Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 384987 times)

PatH · « **Reply #120 on:** March 01, 2009, 10:48:28 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

bookworm · « **Reply #121 on:** March 01, 2009, 12:31:09 PM »

Morning or rather Afternoon. I can't believe I slept so late. The grandkids really tired me out yesterday.

Hi Babi - You are right on - "My own immediate reaction is that the person who remains aged (we can identify with that one) would not be able to continue with such a change in the relationship."

That's a big part of the story as well as the sci-fi elements. I don't want to give away too much. The couple is in their eighties and celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. They get the opportunity to recieve rollbacks , a procedure that takes them back to their twenties. It works on one and not the other. I thought it was really emotional without being too mushy. But I like romance and character driven stories even with my sci-fi.

PatH · « **Reply #122 on:** March 01, 2009, 01:53:42 PM »

Thanks, bookworm, for not giving too much away! That's hard to do here sometimes.

Another book which deals with rolling back age is John Scalzi's "Old Men's War", which is otherwise a very different sort of book. Earth people can, at age 75, be transformed back to about 20 if they agree to fight in the interspecies galactic wars. Of course there's a catch to it. There is also a romance, with a very odd twist.

Most of the book is about the fighting, though, and it gets very graphically gory. If you can stand the blood and gore (I barely could) it's a good book.

bookworm · « **Reply #123 on:** March 01, 2009, 02:50:12 PM »

Hi Pat, "Old Men's War" sounds like something I'd enjoy. I do like blood and gore. (there isn't any in Rollback, btw) I'll check it out. Thanks.

bookworm · « **Reply #124 on:** March 01, 2009, 03:05:14 PM »

I looked up "Old Man's War" on Amazon. 297 reviews, average 4.5 ratings. There's a sequel too - "The Ghost Brigades" about infants in old bodies. I put them both on my wishlist. thanks.

PatH · « **Reply #125 on:** March 01, 2009, 03:49:43 PM »

Bookworm, you have to read them in order. There are three. The second is much less bloody, and poses an interesting question of personal identity. If I were you, I would get just one first, in case you don't like them. They are also somewhat tough-guy, in a Heinlein sort of way.

bookworm · « **Reply #126 on:** March 01, 2009, 03:56:30 PM »

Pat, is "Old Man's War" the first? Yes, good idea. I'll just get the first of the trilogy until I see if I like it.

PatH · « **Reply #127 on:** March 01, 2009, 09:50:33 PM »

Yes, "Old Men's War" is the the first. Remember, it's different from what we've been talking about lately. You might love it or hate it.

If you tell us what other books you like, everyone here will probably have another different suggestion for you.

bookworm · « **Reply #128 on:** March 01, 2009, 11:27:04 PM »

I just watched "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." It was okay, some good acting, but I didn't think it was worth all the hype. I'm still not sure if it's supposed to be a drama or a comedy - both I guess. Maybe I should have picked up a book instead.

My likes are all over the place. I recently reread a few favorites that I've had for years and I put the reviews on Ezine. One of them was "The Experiment" by Richard Setlowe published in 1980. It's about a man dying of cancer and his lungs are replaced by gills. Another was "Omnibus of Science Fiction," a collection of 43 stories that came out in 1952.

Some of my favorite more recently published books are "Kop" and "Ex-Kop" by Warren Hammond, "Acacia: The War of the Mein" by David Anthony Durham and "The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie. They're all pretty different.

Steph · « **Reply #129 on:** March 02, 2009, 07:48:32 AM »

I did look up Savage. He has been writing a long time and has a lot of books in print. Have my name in for Rollback in my swap club.

bookworm · « **Reply #130 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:13:59 AM »

Morning Steph, let me know what you think of "Rollback." Have you read anything else by Sawyer? It's the first book I've read by him and I see he's written quite a few.

catbrown · « **Reply #131 on:** March 14, 2009, 05:52:41 PM »

Quote from: PatH on March 01, 2009, 10:44:16 AM

A neighbor recently recommended Neal Stephenson to me. My SIL also likes him, so I got one of his books. I'll report on it when I've read it.

Has anyone else read him?

Pat, which book did you get? His three early books are very good and very accessible (Snow Crash, Diamond Age and Zodiak); his next four books are, in my opinion, masterpieces, but they're in the love'm or hate'm category. Needless to say I loved all four thousand plus pages and read them in one huge gulp, beginning with the three volume Baroque Cycle and then reading "Cryptomicon," which is sort of a sequel to the trilogy, but was written first (hmm, guess that makes the trilogy, technically, a prequel).

I bogged down on his latest, "Anathem," which got very mixed reviews and I can see why, but will revisit it again soon. I was reading it when I started studying Latin again and Latin was enough brain scrambling for me at the time ... in other words, I needed quick and easy reads while I got my head around the Latin and "Anathem" is definitely not quick and easy.

Anyway, I'm a huge Neal Stephenson fan and am very interested in what of his you're reading and what you think.

Cathy

PatH · « **Reply #132 on:** March 14, 2009, 06:06:05 PM »

Catbrown, I actually bought 2 Stephensons, "Snow Crash", recommended by my neighbor, and "Diamond Age", recommended by my SIL, but I haven't had time to read them yet, because I'm co-leading the
"Team of Rivals" discussion, which is very time-consuming. They're sitting on my bed, though, looking plaintively at me.

PatH · « **Reply #133 on:** March 14, 2009, 06:08:41 PM »

Bookworm, I forgot to warn you that Scalzi's books have a lot of bad (army-type) language in them, so if that's a deal-breaker for you, you won't like them.

bookworm · « **Reply #134 on:** March 14, 2009, 10:01:36 PM »

Hi Pat - Bad language is not a problem. I ordered Old Man's War on Amazon, will get it this week. It's on their 4 for 3 list and I had 3 others I wanted - Neverwhere and 2 medical thrillers.

PatH · « **Reply #135 on:** March 14, 2009, 10:12:19 PM »

Bookworm, let me know what you think of Neverwhere. I own it, but it'll be a while before I get to it. At the moment, I'm concentrating on Abraham Lincoln (see above) a great man, but not sci-fi. What are the medical thrillers? That's another thing I like.

bookworm · « **Reply #136 on:** March 14, 2009, 10:23:16 PM »

Skin Deep by Bill Clem and Isolation Ward by Joshua Spanogle. I haven't read anything by them before, but the plots sounded good and the reviews on Amazon averaged 4.5 stars.

Steph · « **Reply #137 on:** March 15, 2009, 09:22:06 AM »

I just started on the Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Scarborough book about the twins on PeTayBe.. I had read the first three books about the planet and decided to venture a bit further. A lot of ecology on how planets form which is interesting.

Babi · « **Reply #138 on:** March 15, 2009, 11:06:53 AM »

CATHY, I'm intrigued by your classification of the NeilStephenson 'masterpieces' books. I'm going to see if my library has them. Thanks for the tip.

STEPH, I read all the McCaffrey books I can find, but I don't remember any about twins, tho' 'PeTayBe' has a vaguely familiar sound. I'll have to check into those, too. I'll be so delighted if there are still some McCaffrey books out there waiting for me.

catbrown · « **Reply #139 on:** March 15, 2009, 12:16:03 PM »

Babi, be warned: the "masterpiece" Stephenson books can't be easily classified. They are picaresque historical adventures with historical characters ranging from Isaac Newton (a major character) and Louis IVX and including some of the most memorable imagined characters possible. There are fascinating historical moments, including the great fire of London, lots of information on the history of science, code breaking and the Royal Academy, but also pirates, treasure, alchemy, prison breaks, a character who (apparently) can't die, general high-jinks and high adventure. As I wrote, these books are in the love'm or hate'm category.

I started reading with "Quicksilver," the first novel in the Baroque trilogy, but many have started with "Cryptomicon" which was written first (although the action takes place many centuries after the action in the Baroque trilogy).

I really hope you love these books as much as I do.

Steph · « **Reply #140 on:** March 16, 2009, 07:58:33 AM »

Yes, Babi.. there is a small series by McCaffrey and Scarborough. All about terraforming planets by a villain.. And a planet that turns out to have a mind of its own. Very interesting series and has not been continued by the twins, who are the children of the protagonists in the first three books.. The Powers That Be, is I believe the first in the series.

Babi · « **Reply #141 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:09:28 AM »

CAT, my library has "Quicksilver", and I plan to check that one out and read it.
They have some others, if I find I like that one. I think I will, as I like
'picaresque historical adventures'. I'll let you know.

Alas, STEPH, my library does not have the PeTayBe or the twins series.
Actually, I remember reading a couple of 'Power' books, esp. "Power Lines", but
I'm reasonably sure I haven't read anything about the twins. My older daughter
uses a county library, and I'm going to ask her to check there for me.

catbrown · « **Reply #142 on:** March 16, 2009, 12:58:46 PM »

Hmm, Babi, as you like historical adventures, may I ask if you've read Dorothy Dunnett?

Steph · « **Reply #143 on:** March 17, 2009, 07:49:42 AM »

I checked some sources and the two following twins books are quite hard to find. No idea why.
I was notified by my bookswap club that rollover is now on its way to me.. Hooray.
I am reading New Moon, which is a vampire/love story.. My granddaughter at 13 read the whole series and I had read the first one. She wants to talk to me about them, so she sent me the others..Sort of slow reading at this point. I can see why this appeals to that age group.. Only teen age love is that painful, vampire or not.

Babi · « **Reply #144 on:** March 17, 2009, 09:20:36 AM »

No, CAT, I'm not familiary with Dorothy Dunnett. Can you tell me the titles of some of her books, and what you like about her? Of course, it's always possible I read one of her book at one time or another, but don't remember the name.

Steph · « **Reply #145 on:** March 18, 2009, 07:53:53 AM »

Dorothy Dunnet? Do tell us what she writes. Never remember hearing about her.

catbrown · « **Reply #146 on:** March 19, 2009, 01:36:05 PM »

Oh dear, you've gotten me started on Dorothy Dunnett ... beware what you ask for!

Here goes ...

First, she didn't write sci-fi or fantasy, so since this is off topic for this discussion, I'll keep it brief, or move further info to the Library discussion if you guys want more.

Ok, in brief, Dorothy Dunnett was (she died in 2001) a Scottish writer of historical fiction, who has a very enthusiastic and devoted fan base. She is most famous for her 6-book series of novels, "The Lymond Chronicles," which together span roughly the period of time from Henry VIII's death to the ascension of Elizabeth to the throne. The settings range from Scotland, England, France, Russia, Turkey and spots in between. The hero, Francis Crawford (Lymond), is fascinating: he's beautiful, brilliant, suicidal (literally), tormented, cruel, loving, misunderstood, a master swordsman and soldier, a great leader, a talented musician. Once you've met him, you'll never forget him.

The first book in the series is "Game of Kings." As it's the first book that Dunnett ever wrote it has some stylistic quirks (like little tags in foreign languages) that are dropped in the later volumes, but ignore those and persist. Some of us are hooked from the first words, others have reported that it took them until about 50 pages in to become fully engaged.

Whichever is the case for you, if you like vivid, well-researched, adventurous historical fiction, you should read it. Hint: it has the best sword fight scene I have ever read (Dunnett is a master of the action set-piece).

Also, be warned: the first book can be read on its own as can the second, but the third, fourth and fifth books all end on cliffhangers and if you get that far, you'll be reading them end on end far into the night.

For more, check out the reviews for "Game of Kings" on Amazon.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #147 on:** March 19, 2009, 11:55:54 PM »

Since I am obsessed with the Henry/Elizabeth era I will certainly read this series. She wrote some mysteries that I just devoured. I've gotten her King Macbeth novel, King Hereafter.

A series about a space fleet, The Lost Fleet, by Jack Cambell, is good space opera; see: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/jack-campbell/

Under his real name, John Hemry, he's writing another series about a young Anapolis graduate who starts as an ensign on a US Navy Space ship. Interesting atmosphere about the younger officers and their interactions with one another as well as their superior officers and the enlisted personel they are in charge of.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/john-g-hemry/

I don't know how I got on this military kick, just liking one book and going on tp the next, I guess. I've got some fantasy books to talk about next time.

PatH · « **Reply #148 on:** March 20, 2009, 07:23:05 AM »

Welcome back, Jackie! I thought we'd see you here soon once you found Seniorlearn. I'm eager to hear everything you've been reading.

Steph · « **Reply #149 on:** March 20, 2009, 07:52:51 AM »

On my last of the Stephenie Meyer vampire stories. I see why my daugher in law was not happy about Kait reading this last one. At 13 it did tend to get a bit graphic at best. Not a favorite author of mine, but I did promise Kait I would read them all and discuss them with her.
I think I may try to turn her over into Patricia Briggs who write fantasy and has a lovely young heroine ( not into undying love) who turns herself into a coyote, instead of a wolf..

mrssherlock · « **Reply #150 on:** March 20, 2009, 08:11:39 AM »

I love the Patricia Briggs stories! Such originality in a genre that had become stale and trite.

Babi · « **Reply #151 on:** March 20, 2009, 09:22:55 AM »

Thanks for the info. on Dorotht Dunnett, CAT. And I've noted down Jack Campbell, too, JACKIE. After all, I'm only one and a half books away from needing some new reading material.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #152 on:** March 20, 2009, 12:39:36 PM »

Dunnett's MacBeth novel shows the complexity of political life in 1050. I had no idea that Denmark and Norway had figured so prominently in the history of the British Isles. It seems that MacBeth's path to success was modeled on those of his predecessors. The facts of treachery are described, not the gruesome acts themselves. It is a thick book and I've barely started.

PatH · « **Reply #153 on:** March 20, 2009, 08:09:18 PM »

Jackie, when I followed your "Lost Fleet" link, it listed as "similar books" the trio by John Scalzi that we just talked about here. That suggests both that I would like Campbell, and that you might like Scalzi--assuming that the lavish amounts of gore and bad language don't put you off.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #154 on:** March 20, 2009, 08:38:05 PM »

I loved the Scalzi books. What a concept, trading in this archaic body and getting my own young self back again. Being green would take some getting used to.

PatH · « **Reply #155 on:** March 20, 2009, 09:18:18 PM »

And there are some interesting questions of personal identity raised in "The Ghost Brigades" as well as by the existence of Jane Sagan.

catbrown · « **Reply #156 on:** March 22, 2009, 06:22:40 PM »

Quote from: mrssherlock on March 20, 2009, 12:39:36 PM

Dunnett's MacBeth novel shows the complexity of political life in 1050. I had no idea that Denmark and Norway had figured so prominently in the history of the British Isles. It seems that MacBeth's path to success was modeled on those of his predecessors. The facts of treachery are described, not the gruesome acts themselves. It is a thick book and I've barely started.

My history with "King Hereafter" is that it was the first Dunnett book I ever read ... or, I should write, partially read, since about halfway through I decided I should also check out the Lymond series, started the first one and didn't stop until I had read all six in a great big gulp. Then, somewhat later I went back to "King Hereafter" and reread the part that I had already started and finished the book.

I loved it, but in a different way from Lymond. It's denser and more serious than the Lymond Chronicles, but you still get very involved with the history and the characters. Dunnett was (of course) Scottish and this book was a work of tribute to her mother country.

Recently, rereading Hamlet, I noted the connection in it between Denmark and England, which I would have missed the significance of except for "King Hereafter."

mrssherlock · « **Reply #157 on:** March 22, 2009, 07:20:46 PM »

Hamlet! Of course. Ol' Will must have had an excellent education! Better than mine.

Steph · « **Reply #158 on:** March 23, 2009, 09:33:24 AM »

Found two more Terry Pratchett that I had not read in a used book store in a flea market.. Not much else butthat was fun to score.

Babi · « **Reply #159 on:** March 23, 2009, 10:25:33 AM »

We taped a movie last night that I'm looking forward to greatly. It's "The Colour of Magic", drawn from three or four of Pratchett's books. I wish I had known about it earlier, so I coud have mentioned it here and on 'Books Into Movies'. I hope some of you caught it; if not, the channel will probably repeat it again. It was a movie channel, Ch. 40 here, and I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it right now. Life! I think that's it..."Lifetime".

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Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 384987 times)