Mr. GOH! Posted September 8, 2014 Report Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Finished Acceptance, which is both a sequel and a companion piece to the first two. Annihilation is still the best of the series, but the other two a quite good as well. Edited September 9, 2014 by Mr. GOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faiblesse Des Sens Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 I finished Authority. Was not expecting basically the entirely last 2/3rds of the book. Holy shit. Stoked to start Acceptance in a week. ___ Check this line and scream obscenities. Move down one line. ___ Check this line and scream obscenities. Move down one line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted September 9, 2014 Report Share Posted September 9, 2014 Huh. Authority is pretty great, but the general thrust of the plot did not surprise me all that much. I'm interested in what you think about Acceptance, since you're reading all three so close together. I had to go back to the first two books to refresh my memory, especially with regards to the characterization of Control and the biologist/Ghost Bird. Now I have to go back and read Vandermeer's other works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 I read a book once where, as a very small segment entirely tangential to the main plot, there is this online video game which is basically like a Civilization MMO. In this book rich people periodically go into hyper-sleep so they can extend their effective lives, and during periods where you're in hyper-sleep other people can play as your civilization, so no civ is ever unattended. This one guy, over many sleep-wake cycles, has built a civ so stable that the blunderings of the lesser players who take it over while he's asleep can't harm it, and it always manages to survive until his next wake cycle. One of the characters (I think the main antagonist, or possibly the Dragon, maybe?) takes over this guy's civilization, and over a very short period of time makes small changes that together end up causing the whole thing to collapse in on itself and be completely destroyed, such that it could never be recovered. I have no idea what book this is and it's been bugging the shit out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 what's the main plot? how long ago did you read it? I have the same issue with a travel book where the writer followed the migration of butterflies through Japan. I've been wondering about that one for over a decade and I still have a look for it every now and again. ... OMG, writing that out, I just started thinking, wait, was it butterlies or cherry blossom, because that's more famous in Japan. It was cherry blossom and I found the book. Hokkaido Highway Blues, it's called. So never give up hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) I read it probably more than 5 years ago, but I can't be more specific than that.. Other than that I've already said literally everything I remember about it. *Edit* - I mean, I'm sure if I could figure out what book it is I would remember a lot more about the plot, it's just this specific episode is completely divorced from the rest of the book in my memory. *Edit 2* - One thing I did leave out: whoever the guy is who destabilizes the game civilization also has the overall goal of bringing down the real-world (in the book) civilization. I'm like 75% sure it's some kind of space empire. Edited October 9, 2014 by TheMightyEthan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) That Southern Reach series sounds interesting. I'm halfway through The Sisters Brothers. Brilliantly written and really enjoyable, but the overall plot is so limp that the amazing characters and prose don't really drag you through it. There's no mystery/energy to the plot. Just "they're going to the West coast to kill a guy. Mainly they're just meeting random folk on the way". Mainly I'm reading The Elegant Universe. The non-fiction science informative book on string theory, general relativity and quantum mechanics. It's a mind blowing and fairly difficult read for someone who doesn't have much background in science beyond very keen interest. Like... I thought the "4th dimension is time" thing was a myth. I thought HG Wells made it up for The Time Machine. But he didn't. It's legit science fact. At any given moment your movement through the universe is on a relative ratio between X, Y, Z and Time axes. If you're at complete standstill floating in space, 100% of your movement is thru time. If you're moving at half the speed of light on the X axis and 0mph on the Y and Z axes, you'll be moving at 50% on the Time axis... So you will literally experience time at half the rate of everyone else on earth. As seen in Enders Game, etc. We all experience time at 99.998% speed due to the earth's rotation etc. What the fuck. One of those books where you read a couple of pages then need 10-15 minutes to digest what you've read. Edited October 9, 2014 by kenshi_ryden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFlyingGerbil Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Space-time absolutely melts my head. I always start reading an article thinking this finally make sense to me and by the end I'm more confused than when I started. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Ethan is it maybe Net Force or similar? It's a "Tom Clancy" novel, where the internet is somewhat real/some oculus rift type VR going on, so in one scene the baddy "assassinates" someone in a fake "sniper scene from Saving Ryans Privates" type way. Though I don't think it has a "hypersleep" element to it. Been ..god maybe a decade since I read it. Not sure if you've a Reddit account but http://www.reddit.com/r/tipofmytongue might help you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 I will try that, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Solved on /r/whatsthatbook (linked to me from somebody on TOMT). It was the short story Breaking the Game, part of Orson Scott Card's Worthing Saga. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 AH, so not a Tom Clancy novel. At least it was a novel by a reactionary, though. Not judging; I read some pretty heinous shit when I was a teen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielpholt Posted October 11, 2014 Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 Guys, I've had the sudden; uncontrollable urge to re-do the Lord of the Rings. Somebody talk me out of it. I know its madness.....but. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus Posted October 11, 2014 Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) Just purchased the new Haruki Murakami novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. Massive fan of Murakami - Norwegian Wood is one of my favourite books. Edited October 11, 2014 by Nexus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted October 11, 2014 Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 He was at the book festival in my home town in August. A rare appearance. Still need to find out what he was like from my couple off friends who managed to get tickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Guys, I've had the sudden; uncontrollable urge to re-do the Lord of the Rings. Somebody talk me out of it. I know its madness.....but. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 So, I'm on the last book of the second quadrilogy of the series' two quadrilogies and a trilogy. So only 3.8 books left to read then on to something new. Figured I'd see if you guys have any suggestions. Ideally single standalone books, about 300 or so pages (current books are 600, and kinda taking a while to chew through even knowing the story). @Dan: You end up re-reading LotR? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDDQD Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Finally got around to reading Dune. Size is rather intimidating but I'm rather surprised how smoothly it goes. Very gripping book, none of the movies or TV shows do it justice. I'm also going through Metro 2033, another monolith of a book when it comes to size, but it's also captivating. Kinda wish I'd read through it before I played the games. Now I can't get the images out of my head and create my own visions while reading. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 So, I'm on the last book of the second quadrilogy of the series' two quadrilogies and a trilogy. So only 3.8 books left to read then on to something new. Figured I'd see if you guys have any suggestions. Ideally single standalone books, about 300 or so pages (current books are 600, and kinda taking a while to chew through even knowing the story). @Dan: You end up re-reading LotR? Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey (no not that one). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shades-Grey-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0340963050 Comes in Kindle, Physical, and Audio. Technically it's part one, but there is no part two yet, and it stands well on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Still on this. Just over halfway through. I'm surprised by a couple of things in the book. For one, how good it is, but in a kind of fly-on-the-wall, borederline dull way. He's really just reporting a load of stuff he saw during the Spanish Civil War and laying down some philosophy on it. From page to page it goes from riveting to 'um, okay, alright.' The other surprising thing is how much clumsy writing has crept in to the thing – every few pages there'll be a cluster of nasty repetition or poor phrasing. But on the whole, it's practically a masterpiece. The only novel I've read which really covers the humanity of murder and war, the soul of it. In a really harrowing way. If Blood Meridian ponders the meaning of war, For Whom The Bell Tolls ponders the effect of war. He captures really horrible details – like a man sobbing as two rebels suffocate him to death with a sheet. One of the rebels cant take it and ends up stabbing the man repeatedly in the face through the sheet just so the crying will stop After that I'll be moving on to I loved Embassytown, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be great, from what I read of the first few pages. Edited February 25, 2015 by kenshi_ryden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 So, I'm on the last book of the second quadrilogy of the series' two quadrilogies and a trilogy. So only 3.8 books left to read then on to something new. Figured I'd see if you guys have any suggestions. Ideally single standalone books, about 300 or so pages (current books are 600, and kinda taking a while to chew through even knowing the story). @Dan: You end up re-reading LotR? Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey (no not that one). http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shades-Grey-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0340963050 Comes in Kindle, Physical, and Audio. Technically it's part one, but there is no part two yet, and it stands well on its own. What if I liked this book so much I was to read it a further 49 times? Anyway: Currently reading Good Omens as a lead on to ..Ocean At End of Lane (or something like that, the Gaiman one). So gone from Thief of Time, a Pratchett book (devoured it in less than a day) on to Good Omens (Pratchett and Gaiman) and then on to a pure Gaiman book. Venn Diagram reading. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomTervo Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Heard good things about OatEoftL. Oat Eoftl. Gaiman seems to be in a pretty decent swing these days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 I'm up to book 17 (of 41) of Pratchett's Discworld novels. They continue to delight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 What's in my minds eye when I read that: They are pretty great mind, but really should be read in arcs than in order. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staySICK Posted February 25, 2015 Report Share Posted February 25, 2015 Ready Player One, thanks to lootcrate 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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