Return of the Book Thread

[Johny Cee]

200 pages in and Anathem is steadfastly refusing to be any good at all.

 

You enjoyed Reamde, but aren't liking Anathem?  

I was half-way through Reamde when my Kindle blew up, and so bored with it that I haven't bothered to re-download to the new Kindle.  The plot was bizarre and terrible...  it was a bad version of an '80s/'90s spy thriller with typical Stephenson geek accoutrement.  

[RhyssaFireheart]

Just (re)read Slant by Greg Bear.  It's a rare book in my collection in that I honestly don't remember reading it before this.  I can't quite decide if it's cyberpunk or just "plain" scifi, but I enjoyed it even though the ending seemed a bit abrupt to me.

[Ironwood]

You enjoyed Reamde, but aren't liking Anathem?  

Yes, that's right.

A book has to have some connection to a reader as a way to engage them;  something familiar.  Anathem has, frankly, fuck all in that regard, whereas Reamde was about online gaming from the start.

Whatever happens, I know which one caught my engagement more.  Fuck me, I still can't really READ Anathem without hard work in remembering what the fucking language means.

[Viin]

It took me a bit to get into Anathem too, but once I started to get a picture of what was going on I found it pretty good.

[Ironwood]

It's ok, I don't give up.

[Chimpy]

It really picks up when people start getting pulled out of the monastery by the mysterious powers that be. Which I think is like 300 pages in? (don't think that is spoiler worthy but feel free to ask a green name to if necessary)

[Salamok]

200 pages in and Anathem is steadfastly refusing to be any good at all.

 

You enjoyed Reamde, but aren't liking Anathem?  

I was half-way through Reamde when my Kindle blew up, and so bored with it that I haven't bothered to re-download to the new Kindle.  The plot was bizarre and terrible...  it was a bad version of an '80s/'90s spy thriller with typical Stephenson geek accoutrement.  

I am 20% in but so far I prefer Reamde to Anathem by far, as a matter of fact I think it is his best work yet, then again it is also the only work of his I haven't read the end of.  

In Anathem he got rid of his half the characters having tourette's crutch but replaced it with the made up words, In Reamde he for once doesn't seem to be over using language gimmicks.  The worst thing I can say about it is that he seems to be naively describing technologies that he barely has a grasp on and as someone with a slightly deeper mastery of what he is talking about it can be a bit grating (techno baby talk?).

[Ironwood]

Actually, I suspect it's less about his grasp and more about making it accessible to a wider audience on advice of his editor.

Really.

[Salamok]

That thought had occurred to me, not sure I am buying it as many of his oversimplifications seem to have a slightly off target aspect to them.

Maybe it is a mix of a certain amount of naivete combined with intentionally making it more accessible to a broad audience.

[HaemishM]

Trying to make somewhat complex technology accessible to non-nerds in fiction is a tricky thing to pull off. People have said my stuff actually does it well, but I know from writing it there's a fine line between hand-waving and pages long technoblather. Stephenson has always been a little too babbly but I can imagine a good editor can finally rein that in.

[Johny Cee]

I read a couple of sff forums, so for your amusement, here are a couple of links where authors we've discussed jump in:

SFF Forums, Joe Abercrombie:  http://sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33077

Westeros, "Richard" is Richard Morgan: http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/60165-violence-rape-agency-the-rapiness-that-comes-before/
 (He doesn't jump in for a couple of pages, though I think the thread is interesting enough as it is.  Morgan can tend to be a bit splurgy and defensive, which is funny.)

Edit:

Sorry, the Westeros link is:  http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/60218-the-depiction-of-lgbt-characters-in-fiction/
  which is about the depiction of LGBT characters

[Margalis]

Oh man, I just finished an anthology called "The New Weird" that I got from the library. I can't remember ever being so annoyed at a book.

The editors spend a lot of time talking about what "The New Weird" is, if it is a new genre, also mentioning "slipstream" science fiction and "interstitial sci-fi." The whole thing smells like marketing bullshit, like people prospecting for gold but instead they are prospecting for some hot new imagined genre to market.

The book itself is divided into four sections, only ONE of which is actually composed of so-called "New Weird" stories. The first section is older stories that supposedly form some sort of precursor to this genre, the 3rd section is academic essays and, I shit you not, a reprinting of a discussion on an internet message board, and the fourth section is a round-robin story that I didn't bother reading.

The stories themselves are mostly bad, and the first section (the older, "precursor" stories) is notably stronger than what should be the meat of the collection.

As a collection that seemed intent on convincing me of the existence of some awesome new genre full of talented writers it was a total failure.

[naum]

I read A LOT of non-fiction, view my reading list here — http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3393514?shelf=currently-reading

Trying to get back into reading more fiction -- presently, about 3/4 the way through 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami — enjoying it a lot, but keep thinking that at some point, it's going to go completely off farcical rail. The author style is very appealing to me, especially the self-referential "loops" nesting. Have not read anything else by Murakami, but after finishing this, may pick up his other works.

And Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton, which I am told is the bees knees by some IRL friends, but it just has not gripped me yet.

[Sheepherder]

The Art of War

I'm pretty sure I prefer the Giles translation.

[lamaros]

And Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton, which I am told is the bees knees by some IRL friends, but it just has not gripped me yet.

I'm re-reading the Night's Dawn Trilogy at the moment. Better than Pandora's Star. I'd suggest you read Fallen Dragon first if you haven't read much Hamilton.

[Johny Cee]

Oh man, I just finished an anthology called "The New Weird" that I got from the library. I can't remember ever being so annoyed at a book.

The editors spend a lot of time talking about what "The New Weird" is, if it is a new genre, also mentioning "slipstream" science fiction and "interstitial sci-fi." The whole thing smells like marketing bullshit, like people prospecting for gold but instead they are prospecting for some hot new imagined genre to market.

The book itself is divided into four sections, only ONE of which is actually composed of so-called "New Weird" stories. The first section is older stories that supposedly form some sort of precursor to this genre, the 3rd section is academic essays and, I shit you not, a reprinting of a discussion on an internet message board, and the fourth section is a round-robin story that I didn't bother reading.

The stories themselves are mostly bad, and the first section (the older, "precursor" stories) is notably stronger than what should be the meat of the collection.

As a collection that seemed intent on convincing me of the existence of some awesome new genre full of talented writers it was a total failure.

I don't think it's marketing as much as a bunch of artists sitting around and telling each other they are unique and talented snowflakes that are pushing boundaries left and right.  It's another variation of SFF/Horror authors being pissy because SFF/Horror authors are looked down on, with a side of "we are serious artists" type horse shit.


That being said, I really like Jeff Vandermeer and have loved many of China Mieville's books (Mieville is love/hate for me), who are two of the bigger names in that crowd.  Vandermeer has a fairly interesting blog, as well.

[Rishathra]

And Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton, which I am told is the bees knees by some IRL friends, but it just has not gripped me yet.

It's a slow build.  He's spinning a lot of plates so it takes a while to set them all up, but it does get better.  I agree with lamaros that Fallen Dragon is a good starting point if you are new to Hamilton.

[Quinton]

Argh.

I wish publishers would avoid horrible spoilers in book blurbs.  Especially when the titles do not make it clear which book in the series is which, so you're digging to figure out what the right book to read next is.

That said, I really enjoyed Daniel Abrahams A Shadow in Summer, which has some great characters and intrigue in a not-all-sorcery-and-dragons-all-the-time fantasy world.  Plenty of shades of gray here, and a bit gritty, but not GRRM levels of cruelty.

[Abagadro]

I used to run into that problem (less in being spoilered than just reading the middle book of a series that I picked up on a flier) and now if I know a book is part of a series I wiki the author. For most there is a list at the bottom of the article of their books organized by series.

[Quinton]

Yeah, I often do that.  Safer and faster.  I got sloppy this time. 

Still, a pox upon the publisher and their crappy spoilery cover blurbs. *shakes fist*

[Sheepherder]

Read Wheel of Time #13.  It's not bad, except...

[jth]

I used to run into that problem (less in being spoilered than just reading the middle book of a series that I picked up on a flier) and now if I know a book is part of a series I wiki the author. For most there is a list at the bottom of the article of their books organized by series.

I use this almost daily: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

It has bibliographies organized by series (including upcoming books if known), recommended books by authors, "similar books" lists etc. The database has gotten very comprehensive over the years and is well updated.

[Abagadro]

Cool. Thanks for the tip.

[RhyssaFireheart]

So the husband bought me a NOOK Tablet for Christmas, and I've finally ventured into the world of e-books.  With a cover, the tablet feels almost like holding a book, so that's comfortable.

Anyways, picked up a few free e-books off the Barnes & Noble site.  Finished the first called Shatter by Elizabeth Mock, which turned out to be the first book of a trilogy.  Book 2, Render just came out, which is fine except that now I have to wait for book 3 to be released.  There is a short story set in the same universe which I'll probably grab as well.

Setting is vaguely steampunkish but magic is common.  The magic system she's set up is pretty interesting and different as well, since it's based off colors (each color of the rainbow different kind of magical ability, and people can have multiple colors at different strengths).  There were a few times when I thought the wording used was awkward but I really am enjoying the books so far.  Enough to buy the second book right off.

I also picked up another free book called Viridis, which is described as a "Steampunk Romance", I just didn't expect a sex scene within the first 50 pages.  I just started reading though, so I'll have to hold judgement yet.  I did find it in the Science Fiction section, so I'm hoping more scifi trappings than Harlequin romance ones.

[Sheepherder]

The Art of War

I'm pretty sure I prefer the Giles translation.

Ahem.  This book?  Full of bullshit trying to make it relevant to the modern era businessman.  Fuck that noise.

What redeems it?

Sun Bin (simplified Chinese: 孙膑; traditional Chinese: 孫臏; pinyin: Sūn Bìn; died 316 BC) was a military strategist who lived during the Warring States Period of Chinese history. An alleged descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun Bin was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He was accused of treason while serving in the Wei state and was sentenced to face-tattooing (criminal branding) and had his kneecaps removed, rendering him a handicap for the rest of his life.

Note: "Sun Bin" means "Sun the Mutilated."

In traditional folklore, Sun Bin carved the words "Pang Juan dies under this tree" on a tree in the ambush area. When Pang arrived there, he saw that there were carvings on the tree so he lit a torch for a closer look. Right then, using the torch as the target, the Qi troops lying in ambush attacked. Pang committed suicide after being hit by many enemy arrows.

[Sky]

I use this almost daily: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

It has bibliographies organized by series (including upcoming books if known), recommended books by authors, "similar books" lists etc. The database has gotten very comprehensive over the years and is well updated.

That's what we use at the library, too.

[dd0029]

Just finished Low Town by David Polansky. The American version omits the awesome English subtitle, "The Straight Razor Cure." Anyway, I picked up a copy from the library as a downloadable ebook. It's pretty decent noir detective fantasy, though not anywhere near as gritty as the description makes out. Reminiscent of Douglas Hulick's Among Thieves or maybe some echoes of Scott Lynch without as much humor. It was not a waste of my time.

[K9]

I got The Disappearing Spoon for christmas. I was expecting a regular pop science book, but in the end I got a phenomenally well written story of the elements that intertwined the history of their discovery, anecdotes about their uses and abuses and some very solid scientific explanations for why the periodic table (and elements in general) as as they are. I finished the book in two days and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light non-fiction read. Really really good.

[Viin]

Looks interesting. Link for US Amazon folks: http://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Periodic-Elements-ebook/dp/B003JTHXZY

[Abagadro]

Ready Player One was on par with the sort of writing and storytelling of a book written for young adults, about the same level as The Hunger Games, but that age group wouldn't get the millions of references to the 80s. The story itself was pretty weak, but all the MMO, old school gaming and pop culture references kept me reading.

Just finished this and enjoyed it for what it was. I wouldn't go so far to say it is at a YA level. More like a bit of "first novel-itis" in that it overexplains and is a bit repetitious. I actually wish this was a book written by Neal Stephenson as it would have been three times longer, better written and much deeper.  That said, it was  pretty cool nostalgia trip and I would recommend it for anyone who is currently 37-45 and a geek (likely a pretty significant chunk of the band of merry posters here).

[Viin]

Funny, I'm reading that book too - about half way through. Probably not as nostalgic for me as it is for you old farts, but I'm enjoying it so far. I like his rendition of a virtual world that a large number of people actual "live" in and have "jobs" in.

Thanks for suggesting!

[Sky]

Finished Karpyshyn's Revan. Had a lot of potential but felt very rushed at the end, wonder if it was supposed to launch alongside TOR originally. Lord Scourge had a ton of potential to be a great character but the rushed end really lopped off any chance of character development. I think Drew could be a decent author if he'd write longer books, even if this went to trilogy like the Bane stuff he already painted himself in a corner.

About halfway through the Heir to the Empire by Zahn, fun read.

Also grabbed the Disappearing Spoon off the shelf for some non-SW reading, thanks.

[Khaldun]

Ready Player One was on par with the sort of writing and storytelling of a book written for young adults, about the same level as The Hunger Games, but that age group wouldn't get the millions of references to the 80s. The story itself was pretty weak, but all the MMO, old school gaming and pop culture references kept me reading.

Just finished this and enjoyed it for what it was. I wouldn't go so far to say it is at a YA level. More like a bit of "first novel-itis" in that it overexplains and is a bit repetitious. I actually wish this was a book written by Neal Stephenson as it would have been three times longer, better written and much deeper.  That said, it was  pretty cool nostalgia trip and I would recommend it for anyone who is currently 37-45 and a geek (likely a pretty significant chunk of the band of merry posters here).

The ultimately weird thing about it is that it treats the nostalgia as utopian and the backdrop as dystopian--when I would say, with all the affection in the world for 80s culture, that the idea of having to memorize all that shit if you were born fifty years later, is the most horrifyingly dystopian idea I've seen in a while. I felt terribly sorry for the protagonist for having to live in a future where knowledge of Zork, Joust, and Saved By the Bell are his only conceivably tickets to happiness. It's as if Willy Wonka forced Charlie to relive the Roaring 20s or something.

[naum]

The Fantasy Novelist's Exam

[Johny Cee]

Interesting interview with Glen Cook:

http://ia600709.us.archive.org/25/items/Milehicon43-GlenCookInterview/GlenCook.mp3

Turns out, he's an anime fanatic.  Also, he's working on new Black Company, new Garret, and the Dread Empire conclusion, A Path to Coldness of Heart, was just published.

It's good, but it isn't really a novel.  It's basically written like a fantasy popular history.  It ties up the major story elements, but the endings are messy and raise as many questions as are answered.  I really love this series because EVERYONE is flawed and sympathetic, even when they are killing each other. 


Harry Connolly (the Twenty Palaces Urban Fantasy guy) just released a prequel novel for his series.  About 15% through, and so far it's at the level of his other stuff.  I know folks early in the thread liked his stuff.


Edit:

Cook is rolling out chapters of the next Company book as short stories.  The first was the story in Swords and Dark Magic, and the second chapter is in a limited edition collection called Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy.  Fucking limited edition, fuck.