The Literary Thread

Started by Snarky, Thu 24/11/2011 19:01:26

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KyriakosCH

You can find a flash fiction story of mine in English, in the following ebook/magazine. Page 26 :)

https://en.calameo.com/read/00473905971ac8ff20c7e

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Cogliostro


Every year I have less and less time, so my "reading" has been limited to what I can listen to in the car, and this has a subtle but real impact on my enjoyment of certain books.  Honestly, some books have parts that should just be skimmed.  Also, I'm pretty sure everyone is already familiar with J R R Tolkien, Douglas Adams, and Terry Pratchett.  So skipping over some of the greats to give book recommendations on things I've been reading....

The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher = The first two novels are okay - a remarkable accomplishment in the literary wasteland that is urban fantasy - but honestly, if you're having trouble, just skip 'em. From book 3 onward the series is just AWESOME! 

The Laundry series by Charles Stross = I strongly recommend the first three books.  It answers that burning question on everyone's mind, what would happen if Monty Python performed the works of HP Lovecraft?  If you think that sounds deranged, then you'll like the series.

Poor Man's Fight series by Elliot Kay = This is impressive military sci-fi series with a believable and likeable protagonist, a plot that progresses in a realistic fashion despite its futuristic setting, and lastly, the combat and hand-to-hand violence is riveting.  It's intense, real and most importantly, authentic.

Good Intentions series by Elliot Kay = The main character has a succubus and an angel bound to him, so very much NSFW nor for the easily offended.  Of course, in a world where the magic is real, there are consequences for meddling, and once you've attracted the attention of the supernatural monsters, you had better be prepared to defend yourself.

Just a few recommendations,
- Cogliostro
"First things first, but not necessarily in that order." - Dr. Who

Andail

Quote from: KyriakosCH on Tue 31/01/2017 20:39:16
You can find a flash fiction story of mine in English, in the following ebook/magazine. Page 26 :)

https://en.calameo.com/read/00473905971ac8ff20c7e


That was all right but it's no Bob Dylan!
:P

KyriakosCH

This is the Way - A dark allegory. My Twitter!  My Youtube!

Stupot

I just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman in time for the new TV adaptation coming soon. Anyone else read it? I liked it a lot and there were some great set pieces. But there were also some parts that really dragged. I also didn't buy that this guy just seemed to be going along with everything without completely freaking out.

Spoiler
Although, it is explained later that he is related to one of the gods and it's even suggested that he has some powers of his own, so maybe that explains his lack of a mental breakdown.
[close]

Unless the whole story is actually about one man's mental breakdown.

Anyway, I liked it enough that I'm going to read some more Gaiman when I get my hands on some.

Mandle

Quote from: Stupot+ on Thu 13/04/2017 05:41:42
I just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman in time for the new TV adaptation coming soon. Anyone else read it?

I read it and absolutely loved it!

If you liked it I would recommend "Bad Omens" which he co-wrote with the late, great Terry Pratchett. Quite similar to American Gods in theme but a little whackier and faster paced, but still with some shocks and thrills...

"Stardust" is also very good!

dactylopus

#66
Over the last 6 months or so, I've been delving into classic science fiction stories.  I have read the following:

Arthur C. Clarke
- Rendezvous With Rama
- Childhood's End
- The Hammer of God

Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger In A Strange Land
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Ray Bradbury
- The Martian Chronicles
- The October Country
- The Illustrated Man
- Something Wicked This Way Comes

Isaac Asimov
- Foundation
- Foundation and Empire
- Second Foundation
- Foundation's Edge

Orson Scott Card
- Ender's Game
- Speaker For The Dead

Edward E. "Doc" Smith
- Triplanetary
- First Lensman

William Gibson
- Neuromancer

I'm currently about a third of the way through reading Larry Niven's Ringworld, but it hasn't quite captured me like the above did.  It's just starting to take off.  Also, I've been trying to pace myself with Asimov's Foundation series, because I'm really enjoying it.  I don't want to go through it too quickly.  I have the rest of the novels in the series, but I'm taking it slowly.  It's interesting getting to know each author's style and characteristics.  Asimov is an engaging storyteller, Clarke is very technical and authentic, Heinlein writes so beautifully it's almost like poetry, and Bradbury is so rooted in the human experience that it is easy to connect emotionally.

Here are a few more in my box of "to read" books:

Salman Rushdie
- The Satanic Verses
(At the suggestion of a co-worker.)

Philip K. Dick
- A Scanner Darkly
(I've seen the movie, and I've read Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? (and seen Blade Runner, which was based on that novel), which was wonderful.)

Frank Herbert
- Dune
(Again, seen the movie and miniseries.  Looking forward to reading the book, but at nearly 900 pages it's daunting.)

Arthur C. Clarke
- Islands In The Sky
(I want to read everything he's done.)

Robert A. Heinlein
- The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
(Again, I want to read everything,  his writing is so beautiful.)

Jules Verne
- 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
(Filling out my "Classic" classics, like all of the H. G. Wells I've read.)

Antoine de Saint Exupery
- The Little Prince
(I've been a huge fan since the old animated series I watched in my youth, but I'v never actually read the book.  I got the old Woods translation from the 1940's, which is supposedly superior to the newest Howard translation from the 2000's.)

I'm a huge fan of science fiction, fantasy, and other related genres.  Some of the stories above were read because of their influence on Star Wars.  My favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut and George Orwell, and I have read just about everything I could find by both authors many years ago.  In the same 6 month period as the above books, I've also consumed the Luke Cage and Iron Fist Netflix series and Game of Thrones, among others.  Maybe I'll have to add A Song of Ice and Fire to my "to read" list.

Thanks for the many suggestions in this thread.  I'll have to consider adding these to my Amazon cart.  I've heard good things about American Gods, that one might reach the top of the list in short order.  It's also very interesting to see the diversity in the tastes of people here.  There's such a variety listed here, it's inspiring me to get into different genres.  Maybe I'll have to get into the Dresden Files as well.

CaptainD

@dactylopus wow your post really takes me back... I was seriously into sci-fi, particularly Asimov and ACC, in my younger years.  My favourite Asimov novel is actually not part of a series, although I loved the Foundation novels (particularly Second Foundation and Foundation & Empire) - it's one called Nemesis, for some reason that one really stuck with me.  Also Nightfall which he co-wrote with Robert Silverberg was good.

Childhood's End is one of my favourite ACC books though I think The City and the Stars just about pips it. 

Haven't read much Orson Scott Card (yet) but I recently read Songmaster which was phenomenal.

Okay enough reminiscing for now!  :grin:
 

dactylopus

Quote from: CaptainD on Thu 13/04/2017 10:18:52
@dactylopus wow your post really takes me back... I was seriously into sci-fi, particularly Asimov and ACC, in my younger years.  My favourite Asimov novel is actually not part of a series, although I loved the Foundation novels (particularly Second Foundation and Foundation & Empire) - it's one called Nemesis, for some reason that one really stuck with me.  Also Nightfall which he co-wrote with Robert Silverberg was good.

Childhood's End is one of my favourite ACC books though I think The City and the Stars just about pips it. 

Haven't read much Orson Scott Card (yet) but I recently read Songmaster which was phenomenal.

Okay enough reminiscing for now!  :grin:

Thanks for the recommendations!  I already had The City and the Stars in my cart, but I have added the other books you suggested.  And I'm not surprised at all that you're a huge sci-fi fan, considering your productions here.

I feel like I got all I wanted out of the 2 Orson Scott Card novels in that series, so maybe this unrelated story will make for a good read.  I found his novels to be very easy to digest, and they held my attention with good stories.  If you like his writing, I'd suggest at least reading Ender's Game.  I thought it was going to be simple fluff entertainment reading, but it was actually a deeper story than I imagined.  The recent movie does not do it justice.  I kept feeling like they were covering hundreds of pages in a matter of minutes.  That said, my girlfriend who has not read the book enjoyed the movie.  Then again, the Shining was my favorite movie until I read the book, which was vastly superior.  Now my favorite movie is the Usual Suspects.

CaptainD

I definitely want to read Ender's Game.  I did try one other of his books but when I got it I didn't realise it was part way through a book series, and I just don't do well with those if I don't start at the beginning.

I'm on a bit of a Clive Cussler run at the moment (fairly light reading but good characters and a bit of escapism, although saying that Sahara was actually pretty epic), via Philip K Dick's "The Man in the High Castle" (pretty warped and surreal, can't honestly work out if I enjoyed it or not!).  But I really should get back into some good sci-fi.  I must get round to reading a novel or two by Kurt Vonnegut Jr - I've read quite a few of his short stories, but never a novel.  (If anyone has a recommendation for a good Vonegut novel let me know!)
 

CaesarCub

Quote from: dactylopus on Thu 13/04/2017 09:11:26
Over the last 6 months or so, I've been delving into classic science fiction stories.  I have read the following:

Arthur C. Clarke
- Rendezvous With Rama


I loved Rendezvous With Rama, but be warned that the sequels are not as good. I personally hate them with fervour.
Dune is a really nice read, despite the intimidating thickness.

dactylopus

Quote from: CaptainD on Thu 13/04/2017 11:18:58
I must get round to reading a novel or two by Kurt Vonnegut Jr - I've read quite a few of his short stories, but never a novel.  (If anyone has a recommendation for a good Vonegut novel let me know!)

My favorite Vonnegut short story is Harrison Bergeron from Welcome to the Monkey House.  Most people will suggest that you start with Slaughterhouse Five.  It's a great read, but I find that Breakfast of Champions makes for a better introduction to his novels.  It's a fantastic story, a great example of his style, and it's so easy to read.  It flies by.  If you like that, move on to either Cat's Cradle, the Sirens of Titan, Galapagos (*), or the aforementioned Slaughterhouse, but I find his sci-fi works to be more fun than his historical works.  I put an asterisk next to Galapagos because it's quite possibly my favorite of his novels.

Quote from: CaesarCub on Thu 13/04/2017 11:43:51
I loved Rendezvous With Rama, but be warned that the sequels are not as good. I personally hate them with fervour.
Dune is a really nice read, despite the intimidating thickness.

I've heard both of those opinions before.  I'm reluctant to check out the Rama sequels, but the intrigue of more to that story has me interested.  And I just need to work up the nerve for Dune, I'm sure I'm going to love it but it's easily 2 or 3 times as thick as any other book I've read recently.

After looking back over my list, I realized it was closer to a year's worth of reading, and it started with A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.  That's a fantastic book.  I finished it just before visiting my brother in New Orleans (where the novel takes place), and it gave me a different angle through which to view that city.

Snarky

I don't think I've ever seen an edition of Dune that is 900 pages, and I'm something of a collector. About 600 is usual.

If you find it daunting, maybe it will help to learn that it is split into three parts, and the first part was originally published by itself as "Dune World". So you could always just start with that, an average-length (for the time) SF novel. For the upcoming movie adaptation, there's been some talk that they might split it into two or three films.

I haven't been reading many books lately. Actually, I think the only ones are two in a John Brunner omnibus: The Shockwave Rider and The Traveller in Black. The first is a dystopian science fiction novel, notable for being one of the first to come up with the idea of hacking (his hackers type in computer programs using phone keypads). It's OK, but feels a bit dated, and inferior to his Stand on Zanzibar. The Traveller in Black is a series of fantasy stories in the Fritz Leiber vein, about a powerful, immortal wizard trying to tame the forces of chaos. Good fun, though I think they work better as individual stories than as "fix-up" novel, since the structure is a bit repetitive.

CaptainD

@dactylopus - thanks for the recommendations.  I read Harrison Bergeron many (well you know, probably about 20) years ago in an anthology and... well, it's definitely one of those stories that you never forget!  (The film was Sean Astin was very good too, though obviously they had to stray considerably from the source material - it had a tragic yet hopeful ending, rather than simply tragic as per the short story.)  I think I like the look of Breakfast of Champions more than Slaughterhouse Five, so I'll try to get that.  Thanks again!
 

dactylopus

Quote from: Snarky on Thu 13/04/2017 20:30:48
I don't think I've ever seen an edition of Dune that is 900 pages, and I'm something of a collector. About 600 is usual.

If you find it daunting, maybe it will help to learn that it is split into three parts, and the first part was originally published by itself as "Dune World". So you could always just start with that, an average-length (for the time) SF novel. For the upcoming movie adaptation, there's been some talk that they might split it into two or three films.

It's this edition.

It's not a full 900 pages, just a bit shy.  It includes appendices, glossaries, maps, and an afterword, all of which takes up the last 100 pages or so.  Still, I'm likely to read them one way or another, so I included them in the page count.  And yes, it is heartening to know that it is split into 3 books, but I'm probably going to read all 3 straight through.  At least the split will provide me with breaks, though.

And, having seen the Lynch film adaptation and the Syfy miniseries, I'm very excited to see this story coming to the big screen again.  I have yet to watch the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, but I intend to.  I'm a huge fan of Moebius and others that worked on the planning for that film version of the story, it looks like it would have made for a fantastic experience.

CaptainD

Got a terrific haul from The Book Farm in Nuneaton yesterday.  Sadly no Vonnegut available, but Timelike Infinity by Stephen Baxter which I've always been curious about, Black Diamonds - a Jules Verne novel I've never heard of (that has also been published under the name The Child of the Cavern), Minority Report by PKD which I've always wanted to read, plus others by Isaac Asimov, Greg Egan and Orson Scott Card.  Plus a couple of standalone Star Wars novels out of curiosity. Now just got to find time to actually read them!
 

Mandle

There's been mention in here of Ender's Game...

Now, I've only seen the film, but the beginning plot goes like:

A child gets chosen to be sent to a special school because of his unique abilities. The school is split into 4 houses which all compete in a sport where you fly around scoring points, but there is an end-game rule that can win the match regardless of the score so far. He is confronted by bullies, but manages to best them. There is a conspiracy amongst the "teachers" that he is unaware of until later...And there are several other points I might have missed but:

Spoiler

Did anyone else ever get the feeling that J.K.Rowling might have read this book at some point?
[close]

milkanannan

I read The Deptford Trilogy, which is considered a Canadian classic by most even though it is not that old (completed between 1970 and 1975). It follows...I guess it's two generations of families that have connection to a spectrum of Canadian society as well as loose connections to the UK and US. A very interesting read and very good in addressing Canadian identity and it's relationship with its colonial ancestors and rebel neighbours.

For anyone that has read it, I find the specific story of Magnus Eisengrim very tragic, despite his success. The description of how a specific moment in youth can define the entire trajectory of a person's life is so raw. Boy and the snowball is another example of how seconds can completely propel a person --with or without their consent-- on a path they cannot get out of.

Very highly recommended.

WHAM

I recently had a nice vacation and some time to read, so I read two books.

The first one was a bit of history:
http://themilitaryreviewer.blogspot.com/2014/12/barbarossa-through-soviet-eyes-first-24.html

A collection of first hand accounts and reports and diary entries that help clarify the first day of operation Barbarossa and why the Germans had such extensive military success in the early stages of the war.

The second book was some classic horror:
https://www.amazon.com/King-Yellow-Robert-William-Chambers-ebook/dp/B00847UYWA

The collection of short stories within were a bit hit and miss to be honest. Only two of them really hit the mark with me, while the rest felt a tad too awkward and outdated to spark much emotion. It was, however, interesting to see these old takes on certain horror tropes, and seeing where the roots of some modern horror element lie.
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