Books?

[RelentlessOblivion]

Sounds like an interesting book. I really don't read enough books (though in my case that does mean listening to them on audiobook.

[FatherAlabaster]

Does anyone like Terry Pratchett?

I used to love his books. I haven't read any in years, but I'd enjoy picking them back up. I was very sorry to hear of his death. Currently rereading "The Marriage Of Cadmus And Harmony" by Roberto Calasso, which I know I mentioned in another thread. I suppose it's best described as an analytical essay on Greek myth; I wouldn't hesitate to call it "thrilling" and "engrossing", and recommend it to anyone with an interest in mythology and a long attention span. BTW Relentless, I'm glad you're getting into Dune. The whole series (Herbert's original 6 books) is great, gets a bit long-winded at times but it's well worth reading in its entirety. I have such a low regard for the "conclusion" his son wrote that I wish I hadn't read it.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for recommending the series to me FA. I do tend to go more for horror novels so it's rare a fantasy series really grabs me like Dune has.

[Laihoard]

I know one of the guys in the band' date=' but I've never read the books their lyrics are based on.[/quote'] Holy shit that's awesome!

[Frostaudn]

Any Caladan Brood fans? I'll be swinging by Chapters in the hopes of picking up the first books in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series' date=' they look pretty neat.[/quote'] Great band, but I've never read any of the books.

[GratuitousTK]

I recently purchased a good three quarters of Iain M Banks' Culture series. I'll be having surgery on both of my knees in June, and will be on crutches or on my back doing nothing for a month, so I thought I might as well find something to eat away the time. Plan to catch up on a LOT of Metal I've neglected over the years during the time as well. Thinking of binge listening tech death and black.

[GratuitousTK]

I also think I'm going to re-read all of my Dostoevsky collection as well. Particularly Demons and The Brothers Karamazov.

[GratuitousTK]

Dune is a masterpiece of science fiction. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were good. The rest of Herberts work in the universe is crap. I prefer the work of Le Guin and Zelazny anyway. More in line with my thought processes.

[Frostaudn]

Isnt it? I've really enjoyed it so far' date=' I'm a little more than halfway through but been on a couple-week hiatus. I love how it focuses on the development of the actual music, that's the most interesting to me. [/quote'] Somehow this comment slipped completely through... But yes, I agree. Currently I'm a bit further then halfways and as you said: it focusses on the development of the music instead of sensation about, let's say, the church burnings. I'm curious what still has to come.

[BlutAusNerd]

I recently purchased a good three quarters of Iain M Banks' Culture series. I'll be having surgery on both of my knees in June, and will be on crutches or on my back doing nothing for a month, so I thought I might as well find something to eat away the time. Plan to catch up on a LOT of Metal I've neglected over the years during the time as well. Thinking of binge listening tech death and black.

Maybe I'm the wrong guy to weigh in on this, but binge listening to tech-death seems fruitless with how many of its bands are just faceless wankers who can't even write a song that you'll remember for more than 5 seconds after hearing it. Go for the oldies, from when songwriting actually mattered, Death, Cynic, Atheist, Hellwitch, Nocturnus, Demilich, Gorguts, old Cryptopsy, Agressor, Disincarnate, etc...

[FatherAlabaster]

Dune is a masterpiece of science fiction. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were good. The rest of Herberts work in the universe is crap. I prefer the work of Le Guin and Zelazny anyway. More in line with my thought processes.

I disagree, the last three Dune books are just as good. God Emperor throws a lot of people because of its pace, but it's still a great piece of character development, and in the context of the last two, it takes on a mythic quality. The last two books are just as exciting as the original IMO, just more complex. I love the whole series. Love Zelazny too, he's been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. I liked the Wizard Of Earthsea books, but I haven't read them in a really long time and I wouldn't put le Guin up as one of my favorite authors.

[GratuitousTK]

Yeah I don't know if you've ever read any of Zelasny's SF stuff. Lord of Light is up there with Dune for me in terms of the better SF novels of the 20th century. Never been able to stomach fantasy. I really only dig Le Guins Hainish novels. The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness are the two greatest SF novels I've ever read.

[FatherAlabaster]

I've read nearly everything Zelazny has written multiple times - as i say, he's been a favorite since I was a kid. My first book of his was Doorways in the Sand, still a really fun book IMO. Lord of Light is amazing, but I wouldn't say it's similar to Dune in any other sense than that they're both "future histories". Zelazny comes from that classic SF practice of writing short stories with a point, or a twist, and all of his stuff reads to me like either extended short stories, or a string of vignettes. Amber is my favorite of his. Herbert's work in Dune was much more centrally planned, everything in the service of an overarching concept/story arc, and his worldbuilding was superb. Both are fun, clever, and given to philosophical musings, but it's an apples and oranges comparison. Two giants in the field, without a doubt. I've never drawn a hard line between SF and fantasy; I find even straight SF to be pretty fantastical most of the time, and when it's based on discredited concepts (like the Lamarckism of Herbert's "genetic memory"), I just turn off my real-world objections and go along with the ride. Even my favorite current SF author, Neal Stephenson, gives a lot of credence to ideas I disagree with, like his discussions in Anathem of the nature of consciousness as a quantum multi-dimensional phenomenon.

[GratuitousTK]

It seems like Stephenson bobs back and forth from being an actual science fiction writer and just a writer. Snow Crash, The Diamond age and especially Crytonomicon were fantastic reads, but The Baroque Cycle, and Reamde badly needed an editor. A lot of bloat. I liked Anathem though, and his new one seems really interesting. The description I read on Amazon makes me want to buy it once its out on paperback in another six or seven months. And wasn't really comparing Lord of Light and Dune. I was just saying that both deserve to be talked about as some best SF works of the 20th century. I find far future stuff to be my favorite sub genre. Wether its stuff from Vernor Vinge that has a really techy pulpiness to it, or more contemplative and existential stuff from Le Guin. I find everything by Larry Niven to be unreadable though.

[RelentlessOblivion]

I must admit I'm not the biggest SF fan in the world (making it all the more unusual for something like Dune to really grab me) but my interest is piqued. Any real standouts among those authors? Something with a darker atmosphere would be good. In an Edgar Allen Poe mood at the moment. Just read Black Cat which is an under-rated work of his if you ask me.

[GratuitousTK]

Vernor Vinge with a Deepness in the Sky and A Fire in the Deep. If you like really techy stuff with a lot of nerd sexual fantasy thrown in you would probably like it. They are both set about 30 or so thousand years in the future. Le Guin has two novels that should have won her a Nobel Prize by now. The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. The dispossessed is at once the best critique of Anarcho-Socialism and le se faire Capitalism I've yet to find. The Left Hand of Darkness is a thought experiment about a society where its inhabitants shift from being male and female depending on the season. Very interesting take on gender politics. Far future SF tends to be more optimistic, which means you won't find many novels with darker undertones. If you want something that is both very cynical and very optimistic at the same time I would try out A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter Miller. Standard reading for the post- Apocalyptic sub genre.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Hmm well given how much I enjoyed Orwell's Animal Farm I'd say The Dispossed is likely to be the standout there. Political subtext does often seem to keep me interested in a book more often then not. Huxley's Brave New World is probably still my favourite SF/Dystopian society book though.

[FatherAlabaster]

It seems like Stephenson bobs back and forth from being an actual science fiction writer and just a writer. Snow Crash, The Diamond age and especially Crytonomicon were fantastic reads, but The Baroque Cycle, and Reamde badly needed an editor. A lot of bloat. I liked Anathem though, and his new one seems really interesting. The description I read on Amazon makes me want to buy it once its out on paperback in another six or seven months. And wasn't really comparing Lord of Light and Dune. I was just saying that both deserve to be talked about as some best SF works of the 20th century. I find far future stuff to be my favorite sub genre. Wether its stuff from Vernor Vinge that has a really techy pulpiness to it, or more contemplative and existential stuff from Le Guin. I find everything by Larry Niven to be unreadable though.

I like Niven, but he's shallow. I recently re-read most of his books and saw them as dorky old man sex fantasies. Meh. I totally disagree about The Baroque Cycle, I've read it three times and enjoyed it more each time. Part of the point of it was to be long and complicated, in keeping with the subject matter. I haven't read Reamde yet but I'm looking forward to it. I like long books, in general. Of his older books, I like Zodiac the best; Snow Crash seemed a little immature.

[GratuitousTK]

The subtitle of The Dispossessed is "An Ambiguous Utopia" which you the novel is going to be a polemic right off of the bat.

[MacabreEternal]

Just starting on Owen Jones "The Establishment - And How They Get Away With It" All the things that make me angry, emotional and pissed off generally about how the UK as a machine functions is explained here perfectly.

[JBaker]

Just starting on Owen Jones "The Establishment - And How They Get Away With It" All the things that make me angry, emotional and pissed off generally about how the UK as a machine functions is explained here perfectly.

That's pretty high on my to-read list. Cheers for the reminder! ^.^

[MacabreEternal]

That's pretty high on my to-read list. Cheers for the reminder! ^.^

It is well written, I mean he could have very easily fallen into the trap of spouting his own opinions or (even worse) made it all conspiracy theory bollocks but he sticks to the facts. I am only at the Introduction and I am hooked. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[RelentlessOblivion]

Finally finished Dune and I guess now I'd be on book 2 but I'm waaaaaay too lazy to actually figure out which book in the series that actually is.

[FatherAlabaster]

Finally finished Dune and I guess now I'd be on book 2 but I'm waaaaaay too lazy to actually figure out which book in the series that actually is.

Dune Messiah. It's differently paced, and certainly not as triumphant, but I love it.

[RelentlessOblivion]

The first book really captured my attention so I'm excited to see where things go from here.