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Finished The Mote in God's Eye and started Pushing Ice


Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

Originally Posted by RockinTheRedDog I LOVE his books. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on that one.

Almost two weeks in and I still haven't finished it. That's a long time to be one one book for me. The book is pretty slow paced actually. Out of 700 pages it's not until the last 200 where all the pieces of the plot start fitting together. And I can see where they're all going, so I just wish they'd finish up and get it over with.

Not sure if I'm that interested in reading the other 3 or 4 books in this series.
I know i started his Otherland series too but can never remember if I finished the 4th book or not. That's how little of an impact the books had on me.

Originally Posted by eldergamer I know i started his Otherland series too but can never remember if I finished the 4th book or not. That's how little of an impact the books had on me.

They had a big impact on me. Much of the imagery stays with me, and I think it is the definitive work on VR, thinking carefully through the issues, implications, and ramifications instead of just being flashy or using it as a plot device. The cast of characters was good as well. I can still name them all, which says something.

Unfortunately, I can also probably tell you why you can't remember the 4th book. The other three, and even the majority of the fourth, take f.o.r.e.v.e.r to get where they are going. Many segments drag on interminably, long overstaying their welcome. It's then over in a blink of an eye. While it's really all about the journey, that particular journey could have been edited down substantially and ended up being more compelling and exciting.

I think he has great ideas and I loved many things about Otherland, but I wouldn't read anything else by him. Unless it's abridged.

Finished up "As I Lay Dying." Holy crap that book is depressing.

Originally Posted by dothog I don't mean this as a troll comment, it's just a bit of book chat: the love for Ender is completely lost on me. I just feel so much of the setting is dated by the socio-political references (why didn't he just invent a similar political climate with fictional countries?) and so much of the conceit is straightforward. I felt that way in junior high, and after reading the first again a few years ago, I felt the same. OSC makes all kinds of comments on his blog and in interviews to the effect that he's some kind of innovator in the genre, and while I understand the success of Ender and the influence it has on other works, I just don't see it as somehow changing scifi from its publication forward. OSC definitely thinks otherwise. He's a real piece of work.

Way back when, there was a bit of a controversy. The original was a pretty good novella and was nominated for a Hugo but didn't win. Orson was mainly a short story guy back then and it was very hard to make a living that way. So he took Ender's and stretched it out into a novel. I, like a lot of other people, felt the additions didn't make it much better and were there mainly to set up the back story for sequels.

The novel got nominated for a Hugo and won, even though there was argument over whether a rehash of an existing work should be allowed to be nominated again. And the other problem was that this was essentially a shaggy dog story. Kids thinks he's playing a computer game but is controlling real events. A version of this was appearing on a monthly basis almost from the moment Space Invader became a hit. Card's version was just better written and thoroughly thought out than most of these throwaway stories.

Ender's Game resonated really well with teenagers and became a staple item for the demographic. It is one of those 'Golden Age of Science Fiction' books. It works best if you're the right age.

The funny thing is, I like Orson as a person but I don't care much for his fiction. Most of his short story work in Asimov's in the 70s didn't do much for me. One of the things he was big on was having a musician character who was really, really good but being told this got tedious very quickly. It's a story and we'll just have to take your word for it, so get on with it already. (One of these stories was lifted pretty directly by an episode of Highlander using the premise that immortality is bad for creativity.)

Originally Posted by epobirs Way back when, there was a bit of a controversy. The original was a pretty good novella and was nominated for a Hugo but didn't win. Orson was mainly a short story guy back then and it was very hard to make a living that way. So he took Ender's and stretched it out into a novel. I, like a lot of other people, felt the additions didn't make it much better and were there mainly to set up the back story for sequels. The novel got nominated for a Hugo and won, even though there was argument over whether a rehash of an existing work should be allowed to be nominated again. And the other problem was that this was essentially a shaggy dog story. Kids thinks he's playing a computer game but is controlling real events. A version of this was appearing on a monthly basis almost from the moment Space Invader became a hit. Card's version was just better written and thoroughly thought out than most of these throwaway stories. Ender's Game resonated really well with teenagers and became a staple item for the demographic. It is one of those 'Golden Age of Science Fiction' books. It works best if you're the right age. The funny thing is, I like Orson as a person but I don't care much for his fiction. Most of his short story work in Asimov's in the 70s didn't do much for me. One of the things he was big on was having a musician character who was really, really good but being told this got tedious very quickly. It's a story and we'll just have to take your word for it, so get on with it already. (One of these stories was lifted pretty directly by an episode of Highlander using the premise that immortality is bad for creativity.)

Maybe spoiler tag that? I don't think everyone knows what happens in Ender's Game.

Moneyball is currently .25 cents on Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/Moneyball-eboo...glnk-c1533-20#

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James..

wow, erotica.. and very popular right now.

Finished The Purple Cloud and started The Door into Summer


The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein

Time again to reread The Hobbit: of There and Back Again.

Originally Posted by Mr Unoriginal Maybe spoiler tag that? I don't think everyone knows what happens in Ender's Game.

It's been 35 years. There is a statute of limitations for spoilers.

Rosebud is his childhood sled.

Darth Vader is Luke's father.

Leia is his sister.

The hairdresser girlfriend of the dead British soldier is really a dude.

Kristin shot J.R. (I was working at a custom car show the night that was broadcast and they announced it on the PA.)

The planet ruled by apes is actually a far future Earth.


My rule is, if it's old enough that people who were born in its first year after release now have children old enough to understand the material, the statute of limitations applies.

Originally Posted by Maklershed Finished The Purple Cloud and started The Door into Summer The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein

This is the book in which Robert Heinlein invented CAD systems but never got any credit for it.

Ha I just read that part this morning. He was thinking of inventing something better than a robot and came up with an idea for an automated drafting system.

Finished Children of the Mind, so finally done with the Ender Saga. Overall it was just ok. 1st book was very good, next three were a mixed bag.

Up next:

I'm reading You're the Director, Figure it Out, a biography of film director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Ladyhawke, Goonies, Superman, etc.) by James Christie. Pretty interesting so far (Bill Murray was an asshole on the set of SCROOGED), but there are weird formatting issues on the Kindle version. Lots of grammar mistakes and the text that starts a new chapter ends up looking gigantic.

Finally finished reading A Canticle For Leibowitz. Decided to continue on with book three of the Elric Saga, The Weird Of The White Wolf, before getting involved in any big book.

Originally Posted by SneakyPenguin Finally finished reading A Canticle For Leibowitz. Decided to continue on with book three of the Elric Saga, The Weird Of The White Wolf, before getting involved in any big book.

What did you think of Canticle? I heard such good things in this thread about it so I picked it up. I liked it and was an interesting take on the post-apocalypse genre, but I thought it was forgettable.

Originally Posted by Mr Unoriginal What did you think of Canticle? I heard such good things in this thread about it so I picked it up. I liked it and was an interesting take on the post-apocalypse genre, but I thought it was forgettable.

Pretty much the same. Plus I disliked the last story, mostly because the Abbot was a tool. Fiat Lux was the best part of the book, the other two parts were just OK.

Just started this:


Would be happy to read just a cyberpunk book about South Africans running 419 scams. But there's all this etra spirit animal and 'techno-magic' weirdness bullshit thrown in.

Finally finished Anna (boring) Karenina. Wonderfully written, but half the book could've easily been left out.

Starting Snow Crash since that is the only book I have at the moment that I haven't read. Anybody read it before?