The folks at Tor were kind enough to forward a copy of Brin's Existence. While I'm not as versed in sci-fi as fantasy fiction, I was very intrigued by the blurb in the email and so I requested it. Actually, taking it with me on vacation with the family.
Finished The Thousand Emperors by Gary Gibson and opened a thread about it HERE.
Next something quieter as after such a powerful novel, I cannot go directly into another highly expected one like Caliban's War
Finished Eric Brown's The Devil's Nebula and it was an entertaining read. There was a nice array of weird extra terrestrial creatures, and as an adventure story set in space it kept the pace up. Quite short and left some areas unexplored (eg the alien race knows as Vetch), but I guess that may come with future books.
As usual with Brown - he's reliable for a good (soft) SF story that's character focused (but if you're wanting epic mind-blowing hard SF look elsewhere).
After a delightful vacation in Discworld I'm jumping back into the Culture and reading Iain M Banks' Look to Windward. He's a hell of a writer.
Based on the words above from a few posters, got myself The Devil's Nebula too (if you want an e, Kobo which sells it as drm-free epub for 6$ accepts coupons of up to 50% off - current codes are easy to find with Google - so you can get it for 3$ there) and while my experience with Eric Brown is mixed (liked some of his books, did not like others), this one starts well and I expect I will enjoy it; however I opened Caliban's war and that is a book not to put down once you get into it seriously...
Well, last month I started Gateway by Frederik Pohl, which I'm enjoying, but I can't seem to get myself interested in it enough to finish it. I have no idea why, because I'm not even bored with it despite Pohl's rambling.
But I also started reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin a few days ago, which is boring so far. Not that some of it isn't interesting, but I'm feeling like it's padding out a bit.
And, of course, every now and then I read various shorts, especially whenever I get bored with a particular novel. In fact, I read four, which is unusual for me, since I tend to read one or two and move back to whatever I'm reading at the time. Anyway, I read "Piecework" by David Brin, "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson, "How Beautiful With Banners" by James Blish, and "Desertion" by Clifford D. Simak.
I'll be honest, though, I've no clue if I'll finish either of those novels by the end of the month. As Isaac Asimov said, "I am not a speed reader; I am a speed understander." Which is a fancy way of saying, "I'm a slow reader."
I started on Stark's Command by Jack Campbell yesterday as my audio book to keep me occupied while driving. Due to the events at the end of Stark's War this one starts with a different take on the situation. I'm enjoying it and looking forward to see where it goes, but it's much more like the Lost Fleet books this time around with Stark taking overall command of the forces ont he moon. He also just let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. I kinda missed that absence in the first book...
Hi, I'm new here!
Anyway, so far this month I've finished Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars (I liked Red and Green better, in Blue I felt that the science was a little too distant for him to be able to maintain successfully the hard SF approach that had characterized the first two volumes), read Theodore Sturgeon's Godbody, Clifford D. Simak's Time Is the Simplest Thing, and I'm currently reading A Heritage of Stars. There were a few short stories too, but those are the big ones.
That's a good deal - I got the paperback of The Devil's Nebula for AUD$5.99 from BD which is also pretty cheap.Originally Posted by suciul
Started Caliban's War tonight and am hooked already after a couple of chapters...it's good to be back with Holden, Amos and the crew!
Hi and welcomeThat's about 2 months' reading for me and you've fitted it in to a few weeks. I just read and really enjoyed Sturgeon's More Than Human but I'd not heard of Godbody. Any good?
Just over 100 pages into KSR's 2312 and enjoying it more and more. I really don't have a problem with his writing style as others have - for me he is much more measured and confident in his approach than a lot of his contemporaries but maybe that's it. IMO the dry prose suits the grand theme much better than, say, Iain M Banks' off hand style does. I don't like it when less skilled writers try and layer too much emotion into their writing as it stands out a mile for me.
Last edited by Ropie; June 11th, 2012 at 07:40 AM.
Yes he is.
Currently working my way through Surface Detail, got hooked from the start!
I love getting lost in the world he is creating and all of the side plots he is starting up. I cant wait to see how he brings them all together.
Ive got $20 something cash in my wallet waiting for Brin's Existence to hit my local Barnes and Noble next Tuesday, Ill be in there Monday too just in case
I finished Caliban's War by James Corey; in short, I liked it and as it is in large parts a repeat of Leviathan wakes with a different side plot and 3 new pov's, I guess people's reaction will mirror the reaction to the first book.
While I liked the new pov's - for various reasons, not least having a better gender balance the lack of which was a reasonably legitimate criticism of the first book, so now two of the three new pov's are female, both with great power in their own ways as one is a tough Martian marine and the other an ethnic Indian politician that is one of movers and shakers on Earth - the action lacked the freshness and the sense of wonder from Leviathan wakes and the book was a more standard action-adventure-space thriller without the sfnal mysteries of the debut.
A great wow ending and of course I want more asap, while overall i would rate the book as a highly recommended one of me for 2012 but not quite a top 25
Hi,
Yes, Godbody is an interesting read, but it is also a little weird and it may rub some people the wrong way. If you haven't read it yet you may want to have a go at The Dreaming Jewels first. I haven't tackled KSR's 2312 yet, it's on my list. Over all I like his style, but after Blue Mars I was a little reluctant to take it on, so thanks for the rec. Right now I'm reading CDS's Our Children's Children... will probably follow with Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End.
About to start Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds. Haven't read a lot of sci-fi recently; mostly I've been reading fantasy. So I'm looking forward to this.
Just finished Mariposa by Greg Bear a sequel to his earlier novel Quantico. Like the earlier novel the story follows three FBI agents in the near future though unlike Quantico the enemy is not terrorism but bankruptcy with the USA about to go into receivership due to massive debt and most of the government departments have been severely cut back including the FBI. In the meantime alot of the police and military functions have been farmed out to subcontractors the largest and most influential is a Blackwater-like outfit on super-steroids led by an utter madman who has added some creepy genetic-engineering experimentation to his super-corporation Black Ops.
The story is really engaging and it turned out to a quick read of a possible future America going completely down the road to oblivion. My only complaint was the ending which while interesting seemed very rushed with too many loose ends and thus not quite believable. All in all though I would give it a marginal thumbs up mainly due to the scary premise which may be all too possible in these troubled times.
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