OK, guys, here's the deal. I'm looking for more fiction to read. I've been reading a lot of Murakami lately, but he's only written so many books, ya know? Other authors I've liked are Neal Stephenson and this guy Card you've probably never heard of. I've heard good things about Thomas Pynchon — any suggestions on where to start with him?
Other ideas?
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
If you are interested in grown-up fantasy, try Neil Gaiman. A movie based on his novel, Stardust, can now be rented or purchased on DVD. His novel American Gods is really different--where modern gods (technological gods, not Christian, Jewish, or Moslem) are goaded into war with the ancient gods, such as Odin and Loki.
Also try Terry Brooks, of course. His current Amageddon's Children series connects the modern world with the far future, fantasy worlds of Shannara. Film rights to the Shannara series have been optioned to Warner Brothers just this past year (2007). Dan Farah of Farah Films & Management will be the producer. Mike Newell (who directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is selected to direct. Newell and his producing partner, Cameron Jones, will also produce.
Another writer I would like to see promoted more is L.E. Modesitt, Jr. He has written dozens of excellent science fiction novels, and also dozens of sword-and-sorcery fantasies with a consistency of theme and magical "laws." He has even linked together some of his fantasy novels with his science fiction novels (see Fall of Angels, where he gives the scientific frame for the Saga of Recluce series of fantasy novels.) It is a mystery to me why Modesitt has not won far more awards than he has so far.
[ December 26, 2007, 05:47 PM: Message edited by: Ron Lambert ]
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
What have you already read by Card?
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
I'm not generally as interested in SF and fantasy at this point (I kinda overdid those as a teenager), but I won't rule it out. I'd definitely like to try Neil Gaiman. Suggestions on a starting point for him? American Gods? Something else?
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlackBlade: What have you already read by Card?
Hmm, let's see. Ender's Game / Shadow, etc., Worthing Saga, Wyrms, Hart's Hope, the Alvin Maker series (the first 3 or 4 anyway), the first three of the <noun> of Earth series, Treasure Box, Enchantment, Maps in a Mirror, Pastwatch, and probably other stuff too. My favorites were Ender's Game, Hart's Hope, and parts of Maps in a Mirror.
Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
Piers Anthony Ann McCaffrey
The Pern Series by Anne McCaffrey is really good.
Posted by JumboWumbo (Member # 10047) on :
Yay! I love Murakami. I'm currently reading Sputnik Sweetheart.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Mike, have you read anything by Ben Bova?
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
I think I read Mars once. I don't remember what I thought of it. Anything in particular that you recommend?
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
One caveat about Piers Anthony. At some point you may get fed up with all the puns. Somewhere in the middle of his Xanth series, I am afraid I reached my saturation level.
If anyone wants to be a true science fiction fan, he must read Robert Heinlein--even all his juveniles.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
Thanks for the warning about Piers Anthony. I'm pretty pun-resistant, though.
Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
I liked his Incarnations of Immortality Series, along with the Story of Man series
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
Robert Heinlein was what got me started with science fiction. Space Cadet and Starship Troopers are still two of my favorite books.
I admit, however, that I don't like much of his "grown-up" books--everything past Stranger in A Strange Land, pretty much. Although it's been years and years since I tried to read any of those. Maybe it's time to revisit.
I really enjoyed Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora and Red Seas under Red Skies. I can't wait for the next books of his.
I wish I liked Ben Bova more. I've read all three of his Mars books, but they were kind of a labor to read. Chasing around Mars and having political meetings. To me he doesn't seem to have a lot of soul in his writing. Kind of like Robert L. Forward. It's possible to be too "hard" in sci-fi.
EDIT: Oh freak, I just realized I'm mixing up Bova and Kim Stanley Robinson. Never mind. I'm still not a big Bova fan, though.
I highly recommend Neal Stephenson. There's a guy who knows how to use the English language. Cryptonomicon is one heck of a book, and they get better from there.
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
Life of Pi by Yann Martel. That's what I always suggest.
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
quote:Originally posted by advice for robots: Robert Heinlein was what got me started with science fiction. Space Cadet and Starship Troopers are still two of my favorite books.
I admit, however, that I don't like much of his "grown-up" books--everything past Stranger in A Strange Land, pretty much. Although it's been years and years since I tried to read any of those. Maybe it's time to revisit.
I read Stranger a long time ago and liked it. I could probably stand to reread. I'll put Space Cadet and Starship Troopers on my list.
quote:I highly recommend Neal Stephenson. There's a guy who knows how to use the English language. Cryptonomicon is one heck of a book, and they get better from there.
Yep, Cryptonomicon is one of my favorites. I read Quicksilver too, and though I did enjoy it quite a bit, it was a little too slow for me. So I never got to the second and third in the series. Maybe someday, if I can be persuaded.
quote:Originally posted by Tara: Life of Pi by Yann Martel. That's what I always suggest.
Yeah, good book. It was the first thing that came to mind when I heard about today's tiger news.
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I'm halfway through The Catcher in the Rye, which shockingly I'd never read before. Still not sure how I feel about this Caulfield kid.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I second Starship Troopers, and and recommend that you put it to the front of your list. Probably because it is one of my favorite novels, though.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
My friend and I always do a book exchange for Christmas of the best book we've read during the year. I'm giving her Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz, which was excellent. Last year I gave her William Gibson's Pattern Recognition, the year before Apuleius' Golden Ass. Before that, I don't remember.
(I received Edward Conlon's Blue Blood last year and James Jones' From Here to Eternity the year before, both of which were also excellent.)
Posted by Mike (Member # 55) on :
Thanks for those recommendations, Carrie. I'll take a closer look.
Posted by Philosofickle (Member # 10993) on :
This might be a spoiler depending on how hard you think on it.
My one issue with starship troopers is that the Author gave up so many chances for some interesting character interaction development for the sake of a little surprize.
*****Spoiler***** **** **** ****
What I'm talking about of course is the identity of his Platoon Sargeant near the end of his book.
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
I enjoyed Gibson's Pattern Recognition. However, I can only take Gibson in small doses.
I can't read Bruce Sterling.
*****SPOILER********
Philosophickle: I thought that said Platoon Sergeant wasn't in the war until then.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
Mike, based on a few of the writers you mentioned having enjoyed in the past, I have a feeling you might dig Cory Doctorow. I recommend 'Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town'. It's worth a shot, and a good starting point for his work.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
My favorite current American writer has become Nadine Darling. Google her if you're ever in the mood for some really interesting short stories.
No books out, yet, but here's hoping...
Posted by foundling (Member # 6348) on :
For Neil Gaiman, I would start with Neverwhere, then Stardust, then Smoke and Mirrors. After that, you'll have a good foundation of how he thinks, be thoroughly addicted, and can move on to the Sandman series of graphic novels with absolute glee. I loved American Gods, but felt that it was a step away from the writing of his that I was familiar with, therefore a little jarring. But still very, very good.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I like Jim Butcher, and not just his Dresden books, although they are great.
Posted by Reshpeckobiggle (Member # 8947) on :
I think it's funny how Mike says he's not looking for any Sci-fi or Fantasy, and that's all anyone could come up with. My initial recommendations were along those lines. The nature of the communityhere, I guess.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. A life changing experience.
Same for Shogun, by James Clavell. That's a tough one, but the final sentence of that book is... transcendent.
If you insist on Thomas Pynchon, I'd suggest starting with The Crying of Lot 49. It's smallish, so you can get through it and decide if you like his style without spending too much time. Advice for reading him: Don't get bogged down trying to figure out if the end of any particular sentence has anything to do with its beginning. Just read through it and absorb. He's actually quite brilliant.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
The Assyrian and its sequel Blood Star, by Nicolas Guild. Some of the best stuff I've ever read in my life.
Posted by sylvrdragon (Member # 3332) on :
E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series is golden. It's a post-apocalyptic Earth series in which the "Vampires" are beings from another world that came to Earth via some Stargate/Halflife-esque portals. The term "Vampire" is used very lightly. The only thing they seem to keep from the typical vampire mythology is that they feed on humans. I think they just put the word Vampire in there to sell more copies.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I second Shogun if you haven't read it yet. It's quite awesome. I also liked the rest of the books in Clavell's Asian Saga.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Mike, my favorite by Heinlein are "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "Citizen of the Galaxy", and really almost any of the juvenile books. "The Star Beast", "The Rolling Stones", "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel", etc. Citizen of the Galaxy was the only book I ever read twice through in one sitting. I've been thinking about those old Heinlein books and wanting to reread them lately. He's always a great read, even if his ideas are sometimes totally whacked.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
I got Wilaim Gibson's Spook City for christmas, and it's next on the pile.
I would recommend giving the Quicksilver trilogy another bash. I'm a voracious reader, book in a sitting type of stuff, but it took me a three months to finish Quicksilver - I kept need to lie down in a darkened room to assimalate all the information. However perserverence paid off. The whole sweep of the trilogy is awe inspiring. It has an ending too, unlike many of Stephenson's other books
I'ma abig Heinlein fan and if you fancy a good "later" Heinlein, I would recommend Job or Friday. They have the verve and panache of the juveniles without the need for 500 pages of "philosophy".
For new SF, try Alastair Reynolds or Peter Hamilton, or the grand master of the new wave of British SF, Iain M. Banks. In fact everyone should read Wasp Factory. Drop what you're dooing and head to the bookstore right now!
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
"He's always a great read, even if his ideas are sometimes totally whacked."
Hey! I based my life around trying to establish a world government modeled after Starship Troopers!
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