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It's not exactly new - it's 17 years old (first published 1990). :) But yeah, it's very good. I own a copy.

Caveat

Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your own home.

:laugh:

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  • 7 months later...
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crap! I was waiting for the series to actually get finished (although he probably would have died before that happened even if he lived another 30 years!)

 

Maybe some "from the estate" will end the books, or they'll select an author to do the honors, like with the (disappointing) Foundation books.

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There's a pretty good wikipedia (FWIW) summation here of the situation on the book and series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_memory_of_light

 

Basically,

-He intented this book (12) to conclude the series

-It sounds like it was going to be very long

-He took a ton of notes so in case he died, someone could finish it for him, properly

-It's now up to Harriet (wife) and the president of Tor books what happens next

 

I personally of course hope for conclusion, but I really don't think it will feel the same, even if the co-author imitates his style perfectly. Maybe if they can assure the notes are followed to the letter.

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  • 7 months later...

I recently read Vernor Vinge's Rainbows End.

 

It's a science fiction tale, set in the near future. Its setting is primarily in the area of San Diego. People wear internet-wired clothing and contact lenses, allowing them to SMS with their thoughts and see messages in front of their eyes...and to also see programmed overlays on reality. Cameras are everywhere, so privacy is hard to come by, for the most part, out in public. The Internet is woven into people's lives, and a good part of how people think and live is based upon information analysis services that they can provide, or use.

 

Despite these changes in the fabric of society, people still think and function "normally", which is a sign of good characterization on the part of the author. However, for governments, the information free-for-all means they are running a pitched battle against folks getting their hands on WMD...which they do in part based upon advanced information analysis services. One has the sense that the War on Terror is in full swing...and that it's a matter of time before something slips.

 

Into this environment awakens a world-renowned poet, asleep for many years with Alzheimer's. He has to make piece with the changes in the world, in his family (he's been out of it for a long time), and in himself. And, in the middle of all this, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy which could affect world politics (though he doesn't know it)...pulled in with the promise of the return of something he treasures greatly, and has lost.

 

Though perhaps not as awe-inspiring as A Fire Upon The Deep, Vinge has created a glimpse of a world not far from where we are today...and it leaves us thinking a lot of questions about which way our society is heading. The characters all come across as believable, and the plot is self-consistent and realistic. So, for me, I found it enjoyable, and read it cover-to-cover in one go, on a flight from Seoul to Vancouver.

Loose BOWELS are the first sign of THE CHOLERA MORBUS!
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I just finished Dune and I am planning on getting Dune Messiah.

Too late to save us but try to understand

The seas were empty -- there was hunger in the land

We let the madmen write the golden rules

We were just Children of the Moon

We're lost in the middle of a hopeless world

Children, Children of the Moon watch the world go by

Children, Children of the Moon are hiding from the Sun and the Sky

 

© The Alan Parsons Project - Children of the Moon

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I read the Dune series when I was relatively young. I don't remember much about it, except that it was... weird. :wacko: I think the later books in particular implanted some rather warped ideas onto my impressionable mind. I should probably read it again just so I can get a more rational perspective on it.

 

Rainbow's End sounds awesome, Vadrosaul, thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely check that out... looks like my local public library has it too, excellent. (Along with Rainbow's End by Eileen Ramsay, which was published in the same year and is about something completely different. :laugh:) It sounds in a similar interest group to Cryptonomicon, which I recently read, and is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.

 

I needed something light to distract me, so right now I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

My games | Public Service Announcement: TDM is not set in the Thief universe. The city in which it takes place is not the City from Thief. The player character is not called Garrett. Any person who contradicts these facts will be subjected to disapproving stares.
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I loved Fire Upon the Deep! A Deepness in the Sky was less cool but still very good.

 

I'm currently finishing up the Earthsea series (halfway through the last one). She's such a good story teller, I just enjoy each page :)

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I'm currently finishing up the Earthsea series (halfway through the last one). She's such a good story teller, I just enjoy each page :)

Have you read her early scifi 'Left Hand of Darkness'? I was thinking of getting that, and I've herd good things about Le Guin's style in the genre.

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Based on this thread, I picked up A Wizard of Earthsea and A Fire Upon the Deep yesterday. I got a taste of each this morning; chapter one of the former which I enjoyed, and see hope in, and the prologue of the latter (which I'm finding a very dense, slow, complex read), which left me as freakin' intrigued as I believe possible. I'm quite excited about both; thanks for the tips!

 

Prior, I was determined to plow through Wheel of Time this second time back-to-back (I went to book 9 before, and this second pass is in anticipation of the finale in a couple of years; I'm on book 4 now), but I think maybe I'll risk opening my eyes to other things between long stops at the WoT books. After Fire and the Earthsea series (if it holds up; I think it will), I may mix in Song of Fire and Ice if that appeals to me; I have no idea what it's even about.

 

Quite a concept, this trying of different things. Who knew? :blink:

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@I may mix in Song of Fire and Ice if that appeals to me; I have no idea what it's even about.

 

Read back through the thread and you'll find out.

Mind you, I always think it's best until these book series are finished before reading them. The 5th book in this series was meant to have been released last year, and now it's looking more like the end of this year, plus another wait for a few years for the 6th and another few years for the 7th.

Annoying, because by that time you're not really into the story any more and have to go back and read it all again, and his books are MASSIVE with lots of characters, the first book alone is longer than LotR trilogy.

Civillisation will not attain perfection until the last stone, from the last church, falls on the last priest.

- Emil Zola

 

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The 5th book in this series was meant to have been released last year

Yeah what was with that? In a Feast for Crows Martin says that he had already written one giant novel that he decided to split in two; divulging the stories of the supporting characters as opposed to the main ones, which he was realeasing in a book later. Yet for a book that's supposed to already be written he's sure taking his sweet time... <_<

 

If anyone hasn't read the series though you definitely should, they're really gritty and intense, with really well developed dialogue and plot. Martin has this ability (at least with me) to make me really hate some of the characters and empathize with others, which I often don't find myself doing with alot of books.

Edited by SplaTtzZ
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  • 10 years later...

Did you just necro a ten years old thread. Let sleeping threads lie. :D

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I'm not opposed to the revival, could use some recommendations. I haven't been reading anything lately because the epaper screen on my phone died but I'm getting that fixed soon. And I can feel my brain smoothing over from reading too much manga in the evenings

 

Most recently I was reading everything I could from Stanislaw Lem. Among my favorites are Fiasco, Return from the Stars, Solaris, and His Master's Voice. Also his short story collections Tales of Pirx the Pilot and More Tales of Pirx the Pilot. If anyone knows of other works that are similar to Lem's please let me know because I'm having trouble finding anything. Doesn't have to be scifi.

 

Not too long ago I read the first two books of the Gormenghast series. Absolutely loved them--Mervyn Peake has a way with imagery that I haven't encountered elsewhere. However I must admit that I feel he lost enthusiasm for the universe he created at the end of the second book. It felt rushed and the third book felt uninspired--I couldn't bring myself to read very much of it. Still, the first two books are incredible.

 

When the phone's screen is fixed, I'll probably try reading the Quincunx again

Edited by woah
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Wow, well since this thread as been brought back from a very old grave, I guess I'll share mine. I'm currently reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Hilarious book that reminds me a bit of the movie Dogma. Definitely a great read, especially if you like those two authors.

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