Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385214 times)

PatH · « **Reply #1160 on:** July 21, 2011, 11:28:49 AM »

Science Fiction / Fantasy

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Welcome to the whole universe! This is where we gather to share our experiences in science fiction and fantasy. We like everything, from Gregory Benford to Stephanie Meyer—hard science to magic and fantasy.

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Discussion Leader: PatH

Steph · « **Reply #1161 on:** July 23, 2011, 08:20:19 AM »

I have several of the Star Doc.. One of which have read.. and two waiting..But I was in a used book store the other day and they had six books in the series, but you think I could remember which ones I have.. NOOOOO... Darn it all.

salan · « **Reply #1162 on:** July 28, 2011, 06:26:21 PM »

Have any of you been watching the new series "Alpha" on the scifi channel? How about Haven? Alpha is starting out pretty good with a good cast. Haven may be a little too strange for me. We'll see........
Sally

marcie · « **Reply #1163 on:** July 29, 2011, 01:27:59 AM »

Salan, I've been watching Alphas and Falling Skies (on TNT). They are both strange but I usually like science fiction and there doesn't seem to be much else on during the Summer.

The Alpha team members' powers complement one another. Some are pretty imaginative.

There are some interesting characters on Falling Skies.

Babi · « **Reply #1164 on:** July 29, 2011, 08:47:55 AM »

I had my doubts about 'Alphas' after seeing the first show, SALLY. It seemed to
me there was very little acting at all. The characters mostly stood around looking
vacant while special effects went on all around them. After watching a couple
more, I think it's getting better. 'Haven' has introduced some weird 'gifts', but
I can accept more of that in a 'sci fi'. Not that there's a great deal of 'sci' to it. $:-\$

Frybabe · « **Reply #1165 on:** July 29, 2011, 05:49:06 PM »

I watched part of the first episode of Alphas and didn't care for it. I haven't watched Falling Skies yet.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1166 on:** August 05, 2011, 08:37:57 AM »

I am, at the moment, in the middle of a very funny, free e-book novel called Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. In the forward Mr. Scalzi explains that this was his first novel, one he wrote just to see if he could. After numerous publisher rejections (they weren't interested in humorous SciFi) he decided to offer it as a free e-book. Both Project Gutenberg and ManyBooks has it. I highly recommend it if you are looking for something light, flip, funny, and free. BTW, it has since been published to print, hopefully with errors corrected (the ebook version looks like an uncorrected galley proof).

PatH · « **Reply #1167 on:** August 05, 2011, 04:43:11 PM »

Frybabe, I have the paperback of "Agent to the Stars". You're right, it's pretty funny. A Hollywood agent has been hired to figure out how to present friendly aliens to the world so they will be accepted, even though they look like disgusting blobs of grey glop and smell bad.

Babi · « **Reply #1168 on:** August 06, 2011, 09:51:22 AM »

If anybody could do it, a Hollywood agent could. It wouldn't be the first time they've made
someone in bad odor smell good.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1169 on:** August 06, 2011, 03:33:50 PM »

Babi, I've just had my laugh for the day. Thank you for that.

Babi · « **Reply #1170 on:** August 07, 2011, 08:12:39 AM »

My pleasure.

Steph · « **Reply #1171 on:** August 07, 2011, 10:48:44 AM »

Sounds like a neat funny book.Will look for the ebook.

Babi · « **Reply #1172 on:** August 10, 2011, 08:58:32 AM »

I've found another S. L. Viehl, "Eternity Row". It's fifth in the series I believe, but
they are hard to find and I'm happy to take what I can get. Found this one is
a local second-hand book store. It's hard to put down. Always something
happening, whether personal, professional, or action. The practice of medicine
is something else when most of your patients are alien species.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1173 on:** August 10, 2011, 09:21:59 AM »

The only one I couldn't find was Rebel Ice. What with reading several customer reviews and what came up in later books, I didn't really need it anyway. I ended up getting three of the books on my Kindle because is was less expensive than ordering used online and paying shipping. I do hate splitting my series books that way. My guess is that the publisher hasn't picked up a contract to reprint. Wonder why? Amazon is very low on stock on their remaining volumes.

Steph, Lynn Viehl in all her pseudonym incarnations lives somewhere in South Florida.

Steph · « **Reply #1174 on:** August 11, 2011, 06:14:23 AM »

I live in central Florida.. but what are some of the other names she uses..

Frybabe · « **Reply #1175 on:** August 11, 2011, 08:24:03 AM »

Shiela Lynn (S.L.) Viehl also writes under the names of Lynn Viehl, Jessica Hall, and Gena Hale. Her SciFi books are written under S. L. Viehl. The Jessica Hale books look like they are a combo of Romance and Intrigue/Adventure. Gena Hale books appear to be more straight forward romance. I am not into the romance genre so haven't bothered to look into them, but I may give one of the Jessica Hale books a try. The Steel Blades sounds interesting (as long as the romance bit is not overdone, that is). Lynn Viehl books look kind of spooky. I am not sure where they go in the genre department. Horror/Thrillers maybe?

Babi · « **Reply #1176 on:** August 11, 2011, 08:58:57 AM »

I had no idea Viehl was so versatile. I know what you mean about ordering books, FRYBABE. I can find one book at one location, another book elsewhere,
etc., but I'd wind up paying more on the postage than I do on the books.

PatH · « **Reply #1177 on:** September 14, 2011, 11:16:47 AM »

I've been reading plenty of sci-fi, but been lazy about talking about it.

I read another Liaden Universe book by Lee and Miller--Saltation. I Dare (the last of the five books dealing with Shan, Patricia, Val Con, Nova, Miri, and Pat Rin and their fight against the Department of the Interior) ended with the arrival of Theo Waitley, daughter of Daav, announcing that she is in trouble, and "it's complicated". Fledgling told us the beginning of her story, up to the point where she is about to go to pilot school. Saltation describes her pilot training and a bit after, and all the complicated troubles she gets into, ending up with the same scene that closed I Dare. The next one, Ghost Ship, has recently come out, but only in hardback. Saltation is a good read, definitely up to standard, but Fledgling should be read first.

Babi · « **Reply #1178 on:** September 15, 2011, 08:47:32 AM »

Oh, goody! Thanks so much,PAT. I had begun to think Lee and Miller had quit writing. I will
definitely want to find 'Ghost Ship'.

PatH · « **Reply #1179 on:** September 17, 2011, 11:09:09 PM »

Last week's f2f sci-fi discussion group was a golden oldie: Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel. It's the first of three detective stories involving the collaboration of a human and a robot. It's a fairly played detective story, but it also involves a lot of social issues. The earth has become grossly overpopulated (at 8 million!) and is existing in enclosed underground cities, where the size of your small quarters depends on your job standing, everyone uses community bathroom facilities, and you are mostly eating processed yeast. The thought of going outside these enclosed spaces (the caves of steel) is scary for everyone. People have emigrated to other planets where there is plenty of room, but further emigration has been banned. Robots are taking over some human jobs, and are much hated for this.

With this background, the policeman Elijah Bailey has been detailed to solve the murder of a diplomat from one of the outer worlds, with all sorts of touchy political implications, and he has been given a "spacer" sidekick who turns out to be a robot. Bailey has to come to terms with his feelings about the robot and solve the murder, while avoiding a galactic incident.

There are two sequels. In The Naked Sun, Bailey travels to a sparcely inhabited world, where people only interact by video, personal contact being regarded as disgusting. Marriages are arranged by genetic suitability, and the mandated once a week personal interaction is endured stoically. (Since they're so scientifically advanced, I don't know why they don't just grow artificially produced embryos in bottles, but they don't.)

The third one, Robots of Dawn (which I haven't reread because I can't find it) somewhat resolves these issues, and holds out some hope for man's future. They all can stand on their own as detective stories.

PatH · « **Reply #1180 on:** September 17, 2011, 11:17:24 PM »

Next month we get another golden oldie, Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. I really hope I can work around the birth of my next grandchild to be there. Since I co-led, with Marcie, a discussion of the book here, I feel like I know it pretty well, and really want to compare points of view.

marcie · « **Reply #1181 on:** September 18, 2011, 01:08:24 AM »

PatH, It must be a lot of fun for you to belong to a sci-fi discussion group. I love Asimov's Robot stories. Your synopsis of the Caves of Steel and sequels brings the experience of reading those books vividly back.

And Ursula Le Guin has been one of my favorite writers.

Steph · « **Reply #1182 on:** September 18, 2011, 06:02:58 AM »

I loved Asimov's robot series.. Such fun.. Thanks for reminding me.

Babi · « **Reply #1183 on:** September 18, 2011, 08:48:37 AM »

I remember that trio, PAT. I always felt the books were influential in making people think
twice about how they assessed those who were different from themselves. Asimov was an
incredibly prolific genius. Thank God we always seem to have a few around to make the rest
of us think.

JoanK · « **Reply #1184 on:** September 18, 2011, 09:43:45 PM »

CONGRATULATIONS

PatH

ON

YOUR NEW

GRANDDAUGHTER!

marcie · « **Reply #1185 on:** September 18, 2011, 11:34:59 PM »

Congratulations, Pat. Welcome to your new granddaughter!

Steph · « **Reply #1186 on:** September 19, 2011, 05:48:52 AM »

Grandchildren are so much fun. Enjoy..

Babi · « **Reply #1187 on:** September 19, 2011, 09:17:42 AM »

Ah, I do wish I had been able to see more of my grands while they were growing up. I know
now how lucky I was that my grandmother lived close enough that I could spend frequent
weekends with her. The grands are all grown up now, living far away, and showing no sign
of presenting me with great-grands. Pets are wondrful, but not quite the same.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1188 on:** September 19, 2011, 10:58:13 AM »

Oh, a new granddaughter. How wonderful, PatH. Congratulations to you and the family.

Steph · « **Reply #1189 on:** September 20, 2011, 06:29:04 AM »

Was just reading one of those mystery short stories, all from women.. Most mundane, but there was a wonderful Dana Stabenow.. It was a mystery and a fantasy all at once.. She had a world in just one short story. She is a talented woman indeed.

Babi · « **Reply #1190 on:** September 20, 2011, 10:15:00 AM »

My daughter was visiting across town and found some of the elusive Viehl books in a shop over
there. Serendipity!

Steph · « **Reply #1191 on:** September 21, 2011, 06:29:34 AM »

Ihave several of the StarDoc on hand. Probably should start on the second. I did like the first, but the blurb on the second has been putting me off.. Too much betrayal.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1192 on:** September 21, 2011, 07:56:05 AM »

I think betrayal is a recurring theme in the series, Steph. Beyond Varallon is one of my favorites in the series. You may notice, as you read through the series, that Viehl touches on many different cultures and societal problems as she travels. Slavery is also a recurrent issue in the series as are issues having to do with genetic manipulation. Shockball includes some Native American cultural behaviors. Another book is primarily set in a fundamentalist religious society. One of the later books brings up the issue of homosexuality. I haven't gotten my hand on it yet, but Rebel Ice appears to include an Eskimo type society.

Babi · « **Reply #1193 on:** September 21, 2011, 05:16:47 PM »

The lady at 'Paperback Swap' who sent me the first Stardoc book said she thought the next
two or three were not as good, but that it picked up again after that. I now have "Beyond
Varallon", thanks to Valerie, so I'm glad to see that FRYBABE really liked it.

Steph · « **Reply #1194 on:** September 22, 2011, 06:03:09 AM »

I think I will give it a shot.. I liked the first StarDoc mostly, although the deep dark villains are not my cup of tea. I am a great believer in moderated villains..

Babi · « **Reply #1195 on:** September 22, 2011, 08:23:35 AM »

"Moderated villains", huh?

I guess I know what you mean. Actually, many of Viehl's
characters/species are a mixture of good and bad traits...from our point of view. What we
might consider bad would have been acceptable in their culture. It can be a bit jarring.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1196 on:** September 22, 2011, 08:40:05 AM »

Steph, what kept me going with the series was to see what she got herself into next. I found CheriJo very annoying with her pigheadedness and habit of diving into things pretty much without considering the consequences to anyone else, including her friends and family. The action is fast paced throughout the whole series. I can't say that I truly liked CheriJo (or Duncan for that matter), but I just couldn't put the books down. I had to know what came next. Some of the characters physical features seemed a bit improbable, but Viehl made it work.

Just saw your post Babi, good point.

Steph · « **Reply #1197 on:** September 23, 2011, 06:06:55 AM »

Viehl seems to live in south Florida and I just picked up a Lynn
Abbey and she is listed as Leesburgh, Florida, which is about 20 minutes from where I live. She maintains a very very low profile if she lives here. I had never heard a whisper from any of the book community.

PatH · « **Reply #1198 on:** October 01, 2011, 09:42:20 PM »

Someone on this site (I'm sorry I forget who, but it's been a while) alerted me to the "Lost Fleet" series by Jack Campbell. IMHO, what it really is is a large number of wonderful sea battles fought in space at speeds of 0.1 x the speed of light. Battles are strung together by a reasonable plot, involving lots of twists and turns. There's too much repetition of basic details, and a bunch of other flaws, but I happily fought my way across the universe and back with Captain Jack Geary through 6 books.

He's back. The first volume of the next series, Beyond the Frontier, is out. The paperback must not be out here yet, since when I ordered it from Amazon I got a British copy, from a British seller.

Alas, I dassn't start it yet, because I'm deep in the wars of the late Roman Republic for the Plutarch discussion, and if I start I'll read straight through.

Anyone who hasn't read these, they absolutely have to be read in order.

Steph · « **Reply #1199 on:** October 02, 2011, 06:05:29 AM »

Still struggling with the second StarDoc.. Boy if you are her friend, you can count on being dead or badly injured. She hs so many issues..If I make it through this second one, I think I will lay off for a while. I really dont like books that go from battle to battle..

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Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385214 times)