find out how we got to that point. Then it just turns laughably Hollywood. Whether or not we could get to that future is moot, it just seems unrealistic to me. And then things turn and get happy/cheery. Initially, I compared Caliphate to Wilson's vampire epic, Midnight Mass, only with evil Muslims overrunning Europe instead of vampires. But, where Wilson stayed horror, Kratman went campy.
Devil May Care -- Not a great James Bond outing. Seems like Faulks has been tainted by the movie version of Bond too much in the way he's set the scenes. He also tries to beg for legitimacy by showing us he's read the Fleming canon. But, although Fleming referred to previous Bond stories (the whole Bond series of novels is loosely arced, would be interesting to see what Fleming would have done if he hadn't died when he did), it was never gratuitous. To top it off, Faulks crams too much "formulaic Bond" into the tale, instead of just telling it. The obligatory sports defeat, etc.
Just not that good. Pity, I had high hopes. Maybe it will turn around later.
I finished The Hobbit last night. One of the wonderful things with books you truly love is how they never really become old or worn in your mind; it was only about a year ago that I last read the book (along with The Silmarillion and The Lord of The Rings) and it still feels fresh and exciting. The other wonderful thing about cherished books is that, since they seem so fresh, you can always find something new to appreciate. I’ve decided to make notes on the stories as I go along, and already I have a few questions about the connections between this book and “the mythology”. I might start a thread on it if anyone’s interested.
Today I’ve started John D. Rateliff’s The History of ‘The Hobbit’ and I’m already bowled over by the quality of the scholarship. You’d think that reading an early draft manuscript of a story *you’ve just finished reading* would be a chore--I’m excited!
Today I’ve started John D. Rateliff’s The History of ‘The Hobbit’ and I’m already bowled over by the quality of the scholarship. You’d think that reading an early draft manuscript of a story *you’ve just finished reading* would be a chore--I’m excited!
^ Rateliff includes a lot of interesting material on the connections between The Hobbit and Tolkien's wider mythos, though some of his conclusions are a bit of a reach. As you say, it's a quality book, and well worth the decade-plus wait for its publication.
I'm reading something a little older at the moment - Men, Martians and Machines by the woefully underappreiated Eric Frank Russell. Next to my copy of The Outward Urge by John Wyndham, it's my most treasured book.
I just finished Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things today. Against recommendation, I went ahead and read the "Monarch of the Glen" story, which was a follow-up to American Gods, which I have not yet read. I enjoyed it anyway, since I had "met" Mr. Alice and Smith in an earlier tale in the volume, and Grendel and his mom in Beowulf. It was just Shadow who was new to me.
Where to go next..... I've got the revised edition of The Physics of Star Trek lying around. I'll probably hit it.
Where to go next..... I've got the revised edition of The Physics of Star Trek lying around. I'll probably hit it.
Sweet. I know, there's not really a plot-dependancy issue with "Monarch of The Glen", but I thought I'd let you know anyway. Did you enjoy the collection as a whole?
^He does, doesn't he? Try the novel Anansi Boys; there's another character link with American Gods, but to a lesser degree than "Monarch of The Glen". It's much more lighthearted and an easier-to-follow plot. And I can't recommend Stardust enough if you've never read it.
I just won't shut up about Neil Gaiman, will I?
I just won't shut up about Neil Gaiman, will I?
I finished reading "2061" not too long ago. I found it incredibly dull, boring and uninspired. It's like Clarke took everything that was great in the first two novels (especially 2001), ditched it and replaced it with a mix of Star Wars (I keep seeing the 'ghosts' of Obi Wan, Yoda and Anakin when I think of the 'advanced' Floyd, Bowman and HAL) and Loveboat or some other soap opera. I found none of the characters were interesting, and I had to wonder just what that whole book was about in the end.
I'm currently on to 3001 which I find is miles better (though that's no big achievement) but definitely not on par with 2001 or even the IMHO slightly weaker 2010. I've almost finished it but there's a few things that bother me:
- The whole affair of Poole coming back from the dead and his own reactions seem far to pedestrian IMHO. It's like, "Hi, you were dead a thousand years." followed by "Frank Poole, pleased to meet you. Nice place, btw."
- I fear where the book is headed (based on how they're now looking into ancient computer viruses etc. and based on things I'd read here). I already really dislike how - out of nowhere - it seems very clear, accepted and understood that the Monoliths are little more than GCs (Galactic Computers) and Halman (God, I hate that name!) is not much more than that annoying talking clip in Microsoft Office. Ok, so he's a little bit more intelligent and useful, but you probably know what I mean.
- Did I already say I hated the name Halman? I think it just sounds plain stupid.
So, reading 3001 has been more fun than 2061, but I fear I'm already past the more interesting bits including some of the ideas and visions Clarke outlined for the future. At this point, I'm pretty sure, however, that I won't be re-reading it. It's very possible that I'll only ever be reading 2001 again at some stage.
Once I'm through 3001 I'm moving on to Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" which I'm really, really looking forward to.
I'm currently on to 3001 which I find is miles better (though that's no big achievement) but definitely not on par with 2001 or even the IMHO slightly weaker 2010. I've almost finished it but there's a few things that bother me:
- The whole affair of Poole coming back from the dead and his own reactions seem far to pedestrian IMHO. It's like, "Hi, you were dead a thousand years." followed by "Frank Poole, pleased to meet you. Nice place, btw."
- I fear where the book is headed (based on how they're now looking into ancient computer viruses etc. and based on things I'd read here). I already really dislike how - out of nowhere - it seems very clear, accepted and understood that the Monoliths are little more than GCs (Galactic Computers) and Halman (God, I hate that name!) is not much more than that annoying talking clip in Microsoft Office. Ok, so he's a little bit more intelligent and useful, but you probably know what I mean.
- Did I already say I hated the name Halman? I think it just sounds plain stupid.
So, reading 3001 has been more fun than 2061, but I fear I'm already past the more interesting bits including some of the ideas and visions Clarke outlined for the future. At this point, I'm pretty sure, however, that I won't be re-reading it. It's very possible that I'll only ever be reading 2001 again at some stage.
Once I'm through 3001 I'm moving on to Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" which I'm really, really looking forward to.
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