Actually (and I can't understand why I didn't think of it first), it turns out the library has the individual story collections available. So to read the stories I don't necessarily have to get the full omnibus.
Thank you, though.
SF/F Books: Chapter Two - What Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Neroon
- Start date
Thank you, though.
Well, I finally managed to get to the last book in Peter F. Hamilton's "Nights Dawn" series. Has kept me occupied for weeks now. Started the whole thing more than a month ago.
Actually (and I can't understand why I didn't think of it first), it turns out the library has the individual story collections available. So to read the stories I don't necessarily have to get the full omnibus.
Just make sure you read If This Goes On..., one of the best in the collection.
I believe it is in The Menace From Earth.Revolt In 2100, actually. The three collections are The Man Who Sold The Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, and Revolt In 2100, with the two novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense" collected together as Orphans of The Sky. Wikipedia is, in this case, awesome.Actually (and I can't understand why I didn't think of it first), it turns out the library has the individual story collections available. So to read the stories I don't necessarily have to get the full omnibus.
Just make sure you read If This Goes On..., one of the best in the collection.
Speaking of short stories, I've also been listening to the Old Time Radio show X Minus One; some really great stories there, Heinlein adaptations among them.
Revolt In 2100, actually. The three collections are The Man Who Sold The Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, and Revolt In 2100, with the two novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense" collected together as Orphans of The Sky. Wikipedia is, in this case, awesome.Actually (and I can't understand why I didn't think of it first), it turns out the library has the individual story collections available. So to read the stories I don't necessarily have to get the full omnibus.
Just make sure you read If This Goes On..., one of the best in the collection.
Speaking of short stories, I've also been listening to the Old Time Radio show X Minus One; some really great stories there, Heinlein adaptations among them.
How do i hear X Minus One- is there an online link?
Every single episode is available on the Internet Archive. Here's a link to download them individually or in zip files (the latter of which I haven't tried since I'm on a Mac).Revolt In 2100, actually. The three collections are The Man Who Sold The Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, and Revolt In 2100, with the two novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense" collected together as Orphans of The Sky. Wikipedia is, in this case, awesome.Just make sure you read If This Goes On..., one of the best in the collection.
Speaking of short stories, I've also been listening to the Old Time Radio show X Minus One; some really great stories there, Heinlein adaptations among them.
How do i hear X Minus One- is there an online link?
Every single episode is available on the Internet Archive. Here's a link to download them individually or in zip files (the latter of which I haven't tried since I'm on a Mac).Revolt In 2100, actually. The three collections are The Man Who Sold The Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, and Revolt In 2100, with the two novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense" collected together as Orphans of The Sky. Wikipedia is, in this case, awesome.
Speaking of short stories, I've also been listening to the Old Time Radio show X Minus One; some really great stories there, Heinlein adaptations among them.
How do i hear X Minus One- is there an online link?
I'm not on a mac, but I tried to download the zip file and my computer locked up. Of course, this was one year and one computer ago, and I've noticed that site has been updated since then. Just to be on the safe side though, I'd recommend downloading them individually. It worked for me.
I finished Revelation Space today in a mad 140-page dash. When I first picked it up last week, I was ready to put it down again after about 20 pages. I can't really tell you why, but I had already decided that I didn't care about anybody in it or anything that happened to them. The next day, though, I thought I might give it another shot.
I'm glad I did.
Wowee, that was a ride. For much of it I was simply intrigued with the universe and the plot; the characters were interesting as well, though a couple times I felt they could have been handled better (but characterization is a lot harder than I think most non-writers give credit for). I was able to imagine huge structures and sprawling vistas, and there was a strong atmosphere throughout the book that reminded me of Blade Runner somehow; in my head I saw the people on the lighthugger as being surrounded by blackness, and even planetside scenes were cast in shadows. Maybe that was just the cover of the book, though.
Anyway, the thing that really brought it up for me was the kind of thing I had been expecting from Rendezvous With Rama and never really got: a true sense of cosmic awe and mystery. Concepts so dazzlingly huge that I don't think I could have comprehended it even if I did understand the science jargon of the extended explanation. So my reaction tends more towards the positive side than the negative. Interesting characters and relationships, but not quite stepping over into total believability. Good, "hard" science fiction, but with plenty of fantastic, intriguing ideas. I will be reading more of Alastair Reynolds.
On another note, who's read Dan Simmons' Ilium and Olympos? How does it measure up to the Hyperion Cantos?
I'm glad I did.
Wowee, that was a ride. For much of it I was simply intrigued with the universe and the plot; the characters were interesting as well, though a couple times I felt they could have been handled better (but characterization is a lot harder than I think most non-writers give credit for). I was able to imagine huge structures and sprawling vistas, and there was a strong atmosphere throughout the book that reminded me of Blade Runner somehow; in my head I saw the people on the lighthugger as being surrounded by blackness, and even planetside scenes were cast in shadows. Maybe that was just the cover of the book, though.
Anyway, the thing that really brought it up for me was the kind of thing I had been expecting from Rendezvous With Rama and never really got: a true sense of cosmic awe and mystery. Concepts so dazzlingly huge that I don't think I could have comprehended it even if I did understand the science jargon of the extended explanation. So my reaction tends more towards the positive side than the negative. Interesting characters and relationships, but not quite stepping over into total believability. Good, "hard" science fiction, but with plenty of fantastic, intriguing ideas. I will be reading more of Alastair Reynolds.
On another note, who's read Dan Simmons' Ilium and Olympos? How does it measure up to the Hyperion Cantos?
Not as good as the first two Hyperion books, maybe on par with the Endymion books. It's pretty weird stuff for the most part (it starts with Greek gods re-enacting the Trojan war on a terraformed Mars) and you won't figure out what it's all about until the end. However, being a fan of Simmons's earlier works (Hyperion) myself, I still enjoyed the read.
Finished Hamilton's Temporal Void, good but not quite up to the first 3 in the series. One book left, but it's unfortunately not written yet! LOL. But overall the Commonwealth Series is amazing space opera, and definitely a new take on several old familiar themes.
Started Zoe's Tale, the 4th book in Old Man's War. Just a few pages into it.
Started Zoe's Tale, the 4th book in Old Man's War. Just a few pages into it.
As part of my re-reading kick, I just finished Tim Powers' Drawing of the Dark for the first time in about 25 years and am half-way through Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine for the first time in about 35 years, in preparation for reading the sequel he wrote a couple of years ago, Farewell Summer...
I've recently completed George R.R. Martin's A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Now I'm primed for the long-delayed and much anticipated release of the fifth book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, which looks like it'll be released in the first quarter of next year.
Just finished A Time For Patriots, available here in rough E form.
http://www.changingthetimes.net/development/development_index.htm
It's a time-travel story with George Washington and Ben Franklin as characters, amongst others.
http://www.changingthetimes.net/development/development_index.htm
It's a time-travel story with George Washington and Ben Franklin as characters, amongst others.
Similar threads
