📚 The book lovers thread
-
-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SpaceMan-Post-Apocalyptic-Thriller-Chronicles-Book-ebook/dp/B01G66UO1G/
This wasn't God awful but I'm glad I didn't buy it. Some how there is a sequel coming out next month. I'll probably read it if its on kindle unlimited and nothing else jumps out at me. If I didn't have the kindle unlimited stipulation I probably wouldn't of bothered.
-
https://www.amazon.com/Babylons-Ashes-Expanse-James-Corey/dp/031633474X
Just finished this one. It was a bit slow to get started but a good addition to the series.
NB: The book actually isn't about MS Word markup.
-
@boomzilla said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
NB: The book actually isn't about MS Word markup.
-
Finished this one:
It was very well thought and has a clever world-building, plot twists and is dark!
Would make for a great SciFi series IMO, great imagery. You will see the spaceships with your eyes closed.
-
@boomzilla Went directly to my list. How was the first book "Leviathan Wakes"?
-
@dse said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
@boomzilla Went directly to my list. How was the first book "Leviathan Wakes"?
I loved it. We watched the SyFy "The Expanse" series last winter and then started reading the books. You really have to start at the beginning of the series or it won't make sense.
-
Finished the 3rd part of The Three Body Problem:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death's_End
Not as great as the previous two, but still worth it.
-
@djls45 said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
- I also have read/am reading the works by Wildbow:
Worm is about a girl who gains the super-power of controlling bugs in her vicinity.
Gah! A friend recommended Worm and I read through it, but it was horrible!
The basic premise starts out interesting enough: a girl who gains super-powers tries to join up with a team of heroes, then discovers a bit too late that they're actually a team of villains and she's kind of stuck on the wrong side, and she tries to make the best of it. That was a worthwhile story! But then an unstoppable monster invades their city and the whole story takes a turn for the grimdark, from which it never recovers. Each new arc seems to try to one-up the last in terms of how ridiculously traumatic we can make her experience and how much further we can drag the basic ideas behind superheroes though the mud.
Because this is a superhero story, it ends with a massive apocalyptic climax... which might have actually been cool had it not been utterly incoherent. The second-to-last arc is a big infiltration through some massive evil-bad-guy-except-they're-kinda-maybe-good-ish-guys fortress, and there are so many things going on, involving so many groups, that you completely lose track of who's doing what, who's where, who's fighting who and why, etc. But eventually they manage to obtain the MacGuffin they're looking for, and proceed on to the final battle, which they manage to win by magically introducing a totally new superpower at the last second, violating the heck out of well-established in-universe rules, and stomping all over all three of Sanderson's Laws of Magic worse than anything I've seen since The Sword of Truth. It really felt like one of those thing where the author got tired and just wanted to bring the story to an end somehow, and vomited out whatever concepts first came to mind regardless of the ridiculously high TDEMSYR factor.
Not to mention how many times, all throughout the story from beginning to end, ridiculous bug-related concepts end up stomping all over suspension of disbelief. I can suspend my disbelief for superpowers, because it's a story about people with superpowers. It's a lot harder to suspend for bugs crawling all over someone but somehow they're not able to feel them or notice them at all! Or for super-strong miracle spidersilk that's powerful enough to move heavy objects around but so small that no one sees it. (Ever notice how easy it is to spot a single strand of spider silk while you're walking, because you're almost guaranteed to reach some point at which the light refracts off it just right that it stands out? Apparently that simply doesn't happen in this world.)
So... yeah. I would definitely not recommend Worm. Lots of potential, but completely fails in the execution.
- I also have read/am reading the works by Wildbow:
-
@masonwheeler I agree. I think it followed the "escalation to doomsday" pattern of superhero story, despite the setting being rich enough that it didn't need it. But I guess Wildbow had the idea for the ending that he wanted, so a long-running episodic type of story wasn't his goal. It did seem to get rushed as it neared the end.
-
https://www.amazon.com/Norse-Mythology-Neil-Gaiman/dp/039360909X
This is categorized as historical fiction! Nope, it is fantasy and a great one at that. Ancient mythology rewritten for modern fantasy readers. All the stories selected are grey and intriguing with twists and turns, and at the same time humorous and funny. The fact that those stories are related, makes it more coherent as a collection.
I wonder if Neil Gaiman can even write a bad book. Just wish it was longer.
-
@dse I've had that one on my wishlist for a while, might get it before I finish reading everything Brandon Sanderson's written.
Oh, and there's a new Robin Hobb book on the way, and another Michael G Manning in a few months. I'm going to be busy
-
@Jaloopa said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
there's a new Robin Hobb book on the way
Oh! I should go pre-order it...
TIL what the message you get when you try to pre-order a book you preordered over a year ago looks like
-
@Yamikuronue "We see you've already pre-ordered this book, but you're such a nice person, we'll sell you two copies?" maybe?
-
Finished another book from Michael J. Sullivan:
https://www.amazon.com/Age-Myth-Legends-First-Empire/dp/1101965339
Overall it was better (read, less boring) than the previous one:
But I think I will have to pass on future books. Too YA, and Game-y. He claims he writes the entire novel, then releases them one book at a time, and that it helps him come up with a cohesive narrative as a whole novel.
It is boring to read random side-stories that have nothing to do with the current story-line. Maybe the author is planting these Easter eggs in the 1st book while he is writing the 3rd book, just to make the overall plot look smart after reading the trilogy.
-
Just finished this:
It reminds me of Blade Runner or Minority Report; it started as a short story, so it spends about five minutes on "here's the dystopian world" before you get into "now let's wreck this guy's day" and it never stops moving after that. There's also no Dick-esque "and then everyone takes acid, the end" kind of twist; there's twists, but they make sense, and they propel the action forward.
Also recently finished this:
It's very Firefly. Not like, "fanfic with the serial numbers filed off" Firefly, but like the essence of it, the spirit of Firefly. And it's not cancelled. I will probably pick up the next mission pack when I get through my backlog of shit I already bought.
-
Free book, Brandon Sanderson: The Way of Kings
expires soon thoughhttp://www.tor.com/2017/03/20/march-2017-free-download-way-of-kings/
-
@homoBalkanus Niiiice!
-
@homoBalkanus Huh, USA and Canada only.
Oh well.
-
@dse I accidentally started 2 trilogies in, and that part at least is quite cool.
-
@JBert said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
@homoBalkanus Huh, USA and Canada only.
Oh well.
the only check they do is to ask you to select between Canada and US before giving you the download link.
-
Tried Wild Wastes by Randi Darren because it starts out interesting and has good reviews.
Ugh. Beyond the absolutely atrocious editing, or lack thereof, the book features a ridiculous series of world change triggers, an increasingly bizarre hand-waves for making the protagonist increasingly OP, and an ever-increasing set of females demanding to have sex with him.
The main character is written as a real person in an apocalypse, and will not make choices that line up with society and cultural norms.
Yeah, he basically abandons his norms for those of another race, but he doesn't feel like a real person at all.
-
After enjoying the previous book by Lyndsay Faye:
https://www.amazon.com/Dust-Shadow-Account-Ripper-Killings/dp/1416583319/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
A lot! I did not wait to get the second one:
https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Art-Detection-Mysteries-Sherlock/dp/0802125921
It is a good read all in all if you are a fan, but "dust and shadow" was certainly more well-thought and written of the two.
-
@pydsigner said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
Ugh. Beyond the absolutely atrocious editing, or lack thereof, the book features a ridiculous series of world change triggers, an increasingly bizarre hand-waves for making the protagonist increasingly OP, and an ever-increasing set of females demanding to have sex with him.
That blurb makes the novel seem like complete fanfiction level garbage. Glad to see I was right.
-
Looks like Tor decided to give away more books.
Stalinist house elves
That should be fun
-
My wife has expressed an interest in learning more about the history of the Middle East, specifically the events that led to the current issues there (carving up of the Ottoman Empire etc.). I'd like to get her a book that covers it well for a beginner.
I know there's some history buffs contributing to this thread, any suggestions?
-
I started reading Lovecraft's complete works a while back. (hence the references I've been making to Cthulhu, Yog Soggoth etc. in various threads). The language and writing style definitely take a while to key yourself into, and it's got a bit of Seinfeld Isn't Funny to it after so many other horror works have taken the ideas, mythos and often style, but there are some good stories in there. Nothing properly terrifying, several good ideas that have stood the test of time
-
@masonwheeler said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
The Sword of Truth
Don't remind me. A series that involved so much ridiculous ass-pulling deus ex machina BS in place of plot that I eventually threw one of the books across the room in frustration.
-
Here is a book about the evil IT perfect for @blakeyrat
The downside is that the plot is shallow, and the pace of story is slow as fucking snails in slow motion.
-
Did any of you suggest The Bobiverse?
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Legion-Bob-Bobiverse-Book-ebook/dp/B01LWAESYQ
If you did, I owe you a beer! It was great, so much that I may read it again (maybe in 10 years).
The story is original, thrilling and funny. What is most important for me is I could not find glaring bugs, once you accept wrap-drives (and faster than light communications) there is no more non-sense (yet in book 2).
-
@dse There's FTL scanners and communications, but AFAIR no warp drives. Being restricted to moving at sublight speed is a major source of dramatic tension.
-
If you are interested in action-packed Sci-Fi with a good storytelling this book is perfect for you
Fortunately the second book does not spoil the story and continues to surprise with plot twists
The theme is very much like The Hunger Games. Clash of the classes, this time with colors instead of the districts.
-
I like fantasy books more than SciFi, but occasionally try a good SciFi with good reviews if the story is not all space wars.
The first book was certainly good, with enough suspense and originality. Certainly recommended for Star Wars fans
-
Recently found and enjoyed this:
Set in a fantasy world where investors and corporate interests finance adventuring parties in return for shares of the loot, loot is beginning to dry up, putting the entire Kingdom's economy at risk. Meanwhile a priceless cultural treasure has gone missing, causing tensions to rise between Orcs and Elves. A ridiculously dysfunctional adventuring party is assembled to find and return the treasure to its rightful owner... and then things get worse.
-
@masonwheeler a fantasy book that makes sense (no bugs). Purchased. Will come here and thank/curse you once done :--)
First have to finish a few others. One is this:
The other is
http://expanse.wikia.com/wiki/Caliban's_War
So you may expect the gratitude/cursing in some distant future
-
@dse said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
Did any of you suggest The Bobiverse?
If you did, I owe you a beer! It was great, so much that I may read it again (maybe in 10 years).
The story is original, thrilling and funny. What is most important for me is I could not find glaring bugs, once you accept wrap-drives (and faster than light communications) there is no more non-sense (yet in book 2).
I think that might have been me.
THERE'S A THIRD ONE IN A COUPLE DAYS!!!!!!
-
@masonwheeler said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
Recently found and enjoyed this:
Set in a fantasy world where investors and corporate interests finance adventuring parties in return for shares of the loot, loot is beginning to dry up, putting the entire Kingdom's economy at risk. Meanwhile a priceless cultural treasure has gone missing, causing tensions to rise between Orcs and Elves. A ridiculously dysfunctional adventuring party is assembled to find and return the treasure to its rightful owner... and then things get worse.
Audible has been pitching this at me. I don't usually do fantasy-flavored fantasy, but.... Eh. Maybe.
-
@weng said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
I think that might have been me.
THERE'S A THIRD ONE IN A COUPLE DAYS!!!!!!Let me know if you come here to Seattle, or PM me an address for the :--)
-
@dse You're from Seattle? We'll have to meet up when I go home over the holidays. :)
-
@masonwheeler I moved here little over a year ago. It is the 4th state in US I have called a place home, in 12 years. Yup lets do a meetup here :--)
-
@weng said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
THERE'S A THIRD ONE IN A COUPLE DAYS!!!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUCH EXCITE!
MANY ANTICIPATION!
-
@accalia said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
@weng said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
THERE'S A THIRD ONE IN A COUPLE DAYS!!!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUCH EXCITE!
MANY ANTICIPATION!
YAAAS
-
@weng said in 📚 The book lovers thread:
THERE'S A THIRD ONE IN A COUPLE DAYS!!!!!!
WHEN THE FUCK is the next DRESDEN FILES coming out?!
UGH.
-
@heterodox I think it's a fantasy thing. I'm waiting for Dresden, Kingkiller, and SoIaF, none of which have release dates yet. I'm sure the first two will be worth waiting for though. (At this point I just want closure on SoIaF, really gone off that series.)
-
@carrievs I'm waiting on Oathbringer. It comes out in November. :D
-
@masonwheeler I still have plenty of Sanderson backlog to go. I've read the Mistborn trilogy, Elantris, the Emporor's Soul and Warbreaker, and I'm halfway through the second Mistborn trilogy.
I think it was you who originally recommended him, so thanks for filling out my reading list this year
-
@masonwheeler I've only just started Stormlight. Hoping to get Way of Kings part 2 for my birthday this Sunday, if not will buy it.
I've read the Mistborn trilogy and loved it (also hoping for The Alloy of Law on Sunday. The vast majority of my birthday list consisted of fantasy novels, this year) so decided to check out the rest of Sanderson's work. I didn't like Way of Kings part 1 quite as much as Mistborn, but it's pretty good.
-
@carrievs Are you living in a part of the world where the Stormlight books are being broken up and sold in multiple parts? I know Brandon said on Writing Excuses that that happens in some places because they're so big.
-
@masonwheeler 'twould appear to be the case, for the paperbacks at least.
I'm in the UK. I haven't looked at the later ones but I bought Way of Kings from Amazon and only realised after it arrived that it was "part 1". But since that was a decently sized doorstep by itself I didn't feel particularly ripped off, and the "ending" seemed to be at a reasonable point.
-
@carrievs All right. The true end of the book comes after a climactic battle at the dreaded plateau known as The Tower, in which Syl discovers and reveals an important piece of knowledge about herself to Kaladin, and there's a major change in the relationship between Sadeas and Dalinar. And it ends with Wit giving a truly awesome soliloquy about what men value most, concluded with a chilling bit of foreshadowing...