Thread: What are you reading?

^ I think once i'm down with WotSP, i'll start reading some sci-fi

Part 1 is just over 1000 pages, but I'm liking it so far. And it's very detailed, though you get used to it pretty fast. How's the WotSP progressing -- still holding up good?

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Part 1 is just over 1000 pages, but I'm liking it so far. And it's very detailed, though you'll get used to it pretty fast. How's the WotSP progressing -- still holding up good?

Yeah, i'm at the 13th chapter of 20 in the second book right now. It's still pretty fun... i'd even say that i like the second book somewhat more than the first There's even a succubus like demon girl in this one (not spoilerish, don't worry), she's an alu-fiend demon, but they are almost the same. I love reading the parts where she is there...

The 3rd and 4th books are in the shop and i'll probably get my hands on them tomorrow

Scifi eh? Here's my recommendation...

Spoiler for Books:

Right now I'm reading the only one of his I haven't read. With a glass of whisky of course.

Spoiler for Book and whisky:

I have read a lot of scifi, and Iain Banks totally eclipses everything. Even Asimov.

If you decide to take my recommendation then I would suggest starting with either 'Use of Weapons' or 'The Player of Games'

Originally Posted by littlezoe

Yeah, i'm at the 13th chapter of 20 in the second book right now. It's still pretty fun... i'd even say that i like the second book somewhat more than the first There's even a succubus like demon girl in this one (not spoilerish, don't worry), she's an alu-fiend demon, but they are almost the same. I love reading the parts where she is there...

The 3rd and 4th books are in the shop and i'll probably get my hands on them tomorrow

Awesome. You're tearing right through 'em. ^_^ When I finish this massive book and its next part, I'll have a go at that. Does a lot of it take place in the Abyss at all?

Originally Posted by Pensive Patrick

Scifi eh? Here's my recommendation...

Spoiler for Books:

Right now I'm reading the only one of his I haven't read. With a glass of whisky of course.

Spoiler for Book and whisky:

I have read a lot of scifi, and Iain Banks totally eclipses everything. Even Asimov.

If you decide to take my recommendation then I would suggest starting with either 'Use of Weapons' or 'The Player of Games'

Wow... you really like that author eh? edit: oh I see, it's one massive series.

I liked the foundation series... even though the scope makes it feel as if you're looking at it from a distance in some parts. The idea of psychohistory is appealing though.

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Wow... you really like that author eh?

I liked the foundation series... even though the scope makes it feel as if you're looking at it from a distance in some parts. The idea of psychohistory is appealing though.

Haha yes, I am an enormous fan. Met him twice, and actually managed to chat to him the second time.

Foundation was amazing, really incredible scope and intelligence. I think Banks puts a similar amount of care and intelligence into his writing as Asimov does, but has an added layer of fun and humour which Asimov sometimes lacks a bit.

I would think any scifi fan would enjoy Banks, if you start with Player of Games or Use of Weapons. For me, they take scifi to a new level. But since it's all opinion anyway I can't guarantee you'll feel the same

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Awesome. You're tearing right through 'em. ^_^ When I finish this massive book and its next part, I'll have a go at that. Does a lot of it take place in the Abyss at all?

Nah, not in the Abyss yet... but who knows... maybe later on The Lady Penitent books had parts in the Abyss though.
It takes place at Mezoberranzan and Ched Nasad, the two big drow cities so far... and also in the caves of Underdark. But i'm sure there will be more places as the story advances

I'm not even reading them as fast as i could, because i don't want to finish them too fast, so i hold myself back a bit xD


As for the sci-fi recommendations... i would like something that's adventurous... like i don't only want to read about a planet or stuff like that... i want to have protagonists and follow their story. I like the adventure in books the most ^^
I don't know which category those fit into.. i never read a sci-fi book before.

I reckon you should try Murakami: Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The book is split in two by chapter, and half takes place in reality and the other in the protagonist's subconscious mind (like a lucid dream in some sense). It's adventurous, sciency, and focuses on a few people -- character driven. Not exactly sci-fi, but a good read nonetheless, and Murakami's style is so smooth and a bit mad. :]

The part in the protagonist's mind is a whole new world, and in some sense is a reality of its own....

I always recommend this to people purely because I'm interested in the mind, identity, and lucid dreaming (subconscious)... as I imagine people here would be too.


And if not this, have you checked out the cyberpunk genre at all? It's sciency in the technological sense, but more grounded and focused...

Originally Posted by littlezoe

As for the sci-fi recommendations... i would like something that's adventurous... like i don't only want to read about a planet or stuff like that... i want to have protagonists and follow their story. I like the adventure in books the most ^^
I don't know which category those fit into.. i never read a sci-fi book before.

The Player of Games by Banks follows a man living in a super-advanced society called 'The Culture', a utopian society where everyone gets what they want, where the authority is in the form of super-intelligent machines called 'Minds'. This man is an expert at playing games, and is blackmailed to travel to another planet to play the most complex game in the universe; where the winner is crowned Emperor.

Use of Weapons follows a man who is introduced to The Culture, and follows his past and present at the same time in a really interesting narrative structure.

Both have lots of adventure, and aren't particularly 'technical' scifi books.

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

I reckon you should try Murakami: Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. The book is split in two by chapter, and half takes place in reality and the other in the protagonist's subconscious mind (like a lucid dream in some sense). It's adventurous, sciency, and focuses on a few people -- character driven. Not exactly sci-fi, but a good read nonetheless, and Murakami's style is so smooth and a bit mad. :]

The part in the protagonist's mind is a whole new world, and in some sense is a reality of its own....

I always recommend this to people purely because I'm interested in the mind, identity, and lucid dreaming (subconscious)... as I imagine people here would be too.


And if not this, have you checked out the cyberpunk genre at all? It's sciency in the technological sense, but more grounded...

That sounds good, i like these stories where a part is played in the protagonist's mind... that's always interesting ^^
It's not a problem if it's not exactly sci-fi... by sci-fi i meant something futuristic or things like that... since i'm not really at home in the sci-fi genre, i don't know the exact description of what is sci-fi and what isn't anymore

I don't really have much idea about cyberpunk, other than seeing stuff like that in games.

Originally Posted by Pensive Patrick

The Player of Games by Banks follows a man living in a super-advanced society called 'The Culture', a utopian society where everyone gets what they want, where the authority is in the form of super-intelligent machines called 'Minds'. This man is an expert at playing games, and is blackmailed to travel to another planet to play the most complex game in the universe; where the winner is crowned Emperor.

Use of Weapons follows a man who is introduced to The Culture, and follows his past and present at the same time in a really interesting narrative structure.

Both have lots of adventure, and aren't particularly 'technical' scifi books.

Interesting... but dunno, somehow i feel like that's a bit too dry for my taste :/ But i'll read after it in more detail once i'm done with my current books, maybe i would like them...

Originally Posted by littlezoe

Interesting... but dunno, somehow i feel like that's a bit too dry for my taste :/ But i'll read after it in more detail once i'm done with my current books, maybe i would like them...

Fair enough. There is a lot of humour in his books, and a lot of interesting characters and dynamics, but it may not be for everyone.

Originally Posted by littlezoe

I don't really have much idea about cyberpunk, other than seeing stuff like that in games.

Ah, well... it's usually a future where technological advancement has led to a gritty dystopia, where criminals are abundant and nearly everything has been augmented by machines (say, like, your senses from nanobots/implants etc). It usually has a dark style and is quite graphic. Also, there is rarely any central government.... usually whoever has the most assassins and power is boss, basically. It's like the game Syndicate or Mirror's Edge.

Some things considered cyberpunk:

Films:
Ghost in a Shell
Existenz
Twelve Monkeys
Blade Runner

Books:
Neuromancer
Altered Carbon
Only Forward
One of Us

Originally Posted by Wolfwood

Ah, well... it's usually a future where technological advancement has led to a gritty dystopia, where criminals are abundant and nearly everything has been augmented by machines (say, like, your senses from nanobots/implants etc). It usually has a dark style and is quite graphic. Also, there is rarely any central government.... usually whoever has the most assassins and power is boss, basically. It's like the game Syndicate or Mirror's Edge.

Ah... that i like ^^ Much better than when everything is controlled perfectly by the government or something. I like chaos.

Originally Posted by littlezoe

Ah... that i like ^^ Much better than when everything is controlled perfectly by the government or something. I like chaos.

Chaos/anarchy = cyberpunk. ^_^

If you're looking for space opera (wild adventures with space ships) with some mind-bendy twists, Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep is great.

Continuing with Condemnation ^^

Started reading The Golden Compass.

Also been into a creepypasta marathon lately...some of those stories are pretty disturbing and scary. o_o

Great poster and beautiful book. I hadn't heard of that film but I've made a point of seeing the other two. I guess I'll have to add that one to my list of movies to see.

New creepypasta fan aye? This guy is a must: iTunes - Podcasts - MrCreepyPasta by Mr Creepy Pasta

Just about halfway through Asimov's Caves of Steel. I like the world, but the characters are really predictable. I understand why, for its time, robot-racism was interesting. But the directness of it is unnecessary. I, Robot did a much better job handling (and evolving) the conflict.

But then again, I still have half the book left, and Lije's hate has just been completely laid bare.

Also reading Dawkins's The Ancestor's Tale. Because I absolutely need to read at least one Dawkins a year (and The Greatest Show on Earth, though full of neat trivia, was clearly written for Americreationists--I need to learn something new when I read).

I'm approaching the halfway point in Neal Stephenson's Reamde, and loving it so far. There are echoes of Cryptonomicon, but Reamde is much lighter fare with almost a Danny Boyle comedy-of-errors crime movie plot. It's still pretty nerdy, but one of the most accessible things he's written. Hopefully it holds up for another 400 pages--his first novel, Snow Crash, seemed like it was going to be amazing up to about 1/3 of the way through, and then just got ridiculous (and not in a good way). He's written a lot of good stuff since then, and I'm not expecting Reamde to stand up to his last book, Anathem, which was mind-blowing all the way through.

^ Heh, we seem to read the same books.