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Post by berkley on May 13, 2019 23:44:45 GMT -5
Let me add that I’d have loved to have seen Howard Chaykin do an adaptation of the Amber novels. His style would have been a perfect fit for it, IMO - I'm thinking especially of his work from around the late 70s, as seen in things like Swords of Heaven, Flowers of Hell (with Michael Moorcock) and Empire (Samuel R. Delany), or his adaptation of The Stars My Destination. (I haven't erad any of those in full, but I read a fair number of instalments and previews in things like Heavy Metal. Like you, I found the first Amber series solid all the way through from start to finish. Actually 'solid' is far too mild a word, I really loved it. But anyway, no dips in quality or interest, for me. The 2nd series, the less said the better, unfortunately.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 17, 2019 7:30:06 GMT -5
Apollo at Go by Jeff Sutton If you didn't know better, you'd think this was a technical description of the first moon landing... Sutton certainly knows his stuff, and very accurately predicts both the time (July 1969) and most of the methods they actually used in the Moon Landing. Granted it was just 6 years in his future, but still, and impressive bit of speculative science... impressive enough that NASA has the book referenced on it's web site as a good 'space fiction' book. He big reveal (life on the Moon) is just dropped in... that would have been a MUCH bigger deal, but that was clearly not his purpose.. this is simply a fictional documentary to get people excited for the possibility of a moon landing, and perhaps throw some shade on nay sayers.. the only bit of politics is talking about a senator that thinks it's a waste of money, and making him look a bit silly. I also get the feeling he was perhaps making a point that it's not a great idea not to bring extra fuel. Incidently, for all the accuracy in the text, the cover is totally sci fi, which is kinda weird.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 17, 2019 7:31:49 GMT -5
Robber's Roost Zane Grey
This was from my last Ollie's trip.. a nice boxed set of 4 trade size Zane Grey novels for $7.50!
Every one in a while, I just want to read a western. Sure the plot and the characters are pretty near identical in every story.. this is no exception, you can suss out the plot and exactly what happens before you're a quarter of the way through.
But Zane Grey is something, there's a reason his stuff is still around and in print nearly 100 years after he wrote it... his descriptions of the frontier west are really amazing... you can't help but picture things as you're reading.
Not high literature by any means, but any time you want to escape to the saddle and get in touch with your inner noble robber, this is the book!
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 19, 2019 6:48:34 GMT -5
Those Who WatchRobert Silverberg In the far flung future of 1982, an alien craft (which looks rather like a saucer that flies) carrying three observers modified to look like humans, explodes due to a malfunction in its power-supply system, and the three aliens all bail out but land at different locations, where they encounter three different people who help them recover from their injuries while they wait for their people to come rescue them. Meanwhile, observers from a rival alien race realize that the three survived and landed on Earth, meaning that they are in violation of a treaty according to which neither race can make contact with the planet's residents. So one of their agents, also disguised as a human, goes to look for them and expose their perceived treachery. This is one I picked up at a bookfair somewhere for about a buck, mainly because I liked the cover art. And Silverberg is a solid writer, so I figured that it would be a few hours of at least entertaining reading - which it was, but little more. The plot is actually pretty predictable, i.e., you kind of figure which direction the whole story is going to go after about the first 20 pages. The most interesting plot thread involves one of the aliens who lands on an Indian reservation in the American Southwest, and is befriended by a precocious 11 year-old boy who pretty much immediately figures out he's not from Earth but agrees to keep his existence a secret and help him out while he heals and waits for his eventual rescue. The other two get involved in some pretty heavy interspecies intimacy... I'd say this is worth reading if you're already a fan of Silverberg's writing and need to read everything he's written or if, like me, you stumble onto a cheap copy or check it out of the library.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 21, 2019 17:33:16 GMT -5
Let me add that I’d have loved to have seen Howard Chaykin do an adaptation of the Amber novels. DC did adaptations of the first 2 novels, but sadly Chaykin was not involved. Both were painted prestige format mini-series, done in the 90s I believe, but I haven't read them (I picked up a random issue or two out of bargain bins at shows, but don't have either series complete). -M I tracked down a copy of the first issue. I'll just say that I really wish Chaykin had adapted them.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 21, 2019 17:41:50 GMT -5
Artificial Condition by Martha WellsI've been suffering from a bit of reader's block of late. To the extent there's been an antidote it has been either slam-dunk reads (Hap & Leonard) or novella length stuff that I can burn through before getting burned out. This is the second novella in Wells' Murderbot series. It follows up from the first with the Murderbot looking into the mystery of its life before it hacked its governor, giving it free will. While I don't think it was quite as good as the first novella it was short and generally entertaining and not particularly derivative, which is nice in SF. There was a bit of plot-induced stupidity on the part of the protagonist's clients...but the protagonist views them as acting irrationally. So that's good. For the minor investment in time these are well worth the effort. This one is a nominee for both the 2019 Hugo and Nebula for Best Novella.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 22, 2019 13:58:50 GMT -5
I'm re-reading Pandora in the Congo, by Albert Sanchez Punol, and it is still one of my favourite books.
As engaging as a Burroughs romance, as clever a comment on the nature of storytelling as The Life of Pi, it is also hilarious, terrifying, and a good way to lose too many hours of sleep because we want to read just one more chapter. (And another. And another).
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Post by brutalis on May 22, 2019 14:10:08 GMT -5
I'm re-reading Pandora in the Congo, by Albert Sanchez Punol, and it is still one of my favourite books. As engaging as a Burroughs romance, as clever a comment on the nature of storytelling as The Life of Pi, it is also hilarious, terrifying, and a good way to lose too many hours of sleep because we want to read just one more chapter. ( And another. And another). Based upon your post I looked this one up and read a few reviews. Sounds very interesting and different from the usual fodder you usually find. Found a $4 used on Amazon so put in my order! Always looking for good reads. Thanks so much Raider of Cheeses...
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 22, 2019 14:30:10 GMT -5
I'm sure you'll like it!
Pugnol does a great Burroughs in this one, as he did a great Lovecraft in Cold Skin. (Unfortunately, I didn't care much for his short stories).
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 22, 2019 14:37:32 GMT -5
The Girls of Bunker Pines by Garnett Elliott
Jack Laramie, the Drifter Detective, is back. This time he is trying to help out a Korean War vet who is deep in the throes of alcoholism and is getting himself involved in a scheme to build homes/bomb shelters aimed at other vets that does not seem on the up and up. Elliott does a good job of looking at the way vets were exploited in an earlier time (times have not changed) and a pretty good look at PTSD in both Laramie (a WWII prisoner-of-war) and his client. Larmaie does make some stupid moves, but nothing that is completely plot-induced stupidity. Nice entry in a nice series of novellas.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 23, 2019 7:06:59 GMT -5
The Iron Crown Maurice Druon
This is a time period I'm not too familiar with (I'm more of a British history fan than French, for all they are tied closely together), so I was reading this more like a novel than history.. I didn't really know what was going to happen.
I think my main complaint would be there are really no 'good guys' in the story... no one you really want to root for. Since it's historical fiction, that's not the author's fault, but it definitely took a bit away from my enjoyment.
That said, the stories behind the events were fantastic, and certainly felt like they could really happen. The revelation Phillip had in the woods with a peasant was fantastic... it really drew the book together.
One thing I didn't see is alot of similarities to Game of Thrones.. there's not any competition to be king, and not much military involved. I'm glad it inspired Mr. Martin, but I don't really think a GoT fan would necessarily enjoy this.. it's well written historical fiction, but far milder on the intrigue and violence (though a few people do get burned at the stake here)
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 23, 2019 7:16:32 GMT -5
The Girls of Bunker Pines by Garnett Elliott
Jack Laramie, the Drifter Detective, is back. This time he is trying to help out a Korean War vet who is deep in the throes of alcoholism and is getting himself involved in a scheme to build homes/bomb shelters aimed at other vets that does not seem on the up and up. Elliott does a good job of looking at the way vets were exploited in an earlier time (times have not changed) and a pretty good look at PTSD in both Laramie (a WWII prisoner-of-war) and his client. Larmaie does make some stupid moves, but nothing that is completely plot-induced stupidity. Nice entry in a nice series of novellas. Hey Slam, how does it work exactly with downloading the novellas? I don't have (nor will I likely have) any sort of device.. just my laptop. Does that work? Or would I need some sort of app in Blue Stacks or something? I've often been intrigued by the stuff you post, but I've just never gotten around to figuring it out.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 23, 2019 8:26:35 GMT -5
The Iron Crown Maurice Druon This is a time period I'm not too familiar with (I'm more of a British history fan than French, for all they are tied closely together), so I was reading this more like a novel than history.. I didn't really know what was going to happen. I think my main complaint would be there are really no 'good guys' in the story... no one you really want to root for. Since it's historical fiction, that's not the author's fault, but it definitely took a bit away from my enjoyment. That said, the stories behind the events were fantastic, and certainly felt like they could really happen. The revelation Phillip had in the woods with a peasant was fantastic... it really drew the book together. One thing I didn't see is alot of similarities to Game of Thrones.. there's not any competition to be king, and not much military involved. I'm glad it inspired Mr. Martin, but I don't really think a GoT fan would necessarily enjoy this.. it's well written historical fiction, but far milder on the intrigue and violence (though a few people do get burned at the stake here) What? You don't want Robert d'Artois to $# them all over? He's one of the most charming and immoral scoundrels in all of literature!!! My very favourite rogue! You're right, there isn't much in common between the book and Game of Thrones... If there's a filiation, it must be akin to that between The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and Asimov's Foundation. But I suppose that packaging Druon's work so that it takes advantage of any link to a popular TV show makes sense, commercially speaking.
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 23, 2019 21:06:52 GMT -5
I did like Robert quite a bit.. but he just wasn't a big enough part of the story. I was looking for more of he and Isabella... perhaps in the next book. It also wasn't totally clear what he was trying to accomplish. Sure, I get he wanted to take down the princesses, and get 'his' land back, but I feel like he was like the underpants gnomes, he was missing an important step. 1. Cause Scandal. 2. 3. Profit!!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 23, 2019 22:51:22 GMT -5
The Girls of Bunker Pines by Garnett Elliott
Jack Laramie, the Drifter Detective, is back. This time he is trying to help out a Korean War vet who is deep in the throes of alcoholism and is getting himself involved in a scheme to build homes/bomb shelters aimed at other vets that does not seem on the up and up. Elliott does a good job of looking at the way vets were exploited in an earlier time (times have not changed) and a pretty good look at PTSD in both Laramie (a WWII prisoner-of-war) and his client. Larmaie does make some stupid moves, but nothing that is completely plot-induced stupidity. Nice entry in a nice series of novellas. Hey Slam, how does it work exactly with downloading the novellas? I don't have (nor will I likely have) any sort of device.. just my laptop. Does that work? Or would I need some sort of app in Blue Stacks or something? I've often been intrigued by the stuff you post, but I've just never gotten around to figuring it out. You can download the Kindle App on your laptop. It works pretty well.
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