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

[Mistral]

Mike Resnick is a name I've been running across more and more lately. What novel/short story collection would be the best introduction to him?

IMO-Santiago. Just don't pick up the sequel by mistake-it blew chunks. Check my previous post for other titles.

 

[Maestro]

I'm back into the SFF shelf and reading Neil Gaiman's classic, American Gods. What great stuff!

 

[Steve Roby]

I'm in the midst of reading my first Mike Resnick - Kirinyaga. 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.

I think Santiago was the first Resnick I read, more than twenty years ago, and I liked it a lot -- a big old-fashioned space opera adventure. I went out and bought everything I could find by him over the next couple of years. Most of his books at the time were in a common fictional universe, so even though the characters, setting and tone of one series might be wildly different from another, there were always a few touches to remind you how everything fit together.

I kind of cut back on my SF reading not long after, and Resnick was one of the guys who didn't make the cut. Following a bunch of series was easy when I was tracking down books that had already been published; waiting months or more between books wasn't as much fun, and he wasn't doing many standalones. I also read at least a couple of Kirinyaga stories when they first appeared in the SF mags and didn't care for them much. I probably haven't read anything by him since 1990 or so, though looking at wikipedia, I must have bought at least 16 of his books back in the day.

 

[S. Gomez]

Unfortunately, I can't find Santiago either in the library or on Amazon.ca. I might have to make a trip to my local used SF bookstore.

 

[Mistral]

Unfortunately, I can't find Santiago either in the library or on Amazon.ca. I might have to make a trip to my local used SF bookstore.

Here you go.

http://www.amazon.com/Santiago-Myth-Future-Mike-Resnick/dp/0812522567

 

[S. Gomez]

I'm reading Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes in this week leading up to Halloween. I opened the book and found the story started on October 24...today. Talk about spooky.

 

[TedShatner10]

I've just finished on Alastair Reynold's Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days and starting on Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum.

 

[Brandonv]

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.

I finished Judas Unchained earlier this month, and then read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I thought that Judas Unchained was better than Pandora's Star because it spent less time on setup and more time on moving the plot along. The Forever War I thought was excellent and I could barely put it down.

I am now reading The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

 

[stonester1]

So Long And Thanks For All The Fish-Douglas Adams

Foundation-Isaac Asimov

And in non-science fiction, Casino Royale-Ian Fleming

 

[Brian]

Strayed from SF/F for a while, reading an autobiography and some classic fiction. Now I'm reading the new Hitchhiker's Guide novel "And Another Thing..." by Eoin Colfer.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I recently read the first 5 books of Codex Alera ready for the final book coming out.
Also read Coraline and just started on The Graveyard Book.

I liked Coraline well enough, but I thought at times it was a little bland.

 

[Planetary]

I'm reading Against A Dark Background by Iain M. Banks, and trying to get back into Killing Rommel, by Steven Pressfield, which I abandoned about 100 pages in after tiring of all the talk of honor and wartime brotherhood. With Pressfield, I know his books are going to be awesome, it's just a matter of getting in the right frame of mind to read them.

 

[S. Gomez]

Just finished The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, which follows literary detective Thursday Next through an alternate 1980s Britain where things are vastly different than they ought to be--and almost anything can happen. If you like Doctor Who or The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, I highly recommend the book. It has sequels that I'll be reading sometime in the near future.

 

[Sky]

I finished Judas Unchained earlier this month, and then read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I thought that Judas Unchained was better than Pandora's Star because it spent less time on setup and more time on moving the plot along. The Forever War I thought was excellent and I could barely put it down.

The Forever War is probably the best sf war book I've ever read. It's just that good. Sadly the sequel (Forever Free) sucks.

I'm now rereading Haldeman's short story collection A Separate War. I also just got the Trek Crucible trilogy but am trying to save them for a 30-hour ferry crossing I have to make in 2.5 weeks.

 

[stonester1]

I finished Judas Unchained earlier this month, and then read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I thought that Judas Unchained was better than Pandora's Star because it spent less time on setup and more time on moving the plot along. The Forever War I thought was excellent and I could barely put it down.

The Forever War is probably the best sf war book I've ever read. It's just that good. Sadly the sequel (Forever Free) sucks.

I'm now rereading Haldeman's short story collection A Separate War. I also just got the Trek Crucible trilogy but am trying to save them for a 30-hour ferry crossing I have to make in 2.5 weeks.

Forever War had TWO followups, Forever Peace AND Forever Free.

 

[Fencer]

I finished Judas Unchained earlier this month, and then read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I thought that Judas Unchained was better than Pandora's Star because it spent less time on setup and more time on moving the plot along. The Forever War I thought was excellent and I could barely put it down.

The Forever War is probably the best sf war book I've ever read. It's just that good. Sadly the sequel (Forever Free) sucks.

I'm now rereading Haldeman's short story collection A Separate War. I also just got the Trek Crucible trilogy but am trying to save them for a 30-hour ferry crossing I have to make in 2.5 weeks.

Forever War had TWO followups, Forever Peace AND Forever Free.

Forever Peace isn't a direct follow up however. It's more a thematic sequel then a direct continuation of Forever War

 

[Mistral]

Not reading-moving this week. But my new place allows me to unpack my books for the first time in 7+ years. Expect input post 12-6-09. I can't wait to review what I have and re-read some of the better stuff. Moved them into my new place yesterday-36 cases all together.

 

[Kegg]

I read Paprika recently. Bizarre, twisted Japanese novel that has technology invading dreams and middle aged businessmen having sex with fictious teenage girls and also the secretive, arrogant faith that naturally is the sort of thing a guy working in IT would be big into.

I liked it.

 

[S. Gomez]

I picked up the first two books in Gene Wolfe's The Book of The New Sun at the library today. It's an omnibus volume called Shadow And Claw.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Are we going to continue with this thread or start Chapter Three for 2010?

Anyway, since I last checked in I've read two sci-fi books:

Tau Zero by Poul Anderson - a hard SF novel delving into relativistic space travel. The enormity of time and distance described is mind-boggling. Characterization is quite simple, but effective enough.

Ubik by Philip K. Dick - definitely lived up to its reputation as one of PKD's greatest novels.