What are you reading?

Discussion in 'Geek Cave: Computers, Tablets, HT, Phones, Games' started by OJneg, Sep 30, 2015.

  1. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2016
    Likes Received:
    2,764
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Chicago
    I haven't found any other cyberpunk that elevates to the level of Gibson's Sprawl series.

    For the noir aspects dont mess around, go straight to Raymond Chandler.

    For the cyberpunk aspects try

    Jon Armstrong - Grey (short read, a bit lighter in fare, maybe compare to "Zodiac" by Stephenson)
    Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space series (his books get better as he goes, try 'Diamond Dogs' as a taste )
    Philip K Dick - always a favorite of mine though I could never articulate why.

    And a smattering of others in the cyber- cloud worth reading depending on your taste

    Vernor Vinge - Across Real Time series (nostalgic favorite of mine)
    Dan Simmons - Hyperion series
    Richark K Morgan - Altered Carbon series
    Charles Stross - Eschaton series, Halting State series

    And if you've only read Gibson's novels pick up 'Burning Chrome', short stories by him
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2020
  2. dncnexus

    dncnexus Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,171
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    So I am reading 2 books right now.

    First book is book 6 of the Wheel of Time, Lord of Chaos. I took a small break from the Wheel of Time after reading the first 5 books back to back. I got a bit burned out so I put it down for about 6 months. I am enjoying picking it up again.
    wotlof.jpg

    The second book I am reading is the second book in the Foundation Trilogy, Foundation & Empire. This is kind of my first dive into Sci-Fi. I started both the Foundation and also the Expanse. I was a bit more enamored by the Foundation, but also was happy with the smaller book sizes, so picked up the second Foundation book instead of the Expanse. I will get back to the Expanse probably after these 2 books.
    foundation&empire.jpg
     
  3. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    i’ve read some Dick and I’ve read the Hyperion series. I’ll look into some of the others. Thanks!
     
  4. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    Just finished reading Cixin Liu’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy (Which begins with The Three Body Problem). Excellent read. Liu writes with a lot of depth and vision and IMO doesn’t descend into cheesiness that can easily happen in epic scifi. Strong recommend. Netflix is currently working on a series.
     
  5. Phantaminum

    Phantaminum Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,976
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    I've been listening to the audio books and currently on the second book of the series. They changed the voice actor from the first so it's taking me a bit to adjust and the story feels different from the first book. Still, it's a very interesting concept and looking forward to conclusion.

    The book I've been recommending friends is The Rage of Dragons. If you like fantasy but are looking for something new, then this book is for you. It has African themes, gods, hell, and feels so otherwordly. It picks you up and almost never lets you go. You may not like the main character at first since he's very impulsive but he grows into his own later. Second book, imo, isn't as strong as this one but it still moves the story forward in a gratifying way. Now to wait on the third book of the series.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,051
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Thanks for the rec. I've been avoiding fantasy as I am a bit tired of anglo-european themes and this sounds like the ticket.
     
  7. dematted

    dematted Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2019
    Likes Received:
    2,161
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Screen Shot 2021-02-17 at 1.10.01 PM.png

    I saw this cited in a bit of Martin Jay's work in intellectual history, and decided I needed to check it out. It's a pretty stimulating read thus far, and a nice break from contemporary analytic philosophy: it's an intellectual history of the foundations of social democratic and progressive thought, tracing how a constellation of thinkers from France, England, America and Germany paved a "Via Media" between revolutionary communism and classical liberalism. What's most interesting to me here is the extensive connections the author draws between various epistemological and metaphysical doctrines and the actual, concrete politics of various activists. Interesting stuff, and an especially excellent study of how various American thinkers reckoned with European philosophical movements as well as the realities of industrialization and mass democracy.
     
  8. Grattle

    Grattle Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2017
    Likes Received:
    996
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    USA
    It’s amazing how much effect the voice actor has over an audiobook. I’ve put down several audiobooks because the reader either had a voice that annoyed me, or just took the wrong tone for the book as a whole. The reader of the Justin Cronin “The Passage” series made me feel sad, but the strength of the writing overcame it. That’s pretty rare for me. Often I just shift to the ebook or physical copy if the reader drives me away.

    edit: typo
     
  9. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas

    One day my son was playing a Minecraft audiobook and the voice started to creep into my consciousness. When I stopped what I was doing and listened I realized it was Jack Black and it cracked me up. I couldn’t stop listening then imagining him gesturing and stuff as if he was telling a story in person.
     
  10. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    [​IMG]

    Hot stuff.....
     
  11. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    [​IMG]
     
  12. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,028
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Amsterdam
    Home Page:
    Finished this two days ago. Yes, all five parts...

    [​IMG]

    Back to Murakami. I start light and then read all his works from first to last...

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,028
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Amsterdam
    Home Page:
    A good book. A very honest book and he (Jordan Peterson) is really a dork.
     
  14. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    Currently reading Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden.
    Next up Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
     
  15. MrChinaCat

    MrChinaCat New

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    81
    Trophy Points:
    13
    Location:
    Rochester
    "Semiosis", by Sue Burke. After a global warming disaster, an expedition starts over to create a "perfect" society in harmony with it's environment on a planet inhabited by a sentient... plant. It is about how language and signification differs between the humans and the plant, and who will control whom.
     
  16. Sqveak

    Sqveak Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    916
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    NSW, Aus, Terra, Sol.
    Just finished Central Station by Lavie Tidhar a few weeks ago.
    I'm reading Gibson's short stories in Burning Chrome between other books. Currently Johnny Mnemonic.
    Next up will either be Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice or blitzing the Harry Potter series.
     
  17. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

    Pyrate BWC Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,465
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    GR, MI
    [​IMG]
    Just started Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan after finishing the Remembrance of Earth's Past series by Cixin Liu. I didn't always enjoy the style of Remembrance(character development/portrayal was pretty bad imo), but the plot and ideas in it were so good that I enjoyed the series overall. Age of Myth is pretty good so far, sticking to classic archetypes and hero's journey, but well crafted and enjoyable.
    Ancillary Justice is up next after I finish the Sullivan series.
    Since my last post I've also read:
    The Raven's Blade series by Anthony Ryan - it was ok, nothing can live up to Blood Song.
    The Raven's Mark series by Ed McDonald - I liked this one, inventive and engaging.
    Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - I've read everything else he's written and somehow skipped over this one, great as always.
    Dune and Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert - I thought Dune was great, but struggled to care about anything in Messiah, gave up on the rest of the series after that.
     
  18. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    10,517
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Palms Of The Coasts, FL
    [​IMG]
     
  19. dubiousmike

    dubiousmike Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    269
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    @bobboxbody Totally agree re Ryan's Blood Song. I read it again a could of weeks ago and just wish the other books in the series had held up. Also, thanks for the rec on the Ed McDonald trilogy. I was on the hunt for a new audiobook and just grabbed the first one on Libby. Looking forward to giving it a listen this weekend.

    I recently finished Joe Abercrombie's latest (which I truly loved, the way I loved his og trilogy - such an awesome combo of funny irreverent dialog, gritty action, and character driven politics), and I've since been making my way through more of NK Jemisin's works. The Broken Earth trilogy was very good, although a somewhat sad read for me, and I am currently in book two of her Inheritance trilogy, which has been great so far. Her latest, the City We Became is up on deck.
     
  20. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

    Pyrate BWC Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,465
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    GR, MI
    @dubiousmike glad to hear the new Abercrombie books are holding up, The First Law series is one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the first 2 books of Broken Earth and disliked the 3rd but can no longer remember why because I consume more media than my brain will accommodate. I'll give the Inheritance trilogy a shot.
     

Share This Page