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Books! Recommend any?
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Kirjava
Lothian Enterprises
#21 - 2013-03-30 18:45:47 UTC
I find your lack of Alastair Reynolds disturbing....

Revelation Space
House of Suns.
Pushing Ice.

The two last compete for my favorite book.

[center]Haruhiists - Overloading Out of Pod discussions since 2007. /人◕‿‿◕人\ Unban Saede![/center]
Ovv Topik
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#22 - 2013-03-30 18:55:31 UTC
I heard the Honorverse series is a very close parallel to New Eden in a lot of aspects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse

Haven't read them yet (top of my 'to read' lis)t, but can anyone comment on this?

"Nicknack, I'm in a shoe in space, on my computer, in my house, with a cup of coffee, in't that something." - Fly Safe PopPaddi. o7

Noriko Satomi
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#23 - 2013-03-30 19:33:30 UTC
Ovv Topik wrote:
I heard the Honorverse series is a very close parallel to New Eden in a lot of aspects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse

Haven't read them yet (top of my 'to read' lis)t, but can anyone comment on this?

I'm currently reading through them, and I'm on book 7. I can say these are actually quite good if you like military SF. These books are in the same vein as their spiritual successors like Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series (also good).

Frank Millar wrote:
As per usual for this kind of thread I'm gonna push Dan Simmons' Hyperion- (4 books) and Ilium- (2 books) series.

You also might want to look into the various Culture-books by Iain M. Banks.

I heartily agree, these are all fantastic reads with Big Ideas.
Noriko Satomi
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#24 - 2013-03-30 19:59:10 UTC  |  Edited by: Noriko Satomi
Krixtal Icefluxor wrote:
Noriko Satomi wrote:
Anathem - A stunning achievement of hard science fiction. This is how science fiction used to be, matched to the literary elevation of Dune.




Yay ! Someone else likes it. My favorite novel OF ALL TIME. Read it 9 times so far. EDIT: (You left out the author's name here: Neal Stephenson, author of "Snow Crash").

But it is NOTHING like Dune at all. ( What? )

It's more of an assemblage of the entirety of Western Philosophical Thought from Plato to Wittgenstein and beyond !

Don't forget to read the 14 page Acknowledgements on the Web.

I did better than list the author's name, I gave the link to the book on Amazon so he could see the author, the reviews, and order it.

As for my comparison to Dune:

Dune is one of the more amazing efforts in "world building" on par with Lord of the Rings. Like these two works, Anathem builds a unique vocabulary, though Stephenson does it much more seamlessly than Herbert. Like Dune, Anathem builds not only a world, but synthesizes realistic cultures from extrapolation (in the case of Dune), and abstraction in the case of Anathem.

It is true that the narrative structures of Dune and Anathem are completely different. As are their messages as they speak to the reader. Dune's Big Idea brings together late 50's and early 60's drug culture, then new ideas on genetics, Herbert's own studies in environmental conservancy, and his studies of Zen mysticism and Arabic cultures. Herbert's underlying themes of religion-as-political-tool, tyranny, and freedom also shine through.

As you mention, Stephenson breathes life into Platonic Idealism through the lens of modern physics and mathematics. As you read, you gain an education, in much the same way you do regrading desert ecology from reading Dune. These are the literary similarities I was referring to in spite of the fact that the two works are vastly different.
Noriko Satomi
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#25 - 2013-03-30 20:01:46 UTC
Kirjava wrote:
I find your lack of Alastair Reynolds disturbing....

Revelation Space
House of Suns.
Pushing Ice.

The two last compete for my favorite book.

+1
Jonah Gravenstein
Machiavellian Space Bastards
#26 - 2013-03-30 20:04:13 UTC  |  Edited by: Jonah Gravenstein
Double post, DOH

In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.

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Feyd's Survival Pack
Jonah Gravenstein
Machiavellian Space Bastards
#27 - 2013-03-30 20:07:07 UTC
Ovv Topik wrote:
I heard the Honorverse series is a very close parallel to New Eden in a lot of aspects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorverse

Haven't read them yet (top of my 'to read' lis)t, but can anyone comment on this?


They're good reads, don't expect hard sci-fi, do expect lots of space ships throwing missiles at each other across solar systems.

Free ebooks of them (legit ones at that)

In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.

New Player FAQ

Feyd's Survival Pack
Kitty Bear
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#28 - 2013-03-30 20:22:07 UTC
Forgot to list

Nancy A. Collins - Sonja Blue series ...

has been a while since i read them, but they are a fun read.
Frank Millar
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#29 - 2013-03-31 05:06:28 UTC
Jno Aubrey wrote:
Since you like Larry Niven, I'd recommend his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle, especially "The Mote In God's Eye."

Good call. I find the Niven/Pournelle-combo exceptionally strong.

About Honor Harrington: it's good, but Weber would do well to end this in the near future because it's getting a bit silly with the ever escalating numbers of missiles thrown about.
Krixtal Icefluxor
INLAND EMPIRE Galactic
#30 - 2013-03-31 11:00:01 UTC
Jno Aubrey wrote:
Since you like Larry Niven, I'd recommend his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle, especially "The Mote In God's Eye."



I love "Ringworld", and I have a story about a very drunk Niven at WorldCon 1988 in New Orleans.

"He has mounted his hind-legs, and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck."  - Ambrose Bierce on Oscar Wilde's Lecture in San Francisco 1882
Krixtal Icefluxor
INLAND EMPIRE Galactic
#31 - 2013-03-31 11:01:59 UTC
Noriko Satomi wrote:
Krixtal Icefluxor wrote:
Noriko Satomi wrote:
Anathem - A stunning achievement of hard science fiction. This is how science fiction used to be, matched to the literary elevation of Dune.




Yay ! Someone else likes it. My favorite novel OF ALL TIME. Read it 9 times so far. EDIT: (You left out the author's name here: Neal Stephenson, author of "Snow Crash").

But it is NOTHING like Dune at all. ( What? )

It's more of an assemblage of the entirety of Western Philosophical Thought from Plato to Wittgenstein and beyond !

Don't forget to read the 14 page Acknowledgements on the Web.

I did better than list the author's name, I gave the link to the book on Amazon so he could see the author, the reviews, and order it.

As for my comparison to Dune:

Dune is one of the more amazing efforts in "world building" on par with Lord of the Rings. Like these two works, Anathem builds a unique vocabulary, though Stephenson does it much more seamlessly than Herbert. Like Dune, Anathem builds not only a world, but synthesizes realistic cultures from extrapolation (in the case of Dune), and abstraction in the case of Anathem.

It is true that the narrative structures of Dune and Anathem are completely different. As are their messages as they speak to the reader. Dune's Big Idea brings together late 50's and early 60's drug culture, then new ideas on genetics, Herbert's own studies in environmental conservancy, and his studies of Zen mysticism and Arabic cultures. Herbert's underlying themes of religion-as-political-tool, tyranny, and freedom also shine through.

As you mention, Stephenson breathes life into Platonic Idealism through the lens of modern physics and mathematics. As you read, you gain an education, in much the same way you do regrading desert ecology from reading Dune. These are the literary similarities I was referring to in spite of the fact that the two works are vastly different.


Fear not. I agree 100% with this.

"He has mounted his hind-legs, and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck."  - Ambrose Bierce on Oscar Wilde's Lecture in San Francisco 1882
Graygor
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#32 - 2013-03-31 11:11:41 UTC
As someone who has never read the Ringworld series. How is Niven's pros? Is it quite an easy read or is one a slog through the pages with a lot of heavy ideas to digest?

I'm looking for some more bedtime reading now I've driven through my current pile of Christmas books.

"I think you should buy a new Mayan calendar. Mine has muscle cars on it." - Kenneth O'Hara

"I dont think that can happen, you can see Gray has his invuln field on in his portrait." - Commissar "Cake" Kate
Krixtal Icefluxor
INLAND EMPIRE Galactic
#33 - 2013-03-31 11:24:25 UTC
Graygor wrote:
As someone who has never read the Ringworld series. How is Niven's pros? Is it quite an easy read or is one a slog through the pages with a lot of heavy ideas to digest?

I'm looking for some more bedtime reading now I've driven through my current pile of Christmas books.



He's not exactly the 'deepest' writer out there, lets just say that much.

"Ringworld" in fantastic, "Ringworld Engineers" is OK (helps to read his novel "Protector" first), "Ringworld Throne" is God-awful (Vampires.....seriously ?), "Children of Ringworld" is back to awesome.

"He has mounted his hind-legs, and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck."  - Ambrose Bierce on Oscar Wilde's Lecture in San Francisco 1882
Graygor
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#34 - 2013-03-31 11:28:34 UTC  |  Edited by: Graygor
Are they actually in sequence? Or if i skip the books you said to avoid I wont be missing out on essential plot and so on?

I'm not the worlds biggest SF Buff, largely because I find so much of the genre difficult to get into. I like my books to be light, yet thought provoking and provide a couple of laughs. Something I can get into bed with and have fun reading or enjoy a good captivating story. Not some long, overwinded tawdry balls up that a lot of SF ive come across is.

"I think you should buy a new Mayan calendar. Mine has muscle cars on it." - Kenneth O'Hara

"I dont think that can happen, you can see Gray has his invuln field on in his portrait." - Commissar "Cake" Kate
Athena Maldoran
Doomheim
#35 - 2013-03-31 11:33:35 UTC
One of the best book i've read is "Cities in Fligth" by Thomas Blish.

link
Frank Millar
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#36 - 2013-03-31 11:43:05 UTC
Krixtal Icefluxor wrote:
Graygor wrote:
As someone who has never read the Ringworld series. How is Niven's pros? Is it quite an easy read or is one a slog through the pages with a lot of heavy ideas to digest?

I'm looking for some more bedtime reading now I've driven through my current pile of Christmas books.



He's not exactly the 'deepest' writer out there, lets just say that much.

"Ringworld" in fantastic, "Ringworld Engineers" is OK (helps to read his novel "Protector" first), "Ringworld Throne" is God-awful (Vampires.....seriously ?), "Children of Ringworld" is back to awesome.

Agreed.

Larry Niven on his own is a bit of a casual affair, I feel. When he teams up with Jerry Pournelle (and Stephen Barnes), better things happen.

...

Let's see... Charles Stross' Laundry-novels are a nice change of pace, mixing IT and occultism in an often hilarious and sometimes chilling fashion.

People have already mentioned Alastair Reynolds. I've almost finished Blue Remembered Earth and it's decent.

Richard Morgan. Altered Carbon and its successors (which are actually better), Market Forces and Black Man are pretty awesome.
Krixtal Icefluxor
INLAND EMPIRE Galactic
#37 - 2013-03-31 12:32:29 UTC
Graygor wrote:
Are they actually in sequence? Or if i skip the books you said to avoid I wont be missing out on essential plot and so on?



Yes, in sequence.

You can freely skip "Ringworld Throne". It belongs in the porcelain throne.

Long, boring, has stupid, stupid vampires, and contributes nothing important at all.

Call it a case of temporary insanity on Niven's part. TBH, I was a bit shocked at the badness.

"He has mounted his hind-legs, and blown crass vapidities through the bowel of his neck."  - Ambrose Bierce on Oscar Wilde's Lecture in San Francisco 1882
Graygor
Federal Navy Academy
Gallente Federation
#38 - 2013-03-31 12:38:58 UTC
I'll get the first book and give it a whirl on my tablet then.

Always willing to try something new.

"I think you should buy a new Mayan calendar. Mine has muscle cars on it." - Kenneth O'Hara

"I dont think that can happen, you can see Gray has his invuln field on in his portrait." - Commissar "Cake" Kate
Jezaja
turaagaq
#39 - 2013-03-31 13:42:45 UTC
The "Otherland Trilogy" by Tad Williams

If you like Scifi + Cyberpunk + History + Philosphy and a freaking complex storyboard THIS is your choice :)

I really loved it.

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Jno Aubrey
Galactic Patrol
#40 - 2013-03-31 14:46:32 UTC
Krixtal Icefluxor wrote:
Jno Aubrey wrote:
Since you like Larry Niven, I'd recommend his collaborations with Jerry Pournelle, especially "The Mote In God's Eye."



I love "Ringworld", and I have a story about a very drunk Niven at WorldCon 1988 in New Orleans.



Haha it is very possible you and I were in the same room together Lol

Name a shrub after me.  Something prickly and hard to eradicate.