Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385215 times)

Steph · « **Reply #2440 on:** June 13, 2015, 08:54:32 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.

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

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Discussion Leader: PatH

Picked up a brand new Charlaine Harris in a different place..

Frybabe · « **Reply #2441 on:** June 14, 2015, 09:12:27 PM »

Here is another trailer for The Martian which introduces the crew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNN-vl9gHmA

Interviews with Andy Weir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SemyzKgaUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMfuLtjgzA8

He gets a bit technical in the interviews. Oh, I was interested to see that he is working on Android programing now at his day job.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2442 on:** June 18, 2015, 07:00:51 AM »

Now reading Jack Campbell's, The Lost Stars: Imperfect Sword. It is okay, but for some reason, I am not that excited about it. The political posturing, however, is interspersed with some other developments that keep the book going and hold my interest. One major error, the only one so far, is a clear reference to General Drakon reading Geary instead. At that point John Geary was not even mentioned in the book (his fleet shows up much later).

Steph · « **Reply #2443 on:** June 18, 2015, 08:24:41 AM »

Has anyone read the original Game of Thrones. From all I read, the tv series is soooo bloody.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2444 on:** June 18, 2015, 09:08:36 AM »

In checking on Ann McCaffrey's Pern books, I found a list of them in chronological order rather than by publication which includes all the short stories. date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pern_books

Steph · « **Reply #2445 on:** June 20, 2015, 09:15:23 AM »

Actually in the Pern series , after the first two or three, you can read in any order. You need to understand the dragon-mind connection and the first several do the best job for that.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2446 on:** June 20, 2015, 12:31:29 PM »

Now reading Arthur C. Clarke's first novel, Against the Fall of Night. This was an expanded version of a novella published in Startling Stories, a magazine I never heard of. Clarke again expanded and revised the book and retitled it The City and The Stars in 1956. I am only into the second chapter and already it reads like a veteran scifi writer had written it. I am hooked, but wonder if I should be reading The City and the Stars instead. I am not sure how it could be "expanded" if the page count is a little less, unless they printed it in smaller type.

Steph · « **Reply #2447 on:** June 21, 2015, 10:36:18 AM »

The City and the Stars is a wondrous thing. I loved it and him for years.

PatH · « **Reply #2448 on:** June 21, 2015, 10:56:29 AM »

I went through an Arthur C. Clarke phase, but never happened to read that one. I think I have an inherited copy somewhere; maybe I should dig it out and read it.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2449 on:** June 21, 2015, 11:55:53 AM »

I'm surprised Pat, I would have thought you would be the one to tell me whether or not to skip the rest of Against the Fall of Night and go directly to The City and the Stars. I understand both are excellent, but don't see the need to read both. Haven't yet checked to see if I can get "City" at the library.

Steph · « **Reply #2450 on:** June 22, 2015, 08:34:39 AM »

My Engineer son adores Clark and read everything he ever wrote.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2451 on:** June 23, 2015, 06:06:18 AM »

I am almost done with Against the Fall of Night. Neither my library system nor the Free Library of Philadelphia have it.

ginny · « **Reply #2452 on:** June 25, 2015, 01:50:19 PM »

Special Announcement

Our website will be down, beginning Monday evening, May 29, GMT, for a large update.

Please do not post at this time as your post will probably disappear.

We do not know how long it will take the computer expert to load this update and have it working.

The website will not look as it has when it comes up until we tweak it, so please be patient. Please continue to check back for news. We hope to be up and functioning by Tuesday, but if not, it shouldn't be too much longer.

Thank you for your patience

Steph · « **Reply #2453 on:** June 28, 2015, 09:25:51 AM »

Please oh p lease do not change it too much. I quit
Senior Net over all the changes that were silly.

PatH · « **Reply #2454 on:** June 28, 2015, 10:02:32 AM »

My understanding is that Ginny will be able to tweak it back to get it close to what we have now.

Steph · « **Reply #2455 on:** June 29, 2015, 09:11:54 AM »

I truly hope so.I remember all of the flashing stuff and nonsense.. Ugh.

ginny · « **Reply #2456 on:** June 29, 2015, 03:04:43 PM »

The appearance will be something like seniors and friends, with many adjustments. Our goal is to make it look as much like it does now as possible and Pat is right, thanks, Pat, we've got a good team here who can work on it. Everyone's patience will be greatly appreciated.

This website, actually as it stands, has always had many of the features of the seniors and friends site, and we have changed them, so it ought to be fine, we have wonderful help today from the Simple Machines Forum site who developed this software, everything so far has been very positive.

OK it looks like they are beginning now, to do a backup, and will start on the upgrade about 5:15 Eastern time. I don't think I'd post anything now until this is over, if you want to see it again.

Fingers crossed!!

Frybabe · « **Reply #2457 on:** June 29, 2015, 05:01:05 PM »

I hope it doesn't look too much like Seniors and Friends. Truth be told, I like the way this one looks better.

ginny · « **Reply #2458 on:** June 29, 2015, 05:07:43 PM »

It will, at first, until we tweak it. So we're just going to have to be patient until we get it back to normal.

It's the same ...platform? I don't know the word....software, even now. The reason it doesn't look the same is that we changed it to suit ourselves. This is just an upgrade which the developers are very kindly doing for us. With them doing it we should not have any problems at all. I hope.

Steph · « **Reply #2459 on:** July 03, 2015, 08:27:22 AM »

Since Idont use senior and friends, have no idea what that one looks like

PatH · « **Reply #2460 on:** July 09, 2015, 10:36:33 PM »

This month's f2f book selection is Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle. I bought it while I was in Portland, thinking to start it there and read it on the plane coming back. Unfortunately, I found it to be one of those books I have to be in the mood to read, and I wasn't. More unfortunately, I also bought a future month's book, Lois McMaster Bujold's Cordelia's Honor, and started it too. No need to guess which one I read on the plane, and since there was a 3 hour delay, I finished the first of the two books in the Bujold.

Steph, I'm guessing you've read it. For anyone who hasn't, it's two books, written 5 years apart, filling in the background of her main character, Miles. The first tells how Miles' formidable parents managed to meet and marry while being combatants on opposite sides, and it's very good indeed.

When I got back, Jack Campbell's Leviathan was waiting for me on hold. I picked it up today. Silverberg is doomed.

Steph · « **Reply #2461 on:** July 10, 2015, 08:38:34 AM »

No, I have not and will immediately look for it. Miles is my personal hero.

PatH · « **Reply #2462 on:** July 10, 2015, 08:49:56 AM »

The two books that make it are Shards of Honor and Barrayar. They were published separately first, Shards in 1986, Barrayar in 1991. So you might have read them that way.

I'm trying to work through the series sort of in order, but it's hard. I'm still in the early ones that are hard to get.

Steph · « **Reply #2463 on:** July 12, 2015, 07:34:19 AM »

yes, have read Barrayar,,but not shards.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2464 on:** July 12, 2015, 08:55:36 AM »

Wow! Silverberg has written a tremendous number of books, both fiction and non-fiction, and short stories. I don't think I have read any of them. I do remember the title Nightwings when it came out. it won a Nebula Award and others. I see that he has also written under numerous pseudonyms, none of which I recognize. Off to look up his books at the library and on the big A.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2465 on:** July 12, 2015, 09:27:55 AM »

I did read one of his stories, Postmark Ganymede, which I liked but apparently the author didn't.

A puzzler: On Amazon, a commenter (who claims he is the author) says he didn't think it was very good, so don't buy it. Other stories, Starman's Quest and The Hunted Heroes, that are listed as a freebie, are pirated versions of very early stories according to this "Agberg" person. Agberg and Silverberg appear to be one and the same, or are presented as such. Curious.

PatH · « **Reply #2466 on:** July 12, 2015, 11:10:51 AM »

I've forgotten what I've read of Silverberg's. It was a long time ago.

Steph, I think you'll like Shards of Honor.

I finished Jack Campbell's Leviathan. I forget if you've read it yet, Frybabe, so I'll only say that it starts kind of mechanically, but picks up, and comes to a very satisfying close.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2467 on:** July 13, 2015, 06:27:51 AM »

I have it on hold at the Free Library of Phila. site. There are five ahead of me.

Steph · « **Reply #2468 on:** July 13, 2015, 08:42:11 AM »

Will look for Shards when I return home since I know I have at least one Miles book hidden away with my Pratchett stuff.They are for down in the dumps days..
Silverberg wrote a lot. lots of short stories in the old magazines and under many names, because they would only accept so many writings under one name in a year.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2469 on:** July 14, 2015, 06:16:24 AM »

Ah, thanks for that info, Steph. I didn't realize that magazine publishers had a great deal to do with the plethora of pseudonyms some writers wrote under. Now I wonder if they knew that the authors were skirting around their name rule? Or, were they in collusion with the writers to make it appear that they had more writers in their stable than there were?

I am now reading the Far From Home series whose primary writer is Tom Healey. This is one of those "episode" books that came out a bit at a time. I see that there are three combo volumes now, as well as each episode as a single. It looks like the first complete series of episodes (1-12) has been published in paperback in the UK. The story is okay, not great, but interesting enough to continue for at least a while. It does not get super ratings from Amazon's customers.

Steph · « **Reply #2470 on:** July 14, 2015, 07:49:45 AM »

The champions in the name stuff are the numbers romance people. They even assign names for you.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2471 on:** July 15, 2015, 07:21:19 AM »

I am not sure I want to read the book, but this review gave me such a laugh:
http://manybooks.net/titles/englandgetext05drkdw10.html

PatH · « **Reply #2472 on:** July 15, 2015, 08:46:42 AM »

That's pretty funny. I want a WWI plane made from deerskin. Oh, by the way, I think the characters might be fond of each other.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2473 on:** July 15, 2015, 09:24:09 AM »

Two laughs in one day. I can hardly stand it.

Continuing on with the Far From Home series, one character reminds me of Buck Rogers and a lot of the rest of the story reminds me of the Star Trek: Voyager series. The nemesis is one General Carn who is completely covered with a mirrored suit of armor so that when you look at him you see only yourself looking back. He reminds me of those comic evil super-villains who just won't die.

Steph · « **Reply #2474 on:** July 16, 2015, 08:25:50 AM »

Ah the joys of the never ending villain. A favorite of mine

Frybabe · « **Reply #2475 on:** July 17, 2015, 07:57:56 AM »

Well, I am done with the first episodes of Far From Home (parts 1-12). Interesting, not great. Some time travel involved. I didn't care much for a few aspects of the ending, but for the most part it was good. The next three episodes (13-15) are part of the ship's new mission to explore. I am not sure I will continue, at least not right now.

My new read is part of the "In Her Name" series by Michael R. Hicks. According to the author, First Contact, is not the first of the series he wrote, but it is the beginning of the story. He originally opted to begin his story, like Star Wars, somewhere in the middle of the adventure. First Contact is the beginning of the story, how the war started. So far, it is so so. BUT, the description of the aliens is detailed and very interesting indeed. They are blue skinned, and so far, all are female. The warriors wear black body armor and they carry knives, swords and other ninja style weaponry. There was also a description of other body feature. Each member of the boarding party was enveloped with some kind of personal body shield that, when the warrior attached herself to the hull, stayed in place after the hull was breached to keep the air inside from escaping. The priestess/healers were a bit different. So far, I am finding them and their societal structure more interesting than the humans. Except for one or two of the human characters are rather flat. Elements of the fantastical in this sci-fi series.

Steph · « **Reply #2476 on:** July 17, 2015, 08:34:18 AM »

I started the new series by Charlaine Harris.. Excellent as always. She draws you in fast and then slowly reveals differences in humans and maybe not quite human.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2477 on:** July 18, 2015, 01:47:02 PM »

I came home from the library yesterday with two Neal Stephenson tomes, Seveneves , just out in May and is a SciFi (or speculative fiction) http://www.nealstephenson.com/seveneves.html
and an older book called Quicksilver, which appears to be categorized as an historical fiction.

PatH · « **Reply #2478 on:** July 18, 2015, 02:46:31 PM »

I missed a chance to read Seveneves; my library reserve came up when I was out of town. Let me know what it's like.

But I really want your reaction to Quicksilver. Big as it is, it's the first of a trilogy. I started it some years ago, liked it, but got interrupted, and knew I'd have to start over or be confused. It's an incredibly rich tapestry, and if you want to catch all the references, some rather sly and amusing, it helps to know something about the geography of Boston around 1700, the rivalry between Newton and Leibniz, the political, religious, and philosophical controversies in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s, the Royal Society, and a whole bunch of other stuff. No doubt I was missing a lot too. It's great stuff, but makes heavy demands on the reader.

Frybabe · « **Reply #2479 on:** July 18, 2015, 06:12:29 PM »

Oh, super. I can get my maps out. The front inside cover has a map of Europe and the back inside cover is of London. I see that Quicksilver won a Nebula in 2004.

As for Seveneves, the inside front cover is an illustration of, I think from the first paragraphs of the second chapter, is the USA attached to an asteroid. The back inside cover is a bit of whimsy showing what I think is a structure built into a rock, the whole of which reminds me of a kind of tote bag in shape. There is a color plate showing a diagram of a habitat ring on one side and a near photographic painting of what may be space station on the other about 3/4 of the way through the book.

I just noticed that my Kindle does not show the icons to do anything like bliss,italic, etc. I can change font, font size and font color.

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Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 385215 times)