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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 23, 2014 21:11:14 GMT -5
If you want to sample his short stories go with the collection High Cotton. It's pretty well a "best of" collection. Other than his short stories and Hap & Leonard, I've only read his comic work.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 8:26:22 GMT -5
Lansdale's two (or has a third come out?) Drive-In novels from the late '80s are quite fun.
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Post by Calamas on Jul 24, 2014 14:54:32 GMT -5
Thanks, guys
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Post by DubipR on Jul 26, 2014 16:25:57 GMT -5
Bought 3 mystery books today:
The Secret Lives of Married Women by Elissa Wald (Hard Case Crime)
Borderline by Lawrence Block (Hard Case Crime)
Murder on Bamboo Lane by Naomi Hirahara
I've never read any of Wald's prior works, but a like a good noir book written by a lady. I love anything Block writes, so this was a slam dunk of a pick up. And I'm a big fan of Hirahara's works; her Mas Arai series are very good.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Jul 27, 2014 20:40:58 GMT -5
So I've been trying to get through The Once and Future King for about two weeks now, and it's absolutely killing me. I've heard so many people I respect speak so highly of this book, but it just seems...silly. I'm one hundred and seventy pages in and have yet to discover the book's appeal. Do I give up and move to the next book on my "To Read" list, or is there an impassioned fan out there who can tell me why I want to keep going?  |
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Post by gothos on Jul 28, 2014 15:55:57 GMT -5
I dunno about ONCE AND FUTURE, but it was torture to plow my way through THE BOOK OF MERLYN for a book discussion group.
Speaking of that, do any members here participate in book discussion groups?
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Post by berkley on Jul 28, 2014 16:05:01 GMT -5
So I've been trying to get through The Once and Future King for about two weeks now, and it's absolutely killing me. I've heard so many people I respect speak so highly of this book, but it just seems...silly. I'm one hundred and seventy pages in and have yet to discover the book's appeal. Do I give up and move to the next book on my "To Read" list, or is there an impassioned fan out there who can tell me why I want to keep going? Do you like English children's classics like The Wind in the Willows, or The Hobbit, or Alice in Wonderland? If you don't have a taste for the kind of chatty narration they often feature, this probably won't be your thing. I think of it as an all-time favourite, but I read it as a teenager in the 70s, so my recollection of details is pretty hazy. On the one hand, you don't see the appeal 170 pages into it, maybe it would be advisable to take a break and try it again some other time. OTOH, it sounds like you're almost finished the first section, The Sword in the Stone, so you might want to keep going at least that far. Also, I the tone of the narrative changes gradually as the book progresses, so it might be worth continuing even though you haven,t enjoyed The Sword in the Stone, perhaps after taking a break for a bit. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,870
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Post by shaxper on Jul 28, 2014 19:21:54 GMT -5
Do you like English children's classics like The Wind in the Willows, or The Hobbit, or Alice in Wonderland? If you don't have a taste for the kind of chatty narration they often feature, this probably won't be your thing. Well that helps a bit. I expected this to be a more serious work and was surprised by the silliness. Now that I know that's the actual appeal and intention of the book, that might change my perception of it. Still, I'm not sure it's for me. I might try your advice and press on to the end of Sword in the Stone. After that, there's a lot of other books I'd like to get to before the summer is over. |
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Post by berkley on Jul 28, 2014 21:33:15 GMT -5
Do you like English children's classics like The Wind in the Willows, or The Hobbit, or Alice in Wonderland? If you don't have a taste for the kind of chatty narration they often feature, this probably won't be your thing. Well that helps a bit. I expected this to be a more serious work and was surprised by the silliness. Now that I know that's the actual appeal and intention of the book, that might change my perception of it. Still, I'm not sure it's for me. I might try your advice and press on to the end of Sword in the Stone. After that, there's a lot of other books I'd like to get to before the summer is over. The sort of whimsy and humour that seems to be turning you off is present throughout the book to some extent, but the later sections do get increasingly serious, even to the point of tragedy at times, so you might want to give them a try one of these days. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 29, 2014 22:27:45 GMT -5
Against the Tide of Years
by SM Stirling
I really feel like I should like this book more than I did.. it took me a while to get through it. It's not anytihng specific.. it just felt hollow to me. It didn't help that this, the middle book of the trilogy, mostly simply set up the conclusion.
The two opposing Nantucket forces the 'good guys' on the Island and the 'Bad Guys' in Europe, make friends and the battle lines are drawn. I was greatly looking forward to seeing Greeks and Trojans in the mix (which the bad of the book advertised), but it was really a token shout out more than anything, which was quite disappointing. There is a pretty cool battle scene, but the progress made in just a few years after the 'Event' is a little too good, especially considering the small amount of people involved.. I think perhaps I'm having trouble not comparing it to the 1632 series, which I liked alot better.
It's not bad, mind you, just not that great.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 1, 2014 22:53:57 GMT -5
TV:2000 (1982)
Edited by Issac Asimov,Charles G. Waugh and Martin Harry Greenberg
 Anthology including: The Man Who Murdered Television by Joe Patrouch (1976) Now Inhale by Eric Frank Russell (1959) Dreaming is a Private Thing by Isaac Asimov (1955) The Man Who Came Back by Robert Silverberg (1974) I See You by Damon Knight (1976) The Prize Of Peril by Robert Sheckley (1959) Home Team Advantage by Jack C. Haldeman (1977) Mercenary by Mack Reynolds (1962) And Madly Teach by Lloyd Biggles Jr (1966) Interview by Frank A. Javor (1963) Cloak Of Anarchy by Larry Niven (1972) And Now The News by Theodore Sturgeon (1956) Very Proper Charlies by Dean Ing (1978) Committee Of The Whole by Frank Herbert (1965) The Jester by William Tenn (1951) Without Portfolio by James E. Gunn (1955) The Idea by Barry Marlzberg (1971) A very entertaining collection by mostly well known authors speculating on the future of TV regarding who will control it, it's future content and it's consequences to society.Some of the stories I most enjoyed included Now Inhale-a scenario of televised public executions on an alien planet The Man Who Murdered Television-Does TV cause cancer? Home Team Advantage-The ultimate Baseball game between Earth and Aliens. Loser gets eaten Mercenary-War becomes a reality show And Madly Teach-Televised education is now the norm yet one teacher clings to the old ways Very Proper Charlies-After a terrorist incident kills scores of TV newsmen,the media declares war by ridiculing them I'm always pleased by the selections made by Asimov & Greenberg in their anthologies.This ones no exception. Based on the year a story was written,I can't say any of them made a startling and accurate prediction of the future but some where quite interesting on what still lies ahead
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 4, 2014 17:47:18 GMT -5
 Turn Left at Thursday 1961, Ballantine This is an odd little collection... the back of the book, in bold, red letters, opines 'Frederik Pohl is a very fine fellow'. Not much about the stories at all. Then there's the fact that on the front cover, back, cover, and inside cover, it says 'original stories - not a reprint' It then references the magazines the stories were first published in. It also calls 3 of the stories 'novelettes'... assuming they mean the longest 3, the 3rd is only 25 pages... I'm not sure how that qualifies as a 'novellette' Marketing oddities aside, it's a good collection. Mars by Moonlight - the longest (44 pages) and my least favorite. It's got a great hook, we learn about the life of a convict on Mars, where no one knows what crime they committed, since their memories get erased before they go to the colony. There's an interesting cast of characters, too...unfortunately, it reads like the first 3 chapters of a novel, with no particular ending or resolution, only the tease of further mystery... I hate that! Richest man in Leavittown(Previously published as 'the Bitterest Pill' - A guy wins the lottery, and among the new 'friends' looking to get him to 'invest' is his wife's ex-husband, who claims to have unlocked the secret to human memory. Awesome ending to this one.. probably my favorite. Seven Deadly Virtues - Venus is held together by strict protocol and rigorous social conditioning, and to deviate from that is to become Nobody. When an average workers steals the wife of a mean boss, he's in big trouble, unless he can prove the boss is a crook. Not a bad story, but could definitely have benefited from more space and detail. At least it had a definite beginning, middle and end. Martian in the Attic -- Blackmail is really hard to do.. but if the target has a Martian hostage in his attic as a slave, isn't it worth it? Pohl definitely is far better at these shorter stories (at least in this collection) than the longer ones. Third Offense -- An interesting look at prison and how it changes you, and just how sneaky punishments can be. The Hated -- Probably the darkest view of space travel I've read... made me a little sad. Well written and interesting, though. I, Plinglot, Who You? The Alderanians are trying to get the US and the Soviet Union to blow each other up, by telling each side the other has their high tech weapons... will it work? Or are humans a bit too smart for that? Lots of interesting social commentary in a very short span of pages... lots of stuff to make you think. That's what sci-fi is all about really. While I didn't love every story, I'd definitely highly recommend the collection just for the subject matter and the writing (which is really good). |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 4, 2014 22:33:26 GMT -5
I own and read that Pohl book some years ago. I've always enjoyed his short-story work from years past.He certainly has quite a few collections in paperback and I've yet to find one I can't recommend
Ballentine had the motto-Original stories not a reprint on many paperbacks of that time. Certain publishers back then reprinted previous paperback releases under different titles. I'm sure plenty of purchasers back then got real ticked off when they realized they wasted their money
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 5, 2014 14:14:11 GMT -5
Ok, so 'not a reprint' means 'new to book format'. That actually makes sense, especially the way some things are put out under all different covers.
I meant to ask before, did that anyone in that TV anthology correctly predict the 'contests to be famous' (like American Idol) or reality TV?
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Post by Ish Kabbible on Aug 5, 2014 15:56:41 GMT -5
I meant to ask before, did that anyone in that TV anthology correctly predict the 'contests to be famous' (like American Idol) or reality TV? The story Mercenary by Mack Reynolds came close. A world where there is a disarmament agreement that all wars will only be fought with weapons that pre-dated the year 1900. All wars would be fought in designated battlefields only. Wars would be fought by corporations-winner takes all. Wars would be televised including embedded reporters. Armies are made up of volunteers-promotions in military rank was one of the few ways you can rise in social status. After a war is fought you would join another corporation for the next scheduled war. Sucessful veteran commanders got a lot of TV face time and became media stars. This story was written in 1962. The Prize Of Peril by Robert Sheckley was another. TV game shows with competitors risking death is popular. Audiences would rather see ordinary people compete and possibly die instead of professionals. So if your acceptible as a contestant, you can be one of the drivers of a Daytona 500 type show that would have guarenteed fatalities.Survivors would get paid,lets say,$10,000 and if they're popular with viewers they would appear next on a more dangerous show with a bigger reward.For instance,Sunken Treasure where you compete with other divers for buried treasure amidst the killer sharks,giant octopus,manta rays and other dangers. The Ultimate TV show is one where for 1 week killer assassins are hunting you down as the cameras record it all. |
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