Read any good books lately?

Mark Gerrits · Post by **Mark Gerrits** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 1:26 am

This forum has been too quiet lately.So I'm reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson now, I'm only 1/3 so far but it's kicking major ass. I just ordered Tim Powers The Drawing of the Dark, it'll take a long while before it'll get here tho (but can't complain since I got it for free, muahahaha)I'm planning on doing a lot of rereading the coming months too: the whole Dune series (so I can read the new Dune novels afterwards), the first 12 Discworld books and the Dark Tower series. Been a long time since I read all of those.------------------
<A HREF="http://ghostz.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Ghostz</A>

Pooga · Post by **Pooga** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 1:38 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mark Gerrits:
This forum has been too quiet lately.So I'm reading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson now, I'm only 1/3 so far but it's kicking major ass. I just ordered Tim Powers The Drawing of the Dark, it'll take a long while before it'll get here tho (but can't complain since I got it for free, muahahaha)I'm planning on doing a lot of rereading the coming months too: the whole Dune series (so I can read the new Dune novels afterwards), the first 12 Discworld books and the Dark Tower series. Been a long time since I read all of those.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Not yet, but tomorrow I will! Tomorrow is when "Winter's Heart" hits the shelves. That's Book 9 in the "Wheel of Time" series by Robert Jordan, the BEST EVER fantasy series with the possible (and debatable) exceptions of Tolkien's Middle Earth stuff & the Discworld series. Granted, Book 8 was a serious let down, but from everything I've read, Winter's Heart gets the series back on track. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">Pooga <IMG SRC="http://smilecwm.tripod.com/net6/oink.gif"> ------------------
If I had my own web comic, like everybody else, I'd put a link to it <A HREF="http://NoComicForMe" TARGET=_blank>here</A>.[This message has been edited by Pooga (edited 11-06-2000).]

Coco13 · Post by **Coco13** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 1:51 am

Right now I'm reading The Fletch Chronicales, which are compiliations of storys about a detective named (appropriatly) Fletch who solves crime. They're really funny. My favorite book of all time so far has to be The Road to Mars, by Eric Idle. If yoy have an intrest in comedy, or have a online comic strip that you try to pass of as comedy, I highly recommend this.Ouch, sharp jab!------------------
<A HREF="http://www.tothethird.com" TARGET=_blank>www.tothethird.com</A> is not a bad site. Really!

Lord Bob · Post by **Lord Bob** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 2:13 am

At the moment, completely obssesed with the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy.By Philip Pullman, the first book is pretty damnn good, the second one kicks some *serious* ass (and they *ain't* kids books... poor guy gets a couple of fingers chopped off) and I'm only about 100 pages into the third..Respectively: Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass.Sohould also be getting Fifth Elephant soon... is it any good?

Rannic · Post by **Rannic** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 2:17 am

I just finished reading my Majora's Mask manual! A bit heavier than my usual load, but hey, it was a good read.

Mark Gerrits · Post by **Mark Gerrits** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 2:21 am

God damn, were all of you hiding behind the bushes ready to attack or something?------------------
<A HREF="http://ghostz.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Ghostz</A>

Case Yorke · Post by **Case Yorke** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 2:38 am

In a different order..."Beautiful Losers", written by Leonard Cohen (yes, THAT Leonard Cohen) at the end of the sixties. Trust me. It's the best roller coaster ride you'll ever be on.Case------------------
Aren't We Real - the online doodle with zip <A HREF="http://arentwereal.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>http://arentwereal.keenspace.com</A>
<A HREF="mailto:caseyorke@clerk.com">caseyorke@clerk.com</A>

Lord Bob · Post by **Lord Bob** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 2:40 am

I was hiding in the shed.
I thought I heard a noise outside, and i got scared.

VMayoke · Post by **VMayoke** » Mon Nov 06, 2000 7:00 am

I hate you all.For lack of anything better to say.~Kat------------------
You are all sheep! Baa!

Flux · Post by **Flux** » Tue Nov 07, 2000 4:46 am

I'm reading Ringworld by Larry Niven at the moment. That's quite good, but I'm only at page 100 or so, so I don't know if it will remain the same quality <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif">Oh, and I'm rereading all the "Thorgal" comics, that is a great comic!Gijs------------------
<A HREF="http://gwtp.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Get with program</A>

Kriz · Post by **Kriz** » Tue Nov 07, 2000 6:48 am

Gnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngnnnnn
i'm reading Lord of the rings, yes yes i know, it's coming to the movies next summer, so why bother ? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> and yes yes, shame on me for not having read it before.i tried reading 'the lost tales' by tolkien too, but damn it sucks, makes me fall asleep everytime, and that's just by looking at the cover.

Russ · Post by **Russ** » Mon Nov 13, 2000 4:09 am

Re: Tim Powers.I've heard from several friends that The Drawing of the Dark was mediocre (it's an early work). But I recommend The Anubis Gates highly; it's a terrific time travel novel with tons of Victorian weirdness. On Stranger Tides was also pretty cool.------------------
russ
<A HREF="http://www.kofightclub.com" TARGET=_blank>Ko Fight Club</A>

Mark Gerrits · Post by **Mark Gerrits** » Mon Nov 13, 2000 4:36 am

Yup, I read Anubis Gates, great novel (as was his Expiration Date). I swear Powers must think up his plots by throwing lots of darts at a billboard filled with random unrelated ideas.I'm now almost 2/3 through Crytonomicon and I can heartily recommend it, not so much for the plot as for the billiant, often hysterical writing and rock solid characterisations.A new bookstore (selling a good amount of English books, a rarity around these parts) that recently opened here has thoroughly messed up my planned rereading schedule as I just bought Philip K. Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep?
(or as the cover states it: Do androids dream of electric sheep? filmed as BLADE RUNNER) and Robert Jordan's The eye of the world, the first Wheel of Time book (this thing has been recommended to me so many times I'm expecting nothing less than The Perfect Book)------------------
<A HREF="http://ghostz.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Ghostz</A>[This message has been edited by Mark Gerrits (edited 11-13-2000).]

Pooga · Post by **Pooga** » Tue Nov 14, 2000 2:30 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mark Gerrits:
A new bookstore (selling a good amount of English books, a rarity around these parts) that recently opened here has thoroughly messed up my planned rereading schedule as I just bought Philip K. Dick's Do androids dream of electric sheep?
(or as the cover states it: Do androids dream of electric sheep? filmed as BLADE RUNNER)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yup, I've got that one. Luckily, I Can Remember It For You Wholesale was a short story, so they couldn't pull the same trick with Total Recall. Instead, the publishers sought revenge by having Piers Anthony write the novel based on the movie. >:-p <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> and Robert Jordan's The eye of the world, the first Wheel of Time book (this thing has been recommended to me so many times I'm expecting nothing less than The Perfect Book)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>It's a good book, but, to be honest, it's not until book four in the series until you get to The Perfect Book. <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif"> The first three are solid adventure stories that also lay the groundwork. The third is, IMO, the last of the books that really can stand by itself. It's when you get to the fourth book that you realize that a LOT of hints have been dropped in the first books as to what will happen later in the series. Several things come together almost perfectly in the fourth book. It's also the first book that doesn't end in a way that could have served as the last book in the series.The fifth and sixth continue this trend of both relating events that the observant reader could have picked up were coming (but probably didn't) and laying the threads of what is to come.Book 7 was a minor disappointment. I eventually decided it was a transitional book, that did more to set things in place than to advance the story significantly. Unfortunately, book 8 was worse, being MUCH shorter than the previous books, and not even having a significant climax. Book 9 is a bit better, but again left several major plotlines essentially in the middle and all but ignored what was a fairly major open plotline from the last book. The depth of the characters and stories is still there, but a lot is still unfinished at the moment.I think the last books have been weaker because there's a greater demand to get them out as soon as poosible to a positively rabid fanbase (myself included <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif"> ). It's still one of the most intricate weavings of epic fiction I've ever encountered, and despite having dozens of interrelated plotlines going on, it still holds together and makes the universe of the series come alive like few others I've read.Pooga <IMG SRC="http://smilecwm.tripod.com/net6/oink.gif"> [This message has been edited by Pooga (edited 11-14-2000).]

Thouv · Post by **Thouv** » Tue Nov 14, 2000 6:51 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mr. Ghostz:
The Perfect Book<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>George Orwell: Nineteen Eighty-Four <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Mark Gerrits · Post by **Mark Gerrits** » Tue Nov 14, 2000 7:23 am

Well sure, go ahead and give away the ending why don't you!? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> (That is the ending, right? Been a while since I read it)------------------
<A HREF="http://ghostz.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Ghostz</A>

Thouv · Post by **Thouv** » Wed Nov 15, 2000 5:53 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mr.Ghostz:
Well sure, go ahead and give away the ending why don't you!? <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"> (That is the ending, right? Been a while since I read it)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>t'has been a long time since i read it too
and yes, it is the ending, but i dont really give it away, because those of you who didnt read the book yet should have <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/smile.gif">
long live Ghostz !!

Kriz · Post by **Kriz** » Wed Nov 15, 2000 7:28 am

... and i who find Ghostz mentally challenging... i could never read such a deep and serious book as 1984... gosh no!
so i salute you for giving away the ending, and thus giving me a reason not to read it.
thank you!
and now back to the ordinary broadcast:
OAOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA
OOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAGHGHGAGHAGHAGHAG!
(broke down this string because it was fucking up my forum! - Mark)
Kriz[This message has been edited by Mark Gerrits (edited 11-15-2000).]

Rannic · Post by **Rannic** » Wed Nov 15, 2000 9:18 am

If I could post on-topic here for second...
A few years ago, I read the unabridged version of Steven King's "The Stand." What a load of crap. It was one of the worst books I've ever read. Predictable storyline, stupid/irritating characters... beh. Anyone agree with me on that? Cuz I sure can't find anyone in the real world.As for books I DID like, the first three books in the "Ender" quadrilogy 0wn3d. The fourth was crap though.

Mark Gerrits · Post by **Mark Gerrits** » Wed Nov 15, 2000 9:46 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Rannic:
If I could post on-topic here for second...
A few years ago, I read the unabridged version of Steven King's "The Stand." What a load of crap. It was one of the worst books I've ever read. Predictable storyline, stupid/irritating characters... beh. Anyone agree with me on that? Cuz I sure can't find anyone in the real world.As for books I DID like, the first three books in the "Ender" quadrilogy 0wn3d. The fourth was crap though.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I have to disagree with most of what you said, Rannic. I liked The Stand. Yes, the story was fairly predictable (not to mention that it had one of the most literal deus ex machina endings ever) but the book was a fun read. Mostly because of the excellent characterisation, I think. Really, I can't see how you can call the characters stupid/irritating.Now Orson Scott Card on the other hand, he can tell a great story but his characterisation, aaargh it's terrible. Pure nuclear waste. Talk about stupid/irritating characters. The Card recipe for creating a character seems to be to give them one trauma, or something to feel guilty about or whatever and then to remind of us of it incessantly. Every single decision the character takes is in function of that trauma, even if it's just the choice between one or two sugar cubes with their coffee. I haven't been able to identify with a single Card character yet. The closest I came was with Ender, probably because Ender's Game suffers the least from this problem.And every kid in a Card novel can beat Stephen Hawking at chess in 5 moves or less.------------------
<A HREF="http://ghostz.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Ghostz</A>