SF/F Books: Chapter Two - What Are You Reading?
- Thread starter Neroon
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I've decided to re-read the complete Harry Potter series. One good thing about the books is they aren't long reads - it took me only about 3 days to read The Philosopher's Stone. Now that I've finally read the Deathly Hallows I decieded to go back and see what things I missed the first time through.
Alex
Alex
I started re-reading HP as soon as I finished Deathly Hallows when it came out.... I am only now re-reading DH for the second time. And I'm finding, having had a good bit of time to let all the hubbub and hoopla die down, I like DH more than I thought I initially had. I realized that the "camping trip of boredom" (as I like to refer to it) is not as long page-wise as I recalled, and I feel like the story is flowing faster this time around.
I'm just getting to the infiltration of Gringott's, and looking at the book, I realize that the split they're aiming for apparently in the movies is going to be PERFECT, in my opinion. It will leave SO much time for the second part to do the Battle of Hogwarts and "The Tale" perfectly without leaving anything out.... Re-reading this book, knowing where the split is probably going to be, is making me SOOOO much more excited about the last two films!
Joy
I'm just getting to the infiltration of Gringott's, and looking at the book, I realize that the split they're aiming for apparently in the movies is going to be PERFECT, in my opinion. It will leave SO much time for the second part to do the Battle of Hogwarts and "The Tale" perfectly without leaving anything out.... Re-reading this book, knowing where the split is probably going to be, is making me SOOOO much more excited about the last two films!
Joy
Got Hell Hath No Fury. Am 400+ pages in out of 650. No other titles listed-and no way the story is going to wrap up with this book. Amazingly detailed societies he's created here and a war scenario no general in his right mind would want to fight in. Worth reading if you like epic world-building.
I was scanning the bookshelves at the library, looking for a new voice to read when I came across a book called Lamentation by someone named Ken Scholes. I read the blurb, thought it sounded interesting, but since I'm in the middle of a novel already I decided to note it for later. I noticed it was sitting next to another book by him, a short story collection and decided to check it out. It's called Long Walks, Last Flights, and Other Strange Journeys. Anyone read this author?
I just finished The Last Wish. It was a solid fantasy novel. Definitely worth having a look at if you liked the game, or if you are looking for a novel set in a dark fantasy world.
I have now started reading Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton.
Currently reading "ST: Voyager Unworthy", but have "The Company" by K.J. Parker right on its heels.
I officially started Lamentation by Ken Scholes. It's both fantasy and science fiction at the same time. There are swords and fortresses along with robots. The atmosphere is very cool, and the writing isn't bad so far; it's the author's first novel, he's mostly been writing short fiction (some of which I have read).
One reason I didn't read HP until recently was I was given the impression that they were "kids books". Having read them once through now, and now working on them a second time (I'm about 1/3 into Goblet of Fire now) they're actually very mature, very dark novels, with complex plots and throwaway references that give payoffs several books later. The fact kids are reading these books and memorizing all the different plot threads, to be honest, gives me some hope for today's literacy. Rowling doesn't write down to her audience, and as a result I think she's hit the magic formula (pun unintended) that worked for Tolkien. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were conceived as children's stories, too, but because he didn't let this fact scare him away from complexity, the books appeal to all ages (although LOTR less so for kids these days because today's youth don't have the same grounding in classic literature that kids back in the 1940s and 50s did).
Before any Tolkienites flame me for trying to make Potter sound as deep as the near-biblical LOTR, I'm not making that claim. But in her own way Rowling has created a multi-volume storyline that forces its readers to think and pay attention, and become smarter as a result. Just like Tolkien. If I had kids I'd much rather have them reading Potter than Gossip Girl anyday. (No comment on Twilight as I haven't read those books and have zero interest in them, so whether they skew towards Potter-level complexity or stick to being Gossip Girl-with-fangs, I can't say.)
Alex
Twilight is firmly in the "Gossip Girl-with-fangs" category. Believe me.
I loved the Hobbit; I'd like to read it again. LOTR, on the other hand... I never made it past Rivendell in FOTR the first time, and didn't even get five pages in the second time I tried to read it. *shrugs* Not sure what that says about me. I mean, I've read "old" literature before and been fine with it. Maybe it's just his style... The textbook-y quality.
I definitely have to hand it to Tolkien for his world-building, though. I don't think sci-fi and fantasy today would be nearly the same if it weren't for Tolkien.
Joy
I loved the Hobbit; I'd like to read it again. LOTR, on the other hand... I never made it past Rivendell in FOTR the first time, and didn't even get five pages in the second time I tried to read it. *shrugs* Not sure what that says about me. I mean, I've read "old" literature before and been fine with it. Maybe it's just his style... The textbook-y quality.
I definitely have to hand it to Tolkien for his world-building, though. I don't think sci-fi and fantasy today would be nearly the same if it weren't for Tolkien.
Joy
So I've caught up on my reading list, so I decided to go back and read through The Dresden Files again. I'm about a third of the way through Storm Front, and I've already noticed a couple things Butcher laid in early on that didn't really come into play until much later in the series. Awesome. 
I think the writers of Gossip Girl should be offended by that comparison.
I recently tried to listen to Twilight. It is essentially bad fanfic complete with a MarySue heroine and plot drivers such as "If there's trouble in a twenty block radius, it will find you" to explain how Bella is always in the wrong place and the wrong time for no reason at all. It reads like a twelve-year old wrote it. Which is fine for whoever enjoys it, but as fluffy as Harry Potter ultimately is thematically, at least it has a certain charming cleverness to the world that makes it worth visiting.
I had trouble with LotR until I watched the movies back to back and could see the structure of the whole story. It is a beautiful tale about Frodo's strength of will and the loyalty of Sam Gamgee. Focus on those two characters as you read and let the world flow past you. It is well worth the staying power it requires to get through the entire book. If you can make it throug the Two Towers, the dramatic payoff in Return of the King is like nothing I've ever experienced. The movies did not do half justice to the Battle of Pelinor Fields, which in the book is one of the most intensely dramatic and moving passages I've ever read.
I'm in the midst of reading my first Mike Resnick - Kirinyaga. Thematically it's turning out to be similar to TOS's "This Side of Paradise". It's readable but somehow I feel iffy about it. It revolves around a group of Kikuyu who, in the 22nd century, move to a terraformed world to create a Utopia of traditional tribal life and how the mundumugu, the holy man, works to keep the society static and free from any and all outside influences - and how this constantly goes wrong. There's a sort of cyclical structure to the book which is interesting. Anyone have any comments on Resnick?
Resnick is one of my faves. That said-I never had an interest in that particular novel. Try Santiago: A Legend of the Far Future or Dark Lady: A Myth of the Far Future. Stalking the Unicorn is also good, although its fantasy. Birthright: The Book of Man takes place in Santiago's universe, too. His collection of shorts, Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Shut Off the Sun?, was pretty good. He also edited a mess of "Alternate..." books, most of which are good and he usually contributes to those as well. Hard to get turned down when you are the editor, eh? 
Alternate Generals was my fave, although Alternate Kennedys had The Winterberry(not Resnick's), possibly one of the most beautiful alt hist stories ever written. Here's a link with a Robert Sawyer review that is spot on.
http://www.libwise.com/ebooks/b166/The-Winterberry/Nick-DiChario/?li=4
Alternate Generals was my fave, although Alternate Kennedys had The Winterberry(not Resnick's), possibly one of the most beautiful alt hist stories ever written. Here's a link with a Robert Sawyer review that is spot on.http://www.libwise.com/ebooks/b166/The-Winterberry/Nick-DiChario/?li=4
I didn't realize he was the Alternate Generals/ Kennedys guy. I tried to read some of the AKennedys stuff when I was going through an alternate history period - but I find absolutely nothing compelling about the Kennedys so it wasn't that interesting.
Thanks for the other recs though. I think he's an interesting writer.
Thanks for the other recs though. I think he's an interesting writer.
Funny, in his review Robert Sawyer says the same thing about the Kennedys-then endorses The Winterberry anyway. There's a reason for it.
No prob on the recs-any other authors you're curious about? I've read about 9-10 thousand scifi books and shorts and have a passing familiarity with at least a handful of authors.
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