Aside from Project Hail Mary which I assume every /c/sciencefiction subscriber is going to read what have you been reading or plan to read?
Here is last months post. What are you Reading? (August 2023)
Been reading Rendezvous With Rama, incredible so far!
It’s so good. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I love how the story is told based on observations rather than exposition through dialogues. I don’t always need to relate to characters and their lives, sometime I just want to know about the weird gravity or atmosphere and stuff. For the longest time people said it could not be made into a movie, but Denis Villeneuve stepped up to the plate and I cannot wait to see what he does with it.
Snowcrash: pleasantly surprised by the quality of the world building, which I love.
Diamond Age next!
Good idea! Thanks for the recommendation.
I have enjoyed all of his works. The Baroque Cycle took me a few tries to get into before I stuck it out; great read but man is it long and dry at times. Anathem was challenging because of the new lexicon he introduced.
My favorites are snowcrash, seveneves, termination shock, and cryptonomicon in roughly that order.
I’m about half way through Quantum Radio by AG Riddle. It’s pretty good so far. Alternate history / multiverse with good characters and action. Makes me think somewhat of Man in the High Castle meets Sliders.
Working through ‘Ten Low’ by Stark Holburn now. My partner is through the sequel already and recommended.
Been listening to The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles bk 2) by Patrick Rothfuss, and reading The Colour of Magic (Discworld) by Sir Terry Pratchett.
I picked up The Colour of Magic after getting burnt out on the horror elements in last book of the Dark Forest series. I wanted something bright and colorful and fun. I looooooved it! I’m on book 15 now. If you’re into audio books, the ones that are coming out now on Audible are incredible. Normally I hate when there is more than one narrator because it sounds like a bunch of people talking over walkie talkies, but with less chemistry. This isn’t like that at all. It genuinely adds to the story (though it might take away from some of the puns, not seeing the written words).
Thank you for the suggestion! I will look into them, but in all honesty this isn’t my first time reading them, I’m actually reading them with my partner at the moment because he hasn’t read Discworld before and needs a little encouragement to read.
Ah, then you wouldn’t need to see the puns written down to get them! Even better.
Working my way through Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian Esselmont. Going to take a break from Malazan after this and dig into shorter stuff I’ve been meaning to get to.
I just finished the Three Body Problem trilogy, which I loved. Now I’m trying to figure out what I want to read next.
Slogging through Norman Spinrad’s Bug Jack Barron
Usually I love Spinrad, but this is just so dated: The idea that a TV talk show host with a massive audience is holding the rich and powerful accountable, as opposed to pandering to them…
Hyperion is so good, I’m rereading it right now. Second time through the series.
I listened to And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones and found it entertaining enough to start the second book in the series right after. It’s not really scifi, I mean, time travel could easily be tagged fantasy as well. I don’t know if I’ll finish the series though. It’s missing something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Somewhat shallow and the secondary characters are paper thin. Fine reading to pass the time (or spend 12 hours on a train…) but nothing I’ll be thinking about once I’m done. I’ve been struggling to get through the first few chapters of Perdido Street Station for a while, I may give it another go this weekend.
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project Hail Mary was fantastic. I just finished “The Postman” by David Brin and “Dark Angel” by John Sandford. I really enjoyed “Powersat” and its sequals by David Brin too.
Edit: i also recently read “Radicalized” by Cory Doctorow because it contained the novella “unauthorized Bread”
So many people reading such impressive books and here I am reading Skullduggery Pleasant - a series about a skeleton detective who throws fireballs. It’s not high art, but it’s fun!
I just finished re-reading the entire Expanse series and fell back on an old friend, Harry Dresden. Going to put that Weir book on my list though. I really enjoyed The Martian so I’d like to explore more of his work.
I’ve been blasting through Broken Earth series by N. K. Jemisin, already on The Stone Sky. So good and captivating. Also reading ‘The Yiddish Policeman’s Union’ by Michael Chabon
