Whats everyone reading?

[TordelBack]

I read The Forever War and the sequel Forever Peace - The Forever War isn't perfect, I like it, but I felt really disappointed reading the sequel. Anyone else read it?

Well it isn't a sequel to The Forever War for a start.... That'd be Forever Free. It's more of a quasi-prequel/variation on a theme.  It's okay.

[Ancient Otter]

Sorry meant to say Forever Free - I've never read Forever Peace or any other Joe Haldman works - any recommendations?

[W. R. Logan]

Forever Wars a good read, Forever Free's ok

[Kerrin]

Yeah, it's terrific stuff. I thought his last two Culture books, Matter and Surface Detail, were amongst his very best.

Now I just read Matter a few weeks ago. Despite being at least 200 pages too long it's a typically easy read but with an almost formulaic Culture plot. Two separate strands gradually converge over the first two-thirds of the novel. Shortly after they meet, a third element (usually vaguely hinted at up to now) emerges and has to be confronted. In the final 30 or 40 pages, increasingly absurd levels of weaponry are discharged and proven ineffective before the threat is finally overcome and most of the protagonists die.

This all happens here to entertaining effect but the novel is hamstrung by the aforementioned 200 pages. As the action moves up through the levels of the Shellworld and beyond, Banks feels the need to detail the nature, origins and political or social ordering of the denizens of every level for no real gain. As a result, whole sections of the book read more like a Traveller campaign manual than a novel.

Nail on the head there Mr.Cosh. I thought Surface Detail was by far the better of the two, well worth a read if you haven't already.

I recently revisited Use of Weapons and Excession. Now there's a couple of entertaining books, totally forgot how many chuckles there are in Weapons.

[TordelBack]

I've never read Forever Peace or any other Joe Haldman works - any recommendations?

I really enjoyed the Worlds trilogy, a sort-of updated Cities in Flight but with post-apocalytpic acromegaly, and The Hemingway Hoax but it's been years since I read them, so I'm not sure how they hold up.

[TordelBack]

As the action moves up through the levels of the Shellworld and beyond, Banks feels the need to detail the nature, origins and political or social ordering of the denizens of every level for no real gain. As a result, whole sections of the book read more like a Traveller campaign manual than a novel.

This is a more-than fair point, and I almost hate to admit that I really love that sort of stuff, and this in particualr.  I also enjoyed the speculation on relevance and the 'simulation hypothesis', the purpose of the shellworlds, and yes, the very abrupt perfunctory ending.  But I agree, Surface Detail is by far the better novel, and what a luverrly bit of fanservice on the last pages.

Of Banks recent SF novels* the only one that disappointed me was Transition, which despite being a healthy page-turner turned out to contain one really good idea and a heap of poorly thought-out ones. 


*I know.

[Syne]

Reading Bridge of Darkness by Shotaro Ikenami, English translation by Gavin Frew. Four short stories about Baian, an acupuncturist in 17th Century Japan who moonlights as an assassin. An assassin who uses acupuncture. Steel needles in the back of the neck galore. Very enjoyable. 

[shaolin_monkey]

I've been reading Gridlinked by Neal Asher.  I had previously picked and read an Ian Cormac book, not realising it was part of a series, so have doubled back to the start.  I'm not finding this as entertaining to be honest, and after a chapter I always find myself struggling to stay awake. It could be these late shifts at work, or it could be the book just isn't engaging me.

I'm also coming to the end of the Dave Gibbon Dr Who Omnibus.  That's a blast, though the Wagner/Mills stories are way better than the Parkhouse ones IMHO. 

Slightly off topic - I know Baker is considered the 4th Doctor, but what about Cushing's earlier film? Wouldn't that push Baker to 5th? After all, McGann is considered the 8th Doctor, after only having starred in one pilot/film.  Not that I'm obsessed about it or anything - just curious!  If anyone has an answer I'd be interested to hear it.

Anyway, back to books - I'm quite tempted to put Gridlinked to one side for a while, and read Pratchett's Snuff instead.  His stuff is usually easy reading, and quite amusing.

[Syne]

Slightly off topic - I know Baker is considered the 4th Doctor, but what about Cushing's earlier film? Wouldn't that push Baker to 5th? After all, McGann is considered the 8th Doctor, after only having starred in one pilot/film.  Not that I'm obsessed about it or anything - just curious!  If anyone has an answer I'd be interested to hear it.

As I understand it, the Cushing film isn't part of the official cannon. Though I'm sure there are fans out there who have developed some complex theory by which to fit it in .

[Syne]

I myself, I might add, believe that Sylvester McCoy was the last Doctor and that everything since is a communal fever-dream dreamt by alien kindergarten students with short attention spans and penchants for overdone background music.

[SmallBlueThing]

And the further we get into nuwho, with its upcoming 'dinosaurs on a spaceship' and convoluted bollocks storytelling, the more i agree with syne. Though im prepared to accept that mccoy regenerated into mcgann- and went on to have adventures beyond the tv movie... But there's no way eccy, tennant and smith are part of my canon. Some of their stories are fun, yes, but theyre no more dr who than ant and dec are bob and terry. Or those americans are dad's army.

SBT

[shaolin_monkey]

Oops, I really didn't mean to derail this thread - apologies!

Books, dear fellows, books!!!!

[Zarjazzer]

The Lovecraft Anthology 2 -various short comic book adaptions of HP Lovecraft stories such as Pickmans Model, the Temple and the Hound. A variety of artists and writers but so far they have been genuinely otherworldly and creepy especially the version of From Beyond.

Enjoying it so far.

[Hoagy]

Visitors From Space, by, John Keel. Great material but his singular pacing is a bit boring. And the fact that he's taken in by Uri Geller's spoon and fork bending immediately sets his credibility at a less respectable level.

[SmallBlueThing]

Re Lovecraft Anthology 2- im about halfway through, and am finding it a bit hit and miss. Best so far is From Beyond, yes, but i have a feeling (from flicking forward) that the mick mcmahon-drawn 'the picture in the house' is going to be the one to beat. Anyone who perhaps thinks mcmahon's newer stuff is not to their taste is advised to at least have a look at this. It may change your mind a bit.

SBT