What are you reading?

Aazealh said:
It keeps getting better too. Just wait until you read 5, 6 and 7! :void:

Oh man how could i forget that series? Yeah the books definitely get more complex (in a good way) and epic as they go. And the ending is actually very good I thought.
 

Stream

Inousha
Generally speaking, I'm a science-fiction / fantasy fan;

now I'm reading The Last Defender of Camelot by Roger Zelazny (stories collection)

and Alan Moore's The Ballad of Halo Jones.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
I'm wrapping up Raymond E. Feist's Conclave of Shadows Saga with "Exile's Return." Good stuff. :void:
 

SaiyajinNoOuji

I'm still better than you
On a more serious note. I was watching TV in one of the classrooms in my work and saw that a book called "Fiasco: The adventures of the US military" which is about the war in Iraq and what not.

Being a for military member and one who wasn't/isn't very involved in anything political, this booked looked interesting and thought that I would pick it up eventually.

Has anyone picked it up or fingered through it? Comments? Is it worth picking up?
 
Has anyone read the Lord of the Ring books? They are very good, there are also many other books made by J R R Tolkien that you guys should check out. I think his books caused a revolution in fantasy fiction.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
general zig said:
Has anyone read the Lord of the Ring books?

Indeed I have and I enjoyed 'em quite a bit.  I may get around to reading more of his stuff after a few other series I'm planning on reading after I'm all caught up with Feist's Midkemia novels.

EDITED: For sleepy posting :SK:
 

Demented Swordsman

so I pranked him.. to death with a tire iron!
wonderland reject said:
I'm enjoying reading the Dune series presently in the preparation for Hunters of Dune, but I fear it will a let down.
I can never get tired of reading Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune.

I can't just read one, I, at the very least, have to read those three in succession every year or so.
 

Demented Swordsman

so I pranked him.. to death with a tire iron!
I don't know about the prequels myself. I understand they're taken from Frank Herbert's notes, but his books went beyond just his ideas. The way he told a story and inter-connected relationships through different mediums, be it ideals, emotions, likeness, or fate- it all came out as one complete strong, and satisfying effort. Brian and Kevin try to mimic this at times, but its just not the same.. at all.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Big time Dune fan here. Never read the non-Frank Herbert books, never will. I'm not interested in other people's take on it, notes or not. If the notes are enough to base books on them, then I'd rather have them published like what was done with the Silmarillion.
 

Demented Swordsman

so I pranked him.. to death with a tire iron!
The strange thing is, the prequel books get respectable reviews from general critics, but hammered by other sci-fi authors and sci-fi mags/publications.

I guess the die-hards don't like people messing with a story that has such a rich history
 
How about the Star Wars books do any of you enjoy them.
My friend is a huge fan of star wars and he said the books explain a lot that was never said in the movies
 

IsolatioN

Last Soldier Standing
general zig said:
Has anyone read the Lord of the Ring books?

The real question is, what true nerd/geek hasn't? The LOTR books were fantastic, the movie was great but not what everyone makes it out to be.

I'm ashamed to say it, but.. I have never read Dune. I hear it's a fantastic series, but I have just never gotten around to reading them. I dunno why.

How about the Star Wars books do any of you enjoy them.
...Which StarWars books? There have been maaaany. Theres the books for each specific movie if thats what your talking about, and then there are series with new characters, mini-series, and those that take place after Episode 6 I believe.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Seriously, the question should be who HASN'T read LotR? I actually re-read through them over the summer and solidified my opinion of "LotR sucks; The Hobbit rules" opinion. I just personally think he was too serious with LotR. It's honestly a chore to read.

I've never given Dune a try, I guess mostly because all I've seen of Kubrick's movie was Patrick Stewart screaming into a megaphone while riding a giant worm XD. And I realize that's an ignorant statement, which is why I'll read the book and see what I've been missing. C. Walken's post sold me on it, bravo dude.

general zig said:
How about the Star Wars books do any of you enjoy them.
My girlfriend has read many of them, and she claims the only ones worth reading for anyone who doesn't literally eat drink and sleep Star Wars are the books written by Timothy Zahn. I've read the first three in his series, and they're definitely a notch above the other shit... But honestly, it's hard to take this kind of sub-genre too seriously. It's really just elaborate fan-fiction with Lucas' stamp of approval (as if he actually follows them).

Right now, I've been trucking through Musashi, but it's pretty slow at the moment.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
Walter said:
Seriously, the question should be who HASN'T read LotR? I actually re-read through them over the summer and solidified my opinion of "LotR sucks; The Hobbit rules" opinion. I just personally think he was too serious with LotR. It's honestly a chore to read.

I haven't read it. I did read hobbit tho. Never could get very far into LotR when I tried (three times, I think). I agree with you on that, Walter.
 
IMHO the main question about LotR is when did you read it, was it at a tender teen, pre-teen age, because if not I doubt you would enjoy it as much. Personally re-read it every chance I get.
As far as The Dune goes it is simply a masterpiece, and as many pointed out, the non Frank Herbert stuff doesn't do it justice.
To keep things on topic, I'm currently on Chomsky and another book called Imprimatur (a sort of historic thriller taking place during the siege of Vienna and incidentally the last large scale outbrake of the "black death")
 
Aazealh said:
Thank you, Aaz, thank you.
My av was nearly offended. :zodd:


Anyway, my girlfriend is pretty much forcing me to read 1984 as soon as I finish The Paradiso, which is the last book of The Divine Comedy, which I'm thinking might be sooner than I'd have expected.
And it's not because I've nearly finished it.
The companion book to my Bob Dylan CD is a more fascinating read than this. :schierke:

Seriously, boooooooooring. *sigh*

I'm not really in to Sci-fi, and I don't recall ever reading a book of that genre.
I'm unsure of this new experience....
 
Denial said:
Hunters of Dune? You're not reading that Kevin J. Anderson crap, are you?
Started reading the "Prelude to Dune" trilogy and in some ways it was good but overall the tediousness of the books won out. Also the first 5 chapters to "Hunters of Dune" are on their blog. I'm personally not impressed http://www.dunenovels.com/dune7blog/dune7blog.html
 
C. Walken said:
The strange thing is, the prequel books get respectable reviews from general critics, but hammered by other sci-fi authors and sci-fi mags/publications.

I guess the die-hards don't like people messing with a story that has such a rich history

Shamefully I must admit I've read the first 3 Kevin J. Anderson books, as I bought the first one and it takes more than just mediocrity to get me to stop a series once I've started it. The prequel books aren't horrible, but the distance they fall from Herbert's work makes you realize they really shouldn't have been made. It was a sad ploy by Brian to cash in with a writer who isn't even well-respected. Anderson is good at churning out books (I think he does like 6+ a year, insane really), but he doesn't really "get" it -- The original books seem to be at least 50% psychological, whereas Anderson reminds me more of the movies -- Instead of letting the psychology and intrigue simmer, he turns it into a spectacle.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Slightly Green said:
Anyway, my girlfriend is pretty much forcing me to read 1984

It's a great book, a definite classic, and it's still as relevant as it was back then.
 
Aazealh said:
It's a great book, a definite classic, and it's still as relevant as it was back then.
That's all I really needed, a little reinforcement from trusted advisers. [i'm pretty easy. :carcus:]
I'll probably start it later today (after I finish the Dylan companion book;) )
 

Demented Swordsman

so I pranked him.. to death with a tire iron!
Denial said:
Shamefully I must admit I've read the first 3 Kevin J. Anderson books, as I bought the first one and it takes more than just mediocrity to get me to stop a series once I've started it. The prequel books aren't horrible, but the distance they fall from Herbert's work makes you realize they really shouldn't have been made. It was a sad ploy by Brian to cash in with a writer who isn't even well-respected. Anderson is good at churning out books (I think he does like 6+ a year, insane really), but he doesn't really "get" it -- The original books seem to be at least 50% psychological, whereas Anderson reminds me more of the movies -- Instead of letting the psychology and intrigue simmer, he turns it into a spectacle.
I've sat down at a few of those gigantic coffee litterature retail places and tried to read a few of these books, and thats exactly whats wrong with the style of writing. I sometimes have to re-read a few pages of Frank's work to get the full scope of the situation, where-as Anderson and Brian's works paints too much of a straight-forward picture. It gives you a stunning visceral representation, but lacks Frank's balanced approach where things teetered between intuition and reason.
 
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