Check out The Caves of Steel by Asimov. I think it should hit some of the notes you are looking for. I also found it more character driven than the Foundation novels.
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What are you reading? (January 2015)
- Thread starter Maklershed
- Start date
Check out The Caves of Steel by Asimov. I think it should hit some of the notes you are looking for. I also found it more character driven than the Foundation novels.
Yes... he does managed to make fantasy to work with even hard-ish scifi, oddly enough.
Still, i have noticed some do not like that, so it is worth mentioning.
Plowing my way through The Age of Federalism and it is brilliant. I have read quite a bit on the Revolutionary War and the Federalist era, but this is definitely the most insightful and thought provoking one by far. Honestly, I am not even that far, but I can already tell that it is judiciously researched and every aspect is given a fair and comprehensive analysis. That might change, but is nice to see a book that isnt obviously biased to either the federalists or Republicans, and deals with each on its own terms.
Kyleripman
Member
Hahaha....yes. Yes I can.
You might like this review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/725980653?book_show_action=true&page=1. It points out a few other really funny overused things in the books. It would be a deadly, deadly drinking game though.
+1, Cadsuane was great.
Finished Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. Extremely interesting, as always from that guy. A look at how the brain is affected by music, and how injuries to the brain can make people sense music in totally different ways. Or, and this is often very touching, how people with brain damage who are unresponsive and locked in themselves can often open up and become "normal" again for a short while when they listen to music.
Now, about to read a master thesis written by a friend of mine on Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses". I liked the book a lot, but read it so long ago that I don't remember much of it.
Now, about to read a master thesis written by a friend of mine on Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses". I liked the book a lot, but read it so long ago that I don't remember much of it.
FUBAR McDangles
Member
I just finished Sanderson's Hero of Ages. Really, really disappointed with how it ended.
I have Alloy of Law sitting next to me. I'll read that soon. But I'll probably go for a change of pace and hop into Why We Suck by Denis Leary. Should be a fast and fun book to read.
The build up was so damn sweet. I was getting so excited reading it, recognizing things and figuring out some things before he actually wrote them out. Then some of the mysteries were falling into place and I was getting hyped up for this final battle.
Then...he just ruined it.
Elend dying...sure. Whatever. I was really bummed out, but I get it. He was kind of a bitch in the first book, and was certainly growing on me in the second. He had some dumb decisions but I was starting to like him. Right off the bat in this one I didn't like his character anymore. Sure, he was becoming more badass and a better fighter and better leader and whatever else, but it seemed to be going so far away from where he was in the first books - almost to the point where I simply could not believe it. He wasn't the same guy anymore.
Vin? Where do I start? The first book had me thinking of her as a co-main character. Her and Kelsier leading the charge. Obviously Kelsier died, leaving Vin as the main character. No problem with that. I loved reading about her. Second book, good to go. Third book, still flowing. When she took control and embraced the mists? Hell. Yes. Fantastic. But everything after that was just dumb. Dumb. She becomes a god, but her balance thing with Ruin was just poorly handled and just didn't really mesh well with everything else Sanderson wrote up until that point. It was just odd. It no longer felt like it was part of the same series of books that he wrote. Just a very far departure from where he was at.
And to add it all up, Sazed becomes the all-mighty God that fixes everything. A mere side character in the first book, a secondary character in the second, and someone who somehow manages to get a lot of attention in the third. He was basically a somewhat random background person who swoops in and miraculously saves the day. It was, in a word, baffling. Spook's sudden emergence was odd as well.
Really disappointing ending, IMO. The story makes sense, blah blah blah, but I just didn't agree with some of the design decisions Sanderson made. He took it in such a far departure from where I expected, which can obviously be a good thing, but that last bit of the book, everything after Vin gets the mist power and becomes a god, just flushed everything down the toilet. I was not a fan of that ending at all.
Then...he just ruined it.
Elend dying...sure. Whatever. I was really bummed out, but I get it. He was kind of a bitch in the first book, and was certainly growing on me in the second. He had some dumb decisions but I was starting to like him. Right off the bat in this one I didn't like his character anymore. Sure, he was becoming more badass and a better fighter and better leader and whatever else, but it seemed to be going so far away from where he was in the first books - almost to the point where I simply could not believe it. He wasn't the same guy anymore.
Vin? Where do I start? The first book had me thinking of her as a co-main character. Her and Kelsier leading the charge. Obviously Kelsier died, leaving Vin as the main character. No problem with that. I loved reading about her. Second book, good to go. Third book, still flowing. When she took control and embraced the mists? Hell. Yes. Fantastic. But everything after that was just dumb. Dumb. She becomes a god, but her balance thing with Ruin was just poorly handled and just didn't really mesh well with everything else Sanderson wrote up until that point. It was just odd. It no longer felt like it was part of the same series of books that he wrote. Just a very far departure from where he was at.
And to add it all up, Sazed becomes the all-mighty God that fixes everything. A mere side character in the first book, a secondary character in the second, and someone who somehow manages to get a lot of attention in the third. He was basically a somewhat random background person who swoops in and miraculously saves the day. It was, in a word, baffling. Spook's sudden emergence was odd as well.
Really disappointing ending, IMO. The story makes sense, blah blah blah, but I just didn't agree with some of the design decisions Sanderson made. He took it in such a far departure from where I expected, which can obviously be a good thing, but that last bit of the book, everything after Vin gets the mist power and becomes a god, just flushed everything down the toilet. I was not a fan of that ending at all.
I have Alloy of Law sitting next to me. I'll read that soon. But I'll probably go for a change of pace and hop into Why We Suck by Denis Leary. Should be a fast and fun book to read.
The Shadow
Member
Just finished Pushing Ice. I really liked it. Had a very epic feel to it because of the span of time it takes place. The ending and some of the elements were unsatisfying though.
Why? Because fuck decent human beings I guess. Like I said. Good book, but kind of an unsatisfying resolution.
I have no idea what I'm going to read next. I think I might be getting burned out on Sci-Fi though. Aside from a few brief humor stint with Shit My Dad Says, I think I've only been reading Sci-Fi for the past 6 months or so.
Aside from the first 5-ish chapters or so, it seems like most of the book was trying to paint Svetlana as a bad guy, or at the very least, made it very easy to hate her. Her mutiny seemed more out of pride than logic, then she sticks Bella in an inhumane exile, and when Bella is back in power, she actively defies her in dealing with the Mutt Dogs, causing the entire colony to be destroyed, but not before using her illegal forge vat, destroying the town that she, her family, and her supporters live. And at the end, her reward is a spiffy new starship and literally escaping their prison, whereas Bella's reward for dying saving Svetlana's daughter is to be revived with portions of her brain replaced with Svetlana's.
Why? Because fuck decent human beings I guess. Like I said. Good book, but kind of an unsatisfying resolution.
I have no idea what I'm going to read next. I think I might be getting burned out on Sci-Fi though. Aside from a few brief humor stint with Shit My Dad Says, I think I've only been reading Sci-Fi for the past 6 months or so.
Huh, I didn't see it like you did at all. I was really satisfied with how everything ended and I thought everything came pretty naturally.
Elend was exactly the kind of person who would die fighting for the cause he believed in. I think even Vin's actions when she was a god were completely in character for her. Sazed naturally fell into his role as the Hero of Ages and all the prophecies fit him perfectly.
SliceSabre
Banned
Pick up Of Mice and Men since I never got around to reading it in high school because I read Grapes of Wrath instead and I also picked up Tooth and Claw from the library as well.
Update for Mumei. I'm still alive and more importantly still reading about John Prester. Liking the book a lot more now but not in love with it. Like how can I not dig a book with a talking griffon debating about genesis? The proses still bother me but I am having a better time with it now!
Glad you loved My Traitor's Heart! Long Walk to Freedom briefly touches past Malan's bitter ending. Desmond Tutu wrote about the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which helped ease the transition from Apartheid to Post-Apartheid. Fun note, Mumei, one of the senior volunteers work with that woman, the one in part 3, with her new organization which is a sounding success for that providence. :-D
Glad you loved My Traitor's Heart! Long Walk to Freedom briefly touches past Malan's bitter ending. Desmond Tutu wrote about the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which helped ease the transition from Apartheid to Post-Apartheid. Fun note, Mumei, one of the senior volunteers work with that woman, the one in part 3, with her new organization which is a sounding success for that providence. :-D
Mackenzie 92
Member
Someone mentioned this in the NFL thread, so I'm making it my next read.
The Science of Interstellar by Kip S. Thorne
The Science of Interstellar by Kip S. Thorne
Finished up City of Stairs, the world it built, the stuff with all the gods - that was cool. The story itself I found pretty lacklustre, quite a few of the scenes painfully came across as hollywood esque. Relatively disappointed given how much I've seen it mentioned here on gaf and goodreads.
A great read, I read the short story version and then dived straight into the novel version. If you've got the time, it's worth reading both IMO, the pacing is different between the two versions and certain parts of the story are more prominent because of it.
A great read, I read the short story version and then dived straight into the novel version. If you've got the time, it's worth reading both IMO, the pacing is different between the two versions and certain parts of the story are more prominent because of it.
I'm still not entirely sure where I fall on Mistborn... there's something about it that reads a little off to me, as though he's describing playing a video game, but maybe that's just because he's working a little afield of the traditional mindset so where I expect to see "he hurled a fireball" there's instead a little description of the physics involved in flinging yourself from place to place.
But also there's a lot of references to burning pewter and copper or whatever which kind of reads, to me, as though it's saying "he rolled a d20 and used a fate point to activate a power" and kind of takes me out of it
oh well, i'll keep reading. at least it's memorable.
But also there's a lot of references to burning pewter and copper or whatever which kind of reads, to me, as though it's saying "he rolled a d20 and used a fate point to activate a power" and kind of takes me out of it
oh well, i'll keep reading. at least it's memorable.
Beren the Empty-Handed
Member
Right now I'm reading the complete first edition of the Grimm tales, as translated by Jack Zipes. It's soooooo good.
Screw the later edits.
Screw the later edits.
That's kind of why I got turned off on Mistborn. The "action" scenes where someone was burning metals. It's an entirely internal action, and wasn't as exciting to me. Sanderson's other stuff has been great (I just finished Warbreaker this weekend and was saddened to hear a sequel isn't even on the horizon yet!) so I'm willing to give it another shot soon.
Wheel of Time did the same thing with its magic, although I think the descriptions were better so it wasn't a problem.
You'd have people channeling and fighting and it all sounded very dramatic until you remembered that if you couldn't channel, the magic would have been invisible and you'd have just seen people standing there staring at each other. Heh.
bengraven
Member
Fantastic book so far and I'm barely in. The story of the January 1888 blizzard that was named the "Schoolchildren's Blizzard" due to the number of schoolchildren who were killed either running home from school, getting lost when their teachers tried to lead them home, or dying right there in the schoolhouse, which in those days were made of barely nothing materials and the rooves notoriously would break apart, and they froze to death. 500 lives were lost that day and most of them were kids.
While most of the stories are about the children, it's fascinating in many regards because it came on unexpected. One minute, literally, it was a warm day and people went out with light clothing, and the next minute the temperature started to drop. Within 13 minutes (I believe?) it was suddenly below zero and whiteout conditions making it almost impossible to make your way through. Men who had walked home from town all their lives suddenly faltered, confused and lost of direction. Huge herds of cattle froze while huddling to keep warm.
It's a great read if you're into disaster porn I suppose or in my case, dangerous weather.
Finished reading No Longer Human. This book along with Kokoro were the biggest two Japanese classics that I have always wanted to read. It's a rather dark nihilistic take on life with a protagonist, Yozo, detached from humanity. I really liked the epilogue and how it ended. A point raised by the introduction where we see one of the few people to really know the protagonist well described him as an angel even after all the shit he has done. Which either means that Yozo omitted anything good about his life form the notebooks he left or he has successfully fooled even his closest friends to see him as a good person.
Also finished reading Roadside Picnic. Saw it mentioned here a week ago plus I remember reading about the Strugatsky brothers being one of the best foreign sci-fi writers so I wanted to check their work out. This was really good, neat ideas about humanity post contact with aliens and the people closely affected by The Zones. Also after spending time with the Foundation books lately, it's good to be able to read a sci-fi book with actual humans characters and not just heads to spew exposition and Asimov's ideas.
Wafflecakes
Member
Happy about this. I think I would go crazy after 20 some odd years.
He is probably one of the most prolific writers that doesn't write trash.
Maklershed
Member
Finished The Little Sister and started Tales from the Radiation Age. Also working on Dark Places.
Tales From the Radiation Age by Jason Sheehan
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Tales From the Radiation Age by Jason Sheehan
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
Read The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi and really liked it. Here is a little review I wrote about it at Goodreads:
Alternate titles: The Hock Seng Redemption, Xenophobic Blues, or simply Emiko.
I really liked this book it begins small and ends in madness and it all has something to do with the titular character Emiko. The book revolves around five character; Anderson Lake, Hock Seng, Jaidee, Kanya, and Emiko. Four out of the five are not likable, but rather than hampering the book it just makes things more interesting. Anderson works for a company that willingly holds out on food in countries that need it, Hock Seng is a survivor, Jaidee and Kanya are xenophobic police officers, and Emiko is "New People". New People were made in labs and are hated by everyone and they are considered less than human. Take a guess as to which one of these people you will probably care most about.
The book is a dark narrative with glimmers of hope and humor, a good read for the Winter months. The book takes place in future Bangkok. Fuel is dinosaur along with electricity (unless you are super rich). The choices the characters in this book range from bad to worse.
If you like a combination of science fiction and fantasy then you might want to give this book a read.
Alternate titles: The Hock Seng Redemption, Xenophobic Blues, or simply Emiko.
I really liked this book it begins small and ends in madness and it all has something to do with the titular character Emiko. The book revolves around five character; Anderson Lake, Hock Seng, Jaidee, Kanya, and Emiko. Four out of the five are not likable, but rather than hampering the book it just makes things more interesting. Anderson works for a company that willingly holds out on food in countries that need it, Hock Seng is a survivor, Jaidee and Kanya are xenophobic police officers, and Emiko is "New People". New People were made in labs and are hated by everyone and they are considered less than human. Take a guess as to which one of these people you will probably care most about.
The book is a dark narrative with glimmers of hope and humor, a good read for the Winter months. The book takes place in future Bangkok. Fuel is dinosaur along with electricity (unless you are super rich). The choices the characters in this book range from bad to worse.
If you like a combination of science fiction and fantasy then you might want to give this book a read.
Whatever you do don't read this:
It might SOUND good because it's a detective story on Mars, but in practice it's like bad self-insert fanfiction where ladies can't stop falling for the protagonist who, I kid you not, tips an imaginary fedora at them.
I shall put the cover in my memory banks and avoid it.
ErrorMacro
Member
Just finished reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? For the second time, after reading Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Both are very good! Gonna start Ubik soon.
I've been wanting to read A Roadside Picnic, but it's gonna be damn hard to find around here :/
I've been wanting to read A Roadside Picnic, but it's gonna be damn hard to find around here :/
Wafflecakes
Member
Then Sanderson ruined her.
Love Brandon, but he litteraly was SHIT at writing all of Jordan's female characters (and that is saying something considering how bad Jordan was at female characters).
Cadsuane was set up by Jordan as kind of the Aes Sedai who avoided all the pitfalls of her sisters as far as attitude/competence went. Then Brandon came along and turned her into another generic, subservient, incompetent, character.
Well I disagree with this. Egwene and Nynaeve both become about 10x less insufferable under Sanderson's pen. Hell he actually made Mat less obnoxious and actually funny.
Wafflecakes
Member
I don't think Egwene was ever really insufferable, unlike the other two girls.
Nynaeve had insufferability as a core to who she was as a character, getting rid of it just proved how poorly the character was handled.
I thought Egwene's transformation into Jesus Christ, Magic Edition was insufferable, but she got a decent ending at least. Nynaeve is far more enjoyable to read about in Sanderson's books, although the character herself will always be tied down by that ridiculous romance subplot.
I think Jordan just assumed insufferable-ness as the natural state of womanhood. Found this to be a good read after his passing.
I think Jordan just assumed insufferable-ness as the natural state of womanhood. Found this to be a good read after his passing.
Wafflecakes
Member
Tbh... Cadsuane's transformation bothered me, but not nearly as much as Aviendha's under Sanderson. I couldn't even recognize her.
Unlike some of the other girls, I felt like she had a distinct voice as a character. That vanished in the last books.
Unlike some of the other girls, I felt like she had a distinct voice as a character. That vanished in the last books.
So good! It's my favorite by her too. But I agree, it's really, really fucking draining to read Atwood's novels. I think at this point I'd rather read about women with agency so I just stay away from her.I've finally finished:
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
This is my favorite Atwood so far. It's so different from her other works. I wouldn't even consider it sci-fi, except for the pulpy sci-fi story inside the other story. The framing took a little to get used to, but once it took off, it really took off.
I would have given this 5/5 stars instead of 4/5 stars, but I was just really annoyed by the women in this book. I know her thing is to write feminist novels where women have no agency as a way of showing how much it sucks to be a woman in a male-dominated world, but it also is so draining on me as a reader.
When I got to the end, I realized how much the gist of this book resembled a bad soap opera.
Servbot #42
Unconfirmed Member
So after reading Sphere i was looking for more Michael Crichton and today i found out they were having a sale on Jurassic park for 3$ so i bought that. Also i'm debating whether to buy the first Foundation book by Asimov for 5 bucks because i hear it's pretty awesome. Also hi i'm new here and haven't read a book in like a month.
After watching the first episode of the impressive 'wolf hall' on BBC, I decided to get the book. Once I'm done with world war z(which started well but not as gripping as I thought it would be) I'll get started. Big fan of the Tudors and political intrigue so it should be good.
Wafflecakes
Member
It was the words and phrases she used.
It was like all the Aeil"isms" were sucked out of her.
Frustrated_Grunt
Member
Dark Places It's not really capturing my attention at the moment. I'll give it a few more chapters and see if that changes.
Finished The Explorer and I'm on to this:
now. Excited to read it, seems good so far.
now. Excited to read it, seems good so far.
StrongArmSteady
Member
Tbh you could get away with skim reading ben days chapters. Its a good read. Reminds me of that movie brick..no happy endings..not really
Dark Places It's not really capturing my attention at the moment. I'll give it a few more chapters and see if that changes.
Just finished up The Martian the other week. I don't care who you are, you're going to like this book. I loved it...best book I've read in the past year, easily.
Everyone I know that has read it has loved it, not a single naysayer.
I'm currently reading through Spin. This book started off terribly slow, I figured it was going to be a slog. Thankfully, after about 50 pages in, it really picks up the pace. Some of the ideas they have and the results of those ideas are really interesting. Essentially, the Earth is surrounded by a protective barrier. For every year on earth that passes, 100 million years pass in the rest of the universe. Definitely worth a read (at least so far).
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I also just finished up The Lathe of Heaven last week. This was a pretty decent book. In essence, it is about a man whose dreams can shape reality. He has caused things to change in the past and no longer wants to dream at all. He soon meets a psychologist who finds out that his power is real and chooses to take advantage of him. Not a GREAT book, but pretty good.
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Everyone I know that has read it has loved it, not a single naysayer.
I'm currently reading through Spin. This book started off terribly slow, I figured it was going to be a slog. Thankfully, after about 50 pages in, it really picks up the pace. Some of the ideas they have and the results of those ideas are really interesting. Essentially, the Earth is surrounded by a protective barrier. For every year on earth that passes, 100 million years pass in the rest of the universe. Definitely worth a read (at least so far).
I also just finished up The Lathe of Heaven last week. This was a pretty decent book. In essence, it is about a man whose dreams can shape reality. He has caused things to change in the past and no longer wants to dream at all. He soon meets a psychologist who finds out that his power is real and chooses to take advantage of him. Not a GREAT book, but pretty good.
There are a few of us here
What didn't you like about it?
Could not stand the humour at all. Just never found it remotely funny. Really did not like how it set the tone of the book into something I felt should've come across as something a lot more serious, instead of this sort of weekend romp stuck on Mars. I can accept the technical portions, but it just takes away from the narrative when it starts to read like a textbook, and the humour even comes into play with that with the creation of his own unit of measurement that just felt ridiculous.
But ah well. I tend to keep most quietly if a book doesn't interest me, just always surprised to see how much love The Martian gets, am hoping to like the movie though.
^ What he said. Also have hope for the movie as I figure they'll at least tone down the humor.
That is completely reasonable. If you don't like the main character, it is going to be really hard to enjoy. I go through the same thing with Terry Pratchett. His sense of humor just doesn't do it for me.
I think people just liked the "everyman" protagonist. He was extremely intelligent and yet very down to Earth (har har, he is on Mars) and easy to relate to. That is the thing with books, you just never know who is going to like what!
Just finished up The Martian the other week. I don't care who you are, you're going to like this book. I loved it...best book I've read in the past year, easily.
I finished it the other day also. A solid book. Hopefully Ridley puts together a solid film of it too.
Warning: Ending spoiler below;
I especially like the restraint shown in the end when he didn't go for the dramatic hollywood, cut the rope so i can save him ending (that he had otherwise setup).
Christoff Yurievich
Member
I mean, for awhile there Piers Anthony was putting out three books a year, all in different series.
That's ~3 books a year.
hardcastlemccormick
Banned
Currently reading Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Man In The High Castle.
The former is an interesting read but I find some of the philosophy abrasive. The latter, man, Philip K Dick writes some good novels. I'm impressed how well-formulated the world is.
The former is an interesting read but I find some of the philosophy abrasive. The latter, man, Philip K Dick writes some good novels. I'm impressed how well-formulated the world is.