Scifi/Fantasy Book Recs

[workswithseed 2087]

I wished I knew the Starship Troopers wasn't just a movie. I didn't know how political it was, and how they actually used mech suits instead of just a bit of armor.

If their is more books like it, is love to read it.

[Grippe 310]

3 hours ago, workswithseed said:

I wished I knew the Starship Troopers wasn't just a movie. I didn't know how political it was, and how they actually used mech suits instead of just a bit of armor.

If their is more books like it, is love to read it.

Popped your cherry eh?  Try these:

• The Forever War: Joe Haldeman
• Old Man's War: John Scalzi (it's a short series)

[workswithseed 2087]

Just now, Grippe said:

Popped your cherry eh?  Try these:

• The Forever War: Joe Haldeman
• Old Man's War: John Scalzi (it's a short series)

Yeah, just last week. Listened to it on audio at work. 

[Sam Lin 3550]

A nice tangent with mech suits and human story is All You Need Is Kill.

[NeverMarryAStripper 21867]

Just finished rereading Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.  I first read it in middle school and have read it a number of times since, but this is the first time in about 20 years.  It really is an amazing book that has held up well.

[Grippe 310]

Some other recommendations in the Sci-Fi vein that don't have as strong a statement/message but are still damn entertaining:

• We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
• Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos

[atomheartbevo 89618]

On 1/22/2019 at 2:16 AM, workswithseed said:

I wished I knew the Starship Troopers wasn't just a movie. I didn't know how political it was, and how they actually used mech suits instead of just a bit of armor.

If their is more books like it, is love to read it.

The book was better, and I would love to see some adaptations from somebody like AMC, Netflix, or HBO.  The mech suit could be done proper justice   

But loved the movie, not gonna lie.   There were some sequels and a decent animated series, but the movie had held up.   Helps they used a lot of practical effects.  

[demos 3002]

Cross posting from the other thread.

Picked this one up on a lark. Soviet era novel, billed as a mystery/detective novel. Fun read, definitely a bit of a twist at the end.

[Elmer_Fudd 22198]

Started Hyperion a couple days ago and about halfway through now.

[Grippe 310]

11 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Started Hyperion a couple days ago and about halfway through now.

Let us know what you think - responses tend to be very polar; love it or big time meh with very little in-between.

[Elmer_Fudd 22198]

On 3/23/2019 at 7:00 AM, Grippe said:

Let us know what you think - responses tend to be very polar; love it or big time meh with very little in-between.

I liked it.  Probably the first true Scifi book I've read since my bookshelf is full of fantasy/S. King/L. Child/classics/P. Benchley/ect.

Anyways, Shrike seems like a bad mofo even though his appearances are limited.  Backstory on the characters was interesting and the ending definately left me wanting to find out what happens next.

I plan on getting the 2nd book at some point.

[hornian 5210]

I read the whol Hyperion Cantos in December/January. 

I still sometimes think about Sol’s story. I also have a 6 month old, and when I was reading it she was younger (obviously), so thinking about doing that in reverse kind of got to me. There was a line in there that was something like “she smiled for the first - and last - time” that actually made me put the book down because it hit me hard. 

[MillerEP 30446]

Yeah, put me in the camp that didn't like it. I thought I would because it seems right up my alley, but nope, couldn't wait to get through it on to something else. Didn't even bother with the rest of the cantos. It was a while back that I tried to get through it, so I can't recall why I didn't like it, I just remember struggling to get myself through it. Maybe I should give it another shot at some point.

Edited March 31, 2019 by MillerEP

[Michael Knight 12976]

On 10/2/2018 at 8:35 PM, Chewbacca said:

On 10/2/2018 at 6:44 PM, atomheartbevo said:

What do you mean?  Amazon is trying to make it easy on us!

I'm on book 2. That's what i mean.

You have approximately 2 million pages to go 

[hornian 5210]

On 11/9/2018 at 10:25 AM, RoundRobin said:

I’ve read all of the Expanse novels and can’t wait for the next one to come out. Great series. 

Just read the 8th (Tiamat's Wrath) that came out last week.

Really liked it - I like that it tied in the 4th book (Cibola Burn) really well, and the time jump that seems almost jarring in the 7th book (~30 years) makes a lot more sense. 

Also, I have my theory for the true Big Bad that I assume the 9th and final book will address (see spoiler below):

Spoiler

I think the entities that killed the Protomolcule creators are made of antimatter - or live in a universe that is antimatter. The rings interact with the antimatter universe, and when the ships go dutchman, it is the entities in the antimatter universe are disturbed in some way. 

Finally, I'll say that if you haven't read book 8, go read the the short stories "Gods of Risk" and "Strange Dogs" before you do. It will help fill in some gaps and help understand some of the plot devices better. 

[TKthunder2 4985]

On 3/24/2019 at 10:34 PM, hornian said:

I read the whol Hyperion Cantos in December/January. 

I still sometimes think about Sol’s story. I also have a 6 month old, and when I was reading it she was younger (obviously), so thinking about doing that in reverse kind of got to me. There was a line in there that was something like “she smiled for the first - and last - time” that actually made me put the book down because it hit me hard. 

Same but my kid was about 18 months when I read that.  Side note, he said “later alligator “ the other day and really tripped me out.

Anyways, I enjoyed the first book but not the second and that’s a shame because I also enjoyed the Endymion books.

The second book really makes this hard for me to recommend to anyone.

[SimonBolivar 10957]

I have Persepolis Rising and Tiamat's Wrath left and then I'm going to be lost.

[Chewbacca 7766]

You have approximately 2 million pages to go 

On book 9 or 10. It's dragging. Can't wait to get to the Sanderson books.

[gyroprotagonist 2592]

there's a new one from Richard K Morgan called Thin Air .  It's not a Takeshi Kovac novel, but it's in that similar style.  I thought it was really good.

[Sam Lin 3550]

And The Times felt it was "Outstanding," so there's that.

(Loved the Altered Carbon books. Hear the show is pretty good as well.)

[RoundRobin 828]

I really liked the Takeshi Kovac novels. 13 and Market Forces were pretty good too. I’ll give the new one a try. 

 

 

[bamachine 1230]

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

[SilasCoade 2622]

51 minutes ago, bamachine said:

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Steven Brust.

[bamachine 1230]

1 hour ago, Llogg said:

Steven Brust.

Thanks. Looked into the Vlad series and it seems like a good one, so just ordered the first book.

[SilasCoade 2622]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaavren_Romances

My favorites. That and Agyar as a stand alone novel.

[Modessit 5598]

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Some of Alan Dean Foster's books are good like that - like Glory Lane.

And it's hard to find, but Illegal Aliens by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio was very enjoyable when I read it long ago.

[SilasCoade 2622]

If you're feeling meta, the Thursday Next books can be fun, but they can also come across as very pedantic if you're not in the mood to think that hard. 

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/ThursdayNext?from=Literature.TheEyreAffair

[Grippe 310]

14 hours ago, bamachine said:

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Redshirts.

[Viper 12097]

Ted Chiang, author of Stories of Your Life and Others (what the movie Arrival was based on), has a new short story collection out: Exhalation: Stories.

[rage-a-holic 4371]

On 5/5/2019 at 5:32 PM, bamachine said:

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Jim Butcher - Dresden Files

Charles Stross - Laundry Files

David Wong - *any*

Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus series

Scott Lynch - Gentleman Bastard series

Wild Cards series

[MillerEP 30446]

On 5/5/2019 at 5:32 PM, bamachine said:

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Expeditionary Force series (SciFi) - Craig Alanson

Magic 2.0 Series (Fantasy) - Scott Meyer

[TKthunder2 4985]

On 5/7/2019 at 7:43 PM, MillerEP said:

Magic 2.0 Series (Fantasy) - Scott Meyer

I would say it’s a sci fi / fantasy crossover, but either way they are entertaining.  It’s nice to take a break from some of the more serious books and pickup one of these when they come out.

Another one that reads that kind of like the Magic 2.0 series is the Swords, Spells and Stealth series by Drew Hayes (first book is titled ‘NPC’).  It’s based on D&D like games but I never played any of those and still enjoyed them.

[Bateshorn 9927]

I'm halfway through Obelisk Gate by NK Jameson, it's the second book in the Broken Earth series and it's damn good. Highly recommend the Fifth Season.

[SimonBolivar 10957]

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

[Modessit 5598]

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Did you start with the Newspring prequel?

[SimonBolivar 10957]

26 minutes ago, Modessit said:

5 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

Did you start with the Newspring prequel?

No I did not

[Chewbacca 7766]

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

It sucks you in early. You're hooked before it starts dragging.

[RoundRobin 828]

Only 20,000 pages to go. 

[Modessit 5598]

It sucks you in early. You're hooked before it starts dragging.

It was alright. I would sometimes get mad that I'd get interested in a character's storyline and then he'd go an entire book without even mentioning it while telling you what some other character was doing during the last book. I was much more interested in Mat and Egwene's stories.

[TKthunder2 4985]

On 5/16/2019 at 10:47 AM, SimonBolivar said:

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

You’re going to hate yourself around book 9 but the last books are worth it.

[High Plains Drifter 11024]

If you like freaky shit:

 

Futuristic crime noir.

[Michael Knight 12976]

Surprised no one's mentioned three body problem,  it's not bad... if you like chinamen

[Apep 645]

On 5/16/2019 at 7:04 PM, Chewbacca said:

On 5/16/2019 at 10:47 AM, SimonBolivar said:

40 pages into Wheel of Time series...this seems like a terrible idea, but I'm enjoying it so far.

It sucks you in early. You're hooked before it starts dragging.

How does it hook you before page 1?

[SilasCoade 2622]

3 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

Surprised no one's mentioned three body problem,  it's not bad... if you like chinamen

I heard great things about it but did not like it at all.

[Grippe 310]

8 hours ago, Llogg said:

I heard great things about it but did not like it at all.

Same - not worth the $ imo.

[BTW 370]

I loved the three body trilogy, so I guess to each their own.

I just finished "The Prefect" by Alistair Reynolds.  Pretty good read, but:

Spoiler

I didn't like the way it ended at all.  It felt very abrupt and I was unsatisfied with the lack of resolution on some of the major conflicts

 

[SilasCoade 2622]

52 minutes ago, BTW said:

I loved the three body trilogy, so I guess to each their own.

I just finished "The Prefect" by Alistair Reynolds.  Pretty good read, but:

  Hide contents

I didn't like the way it ended at all.  It felt very abrupt and I was unsatisfied with the lack of resolution on some of the major conflicts

 

Haha we are total opposites, I guess. I loved the prefect. The whole revelation space universe stories are great.

[Sam Lin 3550]

On 5/30/2019 at 12:22 PM, BTW said:

I loved the three body trilogy, so I guess to each their own.

I loved it as well. Really liked the human aspect of the plot, the physics is actually passably "correct" according to some physicist friends, and it's a nice mix of hard science with politics.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

On 5/3/2019 at 7:06 PM, Sam Lin said:

And The Times felt it was "Outstanding," so there's that.

(Loved the Altered Carbon books. Hear the show is pretty good as well.)

I think the TV show was very solid, but it did differ here and there, simply because of trying to make it “approachable” by the masses.   The cast was great, and looking forward to the next season.   Effects and production values were extremely high.  

[atomheartbevo 89618]

On 5/5/2019 at 5:32 PM, bamachine said:

Question for the masses. I am looking for some new sci-fi or fantasy humor. Keep in mind that I have read(mostly own) everything written by the following authors. Pratchett, Gaiman, Douglas Adams, Asprin, Piers Anthony, Donaldson, Brooks(Landover series). 

Others mentioned a hunch that should keep you busy, but if you get bored/stuck, grab a Kindle Unlimited subscription - there’s a shit-ton of a I-if and fantasy on it.  A lot is crap, but it’s easy enough to filter out.