Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 370505 times)

Babi · « **Reply #1200 on:** October 02, 2011, 09:10:22 AM »

Science Fiction / Fantasy

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Discussion Leader: PatH

I'm glad to hear that, PAT. I wanted to try the books when they were first mentioned
here, but couldn't find them. Old..out of print. I'll look again now that they're
back.
The Stardoc series does seem to be constant action, doesn't it, STEPH. It keeps
one riveted, tho'. The lady who sent me the first book said that the following
one or two books were not as good, and reading one now I think I know what she
meant. Viehl was overdoing it. She had the brilliant doctor blithely doing things, for ex.,
that only a senior aeronautics engineer could do. She did say, tho', that the later
books improved, and I found that to be so.

Steph · « **Reply #1201 on:** October 03, 2011, 06:13:20 AM »

I do hope so.. This second book in the series is silly in parts. StarDoc is being extremely, my way or nothing. She complains about her scientist father a lot, but sounds a good deal like him in life.

Babi · « **Reply #1202 on:** October 03, 2011, 08:42:46 AM »

There is one major distinction between Doc Cherijo and her 'father'. He is perfectly willing to
inflict all kinds of torment on his 'child' for his experiments, while Cherijo will suffer most anything
rather than inflict harm on anyone. She is compassionate to a degree that sometimes borders
on foolish. But really, she should learn there are times to keep her smart mouth shut.

Steph · « **Reply #1203 on:** October 04, 2011, 06:27:08 AM »

I agree that she is self sacrificing, but she is also incredibly, my way or no way in this second book. She seems to feel she is the only one who knows anything..

Babi · « **Reply #1204 on:** October 04, 2011, 09:01:21 AM »

In that, she does seem to have borrowed a page from her, uh, progenitor. Hopefully, she will
learn a bit more humility from repeatedly finding that mouthing off isn't smart.

Steph · « **Reply #1205 on:** October 05, 2011, 06:38:49 AM »

Picked up a Patricia Briggs.."When Demons Walk".. and fell in.. Loved it. I had only read her most current books on werewolves, etc. This is an older one, but choice.. Her world is fascinating and I think that there are two prior books in the series. Must go and look.

Babi · « **Reply #1206 on:** October 05, 2011, 08:45:18 AM »

I've been enjoying that Patricia Briggs series, too. I'll have to see if I can find the earlier book.
Thanks for mentioning it, STEPH.

Steph · « **Reply #1207 on:** October 06, 2011, 06:21:23 AM »

Briggs has a real gift for women with some spice..Shamera became quite real in a fantasy world, but still real.

PatH · « **Reply #1208 on:** October 12, 2011, 10:42:00 PM »

I finally got a chance to read the new Jack Campbell: Lost Fleet; Beyond the Frontier; Dreadnaught. You may recall that each book has the name of one of the ships of the fleet; Dreadnaught is Jane Geary's battleship, so that's a clue about the action.

The burning question is: can Campbell find a good enough plot to string the battles together. The answer so far is yes. Geary is back to the rank of Fleet Admiral, off on a new mission, and there are all sorts of new issues. This is the set-up for a new series, so many issues and puzzles are raised, but none answered. They are all good enough to make us want more. It ends with one of the fiercest cliff-hangers I've seen in a long time; I don't see how they can possibly get out of that fix, but surely they will, no doubt by some brilliant insight of looking at things differently.

I await the next one eagerly.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1209 on:** October 12, 2011, 11:35:35 PM »

Thanks for the review, PatH. Adding them to my list.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1210 on:** October 14, 2011, 10:44:47 PM »

I've just started a short story by Alfred Coppel called The Peacemaker (23pgs) which was published in 1953. It is off to a good start. Here is some info about Mt. Coppel: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/alfred-coppel/

PatH · « **Reply #1211 on:** October 14, 2011, 11:03:43 PM »

Frybabe, I've never heard of Coppel, but he looks promising. Let us know how your story shapes up.

Babi · « **Reply #1212 on:** October 15, 2011, 08:48:37 AM »

Yeah, FRYBABE. I'm always on the lookout for another good Sci.Fi/fantasy writer. I'll see if
my library has any Coppel/Gilman books.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1213 on:** October 16, 2011, 11:55:05 PM »

I finished the Coppel short story last night. The Peacemaker reads like something I would have seen on an early 50's TV show. Interesting plot: a space pirate who ended up being hailed as a hero and a legend. Well, I suppose a lot of scoundrels ended up inadvertently becoming heroes.

PatH · « **Reply #1214 on:** October 20, 2011, 08:43:04 PM »

My f2f Sci-Fi group last week discussed Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness. We discussed it here on SL, so I felt well-primed. My fellows tend to get hung up on gender issues, of which there are plenty here, so we skipped over some of the other points, especially the incredible mood of the journey over the ice, and the religious philosophy. But it was a very good, lively discussion all the same.

Next month is Dune, which I've never gotten around to reading, though my economist daughter is very admiring of that aspect. There is a back to back fantasy discussion, and next month it's Tolkien's Children of Hurin, which I've sort of been meaning to read for a while. That means picking up two sets of characters, political problems, factions, religions, etc. We'll see if I can hack it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1215 on:** October 20, 2011, 09:59:16 PM »

PatH, I hope you enjoy Dune. I've read it and seen both movies. The earlier movie picked up on the more mystical aspects of the book, while the later movie concentrated more on the political aspects. I prefer the mystical interpretation. I never read the rest because the reviews said the following books got "darker". I did see the sequel movie which covered the other books. That was enough for me. I guess I just like the rise to power better than reading about corrupting power and degeneration.

PatH · « **Reply #1216 on:** October 21, 2011, 12:05:21 AM »

Frybabe, I probably will enjoy Dune. The thing that stopped me before was you have to learn a whole cast of characters, a whole political system and set of warring factions, a whole religious setup, etc, and I didn't have the energy at the time. I could see it was good, though. With luck, the spur of a discussion will carry me through. My daughter said the same thing you say, that the books go downhill from the first one.

Don't know if I'll have enough strength to mug up another set of characters in The Children of Hurin or not.

Kudos to you for getting Doris Lessing in Author, Author. I was nowhere close.

Babi · « **Reply #1217 on:** October 21, 2011, 08:35:46 AM »

I agree, FRYBABE, 'Dune' was really great. I did read the sequels, but found them less satisfying.
As the critics said, 'darker', and with less attractive characters.

marcie · « **Reply #1218 on:** October 21, 2011, 10:23:12 PM »

I haven't read Dune and its sequels for quite a while. I got caught up in the world of Dune and the amazing sand worms and conservation of water. I love the creation of new detailed worlds with interesting cultures and customs. I tend to gloss over all of the political intrigue. One of the sequels in particular (I can't recall which one) had some torture scenes which were awful.

Steph · « **Reply #1219 on:** October 27, 2011, 07:17:07 AM »

I loved Dune and maybe two of the sequels. It is such a complete world and has so many interesting points of view.. Have not reread in years..

marcie · « **Reply #1220 on:** October 27, 2011, 10:14:46 AM »

Maybe we could recommend DUNE for a future read in the Suggestion Box to see if people are interested in reading/re-reading and discussing it for a month?

Frybabe · « **Reply #1221 on:** October 27, 2011, 12:39:38 PM »

I still have my copy.

marcie · « **Reply #1222 on:** October 28, 2011, 01:22:36 AM »

Great, Frybabe. Me too :-)

Steph · « **Reply #1223 on:** October 28, 2011, 07:10:58 AM »

Dune is a tough read.. There are so many characters and the planet itself is a character. Still it was a great book.

marcie · « **Reply #1224 on:** October 28, 2011, 10:19:06 AM »

That's true, Steph. It might be difficult for people who are reading it for the first time.

PatH · « **Reply #1225 on:** October 28, 2011, 11:57:13 AM »

Guess I'd better get busy, then. My f2f meeting is only 2 weeks away. I don't like to read the books too far ahead, because I want all the details fresh in my mind.

Babi · « **Reply #1226 on:** October 28, 2011, 04:52:12 PM »

I would love to read it again. I don't recall getting too bogged down keeping track of characters,
though of course it became a bit more difficult as more kept appearing. It was a wonderfully
in-depth picture, as someone has already said, of people, cultures, heritage, religion, ....whole
worlds.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1227 on:** October 28, 2011, 09:38:49 PM »

BBC America is running DUNE, an expanded version of the 1985 edition, as I type - a whole four hours long. Repeat at Midnight I believe. The expansion makes the whole thing more understandable. Also, when I first saw this movie it was in B&W. This one is colorized.

Steph · « **Reply #1228 on:** October 29, 2011, 06:34:45 AM »

I will have to see when BBC is doing that. I dont use a tv guide much, just dont watch that much tv except for news..I never saw the movie. I guess I had too clear a picture in my mind and knew they could never do justice to the worms.

Babi · « **Reply #1229 on:** October 29, 2011, 08:25:01 AM »

Really, FRYBABE? I do hope I can find it. I would love to record it and watch at my leisure. I
have seen a film version, but it was anot a b&w. I wonder if it is the same movie?

Steph · « **Reply #1230 on:** October 31, 2011, 06:31:56 AM »

I may try netflix to see what they have to say.

Babi · « **Reply #1231 on:** October 31, 2011, 08:42:55 AM »

The one I found seemed to be the one I've already seen. Mixed review, which fits what I remember. It doesn't, ..can't, I suppose...have the depth
of the book that made that so fascinating.

marcie · « **Reply #1232 on:** October 31, 2011, 10:24:44 AM »

I think there were two Dune movies. One was made for film in 1984. See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/

The other was the 2000 TV miniseries. See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0142032/

I don't remember the TV miniseries but I thought that the 1984 film looked dark and sort of grainy like a "B" movie.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1233 on:** October 31, 2011, 03:53:53 PM »

Marcie, yes it did look grainy, didn't it. I've seen the 1986 version several times in B&W, so I was surprised to see it in color. I checked the IMDB and it is listed as a color production. hmmmmm!

Steph · « **Reply #1234 on:** November 01, 2011, 06:31:27 AM »

Think I will skip it. I like my mental version of the planet and the worms..

PatH · « **Reply #1235 on:** December 04, 2011, 08:11:57 PM »

I found another book by John Scalzi in the library the other day. It's "Fuzzy Nation". This is a reworking of a 1962 book by H. Beam Piper, "Little Fuzzy". Both books deal with this problem: Your company is exploiting an uninhabited planet for its resources. If it turns out there is a sentient, (meaning capable of thought, etc at human rather than animal levels) population on the planet, intergalactic law says you have to get out, and the resources belong to the local population. There are local creatures, small, cute, fuzzy, who seem to be intelligent. Who will get the planet?

It's been a while since I read the Piper, so I don't recognize all the changes Scalzi made, but they are all to the better, and fairly substantial. It's a really good read, lighthearted, amusing, with lots of plot turns. Unlike the "Old Men's War" series, there is very little gore and bad language.

Frybabe · « **Reply #1236 on:** December 04, 2011, 09:59:17 PM »

I tried reading Little Fuzzy a while back but got bored, never finished it.

Try John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars. It is a freebie on ManyBooks.net Funny!

PatH · « **Reply #1237 on:** December 04, 2011, 10:42:33 PM »

I've read Agent to the Stars, thought it was hilarious. If you liked it you would probably like Fuzzy Nation. It starts slow, but has his sarcastic wit, and the last half is kind of nonstop courtroom drama, with many twists, turns, and surprises.

Babi · « **Reply #1238 on:** December 06, 2011, 09:21:38 AM »

Having just completed the Stardoc series, a light-hearted scifi writer
sounds appealing. Ms. Viehl' series was great, but definitely action
filled, mind-bending stuff.

Steph · « **Reply #1239 on:** December 07, 2011, 05:58:19 AM »

I am in a laughing mode.. I know I have some Pratchetts in my tbr pile for this sort of emergency. Must find them. if not today then tomorrow.

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Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 370505 times)