I really don’t understand all of the hate on it. The first book did take a lot from popular series but by the third book it’s a completely independent series with its own story and world. People only read the first book and judge the whole series based off of a 15 year old who was clearly influenced by popular fantasy media at the time.
The Wheel of Time is 14 books long and some Brandon Sanderson fans read it because Sanderson wrote the last three books. But that means reading 11 books to get to the last three, so is it worth it?
I say it is. I’ve read the series four times. But I do think some warnings are in order.
First, the first book in the series, The Eye of the World, was published in 1990 when every publisher wanted the next The Lord of the Rings. So author Robert Jordan made it deliberately Tolkienesque. Yet it takes a sharp turn in book 2 and never looks back. And a close reading of tEotW reveals many cracks in the Tolkienesque facade, foreshadowing how it will fall apart in book 2 and the rest of the series.
Second, WoT has an ensemble of main characters. We meet many but not all of them in the first book. They go through a lot of changes over 14 books. The character arcs are wild. Characters you dislike at first become fan favorites, and characters you like at first may become less likable. So if …
I absolutely loved it. It did all the things I love a book to do. Couldn’t put it down.
It was like a ray of sunshine after multiple books previously had either left me feeling vaguely unsatisfied, or just straight up didn’t finish.
But Sabriel hit the spot exactly.
Edit… Thank you for all the feedback. I was not expecting this level of participation and man it’s awesome.
Does anyone know how to scrub comments for mentions of authors/books? I would love to get a table together and share with the community.
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite classics.
I read this book in one of my high school English classes. I didn’t really get sucked into it in class, but a while after that I got my own copy because I decided to give it a second try, and I fell in love with it after that.
To me, this book is a reminder that there are a lot of things in life we take for granted, and that there are things that are worth striving for.
I understand Ray Bradbury’s reasons for writing this book. A lot of people don’t really have interest in things like reading books with how much technology can pander to short attention spans.
I was always fascinated by the part where Clarisse causes Montag to realize he isn’t happy with his life, because I really can’t imagine what it would be like to believe you’ve been happy for so long and then realize the whole time you’ve just been subconsciously lying to yourself to avoid the reality of it all.
The part where one of …
I just had to come here to rave about this book, I went into it knowing that “the film Martian was interesting, hey, the author of the Martian book has another book”. As I’m generally more into fantasy I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but oh boy. (also, ‼️spoilers ahead‼️)
First of all, I liked how we kept jumping from what’s happening right now and Grace slowly getting his memory back, we were always getting the right amount of information, I never felt too impatient as it happens with some books, where you keep getting more and more questions but not enough answers as you keep reading. Even the science was explained in such a nice, simple way, I never thought I’d have fun reading about all the experiments. And ROCKY AND GRACE 😭😭😭 I loved their friendship so much. So much unexpected fluff, all the “jazz hands” and all the “yes yes yes!” and I could not stop laughing at all the fistbump variations - “fist me!” ⚰️😂 …
First of all I am not a native English speaker, but this book was really easy to read for me in English which was great. I absolutely adored the protagonist, the whole concept of a book being written and thus society being viewed out of the perspective of a little child. How Scout understands what’s going on around her and how she reflects that is so wholesome and profound at the same time and sheds such a different light on people’s actions and words that it made me question a lot of things myself which I think is quite important in a good book. Also the many simple truths that were displayed in there which sometimes are made overly complicated in society really touched me. All in all it was incredible to read, language and content wise, just wanted to say that :)
I was a long time paper back guy, but with work, marriage, and other responsibilities I just could never find the time to get a good session in. My work is largely solitary and since I’ve been doing it for so long and it’s mostly physical I can usually turn my brain off and let muscle memory do its thing. For whatever reason, it wasn’t until the pandemic when I was truly alone all day that I decided to start downloading audio books.
I went from 2 maybe 3 books a year, to almost 3 or 4 books month, sometimes more if they’re short. All of the Game of Thrones, World War z, Andy Weir, the old Halo books, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett. I can feel the difference it’s made in my thinking and well of knowledge. Total game changer. I used to be the “you didn’t read it if you only listened to it” kind of guy.
Fuck that, audio books are a life saver.
I recently finished The Martian, and I was outlining for a review of the book when I started looking more into Andy Weir himself. The Martian was such a technical book full of hard science that I figured any interview with Weir would likely be interesting.
I went down the YouTube rabbit hole & stumbled across a Google talk he gave back in 2014 prior to the movie’s release. The book was already a big hit at the time he gave the talk.
During Q&A, someone from the crowd asked Weir if he preferred physical or digital books. Weir’s answer blew my mind.
He said digital books had made his career. The Martian was originally released as a serial novel on his website (in the vein of Green Mile by Stephen King). He’d write and then release chapters periodically for free.
His readers were enjoying the book, but at some point they started complaining about having to read the story scrolling through on their PCs. Doesn’t sound fun to me either. They asked Weir to …
I like erotica and I’m not afraid to say it.
I love SF, so SF erotica should be a source of much joy to me.
But there’s a problem. The vast majority of the SF erotica I’ve delved into is terrible. It reads like it was written by a horny teenage boy with no sexual experience and an addiction to energy drinks.
Good SF erotica must exist though. Surely? If anyone knows of any, can they recommend it please?
I’m not after top-quality hard SF (no pun intended). I just want something pulpy but well written, something fun, fast-moving, with lashing of graphic sex. Flash Gordon with fucking would be excellent. Does anyone know if that exists?
Thank you.
This is a spoiler review of Hyperion.
I recently finished Hyperion and want to discuss it. Now for reference, I haven’t read that much sci-fi in my life. I’ve read some classic dystopias, Ted Chiang and Recursion by Blake Crouch. I loved Hyperion. I think it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year and a new favorite.
What I liked: I like all of the different tales and how each has its unique charm.
The Priest’s Tale alone made the book a favorite for me. I loved the diary aspect of it. It felt more personal. It was a religious/adventure science fiction story, and despite the fact I’m not a religious person, it hit me harder than I thought. I found the Bikura one of the most unique civilizations I’ve come across in fiction. If there are sci-fi books like this, please let me know. Then, the story takes a terrifying horror turn. There is a passage from this tale that resonated with me.
“I realize now that what I was trying to do with …
Like the title says, which speculative fiction books or audiobooks are good enough for a second reading/listen in your opinion?
Absolutely loved this book, kicking myself for not having read it years ago.
I loved the zones concept and the impact on various technology and societal development. I REALLY loved the aliens, the Tines especially but also the Skroderiders. And I love the concept of transcendant powers. But I really just didn’t care all that much about Pham and his backstory.
I know the 3rd book returns to the Tine’s world, so I’m looking forward to that, but knowing the second book is a Pham prequel has me disinterested. However I see a lot of people praise it highly, is going to give me what I want from the series based on the above though? Adjust my expectations and try it more stand-alone? Or just skip to the sequel?
Edit: I’m getting the feeling this might be like Ender’s Game & Speaker for the Dead, definitely connected but the stories and themes taking very different directions. And considering I like Speaker more, I think I’ve got to give this the same chance.
After a long fantasy binge, I’m feeling the needle turn towards sci-fi again. Looking for a specific type of recommendation but don’t know quite where to start!
I loved the Expanse, and lately been sinking way too many hours into Terra Invicta. I’d really love to find a series/novel to dive into that is:
1) Roughly solar system scale – interstellar travel that is reasonably grounded is fine though. People arriving to a new solar system in a generation ship is fine for instance, if there’s no magiteck.
2) Technology that is relatively modern or near future – if people are worrying about delta V, transfer orbits, climate change and what not then things are good.
3) Does not have to be our own solar system/species! It’d be neat to find a series about a developing civilization around our tech level, that happens to live on a gas giant moon for instance. Just would like to keep things fairly interplanetary scale.
4) Modern is preferred, though …
” The mystery of a missing translator sets three lives on a collision course that will have a ripple effect across the stars in this powerful new novel by award-winning author Ann Leckie.
Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn’t “optimal behavior”—it’s the type of behavior that results in elimination.
But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with that of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots—or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.
As …