Scififur.net Book Group?

[Daryn]

I started listening to Terminal World. John Lee's narration is a little odd at first, but it seems to be growing on me. It seems pretty interesting so far, with the different technologies limited to different zones. I don't know where it's all going, but it does seem interesting for now.

[Daryn]

Well, I've finished Terminal World, we could talk about it if anyone else has read it.

[SuperLemonz]

Well, I'm down for doing this. I'll just join with the next set of books and possibly throw a few suggestions out.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

Me too!

Spoiler

I didn't like it: too long, everything was explained *at least* twice, the clues about the nature of the city/planet heavy-handed and incongruous with the dialogue, and the characters flat.. the only one who did anything unexpected was Tulwar.

OTOH the setting was imaginative and i really enjoyed the beginning, which had a bit of a Dark City vibe... "different eras, different pasts, all rolled into one" (plus of course being pursued in spirals by cadaverous strangers). After that it became increasingly predictable -- aside from the deus ex machina escape from the carniwargs, and the centre of the dead zone, surprises were rare (and always foreshadowed).

I was interested by the psychology of Dr Q: things like

Quillon said sharply ‘You’ve done enough for all of us, Meroka. You don’t have to come any further. There’s nothing left to prove.’

‘It was never about proving anything, Cutter.’

(he said similar things at least four times; to people who were honestly noble and self-sacrificing it must have been quite insulting) really reinforced the idea that his personality was a simple construct, and that the Angels had very little understanding of "pre-human" minds -- his earliest true, non-implanted memories as Quillion must have been of desire to prove that he could pass as human, and everything that followed was cast in that mold.

The ending was OK, tho i'd have preferred it if the characters had gained some inkling of the truth of their world, instead of the reader just having a ton more questions dumped on us.

(also i have a few food/water/etc logistic quibbles about Spearpoint, but meh. I was secretly hoping that the helical shelves would turn out to be a radiator fin or something, and the book would end with a car descending the "cosmic funicular" and the waste heat being dumped vapourising the city and forcing everyone either out into the desert or underground to the true colony.)

TBH i'd have liked this book more if i hadn't kept reminding me of The Book of the New Sun (ie Vorg == Alzabo, the parable of Spirit and Opportunity, ...), against which it just doesn't compare. Reynolds describes history as becoming meaningless after there being so much of it, Wolfe shows it.

SuperLemonz: what kinda books you suggest? We got this one from an advert, backed up by it's author having recently been paid a million pound advance. Judging by the results, personal recommendations would prob be better.

[Daryn]

Me too!

Spoiler

I didn't like it: too long, everything was explained *at least* twice, the clues about the nature of the city/planet heavy-handed and incongruous with the dialogue, and the characters flat.. the only one who did anything unexpected was Tulwar.

OTOH the setting was imaginative and i really enjoyed the beginning, which had a bit of a Dark City vibe... "different eras, different pasts, all rolled into one" (plus of course being pursued in spirals by cadaverous strangers). After that it became increasingly predictable -- aside from the deus ex machina escape from the carniwargs, and the centre of the dead zone, surprises were rare (and always foreshadowed).

I was interested by the psychology of Dr Q: things like
(he said similar things at least four times; to people who were honestly noble and self-sacrificing it must have been quite insulting) really reinforced the idea that his personality was a simple construct, and that the Angels had very little understanding of "pre-human" minds -- his earliest true, non-implanted memories as Quillion must have been of desire to prove that he could pass as human, and everything that followed was cast in that mold.

The ending was OK, tho i'd have preferred it if the characters had gained some inkling of the truth of their world, instead of the reader just having a ton more questions dumped on us.

(also i have a few food/water/etc logistic quibbles about Spearpoint, but meh. I was secretly hoping that the helical shelves would turn out to be a radiator fin or something, and the book would end with a car descending the "cosmic funicular" and the waste heat being dumped vapourising the city and forcing everyone either out into the desert or underground to the true colony.)

TBH i'd have liked this book more if i hadn't kept reminding me of The Book of the New Sun (ie Vorg == Alzabo, the parable of Spirit and Opportunity, ...), against which it just doesn't compare. Reynolds describes history as becoming meaningless after there being so much of it, Wolfe shows it.

SuperLemonz: what kinda books you suggest? We got this one from an advert, backed up by it's author having recently been paid a million pound advance. Personal recommendations would prob be better.

This is the first book I've ever read from Alistair Reynolds, and it really didn't leave a good impression on me.

Spoiler

It kind of dragged on and on. It took me a long time to even start to like the characters, and once I finally started to care the book ends. It ends without anything being resolved. Sure Nimcha took her place in the enclave, but really, nothing got solved. It just feels like an unfinished project. I'm not saying that it had to have a happy ending, I'm just sayng it would have been nice to have an ending period.

I like Meroka and Quillon, and I'd like to find out more about them, but the way this book ended we didn't get to see how things panned out. For a standalone book, it really didn't satisfy.

Frankly, if I'm going to be blunt, I prefer Peter F. Hamilton's writing over what I've heard of Reynold's.

Maybe some of his other books are better, but with Hamilton's "Evolutionary Void" coming out in a couple months I don't know if I want to put the time into them.

To sum up, the book was kind of meh. Didn't care for the writing much and the ending left a lot to be desired.

I will say though that I liked the idea of the setting where there is something fundementally wrong with the world that they live in.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

(Yur spoiler link fails for me Firefox 3.6.3, Chrome 5.0.375.70 beta )

This is the first book I've ever read from Alistair Reynolds, and it really didn't leave a good impression on me.

It kind of dragged on and on. It took me a long time to even start to like the characters, and once I finally started to care the book ends. It ends without anything being resolved. Sure Nimcha took her place in the enclave, but really, nothing got solved. It just feels like an unfinished project. I'm not saying that it had to have a happy ending, I'm just sayng it would have been nice to have an ending period.

I like Meroka and Quillon, and I'd like to find out more about them, but the way this book ended we didn't get to see how things panned out. For a standalone book, it really didn't satisfy.

Frankly, if I'm going to be blunt, I prefer Peter F. Hamilton's writing over what I've heard of Reynold's.

Maybe some of his other books are better, but with Hamilton's "Evolutionary Void" coming out in a couple months I don't know if I want to put the time into them.

To sum up, the book was kind of meh. Didn't care for the writing much and the ending left a lot to be desired.

I will say though that I liked the idea of the setting where there is something fundementally wrong with the world that they live in.

In Reynolds' defense his novels are usually more complex, with multiple narratives that merge near the end. (Which if i'm being honest may just be a gimmick to distract from boring characters.) That they end just as they get interesting is another common feature; honestly i wish he'd cut most of the swarm chapters (China Meiville already has that territory covered) and had Dr Q be picked up by the fleet while on it's way to the city, having already decided on the medicine run.. anyone who didn't guess the nature of Spearpoint at the end of chapter 5: tough.

>nothing got solved
>we didn't get to see how things panned out

THis was almost like one of those endings i was whining about to Slice last week, only without the entertaining post-modern narrative strewn with wild ideas and strangely named characters beforehand (it's like Reynolds was copying Gibson or Stephenson, without realising who /they/ were copying).

What bugged me most was that he kept dropping really obvious clues for the reader but never let the characters reach the same realisation, just some vague mumbles about "Earthgate". Felt like a violation of Chekhov's Gun to me...

Never read Hamilton, but if you liked the way reality had somehow Gone Wrong here then i recommend Philip K Dick, possibly Ubik (since it's gonna be a movie soon).

[Daryn]

(Yur spoiler link fails for me Firefox 3.6.3, Chrome 5.0.375.70 beta )


In Reynolds' defense his novels are usually more complex, with multiple narratives that merge near the end. (Which if i'm being honest may just be a gimmick to distract from boring characters.) That they end just as they get interesting is another common feature; honestly i wish he'd cut most of the swarm chapters (China Meiville already has that territory covered) and had Dr Q be picked up by the fleet while on it's way to the city, having already decided on the medicine run.. anyone who didn't guess the nature of Spearpoint at the end of chapter 5: tough.

>nothing got solved
>we didn't get to see how things panned out

THis was almost like one of those endings i was whining about to Slice last week, only without the entertaining post-modern narrative strewn with wild ideas and strangely named characters beforehand (it's like Reynolds was copying Gibson or Stephenson, without realising who /they/ were copying).

What bugged me most was that he kept dropping really obvious clues for the reader but never let the characters reach the same realisation, just some vague mumbles about "Earthgate". Felt like a violation of Chekhov's Gun to me...

Never read Hamilton, but if you liked the way reality had somehow Gone Wrong here then i recommend reading some Philip K Dick, possibly Ubik (since it is gonna be a movie soon).

Yes, all the hints that he gave us but never let the characters figure out just seemed pointless to me. It left me frustrated since as the reader I know where things that the characters really need to know in order to get things done. I felt a real divide in the storytelling because of that. Oh well, I'm glad I'm done listening to it at any rate.

I'll see about finding Ubik, might be interesting, and I have not read any Philip K. Dick either. So this'll be a good opportunity for me to broaden my horizon a bit.

Now if you have not read any Peter F. Hamilton, I highly recommend Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, in that order. These two books make up the Commonwealth Saga, probably one of his more popular worlds. I am sure you will enjoy them. A word of warning, they are huge.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

Library has a copy of Pandora's Star, shall check it out. Thanks! (Not usually much of a one for Space Opera, obvious aside.)

[Rick Canaan]

Library has a copy of Pandora's Star, shall check it out. Thanks! (Not usually much of a one for Space Opera, obvious aside.)

Uh oh, somebody else is about to get hooked!

Into Space Opera or not, borg, believe me, you're in for a treat. Also, Hamilton's work isn't just space opera. His work is a character-driven universe, very much unlike anything else out there.

You'll see once you have started reading it. From its very beginning, all the way to its end where you meet the Prime Aliens, you'll be astonished at this author's originality, and at the sheer depth of his writing.

We look forward to hearing from you in a few days, because that will likely be how long it will take you to read it. It is a loooooong book!

[Daryn]

Just giving this topic a bump again. Anyone here interested in nominating something? My audible credits will come in in about a week and I could use one of them for this. If not, no big deal, I know we're still a small forum.

[SliceOfDog]

I'm afraid I won't be able to take part in anything like this for a good while. The reading on my course is so heavy that I don't have time to read for pleasure any more, at least nothing that will take more than about an hour. I brought about 8 novels with me from home, and after half a year I've read 3, count 'em; 3 pages of Aldous Huxley's Island, and that's it.
I might be able to join during the Summer Holidays, but don't count on it.

[Wolfgang of Borg]

OMG but there are just so many probably awesome books coming out this Summer! Off the top of my head:

* George RR Martin's Icyfiresong Book Five
* Vernor Vinge's Children of the Sky (sequel to my second favourite novel)
* Charles Stross's Rule 34
* Neal Stephenson's Reamde

* Greg Egan seems to be planning something
* (whatever Peter Watts was working on before his leg bacteria leveled up and ate half his leg)

* oh and this new book from a guy i've never heard of before but who seems to have quite a following

[Daryn]

Well since I've already listened to The Name of the Wind and really enjoyed it, when my Audible credits come in I am going to get The Wise Man's Fear. Haven't read a Neal Stephenson book in a while so I think I'll be looking into that when it comes out.