Read a good book lately?

[Kickaha]

I have not noticed the Thomas Covenant Chronicles being posted . I've read the first two and gave up about middle of the third. Anyone finished the series?Skyryder

Yeah I finished them,I thought there was a fair bit of promise in the storyline but I got a bit tired of them by the last book

[Winston001]

I have not noticed the Thomas Covenant Chronicles being posted . I've read the first two and gave up about middle of the third. Anyone finished the series?
Skyryder

Yes. So depressing. I kept thinking something good must happen, finally, surely, to alleviate 6 books of gloom. Nope. Well written though.


Snow Crash is good.


Andy McNab - as soon as I learned the Regiment disowned him, and the other survivors of Bravo Two Zero told a quite different story, I've ignored his books. The Chris Ryan account is worth reading even if the Regiment, following the debrief, also say he exaggerated stuff.


Ranulph Fiennes - always worth reading, including The Feather Men etc (fiction....??). He's written fiction and non-fiction books about his adventures, and about SAS days in Oman. He might be a Sir but he's a hard man. Cut off his frost-bitten fingertips in his garage with a skilsaw.


Must find The Cuckoos Egg, I've heard it is very good.

[Steam]

Snow Crash is good.

Snow Crash isn't just good, it's OUTSTANDING.
"The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" also by Neal Stephenson is also fantastic... "it won the Hugo Award for Best Novel and was short-listed for the Nebula and other awards, placing it among the most-honored works of science fiction in recent history."

But the best book I have read in the past two years is this... Oh wait, maybe it's The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. ANyway, this is what sprang to mind first:

HMS Ulysses takes its place alongside The Caine Mutiny and The Cruel Sea as one of the classic novels of the navy at war. It is the compelling story of Convoy FR77 to Murmansk, where the convoy of 35 ships reached Russia with only 5 remaining afloat -- a voyage that pushed men to the limits of human endurance, crippled by enemy attack and the bitter cold of the Arctic.

[James Deuce]

Snow Crash isn't just good, it's OUTSTANDING.

It's of variable quality and merely good, not outstanding. Too much weed hippy, far too much weed.

Hugo & Nebula awards are for the boring literature arm of Sci-Fi. IMO "Cyberpunk" isn't Sci-Fi, it's speculative fiction based on extrapolated technology current to the author at the time of writing. The fashion aspect of Cyberpunk is repellent to me.

Sci-Fi is about people. Cyberpunk is about the author and his (I've often wondered if some of Doris Lessing's work deserves to be called Cyberpunk, though she'd be the only "chick" to receive that "honour") ego.

[Steam]

It's of variable quality and merely good, not outstanding. Too much weed hippy, far too much weed.

Hugo & Nebula awards are for the boring literature arm of Sci-Fi. IMO "Cyberpunk" isn't Sci-Fi, it's speculative fiction based on extrapolated technology current to the author at the time of writing. The fashion aspect of Cyberpunk is repellent to me.

I agree with your characterisations, but I like both. I like it all!

[James Deuce]

Fair enough!

[Winston001]

But the best book I have read in the past two years is this... Oh wait, maybe it's The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. ANyway, this is what sprang to mind first:

Oh yes, two excellent books.

More topical than excellent is "Ultimate Risk" by Mark Nicol. Written in 2003 it's about the SAS in Afghanistan and specifically about an action against an Al Quaeda stronghold. Much commentary about bravery under fire including a Kiwi.....then later on discussion about why the VC is never awarded in the Regiment......!!

http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Hist...3&keywords=sas

Yep - Willie Apiata. Helleva coincidence I happened to pick up this book the same time his award was announced. So much for nobody talking about the action he was involved in - officially at least.

[Winston001]

While I remember, a very good book about the SAS is "Eye of the Storm: 25 Years in Action with the SAS" by Peter Ratcliffe. Another hard man. Regimental Sergeant-Major at retirement.

[Skyryder]

Yeah I finished them,I thought there was a fair bit of promise in the storyline but I got a bit tired of them by the last book

Yes I gave the books my best shot hoping the story would improve but it didn't.

I have to say the charecters were amazing. These were what held me so long.

Skyryder

[scumdog]

Im finding the telephone book a hard read as it doesnt have much of a plot.

But look at the number of characters!!

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I can't read...

Well I am a mod and mods can't read... right?

[Skyryder]

I can't read...

Well I am a mod and mods can't read... right?

Off topic. Got to Pointles Drival and miss a turn (Binn ya self for a Day)


Skyryder

[erik]

I used to read books in my teens/early 20's then took a break for a bit (while studying I guess).
Stuff I enjoyed reading way back then (I'm 27 now so not that long ago I guess):

Discworld series.
Enders Game series.
Good Omens
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Harry Potter
Foundation series by Asimov

I recently started reading again, started back into the Harry Potter series where I left off. Then re-read Asimov's Foundation books. Now I've started reading the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold. They were recommended to me ages ago, but I went through a period of not reading novels and only just now thought I'd see what they're like.
I thoroughly recommend them. I started with Shards of Honour then Barrayar and have just finished reading the Young Miles collection (3 small books stuck together).
You get to know the characters (well, the main character) a lot better than say characters in Asimov's Foundation series. In the Vorkosigan books the main character seems to understand the other characters more than other books I've read. The social psychology underlying the characters behaviour seems the most realistic/interesting to me out of anything I've read so far.

I've read one review that complained that Bujold's books didn't have really mind-blowing sci-fi technological stuff or weren't creative enough in that direction. But I'm happy to stick to a sci-fi universe that doesn't push the limits of the imagination (particularly after reading "Man of Two Worlds" by Brian Herbert), it makes it seem more real, easier to believe. The books are about the characters more than the sci-fi.

[James Deuce]

LMB does some top notch fanatsy too - The Curse of Chalion is well worth a read.

If you like hard core Sci-Fi with decent characters, Ken MacLeod's Engines of Light series is both challenging and engaging.

[HenryDorsetCase]

I'm gradually working through Ellmore Leonard and Robert Crais.

In fact just this morning finished "The Watchman" by Robert Crais.

I also have the Kevin Cameron TDC book and Leanings 2 by Peter Egan to read.

mmmm good books.