Sci-Fi/Fantasy - Scifi/Fantasy Books Part 2 - Page 11

dukesmom · 09-03-2004, 01:52 PM

Raonaild - I've read books 1, 2, 3 & 5 of the Stargate books that follow the original movie. I think they are out of print, but I've found some of them new at bookstores. Book 4 is the hardest to find. I've bid for it a couple of times on ebay but always lose.

**Cryostar** · 09-03-2004, 02:50 PM

Boggle the Stargate series of books becoming collectors items.

I fell away from Dragonlance for a long while too, then the War of Souls trilogy came out. Major upheval in the way Krynn is run. Actually, if you read with the Fifth age, the death of magic, etc and the coming of the dragon lords, you'll love it. I did at least.

For those that are intrested, www.aintitcoolnews.com has a review of Stephen King's Dark Towers VII. It's relatively spoiler free and has some great artwork to go with it. Just thought you'd like to know.

dukesmom · 09-11-2004, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cryostar
For those that are intrested, www.aintitcoolnews.com has a review of Stephen King's Dark Towers VII. It's relatively spoiler free and has some great artwork to go with it. Just thought you'd like to know.

VII?!?! But, I've only got the first 4? Can I be any more behind?

Apparently, yes, since after finishing the 1957 Silverberg novel I started one written in 1975. It seems to be another book I will be able to finish without forcing myself. I hate to not finish something, but sometimes Silverberg's are too "out there" for me.

As for Dragonlance, I keep eyeing them and one of these days I'll hunt down the earliest in the series (it is a series, right?) and give it a try.

**Cryostar** · 09-11-2004, 05:41 PM

Yeah, Mr. King's been shelling out the Dark Towers series.

I just picked up Amber to Ashes, the first in a trilogy by Margaret Weis dealing with some of the after effects of the main antagonist of the War of Souls. For those looking to rehook with Dragonlance, starting with the fifth age would be a good idea. A lot of things have changed.

dukesmom · 09-26-2004, 11:35 PM

I finished The Stochastic Man by Robert Silverberg the other day. It was an interesting take on seeing the future and what to do with that knowledge. Probably the weirdest thing about the book was that the events were taking place in 1999/2000, a very different 1999/2000 than the one I lived through.

It’s always a little strange reading a story written about the future after that future time has passed.

I’m now reading two books of short stories. One a collection by Fred Saberhagen depicting various possibilities for the future (the oldest story originally published in 1965 and the newest 1981), the other featuring 18 stories about Vampires written by different authors throughout the 20th century (the earliest a 1928 work).

**Cryostar** · 09-28-2004, 12:09 AM

I just picked up two more Dragonlance books...what can I say, I'm a serial book whore...Dragonlance, Starwars....sigh.

Soz · 10-13-2004, 08:28 PM

I tried to keep this discussion going back in 1993, but it just sort of dried up. A lot of the SF book readers were used to there being a thread on the books board, so we re-opened the thread there.

I haven't been reading too much science fiction lately, but I just picked up a book that is so good, it's put me back in the mood for SF. The book is City of Pearl by Karen Traviss and it's amazingly good- especially for a first book. I'm almost done and the sequel comes out in two weeks, so I just put that on reserve at the library.

I've mostly been reading fantasy lately because I needed a break from SF for a while. Some of my highlights over the past year have been finishing The Lord of the Rings and reading Abarat by Clive Barker (I just requested the sequel from the library). Another new author I discovered this year is Chris Moriarty. Her first book Spin State is quite good. I've also read several books from some of my old standbys: Catherine Asaro, Sharon Shinn, and Anne McCaffrey (although I don't like her books nearly as much as I used to).

**Cryostar** · 10-14-2004, 01:41 AM

I'm doing the opposite thing...being playing in fantasy for so long, i want to do the scifi thing for a while, still c.s. friedman just put out a new sci/fi fantasy book that I might pick up. I loved her Coldfire Trilogy.

Soz · 10-14-2004, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cryostar
I'm doing the opposite thing...being playing in fantasy for so long, i want to do the scifi thing for a while, still c.s. friedman just put out a new sci/fi fantasy book that I might pick up. I loved her Coldfire Trilogy.

I'm swinging back toward SF now too after spending most of the past year reading fantasy.

I didn't realize Friedman had a new book out. I haven't read her books yet, but I have a few.

Does anyone else on the thread have a Bibliophil account? I would post the link to my book collection (which is mostly SF and fantasy), but the site seems to be down right now.

**Cryostar** · 10-15-2004, 01:29 AM

I don't....I barely have enough time for what I do.

Yeah, she just put it out, it's still in hard back.

Soz · 10-24-2004, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cryostar
Yeah, she just put it out, it's still in hard back.

I'll have to look for the Friedman book at the library sometime.

I'm now reading The Pillars of the World by Anne Bishop. I tried reading it a while ago and I couldn't get into it. I had a sudden urge to read Bishop, so I figured I'd seize the moment and try this one again. I don't know if I'll read the whole series now or not.

I finished City of Pearl and I highly recommend it. Traviss has two books coming out Tuesday: the sequel to City of Pearl and a Star Wars book (I believe she will be writing quite a few SW books in the next few years).

**TheAngel** · 11-02-2004, 12:40 AM

One book I'm really enjoying right now is Gridlinked by Neil Asher. It's very gritty sci-fi. If you like science fiction that asks heavy philosophical questions regarding human existance and humanity in general it's a really good book. You might find the first a little confusing with the introduction of new technology but once you get past that it's a great book.

dukesmom · 11-02-2004, 03:30 AM

As much as I read, there are still a lot of books and authors I’ve never sampled. One is Ursula K. Le Guin. The following Q&A from the December 2004 Sci Fi magazine makes me want to run out and get one of her books:

Q: If someone out there has never read an Ursula K. Le Guin book, where should they start?
A: Well, if they’re 6 they could start with Catwings. If they’re 9 or 10 they could start with A Wizard of Earthsea. If they’re anything over about 12 they might want to try my next book, Gifts (coming out any moment now – according to bn.com, the hardcover edition was release in September). If they like realistic fiction they could start with Searoad, but if they go, “Oh, I never read that sci-fi stuff,” they can dip their head in a bucket for about half an hour and then go read The Left Hand of Darkness.

Soz · 11-02-2004, 08:31 AM

dukesmom, I love Le Guin. Sometimes I'm not sure if I like her writing or her personality more. She did a great essay about fantasy a few months ago that totally expressed how I feel about the genre.

I finished The Pillars of the World by Bishop and while I haven't finished the trilogy, I'm already pretty sure that this series won't come near the greatness of her Black Jewels books. I'm really looking forward to her Black Jewels anthology Dreams Made Flesh, which comes out in January.

Now I'm reading The Mountain's Call by Caitlin Brennan (aka Judith Tarr). This is the first book published by the Luna imprint that I've really liked. I've read three others and I only kept The Charmed Sphere by Catherine Asaro because she's one of my favorite authors, although I felt the book was sub-par for her.

I bought Crossing the Line by Traviss and hope to start it in a few days. She told me via Live Journal that my favorite character from City of Pearl gets a bigger and bigger role as the series progresses.

dukesmom · 11-14-2004, 09:03 PM

In case anyone is interested, here is Sci Fi magazine’s Top 10 List of Fantasy Books:
1) The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
2) The Once and Future King by T. H. White
3) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
4) A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
5) The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
6) Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock
7) Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
8) Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
9) Lord Foul’s Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson
10) The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks

I’ve read 4 of the list (1, 8, 9 & 10) and have 2 others (2 & 5) on my shelves to be read. There’s actually only one I’m not gung-ho to pick up, and that’s HP. I’ve seen the movie; just not sure I want to read the book. There is one on the list (#4) that I’d never heard of before, though I've read other stuff by the author. The other 2 I will eventually get to, just not sure when.

With the exception of HP, all of the books are probably at least 20 years old. Do you think any other more recent books belong on the list? If yes, which ones? If not, why not?