Science/Fantasy fiction bukes (2 Viewers)

[Denny Oubidoux]

i just read Peace by gene wolf (after timbot going on about him...) and it was deadly alright, though not very sci-fi/fantasy at all, more meloncholy straight fiction with the odd strange bit. i'll definetly be reading more of him though.


has anyone read michael moorcock? i just read one called The Shores of Death and it was a load of shite, i dunno if i should just give up on him now.

moorcock ain't a very lyrical writer but his "behold the man" is a slight but good read...

i just finished another moorcock - Byzantium Endures. its not sci-fi but it was deadly! a big epic thing, not a million miles away in style from something like illywhacker by peter carey i.e. it follows the adventures of a deluded chancer through the various exciting adventures he gets himself mixed up in, but this is set in russia and the ukraine around the time of WW1. its beautifully written, the central character is a rotten prick but kind of endearing all the same, its got plot, rich characters and all that shit. luckily its the first of a 4-part series so im postponing gene wolfe's new sun series and going straight on to The Laughter Of Cathage which is the second installment of the moorcock series.

 

[Diddles]

Right now the Steven Erikson Malazan Book of the Fallen series is the best thing around I reckon. Fucking class books that make Feist look shite.

Started reading this the other day. I'm quite taken with it.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i just finished another moorcock - Byzantium Endures. its not sci-fi but it was deadly! a big epic thing, not a million miles away in style from something like illywhacker by peter carey i.e. it follows the adventures of a deluded chancer through the various exciting adventures he gets himself mixed up in, but this is set in russia and the ukraine around the time of WW1. its beautifully written, the central character is a rotten prick but kind of endearing all the same, its got plot, rich characters and all that shit. luckily its the first of a 4-part series so im postponing gene wolfe's new sun series and going straight on to The Laughter Of Cathage which is the second installment of the moorcock series.

laughter of carthage was deadly too. fucking deadly. i cant wait to get onto book three.

whats peirs anthony like? shops are full of his books

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

i finally read the book of the new sun by gene wolfe. i enjoyed it, dragged a bit in the second half at times though and its a bit over hyped. good though.

 

[Cormcolash]

Since I last posted here, which was agggges ago:

Matter - Really good, slightly below Iain Banks usual standards, but that's cause his standards are so high really.

Toll The Hounds - Amazin. Just amazin. Erikson rules.

Night of Knives - Ian Esselmont's first Malazan book. Pretty cool, not as good as Erikson stuff but it's really good in a different way, encapsulates more detail as it puts a lot more into a small space of time. Really good to read after having read the Erikson books as it gives insight into what went before Erikson's first book.

The Witcher - Fantasy book by that Polish fella. Pretty good, not amazing or anything, fun though.

Not sure if I've posted this up to the thread yet, but The First Law series (http://www.joeabercrombie.com/) is completely fucking amazing. COMPLETELY FUCKING AMAZING! Utterly, utterly addictive books, cool as fuck, amazing characters. Logen Ninefingers is one of the greatest fantasy characters ever written! Abercrombie's battle scenes are incredible. His writing is brilliant, full of proper hilariousness!

Revelation Space - Alistair Reynolds - Pretty good. I find his style a bit slow moving though and difficult to read somehow. Some good characters in there though, his books are good overall but difficult to get into I think.

In The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss - This is a strange one. Despite everything about this book screaming "Generic! Average! Nothing Special!", it is somehow a great read. The style it's written in just seems to draw you back for more and more, it's pretty cool really, yet is full of average writing! I definitely want to read the next book in the trilogy.

Loads other stuff too of course. Currently on Joe Haldeman's Forever Omnibus. Read the first one a couple of years ago so got the set at Christmas with a voucher. Just finished the second book, good stuff, not as good as the first one though, interesting to see what the third one will turn out like! Joe Haldeman is weird, can write some things really well, and can also write some utterly banal bollocks! (see Camoflage for example of shite)

 

[Reets]

I'm reading Greg Keyes kingdoms of thorn and bone series, on book 3 and its been very good so far. knights, princesses and magic type thing.

recently finished:
The first law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie which was very funny and seemed to be taking the piss out of some epic style fantasies, Glokta reminded me of George r r martin's character Tyrion Lannister.
The steel remains by Richard Morgan, apparently its a one parter, but there's so much in it that it feels like he could have easily gotten a trilogy out of it, also having the sword wielding main character gay made for a nice change.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the best thing I've read in a year or two, beautiful written, fantastic characters, lots of little songs and poems to add a bit of depth to it, loved every page, only problem is he's a slow writer so don't expect the second one any time soon.

I want to read Eddings and Erickson next, bought most of the Belgariad series but not to sure where to start with Erickson.




Also Shaney was right, The Magician is fairly crap.

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Also Shaney was right, The Magician is fairly crap.

you are clearly a person who's judgment i can trust. i might try that one about the wind, ive never heard of it. i started Starswarm by Brian Aldiss last night.

 

[Cormcolash]

I'm reading Greg Keyes kingdoms of thorn and bone series, on book 3 and its been very good so far. knights, princesses and magic type thing.

recently finished:
The first law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie which was very funny and seemed to be taking the piss out of some epic style fantasies, Glokta reminded me of George r r martin's character Tyrion Lannister.
The steel remains by Richard Morgan, apparently its a one parter, but there's so much in it that it feels like he could have easily gotten a trilogy out of it, also having the sword wielding main character gay made for a nice change.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, the best thing I've read in a year or two, beautiful written, fantastic characters, lots of little songs and poems to add a bit of depth to it, loved every page, only problem is he's a slow writer so don't expect the second one any time soon.

I want to read Eddings and Erickson next, bought most of the Belgariad series but not to sure where to start with Erickson.




Also Shaney was right, The Magician is fairly crap.

The First Law rules.
I'll be starting The Steel Remains as soon as I finish reading Return of the Crimson Guard.
Where to start with Erikson? The Gardens of the Moon. Book one of the series, and follow the rest from there.

 

[Reets]

Yeah I've been recommending the first law to people, cliffhanger from start to end .
he's releasing the first book of a new series in a few weeks, set in the same world, none of the previous series characters are in it but events there are mentioned so you'll still get little snippets.

I still have the steel remains if you want a lend (they didn't have it in any of the libraries i'd checked), the main guys a funny bastard, like an educated gay ninefingers.
Just found out that's the first of a trilogy, which makes more sense.

 

[Cormcolash]

Yeah I'm looking forward to that new Abercrombie one. I already have The Steel Remains in the house, my da gives me all these books cause he loves fantasy too, it's great, I got the entire Malazan series for free!!!

 

[Diddles]

I'll be starting The Steel Remains as soon as I finish reading Return of the Crimson Guard.

Having a hard time reading Night of Knives and it's a tiny little book. I'm just not that into it. Is the other one any better?

 

[Cormcolash]

I think the Crimson Guard is much better, but then I just love this shit. I thought Night of Knives was great too.

 

[piratecore]

just started reading some of the warhammer horus heresy books. surprisingly good. i dont play warhammer by the way and i still enjoyed these books a lot although sometimes can be a bit hit and miss as they are by a variety of writers. on number 6 now.

the new slaine comics are excellent as well. its a three volume epic called the book of invasions, the artwork is beautiful and the storyline is very very good. picks up just where the horned god leaves off. lots of gore. if you havent read the horned god buy it because its just been reissued and is the best comic ever written.

 

[tim]

the isaac asimov robot books are good, also some philip k dick, though not valis as it is the worst book ever written

there's another dude called alastair reynolds who writes big huge epic scifi books

I love Valis. A hard read for sure, but a rewarding one I thought.

 

[Cormcolash]

Alastair Reynolds is alright by the way, his books are pretty good but there's something about his style I find difficult to read, he takes a long time to build up to any sort of fluency or something.

 

[ratmonkey]

I love Valis. A hard read for sure, but a rewarding one I thought.

Valis is great.

 

[Cryptid]

Didn't like Valis, but I do like PKD. The first chapter of Valis is really good, worth reading in itself.

 

[Cormcolash]

Philip K Dick is banned from the thread by the way, because people who don't read fantasy and sci-fi but pretend they do spend the whole time going on about whatever books of his they've read.

 

[David Kronenbourg]

has anyone read little, big by john crowley? it's superb. i dunno if you'd call it fantasy in the strictest sense, but it's about a family who live in an old gaff inhabited by fairies. all the supernatural activity is implied. anyway, whether you read it as an epic family saga or a book about fairies and the likes it's an amazing read. harold bloom reckons yer man crowley's in the same league as philip roth, cormac mccarthy and all that lot. great book

 

[Cormcolash]

Are there massive epic battles with wizards and shit?
Spaceships destroying each other in the cold depths of the abyss?
Well then.