Athena Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Great review! You obviously enjoyed it a lot . It's on my wishlist. Favourite read of the year.. that's really high praise ! Have you read anything by Ray Bradbury before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Wonderful review, you capture the book perfectly. It has been so many years since I read it, and you have brought it back to me enough to go search my shelves for my copy. Thanks Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Great review of The Martian Chronicles. I wasn't particularly stirred by Fahrenheit 451 but this seems more like my thing so I'll have to check it our when I get a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 It really is a great review, you have captured it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Thanks! It has been so many years since I read it, and you have brought it back to me enough to go search my shelves for my copy. Thanks Steve. Glad I could help Hang on, you're just trying to point out that it's another science fiction book you read before me, aren't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) Glad I could help Hang on, you're just trying to point out that it's another science fiction book you read before me, aren't you? Holy guacamole! I wasn't trying to point it out, but I guess it is sitting there as a cosy little fact. *sigh* It's tough having read these things before you....could you at least try to keep up? Edited October 21, 2014 by Chrissy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Holy guacamole! I wasn't trying to point it out, but I guess it is sitting there as a cosy little fact. *sigh* It's tough having read these things before you....could you at least try to keep up? Yeah, I'm such a slacker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Given my current dietary restrictions I lust for a fried breakfast so, yeah, I can see a Kate connection, too Poorliness or a health kick ? Forgive the nosiness. I was quite taken with that Dean Koontz book, till you recommended reading Replay instead. Must.get.to.that.one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Poorliness or a health kick ? Forgive the nosiness. Health kick, sort of. I had an NHS health check at the beginning of last year and the only problem they came up with was that my cholesterol level was high. So it was either change my diet and do more exercise, or go on statins. I was keen not to go on medication so I chose the former route, and it seems to have worked, thankfully, as my cholesterol has gone down from 7.8 to 5, and I've dropped from 11.2 stone to 9.7 stone (last time I checked) - although my BMI was okay when I had the health check done, so that's more a bonus than something I was striving for I was quite taken with that Dean Koontz book, till you recommended reading Replay instead. Must.get.to.that.one.. Yes, you must That'll be after you've read The Time Machine, of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Health kick, sort of. I had an NHS health check at the beginning of last year and the only problem they came up with was that my cholesterol level was high. So it was either change my diet and do more exercise, or go on statins. I was keen not to go on medication so I chose the former route, and it seems to have worked, thankfully, as my cholesterol has gone down from 7.8 to 5, and I've dropped from 11.2 stone to 9.7 stone (last time I checked) - although my BMI was okay when I had the health check done, so that's more a bonus than something I was striving for That's really good work, well done! I haven't read The Martian Chronicles yet but I do own it, not sure where it is though :S I read another short story collection called Quicker than the Eye by Bradbury which had some good stories but quite a few forgettable ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Health kick, sort of. I had an NHS health check at the beginning of last year and the only problem they came up with was that my cholesterol level was high. So it was either change my diet and do more exercise, or go on statins. I was keen not to go on medication so I chose the former route, and it seems to have worked, thankfully, as my cholesterol has gone down from 7.8 to 5, and I've dropped from 11.2 stone to 9.7 stone (last time I checked) - although my BMI was okay when I had the health check done, so that's more a bonus than something I was striving for Well done ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 You've done brilliantly on your health kick Steve .. well done! Excellent stuff .. bet you feel loads better too Great reviews btw .. I really like the sound of The Cormorant but .. do you think I could handle it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Thanks all. Yeah, I do feel I have more energy, generally, Kay so that's a good thing I haven't read The Martian Chronicles yet but I do own it, not sure where it is though :S I read another short story collection called Quicker than the Eye by Bradbury which had some good stories but quite a few forgettable ones. I expect I'll get to that one eventually Got some others to get through first: The Illustrated Man, The Halloween Tree and From the Dust Returned. Great reviews btw .. I really like the sound of The Cormorant but .. do you think I could handle it? Good question It's not scary, so no worries there, and it's short so won't take much time to read. Only thing is, it's a bit expensive for such a short book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I have The Illustrated Man on my TBR, so will be interested to hear what you think of this one in particular. I hope you like all three books as much as you liked The Martian Chronicles . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Health kick, sort of. I had an NHS health check at the beginning of last year and the only problem they came up with was that my cholesterol level was high. So it was either change my diet and do more exercise, or go on statins. I was keen not to go on medication so I chose the former route, and it seems to have worked, thankfully, as my cholesterol has gone down from 7.8 to 5, and I've dropped from 11.2 stone to 9.7 stone (last time I checked) - although my BMI was okay when I had the health check done, so that's more a bonus than something I was striving for Ooh, that`s excellent ! Well done. That'll be after you've read The Time Machine, of course Oops - I`d forgotten I`d downloaded that. Eep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'd say Illustrated Man is one of my favorite books of all time. Enjoy when you get to it! It reads fast and easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 I'd say Illustrated Man is one of my favorite books of all time. Enjoy when you get to it! It reads fast and easy. I do love his writing style. Looking forward to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter 1995 - HarperCollins ebook - 629 pages From Amazon: What if the time machine from H.G. Wells' classic novel of the same name had fallen into government hands? That's the question that led Stephen Baxter to create this modern-day sequel, which combines a basic Wellsian premise with a Baxteresque universe-spanning epic. The Time Traveller, driven by his failure to save Weena from the Morlocks, sets off again for the future. But this time the future has changed, altered by the very tale of the Traveller's previous journey. Thoughts: The Time Ships is the authorised sequel to H G Wells's The Time Machine. Stephen Baxter's novel was published in 1995 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the release of Wells's classic. I was slightly wary of reading it but some glowing reviews succeeded in changing my mind, and I'm happy to say that Baxter did a very good job indeed.It's kind of difficult to review without spoiling the wonderful original for anyone who's yet to read it. This story picks up directly after the events of the original novel and proceeds to take it in some very interesting and exciting directions. Baxter's work is always full of big ideas and this is no different. The Time Ships revolves around the principle of splintering histories and alternate timelines, beginning with the notion that the story of Wells's Time Traveller's original trip through time caused his own history to irrevocably fragment. From there, Baxter's Time Traveller moves forward and backward through time, witnessing the evolutions of Earths that turn out very different from his own.It's a brilliant base on which Baxter builds some terrifying alternate histories. What is also brilliant is how he evokes Wells's writing style. Whilst the original story was told by a writer relating the Time Traveller's stories as told when he returned to 1891 from his fraught journey into the future, here it is the Time Traveller telling his own story, writing it down in the first person, referring to the writer of the original in such a way that he may just as well call him Herbert George (I particularly liked, at one point where the Moon has apparently been colonised by man, the Time Traveller refers to those colonists as Selenites - a neat reference to one of Wells's other novels, The First Men in the Moon).I also liked the Time Traveller's slowly developing friendship with the Morlock, Nebogipfel - and that name is one of the only things I didn't like about the book, as it proved a stumbling block many times at the start of the book until I was happy with the pronunciation. The only other quibble I had with the novel is that it gets a bit long-winded towards the end, a little unnecessarily. Up until the last hundred pages or so I felt Baxter had kept it moving at a decent pace, with short, brisk chapters, but then the ideas become so HUGE that he has to take more time to show how blimmin' clever he is. Overall, though, it's a minor complaint in a book that probably had purists raging but actually turns out to be a hugely enjoyable extension of Wells's seminal work. It's vast in scope, mind-boggling in its ideas, and often thrilling in its execution. Not quite as thrilling as the original, perhaps, or maybe not even Baxter's own Voyage, but as a fan of Wells's classic I really didn't expect to enjoy it half as much as I did. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Thanks all. Yeah, I do feel I have more energy, generally, Kay so that's a good thing Think we need to see a new pic of you in 'Post Yourself' Glad you're feeling fit and well .. the effort and sacrifices have been worth it Liking the sound of The Time Ships but will have to read The Time Machine first I should really as I loved The War of the Worlds and meant to read more by him but haven't yet. Same old story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Great review ! The book is on my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Authorised by whom? Great review, Baxter has quite a few books out I wouldn't mind reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Think we need to see a new pic of you in 'Post Yourself' I think the two photos of me that are in there already are more than enough for any board Liking the sound of The Time Ships but will have to read The Time Machine first I should really as I loved The War of the Worlds and meant to read more by him but haven't yet. Same old story Oh The Time Machine would take you no time at all to read - it's only about 100 pages long The book is on my wishlist. You've got that hot-keyed haven't you? Authorised by whom? Well he asked me and I said 'no'. So then he had the cheek to go and ask Wells's estate and they said 'yes'. Bar stewards Great review, Baxter has quite a few books out I wouldn't mind reading. I've read five or six of his books and liked them all. Voyage is way out in the lead for me, though. If you're at all interested in the Apollo era then it's well worth a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 You've got that hot-keyed haven't you? I have a big wishlist . I need to go through it and remove the books I'm no longer interested in, but I haven't done this yet. It's all input for me and so it tires me, so far I've put priorities on other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think the two photos of me that are in there already are more than enough for any board No! There has been a transformation and we all want to see it Do we have to wait until you've been to another Rush concert? Oh The Time Machine would take you no time at all to read - it's only about 100 pages long Well that's encouraging .. I'd like to read some shorter books. Books seem to be 400 pagers or more these days .. God! .. don't they go on!?! I'm getting repetitive strain injury HG knew how to tell a great story without waffling on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Do we have to wait until you've been to another Rush concert? Good idea! Well that's encouraging .. I'd like to read some shorter books. Books seem to be 400 pagers or more these days .. God! .. don't they go on!?! I'm getting repetitive strain injury HG knew how to tell a great story without waffling on I know what you mean. I've read quite a few doorstoppers this year and I'm tired of them at the moment. Give me shorter books! I was thinking about this a week or two back and have pretty much decided that next year I am going to abandon the statistics I keep in my thread(s). The TBR list is the biggest culprit, as I've found I've spent too much time looking at that, and forcing myself to read books on there that I have lost interest in. I've been trying to rush through books to get them off the TBR list instead of reading what I really want and slowing down to smell the roses (so to speak), and it's started to suck my enjoyment out of reading. So the TBR list is going. I won't be keeping a count of the number of books I read, either, because I've found that I'm constantly trying to beat the total I read the previous year, which again means I am putting pressure on myself and trying to rush through books and am not enjoying them as a result. I'm also thinking that I'll probably stop giving scores as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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