OT...great books

[Aiken]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:

Vernor Vinge


I hear a fire upon the deep and A deepness in the sky is very good...

Exceptional ideas and not very good literary implementation. I read it in translation, though.

[WhiteHojo]

pure SciFi dribble but entertaining and engrossing (to me anyway) were:

1) Armor by Steakly - loved this book and have read it 5 or so times

2) Hyperion - excellent book in my op, and the follow-ups were ok... but nowhere near as good as the 1st

[WhiteHojo]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
George RR Martin's
A song of ice and fire.... Good series...

yep - good but me suspects he has dillusions of Robert Jordan dancing in his head - the man is as slow as Jordan in getting out new books

[dumbluck]

gregebowman: Well, I DID say that I liked M, S, & T better... For much the same reasons you stated.

all: Another excellent author is C. F. Friedman. Check out her Coldfire trilogy. I haven't kept up in reading her newer books, unfortunately.....

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Isn't that C.S. Friedman?

[Narrew]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
has anyone read robin hobb ?

Or

Vernor Vinge


I hear a fire upon the deep and A deepness in the sky is very good...

Yes, I liked both authors.

Robin Hobbs has 3 trilogies. Read them in order, ie first trilogy then the next. Very well written, I really related to the main characters.

Farseer Trilogy
Live Ship Trilogy
Fool Trilogy

As far as Vernor, just plain great writing...

[gregebowman]

For those who love alternate history, just finished reading Harry Turtledove's Guns of the South. A group goes back in time and introduces AK-47's to the South. Very interesting. Now I'm reading his How Few Remain, about a second battle between the states. It's not a sequel, either, to the first book I mentioned.

[Randallw]

"Guns of the South" is one of my favourite books, and perhaps my favourite Turtledove book. Its sicence fiction with a quirky idea (give assault rifles to the confederacy) but it develops the idea beyond simply having the confederacy massacre the north. It explores the effects on the world, the confederacy aren't a bunch of slave owners persecuting blacks (well they did, but they aren't like the AWB romatically thought they were) and Robert E Lee does a lot of thinking. If you are just starting "How few remain" you may find it a bit hard when you progress to the Trilogy after that, then the Trilogy after that, etc. I like Turtledove but when he extends the plot he really extends the plot. I like GotS because its a good idea in 1 book, unlike "World of Darkness" which takes a slightly intriguing idea (WW2 as Fantasy) and takes it through all 6 years (and 6 books). I quit in boredom after the 3rd book (I think).

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Eric Flint's 1632 series. Also, 1633, 1634: The Galileo Affair, an anthology: Ring Of Fire, The Grantville Gazette, currently two of those, going up to four at Last projected count. And, it keeps getting better, partly because David Weber got in there in 1633. http://www.baen.com/library/0671319728/0671319728.htm

Eric Flint also does the Belisarius series, also time-travel, loosely scripted by David Drake. Definitally R-rated, but possibly worth reading. (not very often). http://www.baen.com/library/0671878654/0671878654.htm

David Weber's Path Of The Fury. Contains no backwards time travel, but it does have power armor, space battles, a fury, a cyborg-soldier, a secret agent, two kinds of aliens, a dastardly plot, and an intelligent ai. No preview or free Version.

Hey, how many people have picked up a new book because of a recommendation here?

[ August 05, 2004, 01:14: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

[Randallw]

Its not a novel but today I picked up Bruce Campbell's (Ash from Evil dead) book. Like many people I used to romance about becoming a famous actor and getting the glamourous lifestyle. Read this book and you will be cured of any illusions you may have about movie making. Certainly getting famous and rich is great, but the actual movie stuff is far from glamourous.