What are you currently reading?

GizzWizzKing said:
I got 5 minutes in and saw through all the hype. That was maybe the fastest I ever ejected from a series that people have been hyping.
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Yeah. It's not good.

I mean...look. It has redeeming qualities. It's got some fun, imaginitive sci-fi elements.

But it's missing a crucial factor of what makes sci-fi interesting: characters that are plopped into that environment.

There are no characters. There are only archetypes and a pre-determined end point that the characters are all careening towards with only the thinnest of motivations.

The group that's helping the trisolarans (eh...pretty fucking unimaginative name there) are portrayed as religious fanatics and misanthropes from elite sectors of society. Which...nah. Nuh-uh. Nope. Not the way that would work.

The group that is fighting against the aliens is equally morally bankrupt and corrupt.

Theres a plot point where self-directed mind control is portrayed as an expression of the individual's free will. The specific brand of mind control? Well, belief that humans will triumph in the war against the trisolarans, obviously! No examination if how constant stress from impending doom could induce someone to make that choice. No thought to how a person with such a mindset might believe that since victory is a foregone conclusion that they don't need to actually help contribute to the effort. There's so much potential there for interesting examinations of philosophy, and it's all just swept aside as a universal good because people freely choose it for themselves and "we need soldiers that act like how soldiers used to act, not like these kids these days grumble grumble"

I can forgive some of the stilted dialogue and writing as it's a translated book. I can forgive some voids in the plot if it's working towards a clever and thought provoking conclusion. I was *fine* with the first book. There's some parts that Checkov would definitely have issues with. The characters were forgettable and weakly written. But it was *fine* for a quick read.

The second is so...just...I don't know how to describe it. It reads like state propoganda. The politics are contradictory throughout: praising the ideals of community and working collectively towards a goal but disregarding to borderline denegrating anybody who isn't part of the "elite" class. I find myself thinking...fuck me dude...I appreciate some of what's in here, but this guy would NOT be cool to hang with. Don't even get me started again with the way he writes about women like they're fucking porcelain dolls that need to be protected and sheltered and they're so weak and innocent and infantile.

I get the impression that he would have a goddamn break down if a woman farted in front of him. Seriously.

Goddamn. Out of recent "hard" sci-fi: give this one a skip. The Expanse is such a better series.
 
I liked how he applied some ideas that are kind of abstract in physics and space exploration and made them tangible. Like how a group living in a two dimensional space would (or wouldn't) interact with others living in a three dimensional space. Or the dark forest - I get why you wouldn't want to announce your presence to the rest of the universe if there's potentially someone out there who just wants to ruin your shit. I can't remember reading another book that really handles that scenario though. Science fiction is usually about human conquest and exploration and even the cautionary tales are still pretty heavy on human triumph. But yeah, the characters are bad. Also the series has a really shit ending. I remember disliking the third book the most.

The Expanse was significantly better though. I finished the series a few weeks ago. The characters had consistent, rational motivation. The pacing was great. Nothing seems to happen because the author was just looking for a way to wrap up a storyline.
 
I had to put away the dark forest. I couldn't take it anymore. Begone!

The James S.A. Corey bros are in the middle of a different series right now that I can heartily recommend: The Captive's War. There's a bit of scene-setting at the beginning that is kinda dense and makes grasping the initial dynamics of the multiple characters and the world they're set in a little difficult. The swarm kinda takes ya by surprise. Like, "the fuck is this thing?!"

But...I do appreciate how they don't hold your fucking hand. It did take me about 3 read-throughs to put the pieces together.

It's full of little things that you might not notice until the second pass. The focus of the Carryx on appendages, the ancient enemy's true nature, the insinuation of the main character's perhaps less than heroic future.

Its a good start. I'm dying for the next book. But if you want something that's *truly* fantastic: the first novella in the series, "Livesuit", is a piece of horror that stuck with me for days. Granted: it reveals a bit about the universe that the series is set in, so maybe read the first book first.

Heartily recommend.
 
Dutch book. Je leven in één herinnering.

"Your live in one memory". Reading it for my work. Very inspiring. What if after you die, you can take one memory, just one and the rest of your memories will disappear,.will.be erased. What memory would you choose. The writer did research and collected more then 200 stories, memories. It is a lovely book.
 
I just finished listening to the Mike Campbell autobiography on Audible. He reads it himself which added to the experience. Highly entertaining listen with lots of cool stories. I love the autobiographies where the artist actually reads it. I listened to the Alex Van Halen and Geezer Butler autobiographies too. Also highly recommended. As far as actual, physical reading of books. I just finished Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Cool sci-fi book that reminded me a little of HP lovecraft. Also just finished Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Super cool sci-fi book about spiders. Now I am reading the sequel to Annhilation called Authority. Also reading Earth Abides by George Stewart. Next audiobook listen is Eminent Hipsters by Donald Fagen. Anybody reading anything good? any recommendations?
 
Not a book, and rather old news, but...

www.popularmechanics.com

This Body Was Found Preserved on a Block of Ice in a Colorado Shed. It Had Been There for 30 Years.

In the quest for immortality, no approach is too bizarre to try—not even DIY cryonics.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

It starts with how an old dude was found, frozen for 30 years in a shed, via some DIY cryonics experiments of his grandson. And then halfway through there's this caption below a picture sayin' "A coffin race at the Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, Colorado..." ... Which made me think waaay too much of the "snowed under" thread. So yeah, I drop it off here instead for someone else to shake his head at as well. I'm insensitive, but not that extend.

This kinda changes the picture of Colorado being that sane purple state I pictured it as. 😅
 
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tegendemuur said:
Not a book, and rather old news, but...

www.popularmechanics.com

This Body Was Found Preserved on a Block of Ice in a Colorado Shed. It Had Been There for 30 Years.

In the quest for immortality, no approach is too bizarre to try—not even DIY cryonics.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

It starts with how an old dude was found, frozen for 30 years in a shed, via some DIY cryonics experiments of his grandson. And then halfway through there's this caption below a picture sayin' "A coffin race at the Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, Colorado..." ... Which made me think waaay too much of the "snowed under" thread. So yeah, I drop it off here instead for someone else to shake his head at as well. I'm insensitive, but not that extend.

This kinda changes the picture of Colorado being that sane purple state I pictured it as. 😅
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Frozen Dead Guy Days!

I grew up in Nederland and there are some interesting mountain folk up there. It’s about a 20–30 minute drive from Boulder up the canyon.

Just down the road from us was the legendary Caribou Ranch Studio, an incredible place where artists like Elton John, Chicago, Joe Walsh, and Stevie Wonder recorded.

There’s a great story from the ’70s. After a party at Caribou, some people needed to get back to Boulder but no one was in any shape to drive except Stevie. So he drove the group down the winding mountain road with less than sober passengers guiding him.

Also Elton John tells a story about Stevie driving a snow mobile around the property by himself. Elton joked about having another rival gone.
 
drgonzo1969 said:
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer.
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I read that one a bit ago. I liked it as a standalone but wasn't motivated to keep going with more.

Currently reading A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. and City of Thieves by David Benioff. Both are excellent.

Canticle is a post nuclear war novel about a monk/group of monks dedicated to preserving knowledge but it has been so long since the knowledge was used that they have no understanding of what any of it is.

City of Thieves is about 2 Russians during the siege of Leningrad who are sent on a quest as an alternative to being put to death. David Benioff was one of the main writers and producers for Game of Thrones. Easy to read and a good story.
 
GizzWizzKing said:
I read that one a bit ago. I liked it as a standalone but wasn't motivated to keep going with more.

Currently reading A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. and City of Thieves by David Benioff. Both are excellent.

Canticle is a post nuclear war novel about a monk/group of monks dedicated to preserving knowledge but it has been so long since the knowledge was used that they have no understanding of what any of it is.

City of Thieves is about 2 Russians during the siege of Leningrad who are sent on a quest as an alternative to being put to death. David Benioff was one of the main writers and producers for Game of Thrones. Easy to read and a good story.
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I thoroughly enjoyed Canticle for Liebovitz. There is a really good radio drama of it floating around on YouTube. The radio dramatization originally aired on NPR in 80s/90s I think.
 
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