Children of Time was good. Did the audiobook during a trip last summer.

Need to buy the latest Expanse novel.

I’m digging it so far. Reminds me of A Fire Upon the Deep a little.

Good to hear as I’ve had Children of Time in my Audible queue for a while but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Will be my next up.

I always enjoy seeing this thread bumped.

I took Shifty's recommendation and downloaded Alastair Reynolds' House of Suns. I'll report back on it when I'm done.

I've never been able to get into Alistair Reynolds for some reason. I've tried, but something about his writing hasn't resonated with me.

Well shit, tell me that now. Lol

I'll probably que up your Children of Time next. I've had pretty good luck taking recommendations from this thread.

Hope you like it. ;)

I'm a huge Reynolds fan and this is one of my favorites of his. He has a bit of a rep for not finishing novels well but I thought he did great with this one.

I can see that. Some of his novels feel a little cold/dark with few likable characters. The ending of Revelation Space was shit, too. Shame because the first 3/4's are one of my favorite sci fi stories.

House of Suns is a safe bet, though. Some of his stronger writing with a good ending. His characters are a bit more likable, as well.

It's been a few years, my reaction may be different now...

Also, after thinking a bit more about it, the issue may not have been with the writing, but with the narrator. That can happen sometimes with books I listen to rather than read.

Looking back in my library I went through House of Suns and the first four revalation space novels back in 2012. And the same narrator did some other books I had issues with, a couple from Ken Follett and a couple more from Peter F. Hamilton (who along with Reynolds and the late Iain Banks formed the holy trinity of UK space opera...)

I'm a big fan of all three. Have a problem with Hamilton's cinder blocks, though. I enjoyed Night's Dawn but I let out a huge sigh of relief when I was done. I have 200+ books on my goodreads to-read shelf. Get a little antsy spending that much time on one author. Was his Commonwealth Saga any good?

I'm almost halfway through. The pace is picking up nicely. It a pretty good read so far.

Just finished it. I really liked it. Neat ending, too. Took me by surprise.

I realize I bitched about long series in my last post but I’ve decided to jump into Malazan. It’s been awhile since I’ve read some fantasy and I’ve heard great things about it.

It's worth the effort. Eriksen's ability to bend tropes and create dynamic, interesting characters is really first-rate.

You just have to give it time to build up.

I’ve heard it’s difficult but I’ve read a lot of Gene Wolfe recently so I’m used to filling in blanks. I’ve been told things really pick up in books 2 and 3. I’ll make sure to get through them before I start to judge it.

Yes. And then book 4 shifts gears entirely at the start. Weird change. But cool.

If I can offer a suggestion on the Malazan series, check out the following chart. I know it's a bit crazy but even early on I have found it to be helpful and accurate.

I read Gardens of the Moon first, Deadhouse Gates next, and then discovered this flowchart. My recommendation would be to read GotM, then Night of Knives as it gives background on a few characters, and then jump into Deadhouse Gates. I'm into Memories of Ice now after having read a few of the Bauchelain & Korbal Broach short stoies. It's a really interesting way to approach a series and while daunting to look at, reading has been enjoyable so far.

https://forum.malazanempire.com/uplo...1414377387.jpg

Can't believe no one has brought up "Old Mans War" series

Much appreciated. I'll keep that handy. Only a few chapters in but I'm definitely intrigued by Erikson's world.

I started in on it a couple of days ago. Still in the building phase, seems to have potential once I get past the fact that spiders have always creeped me the **** out.

Just finished it. Not bad at all. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

LOL, Yea. It's a pretty good read. Finishes nice. I'd give it 4/5, maybe 4.5/5.

I finished it several days ago. Now that I think about it, right after I finished it I'd say 5/5

For those of you that Audible I’ve really been enjoying expeditionary force series by Craig Alanson. It’s military space stuff a little like old mans war and the narration is as good as it gets. The first seems a bit meh at first until halfway though and things change a lot.

Glad you posted this. Didn't realize Book 5 was out. Pretty good read.

I'm getting to the end; it's been a pretty good read. Author gets a little too obvious with the gender-role preaching and the deconstruction of religion but he tells a good story.

Just finished 'A Gift of Time' by Jerry Merritt.
Surprisingly only 99 cents on Amazon/Kindle
Even though I'm a Doctor Who fan I don't usual do much time travel reading. I'm hoping he'll make this a series. Glad I downloaded a sample then bought it.
Real good read. I'd give it 4.5/5

Starting another read of Seveneves. Still love this book.

That’s been on my short list forever. Love Stephenson. I’ll get to it a year from now when I finish Malazan. Just finished Gardens of the Moon and I think I’m hooked.

It took a loooong time to get to the payout. The back third of that read should have been the majority of the book, imho. Still liked it, just so much technical info.....

Yeah, I just love the way he writes about technical stuff. With Tom Clancy and his endless technical crap, it felt like literally reading a manual to a nuclear submarine. I often skimmed those sections of his books. Stephenson writes that kind of stuff with a fun, poetic style that keeps it interesting, imo.

But yes, I know more about the physics of a zero-G environment than I ever wanted to after the first read through.

Shit, you're hooked from Gardens of the Moon?

You're in for a real treat.

Yeah, I was surprised I liked it that much based off of what I was hearing. ROFL

Everyone was telling me to “tough it out” with GotM.

It's a tough read, I think, in that it bounced so much and is "hard" fantasy, similar to "hard" scifi.

Stephenson's best, imho, was Cryptonomicon with Reamde coming in a close second (didn't think I'd like that one at all). Seveneves was good to very good, but not his best.

I agree with Cryptonomicon. The Diamond Age was one of my favorites too, although it's been a long time since I read it.

I too enjoyed GotM. There are many other series that had tougher books to get through. (I'm looking at you Robert Jordan. :cuss:)

I’m used to the bouncing around. The ending did feel just a little anticlimactic but it’s a ten-part series. Some of the magic/warrens and gods stuff was hard to follow but I found some spoiler free guides that helped along with the appendix.

I'm halfway through Memories of Ice (book 3) and I finally have the Gods and the warrens down pat. I think. I'm pretty sure 'Hood's balls!' is one of them.

Sweet. Next you get to learn about Holds.

Pretty decent discussion group on FB for MBOTF.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2224881237/

Oh, and Steven Erikson is a MUST follow on FB.

Anyone read The Underground Railway, 2017 Arthur C. Clarke award winner as Sci-Fi Book of the Year?

*sigh* Not science fiction at all.

Noticed when it won it sounded like historical fiction.

People will attach “sci fi” to just about anything these days.

Maybe but the A.C. Clarke Award committee isn't just "people", or it didn't used to be. They carry one of the most prestigious names in sci-fi and their short list has been a reliable source of good-to-great sci-fi reading for a very long time.
It saddens me to see they've allowed their good name and standards to be lowered in a ham-handed attempt at social justice engineering.

I haven't read it, but if what I've read about it is true, that being it mixes historical fact with fantastical imagery, similar to something like Gulliver's Travels, then I don't see an issue with awarding it a genre award.

As far as whether it's pure "scifi" goes, fantasy and science fiction have been intertwined for decades now, and the trip to horror isn't very far beyond them. Science fiction, taken by itself, can basically borrow from/fall into any genre, from history to thriller to noir to western to fantasy to post-apocalyptic to far-future, etc.

Really, what difference does it make. It sounds like an amazing book.

Been reading The Witcher series.. pretty disappointed to learn that Yennifer is just as annoying and worthless as in the games, compounded by the fact that Geralt is obsessed with her for some reason when she's just terrible to him the whole time. Also reads like your typical fedora-tipping neckbeard writer with EVERY female wanting to bang Geralt because he's "just a good guy". The actual little story arcs about the quests he goes on are pretty well done and entertaining but anything that involves his romantic life is really bad and tiresome.. and unfortunately there's a ton of that stuff so far (I'm just only wrapping up the second book).

I’m a huge fan of the games but have heard some mixed stuff on the books. Might get around to them eventually.

Just finished Deadhouse Gates. ****ing loved it. The chain of dogs and Mappo/Icarium storylines were great. I’m looking through the goodreads and amazon ratings for the rest of the series and it looks like everything is around 4.5 stars. Is the whole series really this good?

It just keeps getting better.

Coltaine 4 lyfe

I need that as my handle. ROFL

Taking a break from the main series and reading Night of Knives.

Overall yes. Finished the series a year ago and I already want to reread the whole thing again.

There might be few books that are a chore for you to get through depending on what stories you like and he will still introduce a lot of new characters (cough first few 100 pages of book 4 and most of book 5), but by book 6 you see the connections.

I think the payoff is very much worth it.

Night of Knives was enjoyable because it really explained a few things in more detail.

I just finished Memories of Ice. I need a break. That shit was heavy.

Took a reading break when the semester started getting a little hectic. Just finished House of Chains. On to Midnight Tides.

Just finished the third book in the Stormlight Archives only to find out the rest haven’t been written yet. Didn’t check before I started. Rookie mistake.

Ordered Gardens of the Moon after first making sure amazon has all ten of them on the shelf.

Nice! I think you’ll like Erikson. Some of his fans are a little iffy on GotM, though. My understanding is that he wrote it ten years before he started the rest of the series. I loved it, personally, but at least get through Deadhouse Gates before you make a decision on Erikson.

I’m re-reading it now. Easier read with the context of everything. Gives me little nibbles of “wow” now that I recognize some of the subtle references.

I’m kicking around the idea of writing a tabletop game module (or series) based on the world (re-winding to pre-Empire days) and running some friends through it.

It is the best series of it's kind by a large margin.

Sanderson is prolific enough, and still relatively young. Unless you just refuse to read anything unless it is finished, you'll be OK.

I don't know if this has been mentioned but Tad Williams wrote a very enjoyable fantasy book, Tailchaser's Song, that is supposed to become an animated movie soon.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailchaser's_Song

I had to take time off after Memories of Ice. I just started House of Chains. I'm through the Karsa parts and I feel like I'm finding a groove again.

You will grow to love Karsa.

It started a little slow for me but it really picks up. I’ll parrot Duncan and say that you’re gonna love Karsa.

I finished GOTM. Good read, I like the world and character building. It seemed to try to cover a whole lot of ground and didn’t flow real smoothly. I’m guessing the first book is largely expository and the series will settle in.

The Amazon overlords delivered Deadhouse Gates today.

I liked it a lot more on re-read. You’re in for a journey, friend. Enjoy it.

All right, fellow nerds...

I’m going to start writing a tabletop campaign set in the Malazan world. Goal is to build a city-based campaign around Malaz City, pre-Kellanved and Dancer.

I don’t have a regular tabletop game right now but have 2 friends who I can run this for and have them really thrive,
I think.

Questions I’d like input on:

Any suggestion on gaming system? I want to segregate the magic as seen in the real
World so D&D is a bad fit. Debating using GuRPS like Eriksen, but have no experience with it.

Thoughts on what to do re: Kellanved and Dancer? I’m torn between pretending they never made it to Malaz City and running the world as if they did (just doesn’t leave much room in Malaz City for other aspiring Ascendants).

Have you ever played with the Savage Worlds system?

I've used it a few times. Not sure it has the structure to stand up to the complexity of the Malazan world.

Finished Dead House Gates now halfway through Memories of Ice. Erikson’s world building is strong. There is a very unique vibe to it.

The multiple story lines are engaging though he has so many going on I find myself having to think about it when it switches from one group of characters to the next. Same with the characters themselves. It’s a little like GRRM in that way except Martin’s world and stories are easier to track.

Also like Martin there are times when Erickson delves so deeply into details and character’s internal ruminations that I start to mentally glaze over.

Certainly an enjoyable read with many characters I’m coming to like. A vibrant tapestry of the wild, weird, and wonderful.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Only Thread
 

One of his stated goals with the series was to write something that would stand up on re-reads. Think that’s why the style is so dense.

I’m still working through a re-read. Just reached the end of Reapers Gale. Toll the Hounds is next... Eriksen’s states keystone for the series.

Side note: Memories of Ice is going to break your heart.

That makes sense, definitely a candidate for re-reads.

Side note: I'd rather talk about it after I read it than hear about it before.

I've read them all 3 times except for the last one, and have caught something I missed the first time in each reread. I LOVE how seemingly throw away moments in a book can be picked up in another book and expand into what would be another authors entire world.

Sorry about that.

All the books break your heart a bit, I think. He’s good at weaving in those brutally real moments.

It’s all good.:thumb: I’ll catch you after I finish this one.

May you never meet a Woman of the Dead Seed.

Finished Midnight Tides, and I'm about 100 pages into The Bonehunters. Midnight Tides was one of my favorites so far. At first I thought it was taking place far in the past, but everything I've seen says it is shortly before GotM.

The Bonehunters is stellar. One of my favorites.

I just dipped into Toll the Hounds again. So good. Possibly my favorite book in the series.

We might have to start a spoilers thread once Indian and vailpass are done with the main series and talk through some stuff.

I’m starting my Malazan campaign next Friday, using GURPS (which I really like). I’m basically dialing things back to before the ascension of Kellanved and Dancer and hitting the restart button for my players.

They’re both playing magic users (a mage of shadow and a priest of d’rek), so I’ll be running a few NPCs they can “bring into the famil” if they want.



They’ll have the opportunity to follow a similar path to empire as Kellanved and Dancer ... or do a divergent thing.

I’m halfway through Reaper’s Gale. Loving it so far. I dig the Lether/Edur storylines. I agree with the above about Midnight Tides. My dad talked me into reading Shōgun so I’m taking a break but I’ll be back to it soon.

I've used GURPS several times and really like its flexibility. Let us know how the campaign goes.

I think it’s going to go well. It’s me and two other guys who really just want to play out a story.

We pared down our group considerably. Dumped the old school guy who just wanted to “win” as the DM and dumped the two immature dudes who just wanted to Terry Pratchett the shit out of things.

I’d appreciate any GURPS dm tips, though. Here or in Pm.

this is the first D&D book that i have looked forward to in 30 years

https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Drag.../dp/0399580948

Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History

That book looks pretty cool.