Mudcrush Durtfeet
Hungry Ogre
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The Sci-Fi Book Thread
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Guest, it's time once again for the massively important and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!
Go here and give us your nominations!Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Give us your worst ones!
B-Biscuit
Bronze Knight of the Realm
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I haven't finished a book in about 6 years. I'd like to pick something up. Used to read a lot in high school but sci-fi has been something I've grown to like post high school.
Any recommendations on something preferably with some humor wrapped in it?
Any recommendations on something preferably with some humor wrapped in it?
Sci-fi humor isn't all that common. Um, Redshirts by Scalzi and Wilful Child by Steven Erikson spring to mind. Can't really think of anything else offhand.
Looking at Calibre tags in my library, some people have some very strange ideas about what humor is - 'We Are Legion ( We are Bob )' has some very light absurdist humor, but I liked it a lot, so may as well throw it out there. Hmm, 'Touched by an Alien' counts as well I guess, it's a very chick kind of book though.
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B-Biscuit
Bronze Knight of the Realm
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Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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I have just reached the 51% mark on the Goodread's 2017 Reading Challenge. 38 books out of 75 originally planned, less than 4 months in the year.
I just finished Ancient Ruins by Benjamin Medrano, which is yet another "dungeon keeper" type book (I'm really a sucker for those). Enjoyed it a bit less than the other series in the same vein; I'd rate it for now at 2nd (order of preference would be The Divine Dungeon, Ancient Dreams and last The Slime Dungeon Chronicles). The advantage is that it's planned as a trilogy outright, rather than the open-ended format the other two authors seem to have adopted. The problem is that the author is relatively "juvenile" (the author presentation at the end where he starts by saying he's slightly autistic turned me off instantly). I hope the story for the 2nd books will be less bogged with sex fantasies and hangups and more good conflict, or I'd swap the last two.
Now going to read the latest from Christopher Nuttall, which is an independent author I like a lot. All of his sci-fi and fantasy series are good reading.
I just finished Ancient Ruins by Benjamin Medrano, which is yet another "dungeon keeper" type book (I'm really a sucker for those). Enjoyed it a bit less than the other series in the same vein; I'd rate it for now at 2nd (order of preference would be The Divine Dungeon, Ancient Dreams and last The Slime Dungeon Chronicles). The advantage is that it's planned as a trilogy outright, rather than the open-ended format the other two authors seem to have adopted. The problem is that the author is relatively "juvenile" (the author presentation at the end where he starts by saying he's slightly autistic turned me off instantly). I hope the story for the 2nd books will be less bogged with sex fantasies and hangups and more good conflict, or I'd swap the last two.
Now going to read the latest from Christopher Nuttall, which is an independent author I like a lot. All of his sci-fi and fantasy series are good reading.
i've been reading a lot of litrpg stuff on KU (kindle unlimited) lately.
also found royalroadl.com and a few of the books i read on KU had the next in the series books there, as well as some excellent other unpublished stories.
for scifi ui've read recently- the sculpted ship
a long way to a small angry planet
fourth fleet irregulars
also found royalroadl.com and a few of the books i read on KU had the next in the series books there, as well as some excellent other unpublished stories.
for scifi ui've read recently- the sculpted ship
a long way to a small angry planet
fourth fleet irregulars
Daelos
Guarding the guardians
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My turn to do a couple of recommendations:
"The Bobiverse" series by Dennis Taylor starts with We Are Legion. Robert (Bob) is a regular guy living in 2015 (?) when he is suddenly hit by a car. Fortunately, he's signed up for cryostorage and his head is frozen as he dies - and he is resurrected. Unfortunately, in the intervening 100 years, his brain has been sold to a company that just wants to do a restore into computer hardware. Bob wakes up as a computer, tasked with captaining an exploration space vessel.
Really enjoyed it. Easy read.
2 books are out. 3rd is out in a week.
The Outland, also by Dennis Taylor: Group of geeks make an alternate-Universe-portal in their garage, and go exploring a pristine, virgin version of Earth just as disaster strikes this one. It was self published, and it shines through. But I enjoyed it.
(And I just noticed I wasn't the first to mention Bobiverse:
"The Bobiverse" series by Dennis Taylor starts with We Are Legion. Robert (Bob) is a regular guy living in 2015 (?) when he is suddenly hit by a car. Fortunately, he's signed up for cryostorage and his head is frozen as he dies - and he is resurrected. Unfortunately, in the intervening 100 years, his brain has been sold to a company that just wants to do a restore into computer hardware. Bob wakes up as a computer, tasked with captaining an exploration space vessel.
Really enjoyed it. Easy read.
2 books are out. 3rd is out in a week.
The Outland, also by Dennis Taylor: Group of geeks make an alternate-Universe-portal in their garage, and go exploring a pristine, virgin version of Earth just as disaster strikes this one. It was self published, and it shines through. But I enjoyed it.
(And I just noticed I wasn't the first to mention Bobiverse:
)
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Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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Yup. I had skipped on it when Amazon put it on my recommendations, but went back when recommended here. Didn't regret it. Not sure I'll read the 3rd book as soon as it comes out, because I have currently a hefty backlog...(And I just noticed I wasn't the first to mention Bobiverse
(on the other hand, I'm on track to beat the "75 books read" reading challenge for 2017 on goodreads by mid-september)
khorum
Murder Apologist
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Finished Alastair Reynold's Revenger recently. Easily his best book since the first couple Revelation Space novels.
It's an interesting take on a far-future human civilization in a Dyson Swarm. The characters live in a time that they reckon as the "Thirteenth Occupation" of their Dyson Swarm, a cloud of hundreds of millions of habitats around the Old Sun. Each previous occupation was a Carter Catastrophe type "rise and fall" of a human civilization each spanning anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to several million.
Seems like he's spinning it up to be his next series.
It's an interesting take on a far-future human civilization in a Dyson Swarm. The characters live in a time that they reckon as the "Thirteenth Occupation" of their Dyson Swarm, a cloud of hundreds of millions of habitats around the Old Sun. Each previous occupation was a Carter Catastrophe type "rise and fall" of a human civilization each spanning anywhere from hundreds of thousands of years to several million.
Seems like he's spinning it up to be his next series.
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Enzee
Trakanon Raider
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Posted this in the Altered Carbon thread, and realized I should ask here too.
"So, I read the Kovach books, and they are some of my favorites ever. I realize they might not be the best 'writing' ever, but I love the hardcore sci fi, high technology, cyberpunk style.. and these were the best I'd read since Neuromancer (my favorite) to scratch that itch. Other 'cyberpunk' genre stuff isn't always set in a far future with advanced tech. Like, tech that is almost magic with how advanced it is. "
To expand on what I mean. I don't mind if the writing is a little 'cheesy' or something. Don't necessarily care if it's a masterpiece of literary skills, long as it's entertaining. My favorite aspects of Neuromancer were the future tech, not just the virtual reality aspect of their 'internet', but how people can be genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced, etc.. Altered Carbon and the two other books were great for this as well.
I used to think I liked 'cyberpunk' but I've read a bunch of other books in that genre, and while good, many were set in a near future instead. None were even a pale imitation of Neuromancer's setting until Altered Carbon.
I even looked into the shadowrun series of books, the setting looked exactly like what I wanted, but I lost interest in the first one I got in ebook form "Never Trust a Dragon". Dunno why, maybe the writing was just too weak, or I didn't get far enough to get hooked.
Anyway, hoping there's some suggestions from you guys that I may have missed.
"So, I read the Kovach books, and they are some of my favorites ever. I realize they might not be the best 'writing' ever, but I love the hardcore sci fi, high technology, cyberpunk style.. and these were the best I'd read since Neuromancer (my favorite) to scratch that itch. Other 'cyberpunk' genre stuff isn't always set in a far future with advanced tech. Like, tech that is almost magic with how advanced it is. "
To expand on what I mean. I don't mind if the writing is a little 'cheesy' or something. Don't necessarily care if it's a masterpiece of literary skills, long as it's entertaining. My favorite aspects of Neuromancer were the future tech, not just the virtual reality aspect of their 'internet', but how people can be genetically altered, cybernetically enhanced, etc.. Altered Carbon and the two other books were great for this as well.
I used to think I liked 'cyberpunk' but I've read a bunch of other books in that genre, and while good, many were set in a near future instead. None were even a pale imitation of Neuromancer's setting until Altered Carbon.
I even looked into the shadowrun series of books, the setting looked exactly like what I wanted, but I lost interest in the first one I got in ebook form "Never Trust a Dragon". Dunno why, maybe the writing was just too weak, or I didn't get far enough to get hooked.
Anyway, hoping there's some suggestions from you guys that I may have missed.
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I love William Gibson, pretty much everything he has wrote. He is the father of cyber punk in every way.
Read Neuromancer first, if you like it I would finish the trilogy. I would also try out The Peripheral from him after that. It is completely different from his other stuff. He has another trilogy that ties into the Sprawl (Neuromancer is book1) trilogy called the Bridge trilogy. If you liked Sprawl you will probably like Bridge as well.
Enzee
Trakanon Raider
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huh? I said Neuromancer is my favorite book of all time.
I've read all that, The Blue Ant and Bridge trilogies. Bridge was good, but it's like halfway between the tech of Neuromancer and current day. I want more Neuromancer level stuf (and when I say neuromancer, I really mean the whole Sprawl trilogy.)
I've read almost everything he's written as well, think there's one or two I've not gotten to, and I do enjoy all those other books. They just aren't my all time 'favorite' like the Sprawl trilogy.
edit: Although I didn't know about Peripheral, so I will keep that on my radar.
DAMN MY EYES
It's not quite cyberpunk but Reamde by Neal Stephenson is good if you haven't read it.
Enzee
Trakanon Raider
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I have read other stephenson stuff, snow crash and diamond age, but not that one. He wasnt bad, tho diamond age takes awhile to get going and then falls off a cliff in craziness, but like i said its not specifically 'cyberpunk' that i like. I used to think thats what it was, but there are quite a few books in the genre that ive read and didnt like, or only liked a little bit. I like the advanced technology stuff.
Anything set in 'current day' is unlikely to be what im really looking for, unless its an alternate reality of some kind with advanced technology. Not that i dont also enjoy those books when they are good, just want to find certain things first.
Anything set in 'current day' is unlikely to be what im really looking for, unless its an alternate reality of some kind with advanced technology. Not that i dont also enjoy those books when they are good, just want to find certain things first.
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Try out his new book D.O.D.O. then because it's definitely a mix between technology and umm witchcraft in <current year>.
I haven't read any other cyberpunk though because Gibson, Richard Morgan and Neal Stephenson are all I need in my life!!
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Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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Shadowrun was cheesy; the series were ordered as a pump for the game. The original trilogy, then more and more moderately formulaic stuff.
(I'm ashamed that I've got pretty much the entire run still at home)
Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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Enzee
Trakanon Raider
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yea, and I figured it would be.. but that doesn't necessarily mean I can't enjoy it. Next to Sprawl/Kovachs trilogies, some of my favorite stuff is heavy magic based fantasy, such as the Elminster books, which are kind of cheesey. So, It looked like a cheesey version of the Neuromancer/Sprawl world (megacorps and cyberspace) with actual magic thrown in.. which is basically everything I want in a fiction book