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Post by stxdpr on Aug 22, 2019 17:50:31 GMT
Books with maps influencers; any recommendations? Usually fantasy or sci-fi, not sure I'm up to the complete history of the Roman empire though. Holiday in Berlin has taken a bit of the shine off reading about atrocities committed by all.
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Post by Chumbles on Aug 22, 2019 18:00:34 GMT
Freshers week. I tried to avoid saying to female students I was doing Information & library studies. Not a problem for me. I was engaged when I went to my School of Librarianship... the rest of them were doing the same subject. My problem was that I wasn't ugly, represented a challenge as the 'experienced' older fella (went up *cough* a year late), so had to beat off the 'liberated' free thinkers with a stick in the first term. Interest faded rapidly when they found out that I was a fanatic wargamer*, I read a lot and I really did love my fiancée. *More fool them as one of my new friends turned out to share all my interests and be cool, getting me into a whole bunch of gigs for free, including Mott the Hoople (MUCH better live) and Argent who a year later had their major hit ... But I was already an admirer as he had been one of The Zombies along with a guy whose voice is awesome, Colin Blunstone. And they are still bloody good. |
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 18:17:37 GMT
Books with maps influencers; any recommendations? Usually fantasy or sci-fi, not sure I'm up to the complete history of the Roman empire though. Holiday in Berlin has taken a bit of the shine off reading about atrocities committed by all. Steven Erikson: Malazan book of the fallen is damn good, one thing the first book is retconned the hell out in later books, so even though it's good don't bother remembering too much. <edit>The biggest change is in the time-line. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 18:39:25 GMT
Books with maps influencers; any recommendations? Usually fantasy or sci-fi, not sure I'm up to the complete history of the Roman empire though. Holiday in Berlin has taken a bit of the shine off reading about atrocities committed by all. Gibbon is superb. It's not the full empire. Just from Marcus Antonius Aurelius onwards. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 18:42:08 GMT
He'd have needed 6 more volumes for the Republic and the early empire.
He's not fully up with the best recent scholarship. I wouldn't use him as a main source for a thesis on Rome, only one on Gibbon.
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Post by Destry on Aug 22, 2019 18:44:06 GMT
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 18:44:47 GMT
He'd have needed 6 more volumes for the Republic and the early empire. He's not fully up with the best recent scholarship. I wouldn't use him as a main source for a thesis on Rome, only one on Gibbon. How many space ships or dragons are there? |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 18:48:24 GMT
Fantasy
I think I enjoyed Raymond Feist. Who knows? I certainly devoured them.
I really liked Anthony Ryan's Raven books.
Also Adrian Seiby and Milrs Cameron are worth a read.
NK Jemison if you haven't read her is ace.
Skiffy
I enjoyed Rise And Fall of DODO by Neal Stephenson
Sunfall by Jim Al_ Khalili is ok
New Al Reynolds was good, obvs.
Liu Cixin is excellent.
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 18:51:23 GMT
The Feist, Janny Wurts collaboration "The Empire Trilogy" was pretty good.
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Post by Faceless on Aug 22, 2019 19:27:59 GMT
Is liu Cixin the one who wrote the Three Body Problem? If so I endorse this recommendation.
If not, I don't.
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Post by Shenguin on Aug 22, 2019 19:32:28 GMT
Yes
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Post by Faceless on Aug 22, 2019 19:43:00 GMT
Good.
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Post by Faceless on Aug 22, 2019 19:43:48 GMT
I have the other two books in the series somewhere in the depths of my reading pile.
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Post by Chumbles on Aug 22, 2019 20:25:56 GMT
stxdpr : Please please narrow this down? Atlases, History, SF, Fantasy - gods - there's no quick answer. For a long read Felice Landry has a great fantasy recommend, but Erikson's Malazan series is as much mythic historical fantasy as ought else, as Flicker implied. And it requires concentration. Easier would be Guy Gavriel Kay's brilliant Fionavar Tapestry which had me weeping to an airplane window... anything else I might say would be spoilers ... link
 And the most beautiful covers Atlas - mostly historical - for reading snippets in a spare 20 minutes or so: An Atlas of Countries That Don't Exist: A Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States linkSpace opera? C J Cherryh's non-stop, intelligent action packed quadrilogy, the Chanur saga, which SCREAMS mini-series. The opening trilogy can be got 2nd hand in a single volume: The Chanur Saga, and the final book Chanur's Homecoming is a bit harder to find at time's but the final chapters had me punching the air in excitement ... It can be found with book 5 as part of Chanur's Endgame. But as I say, the list could be endless...
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 20:49:07 GMT
I have the other two books in the series somewhere in the depths of my reading pile. The second one is superb. The Dark Forest. The third is merely very good. I think he struggled with a successful ending. It falls apart a bit in the last 100 pages. 2 2/3 brilliant books though. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 21:08:05 GMT
I'd add John Gwynne as well.
Also Scott Lynch's TheLies Of Locke Lamara is pretty good.
Patrick Rothfuss would be worth reading, but he is a no good lazy non-book finishing piece of shit. Sold 30m copies of his first two books, arranged to be paid in chocolate money and is now only seen harassing people who ask him politely if firmly to get his arse in gear and finish the third book.
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 21:16:36 GMT
An easier read would be The Chronicles of Hawklan , good characters, basic old evil rising that needs to be thwarted, the first 4 books are the main thing, all the others are one off side stories contemporary with the original but from different perspectives with guest stars, if you like the CoH you will like them as well, the fifth is a bit of a fan service greatest hits, which I enjoyed. "Dear Boy". |
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Post by Faceless on Aug 22, 2019 21:17:23 GMT
The two Rothfuss books are also in the pile.
The reading pile is substantial.
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 21:17:59 GMT
I'd add John Gwynne as well. Also Scott Lynch's TheLies Of Locke Lamara is pretty good. Patrick Rothfuss would be worth reading, but he is a no good lazy non-book finishing piece of shit. Sold 30m copies of his first two books, arranged to be paid in chocolate money and is now only seen harassing people who ask him politely if firmly to get his arse in gear and finish the third book. To paraphrase Neil Gaiman, "Patrick Rothfuss is not your bitch". |
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Post by Faceless on Aug 22, 2019 21:22:35 GMT
I'd add John Gwynne as well. Also Scott Lynch's TheLies Of Locke Lamara is pretty good. Patrick Rothfuss would be worth reading, but he is a no good lazy non-book finishing piece of shit. Sold 30m copies of his first two books, arranged to be paid in chocolate money and is now only seen harassing people who ask him politely if firmly to get his arse in gear and finish the third book. To paraphrase Neil Gaiman, "Patrick Rothfuss is not your bitch". George Rah Rah Martin on the other hand... |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 21:28:42 GMT
Patrick Rothfuss is a nasty man. A tease, a flirt, a book blocker. A honey tongued liar.
It is not unreasonable to ask that when an author promotes his books as a trilogy and the second book does not end the story that there should be a third book.
If I had realised he was in London last week i would have taken a box of blank A4 paper to the book signing. As a gift.
Hilary Mantel has agreed to finish the Cromwell trilogy.
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Post by RollingEscargot on Aug 22, 2019 21:30:07 GMT
Stephen Donaldson.
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 21:36:11 GMT
First and Second chronicles yes, the last was rubbish. I quite liked the Gap series even though the first book was incredibly dodgy. |
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Post by Sheep2 on Aug 22, 2019 21:41:34 GMT
I quite liked Mordant's Need as well.
The final chronicles of Thomas Covenant are proper bad.
Was the first Gap novel the one that was a sex and torture fantasy? It's a long time since I read it, but I doubt it has aged well.
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Post by Felice Landry on Aug 22, 2019 21:49:21 GMT
I quite liked Mordant's Need as well. The final chronicles of Thomas Covenant are proper bad. Was the first Gap novel the one that was a sex and torture fantasy? It's a long time since I read it, but I doubt it has aged well. More like rape and torture, which was not good, it moved on after that with a rather strained justification, the rest was much better. Actually the Chronicles started with a rape and ended up with incest, so... |
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