Don't read Stranger in a Strange Land or Foundation. Both authors wrote far better novels, which stand up far better today, while these two are quite dated. Try The Caves of Steel and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress or The End of Eternity are also great alternatives.
Anyone read Daemon by Daniel Suarez? I'm thinking I might give the audio-book a whirl.
I've read both Daemon and it's sequel, Freedom(tm). Both are interesting books. I'd call Daemon the more solidly grounded of the two. Freedom(tm) gets a little close to preachy about the dangers of corporate capitalism. Daemon also stays right on the edge of what's technologically possible, while Freedom goes over the line into more speculative technologies.
My only real quibble with Daemon is that the Daemon's code appears to be perfect and bug-free. If that isn't science fiction, I don't know what is.
How could I forget? I finished reading Frankenstein a few weeks ago for school, and I really enjoyed it if only because it was so different from what I expected. It's really strange, I've never seen a Frankenstein movie and yet I still typically think of the Hollywood depiction of Frankenstein and his monster. So rarely do we see references made to Frankenstein the novel rather than Frankenstein the movie. It's like we've culturally filtered the novel out completely.
I am reading Daemon now, about 1/3 of the way through. All I can say so far is that I can appreciate that the author actually knows technology. Unlike other books or movies which get computers wrong, he actually knows what he's talking about. Every other book involving technology either gets it so wrong that it's painful and distracting, or is so sci-fi/cyberpunk/future that it doesn't matter if it's wrong. So far I only have one slight technical correction, and it didn't matter.
The only thing is that there are always these paragraphs that obviously only exist to explain technological concepts to non-tech people. I understand he needs that to make the book accessible to a wide audience, but it's kind of annoying. Whenever one exists, I get taken out of the story because I see the meta. It would be really cool if someone wrote a similar sort of novel where the characters know technology, and talk about it as though they know it, and the reader either understands or doesn't. Obviously it wouldn't sell to a wide audience, but nerds would dig it if it were independently good. Does a book like this exist already?
How could I forget? I finished reading Frankenstein a few weeks ago for school, and I really enjoyed it if only because it was so different from what I expected. It's really strange, I've never seen a Frankenstein movie and yet I still typically think of the Hollywood depiction of Frankenstein and his monster. So rarely do we see references made to Frankenstein the novel rather than Frankenstein the movie. It's like we've culturally filtered the novel out completely.
It's because when people think about Frankenstein, they think about the 1930's film. I love the film to death and think that it is an amazing film, but it is so unlike the original story that they should probably be considered separate works.
I'm reading Michael Crichton's Sphere, which I picked up at a book sale for next to nothing. I am happy.
Also, I found a good condition, acceptably-priced copy of Joe Haldeman's Mindbridge on Amazon... it's been out of print a while and tends to be very expensive (for my budget, at least).
All I can say so far is that I can appreciate that the author actually knows technology. Unlike other books or movies which get computers wrong, he actually knows what he's talking about. Every other book involving technology either gets it so wrong that it's painful and distracting, or is so sci-fi/cyberpunk/future that it doesn't matter if it's wrong.
Scott have you read Little Brother, maybe I am just a nub punk kid, but the tech in that is quite spot on.
I was talking to a friend about The Stranger, because I'm writing an essay on it for English class, and he mentioned that Mersault's acceptance of the universe at the end is similar to Buddhist enlightenment. This got me thinking about Siddhartha, and I realized that the messages of both books are nearly identical. Mersault has physical pleasure taken from him by the legal system, and while in prison, forced to contemplate himself after a life of drifting from sensation to sensation, realizes that the only way to happiness is acceptance of the irrationality of the universe. Siddhartha, after a life of seeking pleasure, chooses to abandon it, and by returning to a simple life where he accepts the cycle of life and death, he finally achieves happiness. Siddhartha's struggle with accepting death is contained within the final portion of the novel, while Mersault is aware of the inevitability of death throughout, but realizes it as the only unquestionable truth of the universe at the end of the novel, the uniting characteristic of all things, like Siddhartha's conversation with his friend where his friend sees life and death repeating cyclically for eternity within Siddhartha.
I thought this was fascinating, and both books are good books, so I thought I would share.
I just finished reading Good Omens. It felt a little slow at the beginning, but once things started to pick up about the midway point I couldn't put it down. Glad I have a few other Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman books left to read, since I'm certainly in the mood for more.
Finished Daemon. Going to read Cosmos for book club. Also going to read The One Tree, the second book in the Thomas Covenant, unbeliever, white gold wielder, etc. series.
Reading Clash of Kings in my free time and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep for a science fiction class. Both are excellent books in their own way. After Clash of Kings, I'm planning on going on a non-fiction binge starting with Cosmos.
I finished reading The Crying of Lot 49 earlier and I really enjoyed it. It was my first Pynchon. I'm still halfway through The Name of the Rose and after that I'll be moving on to either The Collected Works of Jorge Luis Borges (he's been fictionalized in two books I've read now, there must be something up) or The Third Policeman.
I finished readingThe Crying of Lot 49earlier and I really enjoyed it. It was my first Pynchon. I'm still halfway throughThe Name of the Roseand after that I'll be moving on to either The Collected Works of Jorge Luis Borges (he's been fictionalized in two books I've read now, there must be something up) orThe Third Policeman.
Lot 49 is incredible. You should check out his newest one, Inherent Vice, which is pretty similar. The Third Policeman isn't that great, though it has some interesting ideas, and if you dig Pynchon, you might dig it as well.
Hey Luke, if you're reading this, I listened to your Shadow of the Torturer podcast and I guarantee you that you didn't guess the plot. Yes, there are still "random encounters" throughout the rest of the story, but I think you should really see it through. Also, I think the things you said were transparent about the novel (for example, that Severian will become a leader) are meant to be transparent. I mean, Severian right out says that he's a king when he's writing it. You probably won't be satisfied with the story until you read the whole thing. I hope you read it and review it, but if it isn't your thing then that's that I guess.
Hey Luke, if you're reading this, I listened to your Shadow of the Torturer podcast and I guarantee you that you didn't guess the plot. Yes, there are still "random encounters" throughout the rest of the story, but I think you should really see it through. Also, I think the things you said were transparent about the novel (for example, that Severian will become a leader) are meant to be transparent. I mean, Severian right out says that he's a king when he's writing it. You probably won't be satisfied with the story until you read the whole thing. I hope you read it and review it, but if it isn't your thing then that's that I guess.
I've got six emails on this very subject to answer, and haven't got to them yet. Meaning it's more likely I'll respond on this forum before the last email I got. The final result: I'll not be reading the next book in the series for a while yet. I go into more depth on the podcast I just recorded a few minutes ago.
I've never been much into mystery novels, and I'd never read a Sherlock Holmes story before. But I read A Study In Scarlet for my English class and it was really good. There's definitely a reason why these novels are so famous.
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My only real quibble with Daemon is that the Daemon's code appears to be perfect and bug-free. If that isn't science fiction, I don't know what is.
The only thing is that there are always these paragraphs that obviously only exist to explain technological concepts to non-tech people. I understand he needs that to make the book accessible to a wide audience, but it's kind of annoying. Whenever one exists, I get taken out of the story because I see the meta. It would be really cool if someone wrote a similar sort of novel where the characters know technology, and talk about it as though they know it, and the reader either understands or doesn't. Obviously it wouldn't sell to a wide audience, but nerds would dig it if it were independently good. Does a book like this exist already?
Also, I found a good condition, acceptably-priced copy of Joe Haldeman's Mindbridge on Amazon... it's been out of print a while and tends to be very expensive (for my budget, at least).
I thought this was fascinating, and both books are good books, so I thought I would share.