Susano Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... On Stranger Tides is also really cool - pirates' date=' voodoo, and the Caribbean - what more do you need?[/quote'] I'll second this comment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantine Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I just listened to Anansi Boys on CD by Neil Gaimen. Good story, and I really like the guy who did the reading... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted April 14, 2006 Report Share Posted April 14, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Currently working on The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. 5. I haven't read Dick in ages. Mindbending and well-written, as usual, if perhaps a bit fluffy in places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Thanks for the suggestions on the Tim Powers books. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished the Anubis Gates, which was really cool. Finished the Lusitania Murders by Max Collins. It didn't grab me like other books of his have, but still a mystery on a real disaster can't be beat, I guess. Read the first section of Perdido Street Station. I don't quite have a grasp on the setting yet, but it's interesting just for the descriptions, and the weird wild life. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Working my way through the Tomoe Gozen trilogy -- Tomoe Gozen, The Golden Naginata, Thousand Shrine Warrior. I've finished the first two, and am now into the third. While interesting, the writing style is a bit too stilted for me, so I won't be keeping my copies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jhereg Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I’ve recently discovered Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. I’m on Book IV, Summer Knight now. Great urban fantasy. It’s heavily influenced my Vibora Bay campaign. Also in the urban fantasy department, I highly recommend Stephen Zielinski’s Bad Magic. I haven’t laughed out loud so much since Good Omens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKJAM! Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... "A Princess of Roumania" by Paul Park. I didn't like it very well. See my LJ for the full review, and for a dissenting opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BcAugust Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I suppose I should list one of the bad ones. Guardian of the Balance, by Irene Radford. It's supossed to be a "desendents of Merlin" type of story... and while technically, it is, it doesn't work well at all. Starting with the overly gratiutious sex scenes(Yes, I know how that sounds, but when the book opens with one even before we know the characters), basically makes Merlin an idiot, user, and an almost general bad guy, I'm not impressed. And trying to make this book insultingly "girl power" is even worse. Nothing happens unless Merlin or one of the females is making it happen. Though, it delights in raping and abusing the female characters. Arthur is treated like an idiot(Which, by the one, is not Uther's son. The person speculates that Merlin was keeping a lot of boys on the string to pick which one would become King), that the best knights were his childhood friends, and various other twistings. And despite all that, it couldn't even hold my interest for more then a few pages. In other words, avoid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I recently finished American Gods, which I greatly enjoyed, and have now cracked open Anansi Boys. So far, it's very amusing, and I haven't even finished the first chapter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jhereg Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I recently finished American Gods' date=' which I greatly enjoyed, and have now cracked open [i']Anansi Boys[/i]. So far, it's very amusing, and I haven't even finished the first chapter. Good choice. American Gods is IMHO Gaiman's best work to date. I also recommend Neverwhere, and if you can find the movie Mirrormask, it's worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I own a copy, after having seen it at the local $2 theater. Excellent stuff. ^ v ^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jhereg Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... [threadjack] I see you live in Arden. I'll be moving to Asheville in a few weeks. Howdy Neighbor. [/threadjack] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... You'll like it here. ^ v ^ (Not that Statesville is THAT far away . . .) The Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company is actually where I caught Mirrormask. It's a great place to keep an eye on, if you like movies but hate paying full theater prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jhereg Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... You'll like it here. ^ v ^ Actually, I'm familiar with the area. My best friend lives there, and I spent *cough cough* years at WCU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliceTheOwl Posted April 24, 2006 Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Heh. So you're already familiar with how lovely the area is. ^ v ^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gewing Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Working my way through the Tomoe Gozen trilogy -- Tomoe Gozen' date=' The Golden Naginata, Thousand Shrine Warrior[/i']. I've finished the first two, and am now into the third. While interesting, the writing style is a bit too stilted for me, so I won't be keeping my copies. I still have those around somewhere, but have never re-read them. IIRC, they had some interesting ideas, but... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sociotard Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just finished "Till We Have Faces" by C. S. Lewis. I liked it. If you've never read it, it's a retelling of the story of Psyche and Cupid from the perspective of Psyche's sister. C. S. Lewis being who he is, there's a chistian parable thrown in, but I liked that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just read Looking for Jake by China Mieville. It's a collection of short stories. Several are Kafkaesque, Details and Different Skies evoke Lovecraft and others. Two stories, Looking for Jake and The Tain are views of the end of the world. One story of the two stories that stand out is about a christmas that is trademarked and the resistance that entails. THe other is a man who goes after a charity to end hunger. CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caris Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, a very good standard fantasy novel. Has a bit of a political slant to it, but most of her novels do. Caz is a very interesting character. There is a potential for him to remind you uncomfortably of Miles at the beginning (a certain amount of superficial similarity), but very quickly it becomes clear this is not Miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BcAugust Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold, a very good standard fantasy novel. Has a bit of a political slant to it, but most of her novels do. Caz is a very interesting character. There is a potential for him to remind you uncomfortably of Miles at the beginning (a certain amount of superficial similarity), but very quickly it becomes clear this is not Miles. Oh, yeah. I actually think this is one of my favorite books by her, though I reread Paladin of Souls more often(Avoid Wild Hunt like the plague. The first outright bad book I've seen from her.) Though, I found it disturbing, which is one reason I don't reread it often. It's much more viscerial then the Miles' books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caris Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Oh' date=' yeah. I actually think this is one of my favorite books by her, though I reread Paladin of Souls more often(Avoid Wild Hunt like the plague. The first outright [i']bad[/i] book I've seen from her.) Though, I found it disturbing, which is one reason I don't reread it often. It's much more viscerial then the Miles' books. I still prefer the two novels that make up Cordelia's Honor. As much as some may consider Cordelia a Mary Sue, there is just something about her that appeals to me. Of course, I may just like Mary Sues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThothAmon Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... "Stone" by Adam Roberts. Leftfield SF concerning the one and only psychopathic killer out of billions of humans in a future Utopia civilization. Killer gets busted from jail by mysterious employers and given the task of killing an entire planet of 60+ million people without destroying the planet. Some great ideas welding philosophy to space opera but overall not a stellar book. Having said that, kudos for a very clever method of achieving the central task (rates highly on the Unique WMD scale). 7 out of 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Schwarzwald Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Here are some of the last good books I read: "Honor Harrington: On basilisk station" and "the short victorious war" by Dave Webber. The first book edned in the best space battle I can recall ever reading, the second one was great too. "Kiln People" by David Brin. This was a very strange SF novel in which people can create temporary duplicates of themselves out of clay, and then reload the memories of the 'kiln people' into themselves at the end of their lifespan, which is usually less than a day. "The diamond age, or a young ladies illustrated primer" by an author I don't recall just now. Good near future book, nice tech and ideas. Also a not so subtle comment on the power of a book to change someone's life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... "The diamond age' date=' or a young ladies illustrated primer" by an author I don't recall just now. Good near future book, nice tech and ideas. Also a not so subtle comment on the power of a book to change someone's life.[/quote'] Neil Stephenson. Author of: Zodiac, Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and The Baroque Cycle trilogy. All are worth reading once, Snow Crash multiple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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