I just bought...

[Erfael]

I'm terrible about keeping up with these things. In recent months I have bought a bunch of books, but my most recent acquisition is:

Olympos by Dan Simmons. Can't wait until it arrives and I can dive in.

 

[intensityxx]

Iron Sunrise, Charles Stross
Pashazade, Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Accelerando, Charles Stross (pre-order)
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, Cory Doctorow
(not sf but an sf writer)

not sf I guess:
Bangkok 8, John Burdett

Charles Stross owns the universe right now, gotta read him!

 

[FicusFan]

Cool Books Intensity . Bankok 8 is very good, I also love the lurid cover. And I saw Accelerando in the store (Borders) the other day. Stross also has it on the web (his web site ?) so you can download it for free, I think.

 

[intensityxx]

Ficus, are you aware that Bangkok 8 has a sequel now? It's in hardback though. Rick Kleffel reviews both on The Agony Column . I always go shopping after reading his recommendations.

*this is actually on-topic because Agony Column regularly reviews sf, horror, and other genre stuff*

 

[FicusFan]

Yes I am aware of the new book, Intensity. Thanks. I am waiting for it to go into paper.

 

[FicusFan]

I have some books I got from the start of July. I picked these up at local stores:

A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer, PB
Scardown by Elizabeth Bear, PB
The Bright Spot by Robert Sydney, PB

I am now at Readercon at picked this up in the Dealer's Room:

The Cherryh Odyssey, Edited by Edward Carmen, TP
A non-fiction book, but about the writing of CJ Cherryh

 

[Kleronomas]

Picked up secondhand based on the positive comments I've read here:

Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Endymion - Dan Simmons
The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton

 

[Ropie]

Because they were cheap at a boot-sale:

The Songs of Distant Earth by A C Clarke
Foundation parts 2 & 3 and Nightfall 1 by Asimov
Exiles on Asperus, three short-stories by John Wyndham

 

[emohawk]

Picked up secondhand based on the positive comments I've read here:

Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Endymion - Dan Simmons
The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton

I hope you've got The Fall of Hyperion too, otherwise you're going to need a late night rush to the bookstore when you finish Hyperion

 

[Kleronomas]

I hope you've got The Fall of Hyperion too, otherwise you're going to need a late night rush to the bookstore when you finish Hyperion

Yeah, I didn't realise until I checked out the series online that I ended up with books 1 and 3 and need to get 2 and 4. Hopefully it will be as you say when I finish Hyperion, and I'll be eager for the next.

 

[ArthurFrayn]

It's more like -Hyperion is half a book. You need The Fall of Hyperion to finish. The two are one complete novel, really.
You might have heard that one before, and I'm here to concur; it's not an exageration.

 

[FicusFan]

It's more like -Hyperion is half a book. You need The Fall of Hyperion to finish. The two are one complete novel, really.
You might have heard that one before, and I'm here to concur; it's not an exageration.

It is more than they are one novel. The first book ends before you get to any of the meat of the story listed in the blurb on the back of the first book. So in essence the first book ends before the story even starts. Very nasty piece of work. Don't know who is to blame author or publisher or both. In some places they actually sold them in one volume called Hyperion Cantos.

 

[ArthurFrayn]

Is this uncommon these days? Didn't they do the same thing with that fantasy novel Ash? It was broken into 4 or 5 books here in the States. In the UK it's just one giant book. Also people were saying the same thing about the Risen Empire books by Scott Westerfield...

I can forgive it in the case of the Hyperion books because those 2 books turned out to be quite the entertaining read.
Actually, I'm enjoying the whole thing- I'm in the middle of the Rise of the Endymion.

 

[Ropie]

The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolf (from a recommendation by Yobmod ) and The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

 

[FicusFan]

Is this uncommon these days? Didn't they do the same thing with that fantasy novel Ash? It was broken into 4 or 5 books here in the States. In the UK it's just one giant book. Also people were saying the same thing about the Risen Empire books by Scott Westerfield...

I can forgive it in the case of the Hyperion books because those 2 books turned out to be quite the entertaining read.
Actually, I'm enjoying the whole thing- I'm in the middle of the Rise of the Endymion.

It is common to break up books, but there is actual story in the separate sections, in the examples you cited. The blurb on the back of book1 talks about The Shrike and Time Tombs. Book one ends when they arrive at the planet where the time tombs are. It is like having a book sized prolog - not forgiveable.

 

[Kleronomas]

and The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien

Ah, I thought you looked like a man out after rabbits.



The splitting of novels into two is annoying. Luckily I buy mostly second hand so it's not such a hard pancake.

 

[Ropie]

Ah, I thought you looked like a man out after rabbits.

Have you read it? It's one book I can't wait to start; in fact it might have to jump the queue...

 

[Colonel Worf]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (finished it)
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (halfway through)
Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
Angelmass by Timothy Zahn
Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle
something something can't remember the title... whack me upside the head please.... arrrrggggh.

 

[Kleronomas]

Have you read it? It's one book I can't wait to start; in fact it might have to jump the queue...

Hi Ropie, I've read the book a couple of times, most recently about 12 months ago. It's a quick read, and I suspect my enjoyment of it is largely due to my close Irish ties. Some laugh out loud moments in a bizarre tale.

 

[Colonel Worf]

Ship of Strangers by Bob Shaw
Orion and the Conquerers by Ben Bova
There is No Darkness by Joe Haldeman & Jack C. Haldeman II

And, that's all for now.