Big Salad Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 1 minute ago, Panto_Villan said: Funnily enough I demolished most of Mark Lawrence's work over the past year or so and read Revelation Space recently too. Excellent stuff. I particularly enjoyed Red Sister. Any of Reynolds other work you'd recommend? Revelation Space was very good. A bit heavier than I usually go but it was worth it. Similar to Children of Time by Aiden Tchaikovsky in that regard, that's well worth a read if you've not I'm assuming you've read most of the big name fantasy if you've worked down to Lawrence? Lies of Locke Lamora, the First Law trilogy, Name of the Wind, Brandon Sanderson's many series, etc? I am a fan of all of Reynold's work. Poseidon's Children series is great if want to read some more of his work, the ending blew me away. Yeah I've read all of those(Hopefully a new Locke book releases soon), can't really go wrong with Abercrombie, I'll be in the grave before Rothfuss finishes the trilogy lol, and Sanderson is always good to dive into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 23, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 23, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Panto_Villan said: If you're into WW2 stuff I enjoyed A Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson, which I read a few years ago. It's not in my normal wheelhouse but I picked it up on a friend's recommendation and it was good. Follows a Hurricane squadron in the early days of the war and into the Battle of Britain. Long book but it's quite funny in places and the characters are good. Seconded on 'Piece of Cake'. If you're a WWII buff like me, you'll spot the real incidents and people DR based it on. There's a sequel to PoC called 'A Good Clean Fight', set in North Africa, and he also did a whole series of First World War novels. Good writer. Edited September 23, 2021 by mjmooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto_Villan Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 37 minutes ago, mjmooney said: Seconded on 'Piece of Cake'. If you're a WWII buff like me, you'll spot the real incidents and people DR based it on. There's a sequel to PoC called 'A Good Clean Fight', set in North Africa, and he also did a whole series of First World War novels. Good writer. Yeah. It covered some interesting stuff. I liked the part where early in the war some of the pilots were flying Defiants, which went about as well as you'd expect up against German single-seater fighters. I read the North Africa one too but I wasn't as impressed by that, not sure I'd recommend it. It's an interesting setting but the characters didn't grab me much. He's also done a Bomber Command one that I never got around to reading. Did you read that one? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only2McInallys Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 21/09/2021 at 13:19, PussEKatt said: You must mean a different Antony Beevor,because the one that I am talking about only writes stuff about WW II and not fiction. His book about the battle of Stalingrad was brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto_Villan Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Big Salad said: I am a fan of all of Reynold's work. Poseidon's Children series is great if want to read some more of his work, the ending blew me away. Yeah I've read all of those(Hopefully a new Locke book releases soon), can't really go wrong with Abercrombie, I'll be in the grave before Rothfuss finishes the trilogy lol, and Sanderson is always good to dive into. Thanks. Might pick Poseidon's Children up then, I've not started a new book in a while. Agreed on the other writers. Kinda given up on Rothfus but it does put into perspective Lawrence banging out one high-quality full length book every year, and Sanderson doing even more than that. I definitely rolled my eyes when I realised that his Stormlight Archives book is meant to be a 10-book series but if anyone can pull it off he can! There's a sci-fi novella called This Is How You Win The Time War I'll throw in a recommendation for as well, if you've not read that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 23, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 23, 2021 1 hour ago, Panto_Villan said: He's also done a Bomber Command one that I never got around to reading. Did you read that one? 'Damned Good Show'. No, it's one of the few I haven't got round to. Which I should, as I have a particular interest - my late father-in-law flew two tours as a flight engineer in Bomber Command. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 24, 2021 Settle an argument: Inspired by the release of the new Apple TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 18 hours ago, Panto_Villan said: If you're into WW2 stuff I enjoyed A Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson, which I read a few years ago. It's not in my normal wheelhouse but I picked it up on a friend's recommendation and it was good. Follows a Hurricane squadron in the early days of the war and into the Battle of Britain. Long book but it's quite funny in places and the characters are good. Yes,im into WW II and I will look for that book.Thanks for the info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto_Villan Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, mjmooney said: Settle an argument: Inspired by the release of the new Apple TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation"... Haha, sorta depends on the terms of the question. He's talking about what the most famous sci-fi book is, and you're talking about who the most famous sci-fi author is and the most famous book they've written. I think Asimov is probably a good shout for the most famous sci fi writer. H G Wells is another contender, perhaps? I'd say I, Robot might be better known than Foundation due to the recent film though. As for the most famous sci-fi book? Dune, maybe? That's the best selling one I believe. Frankenstein if people class that as sci-fi rather than horror. War of the Worlds? Sci-fi is weird because the most popular media is TV / film. Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, etc. I think they probably had way more mass market penetration than any book. There's no Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings equivalent. Edited September 24, 2021 by Panto_Villan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 Arthur C Clarke presumably would be in that conversation. I do struggle with sci fi myself. I'll dip in once a year or so for a change of scene, but it's either beyond me - like Gibson's Neuromancer where I could never get a visual grip in my head what he was talking about or it's too much like Surface Detail by Iain Banks, which is baggy with lots of descriptions that I couldn't care a hang for yet that was supposedly one of the better novels in that series. Aside from Hitchiker's Guide which is peerless in the comic sf world. Oh tell a lie I did enjoy the Stephen Baxter books, Proxima and Ultima. I know he did a collaborative series with Terry Pratchett but I haven't read those yet. At the moment reading some oldies Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway which was insufferably dull for the most part. There is one vaguely interesting character - Septimus - but that's about it. Currently reading Someset Maugham's Razor Edge, and I am loving it. Hard to articulate why, but it just draws you in so well to the fictional author and the characters he introduces you to 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Rodders said: Currently reading Someset Maugham's Razor Edge, and I am loving it. Hard to articulate why, but it just draws you in so well to the fictional author and the characters he introduces you to Been thinking of reading that for ages, thanks for the reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 24, 2021 1 hour ago, Panto_Villan said: Sci-fi is weird because the most popular media is TV / film. Star Trek, Star Wars, Alien, etc. I think they probably had way more mass market penetration than any book. Traditional science fiction readers of my generation always referred to it as SF. Using the term 'sci-fi' was the mark of somebody who didn't get it and/or thought of it primarily in film/TV terms. Although I've enjoyed many of the screened versions, few of them can hold a candle to the way my teenage imagination was sparked by reading Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Ballard, Blish, Silverberg, Wyndham, Aldiss, Herbert, Van Vogt, Dick, Harrison, Vonnegut, etc., etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto_Villan Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 3 hours ago, Rodders said: Arthur C Clarke presumably would be in that conversation. I do struggle with sci fi myself. I'll dip in once a year or so for a change of scene, but it's either beyond me - like Gibson's Neuromancer where I could never get a visual grip in my head what he was talking about or it's too much like Surface Detail by Iain Banks, which is baggy with lots of descriptions that I couldn't care a hang for yet that was supposedly one of the better novels in that series. Aside from Hitchiker's Guide which is peerless in the comic sf world. Oh tell a lie I did enjoy the Stephen Baxter books, Proxima and Ultima. I know he did a collaborative series with Terry Pratchett but I haven't read those yet. At the moment reading some oldies Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway which was insufferably dull for the most part. There is one vaguely interesting character - Septimus - but that's about it. Currently reading Someset Maugham's Razor Edge, and I am loving it. Hard to articulate why, but it just draws you in so well to the fictional author and the characters he introduces you to If you enjoyed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first two or three Red Dwarf books are also very funny - and I say that as someone who was a bit ambivalent about the TV show. They're very well observed and just really well written. I mentioned it earlier in the thread too but Children of Time is a nice standalone sci-fi book if you want something with some interesting ideas that's not as out there as Neuromancer or as heavy as Banks' stuff. Won the Nebula a few years back I think. Maybe that'll work better for you next time you dip your toe in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mozzavfc Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 5 hours ago, Panto_Villan said: As for the most famous sci-fi book? Dune, maybe? That's the best selling one I believe. Frankenstein if people class that as sci-fi rather than horror. War of the Worlds? You'd have to throw in 1984 as most famous sci-fi book 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 I will toss do androids dream of electric sheep or Dune in as most famous sci fi books. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Salad Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 The Stars My Destination is brilliant also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 42 minutes ago, Mozzavfc said: You'd have to throw in 1984 as most famous sci-fi book It’s not really sci-fi is it? I mean if you consider dystopia a sub genre of sci-fi I get ya, but Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted September 24, 2021 VT Supporter Share Posted September 24, 2021 6 minutes ago, The_Rev said: It’s not really sci-fi is it? I mean if you consider dystopia a sub genre of sci-fi I get ya, but Writers of 'literary fiction' generally don't like being classed as 'genre' novelists. Does Margaret Atwood write SF? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Salad Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 What's is yall's favorite series of any genre? Mine are the Rebus series by Ian Rankin and the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly, both brilliant. Will throw in the Joe Pickett series by CJ Box as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted September 24, 2021 Share Posted September 24, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts