I heard Reynolds suggested as similar to Blindsight, and I really enjoyed Peter Watts. Is there a book of his that people recommend?
I personally really enjoy his standalone work.
Pushing Ice is in my top ten.
I enjoyed The Prefect, Chasm City, and Revelation Space. I may have also read Redemption Ark, but I honestly can't remember. Not that it wasn't good it was a just 8-10 years ago if I did.
Old Man's War was good but now, logging it in Goodreads, I find out it has a billion sequels. Had thought I could knock this fairly short and breezy story out quickly and then get back to the Sorokin pile (an Oprichnik's Day was...something. Fascinating and disgusting? And weirdly comedic).
So anyway: how worth it are the Old Man's War sequels? I enjoyed the first one well enough, but maybe not so much that I feel compelled to immediately inhale 4 more books.
So did you like the Sorokin book? Yeah there are some scenes in it that are...graphic. He writes about all sorts of physicalities in a vivid and explicit way. The scene in the sauna with all the chekists and heir bioluminescent organs is just...I legit laughed out loud reading it.
I found that in addition to his 1983 book (ochered’/ The Queue) which exists in English translation, there is one more recent book by him as well as a collection of short stories that exist in Italian translation, so I’ll probably buy those because reading without a dictionary is pretty key. I really don’t want to be bogged down taking forever to finish a book in Russian...
I did finish the Ice trilogy by Sorokin, which went all over the place and was quite compelling, this super interesting mix of human+personal and alienated+alienating+anti-humanist almost, and then the last couple pages included this extremely bizarre religious epiphany that’s like...a feature of Russian lit but also sort of came out of nowhere.
Then I ran out of books again until I make an order so I am rereading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell because I love it and it was on my shelf.
Liked it a lot! I read it almost in one sitting, too.
Just, given that I've been reading mostly pretty mainstream sf the last two months I wasn't quite calibrated for its level of graphicness and weirdness. Btw the Danish translator had italicized some words which I took to be either slang or terms-of-art for futre tech (like transparent for holographic entities that were possibly AIs). Some seemed like normal words used in particular ways (exposed to refer to someone the Ruler had given his tacit, indirect permission for the chekist vultures to devour). Wondering how this was handled in the English version and if there were any translator's notes. The edition I got was pretty sparse with meta-text.
And also yes, the banya scene was definitely one of the main things that made me describe it as comedic. That and the narrator's weird pseudo-philsophical musings about art, life etc which are mostly just either embarrassingly banal or 'not even wrong' stupid.
@quid You really should check out The human Division at least. It goes back to the somewhat more military setting, and focuses on a bunch of different characters rather then just being from one characters POV. And the fourth book is probably skippable for most people here, Scalzi pretty much wrote it for his teenage daughter and it didn't work very well for me at least. But it was not meant for me!
I wish he'd put that on the cover or something. I got about 60 pages in before angrily deleting it and feeling ripped off. Human Division sounds neat though. Humanity dealing with the ramifications of not being the top civilization is something I'm always down for.
Also City of Stairs is pretty good. It was a little confusing to start but I find the idea of fantasy India pulling a reverse colonialism on fantasy East Europe fascinating.
Old Man's War was good but now, logging it in Goodreads, I find out it has a billion sequels. Had thought I could knock this fairly short and breezy story out quickly and then get back to the Sorokin pile (an Oprichnik's Day was...something. Fascinating and disgusting? And weirdly comedic).
So anyway: how worth it are the Old Man's War sequels? I enjoyed the first one well enough, but maybe not so much that I feel compelled to immediately inhale 4 more books.
So did you like the Sorokin book? Yeah there are some scenes in it that are...graphic. He writes about all sorts of physicalities in a vivid and explicit way. The scene in the sauna with all the chekists and heir bioluminescent organs is just...I legit laughed out loud reading it.
I found that in addition to his 1983 book (ochered’/ The Queue) which exists in English translation, there is one more recent book by him as well as a collection of short stories that exist in Italian translation, so I’ll probably buy those because reading without a dictionary is pretty key. I really don’t want to be bogged down taking forever to finish a book in Russian...
I did finish the Ice trilogy by Sorokin, which went all over the place and was quite compelling, this super interesting mix of human+personal and alienated+alienating+anti-humanist almost, and then the last couple pages included this extremely bizarre religious epiphany that’s like...a feature of Russian lit but also sort of came out of nowhere.
Then I ran out of books again until I make an order so I am rereading Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell because I love it and it was on my shelf.
Liked it a lot! I read it almost in one sitting, too.
Just, given that I've been reading mostly pretty mainstream sf the last two months I wasn't quite calibrated for its level of graphicness and weirdness. Btw the Danish translator had italicized some words which I took to be either slang or terms-of-art for futre tech (like transparent for holographic entities that were possibly AIs). Some seemed like normal words used in particular ways (exposed to refer to someone the Ruler had given his tacit, indirect permission for the chekist vultures to devour). Wondering how this was handled in the English version and if there were any translator's notes. The edition I got was pretty sparse with meta-text.
And also yes, the banya scene was definitely one of the main things that made me describe it as comedic. That and the narrator's weird pseudo-philsophical musings about art, life etc which are mostly just either embarrassingly banal or 'not even wrong' stupid.
The english also contains a lot of italicized words, and I think it's just that the author in russian italicized a lot of words, and not always to indicate they are future words or slang words or words used in a special context, but sort of to indicate that they have special import to the people, or just...hm a particular way of emphasis. Like in the Ice trilogy, the one guy is always thinking of the Ice as the most intimate which isn't a future tech term or anything but instead is just very...intense for him. And, of course, profoundly strange, and the italics do partially denote that intimate isn't perhaps on its own expressive enough to describe how he feels.
I love the way Sorokin has these characters who just have strongly, certainly felt worldviews and experiences that are completely irrational. The certainty of unreal belief and experience is just very interesting to read.
The english translator Jamey Gambrell leaves no translator's notes, so I've just had to guess.
I really like the premise of Lock In and Head On, but parts of them are just so incredibly TV cop procedural.
Lock In had too much coincidence built into it. I couldn't suspend disbelief. I found the turns of the narrative engaging and the premise interesting but everyone was in the right place at the right time too often.
I think the characters seemed a bit dull and like they didn't have enough agency to be believable but I don't remember why.
Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
Yes, I know I've read the Revelation Space books but I couldn't tell you any plot points or suggest an opinion beyond "sufficiently good I read more than one"
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
Man, having a kid, stories just have to mention kids in difficult circumstances, even here where are the adults are doing their best to make life as good as possible, just fills me with unbelievable existential dread.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
I heard Reynolds suggested as similar to Blindsight, and I really enjoyed Peter Watts. Is there a book of his that people recommend?
There's also Echopraxia, the sequel to Blindsight.
I can't think really think of anyone else on Watts' philosophical wavelength. He seems to occupy "the vainglorious illusion of human free will" /"consciousness is overrated" niche all by himself. Reynolds is certainly good fun, though: lots of great world-building in a setting that refuses to drink any FTL kool-aid. But... he's a hard SF plot-driven stylist who's a couple of levels less intellectual than Watts.
If you're looking for "alien existential threats to the human race that highlight humanity's foibles" books/series that are fairly grim and thoughtful, you might consider some old Greg Bear: The Forge of God series and The Way series.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
I heard Reynolds suggested as similar to Blindsight, and I really enjoyed Peter Watts. Is there a book of his that people recommend?
There's also Echopraxia, the sequel to Blindsight.
I can't think really think of anyone else on Watts' philosophical wavelength. He seems to occupy "the vainglorious illusion of human free will" /"consciousness is overrated" niche all by himself. Reynolds is certainly good fun, though: lots of great world-building in a setting that refuses to drink any FTL kool-aid. But... he's a hard SF plot-driven stylist who's a couple of levels less intellectual than Watts.
If you're looking for "alien existential threats to the human race that highlight humanity's foibles" books/series that are fairly grim and thoughtful, you might consider some old Greg Bear: The Forge of God series and The Way series.
Yeah, I read Echopraxia a while back.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Man, having a kid, stories just have to mention kids in difficult circumstances, even here where are the adults are doing their best to make life as good as possible, just fills me with unbelievable existential dread.
Well hey in Semiosis
The first generation of children kill the parents because they’re treating them like dogmatic slaves.
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
Pushing Ice was interesting. I appreciate that it ended on a positive look at what could otherwise be a very depressing view of existence.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
Been wondering for a while what the next book I should check out from the library should be, and then someone in chat brought up Terry Pratchett. What'd be a good first book of his to read?
Been wondering for a while what the next book I should check out from the library should be, and then someone in chat brought up Terry Pratchett. What'd be a good first book of his to read?
Small Gods is my personal favorite to start with. It’s a stand-alone set in the universe.
Guards! Guards! is the first in a series of incredibly impressive books.
Or you could give going in published order a shot. His earliest work is shaky but still quite enjoyable.
I think they should be read in order but I can understand why people might skip the first two. They're effectively one story, and a lot of the jokes (by no means all) rely on recognising the fantasy stuff he's parodying, which, at this point, might just baffle a lot of newer readers.
I still think they're great, but Pratchett's modus operandi clearly changed early on from getting stuck into fantasy and making as many jokes as possible to doing more seriously pointed, though still very funny, novels set in the same world.
Equal Rites is the start of that but Mort is where he perfected the mix of a compelling story and excellent jokes. I'd start with Mort.
I lent Good Omens to someone at work as she’d seen the advert for the tv series and she wanted to know a bit more.
She says she is finding it interesting but I think she’s being polite wrt how much she actually is enjoying it. I think it’s completely different to what she thought it was going to be.
I also said if she wanted to give Pratchett another go, she should try out the Guards! Guards! stuff. That while his stuff is funny / a bit silly you can tell Pratchett is really angry about how certain things are in our own world.
PSN Fleety2009
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BrodyThe WatchThe First ShoreRegistered Userregular
The Color of Magic is just too much of a parody for me. I realize that its probably just a personal failing, but I just didn't really care to read a 200 page breakdown of how ridiculous the fantasy setting can be.
"I will write your name in the ruin of them. I will paint you across history in the color of their blood."
BlackDragon480Bluster KerfuffleMaster of Windy ImportRegistered Userregular
I'll always love how Rincewind introduces Twoflower to a couple of barbarians in Colour of Magic:
"Let me put it this way...if complete and utter chaos were lightning, he be the type of man to stand on a hill during a thunderstorm in wet copper armor and screaming 'All gods are bastards!'"
No matter where you go...there you are. ~ Buckaroo Banzai
for those with kindle unlimited, they just added a bunch of comics to the list. Marvel Infinity Gauntlet, Shazam, and others. I hope they keep adding more!
Apropos of nothing I am reminded that it's been twenty five years since Clive Barker wrote the second Book of the Art with no conclusion in sight, twenty since the first part of Galilee with no end in sight and half a dozen years since the third of a projected five books of the Abarat. His last book was apparently quite bad and possibly ghostwritten, and honestly it feels like those three stories will never be completed.
What I'm saying is, GRRM fans: you could have it so much worse.
Apropos of nothing I am reminded that it's been twenty five years since Clive Barker wrote the second Book of the Art with no conclusion in sight, twenty since the first part of Galilee with no end in sight and half a dozen years since the third of a projected five books of the Abarat. His last book was apparently quite bad and possibly ghostwritten, and honestly it feels like those three stories will never be completed.
What I'm saying is, GRRM fans: you could have it so much worse.
"The third novel in the "Exiles" trilogy has now been "forthcoming" since the late 1990s due to the author suffering from clinical depression and moving on to other projects to facilitate her recovery."
Those books were SO COOL
I don't think I read them quite when they were published, so I've been waiting a mere...18 years, rather than 22, for the third book.
Been wondering for a while what the next book I should check out from the library should be, and then someone in chat brought up Terry Pratchett. What'd be a good first book of his to read?
Small Gods is my personal favorite to start with. It’s a stand-alone set in the universe.
Guards! Guards! is the first in a series of incredibly impressive books.
Or you could give going in published order a shot. His earliest work is shaky but still quite enjoyable.
The first two rincewind books are fun and fast but they're also very on the nose with their satire and clunky compared to everything else. Equal Rites is a stand out as in it doesn't feel like it fits in with the rest of diskworld like at all.
I would say start with Sorcery, then Mort, then Wyrd Sisters and everything in publication order.
Apropos of nothing I am reminded that it's been twenty five years since Clive Barker wrote the second Book of the Art with no conclusion in sight, twenty since the first part of Galilee with no end in sight and half a dozen years since the third of a projected five books of the Abarat. His last book was apparently quite bad and possibly ghostwritten, and honestly it feels like those three stories will never be completed.
What I'm saying is, GRRM fans: you could have it so much worse.
"The third novel in the "Exiles" trilogy has now been "forthcoming" since the late 1990s due to the author suffering from clinical depression and moving on to other projects to facilitate her recovery."
Those books were SO COOL
I don't think I read them quite when they were published, so I've been waiting a mere...18 years, rather than 22, for the third book.
If The Captals Tower ever does come out, I will first have to a) re-read the first two b) find the first two, as I think they’ve been in a crate in the loft for over a decade.
Honestly, I'd kind of written off that series ever being finished.
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
I used to check the Melanie Rawn forums every few years for any updates, because Captal's Tower is my wife's most wanted book. Or was, anyway, for a while.
In any event, those forums were just...unsettling. Everyone referred to her as The Creator, because that was how she wanted it. It tended to make many people's posts feel more worshipful than anything else. I was always in a hurry to scan for relevant threads and updates as fast as I possibly could and get the hell out of there.
I went to take a quick look now, but they no longer exist. That's kind of a relief.
Boy does The Color of Magic end on a cliffhanger. Already placed a request for the next book but I wish my local branch had an eBook version available because I wanna start now.
I read A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar and it was real good! Vivid and poetic without ever feeling slow. It felt kinda like Le Guin in Technicolor?
Started Black Leopard, Red Wolf. It feels almost Gene Wolfian in the way it combines the familiar and the unfamiliar. In the way it makes me feel like I’m missing something, like there’s a grand allegory below the surface that I’m too stupid to understand.
Or maybe it’s just that it’s set in a culture I’m wholly unfamiliar with.
just finished the first section and it's totally reminding me of gene wolf too
hmm I am not sure what to think about this book
setting it in a fantasy world based on african myths instead of european ones is waaaaaaay up my alley
the writing style is very interesting, also pretty mythic I think (more of a, this event took place and now this one) and hazy like gene wolf's books that I've read
there's a lot of graphic sexual violence and slavery and mutilation and assorted other terrible shit going down though, I don't know if I'll be up for the sequel
it's crazy polarizing in the goodreads reviews, a bunch of people saying they didn't finish it
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Sequel? I didn’t get any indication there would be a sequel. It pretty much definitively ended without much in the way of future story hooks IMO.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Pushing Ice is in my top ten.
I enjoyed The Prefect, Chasm City, and Revelation Space. I may have also read Redemption Ark, but I honestly can't remember. Not that it wasn't good it was a just 8-10 years ago if I did.
Liked it a lot! I read it almost in one sitting, too.
Just, given that I've been reading mostly pretty mainstream sf the last two months I wasn't quite calibrated for its level of graphicness and weirdness. Btw the Danish translator had italicized some words which I took to be either slang or terms-of-art for futre tech (like transparent for holographic entities that were possibly AIs). Some seemed like normal words used in particular ways (exposed to refer to someone the Ruler had given his tacit, indirect permission for the chekist vultures to devour). Wondering how this was handled in the English version and if there were any translator's notes. The edition I got was pretty sparse with meta-text.
And also yes, the banya scene was definitely one of the main things that made me describe it as comedic. That and the narrator's weird pseudo-philsophical musings about art, life etc which are mostly just either embarrassingly banal or 'not even wrong' stupid.
I've been meaning to check this one out for something a little more lighthearted.
I wish he'd put that on the cover or something. I got about 60 pages in before angrily deleting it and feeling ripped off. Human Division sounds neat though. Humanity dealing with the ramifications of not being the top civilization is something I'm always down for.
Revelation Space is pretty amazing*. There are some concepts in there. Oh, and a ship that's space-Gormenghast.
IIRC the chronological order of the books is The Prefect -> Chasm City -> Revelation Space -> Redemption Ark -> Absolution Gap
There's also some short stories and novellas set in the Revelation Space universe; Diamond Dogs in particular is excellent IMO.
*If you're into cold grim SF with mean protagonists. And if you like Peter Watts, you clearly are.
Pulling Ice was actually available for a change, so I'm going to be reading that.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
The english also contains a lot of italicized words, and I think it's just that the author in russian italicized a lot of words, and not always to indicate they are future words or slang words or words used in a special context, but sort of to indicate that they have special import to the people, or just...hm a particular way of emphasis. Like in the Ice trilogy, the one guy is always thinking of the Ice as the most intimate which isn't a future tech term or anything but instead is just very...intense for him. And, of course, profoundly strange, and the italics do partially denote that intimate isn't perhaps on its own expressive enough to describe how he feels.
I love the way Sorokin has these characters who just have strongly, certainly felt worldviews and experiences that are completely irrational. The certainty of unreal belief and experience is just very interesting to read.
The english translator Jamey Gambrell leaves no translator's notes, so I've just had to guess.
Lock In had too much coincidence built into it. I couldn't suspend disbelief. I found the turns of the narrative engaging and the premise interesting but everyone was in the right place at the right time too often.
I think the characters seemed a bit dull and like they didn't have enough agency to be believable but I don't remember why.
The Prefect/Aurora Rising and Chasm City are probably the two most accessible, I think. Century Rain is also rather good, as is Elysium Fire.
The Revenger series, a sort of sci-fi Treasure Island is going strong, too.
I like the Revelation Space stuff, but it’s dense and unforgiving; it may work better if approached after a few of the others.
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SF&F Reviews blog
The comic version of City of Glass, adapted from the Paul Auster book. It's very odd, beautifully drawn stuff.
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The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
There's also Echopraxia, the sequel to Blindsight.
I can't think really think of anyone else on Watts' philosophical wavelength. He seems to occupy "the vainglorious illusion of human free will" /"consciousness is overrated" niche all by himself. Reynolds is certainly good fun, though: lots of great world-building in a setting that refuses to drink any FTL kool-aid. But... he's a hard SF plot-driven stylist who's a couple of levels less intellectual than Watts.
If you're looking for "alien existential threats to the human race that highlight humanity's foibles" books/series that are fairly grim and thoughtful, you might consider some old Greg Bear: The Forge of God series and The Way series.
Yeah, I read Echopraxia a while back.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Well hey in Semiosis
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Small Gods is my personal favorite to start with. It’s a stand-alone set in the universe.
Guards! Guards! is the first in a series of incredibly impressive books.
Or you could give going in published order a shot. His earliest work is shaky but still quite enjoyable.
I still think they're great, but Pratchett's modus operandi clearly changed early on from getting stuck into fantasy and making as many jokes as possible to doing more seriously pointed, though still very funny, novels set in the same world.
Equal Rites is the start of that but Mort is where he perfected the mix of a compelling story and excellent jokes. I'd start with Mort.
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
She says she is finding it interesting but I think she’s being polite wrt how much she actually is enjoying it. I think it’s completely different to what she thought it was going to be.
I also said if she wanted to give Pratchett another go, she should try out the Guards! Guards! stuff. That while his stuff is funny / a bit silly you can tell Pratchett is really angry about how certain things are in our own world.
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
Choose Your Own Chat 1 Choose Your Own Chat 2 Choose Your Own Chat 3
The Monster Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Steam: Korvalain
"Let me put it this way...if complete and utter chaos were lightning, he be the type of man to stand on a hill during a thunderstorm in wet copper armor and screaming 'All gods are bastards!'"
~ Buckaroo Banzai
Blizzard: Pailryder#1101
GoG: https://www.gog.com/u/pailryder
What I'm saying is, GRRM fans: you could have it so much worse.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Rawn
"The third novel in the "Exiles" trilogy has now been "forthcoming" since the late 1990s due to the author suffering from clinical depression and moving on to other projects to facilitate her recovery."
Those books were SO COOL
I don't think I read them quite when they were published, so I've been waiting a mere...18 years, rather than 22, for the third book.
The first two rincewind books are fun and fast but they're also very on the nose with their satire and clunky compared to everything else. Equal Rites is a stand out as in it doesn't feel like it fits in with the rest of diskworld like at all.
I would say start with Sorcery, then Mort, then Wyrd Sisters and everything in publication order.
If The Captals Tower ever does come out, I will first have to a) re-read the first two b) find the first two, as I think they’ve been in a crate in the loft for over a decade.
...I’d forgotten I was waiting for this.
Goodreads
SF&F Reviews blog
In any event, those forums were just...unsettling. Everyone referred to her as The Creator, because that was how she wanted it. It tended to make many people's posts feel more worshipful than anything else. I was always in a hurry to scan for relevant threads and updates as fast as I possibly could and get the hell out of there.
I went to take a quick look now, but they no longer exist. That's kind of a relief.
hmm I am not sure what to think about this book
setting it in a fantasy world based on african myths instead of european ones is waaaaaaay up my alley
the writing style is very interesting, also pretty mythic I think (more of a, this event took place and now this one) and hazy like gene wolf's books that I've read
there's a lot of graphic sexual violence and slavery and mutilation and assorted other terrible shit going down though, I don't know if I'll be up for the sequel
it's crazy polarizing in the goodreads reviews, a bunch of people saying they didn't finish it
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades