SF/F Books: Chapter Two - What Are You Reading?

[Scout101]

Thanks, Brendan. I'm definitely planning to get to it soon, but after a break for other things.

Fantastic series! The first one started a little slow as i got into it, but once I got the way the narrative was working, big fan. Having read all 4, I'm definitely a bigger fan of the 2nd set (Endymion). Picks up a few hundred years after the first set, and you get to revisit all the worlds they build up in the first, see what changed, very cool. Also reads as a little more straight-forward story (moreso, anyway), rather than a collection of short stories that contribute to the big story like the first set.

 

[S. Gomez]

^Speaking of which...

I finished The Fall of Hyperionlate last night. My impressions of the duology as a whole are mostly of its excellence. I actually really liked the structure of the first book, with each pilgrim telling their tale at each stage of the journey. The second book...well, it's tough to describe my reactions. I liked it, but I think I could have liked it more. I know the plot, I was able to basically follow it as I was reading, but I still get the gnawing sensation that it all seemed a little vague, and that there were a few too many abstract explanations of strange occurrences. I trust, though (and somewhat hoping), that they'll be answered in the next duology; I don't know when I'll get to it, but I know it will be soon.

Dan Simmons is a fantastic writer. I'd read a couple short stories by him before, but this was my first experience of him as a novelist. It was a darn good one.

 

[Brian]

I finished my revisitation of the Narnia series, and am now reading the unabridged Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein).

 

[Mistral]

Brian-try The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. Probably(in retrospect) his greatest novel. Stranger is good but convoluted and suffering from the "everything runs smoothly" syndrome that Heinlein was prone to slipping into at times.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers has finally arrived. I'm only a chapter in and I'm ready loving it.

 

[Brian]

Brian-try The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. Probably(in retrospect) his greatest novel. Stranger is good but convoluted and suffering from the "everything runs smoothly" syndrome that Heinlein was prone to slipping into at times.

I'll put that on my list. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I've just finished TNG: Before Dishonor, which I enjoyed, and the cameo of Mackenzie Calhoun made me smile. And I've just started Coyote by Allen Steele.

 

[Mistral]

I've just finished TNG: Before Dishonor, which I enjoyed, and the cameo of Mackenzie Calhoun made me smile. And I've just started Coyote by Allen Steele.

Coyote is pretty good. The sequels stand up well, too.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I've just finished TNG: Before Dishonor, which I enjoyed, and the cameo of Mackenzie Calhoun made me smile. And I've just started Coyote by Allen Steele.

Coyote is pretty good. The sequels stand up well, too.

That's good to hear, I almost orders all three, but I've got loads to read, so thought I'd be better off reading the first one, before ordering the others.

 

[Mistral]

Bob-you will regret that choice-I read Coyote when it came out and was dying for a sequel. Had to wait months!

 

[S. Gomez]

Terok Nor: Day of the Vipers has finally arrived. I'm only a chapter in and I'm ready loving it.

Dangit. I've just heard about some of the plans for upcoming Trek books...my already-stuffed summer reading schedule just got a lot heavier if I'm going to catch up!

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Storm Front: Book One of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

 

[Mike Farley]

Just finished SMALL FAVOR, the 10th books in the Dresden Files.

Currently reading HARBINGER, the second to latest Repairman Jack book.

Also SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES VOL 2 ...which contains the first stories written by a 13 year old Jim Shooter.

 

[Mistral]

Reading 1945 by Robert Conroy-same guy wrote 1901 and 1862. Its an alt history story revolving around the Japanese NOT giving up in '45. Pretty good so far.

 

[JGordon]

Coyote is pretty good. The sequels stand up well, too.

Hmmm... I seem to be in the minority, but after seeing several people on this board recommend Coyote I read it and was rather disappointed. I really enjoyed the launch/voyage to the planet part, but the post-colonization portion seemed like a totally different story by a totally different writer. I couldn't really get into the characters (and many of their actions didn't make sense to me), and I found the ending to be disjointed and too "clean," given the situation the colonists were in.

I just finished reading Niven's (and collaborator's) Man-Kzin wars I. I've read IX, X, & XI previously (received them as gifts, without having read 1 - 8), and I really like this series. It's certainly not high-quality "literature," but they are chock full of fun short stories and adventures that flesh out Niven's known space universe. I am looking forward to reading more of this series.

Prior to that I read Frederick Pohl's "Beyond the Blue Event Horizon," the sequel to Gateway. I really enjoyed this novel as well, though I felt like it almost answered too many of the unanswered questions from "Gateway." Looking forward to reading the 3rd and 4th books.

 

[MikeGainer]

Reading "Robots and Empire". Next will be the Asimov's Empire Series.

 

[Klagg]

I also just finished Small Favor by Jim Butcher (great book and a wonderful series).

I am half way through Mindscan by Robert J Sawyer. This is the first hard science fiction novel I have read that was written after 2000. I am really enjoying it.

 

[Steve Roby]

I've been reading some Doctor Who and Torchwood books. The Who books were a couple of Fourth Doctor novels from the 1990s that weren't terribly good and now read as incredibly dated because they're trying to be cutting-edge cyberthriller stories.

As for the Torchwood novels... based on one and a half of the second set of three novels, it looks like the books are following the show's lead. Just as the second season cut back a bit on the sex and swearing, the second set of books has also cut back. They're less self-consciously written for adults this time around. Also shorter. But so far, so good. More satisfying in some respects than the current Doctor Who novels.

 

[Mistral]

I also just finished Small Favor by Jim Butcher (great book and a wonderful series).

I am half way through Mindscan by Robert J Sawyer. This is the first hard science fiction novel I have read that was written after 2000. I am really enjoying it.

Sawyer wrote a trilogy of books about Neanderthals that pretty much rocks. i only remember one title-Hominid, but a little digging that I'm too lazy to do will give you the names-I personally thought they were pretty good.

Jgordon-I admit to a bias re: Allen Steele so my review of Coyote may not have been unbiased-but give the sequels a try, they aren't bad. Having said that, the book Beowulf's Children by (Niven&Pournelle?) and its pre-quel are better examples of a rude colonization effort. Steele wrote the first part of Coyote as a novella in Analog and I think it was the positive reaction that convinced him to expand the story. You are correct in that the book shifts tones quickly after the death of the awoken crewmember...

 

[JGordon]

Jgordon-I admit to a bias re: Allen Steele so my review of Coyote may not have been unbiased-but give the sequels a try, they aren't bad. Having said that, the book Beowulf's Children by (Niven&Pournelle?) and its pre-quel are better examples of a rude colonization effort. Steele wrote the first part of Coyote as a novella in Analog and I think it was the positive reaction that convinced him to expand the story. You are correct in that the book shifts tones quickly after the death of the awoken crewmember...

Interesting that the halves were written separately, that largely explains why it felt so disjointed to me. I'll consider picking up the sequels if I run out of reading material.

I actually just picked up Legacy of Heorot (I think that's the prequel you are referring to) at a used book store. It's sitting on my shelf with the dozen other books I need to read. I've liked Niven & Pournelle's other collaborations (the Motie duology was especially good), so hopefully this one will live up to expectations.