Poppy's Paperbacks 2012

[poppyshake]

Waaaaaait a minute ... What's wrong with Iain M Banks now?

Nothing I'm sure .. it's just he speaks in a language that I don't understand .. for instance what exactly does .. 'The attack on its photonic nucleus came at the same moment, manifesting itself as a perceived distubance in the space-time fabric, warping the internal structure of the drone's light-energised mind from outside normal space' ...mean? I've got a migraine just typing it up

 

I'm going to check out your list .. if I've read more than one I will consider it a triumph

 

nah it's really self explanatory you won't have any trouble I promise. Hopefully the story will grip you like it does me!

I hope so too. Like I said I like vintage sci-fi and this is vintagey isn't it?

[poppyshake]

These are Karsa Orlong's absolute 'musts', and all classics of the genre (those I've read)

 

The Forever War - Joe Haldeman

The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers

Dune - Frank Herbert

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

The Kraken Wakes/The Day of the Triffids/The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham

The Time Machine - H. G. Wells

 

Some more recent efforts that are among his faves:

 

The Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton

Feersum Endjinn/The Player of Games/Against A Dark Background/Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks

Voyage - Stephen Baxter

The Skinner - Neal Asher

Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds

 

Oh dear, I've read two! That's a foot on the ladder though .. yes? I do want to read The Kraken Wakes and The Time Machine but I guess that's me playing safe still. I've heard of Dune and I am Legend .. I think I heard pieces of I am Legend being read on the radio and I could follow it so maybe I will give that one a try. I've heard of Peter F. Hamilton too because he had a book out with a really imposing cover (I always notice covers ) like some sort of tank/insect type thing. I remember being intrigued by it but it was a bit of a housebrick and that scared me off. I think you have to work up to Iain M Banks, he's an acquired taste like Stilton cheese. I'm still on Cheddar sci-fi at the moment

Edited October 13, 2012 by poppyshake

[Karsa Orlong]

Nothing I'm sure .. it's just he speaks in a language that I don't understand .. for instance what exactly does .. 'The attack on its photonic nucleus came at the same moment, manifesting itself as a perceived distubance in the space-time fabric, warping the internal structure of the drone's light-energised mind from outside normal space' ...mean? I've got a migraine just typing it up

 

 

It means the drone was in the wrong place at the wrong time and its insides ended up on its outsides. Or something like that.

 

Oh dear, I've read one! That's a foot on the ladder though .. yes? I do want to read The Kraken Wakes and The Time Machine but I guess that's me playing safe still. I've heard of Dune and I am Legend .. I think I heard pieces of I am Legend being read on the radio and I could follow it so maybe I will give that one a try. I've heard of Peter F. Hamilton too because he had a book out with a really imposing cover (I always notice covers ) like some sort of tank/insect type thing. I remember being intrigued by it but it was a bit of a housebrick and that scared me off. I think you have to work up to Iain M Banks, he's an acquired taste like Stilton cheese. I'm still on Cheddar sci-fi at the moment

 

I reckon you should give Hyperion a go, just because there are so many literary allusions in it - Keats' poetry and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for a start. Plus it's blimmin' marvellous.

 

I love the first line ...

 

"The Hegemony Consul sat on the balcony of his ebony spaceship and played Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor on an ancient but well-maintained Steinway while great, green, saurian things surged and bellowed in the swamps below."

 

I read that in Waterstones and thought yep, this is for me, went and bought it straight away

[vodkafan]

Hi Poppy if you are not into Photon Inducers and such like there was a lot of scifi written in the 60s that was very people based.

Here are a few:

The World Inside Robert Silverberg (overpopulation)

Up The Line Robert Siverberg (time travel)

Beyond The Barrier Damon Knight ( time travel)

The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K Leguin

The Cloud Walker Edmund Cooper (future where technology is not allowed)

Farenheit 451 Ray Bradbury (future where books are not allowed)

Restoree Anne Macaffrey ( Human woman taken to alien planet skinned ready for eating)

The Ship Who Sang Anne Macaffrey (handicapped girl child's brain is implanted into a cargo ship so she grows up as a spaceship)

I will try to think of some more. I have read all of the above.

[Karsa Orlong]

Good point VF, I should've made that clearer - the books on my list you've got there, Poppy, from The Forever War through to The Time Machine are all people based. Big ideas in them, sure, but still character-focused. The ones below that have great characters as well, but you might encounter the odd photon-inside-out-splatty-thing or two in Hamilton, Banks (obviously) and definitely Neal Asher. He likes splattering things with big weapons

[poppyshake]

It means the drone was in the wrong place at the wrong time and its insides ended up on its outsides. Or something like that.

That's only the tinsiest bit clearer Just the word 'drone' makes me want to lie down in a darkened room

I reckon you should give Hyperion a go, just because there are so many literary allusions in it - Keats' poetry and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for a start. Plus it's blimmin' marvellous.

I love the first line ...

 

"The Hegemony Consul sat on the balcony of his ebony spaceship and played Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp Minor on an ancient but well-maintained Steinway while great, green, saurian things surged and bellowed in the swamps below."

 

I read that in Waterstones and thought yep, this is for me, went and bought it straight away

Well I can see why you were intrigued .. it still sounds like the sort of book that would make my brain melt though

Hi Poppy if you are not into Photon Inducers and such like there was a lot of scifi written in the 60s that was very people based.

Here are a few:

The World Inside Robert Silverberg (overpopulation)

Up The Line Robert Siverberg (time travel)

Beyond The Barrier Damon Knight ( time travel)

The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K Leguin

The Cloud Walker Edmund Cooper (future where technology is not allowed)

Farenheit 451 Ray Bradbury (future where books are not allowed)

Restoree Anne Macaffrey ( Human woman taken to alien planet skinned ready for eating)

The Ship Who Sang Anne Macaffrey (handicapped girl child's brain is implanted into a cargo ship so she grows up as a spaceship)

I will try to think of some more. I have read all of the above.

Now I've heard of Ursula Leguin (she'll be very glad to know ) and I believe Kylie has Farenheit 451 on her 'bestest books ever' list. Other than that the writers and the books are completely new to me. I can see that Anne Macaffrey's ideas are a bit 'out there' .. she's not playing safe is she These lists are great though, gives me something to refer to

Good point VF, I should've made that clearer - the books on my list you've got there, Poppy, from The Forever War through to The Time Machine are all people based. Big ideas in them, sure, but still character-focused. The ones below that have great characters as well, but you might encounter the odd photon-inside-out-splatty-thing or two in Hamilton, Banks (obviously) and definitely Neal Asher.

Hmm so I should start with the people based and then go on to the photon based or, if I progress well, I could dip into the stuff about the splatty things and see how I get on.

He likes splattering things with big weapons

Yes, men often do

[vodkafan]

Now I've heard of Ursula Leguin (she'll be very glad to know ) and I believe Kylie has Farenheit 451 on her 'bestest books ever' list. Other than that the writers and the books are completely new to me. I can see that Anne Macaffrey's ideas are a bit 'out there' .. she's not playing safe is she These lists are great though, gives me something to refer to

 

 

 

Those are Anne Macaffrey's early books (Restoree was her first novel) she later went all "dragoney" and completely into fantasy. I second Steve's mention of The Forever war - great book.

Edited February 7, 2012 by vodkafan

[Karsa Orlong]

Well I can see why you were intrigued .. it still sounds like the sort of book that would make my brain melt though

I thought that at first, too, but after about twenty pages (it usually takes me 20 to 50 pages to get a handle on an author's style, I find, and it does throw a lot of ideas at you at the start) I was completely hooked. It's marvellous. Of course, you could try 'The Anubis Gates' instead. It's a time-travel adventure about history 'tourists' who go back in time to meet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It's one of the fastest moving, most inventive books I've read to date. And no photons

 

Yes, men often do

 

*cough* Ripley *cough*

 

 

 

Re Anne McCaffrey, I'd say the dragon books are as much science fiction as they are fantasy, as they're set on a colony world, and the dragons aren't really dragons, they're alien creatures that just resemble dragons. Or something like that

 

I really enjoyed Urusla LeGuin's 'The Lathe of Heaven'. Terrific book.

[vodkafan]

[/font]

 

Re Anne McCaffrey, I'd say the dragon books are as much science fiction as they are fantasy, as they're set on a colony world, and the dragons aren't really dragons, they're alien creatures that just resemble dragons. Or something like that

 

I really enjoyed Urusla LeGuin's 'The Lathe of Heaven'. Terrific book.

 

Ah you have me on the Dragon books. I never read any of them because the sight of the dragon on the covers always put me right off. I thought they were just fantasy. Not read "The Lathe of Heaven " either. Might look out for that one.

[poppyshake]

Isn't that strange .. a dragon on the cover is more likely to lure me in .. unless it's wearing clothes .. I draw the line at that

[poppyshake]

 

Dracula - Bram Stoker

 

Waterstones Synopsis: 'There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey, the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst the swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood; he lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion.' Thus Bram Stoker, one of the greatest exponents of the supernatural narrative, describes the demonic subject of his chilling masterpiece Dracula, a truly iconic and unsettling tale of vampirism.

 

Review: Why didn't you tell me about this book before? Why did I wait so long to read it?.. and why didn't I read it before I compiled my bestest books list? .. it definitely deserves to be on it.

 

As usual with books I love I'm probably going to ramble on for ages so the short bit is here .. It's fantastic .. I would lick it copiously if it wasn't for the fear that licking Dracula might be bad for me Apologies in advance for all the spoilers which make for a rather jumpy review but when I love a book it all just comes blabbing out. It's one of the drawbacks of loving a book, if it was Madame Bovary I could just say 'meh' and have done

 

I don't know what I was expecting, something a bit hammy I think. I've never really seen the films, I don't watch or read horror although I do like vintage horror films because nine times out of ten they're really quite unintentionally funny .. The Fly for instance .. that cracks me up. But I think Dracula passed me by ... I have half remembered images of Christopher Lee thrashing about with Peter Cushing .. but it's all quite vague. Somehow it made me feel that the book wouldn't be worth reading .. or wouldn't be my cup of tea. But the title always appears on all the best lists and has a fearsome reputation so it's obvious that if you want to have at least a stab (?) at reading the cream of literature then this book is a must.

 

What struck me first was the beauty of the writing .. gorgeous atmospheric stuff, very gothic as you would expect but nicely balanced especially early on with the more everyday gossipy correspondence between Lucy and Mina. From the start I was terrified. Jonathan's journey to the castle along the Borgo Pass with all the villagers crossing themselves and flinging crucifixes about and then that image of the count exiting from a window and crawling down the building like a reptile just made my hair stand on end. I liked the way that the story was written from several viewpoints .. the narrative taken mostly from the journals and letters of those involved .. it gives a real insight into their individual characters. I also loved how the reader was one step ahead, at least for a time (a very unusual position for me to be in I can tell you.) It made me agitated but in a good way, in a 'look it's behind you' type way .. I wanted to rap loudly on their heads to make them see what was (literally) outside their own window. I mean puncture marks in the neck! ... and a big bat outside every time they looked! ... even I would have been hot footing it to the supermarket for garlic.

 

Now the other thing I liked about it is that Stoker doesn't pull any punches with his villain. Not for him this wishy washy notion of vampires/werewolves that can temper their urges because they're in love .. Dracula doesn't have a social conscience. He would just as likely bite his own mother and nowhere is this better illustrated than with the sad decline of

Lucy Westenra .. a girl who when we're introduced is gaily writing about her beloved Arthur .. until that is her tendency to sleepwalk leads her to go visiting churchyards in the dead of night. At the end of her life she appears eager to bite her beloved, though still human enough to be tortured by it also. As the undead though she shows no such scruples ... roaming around Hampstead Heath snacking on children.

It's a quite terrifying image.

 

As soon as the name Van Helsing was mentioned I knew he was the hero of the piece because even my dim brain had heard of him. He seemed a bit like Poirot, in that he had that same cool, calm and calculating way about him and spoke in a similarly broken English. I learnt very early on to trust him although I did occasionally have doubts ..

those blood transfusions which were so necessary for Lucy? .. with blood taken from four different men??

.. I could see problems there. But then medical matters in fiction are always a minefield.. I've learnt to accept most things after seeing Daphne in Neighbours give birth without taking her tights off. Van Helsing was pretty Sherlockian in his deductions which is interesting because Stoker was good friends with Conan Doyle. He was a bit more collaborative though in his quest ... collecting around him a band of heroes (and heroines) all devoted to the cause and all equally determined to seek out and vanquish the demon Count.

 

The one thing I swore I wouldn't do was read this at night .. but the story was just too gripping I had to read on. It gave me the chills like no other book but then as I said I rarely, if ever, read horror. When I read what had to be done to poor

Lucy to release her soul I got the shudders. However, the thought of the alternative was far worse. It's better to be safe than sorry and I explained to Alan about the stake through the heart and the decapitated head with a mouth stuffed full of garlic flowers

but all he could say was that he didn't know if the Co-op Funeralcare offered that service, perhaps a really potent vindaloo last supper might suffice

 

I only have one slight criticism in that the ending didn't quite live up to my expectations after the build up. I expected there to be a bigger struggle, not from the Count necessarily but from

Mina .. it was as if she had a bit of a fever or something and an aspirin or two saw her right. I was delighted for her sake that this was the case but would've liked to see a bit more of an inner struggle from her .. perhaps it couldn't be because had she gone one step further she might not have feasibly been brought back.

It didn't make me think less of the book though, I think I was expecting too much or had let my ridiculous imagination run riot in a territory it never usually wanders in.

 

I've made a lot of feeble jokes which is always a sign that the book I'm reviewing freaked me out somewhat. I have to make light of horror or I'm done for ... but really this was just a gloriously rich and spine chilling piece of literature. The language used in particular .. all the different dialects and styles .. was just fantastic. I'm enjoying the books I'm reading now but to be truthful they are paling in comparison somewhat. It turns out Bram Stoker is a hard act to follow.

 

I must just say a word about this particular gorgeous edition .. the Penguin Classic Deluxe no less. It was such a pleasure to read from. Not only are the front and back covers beautifully illustrated in gorgeous colours but the pages are all uncut which makes it very tactile.

 

10/10

[Ben]

Found myself up because one of my house-mates (I say mate.. I'll certainly be less 'matey' with him tomorrow), decided to set off the fire-alarm. At half past two in the morning. In fairness I think he's been drinking, but nevertheless, I live in a huge halls-type-place with tons of tenants, so he's not going to become the most popular guy over night, as there were some weary looking (and scantily dressed) people shivering outside in the cold just now. In any case, I digress.

 

I just wanted to say that I found myself reading your book blog because I'm now wide-awake, and I really enjoyed your review of Dracula (which I have been patiently waiting for), and the fact that I agree with lots of it means I'm definitely only not getting far quickly with it, because I have to keep casting it aside to read required reads. I'm going to have another proper shot at it tomorrow and immerse myself in the world of fluttering bats, wolves, vampires and deranged lunatic asylum patients.

 

Much apologies for my ramblings, I think may try go to bed now!

Edited February 8, 2012 by Ben

[Karsa Orlong]

I do like vintage horror films because nine times out of ten they're really quite unintentionally funny .. The Fly for instance .. that cracks me up.

The old David Hedison version? Cos if you mean the Jeff Goldblum version is vintage I will cry

 

Great review of Dracula, Poppy. I don't necessarily agree with you, but great review nonetheless I think I'm one of the few people who though the book was a huge disappointment.

[lauraloves]

I have Dracula on my Kindle, maybe I need to read it sooner than later, judging by your fab review

[vodkafan]

Great review of Dracula Poppy

[poppyshake]

Found myself up because one of my house-mates (I say mate.. I'll certainly be less 'matey' with him tomorrow), decided to set off the fire-alarm. At half past two in the morning. In fairness I think he's been drinking, but nevertheless, I live in a huge halls-type-place with tons of tenants, so he's not going to become the most popular guy over night, as there were some weary looking (and scantily dressed) people shivering outside in the cold just now. In any case, I digress.

 

I just wanted to say that I found myself reading your book blog because I'm now wide-awake, and I really enjoyed your review of Dracula (which I have been patiently waiting for), and the fact that I agree with lots of it means I'm definitely only not getting far quickly with it, because I have to keep casting it aside to read required reads. I'm going to have another proper shot at it tomorrow and immerse myself in the world of fluttering bats, wolves, vampires and deranged lunatic asylum patients.

 

Much apologies for my ramblings, I think may try go to bed now!

Sorry you had such a bad night Ben what an idiot your house-mate is .. though alcohol will make people do the strangest things (and I have the photo's to prove it ) Hope you got some decent sleep, wise move to read this blog before retiring, I've found it's a great cure for insomnia Glad you liked the review, hope you're able to bury yourself back in the book soon (and that is SO the wrong word!) Hehe I did like the asylum patient Renfield ... how creepy was he? I'm not fussy about my food but even so He reminded me of 'The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly' .. though he had thought it out more

The old David Hedison version? Cos if you mean the Jeff Goldblum version is vintage I will cry.

Yes I did mean the David Hedison one. I haven't seen the other one .. would probably freak me out.

Great review of Dracula, Poppy. I don't necessarily agree with you, but great review nonetheless. I think I'm one of the few people who though the book was a huge disappointment.

Oh that's a shame .. but it wouldn't do for us all to like the same books (especially if they were all by Alan Titchmarsh ) You've probably read a whole lot more horror than me and have plenty of other stories to compare it to. It read very much like a classic novel and that suited me down to the ground. It had just the right amount of gore in it .. ie: not much I did think though that Bram must have had a bit of a thing for vampire brides because from his descriptions they were quite hot babes .. or they would've been .. if they hadn't been dead

[poppyshake]

I have Dracula on my Kindle, maybe I need to read it sooner than later, judging by your fab review

Great review of Dracula Poppy

Thanks both .. hope you like it Laura. I've had the book for ages (have actually got two copies .. one rather interestingly is a Puffin childrens book and it's not abridged I've been meaning to look in it to see if they've kept true to every word .. I'll be surprised if they have) it was one of those books I never seemed to get around to reading ... next stop Frankenstein

[pickle]

Great review of Dracula Poopyshake glad you enjoyed it, It remains for me one of my favourite classic horrors (not that I have read that much horror it not being my thing). have you read The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova that takes the dracula ledgen a step further in a really good way.

[poppyshake]

Ooh no I haven't. I will look into it .. thanks Pickle

[Karsa Orlong]

You've probably read a whole lot more horror than me and have plenty of other stories to compare it to.

I don't know about that. Tbh, I've found that good horror books are pretty hard to come by.

 

I did think though that Bram must have had a bit of a thing for vampire brides because from his descriptions they were quite hot babes .. or they would've been .. if they hadn't been dead

Well, it works for Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. I'm just sayin'

[poppyshake]

Well, it works for Kate Beckinsale in Underworld. I'm just sayin'

Men!! :roll2: what are you like? I've always thought those films had a terrible reputation .. for being rubbish I mean. I guess you weren't judging the acting though Lol, I haven't seen them but I do like Ms Beckinsale .. she's not in the Winslets league (acting wise) but she is lovely and I liked her very much in Serendipity. I didn't like her as Emma though .. she looked sick and cross through the whole thing .. but I think it was the script .. more or less everybody looked sick and cross in it.

[Ben]

Sorry you had such a bad night Ben what an idiot your house-mate is .. though alcohol will make people do the strangest things (and I have the photo's to prove it ) Hope you got some decent sleep, wise move to read this blog before retiring, I've found it's a great cure for insomnia Glad you liked the review, hope you're able to bury yourself back in the book soon (and that is SO the wrong word!) Hehe I did like the asylum patient Renfield ... how creepy was he? I'm not fussy about my food but even so He reminded me of 'The Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly' .. though he had thought it out more

Ah it wasn't all bad - I don't sleep very well so it wasn't as much of a problem for me as it was some others (judging by the scowling faces on show!). Haha, you're right on the alcohol front, I'm sure I could gather some pretty damning photographic evidence of that (though not of me, of course! ). Ah, you know I didn't mean it like that! I meant because it's so entertaining and makes for good reading! I have indeed managed to fly (creepy bats at windows anyone? ) threw it today and it certainly picked up pace (I've got about 80 pages left). Indeed, Renfield was one of my favourites, although he is pretty gruesome! Aha, you do crack me up!

 

it was one of those books I never seemed to get around to reading ... next stop Frankenstein

Ahh I think you'll like this - it's one of my all-time favourites! Enjoy!

Edited February 8, 2012 by Ben

[Kylie]

I'm so glad (but not surprised!) that you enjoyed Dracula, Poppyshake. It's deliciously scary, isn't it? Now you can cross one off 'Kylie's List of Books to Read' (I don't want to add the dying bit).

 

I'm with Ben. Frankenstein is also one of my favourites.

Edited February 9, 2012 by Kylie

[Karsa Orlong]

Men!! :roll2: what are you like? I've always thought those films had a terrible reputation .. for being rubbish I mean. I guess you weren't judging the acting though

She was acting? I quite enjoyed the first movie, the others were pretty meh. And please don't mention Winslet in the same sentence - can't stand her!

 

 

 

Frankenstein is a great book

[lauraloves]

Thanks both .. hope you like it Laura. I've had the book for ages (have actually got two copies .. one rather interestingly is a Puffin childrens book and it's not abridged I've been meaning to look in it to see if they've kept true to every word .. I'll be surprised if they have) it was one of those books I never seemed to get around to reading ... next stop Frankenstein

 

I have always wanted to read Frankenstein too, another one that I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on