Haven't actually seen the movie, but we'll see!
Haven't actually seen the movie, but we'll see!
Terry pratchett branches out into sci-fi, and, despite advancing dementia, writes a couple of new novels.
Stephen Baxter, whom I hadn't read before, collaborates.
Finished The Long Earth...
... and it was so damn good, I immediately picked up the follow up in hardback; The Long War; which I'm halfway through.
A remarkable concept, brilliantly executed.
Highly recommended.
Originally Posted by Steely Glint
Finally read the last three WoT books. Eh, I've read better. Lots of problems. Happy it's over, and there's some sort of closure.
I struggled through about a third of the very first WoT book and gave up. You're a stronger man than me.
I read both of the Long Earth/Long War books recently too. I'll second the recommendation. They feel much more Baxter than Pratchett though.
Ender's Game.
I'm being honest here, even working in a library I had almost zero knowledge of this story. I only picked it up because its been republished as a "author's definitive edition" because of the movie. So ignorant of this thing that I didn't know till a couple of days ago that our wiggin got his name from the story.
Not particularly suspenseful, even as science fiction goes. Immediately called both the twists concerning the games and the queen. Thats the closest I can come to saying anything that isn't praise. The story can get incredibly personal at times, and I can't help but feel I could have really used this story 20 years ago.
but I don't see how its going to make a good movie. aside from the movie fucking up all the ages, and i'm assuming removing a lot of little yet important touches, like naked children... so much of the story is told from with in Ender's head. The story is full of internal monologue, something that simply doesn't translate to the big screen. Got a feeling the movie is going to focus to much on the battle room and the final games, and thus not give the proper picture of who Ender is.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Yeah but shits going to blow up so it will be a fun ride.
Why do you care about plot and pacing in a movie based on a book you already know all the interesting bits of the plot! Its time for some epic space battles where stuff gets blown up.
because I have a brain that works, and an expectation that if the movie is going to hi-jack the name, the premise should remain in tack.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
I'm fairly certain the premise will remain intact. Ender won't know he's actually commanding real people.
I really don't get your perspective - if you've never read the book I can sort of see why plot would be important... but if YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK you know the plot better then any movie can deliver.
Reading "Republic of Thieves" right now! A couple of negative early reviews made me very nervous, but I'm more than half-way through the book and still loving it. It is, in several ways, very different from the first two books. I'm kinda digging those differences, even though I loved the othersI think some reviewers have been put off by the difference in plot and by the Locke-Sabetha story. I see where they're coming from, but I feel like the plot rightly takes a back-seat to the characters and their relationships this time 'round... and I feel Lynch is doing justice to those characters. As before, Lynch's writing is unique, skilful, fluid, unobtrusive in a way different from that of many of my favourite writers. In this book, the writing is more restrained, more focused and freer from flights of fancy.
There is of course still time for last-minute disappointment, but I reckon I'm going to end up enjoying this one more than "Red Seas Under Red Skies".
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
Wool by Hugh Howey.
Excellent so far - about half way through. Got some remarkable twists to it. And beautifully written.
~
Also got the Expanse series on the Kindle for my commute.
Finished book 1 of the series Leviathan Wakes, and just started book 2; Caliban's War
Makes the commute-time disappear. Good space-operatic stuff.
~
Also recently finished Earth Strike by Ian Douglas.
Not recommended - much too yee haw Amerike Rulez yada blah.
Just now reading Ender's Game. Thought it appropriate since my roommate loved the book and hated the movie. I think I understand the difficulty with making a movie based on this book. Too much drama to put on screen. I'm only at chapter 11 and so far I don't see how what I've read can be put on screen in 2 or even 3 hours without losing every connection. That's what dramas are, connections. Feel this, feel that, put it together and feel something else. Not looking for spoilers but I'm guessing that Andrew kills Peter and he and Valentine live happily ever after. I wonder how many of you here believe you are a Third. I know I am. But then, there is a fourth in my family.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Sounds like Ender's Shadow should be next on your list.I wonder how many of you here believe you are a Third. I know I am. But then, there is a fourth in my family.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
I just noticed that you posted about reading this a bit above my post. Your take on the difficulty of making a movie based on it hits all the right points. I wonder if the self-centered aspect gets revealed in the movie?
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
I've not heard anything good about the Bean spinoff.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
I liked the spinoffs better in many ways
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
How many are there? I thought just the one about Bean.
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Its a mess. There are 15 or 16 books in the Ender Saga. 6 for Enders Game, 5 for the Shadow series, then it kind of continues on from there.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Gears of War - Coalition's End
Extremely emotional book, especially for a story that was filler between Gears of War games. Haven't logged much, if any time on the Gears games but I still managed to understand who was who and what was going on. Way better than I was expecting, and it bumped Gears of War to the top of my play list once I'm done with my GFWL titles.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Warning: Not all are written by OSC. The 'Earth Unaware' prequels are written by Aaron Johnston; though they are canon, they will not be written in the familiar OSC style we've come to know. Furthermore, most of the peripheral stuff is just short stories (or slightly expanded novellas) that, while being interesting stories at times, are not really central to the narrative. Sometimes they shed some light on individual characters, but rarely are they particularly important.Its a mess. There are 15 or 16 books in the Ender Saga. 6 for Enders Game, 5 for the Shadow series, then it kind of continues on from there.
The two main storylines follow Ender and Bean. Based on the feedback I've gotten from casual readers, I've found that most people who read Ender's Game are disappointed with the follow-on Ender books (Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind, in publication order) because they were very different thematically than Ender's Game. Those readers generally enjoyed Ender's Shadow and the subsequent books more - there, the focus stays on many of the characters we recognize from Battle School, and the themes continue with a hefty does of geopolitics and war/war games aplenty. Yet even these books drift from the themes of Ender's Game, especially by later novels.
I think the issue is that people who read book series often expect to read the same book, over and over. This happens with all sorts of series - from the epic (GRRM) to YA fiction (Harry Potter, Hunger Games) to chick lit (Devil Wears Prada et al). And if that's what you're looking for, great. OSC, however, often diverges from such strictures; he frequently writes novels to discuss a specific theme. He may use characters and situations from previous novels, but he is happy to change the setting and discussions therein to suit his goals. It makes for varied, interesting reading, but it does mean you can be surprised about the content of a book, even if it's ostensibly in a 'series'. His writing style is very distinctive throughout all of his books, but he bounces around on issues of theme and plotting.
If you're looking for books about prodigy children, he does indeed have several books written in this genre - one of his better strengths, IMO, is his characterization of children. Obviously there's Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. There's also Songmaster, one of his best stand-alone novels. Then there's Hart's Hope, the Pathfinder novels, and Wyrms, which are all good but not necessarily on the level of Ender's Game or Songmaster. There are also bits of this theme in The Worthing Saga and Treason, which are interesting, but not some of his best efforts.
Harry Potter is actually a good example of the story successfully changing as its readers change. The earlier titles are classified as Juvenile while the later titles are Young Adult. The problem was with parents discovering the more mature themes in the latter books and forgetting that their innocent 2nd grader was now a teenager in high school.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Please. I get where you're coming from on HP but all of the books are pretty formulaic and follow common themes. The content might mature but it doesn't change.
also have to question your inclusion of Martin. One of the reasons he is so loved in the fantasy world is because of how he was able to wrap the reader up and keep them while he changed the feel of the story so greatly. From a sorta alternative historical fiction to full blown fantasy. He knew how to get people interested and then he managed to keep them interested even after the change. Extremely rare with fantasy.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Grrm didn't write a bunch of different books - he is writing one long book split up into 1000 page chunks. The superficial plot devices might evolve but his themes (any which exist through the haze of sex, violence, and descriptions of banners) are static.
you're the one who called it a book series
Sure there are some staples that remain, all stories and authors use those, but you're reaching that point where a series is "the same over and over again" if it includes the same characters
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Not at all. I freely recognize that most book series fit in the rubric I've presented here. Most are either rehashing the same story and themes over and over again, with slight modifications in characters or plotting, while others are essentially part of one single story. I don't think anything is particularly wrong with it - I read plenty of series with these characteristics - but it does sometimes lead to a certain ennui. I don't necessarily disagree that GRRM has popularized fantasy to a generation of readers, but making something popular doesn't necessarily mean it's good.you're the one who called it a book series
Sure there are some staples that remain, all stories and authors use those, but you're reaching that point where a series is "the same over and over again" if it includes the same characters
Regardless, there are plenty of series written by varying authors which do not fall into this trap, and not just OSC's Ender series. There's Steven Brust's Vlad novels - his early works are mostly just entertainment, but his books - especially the later ones - each have a specific point to be made. Then there's Simmons' Hyperion Cantos; flawed as they are, each book is definitely unique. Pratchett is fantastic in this regard - each book has a self-contained theme but fits into his broader world seamlessly. There's plenty more where these came from.
I've found that some of the best and most inventive writers out there begin each book by wanting to tell the reader a specific story. These writers tend not to be explicitly plot-driven, but rather use plot (and characterization) as a vehicle for what they want to discuss. In such cases, a book series might reuse characters or worlds because they're a useful scaffold around which to build to their ultimate point. But they're generally not interested in just manufacturing yet another iteration of the same characters doing more or less the same thing. I find this refreshing, and it keeps me coming back to those authors.
That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the occasional read through an all-too-familiar rehashing of beloved characters; I absolutely do! And I recognize that writers rarely fit into such neat boxes. But it's a general trend I've seen, and the worst offenders of the 'copy-paste' crowd are ones I generally find unreadable.
Steven Erikson all the way
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
In the middle of We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Thanks for the information guys. I don't usually read much other than technical stuff for work. Flying back and forth to Indiana made me borrow Ender's Game from my roommate and I really liked how the story was told. In fact, the way the story was told was probably more enjoying than the story itself...if that makes any sense. Since I'm continuing this back and forth for a while longer I'm going to take Ominous's advice and try Ender's Shadow. Sould be good for three weeks since I only read it on the plane Monday and Thursday. Last week I finished Ender's Game on the flight to Indiana so I bought a book for the flight back to California, Six Years, probably a good book but I got a coulpe chapters in and just wasn't comfortable with the way the story was being told and stopped reading it. I don't need to be told who is speaking each and every sentence. Spoiled by the first book I've read in years??
Faith is Hope (see Loki's sig for details)
If hindsight is 20-20, why is it so often ignored?
Spoiler:
Hope is the denial of reality
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