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I am currently reading Red Robin (the Tim Drake 2009 series). I'm about 9 issues into the 26 issue run and I'm really enjoying it so far.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I'm looking for some good sci-fi books, not crazy intense reads but almost star wars-ish in tone. I was hoping someone would have some good suggestions.[/QUOTE]

I started 'The Horus Heresy' series in the Warhammer 40k universe. The books are light with just enough lore behind them to keep it interesting.

Piers Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant series is a fun read.

My personal favorite pulp sci-fi author is Phillip Jose Farmer. He wrote the amazing Riverworld series but he also has a ton of supermarket end cap style novels which are a breeze to read.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I'm looking for some good sci-fi books, not crazy intense reads but almost star wars-ish in tone. I was hoping someone would have some good suggestions.[/QUOTE]

In addition to the Horus Heresy books, check out the Gaunts Ghosts series. Good pulpy space war. Or the Inquisitor trilogy (Xenos, Malleus, Heretic) by the same author. Intrigue and politics and magic in the grim future of 40k.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I'm looking for some good sci-fi books, not crazy intense reads but almost star wars-ish in tone. I was hoping someone would have some good suggestions.[/QUOTE]


Have you read the Mass Effect books? They're actually really quite good.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Have you read the Mass Effect books? They're actually really quite good.[/QUOTE]

Except the most recent one. They are good reads if you're a Mass Effect fan, but if you've never played the games or encountered the lore, you will be lost.
 
[quote name='GhostShark']Finished Hyperion recently. Such a great read. I loved the different styles of writing given to each of the Pilgrims, but man, Simmons is a superb writer, but the man needs to lay off the similes. One or two, done in a clever manner, are ok, but he just throws them at you left and right, and their not that great. Beside that though, it's one of the best Science Fiction tales I've ever read. Look forward to the next book.

[/QUOTE]

Hyperion is one of his first five books he breaks that habit eventually which is good because i found it irritating as well. The only book of his i don't like is Darwins Blade since the lead character is adept at everything which is just too far far fetched for me
 
Started Ready Player One last night. So far, I'm enjoying the premise, though I do find the writing to be a little slow and repetitive. It's possible my thinking of this may change as the book goes on though. A lot of the earlier chapters involve explaining things to the uninitiated that I'm already quite familiar with (largely MMOs); however, I can't help but wonder if he could've done it in a way that doesn't feel so mechanical. I do seem to have reached a point where the background has all been set though, so I look forward to reading more.
 
[quote name='Cantatus']Started Ready Player One last night. So far, I'm enjoying the premise, though I do find the writing to be a little slow and repetitive. It's possible my thinking of this may change as the book goes on though. A lot of the earlier chapters involve explaining things to the uninitiated that I'm already quite familiar with (largely MMOs); however, I can't help but wonder if he could've done it in a way that doesn't feel so mechanical. I do seem to have reached a point where the background has all been set though, so I look forward to reading more.[/QUOTE]

This book was a huge disapointment for me. It was as if someone sat around with friends, talked about every nerdy thing they liked when they were younger and then ham-fistedly put those ideas into a shitty story. I think it's the most pandering piece of writing I've ever read.
 
Me too. If I were to compare it to something, it would be a masturbatory aid. It felt like watching those crappy 80s movies. I didn't understand why people didn't like Last Action Hero, but now I do.

Oh yeah, the story takes place in a really fucked up world of our own design, but who cares? The internet is so powerful we can watch just about any goddamn tv show and play any video game we want.

It really didn't help that I read this after Fahrenheit 451.
 
Just started Armor. It seemed like it took a little longer than expected to get to the story but did it in a way that kept me interested enough to keep reading.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']This book was a huge disapointment for me. It was as if someone sat around with friends, talked about every nerdy thing they liked when they were younger and then ham-fistedly put those ideas into a shitty story. I think it's the most pandering piece of writing I've ever read.[/QUOTE]

I ended up liking it a lot more than my initial impression had me thinking it would, but I'd definitely agree there are some amateurish qualities to the story (which, I suppose, is to be expected since it's Cline's first novel). Aside from feeling like the author created this self-aggrandizing role for himself (
Wade's super computer and espionage skills during his internment just felt so out of place
), I felt there were a lot of sloppy moments with deus ex machinas.
The quarter was perhaps the biggest offender that had me rolling my eyes. I also felt the part with needing Art3mis' shoes was sort of ridiculous. Why have the gate be floating at all if it's going to not be a problem three paragraphs later?

Overall, however, I found the book enjoyable. It might've had a lot of fan service, but it was the type of fan service that appealed to me. I'd definitely recommend it to gamers or people inexplicably obsessed with the 80s.
 
Re-reading Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck should be required reading. My favorite of his is The Winter of Discontent; I've read it at least 3 times since I first read it in high school.

Reading Jane Eyre also. Next will be Journey to the West.
 
Finally got around to finishing A Game Of Thrones. Now that that's done I figure it's a good time to finish up the Dark Materials trilogy with The Amber Spyglass.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Have you read the Mass Effect books? They're actually really quite good.[/QUOTE]


I read the first one and loved reading about Saren and Anderson, but the second book wasn't that great and kind of discouraged me from reading the rest.

Oh, and I'm currently working slowly through my backlog of Star Trek novels.. I guess I'll post here when I jump into my next one. The last one I read was a Starfleet Corps of Engineers book, "Foundations".
 


Omnibus of four books. Don't know if I'll read all 4 uninterupted or take a break between. We'll see if I even make it through the first book.
 
Currently reading "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green. Also currently re-reading my (signed) copy of "The Fault in Our Stars" also by Mr. Green.
 
This summer I've read:

11/22/63 (Stephen King)
The Shining (Stephen King)
Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
Franny & Zooey (J.D. Salinger)
The Cabin in the Woods: Official Movie Novelization (Tim Lebbon)

Currently reading: The Informers (Bret Easton Ellis)
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I'm looking for some good sci-fi books, not crazy intense reads but almost star wars-ish in tone. I was hoping someone would have some good suggestions.[/QUOTE]

If you'd like something in a big sprawling epic, I'd recommend Peter Hamilton. Depending on how you measure, he has two or three great multi-volume space operas.

The first is the Night's Dawn series, which takes a concept usually reserved for horror stories and puts in the midst of a interstellar civilization about 800 years hence.

The other two are set in the same universe with many shared characters but with nearly a thousand year gap between the two storylines. These collectively are referred to as the Confederation series.

The first is a story about war with a very alien race. It takes a while for humankind to even realize it is in a war because it has been so long since the problem existed and the utter lack of a basis for conflict with the few other aliens encountered.

The second storyline, picking up centuries later, deals with an immense and seemingly empty area of deep space that has gone through past periods of expansion that wiped everything it touch from existence. A religion has grown up around message supposedly emanating from the Void, spurring a movement that many fear will cause the next great expansion of the Void.

Hamilton like to have a huge cast of characters to fill his highly detailed universes. Some of them exist just to give the reader an idea of how things work in day to day life for people on these worlds.

They'll keep you busy for a good while.
 
*commonwealth series I would think.

currently a good way through the 4th book enjoying it though the dreams occasionally get annoying, reading it in small chunks is part of the problem I suppose.

I do love some good space opera, and a very alien race indeed.

finished
unwritten vol 2
wow that was an interesting take on own personal hell to throw someone into.

therefore repent was different and it seems there is a sequel hurray.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a0/Thereforerepent.jpg/250px-Thereforerepent.jpg
 
Going to Japan for the second time in October so picked up A Geek In Japan for the kindle. It's not a travel guide but more about the Japanese culture and experiences of the author.
 
Yet another Terry Pratchet books. I don't like the witches tales as much.


I perfer Stand Alone>City Watch>Rincewind>Death>Witches>etc. in terms of which characters/arcs of his books.
 
Hells Angels by Hunter S Thompson!

Its Hunter S Thompsons story of his time as a journalist living with the Hells Angels back in the 60s when they were getting big/dangerous. As you can expect, there's lots of drinking, debauchery, and gun shooting. It also gives background as to how the gang came to be.
 
[quote name='Maklershed']Hells Angels by Hunter S Thompson!

Its Hunter S Thompsons story of his time as a journalist living with the Hells Angels back in the 60s when they were getting big/dangerous. As you can expect, there's lots of drinking, debauchery, and gun shooting. It also gives background as to how the gang came to be.[/QUOTE]

That is a great one! Just read it a few weeks ago. It might be my favorite Thompson because it is not quite an manic as the later gonzo stuff.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Looking for a good non-fiction book. I'm interested in tons of subjects so surprise me. No memoirs and no biographies, please.[/QUOTE]

Homicide: a year on the killing streets is my favorite nonfiction book of all time.
The author David Simon is the guy who created the wire. It is a great no nonsense look at how a police department works
 


Haven't found anything by Alistair Reynolds yet that I didn't like.
Chasm City was possibly my favorite so far. This is pretty good too....
 
[quote name='eldergamer']

Haven't found anything by Alistair Reynolds yet that I didn't like.
Chasm City was possibly my favorite so far. This is pretty good too....[/QUOTE]


Pushing Ice was great. I loved it.
 
Pushing Ice was really good. A little rushed at the end. But I'm also glad it wasn't stretched out and padded just to make a trilology out of it.



Pretty generic fantasy so far. Picked it up at the used bookstore because
1. I had never heard of it before. 2. It was the first book in the series.
 
I'm trying to get through Dance of Dragons on my Kindle...there's SO MUCH of it!

On the hard copy side of things, I'm reading Paul Auster's I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Stories. It's a collection of short stories from people across america (stories no more than 4 pages at MOST) that are about anything from love to in animate objects to where they live. If you like This American Life and The Moth podcasts, you'll like this book.
 
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