Read a good book lately?

[HenryDorsetCase]

The new William Gibson novel "The Peripheral" is being released this month.

You should, like, preorder it.

http://www.bookdepository.com/Periph.../9780399158445

you can read the first instalment here:

http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/bo...al_excerpt.asp

Only one of the best writers currently writing in the English, and the best "science fiction" author pretty much ever.

You're welcome.

[george formby]

Only one of the best writers currently writing in the English, and the best "science fiction" author pretty much ever.

You're welcome.

You read much Iain Banks sci fi? If so how does he (Gibson) compare? For some reason Banks really engaged me but most other sci fi ends up back on the shelf.

[Drew]

Currently reading 'And the mountains echoed', by Khaled Hosseini.

A fictional story, that gives quite an insight to Afghanistan. The wars are of course in it, but that ain't what it's about.

[HenryDorsetCase]

You read much Iain Banks sci fi? If so how does he (Gibson) compare? For some reason Banks really engaged me but most other sci fi ends up back on the shelf.

As it happens, yes: I have read a lot of the Culture novels over the years and in fact have read and enjoyed The Hydrogen Sonata this year.

I dont think you can compare Gibson and Banks as authors, or label one as "better" than the other. I can give you some indications as to why I much prefer Gibson's work to Banks. And a reading list (its short: Everything.)

So, the focus of Gibson's work is neatly encapsulated in the phrase "High Tech, Low Life" (you can get the t shirt(s) here: http://www.memetictees.com/designs.html ). Gibson kind of created the so-called "cyberpunk" genre. Basically the idea is that of the people of the margins of a futuristic, but still very recognisable near-future using whatever they can to get whatever they need. In this world (which is of course OUR world, mostly) there are a group of people whose jobs (if you like) are to be thieves (Neuromancer/Sprawl Trilogy) or messengers (Bridge trilogy) or work security or whatever. The commentary (and that is what science fiction is about) is about marginalised people and the impact of technology on people's lives. It is very broadly a dystopian near-future.

I am simplifying that a lot: in particular you could make an argument that, for example, the Blue Ant trilogy isnt really about that stuff its more about corporate culture and people opting out. If you read them we should totally have that discussion.


Bank's universe of the Culture is that of a galactic civilisation which is entirely post-scarcity and has aliens and AI's and all those trappings. He takes a long time to tell a story and there are a lot of characters and its all good. It is a (pretty much) utopian far future.

Why I prefer Gibson's world is that it is dirtier, and somehow more real. His characters are fighting and fucking and hustling and generally just getting by, or getting even. I have a lot more in common with them than I do with the people in the Culture who I am sure have concerns like we all do (like that dude in the Hydrogen Sonata that was boinking that chick that was also boinking the president or something) but they are at a far remove from anything I can imagine.

So the TL;DR is: Gibson: gritty, real high tech low life, Banks high tech high life.

Pay your money and take your pick. Gibson has only published like ten books though all benefit from a second and third reading. the Blue Ant ones in particular which I didnt really like at first but now I really do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._Gibson#Novels

Here is a bit of trivia: Gibson invented the term "cyberspace" as we understand it now: in NEUROMANCER.

Neuromancer is my favourite book by the way. Its, um, hero is Henry Dorsett Case. I am very biased.

[HenryDorsetCase]

OLD MAN'S WAR by John Scalzi

I read and enjoyed REDSHIRTS earlier this year and saw this and picked it up. Quite good I thought. Ripping yarn/epic adventure/space battle military science fiction. So obvious debts to in particular Heinlein (without a lot of the jingo-ism and misogyny).

I liked it.

As an aside, it was the first e-book I ever bought. I paid $29 for a paperback last week and I am like WTF? This was $8 or something. Happy with that and received value for money. Will trade again.

About to start ANCILLIARY JUSTICE which won all the prizes (Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Campbell) last year.

[BuzzardNZ]

OLD MAN'S WAR by John Scalzi

Yeah, I've read that too, not a bad SF novel which had a few unique ideas.

Was reading the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Asher "Polity" series ( thanks to Bogan's recommendation ) which is the kind of Sci-Fi I like. Too bad that bloody Wellington Library is missing number 4 in the series of 7

[HenryDorsetCase]

Yeah, I've read that too, not a bad SF novel which had a few unique ideas.

Was reading the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Asher "Polity" series ( thanks to Bogan's recommendation ) which is the kind of Sci-Fi I like. Too bad that bloody Wellington Library is missing number 4 in the series of 7

bookdepository.co.uk or ebook. cheap as chips au!

[bogan]

Had similar issues with Weber's Honor Harrington series, bought the first one that was missing in paperback, then got a kindle and bought the other 4 or 5 that were missing, so it has already paid itself off. Really nice to use too.

Homegrown recommendation Steve Wheeler's Fury of Aces series, a somewhat engineering oriented sci-fi, really neat concepts in it.

[Drew]

Currently reading 'And the mountains echoed', by Khaled Hosseini.

A fictional story, that gives quite an insight to Afghanistan. The wars are of course in it, but that ain't what it's about.

I can't decide if I liked the book or not. It's really sad in places, but cleverly ties things together sometimes very subtly.

[Anthony Wright]

If you havn't read any of his books I highly
recommend them as he draws you into each story and his books are easy to read with each character he paints a picture with words that really gets your imagination fired up. Currently reading Sycamore Row.

[ellipsis]

...I am reading some Bryce Courtenay stuff at the moment...never read any of his until the neighbour left one at our place, Four Fires...very humorous and familiar stuff, now my bro has given me another of his, The Potato Factory...not far into it but already thinking that I may read more of this blokes stuff...I had a period recently where I couldn't find a book to carry on with, in the vein of stuff that I was looking for...I even ate through a few Jack Reacher stories recently, until I had to ask myself, why.

[Icemaestro]

I've just finished all of Bryce's books...very similar bits through them all, but I enjoyed them


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[mashman]

About to start this with dictionary at the ready.

[Katman]

At the moment I'm wading through Robert Fisk's 'The Great War for Civilisation'.

It's heavy going (and at over a thousand pages, a lengthy read) but its a real eye-opener into the lengths America has gone to in sticking their nose into other peoples business that shouldn't concern them.

[george formby]

At the moment I'm wading through Robert Fisk's 'The Great War for Civilisation'.

It's heavy going (and at over a thousand pages, a lengthy read) but its a real eye-opener into the lengths America has gone to in sticking their nose into other peoples business that shouldn't concern them.

I read that a few years ago. Actually got pulled aside at Heathrow & questioned as to why I was reading it. In hindsight it's a bit big for travel reading.
I keeping getting echoes from the book when I watch whats happening in the world at the moment. Particularly the quote given when the Treaty of Versaille was signed. "If it takes a hundred years we will restore the Caliphate".
And recently the chem weapons dumps in Iraq, American tech, European hardware, American assembled factories..
Either Robert Fisk has a crystal ball or history repeats more often than we realise.

Time to revisit methinks.