Sci -Fi / Fantasy
TV ClubHouse: archive: Library - Miscellaneous thru May 2003:
Sci -Fi / Fantasy
Merlin | Wednesday, January 22, 2003 - 07:40 pm     I loved the series Incarnations of Immortality. The very first book I read by Piers Anthony was The Tarot. This was the thing that hooked me into this author. |
Neko | Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 01:15 pm     I love Garth Nix's "Sabriel" and "Lireal." I can't want for "The Abhorson" to come out. They are probably my favourite books. |
Tashakinz | Friday, January 24, 2003 - 01:12 pm     Has anyone else read Terry Pratchett's Discworld series? They are hysterical. |
Awareinva | Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 09:01 pm     I am an avid reader but sci fi/fantasy remains my true love! I love Marion Bradley Zimmer, Anne McCaffrey, Roger Zelazny (Amber series) and those more fantasy type series, but also love Greg Bear, Paul Anderson, Asimov, Clarke and the classics of sci fi too. I have at least 1000 sci fi books in my collection. No one has mentioned my favorite ever series- Thomas Covenant, the unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson. Set of six books about a leper who is outcast by his wife and family and is in a downward spiral who hits his head, or has some type of accident and is transported into another world where his white gold wedding ring has the power to save the world. He goes through a series of adventures in each of the six novels and at the end is always transported back into the real world (most of the time wondering if what he has experienced is just a figment of his imagination). He is accompanied in time by a woman from his world who adds her own angst to the mix. Kind of a Lord of the Rings feel with an evil being trying to stop the good guys, lots of mythical creatures and magic. I can't do it justice, but just thinking about it reminds me that it's been a number of years since I reread the series (children take up so much good reading time ). I think I have to go find book #1 and get started!! |
Awareinva | Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 09:08 pm     Oh, meant to recommend for younger readers - especially girls- the Patricia Wrede (I think that's her last name) Dragons series. About a princess who doesn't want to be a princess but a warrior, who goes off looking for dragons and doesn't want the knights who come around to save her (she can take care of herself, thank you!). It is four books - Talking to Dragons, Dealing with Dragons, Waiting for Dragons, and Calling on Dragons (not sure of the order). This isn't the passive little girl princess who waits on a guy to come save her. My 10 year old loved them, but she reads on an older level. That and the Madeline L'Engle series Wrinkle in Time are great introductions for kids to the fantasy genre. There are just so many good books out there... I can't imagine a life without reading. So sad that so many kids miss out |
Calamity | Monday, February 03, 2003 - 01:20 pm     I never look into these other threads and am probably missing so much! Tashakinz: I was given 'The Thief of Time' a couple Christmases ago but haven't read it yet. I've never read any of the Disc World books and was worried that I'd be hopelessly lost. I'll get to it someday though. I'm a fan of Neil Gaiman's and I know he's collaborated with Pratchett in the past. Awareinva: I remember my dad had the Thomas Covenant paperbacks when I was a kid. I don't think he ever read them though! I used to like looking at the cover pictures and making up my own stories. Never read the Dragons series but Madeleine L'Engle is one of my very favorite authors. |
Tashakinz | Tuesday, February 04, 2003 - 11:44 am     Calamity: While there is a general continuity to the discworld series - each book does a good job of standing on its own. I don't think I've read "The Thief of Time" yet. Let me know what you think. I most recently read "Jingo" and chuckled from start to finish. Terry Pratchett has such a way of making the real world seem so silly. |
Lycanthrope | Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 02:21 am     Anybody here read 'alternate history' novels? They usually involve some sort of time travel, or alien intervention in our past. Some now call these stories 'speculative fiction'. Right now, they're my favorite genre of sci-fi/fantasy. S.M. Stirling has his "Island in the Sea of Time" trilogy, which is awesome. He also recently wrote another alternate earth story, quite a bit different from the "Island" trilogy, called "Conquistador". It was pretty awesome,too, and it could turn into a series. Also, Eric Flint wrote a novel called "1632" a few years back, meaning for it to be a stand alone novel. However, the book's acclaim and popularity prompted Baen to commission Flint to turn it into an ongoing series. I think he's contracted now to write 5 or 6 more novels in the series. I just finished "1633", and the 3rd in the saga will be called "1634: The Baltic War". These are my favorites so far, with a generous nod to Dean Koontz' "Lightning", which is the initial novel so many years ago that got me interested in the subject. I could give some detail if anyone wanted any about any of these books, but a better synopsis and review could probably be found at Amazon.com if you're at all interested in this field of fiction. |
Maesin | Thursday, March 20, 2003 - 09:21 am     Lycanthrope, ever read Harry Turtledove? I really enjoyed his "world war" series and the follow up "colonization" series. He has written a lot of other alternate history, but I just haven't picked it up yet. If you have read the others I would like to know what you think! Awareinva, I love the Wrinkle in Time series!! So many good memories. I also recommend C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. My fifth grade teacher started me on those. He would read them to us after lunch recess as a way to settle us down. I finished the books that he didn't get to over summer break and still have all my hard bound copies! Is anyone here a William Gibson fan? He is towards the top of my fav author list. I recently finished "Pattern Recognition", his newest release, and was not disappointed at all. I am not a huge fantasy fan, I will read one occasionally, usually by accident! I also like sci fi with a sense of humour. Love the Hitchhiker's Guides! I am so glad I found this thread!! Happy Page Turning
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Lycanthrope | Thursday, March 20, 2003 - 05:29 pm     I have read some Harry Turtledove, but for my taste, he is too military. I like the alternate history stuff that DOESN'T revolve around who won a battle or war. In Conquistador, a WWII vet in 1946 is trying to get his shortwave radio to work when suddenly it POPS and a doorway opens to an alternate version of the Bay area(where he lives in our reality). A reality where the white man never set foot on Northern America and the natives still rule. He finds he can pass between both realities at will and amasses an empire in both realities. Throughout the novel you notice little things that hint to the original timeline being similar to ours, but not EXACT. Oh, and the one major thing that we're told that diverted the primitive timeline from the advanced one is that Alexander the Great lived to old age. I loved this book and plan to read it again soon. |
Snee | Friday, March 21, 2003 - 12:27 am     lycanthrope, have you read stephen baxter's 'hominids'? i just read it in pb (new out i think) and enjoyed it. yes maesin, i'm a big gibson fan. i went to a reading a few weeks ago and LOVED it! he read chapter 8 of 'p.r.' so later, when i read the book, i heard it all in his voice. kinda neat. as for the book, i really enjoyed it and i thought the top two thirds was Brilliant. the last part didn't hold up as well for me. i'll have to re-read in a while and see. |
Snee | Friday, March 21, 2003 - 12:34 am     oh, i also like sheri tepper, neal stephenson, and connie willis. |
Maesin | Friday, March 21, 2003 - 07:17 am     I read "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by C Willis. Loved it. I really should pick up more of her books. I turned a little green reading your first post. I would love to hear how Gibson reads his own novels!! Anyone read Tad Williams? I just picked up four of his books and know nothing about them. LOL. I do that sometimes. Usually I am lucky, but sometimes I end up shaking my head wondering "What was I thinking?!?" |
Awareinva | Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 05:05 am     Connie Willis' Doomsday Book is quite good. I read another of her novels too, but can't remember the title. I'll have to try "To Say Nothing of the Dog". Just finished Barbara Hambly's latest in the Dragonsbane series. Currently reading Anne McCaffrey's "Freedom's Ransom" (4th in that series) and David Brin's "Kiln People". The latter is very intriguing... haven't gotten far enough in yet to decide if I'd recommend it. and yes, I am reading two books simultaneously.... one in the car for the time in the am and pm waiting for the kids to get home off the bus, and the other in the house for all those other "stolen moments"  |
Lycanthrope | Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 06:07 am     Snee, I read Hominids in hardback a while back. I beleive the author is Robert J. Sawyer, though. The 2nd part of the series is also now out in hardback. It's called "Humans". I've only just started it, but I loved Hominids, so I'm glad it's a trilogy. |
Maesin | Saturday, March 22, 2003 - 11:58 am     Awareinva, you are not the only one who keeps more than one book going. I've got one for work, one by the bed and one in the car. Of course, they all change places depending on how the story goes. Maybe I should dust off the one in the car! I will have to try Doomsday Book. You are not the only person who told me to try it. To Say Nothing of the Dog is kind of a cute sci-fi. Nothing really hard, but I still liked it. I don't read a lot of series books unless I can buy them all at once. I can't stand waiting for the next book. I can wait for a whole series to come out, I just can't start it and know I will have to keep waiting for the end. I'll look for Sawyers when he's done!!
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Crossfire | Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 02:25 am     Hi guys/gals, I need to butt in here for a second. I am not sure if anyone has posted this, or if anyone here reads e-books at all, but Baen is offering a number of books on the internet for free. They are currently offering 47 books by 25 authors. I read them online, but you could also just use them to sample a book prior to purchase if you must have the paper. They have each book in several formats such as HTML, MS Reader, Palm/psion/CE, Rocket ebook, and rich text format. If you have not seen it, and are interested, here is a link for the Baen Free Library. |
Maesin | Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 11:47 am     Thanks Crossfire!! |
Snee | Sunday, March 30, 2003 - 06:14 pm     that's right about sawyer, lycanthrope. i was thinking of baxter's 'origin'. since i last posted i bought and read sawyer's 'humans'. i really liked it and i'm looking forward to 'hybrids'. i know what you mean about series though, maesin; waiting is painful! i can't say enough about connie willis. i enjoyed both the books mentioned and would recommend 'bellwether' for a fun read. she also has a nice little book of christmas stories. i admire the way she can write 'serious' sf and do just as well at the lighter stuff. maesin, hearing gibson read was wonderful and i wish all his fans could hear him. he was wonderfully sardonic. i also liked his demeanor. he said that he was just finishing the north american part of his book tour and was 'lagged' but i got the impression that he would normally stand up there kind of slouchy, reading with one hand stuffed in his jeans' pocket. |
Calamity | Wednesday, April 02, 2003 - 12:57 pm     Has anyone here ever read John Crowley? I'm interested but don't know much about him or his books. |
Allietex | Sunday, April 27, 2003 - 04:57 pm     Has anyone read the Wars of Light and Shadows by Janny Wurts. So far there are six. They are about two royal half-brothers who are mages and are destined to live at least 500 years. They are cursed by an enemy to hate each other so much they are compelled to fight to the death, dragging their kingdoms along with them. I am in book 2. My son gave them to me. He says the series is just getting started. So far I love it. The writing is very similiar to Tollkein, with those cryptic comments that sometimes make you say "Huh?" The descriptive and figurative language is supurb. One note: The name of the series is the Wars of Light and shadows, but it has subgroups called the Ships of Merior, and the Alliance of Light. |
Crazydog | Monday, April 28, 2003 - 12:12 pm     I am currently reading the third book in George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. It's called "A Storm of Swords" and it came out in paperback recently. The only problem is that it's been so long since I finished the second book a year ago it's taking me a while to remember exactly what happened there. I wish these long-running series books had a "previously on" page like they do for T.V. dramas and gave a brief synopsis of what happened in the last book. If a T.V. show can't expect us to remember what happened on a show just a week ago, how on earth do book publishers expect us to remember something we read a year ago? |
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