Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385204 times)

Frybabe · « **Reply #2360 on:** March 04, 2015, 06:01:09 AM »

Science Fiction / Fantasy

__________________

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.

Come in, sit down with us, and tell us what you are reading or have read, what you like or dislike.

Links:
Fantastic Fiction, bibliographies of 30,000 authors

Discussion Leader: PatH

Did you all know that Kathy Reichs is writing SciFi? I didn't. I ran across her SciFi series while browsing the Overdrive selection. All I know about her Viral series so far is that it is a YA book in which the teens (main character is a relative of Temperance Brennan from her Bones series) gain special powers and the setting is the Charleston, SC area and surrounds.

PatH · « **Reply #2361 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:10:04 PM »

I didn't know that. I like her detective stories, though they seem unnecessarily gruesome, and these seem like sci-fi detective stories. Let us know how they are if you read them.

PatH · « **Reply #2362 on:** March 04, 2015, 01:38:02 PM »

I assume any Star Trek fans will have noticed that we lost Leonard Nimoy last week. Of course actors aren't the characters they play, but Nimoy eventually came to terms with fact that the public would always think of him as Mr. Spock, and used his identity for good.

I didn't realize how seriously he took his Jewish tradition, being something of a Hebrew scholar, and recording children's stories in Yiddish to help keep that language alive.

And it turns out that his characteristic split-fingered Vulcan greeting is actually a Jewish gesture of blessing.

Steph · « **Reply #2363 on:** March 05, 2015, 08:59:18 AM »

Oh me, must look on my kindle to see if they have Kathy Reichs ya series.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2364 on:** March 05, 2015, 09:29:24 AM »

Quote

And it turns out that his characteristic split-fingered Vulcan greeting is actually a Jewish gesture of blessing.

I didn't know that, Pat. Spock is truly timeless. Nimoy was quite active in a number of endeavors from video game and cartoon voice-overs to writing poetry and music. He touched the lives of many as himself and as Spock.

PatH · « **Reply #2365 on:** March 05, 2015, 10:45:29 AM »

I didn't know that either until a few days ago. I'm in Portland at the moment, so reading the newspaper online, and the Washington Post had all sorts of extra material, including a lot of links to videos. Here's Nimoy explaining the gesture:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DyiWkWcR86I

Frybabe · « **Reply #2366 on:** March 05, 2015, 11:48:15 AM »

Wonderful!

Steph · « **Reply #2367 on:** March 06, 2015, 07:59:57 AM »

Yes, I had read the sidebars on him in the Post..

PatH · « **Reply #2368 on:** March 12, 2015, 09:48:19 PM »

I'm sorry to report we lost Terry Pratchett today--funniest writer I've ever read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/books/terry-pratchett-popular-fantasy-novelist-dies-at-66.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0

Frybabe · « **Reply #2369 on:** March 13, 2015, 06:23:18 AM »

What a shame, PatH. I have yet to ready any of his works.

PatH · « **Reply #2370 on:** March 13, 2015, 10:18:57 AM »

Well, if you ever do, they'll last you a long time. The Discworld series has 40 titles. Even Steph hasn't read them all, and I've read fewer than she has.

A few years ago Pratchett was diagnosed with an odd sort of early onset Alzheimer's. He would be glad to go before he got too bad; that's what he wanted. Fantastic Fiction is really on the ball. They already have the date of death on the site.

PatH · « **Reply #2371 on:** March 13, 2015, 10:29:54 AM »

If you ever want to try him, some of his stories are about the Guards of the city of Ankh-Morepork, and some about the witches. For the guards, my favorites, I would start with Guards! Guards! followed by Night Watch. I like Maskerade for the witches, but I'm not sure it's the best to start with. Steph is the expert on the witches, and can guide you. There are other strains too: the inept wizards of Unseen University, the conflict between the dwarves and the trolls, Death (who is a recurring character, and speaks ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS to show he is talking to you inside your head), the machinations of Lord Vetinari to keep the city from falling apart.

Steph · « **Reply #2372 on:** March 13, 2015, 02:28:32 PM »

Mort, which is about death trying to find a replacement is a truly funny book in so many ways.. Pratchett had a really keen ear for the nonsense in everyday life and how to lift that to his books.

PatH · « **Reply #2373 on:** March 13, 2015, 06:46:44 PM »

Here's my favorite science/math/humor/cartoon website take on Pratchett. To get the punchline, put your cursor somewhere on the cartoon.

http://xkcd.com/

Frybabe · « **Reply #2374 on:** March 14, 2015, 06:51:39 AM »

I just spent time (lots) looking at the cartoons. Had to bookmark it for later, there are so many.

PatH · « **Reply #2375 on:** March 14, 2015, 08:00:52 AM »

I forgot to make my bookmark specific. This leads directly to the Pratchett.

http://xkcd.com/1498/

The general link always leads to the latest one, and there is a new one every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Looking at it is part of my routine.

If you haven't already, click on the little picture of the wind turbines with a brown background. It leads to a good one.

Steph · « **Reply #2376 on:** March 14, 2015, 08:41:20 AM »

fun, I bookmarked it. Got another book of his yesterday at B and N and there was a young male putting sci fi away. I mentioned his death and the boy just sat on the floor and said.. NO NO NO.. He is my favorite.

marcie · « **Reply #2377 on:** March 19, 2015, 10:42:51 AM »

CNET posted an offer for a sci-fi e-book bundle for $15 at http://www.cnet.com/news/get-a-massive-sci-fi-e-book-bundle-for-15/?tag=nl.e796&s_cid=e796&ttag=e796&ftag=CAD7dba523

Frybabe · « **Reply #2378 on:** March 19, 2015, 02:55:37 PM »

I am in the middle of reading an ebook by Dai Alanye called Time Management for Mercenaries. What a hoot (as Ginny would say). You have one right dude who is footing the bill, a scientist who designed the machine to get them where they are going, a lush of a chiropracter for a medic, and an assortment of recruits (several former military, but not all) who, for the most part, can handle bows, are being extraordinarily well paid and have no clue where they are going (or when) until the last minute. It is character driven and somewhat amusing. The author, through her (his?) characters, did not fail to point out that not many people know their history or basic survival skills.

There are three more: Conflict Resolution for Mercenaries, Community Organizing for Mercenaries, and Retirement Planning for Mercenaries. I may just have to shell out some money for them.

Author website: http://alanye.com/ Alanye has written quite a few books; none that I can see are in print, all ebooks. Fantasy/Speculative Fiction and who knows what else. I'll be reading Lovejoy's World sooner or later, too.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2379 on:** March 19, 2015, 03:00:09 PM »

Marcie, I took a look at the offerings on CNET and noticed they have Lightspeed Magazine listed. The one I read a while back had some really good short stories in it. I have their website bookmarked, but haven't been up there lately. Must go see what is new. http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/

PatH · « **Reply #2380 on:** March 19, 2015, 08:24:32 PM »

Frybabe, the Alanye does look like a real hoot. (S)he seems very reticent about personal data, and isn't in Fantastic Fiction. However I remember some jokes in Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time in which Dai is a male first name--Welsh. Does your Welsh heritage extend to first names? Of course the author could be using a pseudonym.

PatH · « **Reply #2381 on:** March 19, 2015, 09:34:34 PM »

Report on last weeks f2f fantasy/sci-fi book discussion:
The fantasy book was Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch. I think I've described it here before. It's the conflict between good and evil reduced to a Soviet-style bureaucracy, in which every good is balanced by an evil, and you have to file reports for everything. There are vampires (licensed of course) shape-shifters, curses, various magics, etc, and some of the combatants are centuries-old mythic characters in modern dress.

I was the one who suggested it, so I wanted to see it be a success (meaning good discussion, not necessarily likable) though no one knows who submits items, and they're voted on. I got my wish. The moderator is Russian, one of the participants had lived in Moscow as a young man, and another participant speaks Russian. They could relate to the Moscow subway, which plays an important part, and saw all sorts of things I hadn't caught. Most of them had found a lot to talk about.

The sci-fi book was Inverted World, by Christopher Priest. It's one of those books where you spend the first third figuring out the social and physical rules of the society. Eventually, there is something very strange about the physics of their world, and where they are, and you do finally get some answers. It's OK, nothing very exciting.

marcie · « **Reply #2382 on:** March 19, 2015, 10:04:41 PM »

Frybabe, Lightspeed magazine looks very interesting. I'd never heard of it.

Pat, that's wonderful that you had those Russian connections in your book club. I could see that making a lively and informative discussion.

Steph · « **Reply #2383 on:** March 20, 2015, 08:40:51 AM »

Finished Patricia Briggs "Night Broken" Excellent and one of my favorite guilty pleasures.. Her characters are so very far out and so very close to me in a wild combination..

PatH · « **Reply #2384 on:** March 28, 2015, 09:11:21 PM »

A prediction for Mars:

http://xkcd.com/1504/

if you put your cursor anywhere on the cartoon, you get a further comment.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2385 on:** March 29, 2015, 06:43:11 AM »

Began reading Margaret Atwood's In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination. A nonfiction book, it is her perspective on what SF/Fantasy means to her and others and what, she thinks, constiutes SF. The reviewers didn't seem to like it much. Here is one such review from the British Planetary Society. http://www.bis-space.com/2013/05/13/10462/the-odyssey-book-review-%E2%80%9Cin-other-worlds-sf-and-the-human-imagination%E2%80%9D-by-margaret-atwood

Steph · « **Reply #2386 on:** March 29, 2015, 09:38:57 AM »

Hmm, I like Atwood, although she always seems to me to be much more a female writer than sci fi or plain fiction.

PatH · « **Reply #2387 on:** March 29, 2015, 11:15:22 AM »

The reviewer doesn't make me think I would like the book either. Let us know how it is. I liked The Handmaid's Tale, but have managed to avoid Oryx and Crake. My f2f group is going to read it soon; we'll see if I manage to get through it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2388 on:** March 29, 2015, 01:29:36 PM »

So far I can't see that she is saying anything profound. Some of the connections she mentioned through the ages seem tenuous, but then I remember James Burke's TV series, Connections, and some of them were tenuous too. She is, if not outright saying it, in the "speculative fiction" camp. The book is dedicated to Ursula Le Guin who definitely prefers to have her works called speculative fiction.

The other book I came home with is called Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I read the first few paragraphs. So far so good. http://www.usatoday.com/story/happyeverafter/2015/02/09/recommended-romance-red-queen-victoria-aveyard/23076743/ Oh, and yes, Steph, it is a fantasy, not my usual fare. It is joining Clarrisa Clare's books, the Divergent series, and the Hunger Games series in the teen section at my library.

Steph · « **Reply #2389 on:** March 30, 2015, 09:17:51 AM »

I staggered through Oryx and Crake,but oh me,, it was hard hard going..
Yes, I love Cassandra Clare. I have the Divergent series, due to my granddaughter insisting, but have not yet read them.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2390 on:** March 30, 2015, 09:37:53 AM »

The Divergent series is on Overdrive through my library. I hope to read it as some point, but not in the very near future. The Red Queen I have given up on already. It is well written, but just not holding my interest. Here we have a Red blooded underclass ruled by a silver blooded upper/rulling class. There is a war off somewhere, where those reaching a certain age are conscripted into if they don't have a job. There are arena battles (mandatory to attend), but I stopped just at the beginning of that. I took a peak at the ending. It looks like the author has set it up for a sequel or ongoing series.

Steph · « **Reply #2391 on:** March 31, 2015, 09:03:04 AM »

I had The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare in my TBR pile and needed some fantasy to lighten up my life.. Magnus is a hoot about a lot of things, so have just started it. It include some cartoons as well. How weird is that.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2392 on:** April 04, 2015, 06:07:32 AM »

Well, I got my laugh this morning. While browsing manybooks.net, I came across Murray Leinster's short story, Mad Planet.

Here is what reviewer "bhold" said:

Quote

Increased CO2 levels result in a future earth where humanity has regressed to a savage state in a daily struggle to survive toxic fungi, huge insects and predatory spiders. A pretty good story but not recommended if you're about to clean out the garage.

Of course I had to download it.

Steph · « **Reply #2393 on:** April 04, 2015, 08:52:14 AM »

Oh me, the garage is on my list of "Good heavens, I don't use most of these things" ... and I know I should do something, but it is too too depressing.

PatH · « **Reply #2394 on:** April 05, 2015, 02:31:17 PM »

It's a good thing I don't have a garage. My basement is bad enough.

I used to like Murray Leinster's short stories. Let us know how he's stood the test of time. Leinster also wrote a few of the original Star Trek plots.

Steph · « **Reply #2395 on:** April 06, 2015, 08:44:19 AM »

I believe I used to read his stuff in one of the monthly magazines. I did love those magazine and kept them for years.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2396 on:** April 08, 2015, 06:55:15 AM »

Finished reading Margaret Atwood's In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination. I skipped some of it as I was not interested in some of the sections. I especially was interested in her sections on A Handmaid's Tale, dystopian/ustopian (not a spelling error, her word), and her take on George Orwell's Animal Farm and Nighteen-Eighty-Four, and H. Rider Haggard's She.

Now reading the second of the Lost Starship series, The Lost Command, by Vaughn Heppner. The writing is not exceptional, although this one is much improved from the first. It appears to be well edited this time, with no foul language, not that I've noticed, anyway. The story involves an ancient but still powerful war vessel and its AI, an intelligence officer, his aide and his small crew who bring it back to Earth, an invasion by an all around far superior force of genetically advanced "New Men", and an ongoing conflict between the intelligence officer, his aide, and the powerful owner (and richest man on Earth) of a giant conglomerate.

Steph · « **Reply #2397 on:** April 08, 2015, 08:59:43 AM »

Frybabe · « **Reply #2398 on:** April 17, 2015, 06:35:27 AM »

I've just finished Edmond Hamilton's City at World's End. It is about a town of about 50,000 that got blown way into the future by a super atomic bomb, how the people dealt with finding out they were now on a dead planet, how they reacted to their encounter with future man (now living on other worlds) and other humanoids, their resistance to being evacuated from Earth, and, of course, the experiment that revived the planet.

Nice story, except that I didn't much care for the portrayal (so common with these old stories) of women who are out of their element in leadership positions and who emotionally cling to and look to the men for solutions. Otherwise, I enjoyed it so much that I re-downloaded several other Edmond Hamilton stories that I have already read (and enjoyed) along with a few I haven't yet read. Easy reading.

Steph · « **Reply #2399 on:** April 18, 2015, 08:50:51 AM »

I keep thinking that I remember Hamilton, but the cities series I read was by James Blish.

News:

Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385204 times)