Beetle Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just finished off the King of the Isles and other two books by David Drake. Not bad. Got the books for free' date=' so good deal there. Interesting take on magic and different planes. I would say it's worth looking at the books just for the magic system.[/quote']SPOILERS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I really liked these books at first. They were well written, different and had interesting characters. But it seemed that the structure of the stories stayed the same every book. Group learns of problem. Group gets split up and sent to alternate worlds/times/dimensions/whatevers. Group attempts to get back from alternate wacky places. Group somehow all winds up together at the exact place the evil is taking place. Group stops evil. It got a bit old after a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joen00b Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I'm currently working on Guns Of The South by Harry Turtledove. A friend had told me a great many things about how good these books were, and I'm inclined to agree so far. These are 'sci-fi' alternate history books. This one starts off a series about an Alternate History where the South wins the Civil War. What happens is some guys travel from 150 years in the future and present Robert E. lee with a weapon to change the face of the war for the South: The AK-47. He promises 100,000 guns as well as all the ammunition it will take to win the war, in return they ask for $50 confederate for each rifle (that amount couldn't buy you a bar of soap), $2 for 100 rounds of ammo. These prices are too good to be true, but General Lee wants to win the war. With the help of the faction called America Will Break from the future, as well as the AK-47, Robert E. Lee marches right up to the steps of the White House and accepts Abraham Lincoln's defeat right on the front lawn. After that, the real trouble starts. Being recognized as a independent country is not quite that easy, especially when the rest of the world abhors slavery. General Lee himself turns into an Abolitionist after the war, (and nearly cost the South the war in his vehemence against the mistreatment of colored soldiers) and begins his career as a politician, being groomed for the Presidency of the Confederacy. Harry Turtledove knows the characters very well, he is a historian of non par, it seems, as the voices he gives these historic characters seems very accurate to what 'might' have happened. Given the wild card of the AWB people that have supplied the South with Guns, Ammo, MRE's, and seemingly limitless supplies of Gold, the South has become it's own nation. The problem lies with the AWB people being racist of a breed that Lee has never witnessed, even in the deepest of the South. Sure, he has seen the slaves mistreated, but these men are downright evil and inhuman to the colored soldiers and slaves. They tell Lee of the Future and how blacks 'run the Parlaiment of England' and vote themselves into position of power to keep the White Man down. Lee counters with he recalls the British Isles being predominantly white and without the whote vote, these Black Parlaiment officials would not have gained the office. The argument goes round until Lee once again points out: The populace does not vote Tyrants into power, they appoint those who will do them the best. It goes into great detail to explain how the Civil War was not about slavery, but about the South wanting state government making edicts per state, not the central government controlling the individual states, among other things. It's a very interesting read ass it reall expands on what the Confederacy was trying to accomplish and how the northern most states in the Confederacy were of the same mind as the North when it came to slavery, but still wanted their independence from the USA. I'm about hlafway through and tearing through it as it's that involving and interesting. For anyone interested in the Civil War, I would say this would be a great treat for the mind. More to come after I finish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Perdido Street Station by China Melville. Very good. What happens when someone offers a scientist money to help him get back something they have lost ? what happens in a city where you have railways and skyrails, airships and various species co-existing when something really evil gets loose ? marvellous. I'm leaning towards 9.5 out of 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozimus Posted June 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Perdido Street Station by China Melville. Very good. What happens when someone offers a scientist money to help him get back something they have lost ? what happens in a city where you have railways and skyrails, airships and various species co-existing when something really evil gets loose ? marvellous. I'm leaning towards 9.5 out of 10. O' Mighty Quatrotrinticali Devourer, Have you read "King Rat" or "The Scar", both by China Mieville? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thag13 Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Do Horror Novels count?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozimus Posted June 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Do Horror Novels count?? I have no objections! Like many other readers of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, I enjoy reading Horror... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... O' Mighty Quatrotrinticali Devourer, Have you read "King Rat" or "The Scar", both by China Mieville? The only one I have of his is Perdido Street Station. But based on that I am likely to get the others. And at the rate I am going next year. I have a load of things to read first. I am finishing Six Armies in Normandy and then it's straight into the last two Windsingers books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEmerged Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I'm currently working on Guns Of The South by Harry Turtledove. A friend had told me a great many things about how good these books were' date=' and I'm inclined to agree so far.[/quote'] Personally I prefer his "How Few Remain" continuity -- not sci-fi though. And if I recall, Lee doesn't exactly 'become' an abolitionist. Lee (again, this is my memory so take it with a grain of salt) had already released almost all of his slaves before the CW began (the lone exception IIRC being the nurse for his invalid daughter). Harry's usually pretty good about his characters, even though he got some at-least-partially-deserved flak for his treatment of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt in HFR and therefore has been gunshy for the rest of the series. One of his more recent books "In the Presence of my Enemies" is a borderline must-read. If it were a tad less idealistic it would be. Another of his recent books "Ruled Brittania" is supposed to be his best ever, but I'm not fond of the period and can't seem to get into it. However I can't recommend his WorldWar series except for true fans of the genre. It's *badly* contrived in places and he stretched a 3 book series into 4 (and the 3rd & 4th books suffer for it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluxx Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just finished The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons great read kept me from putting the book down alot. Highly recommend the 4 book series will keep you entertained. Also on the book lists is Larry Nivens Book 4 of Ringworld, Ringworld Children is due next month.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I tried reading the Bridge and that was an awful struggle. The Scots barbarian bit was the easiest and this was also Iain Banks or Iain M Banks as he differentiates the Sci Fi from other books. The Bridge is by far Banks' worst book IMO, nothing more than juvenilia, and a shaggy dog story to boot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I finally finished the Hawkmoon omnibus -- took me weeks to slog my way through it. I have come to the conclusion that I have outgrown Moorcock's writing. When I was 9 I though Elric and Erekosë were cool. Now I find his writing plodding, his characters undeveloped, and the action uninteresting. To recover, I reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last night while watching Jurassic Park 3. Now that's a good book. Different strokes, and tastes change and all that, but 'plodding'? How can you describe Moorcock's writing as plodding? I just recently reread the Chronicles of Castle Brass omnibus after some 20+ years, and what struck me most about all 3 novels was the speed at which they zipped along. Moorcock seems to pack more into 150 pages than some contemporary genre authors do in 300 or so. You don't have to like Moorcock, but plodding? I just don't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I am finishing Six Armies in Normandy Fine, fine book that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcL63 Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The last book I finished was Shadowkings, by Michael Cobley, his first published novel and the first in his Shadowkings trilogy. This is the first fantasy novel I've read in years apart from Bill King's Gotrek and Felix series from the Black Library (GW). I've been rereading the latter and took a break to read Shadowkings. It's pretty good, featuring an underground resistance movement trying to free their lands from barbarian invaders aligned with dark forces. The overall feel is grim and gritty, and one thing I liked about the book was the way in which the landscape and terrain have a strong presence in the book. Being completely out of touch with the fantasy genre for years, I have no idea how original this book is, but it seems to me to be different from anything I have heard tell of. I give it 7/10. I'm reading part 2, Shadowgod at the moment. Unfortunately btw, Simon and Schuster recently closed down Earthlight, their fantasy/SF imprint, so the books are out of print right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest joen00b Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Personally I prefer his "How Few Remain" continuity -- not sci-fi though. And if I recall, Lee doesn't exactly 'become' an abolitionist. Lee (again, this is my memory so take it with a grain of salt) had already released almost all of his slaves before the CW began (the lone exception IIRC being the nurse for his invalid daughter). Harry's usually pretty good about his characters, even though he got some at-least-partially-deserved flak for his treatment of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt in HFR and therefore has been gunshy for the rest of the series. One of his more recent books "In the Presence of my Enemies" is a borderline must-read. If it were a tad less idealistic it would be. Another of his recent books "Ruled Brittania" is supposed to be his best ever, but I'm not fond of the period and can't seem to get into it. However I can't recommend his WorldWar series except for true fans of the genre. It's *badly* contrived in places and he stretched a 3 book series into 4 (and the 3rd & 4th books suffer for it). Yeah, Lee had let all his slaves go, save for the one caring for his invalid Wife and his daughters. he told her he was going to pay her if she wanted to stay or pay her to head North. I'll admit, I thought his portrayal of all historic characters in the book thus far have been rather good. I'm enjoying it, it's not like 'I can't put it down" kind of book, but it's enjoyable. Behind this one I have the Conan Chronicles by Robert Jordan waiting. I'm fearful of it, after what Jordan has done to the Wheel of Time series, but Conan books were always fast paced, so I hope to find a happy medium in there somewhere. I got it at a used bookstore in Mint condition (Hardback edition) for 4.95, so I couldn't pass it up. Conan rocks, but it's Jordan writing, but it's hardback and in primo condition. My 'Conan kicks ass' side overruled any other judgments and I grabbed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Squirrel Posted June 15, 2004 Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Wyrms by Orson Scott Card. A wonderful little piece of 240 pages of foreshadowing of an inevitable tentacle rape of a 15 year old girl. Words fail me in this novel and create severe disappointment in the work of Orson Scott Card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozimus Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Yeah, Lee had let all his slaves go, save for the one caring for his invalid Wife and his daughters. he told her he was going to pay her if she wanted to stay or pay her to head North. I'll admit, I thought his portrayal of all historic characters in the book thus far have been rather good. I'm enjoying it, it's not like 'I can't put it down" kind of book, but it's enjoyable. Behind this one I have the Conan Chronicles by Robert Jordan waiting. I'm fearful of it, after what Jordan has done to the Wheel of Time series, but Conan books were always fast paced, so I hope to find a happy medium in there somewhere. I got it at a used bookstore in Mint condition (Hardback edition) for 4.95, so I couldn't pass it up. Conan rocks, but it's Jordan writing, but it's hardback and in primo condition. My 'Conan kicks ass' side overruled any other judgments and I grabbed it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mongol General: We have won again. That is good! But what is best in life? Mongol Warrior: The open steppe, fleet horse, falcon on your wrist, wind in your hair! Mongol General: Wrong! Conan, what is best in life? Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women! Mongol General: That is good. (couldn't resist) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozimus Posted June 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... How about another grade A primo Conan quote? Conan: Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, and why we died. All that matters is that today, two stood against many. Valor pleases you, so grant me this one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, the HELL with you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I've been ping-ponging. I just finished Alastair Reynolds' REDEMPTION ARK (2002) for the first time and John W. Campbell's THE INCREDIBLE PLANET (1949) for the millionth time. Both are excellent. Nobody on these lists seems to have heard of The Helmsman series by Bill Baldwin. Very visual writing, you can almost imagine that you are watching a Star Wars style space opera. The background plot is lifted from the history of World War II (complete with The Battle of Britain and the miracle at Dunkirk). Space opera at its finest. It would make a great Star Hero campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightray Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Wyrms by Orson Scott Card. A wonderful little piece of 240 pages of foreshadowing of an inevitable tentacle rape of a 15 year old girl. Words fail me in this novel and create severe disappointment in the work of Orson Scott Card. Yeah, a lot of OSC's stuff tends to affect me that way. Cool ideas, pretty good writing, and then... thud. Treason, same way. I just finished Perdido Street Station which was a cool book seriously infected with kitchen-sink-itis. It didn't have a few innovative or weird ideas -- it had hundreds and hundreds of them. And every single one of them showed up again at some point (Jack Half-A-Prayer mention, cameo later, check. eye-stealing criminal mentioned, throwaway mention later, check). Lots of people I've talked to gushed about PSS because of it is so different, but a little restraint would not have been amiss on the author's part. The Khepri, though, just bugged. Pun intended. They're a race with womans' bodies and beetles as heads -- not with beetle heads, but beetles AS heads. So they have headlegs and headwings, why, exactly? Complete disbelief suspender-snapper, every time that showed up. But otherwise, a good book. death tribble 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I just finished the Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro (one of the new Luna fantasy series).Essentially,the base story is that of a country with a few powerful mages being attacked by another country ruled by an evil monarch who has managed to recruit a powerful mage to his cause.typical high fantasy,really. The real point of interest is the magic system. All magic in the setting is drawn from SHAPES.No,I'm not kidding.Essentially,the more sides an object has,the more power a shape-mage can draw from it,with spheres being the most powerful shape (as they effectively have an infinite number of sides).Of course,only the most powerful mages can use spheres. Worse yet,shape-magic is divided into the various colors of the spectrum (from red to violet),and shape-mages cannot use magic of a higher color,with the possible exception of Queen Iris who is the only known rainbow mage in the country.(A rainbow mage's shape-magic encompasses every color,with sapphire (i.e. blue) dominating). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted June 23, 2004 Report Share Posted June 23, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Another book I read recently that would make a great Fantasy Hero campaign is Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle. It is a quote "hard science fiction" novel unquote, if your "science" is the science of Aristole. In this universe, the Earth is at the center, there are crystaline celestial spheres, the whole nine yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Just finished Cerulean Sins by Laurel K Hamilton. Another Anita Blake vampire book. I enjoyed it although it deals more in the minutae of dealing with the fact that she is Queen of the Leopards, a powerful Necromancer and part of a triumverate with a Werwolf and Vampire than having a major plot in the normal world. World of Darkness players will love it though. If you didn't like the last couple of books then you won't like this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted June 24, 2004 Report Share Posted June 24, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I just finished reading Ringworld's Children by Larry Niven. This the fourth Ringworld book and Niven states in the preface that the story practicaly wrote itself based on conversations on a Larry Niven/Known Space discussion board! (makes you wonder how much of our stuff Steve Long pays attention to?) For a longtime fan like myself it was a refreshingly quick read and closed up loose story elements at the same time still leaving room for new stories with some of the best characters down the road. If you have never read Niven I strongly recommend the entire Known Space series of books as this is one of the most fleshed out future histories out there. Nivens collaborations with Jerry Pournelle and others also are great. See Lucifer's Hammer for one of the books that helped inspire the big rock hits planet hollywood movies of a few years ago. It was written in the 70's and most of the science still holds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Cross Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Yesterday I read The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey.I picked it up in the library and read it in one sitting,taking about three hours. It's about a young woman who has been enslaved by her evil stepmother & stepsisters,but doesn't get her Prince Charming (and this is a fairytale land ruled by the mindless force known as Tradition) but is chosen by her land's Fairy Godmother to become her new Apprentice due to the large amount of magic she's gotten as a result.The book then details her training and becoming the new Fairy Godmother,and what she has to do as part of her new role.(and yes,she does get her prince in the end). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted June 27, 2004 Report Share Posted June 27, 2004 Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... The first 3 books in the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg. An absolutely enthralling tale of a group of college gamers dragged into the fantasy world their 'characters' play in, acquiring the skills, talents, and physical characteristics of their characters and maintaining their normal intellect. Quite good. Is that the series that starts with "the Sleeping Dragon"? At least I think that was the title... I read the first book and was impressed but never got about reading any more of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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