Karsa Orlong Posted May 19, 2012 Author Share Posted May 19, 2012 I mentioned our challenge to him, and he said that, going by the books you've suggested so far, you might next suggest The Algebraist (which I think you've just read ) and/or Player of Games. The latter is a Banks book, though, so I know you're not going to go with it. Both those are by Banks Edit: Oh, and I'm not sure it's very good for me that you'll now go for more obscure ... *scared* Mwahahahaha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I've just realised .. and it was very rude of me .. that I didn't say how much I enjoyed your review of The Book Thief Steve. I agree with every word you said (apart from the bit about the lack of splatty bits) .. and it is a very strange feeling indeed Lord, I've just looked back to read it again and come across those photo's .. really you should put up some sort of warning. It reminded me of my old Swindon days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 I've just realised .. and it was very rude of me .. that I didn't say how much I enjoyed your review of The Book Thief Steve. Thanks Poppy I agree with every word you said (apart from the bit about the lack of splatty bits) .. and it is a very strange feeling indeed Please don't make a habit of it Nah, that's only because we don't read the same types of books. If we did I'm sure we'd agree more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Both those are by Banks I didn't realise that about The Algebraist (and now I'm wondering why we are so insistent on the list having five titles, when you said in one of the earliest posts, '4 or 5 titles'. But I'd like to do 5 anyway, I still want to come up with another title and see what will surface) Edit: Ooooh! I just came up with the fifth title. I know want to look at some of my notes to see if I can find some better title or if I'm satisfied with the current five books. Hehe, this is getting pretty exciting! Edit2: I just realised I hadn't asked, just to be sure: Fiction only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 Edit2: I just realised I hadn't asked, just to be sure: Fiction only? Whatever you like You're obviously finding this much easier than I am I blame your ex I think I've got it down to three fantasy and three sf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Whatever you like Please say fiction only, otherwise I'm screwed I never should've started going through my lists! You're obviously finding this much easier than I am I blame your ex I think I've got it down to three fantasy and three sf See what I wrote above. Now I have 11 more titles I want to somehow fit into the five slots If it's fiction only, I'll have 9 titles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 See what I wrote above. Now I have 11 more titles I want to somehow fit into the five slots If it's fiction only, I'll have 9 titles Ah, don't stress over it. Stick to fiction if it makes it easier. Just list them all and I'll pick from them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Okay, I'm down to six and here they are: (links go to amazon websites with product info and reviews but you don't have to read them) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon ("superb novel with epic sweep, spanning continents and eras". Wannabe-Houdini meets comic book enthusiast cousin, set out on a 'quest' of sorts) Crippen by John Boyne(a fictionalized version of a great historic true crime case back in the early 20th century UK) Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami ("A love story combined with a detective story, Sputnik Sweetheart ultimately lingers in the mind as a profound meditation on human longing." This is part of the amazon description. It doesn't really say much about the novel, the novel is at times mind boggling and I, at times, felt like I was hallucinating.) Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (Epic saga of three Greek-American generations, with a fascinating and rare biological twist.) Under the Skin by Michel Faber (A female seeking hitchhikers. "commonplace expectation is no guide for this strange and deeply unsettling book; small details at first, then more major clues") Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Historical fiction. "this hypnotic suspense novel is awash with all manner of gloomy Dickensian leitmotifs") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 I actually quite like the sound of all of them I'll have a proper look tomorrow, and give you my suggestions, too. Thanks Frankie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 You're welcome I can't wait for tomorrow to see which books you ended up choosing for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Right, here we go then, Frankie! A lot of hard decisions (although some were made easier by your ex having already recommended some of my faves ). I've tried to stick to books that can be read as one-offs and that don't require reading of sequels/series etc. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay I changed my choice from 'A Song for Arbonne' to this because it was the first of GGK's books that I read, and I loved it so much I went out and bought all his others. It's also closer to high fantasy than the others, and his wonderfully lyrical writing style is in full flow. "Tigana is the magical story of a beleaguered land struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the black sorcery of a cruel despotic king that even the name of their once-beautiful homeland cannot be spoken or remembered." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0451457765 The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers This is one of those stories that really shouldn't work - but it does. Powers throws everything (including the kitchen sink) into the mix and comes up with a rollicking time travel adventure. "Winner of the 1984 Philip K. Dick Award for best original science fiction paperback. The colonization of Egypt by western European powers is the launch point for power plays and machinations. Steeping together in this time-warp stew are such characters as an unassuming Coleridge scholar, ancient gods, wizards, the Knights Templar, werewolves, and other quasi-mortals, all wrapped in the organizing fabric of Egyptian mythology. In the best of fantasy traditions, the reluctant heroes fight for survival against an evil that lurks beneath the surface of their everyday lives." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575077255 Replay by Ken Grimwood I only read this one recently, so it's fresh in my memory. I found it exciting, scary and heartbreaking. I got a 'Fantasy Masterworks' edition of it, but it's not really fantasy or science fiction, it just is what it is - a fantastic story beautifully told. "At forty-three Jeff Winston is tired of his low-paid, unrewarding job, tired of the long silences at the breakfast table with his wife, saddened by the thought of no children to comfort his old age. But he hopes for better things, for happiness, maybe tomorrow . . . But a sudden, fatal heart attack puts paid to that. Until Jeff wakes up in his eighteen-year-old body, all his memories of the next twenty-five years intact. If he applies those memories, he can be rich in this new chance at life and can become one of the most powerful men in America." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575075597 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card I read this many, many years ago and, whilst I can't remember the detail, I remember the effect it had on me. It's a fantastic, exciting, thought-provoking, as all great science fiction should be. "Ender's Game is one of the great ones, a novel of extraordinary power that is among the very best the genre has ever produced. Written at a stage in Orson Scott Card's career when it seemed as if he could genuinely do no wrong, Ender's Game takes a familiar theme from war fiction — war as seen through the eyes of a child, as in Ballard's Empire of the Sun — and reframes it by making the child the war's central figure. It is a tale defined by a sense of both tragic inevitability and cold irony. It is not merely about the loss of innocence, as so many stories are with children at their center. It is about innocence systematically deceived and purposefully destroyed in the fanatical pursuit of a misguided higher ideal." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0812550706 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Forget about the Godawful Will Smith movie, or the Charlton Heston version - those films alter the story almost beyond recognition. I Am Legend re-invents the vampire myth as something far more believable and terrifying and is easily the best vampire novel I've read. It is taut, nerve-shredding and yet a wonderful examination of isolation and loneliness. And it has the best final page of any book, ever! "Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him. By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.... "I Am Legend is a better, tighter, sharper book than Dracula which makes it the best vampire novel ever written. It's a terrifying thriller, but also a canny moral lesson with an unforgettable finish." (Kim Newman EMPIRE )" Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575094168 These are all among my favourite books - I hope you enjoy whatever you choose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 As you've already got I Am Legend on your TBR pile, Frankie, consider these instead: The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester It's an oldie but a goodie. The story is endlessly inventive and, in Gully Foyle, probably has the greatest anti-hero I've ever come across. If you can get past it's slightly quaint stylings it's a fabulous, fast-paced read. "Gully Foyle, Mechanic's Mate 3rd Class. EDUCATION: none SKILLS: none MERITS: none RECOMMENDATIONS: none That's the official verdict on Gully Foyle, unskilled space crewman. But right now he is the only survivor on his drifting, wrecked spaceship, and when another space vessel, the Vorga, ignores his distress flares and sails by, Gully becomes obsessed with revenge. He endures 170 days alone in deep space before finding refuge on the Sargasso Asteroid and returning to Earth to track down the crew and owners of the Vorga. But, as he works out his murderous grudge, Gully Foyle also uncovers a secret of momentous proportions . . ." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575094192 Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds Getting into the big boys now One of my favourite reads of last year, Chasm City is a marvellous, galaxy-spanning revenge thriller. It's got three interweaving plot lines that somehow combine to make a logical whole. This, for me, is modern-day science fiction at its best. "Tanner Mirabel was a security specialist who never made a mistake - until the day a woman in his care was blown away by Argent Reivich, a vengeful young postmortal. Tanner's pursuit of Reivich takes him across light-years of space to Chasm City, the domed human settlement on the otherwise inhospitable planet of Yellowstone. But Chasm City is not what it was. The one-time high-tech utopia has become a Gothic nightmare: a nanotechnological virus has corrupted the city's inhabitants as thoroughly as it has the buildings and machines. Before the chase is done, Tanner will have to confront truths which reach back centuries, towards deep space and an atrocity history barely remembers." Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575083158 Please don't tell me you've already been recommended those two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Can I butt in to say that I really liked Ender's Game. I had some criticisms along the way, but the overall effect as excellent, and I can't even remember what niggled me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Please don't tell me you've already been recommended those two! No hopping off no bridges, rest assured Seems like a great selection, all in all and I think I will have a tough time to choose one book to start with. I have a few 'favorites' already but they seem like the 'safe bet' so I'm wondering if I should go for something completely different, and pick one that isn't at the top of the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Can I butt in to say that I really liked Ender's Game. I had some criticisms along the way, but the overall effect as excellent, and I can't even remember what niggled me. You're not butting in at all, Michelle - everyone's welcome! No hopping off no bridges, rest assured Seems like a great selection, all in all and I think I will have a tough time to choose one book to start with. I have a few 'favorites' already but they seem like the 'safe bet' so I'm wondering if I should go for something completely different, and pick one that isn't at the top of the list. I can't answer that one for you - cos I'm trying to answer the same question for myself about your list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Just been playing catch up in this thread. I joined the forum in the hopes to expand my fantasy and sci-fi books, I also have a love of anything history, and would love to get into historical fiction. I've missed out on a lot because for awhile there I wasn't reading. Any recommendations I will gladly take on board from both you Steve and Tim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 Any recommendations I will gladly take on board from both you Steve and Tim! Specifically for historical fiction, Devi? It's a genre I've only got into myself over the last two or three years, but I've got a few favourites so far: Steven Saylor's 'Roma Sub Rosa' series, set in and around Ancient Rome: http://www.stevensay...omaSubRosa.html Rory Clements' 'John Shakespeare' series, set in Elizabethan England: http://www.roryclements.com/index.asp Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire', about the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae: http://www.stevenpre.../gates-of-fire/ C J Sansom's 'Matthew Shardlake' books, set in Tudor England: http://cjsansombooks...ardlake-series/ Bernard Cornwell you already know about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Specifically for historical fiction, Devi? It's a genre I've only got into myself over the last two or three years, but I've got a few favourites so far: Steven Saylor's 'Roma Sub Rosa' series, set in and around Ancient Rome: http://www.stevensay...omaSubRosa.html Rory Clements' 'John Shakespeare' series, set in Elizabethan England: http://www.roryclements.com/index.asp Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire', about the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae: http://www.stevenpre.../gates-of-fire/ C J Sansom's 'Matthew Shardlake' books, set in Tudor England: http://cjsansombooks...ardlake-series/ Bernard Cornwell you already know about I will take whatever you got for historical fiction, sci-fi and fantasy! I was just re-reading some of the pages on here and I do rather like the sound of Robert Harris's Pompeii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) I was just re-reading some of the pages on here and I do rather like the sound of Robert Harris's Pompeii. I've got that one in my TBR pile, along with Imperium. I read Lustrum a couple of years back and thought it was fantastic, not realising that it was the second book in a trilogy I think, for the fantasy and science fiction, I can only re-hash some of the posts up-thread, but whilst I was doing my, ahem, extensive research for Frankie I did come across this list of some of my favourites that I posted elsewhere: The Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson Dune - Frank Herbert The Night's Dawn Trilogy - Peter F. Hamilton Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers Tigana/The Lions of Al-Rassan/A Song For Arbonne /Sarantine Mosaic- Guy Gavriel Kay Hyperion - Dan Simmons The Forever War - Joe Haldeman Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester I Am Legend - Richard Matheson Replay - Ken Grimwood The Kraken Wakes/The Day of the Triffids/The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham The Time Machine - H. G. Wells A Game of Thrones/A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin Feersum Endjinn - Iain M. Banks The Belgariad/The Mallorean - David Eddings Voyage - Stephen Baxter Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds Perdido Street Station - China Mieville His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi I'm adding to this all the time, naturally Edited May 21, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) Dune - Frank Herbert Tigana/The Lions of Al-Rassan/A Song For Arbonne /Sarantine Mosaic- Guy Gavriel Kay I Am Legend - Richard Matheson A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin I have these on my list already, though I didn't realise The Lions of Al-Rassan was apart of a series, I better correct that! Do you keep your favourites list updated on here? I will have to keep my eye on it. May I say, I do rather enjoy reading your reviews on here, and reading Tim's thread too. I was trying to broaden my horizons with a mix of other books (in which I am), but can't help but keep on coming back for more fantasy. I got an encyclopedia from a friend one birthday, which features just about every fantasy book ever written. I should take pictures and show you, would you like that? While I find it handy, I rather like to hear what everyday people think of books. oh and I am going Tom check out steven erikson that's for sure! So excited at the idea of exploring books again Edited May 21, 2012 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 I have these on my list already, though I didn't realise The Lions of Al-Rassan was apart of a series, I better correct that! Ah, no, my fault - I just listed his books together, it's not a series. The only ones that you need to read in order are The Sarantine Mosaic, comprising Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors Do you keep your favourites list updated on here? I will have to keep my eye on it. I don't, no - I probably should, shouldn't I? Something to bear in mind for next year's lists ... May I say, I do rather enjoy reading your reviews on here, and reading Tim's thread too. Oh, thank you - that's very kind I was trying to broaden my horizons with a mix of other books (in which I am) Same here! At the end of the day, though, you've got to read what you enjoy I got an encyclopedia from a friend one birthday, which features just about every fantasy book ever written. I should take pictures and show you, would you like that? Oh definitely, please do! Also, check out the online SF Encyclopedia: http://sf-encyclopedia.com/ oh and I am going Tom check out steven erikson that's for sure! That's my favourite series, for sure. Be warned: it's Marmite (Vegimite? ) - people either love it or hate it. If you love it then all other fantasy seems ordinary in comparison. If you hate it, well, you hate it When I reviewed the final book I called it "the most epic, sprawling, original, inventive, infuriating, exhilarating, amusing, confusing, heartbreaking, uplifting and uncompromising series that I have ever read". I'd strongly recommend reading some reviews, like these: http://nethspace.blo...-by-steven.html http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ma343.htm I don't want to put you off it, I just think you should know what you're letting yourself in for It's not for everyone, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Forget about the Godawful Will Smith movie, or the Charlton Heston version - those films alter the story almost beyond recognition. I Am Legend re-invents the vampire myth as something far more believable and terrifying and is easily the best vampire novel I've read. It is taut, nerve-shredding and yet a wonderful examination of isolation and loneliness. And it has the best final page of any book, ever! "Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him. By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.... "I Am Legend is a better, tighter, sharper book than Dracula which makes it the best vampire novel ever written. It's a terrifying thriller, but also a canny moral lesson with an unforgettable finish." (Kim Newman EMPIRE )" Excerpt: http://www.amazon.co...ader_0575094168 This is one of my all time fave books, though I agree about the movie...it's cringe-worthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 Thanks Devi, I'm in the same boat, trying to find more sci-fi and fantasy reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) Ah, no, my fault - I just listed his books together, it's not a series. The only ones that you need to read in order are The Sarantine Mosaic, comprising Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors Ok cool, the titles sound catchy. Most times the title is what gets my attention before even looking at the cover, that comes next. I don't, no - I probably should, shouldn't I? Something to bear in mind for next year's lists ... Oh I think you should! You read so many of them, it would be good to have a quick list for people who like to read your reviews and want to try some fantasy. Same here! At the end of the day, though, you've got to read what you enjoy My problem with me is that I am into just about everything. I read most genres, listen to most music, photography, paint, draw, sketch, build models, play console games... I'm all over the place! Fantasy is one area I keep going back to when it comes to books. I think it's because I like to escape my real life and into another world. When I am in that world, I have no illnesses or pain. I feel the same with fantasy role playing games on my consoles too. Sorry I'm blabbering on here Oh definitely, please do! Also, check out the online SF Encyclopedia: http://sf-encyclopedia.com/ Ok. Pictures coming up in a day or two! That's my favourite series, for sure. Be warned: it's Marmite (Vegimite? ) - people either love it or hate it. If you love it then all other fantasy seems ordinary in comparison. If you hate it, well, you hate it When I reviewed the final book I called it "the most epic, sprawling, original, inventive, infuriating, exhilarating, amusing, confusing, heartbreaking, uplifting and uncompromising series that I have ever read". I'd strongly recommend reading some reviews, like these: http://nethspace.blo...-by-steven.html http://www.sfsite.com/05a/ma343.htm I don't want to put you off it, I just think you should know what you're letting yourself in for It's not for everyone, for sure. You have done the opposite actually! I want to read it more now you have said all that, and that's before I have even clicked the links p.s. I love Vegemite! Edited May 21, 2012 by Devi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 21, 2012 Author Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) Oh I think you should! You read so many of them, it would be good to have a quick list for people who like to read your reviews and want to try some fantasy. I didn't think anyone was that interested, tbh, but I'll try and do something My problem with me is that I am into just about everything. I read most genres, listen to most music, photography, paint, draw, sketch, build models, play console games... I'm all over the place! Fantasy is one area I keep going back to when it comes to books. I think it's because I like to escape my real life and into another world. When I am in that world, I have no illnesses or pain. I feel the same with fantasy role playing games on my consoles too. Sorry I'm blabbering on here S'okay I used to play video games. In fact, for a few years I was playing games instead of reading. Over the last three or four years I've rediscovered the joys of reading and I've stopped playing video games completely. Unfortunately it's also affecting my writing, in that I get more excited about reading than I do about trying to finish one of the stories I have rattling around in my head You have done the opposite actually! I want to read it more now you have said all that, and that's before I have even clicked the links I loaned the first book to a colleague (who's been reading the George RR Martin books). He read the first 70 pages of Gardens of the Moon and has given up. It's a shame. There's a definite hump in the first book that you have to get past to reach the good stuff, probably around the 200 page mark. All I will say is get past that hump, meet Crone and Anomander Rake and Tool, find out about the sword called Dragnipur that imprisons the souls of those it kills, and witness a battle between a bunch of dragons and a Jaghut Tyrant. If you reach the end I defy anyone not to want the next book immediately Anyway, my colleague says he likes fantasy, so he's obviously a wimp to have given up so easily <<snooty look>> (and, no, Poppy - none of this is aimed at you, if you're reading this ) p.s. I love Vegemite! Edit: My colleague just informed me he's reading a Dragonlance book instead. I rest my case! Edited May 21, 2012 by Karsa Orlong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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