HowSerendipitous wrote:

happyguy142 wrote:I'm currently reading the Saga of Seven suns and anxiously awaiting the next Dresden Files book....which isn't coming out till December

I liked the Saga of the Seven Suns. Maybe I should read those again....

Also: How David Weber orders pizza.....

Hilarious. And pretty accurate, too.

Okay, so this is my first post after months of reading However! I would have to say that as a science fiction nut, I would recommend the BlackCollar trilogy by Timothy Zahn as well as the Conquerer's Trilogy (same author). Different author: Ian Douglas, anything he has written. Finally, there is something that I think Josh might like if he ever has free time: Omnitopia Dawn. It has a similar feel to what he writes when he gets excited about what he has created. It's by Diane Duane. I think it is part of a series, but I have not read any of the others.

I liked the Conqueror's series, it was yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaars ago when I read it.

Sadly, Swords and Dark Magic contained a short story set on Majipoor.... Which has inspired me to read Lord Valentine's Castle. Again. And the rest. Yeah, that'll be a few months of work!

For the fantasy fans, "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R. R. Martin. Currently waiting for the next book in the series...
Also "The Malazan Book Of The Fallen" by Steven Erikson. Maybe not quite as good storytelling as "A Song of Ice and Fire", but still worth reading.

On the science fiction side, try Peter Watts. Most of his older writing is available from his website http://www.rifters.com/ under a Creative Commons license.

Now that Rabiator has mentioned fantasy, I'd like to recommend The Belgarian and The Malloreon by David Eddings. There are five books in each series and the second one takes up the story line a few years after the first one ends. And to dig back a few years, there are a few stand alone science fiction novels by a several authors, some of you may never have heard of. You may be familiar with Gordon R. Dickson. One of his works from 1977 is titled Time Storm. And from the same year by the authors Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin is a book set in the distant future called The Masters of Solitude. Then in the late fifties, a novel written by Pat Frank titled Alas Babylon. All excellent reads IMHO!

"You" by Austin Grossman is a smart, irreverent and witty look at the culture of video games from garage hobby to mainstream industry. As someone involved in the 'business" Grossman knows his subject inside and out. Forget the promotional blurbs about this book, however, as it is most certainly neither a mystery nor an in-depth look at the development of video games. What 'You" is - and yes the author does work the word over thoroughly - is a wry character study by way of a wistful coming-of-age story.

The protagonist is part of the first generation that grew up with home computers. He is a self professed loser, nearing a breakdown, whose failure at 'normalcy' has led him to fall back on the childhood connections he has tried to escape.

Because it is highly accessible and an easy read, some might find the book superficial and disjointed. In fact it is nothing of the sort. While it is not exactly stream of consciousness, the book's structure follows and reflects the perceptions as well as the emotional and mental state of its main character.

Grossman could have taken the easy way out and about a quarter of the way in he could have veered toward a rather fantastical if now somewhat cliched plot development. I rather not say more and potentially spoil someone's joy of discovery, so let's just say that the author stays true to his characters and keeps the novel firmly grounded in its setting. Some may find the lack of a traditional climax deflating but in my estimation the ending felt right. For what it's worth, I suspect that much like Grossman's "I Will Soon Be Invincible" "You" was designed to be part of a series.

I give this book an enthusiastic recommendation, though I should add that there are personal reasons beyond simple nostalgia for why it resonated so deeply with me.

Wow, I'm shocked and dismayed that Ian M. Banks hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet! His books about the Culture are pretty phenomenal in my opinion. His non-sci-fi stuff is supposed to be very good as well; I recently read The Wasp Factory which was well written and, well, different (in a good way). Unfortunately, he has (edit: now died from) cancer

Another author, probably my all time favourite, which hasn't been mentioned yet is Terry Pratchett. He writes seriously good fantasy books based on the Discworld, which is a flat disc balanced upon the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle called Great A'Tuin. It sounds random as hell but the world that Pratchett has built up over the past 40 years or so is rich in detail, full of interesting and amusing characters, and results in a complex mix of humour, satire, parody, philosophy, and great fiction... He's also written a couple of sci-fi books, and numerous non-Discworld fiction such as 'Nation' and 'The Long Earth' which ranks as one of my favourite books.

The last author I shall mention in detail is a bloke called Patrick Rothfuss who is two books ('The Name of the Wind' and 'The Wise Man's Fear') into his King KIller trilogy. If you're a fan of Tolkien or other authors who write vast, epic fantasy books you really, really need to check his books out. Full of originality and masterfully written. He also has a highly entertaining blog and is involved with some of the stuff Felicia Day does.

Other favourites include Peter F. Hamilton, Azimov, and George R.R. Martin.

Katawa wrote:I highly recommend The Prince of Nothing series and its follow up series The Aspect Emperor, by R. Scott Bakker.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Darkness-Th ... 1841494089

If that doesn't interest you, The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is always awesome.
The Stand, is also an amazing good Stephen King book.

If you're in a sci-fi mood there's the Ringworld series and the Ringworld prequel series, and many other books of Larry Niven's Known Space universe. It tends to be a bit more hard-scifi than many series.

Thank you for this, I bought this book on your recommendation of The Darkness that comes before and have been blown away. I have just started the second book. If you haven't read it already, might I recommend Steven Eriksons 'Malazan book of The Fallen'? I found his writing to be very intelligent, witty and engaging. I love the digression from more classic fantasy archetypes. Thank you again

I enjoyed the first few Malazan books, but after the fourth one (House of Chains?) I thought they started to go downhill and I gave up on Dust of Dreams.

Anyone read the Black Company? I read a short story recently and it intrigued me! I like the style.

Tom wrote:"You" by Austin Grossman is a smart, irreverent and witty look at the culture of video games from garage hobby to mainstream industry. <snip>

I haven't read "You", but I have read "Soon I Will Be Invincible", Grossman's first novel (circa 2007), and i found it to be a great read. It's about superheroes and villians, and deconstructs common tropes in new and exciting ways. I recommend it.

HowSerendipitous wrote:I enjoyed the first few Malazan books, but after the fourth one (House of Chains?) I thought they started to go downhill and I gave up on Dust of Dreams.

Anyone read the Black Company? I read a short story recently and it intrigued me! I like the style.

Malazan does slow down a bit, but, like the wheel of time, it picks up again, excellent finish. I very much enjoyed the black company also, well written, not as descriptive as some, but well worth the read.

Tom wrote:"You" by Austin Grossman is a smart, irreverent and witty look at the culture of video games from garage hobby to mainstream industry. As someone involved in the 'business" Grossman knows his subject inside and out. Forget the promotional blurbs about this book, however, as it is most certainly neither a mystery nor an in-depth look at the development of video games. What 'You" is - and yes the author does work the word over thoroughly - is a wry character study by way of a wistful coming-of-age story.

The protagonist is part of the first generation that grew up with home computers. He is a self professed loser, nearing a breakdown, whose failure at 'normalcy' has led him to fall back on the childhood connections he has tried to escape.

Because it is highly accessible and an easy read, some might find the book superficial and disjointed. In fact it is nothing of the sort. While it is not exactly stream of consciousness, the book's structure follows and reflects the perceptions as well as the emotional and mental state of its main character.

Grossman could have taken the easy way out and about a quarter of the way in he could have veered toward a rather fantastical if now somewhat cliched plot development. I rather not say more and potentially spoil someone's joy of discovery, so let's just say that the author stays true to his characters and keeps the novel firmly grounded in its setting. Some may find the lack of a traditional climax deflating but in my estimation the ending felt right. For what it's worth, I suspect that much like Grossman's "I Will Soon Be Invincible" "You" was designed to be part of a series.

I give this book an enthusiastic recommendation, though I should add that there are personal reasons beyond simple nostalgia for why it resonated so deeply with me.

Just ran across this, and thought you might be interested: http://io9.com/author-austin-grossman-i ... -511925719

Looks like it's chock full of "YOU" spoilers, though, so I haven't read it myself.

Just ran across this, and thought you might be interested: http://io9.com/author-austin-grossman-i ... -511925719

Looks like it's chock full of "YOU" spoilers, though, so I haven't read it myself.

Thank you for the link, the exchanges were interesting... and, yes, full of spoilers.

Here are some of my thoughts about 'Soon I will Be Invincible' as presented on another forum.

As casual fan of comic books I was intrigued by the idea behind this book. Its protagonists are superheroes, and both structurally and stylistically it is a graphic novel without illustrations or, to be more precise, without visual illustrations. Grossman is quite deft at creating atmosphere and at setting the scene and I found myself mentally filling in the missing images. In a sense, the reader gets to illustrate the novel, coloring by feel as it were.

I am currently halfway through the book and am quite enjoying it. It is not cutting edge or brilliant thus far, but it is smart, knowing and avoids the portentous self-importance that makes some graphic novels so difficult to digest.

Once I finish it, I will post further about my overall impressions.

I have finished reading the book and I will standby my original positive recommendation.

Grossman is excellent at atmosphere and the pacing is good throughout. Exposition is handled well without overlong and dreary passages to bore the reader.

The one thing I did not previously mention is the author's sharp sense of humor. It is admittedly somewhat dark and perhaps a tad dry, but given the over-the-top nature of superhero stories I think it actually fits the narrative rather well.

My most significant complaint with the novel is that, in the end, it does not fully deliver on its initial promise, either in terms of plot or as a character study. I cannot believe that any reader would be at a loss for what is coming quite some ways from the end. This is not exactly a problem, after all this is not a mystery, and the very structure of the narrative points to the eventual denouement. Still, I cannot help but feel that Grossman could have done a bit more with it - and perhaps he, eventually, will in a sequel. It is as a character study that this novel rises far about the norm for the genre. Alas, in the end, the author settles for leaving the cliches in place, even if he does take time to illuminate them from a smart and knowing perspective.

A good read that ultimately falls short of being special.

Revived! with Huckleberry Finn. Reading it mostly in little bites on breaks through my night shift. Better than when I read it as a kid,
though I do remember being mightily impressed with the well-paced adventure.

As for sci-fi writing, I heartily +1 the Timothy Zahn recommendation. I haven't read or heard of BlackCollar, but I loved the Conquerors Trilogy. His Cobra & Quadrail series are delicious reading too. His Star Wars offerings are legend, and of his other books I would chiefly recommend Angelmass, Icarus Hunt, and Manta's Gift. I have also enjoyed his Dragonback series.

Baile nam Fonn wrote:Revived! with Huckleberry Finn. Reading it mostly in little bites on breaks through my night shift. Better than when I read it as a kid,
though I do remember being mightily impressed with the well-paced adventure.

As for sci-fi writing, I heartily +1 the Timothy Zahn recommendation. I haven't read or heard of BlackCollar, but I loved the Conquerors Trilogy. His Cobra & Quadrail series are delicious reading too. His Star Wars offerings are legend, and of his other books I would chiefly recommend Angelmass, Icarus Hunt, and Manta's Gift. I have also enjoyed his Dragonback series.

Crikey, I read the Conquerors books yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeears ago. I enjoyed 'em though.

So, yeah, I did read A Song of Ice and Fire again, except the last book which is so monumentally huge I can't fit it in my bag. So currently I'm amusing myself with The Noticeably Stouter Book of General Ignorance.

Next up is probably the latest Shadows of the Apt. Or maybe Space Captain Smith. Arrrgghhhhh.