What BOOK(s) are you reading?

I really like Tim Powers, takes a bit of getting used to though.

Reading a kind of gothic steampunk book but very well written, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist. Highly recommended.

Here's a great book on Physics and philosophy. Thoroughly recommended and an easy read. Hidden in Plain Sight by Andrew Thomas. No need to know Physics he takes you through the key ideas nice and slow. Small book as well, only about 120 pages.

jeb wrote: Contrast with Larry Niven and RINGWORLD. Fucking terrible. This can be a problem in SF--you have an idea, therefore you are an author. Awful writing. I think I would have preferred a technical guide to ringworlds than read the story of these dumb bastards.

I'm not a big fan of Niven, but I'm surprised to read that somebody hated Ringworld. There are some great ideas in the book, but the characters are also reasonably interesting, especially compared to other major science-fiction works of that time. Ringworld Engineers is also reasonably good. Otherwise, I generally only like Niven's collaborations with Jerry Pournelle and/or Steven Barnes.

Shellhead wrote:

jeb wrote: Contrast with Larry Niven and RINGWORLD. Fucking terrible. This can be a problem in SF--you have an idea, therefore you are an author. Awful writing. I think I would have preferred a technical guide to ringworlds than read the story of these dumb bastards.

I'm not a big fan of Niven, but I'm surprised to read that somebody hated Ringworld. There are some great ideas in the book, but the characters are also reasonably interesting, especially compared to other major science-fiction works of that time. Ringworld Engineers is also reasonably good. Otherwise, I generally only like Niven's collaborations with Jerry Pournelle and/or Steven Barnes.

In fairness, I also read Niven's The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring and felt that those were much more interesting and developed.

So, I'm reading Snow Crash based on the recommendations here and in Chapter 48 there's a bit that struck me as pretty prophetic:

"Therefore, the metaverse is wide open and undefended, like airports in the days before bombs and metal detectors, like elementary schools in the days before maniacs with assault rifles."

I mean, this book was written in '92 I believe. Maybe I wasn't aware, but I don't recall these issues at the time. Maybe it was just a guess on the author's part but always chilling to read crappy stuff predicted in older fiction.

I'm pretty sure Stephenson is talking specifically this one, in 1989: Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(Stockton)

I think the frequency has gone up, but that was a pretty big deal then. My wife was in High School there in Stockton at the time. Nothing good ever happens in Stockton.

I need to go read the new Tim Powers. I've read all the shorts he's done recently, but it's been a while since there's a full novel to dig into.

Shellhead wrote:

jeb wrote: Contrast with Larry Niven and RINGWORLD. Fucking terrible. This can be a problem in SF--you have an idea, therefore you are an author. Awful writing. I think I would have preferred a technical guide to ringworlds than read the story of these dumb bastards.

I'm not a big fan of Niven, but I'm surprised to read that somebody hated Ringworld. There are some great ideas in the book, but the characters are also reasonably interesting, especially compared to other major science-fiction works of that time. Ringworld Engineers is also reasonably good. Otherwise, I generally only like Niven's collaborations with Jerry Pournelle and/or Steven Barnes.

This is what I am talking about though--the ideas are great. I agree. But the characters are hot garbage. The two identifiably female characters are literally a lover of the protagonist and whore (who fucks the protagonist). That's some weak sauce compared to DUNE, I tell you what, never mind whatever was going on in THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS. And they are idiots half the time to move the plot along. It was just frustrating. It's a grand idea, but you could says it's hollowed out (har de har).

Bombs at airports were a thing for sure. Not so much in America, but Europe had seen lots of airport bombings/attacks that prompted the security changes from the CATCH ME IF YOU CAN days decades earlier. The schoolyard shooting thing likely is a reference to Stockton, CA's shooting from 1989.

jeb wrote:

Contrast with Larry Niven and RINGWORLD. Fucking terrible. This can be a problem in SF--you have an idea, therefore you are an author. Awful writing. I think I would have preferred a technical guide to ringworlds than read the story of these dumb bastards.

I loved it as a teenager, but as a middle-aged old fart it's pretty rough sledding. I'm not exactly looking for top-end characterization, but I guess I expect a little more these days.

Compare it to Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Stranger in a Strange Land. I'd grant that there are a lot of similarities between the two, and there are a lot of Heinlein-standard characters in the books. I see it now, when I didn't see it as a teenager. But I'd reread either of those two books today, and get plenty of enjoyment out of them. Of course, I could also watch Blazing Saddles or Excalibur for the 100th time.

Joebot wrote: I've got about 100 pages left in China Mieville's Railsea. It's very cool, I like it a lot. The basic premise is sort of "Moby Dick on trains instead of ships." As weird as that sounds, it actually ends up being even weirder. I love Mieville, and this is probably one of his more readable books. It's a lot less dense and philosophical than something like Iron Council. The setting is fascinating (as always). Mieville is the best at coming up with new words that instantly make sense -- upsky, alt-salvage, ferronaval, railcreole, daybat, etc. Great stuff, highly recommended.

One of his best and most accessible, for sure. As much as I liked Embassytown, it's not really something I'll recommend to anyone, unless you're really into linguistics. Linguistic sci-fi, huh.

Hugh Howey's SHIFT. Second run through.

His writing is cleaner than in WOOL but that book is so much more interesting. Having a hard time finishing it again.

Also, read "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing". Jack Trout tripe from 1994. It talks about how Microsoft is making a HUGE mistake by extending their line into spreadsheet and word processing against the Giants of Lotus 123 and WordPerfect.

LOL

Shellhead wrote:

jeb wrote: Contrast with Larry Niven and RINGWORLD. Fucking terrible. This can be a problem in SF--you have an idea, therefore you are an author. Awful writing. I think I would have preferred a technical guide to ringworlds than read the story of these dumb bastards.

I'm not a big fan of Niven, but I'm surprised to read that somebody hated Ringworld.

I loved the first half of Ringworld, detested the second. I've never seen an author blow an ending so badly. I loved Crashlander, so I was more than a bit disappointed when Ringworld imploded.

I'm reading through a collection of Robert Aickman's short stories, Cold Hand in Mine, since I've been into "weird fiction" for the past few years and had heard good things about this writer, possibly on the forums here (can't remember).

I see the lineage from his work to something like Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen, and I'm envious of the talent on display. It's the sort of talent where, as a reader, you get an unsettling sense that something has been "tapped," but you can't put your finger on a specific style in the writing that brings it out. It's eerie without eerie phrasing, horrific at times but without the usual gothic horror style. Every story I read gives me the sense that something is just not right about... anything. The narrator randomly dwells on details in the setting or in their memory, giving you a sometimes hallucinogenic sense that you're losing your own grasp on the text, like you're sort of slipping through it. I'm accustomed to that feeling usually being paired with prompts in the text to "put the pieces together," much like the type of investigative work that Gene Wolfe's horror novel Peace incites and requires (also very much a descendant of Aickman's style, come to think of it). But with Aickman, you just get these simple, understated, unsettling stories that end on odd notes or just trail off, leaving you wondering or just sort of... bothered.

I think I'm going to have to read the rest of his stuff now.

Columbob wrote:

Joebot wrote: I've got about 100 pages left in China Mieville's Railsea. It's very cool, I like it a lot. The basic premise is sort of "Moby Dick on trains instead of ships." As weird as that sounds, it actually ends up being even weirder. I love Mieville, and this is probably one of his more readable books. It's a lot less dense and philosophical than something like Iron Council. The setting is fascinating (as always). Mieville is the best at coming up with new words that instantly make sense -- upsky, alt-salvage, ferronaval, railcreole, daybat, etc. Great stuff, highly recommended.

One of his best and most accessible, for sure. As much as I liked Embassytown, it's not really something I'll recommend to anyone, unless you're really into linguistics. Linguistic sci-fi, huh.

Don't knock it. I thought it was amazing. In fact if you enjoyed it even slightly, check out Samuel Delany's Babel 17. More linguistic sci fi!

Frohike wrote: I'm reading through a collection of Robert Aickman's short stories, Cold Hand in Mine, since I've been into "weird fiction" for the past few years and had heard good things about this writer, possibly on the forums here (can't remember).

I see the lineage from his work to something like Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen, and I'm envious of the talent on display. It's the sort of talent where, as a reader, you get an unsettling sense that something has been "tapped," but you can't put your finger on a specific style in the writing that brings it out. It's eerie without eerie phrasing, horrific at times but without the usual gothic horror style. Every story I read gives me the sense that something is just not right about... anything. The narrator randomly dwells on details in the setting or in their memory, giving you a sometimes hallucinogenic sense that you're losing your own grasp on the text, like you're sort of slipping through it. I'm accustomed to that feeling usually being paired with prompts in the text to "put the pieces together," much like the type of investigative work that Gene Wolfe's horror novel Peace incites and requires (also very much a descendant of Aickman's style, come to think of it). But with Aickman, you just get these simple, understated, unsettling stories that end on odd notes or just trail off, leaving you wondering or just sort of... bothered.

I think I'm going to have to read the rest of his stuff now.

Talking about short stories, I've really enjoyed both Jeff Vandermeer's (The Third Bear) and China Miéville's (Looking for Jake) short story collections, some definitely have that unsettling feeling you mention, while others are homage or even pastiche of certain classics. Reports of Certain Events in London has that Lovecraft vibe for instance.

I've yet to check out Miéville's latest collection, Three Moments of an Explosion, but that can't be far off (I thought I'd be getting it for Christmas...didn't happen).

Frohike wrote: In fact if you enjoyed it even slightly, check out Samuel Delany's Babel 17. More linguistic sci fi!

Thanks for that, it's in a collection at the public library (french translation, but I'll still check it out).

Edit:

Frohike wrote: More linguistic sci fi!

Story of your Life by Ted Chiang is another great one.

Columbob wrote: Story of your Life by Ted Chiang is another great one.

Yes! Stories of your Life and Others is one of my favorite collections. It's unfortunate that he doesn't write more short stories since I've heard his novella wasn't so great. I think the first story of his that I'd read was "Hell is the Absence of God," which was literally jaw-dropping. He's a master of conundrums.

Thanks for the Vandermeer and Mieville recommendations. I'll check them out.

Frohike wrote: It's unfortunate that he doesn't write more.

That's it really. He doesn't even write a new (short) story every year, very little output from a gifted writer. Stories is an amazing collection, not a bad one in there.