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Cassie - Sci Fi Reading list please

CaptainWacky said:
I'm reading Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. It's good. The main character is a sex bot.
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Review it when finished! I have only read Accelerando and I seem to remember really rating it. Cyberpunk is not my natural home but I do enjoy it.

I must read Contact as well - definitely on the list for me.

Just read Lexicon by Max Barry. Thoroughly good thriller with a sci-Fi twist but set in contemporary Australia. The premise is that certain words when said can "compromise" people and allow you to control them. Those that do are called "poets" and are lead by the "shark eyed" Yeats. It's more of a high concept thriller than a Sci Fi really.

I've also re read Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton and am going to move onto Judas Unchained soon (next in series) - It's a big rolling space opera with a really good set of characters. There are several chains of characters that are running along separate stories (but with same goal). Not as extreme as GOT with it's separate chapters per character but similar in vein.

Now reading Nova Swing by M John Harrison. It is a sort of sequel to Light and just as freaky. It reads like a 1920's detective novel set in the weirdest cyberpunk world you can imagine. There are references continually to events and fashions and music that have no basis. It's hard but I guess mainly just about the writing rather than the story. A lot of writers like him for that reason I guess.
 
I have Nova Swing on my longlist. You might remember I had quite mixed feelings about Light. The writing was brilliant at times, particularly the descriptions of space, which are some of the most evocative I've ever read. But he has a tendency to refer to something he's invented without ever explaining to you what it is. It's like picking up a conversation half way through about a band you haven't heard of. And the sex scenes got a bit much.

Does Nova Swing have any ties to the first book?
 
Nova Swing has very few ties to Light. The central theme of the Shrander is not even mentioned.

Ultimately it is about the writing not a real plot. It reminds me of The Singing Detective in a Cyberpunk environment. It is massively compelling writing with an extraordinary pace considering there is very little plot. You NEED to keep reading even though you know nothing will be explained and there is not redemption or "Tidyness".

I enjoyed it, but I have to admit I also found it a struggle. I borrowed my copy from the Library and glad I didn't buy it. As a tour de force of prose it is exceptional, dark and intriguing. This does not, however, make it a good novel to read. I would not recommend it, despite this enjoyment. I think it's all fine and good being able to write Sci Fi with a jazz philosophy, but FUCK YOU I LIKE A STORY.
 
I don't know if Saturn's Children is cyberpunk. It's set after humans have died out and only their weird robots are left, spread across the solar system doing crazy shit. I'm about halfway through and I'd definitely recommend.
 
Does anyone (Cassie?) have 2001: A Space Odyssey in ePub format? I read Sentinel, the short story it's based on a while back and feel like reading the whole thing now.
 
I might have it, LET ME CHECK.

Edit: I'm pretty sure I have it, but I just got a new computer and it doesn't have a sd card reader built in and I don't have an adapter thingy, BUT I do have my old computer tower sitting right here and I can easily hook it back up and get the book for you. I will see about that tomorrow if I don't forget.
 
OH COOL, I actually do not have to do all that. I do have it on this computer. I'm sending it to your Dr Phlox email in just a second.
 
Oh that's awesome! Thanks so much. :)

It was going to be either that or the bible (I've just finished a non-fiction book so I feel like a change).
 
I finished 2001 yesterday and really enjoyed it. I had read the short story before, but couldn't recall it very well. I agree with everyone who says the book is better than the movie in terms of story telling. You get a much clearer idea of what's going on, but I must say that I barely read a passage without picturing the movie's actors, sets and overall stylisation. As companion pieces they do add up to a fantastic whole.

Now I'm reading Consider Phlebas, which my dad really enjoyed. So far I'm reminded quite a bit of Light. There's the same sense of being thrown in at the deep end with little explanation, but an intriguing metaphysical atmosphere. I get the impression that things will become much clearer as it goes along.
 
The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey (it's Mike Carey of Lucifer fame) - This is a good book. It's kind of a zombie book but not really. It's more about parents and children? It's good. I'd recommend it!
 
Consider Phlebas is really good - stick with it!

I've just read "Altered Carbon" by Richard Morgan - I read "Black Man" by him before and liked it, but his debut is just brilliant. It's a Cyberpunk detective story really but the central premise of us being able to use bodies as "sleeves" is really an incredibly clever idea around the base of the novel. I truly loved it and think you should all give it a look.

Read it before it will be made into a Warner Bros movie directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, AD on Attack of the Clones)
 
Another one for the list.

I'm enjoying Consider Phlebas now. Very impressed by the world building and the unpredictability of it all.
 
I don't think I've read that one yet. I really need to go on a reading spree... maybe after I've killed all the creeps in Kingdom Rush :rwmad:
 
I finally started The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson that I bought ages ago...very very good so far. It's epic fantasy and I'm not very far into it but I'm really impressed by the scale of the world and the writing and everything. THIS IS ANOTHER BOOK I RECOMMEND!!!
 
CaptainWacky said:
I finally started The Way Of Kings by Brandon Sanderson that I bought ages ago...very very good so far. It's epic fantasy and I'm not very far into it but I'm really impressed by the scale of the world and the writing and everything. THIS IS ANOTHER BOOK I RECOMMEND!!!
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Just ordered it from the Library. I'm reading Junot Diaz (not science fiction) now but will try and catch up.
 
There are just too many books. We need genetic longevity treatments just so we can read all the books we've had recommended to us.
 
I read The Rapture of the Nerds by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross while TK was down, and I'm going to read Consider Phlebas next.
 
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