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Post by Tuffers on Jul 12, 2019 21:36:47 GMT
Sorry about that. Got a bit hot and bothered.
Felice, stop posting rubbish songs. You berk.
How about a bit of 'China in your hand'....Errm, maybe not.
I'm going to try and post one. I think I've only posted one link before. If it doesn't work it's Admin fault.
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Post by Tuffers on Jul 12, 2019 21:41:03 GMT
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Post by Tuffers on Jul 12, 2019 21:45:54 GMT
No offence.
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 22:35:36 GMT
I've finally finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata. Sad to think there will be no more of those books. If you haven't read them Al Reynolds' Revelation Space books are fucking ace. If you have read them you will know this. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 22:37:44 GMT
I also can't get enough Neal Stephenson.
Cryptonomicon is easily in my all time top 10 sci-fi novels.
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Post by Chumbles on Jul 12, 2019 22:40:43 GMT
Nurse due shortly, but I give you a government training session for immigrants to the UK... We believe that Boris designed the curriculum Ah, that takes me back to my first English lessons. If Boris designed the curriculum, how is "bus" not the first word in the lesson plan? Because some idiots let him get behind the steering wheel ... |
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Post by RollingEscargot on Jul 12, 2019 22:48:07 GMT
I also can't get enough Neal Stephenson. Cryptonomicon is easily in my all time top 10 sci-fi novels. Thanks for the tips. I read and enjoyed Revelation Space and have another of his lined up. Must admit I didn't enjoy Cryptonomicon as much as I expected to. It was like he couldn't resist putting absolutely all his research into the book. I liked the war part of the story though. |
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Post by Chumbles on Jul 12, 2019 22:57:09 GMT
I also can't get enough Neal Stephenson. Cryptonomicon is easily in my all time top 10 sci-fi novels. "sci-fi"? Really? I don't know you were a septic. Or are you just aping* their idiom? *I use this term advisedly. It also used to be a solid indicator of someone who a) knew fuck all about Science Fiction or b) thought it was a quaint oddity that had no place in 'literature'; normally a fuckwit, blowhard journalist like Bragg or Piers Morgan. You're not a fuckwit, blowhard journalist or someone with no knowledge of the genre, so I guess you've filed your application to cross the Atlantic and become a citizen of the USA. Good luck over there ... PS Stephenson is a bloody good writer |
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Post by RollingEscargot on Jul 12, 2019 23:02:30 GMT
I also can't get enough Neal Stephenson. Cryptonomicon is easily in my all time top 10 sci-fi novels. Though having said that I've been tempted by Anathem a few times as the blurb reminded me of Canticle for Leibowitz, which I love. The 900 pages are what's holding me back... |
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:04:49 GMT
Sci-fi isn't just badly written Space War you know.
I suppose it's a sort of techno thriller. I dunno.
I think it counts as sci-fi to people who don't read much sci-fi
It's easier just to classify Cryptonomicon as sort of sci-fi than to say it isn't.
Regardless I liked it.
Oh it is the term Sci-fi you didn't like. Hmm. I've always thought SF too short and Science Fiction a bit stuck up for a chatroom. As for speculative fiction only wankers like Shenguin use that phrase.
Also having (i'm told) a distinguished Birmingham accent I pronounce it Soi Foi. It doesn't sound very American
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:06:39 GMT
Anathem is ace. 900 pages of ace.
I preferred it to the Quicksilver Trilogy which was good, but a little long.
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Post by Shenguin on Jul 12, 2019 23:06:49 GMT
I think Sci-fi is in fairly widespread standard use, even in England. And had been for 30 years. SF might be slightly preferable if it stands for Specative Fiction rather than Science Fiction. But really.
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:07:43 GMT
I love badly written Space War.
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Post by Shenguin on Jul 12, 2019 23:08:15 GMT
I've finally finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata. Sad to think there will be no more of those books. I read Hydrogen Sonata and was not displeased that there wouldn't be any further books like that. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:13:33 GMT
Was it the shaggy dog story?
600 pages of it
Nice.
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Post by RollingEscargot on Jul 12, 2019 23:19:19 GMT
I've finally finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata. Sad to think there will be no more of those books. I read Hydrogen Sonata and was not displeased that there wouldn't be any further books like that. It's sad because he's dead, you monster. Not his best book, admittedly. |
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Post by Shenguin on Jul 12, 2019 23:22:17 GMT
I read Hydrogen Sonata and was not displeased that there wouldn't be any further books like that. It's sad because he's dead, you monster. Not his best book, admittedly. It's sad because he stopped writing brilliant novels and started writing pale echoes. Whilst addicted to Civ IV. Then he died. It's also sad when people die, but they do that eventually. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:28:04 GMT
We've all been addicted to Civ IV at some point. It's not like that is a major character flaw.
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:32:40 GMT
Though Transition the book he wrote at the height of of his Civ addiction was godawful. Proper terrible.
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Post by Sheep2 on Jul 12, 2019 23:36:54 GMT
It's also sad when people die, but they do that eventually. Mr Tiddles sometimes keeps them alive for up to a week. |
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Post by Chumbles on Jul 13, 2019 3:10:18 GMT
Though Transition the book he wrote at the height of of his Civ addiction was godawful. Proper terrible. I'm hanging a sort of riposte to some of the Sheep and Shen Soi Foi Show's comments here. I guess a Brummie, cursed with one of the most mystifying road networks and accents, is almost bound to think "Science Fiction {is} a bit stuck up for a chatroom." Jesus, Sheep2 , really? I, am pretty much wedded to the use of SF (fewer keystrokes and like Shenguin I find it convenient also because it's the abbreviation for speculative fiction). The Sheep and Shen Show The first 25 or so pages of my dissertation "SF: The History of Tomorrow" was devoted to definitions and evolving what I felt was a rigorous definition. My two academic tutors (who were also SF addicts) ensured that those 25 pages were rewritten in part or whole a dozen times in 2 months before I realized that they were arguing with each other and simply stopped the stage reviews for the next 4 months - 100 pages. The terms don't matter that much  but arguing over them is an addiction of its own. How embarrassing pour pretentious moi to still have a Civ IV addiction, to the extent that every 'rig' I've owned has been specced to run Civ IV / Fall from Heaven Mk 1.00g since December 2006... Over 6k hours - almost certainly more than that but my futile war with Steam nuked my stats... That link I made available for anyone else who wants to ruin their marriage / sleeping patterns etc. A straight GOG Civ IV install comes fully patched to 1.7n(?4) so getting FfH1 to run is no longer the arcane process it once was. It shares my addiction gap with AoW3 (+ 14 mods), NP2... |
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Post by amipal on Jul 13, 2019 5:55:58 GMT
I've finally finished reading The Hydrogen Sonata. Sad to think there will be no more of those books. If you haven't read them Al Reynolds' Revelation Space books are fucking ace. If you have read them you will know this. Reynolds is very dependable for good sci-fiction. Chasm City is probably my favourite of the lot. |
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but arguing over them is an addiction of its own.
