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What books are you reading or have recently read?


Raak

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OK, so I am half way through Book 2 of Wheel of Time and...I don't get it.  Why is everyone so crazy for this series?  Jordan writing is mediocre at best and the story is definitely nothing new.  And I am already jumping over huge walls of pointless text and you are telling me that it gets WORSE?

 

No thanks.  Time to find something else.

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OK, so I am half way through Book 2 of Wheel of Time and...I don't get it.  Why is everyone so crazy for this series?  Jordan writing is mediocre at best and the story is definitely nothing new.  And I am already jumping over huge walls of pointless text and you are telling me that it gets WORSE?

 

No thanks.  Time to find something else.

I think the appeal of WoT was that it was a big deal/relatively alone in the ridiculously epic series genre at the time, it grew on people and became a 'thing'. It's like saying 'I'm halfway through Return of the Jedi and I don't get it. Why is everyone so crazy for this series? Lucas' writing is mediocre and the special effects are definitely nothing new...' Well yeah, but at the time...

 

As well, once you were invested in the series and characters, you really wanted to see the end.

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I think the appeal of WoT was that it was a big deal/relatively alone in the ridiculously epic series genre at the time, it grew on people and became a 'thing'. It's like saying 'I'm halfway through Return of the Jedi and I don't get it. Why is everyone so crazy for this series? Lucas' writing is mediocre and the special effects are definitely nothing new...' Well yeah, but at the time...

 

As well, once you were invested in the series and characters, you really wanted to see the end.

Um...are you seriously comparing the first two WoT books to A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back?  Yeah...not so much.

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Um...are you seriously comparing the first two WoT books to A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back?  Yeah...not so much.

Yes. It's called an analogy.

 

Breaking it down, Star Wars is only really awesome because of its place in time. If Star Wars came out today, it would probably be laughed off the screen. We love it because we saw it during that time and for its time it was great. Because of that, a lot of people kept up on the series/universe far after they would have given up on any other series.

 

The same is true of WoT. Is it great art? No. But at the time, it was great. Because of that, I at least, kept reading far after I would have given up on any other series.

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When WoT came out I was a.....sophomore (?) in high school.  I won't go through all the various other authors I had read at the time except to say that the ones the I remember the most are: The Lord of the Rings, to include the Hobbit and the Simirillion (pretty sure i butchered that) and the Belgariad/Mallorian.  I found Jordan MUCH more engaging than Tolkien, yet not so light as Eddings and hey I was a young man growing up with a less than ideal home life, it was nice to get lost in a world where honor, trust, integrity and nobility meant something.  I invested, I even reread many of the books just so I could refresh my knowledge of the story before reading a new release ( aaah being young...so much time...).

 

For me it was the character development of the 3 boys, I loved how they each think the other knows how to handle women.  I love Perrins interactions with Faile and the floozy from Mayene (sp).  I enjoy seeing these characters develop as they realize that they are no [big bad swear word] living out the end of an age.  I was entertained, and that's really all I need from a book.

 

Forgive me, for I am about to blaspheme:

What I don't understand is how people bash on WoT and yet not mention how unengaging ( hmm apparently NOT a word) The Lord of the Rings books are, I've read text books more engaging than those books.  I recognize that he's the founder and all that but his writing style, so dry,

blasphemy over.

 

Also you old men remember a time when the production cycle was much lower, back when WoT was released we got what 3 SNES/Gensis video games out a month, maybe?  How many new fantasy or sci-fi books out in a month?  I have around 50 Forgotten Realms, ShadowRun, AD&D, ....what was the Sun one .....anyway, trash fantasy Sci-fi books just to fill the gaps because that lack of quality releases back in the 80's and 90's.  Also, I think location mattered a lot for the popularity of the WoT series, you could find em anywhere, including the Australian backpacking community.  Just some things to keep in mind.

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The books that caught my attention when I was in Jr/Sr High were by Rober Heinlein, Stephen Donaldson (still love the Thomas Covenant series), Madeline L'engle, Andre Norton, and Frank Herbert.  What I have read of WoT so far doesn't even touch the Witch World, Dune, or Thomas Covenant series.

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The books that caught my attention when I was in Jr/Sr High were by Rober Heinlein, Stephen Donaldson (still love the Thomas Covenant series), Madeline L'engle, Andre Norton, and Frank Herbert.  What I have read of WoT so far doesn't even touch the Witch World, Dune, or Thomas Covenant series.

I completely agree that they are not the same as some of the authors listed (although I found everything past Dune not to my liking and never read the Thomas Covenant stuff, but I could come up with others that are similar ) but they were something new and very interesting. As intrizic said, they appealed to young adults because of the main characters, the accessibility of the story and the themes involved. They were very much a bridge between young adult books and the more serious sci-fi/fantasy of the day. I'm almost certain that if I picked them up now, I would not enjoy them as much. 

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Oh god no not Thomas Covenant... Well okay one series of oh woe is me, life sucks all the time was okay and it was an interesting take on a fantasy setting cause Thomas was the only one being all goth sorry for himself. But oh man the 2nd chronicles, and in particular the 2nd book.... cause everyone is all mopey dopey woe is me feeling guilty/sorry for themselves, and it all takes place on a boat with not much happening except the moping and then to top it off they find out what they are searching for wont isn't there/won't work/was sitting with them the whole time.... aaaarrrgh. No really if you want to read them skip that book and read the summary in book three. I have a hard time wanting to read his other works thanks to that.

 

In other readings, I recently ran through a space opera that was fun pulp level writing but bit came close to romance novel in parts of it. The Sirantha Jax books by Ann Aguirre.

 

And right now I am reading The Atrocity Archive by Charlie Stross and as a computer geek and eldrich horror fan it is a great fun and has me laughing out loud as some of the bits.

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Kill Decision, by Gene Suarez. Picked it up because Warren Ellis described it as the book that REAMDE, by Neal Stephenson, wanted to be. I'd compare it more to Crichton or Tom Clancy. He doesn't have the cleverness of dialogue and description that Stephenson has. Not bad, but not as good as I was expecting from a recommendation like that. Definitely hits some interesting points about drone warfare and surveillance technology.

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The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner. Technically a kid's book, but there's a good enough story there that I still found it entertaining. Anyone who enjoys reading The Hobbit might well find the same. It's a fantasy story set in northern England, and has some pretty cool local flavour and dialect.

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  • 2 months later...

The Martian. The first novel by Andy Weir, creator of the Mad Scientist webcomic Casey and Andy. It's the best hard SF I've read in years. Really a great read, one of those books where it was only after I finished that I realized I'd barely been breathing for the last couple of chapters.

As a storm forces the third manned mission to Mars to evacuate early, an accident separates Mark Watney from the rest of the crew, and damages his suit's systems, causing it to indicate that his vitals have zeroed.

But Mark isn't dead. He wakes up some time later, the first person ever to be completely alone on another planet. Fortunately, there are more Mars missions planned. So now all he has to do is simple: survive four years on supplies meant for a 31 day mission, and travel 3200 km across the Martian wilderness to the planned landing site of the fourth Mars Mission. With Murphy's Law in full effect. Simple isn't the same as easy.

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Guest Mr. Bigglesworth

Damn thanks for posting I am struggling to put this book down it is so good.

 

I am about a 1/3 in.

 

I like the journal style story telling and if others do too I would highly recommend jl Bourne's zombie series.

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The Martian. The first novel by Andy Weir, creator of the Mad Scientist webcomic Casey and Andy. It's the best hard SF I've read in years. Really a great read, one of those books where it was only after I finished that I realized I'd barely been breathing for the last couple of chapters.

 

As a storm forces the third manned mission to Mars to evacuate early, an accident separates Mark Watney from the rest of the crew, and damages his suit's systems, causing it to indicate that his vitals have zeroed.

 

But Mark isn't dead. He wakes up some time later, the first person ever to be completely alone on another planet. Fortunately, there are more Mars missions planned. So now all he has to do is simple: survive four years on supplies meant for a 31 day mission, and travel 3200 km across the Martian wilderness to the planned landing site of the fourth Mars Mission. With Murphy's Law in full effect. Simple isn't the same as easy.

I am excited to read this when I get home from New Zealand.
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Daniel Suarez has four books out now, I believe.  I just finished his first pair, Daemon and Freedom.

 

Contemporary fiction as social commentary. YMMV depending on your view on black helicopters and corporate attitudes/schenanigans.  Reasonably well researched but not perfect.  An interesting speculative take on what is possible and while I had quibbles with some of it it was paced well and entertaining enough that I could go along for the ride.

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I liked the ideas of Suarez's book, but the writing just didn't hold up for me. A lot of it comes down to the research, like you say; there were a bunch of bits that read like they were coming from someone who'd browsed wikipedia on the topic rather than the expert the character in question was supposed to be.

 

I guess for me, it's just that I feel Stephenson and Gibson do that kind of thing so much better that I'm not willing to settle for "OK".

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have just finished listening to all of the unabridged Song of Ice and Fire series by G.R.R. Martin. I am a bit worried the TV series is going to run out of material soon. I am thinking about tackling the Dune series next, starting with the prequel books. I also need to catch up on the Walking Dead comic book series.

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