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Scifi/Fantasy Book Recs


Hellraiser97

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20 hours ago, Noozak said:

Is anyone reading the Horus Heresy series from the Warhammer 40k universe?

I looked into it but was deterred by two things a) amount of books.  Seems like there are 50+ or so. b) price of the books.  WH40K books never seem to be discounted beyond a certain price point depending on the type of book it is.  I think all the Horus Heresy books are $10 each.

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3 hours ago, Hozz said:

I looked into it but was deterred by two things a) amount of books.  Seems like there are 50+ or so. b) price of the books.  WH40K books never seem to be discounted beyond a certain price point depending on the type of book it is.  I think all the Horus Heresy books are $10 each.

I had someone give me 55 or so books of the Heresy series for free. Happy to send over to anyone interested (mobi files). Warhammer does some stuff really well but the quality issues from writer to writer are drastic. It's truly grimdark though so it can be challenging at times to deal with how shitty everyone and everything is.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been blowing through series in recent years.  

Series I have finished:

The Silo Saga, Hugh Howy - 3 books, enjoyed all of them

The Final Architecture, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 books, loved them all

Children of Time Novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 Books, they are exceptionally well done, but I can't say I really enjoy them.  They frankly make me feel sad

Undying Mercenaries, BV Larson - 19 books so far.  They're light, fun military Sci-Fi.  As long as you don't take it too serious, they're a blast.

Steamborn Series, Eric Asher - 7 books so far.  I love the setting of steampunk, but have never reallyr ead much in it.  This came on some amazon recommendation and I've enjoyed it so far.

Expeditionary Force, RC Bray - 15 books.  Much like Undying Mercenaries, it's light, fun military Sci-fi and absolutely hilarious.  Loved it.

Frontlines, Eric Dove - 8 books.  I think this series is finished.  More serious military Sci-fi, but not too deep.  Enjoyed it as a light read.

The Long Winter, AG Riddle - 3 books.  Loved the first one, kind of liked the second, really didn't care for the third one.

The Interdependency, John Scalzi - 3 books.  I read the first one back in 2015 and completely forgot about it.  Picked up the last two last year and while it wasn't bad, definitely not his best work either.

Academy, Jack McDevitt - 8 books.  I read these on and off for years.  Loved the early ones but really felt the last few fizzled out.

Stand along books:

The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky - He's a really smart author.  This book was a little difficult at the beginning, but I really liked it overall.

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir - Not as good as the Martian, better than Artemis

 

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14 hours ago, Hellraiser97 said:

I've been blowing through series in recent years.  

Series I have finished:

The Silo Saga, Hugh Howy - 3 books, enjoyed all of them

The Final Architecture, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 books, loved them all

Children of Time Novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 Books, they are exceptionally well done, but I can't say I really enjoy them.  They frankly make me feel sad

Undying Mercenaries, BV Larson - 19 books so far.  They're light, fun military Sci-Fi.  As long as you don't take it too serious, they're a blast.

Steamborn Series, Eric Asher - 7 books so far.  I love the setting of steampunk, but have never reallyr ead much in it.  This came on some amazon recommendation and I've enjoyed it so far.

Expeditionary Force, RC Bray - 15 books.  Much like Undying Mercenaries, it's light, fun military Sci-fi and absolutely hilarious.  Loved it.

Frontlines, Eric Dove - 8 books.  I think this series is finished.  More serious military Sci-fi, but not too deep.  Enjoyed it as a light read.

The Long Winter, AG Riddle - 3 books.  Loved the first one, kind of liked the second, really didn't care for the third one.

The Interdependency, John Scalzi - 3 books.  I read the first one back in 2015 and completely forgot about it.  Picked up the last two last year and while it wasn't bad, definitely not his best work either.

Academy, Jack McDevitt - 8 books.  I read these on and off for years.  Loved the early ones but really felt the last few fizzled out.

Stand along books:

The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky - He's a really smart author.  This book was a little difficult at the beginning, but I really liked it overall.

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir - Not as good as the Martian, better than Artemis

 

Did you ever read the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons? It's 4 books. It's very good. Kinda prescient because it deals with AI (he calls it the Techno-Core). It gets a little weird in the last book, but all in all I enjoyed it. I just re-read it again. The Shrike is one of the best "monsters" ever. 

 

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11 hours ago, hornian said:

Did you ever read the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons? It's 4 books. It's very good. Kinda prescient because it deals with AI (he calls it the Techno-Core). It gets a little weird in the last book, but all in all I enjoyed it. I just re-read it again. The Shrike is one of the best "monsters" ever. 

 

Forgot to add those. I only read the first two. Loved them. Forgot the are two more books, I might have to add those!  Thanks

8 hours ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

You must do audiobooks.  The Frontline series is written by Mark Kloos, but the audiobook was narrated by Eric Dove.

Yeah, got that one mixed up.  I mainly do audio books as I spend a ridiculous amount of time in the car.

 

I'm currently on The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.  I'm about 35 hours into it (it's 42 hours long).  He does an amazing job of world building but damn I feel like everything so far has just been build up and I still have basically no idea what's going on.

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I've been blowing through series in recent years.  
Series I have finished:
The Silo Saga, Hugh Howy - 3 books, enjoyed all of them
The Final Architecture, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 books, loved them all
Children of Time Novels, Adrian Tchaikovsky - 3 Books, they are exceptionally well done, but I can't say I really enjoy them.  They frankly make me feel sad
Undying Mercenaries, BV Larson - 19 books so far.  They're light, fun military Sci-Fi.  As long as you don't take it too serious, they're a blast.
Steamborn Series, Eric Asher - 7 books so far.  I love the setting of steampunk, but have never reallyr ead much in it.  This came on some amazon recommendation and I've enjoyed it so far.
Expeditionary Force, RC Bray - 15 books.  Much like Undying Mercenaries, it's light, fun military Sci-fi and absolutely hilarious.  Loved it.
Frontlines, Eric Dove - 8 books.  I think this series is finished.  More serious military Sci-fi, but not too deep.  Enjoyed it as a light read.
The Long Winter, AG Riddle - 3 books.  Loved the first one, kind of liked the second, really didn't care for the third one.
The Interdependency, John Scalzi - 3 books.  I read the first one back in 2015 and completely forgot about it.  Picked up the last two last year and while it wasn't bad, definitely not his best work either.
Academy, Jack McDevitt - 8 books.  I read these on and off for years.  Loved the early ones but really felt the last few fizzled out.
Stand along books:
The Doors of Eden, Adrian Tchaikovsky - He's a really smart author.  This book was a little difficult at the beginning, but I really liked it overall.
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir - Not as good as the Martian, better than Artemis
 


I'll check out Undying Mercenaries based on this because we have a bit of overlap looks like. Thanks.

The first four novellas of Murderbot Diaries are awesome, too. Loved them all and saw that Apple TV is picking it up. They seem to be targeting the scifi market from what I can tell.

Currently on The Girl with all the Gifts at the moment. Not bad so far...
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On 2/10/2024 at 5:30 PM, MadTrapper said:


 

 


I'll check out Undying Mercenaries based on this because we have a bit of overlap looks like. Thanks.

The first four novellas of Murderbot Diaries are awesome, too. Loved them all and saw that Apple TV is picking it up. They seem to be targeting the scifi market from what I can tell.

Currently on The Girl with all the Gifts at the moment. Not bad so far...

 

The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by American author Martha Wells, published by Tor Books. The series is about a part robot, part human construct designed as a Security Unit (SecUnit). The SecUnit manages to override its governor module, thus enabling it to develop independence, which it primarily uses to watch soap operas.

 

Yeah, I'm going to have toa dd that to the queue!  Thanks!

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On 2/8/2024 at 9:56 PM, Hellraiser97 said:

 

I'm currently on The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.  I'm about 35 hours into it (it's 42 hours long).  He does an amazing job of world building but damn I feel like everything so far has just been build up and I still have basically no idea what's going on.

I'd holdoff on reading/listening anymore for at least 10 years. It took him 14 years to write the first 5 books and he has 5 more planned in the series.

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2 minutes ago, rage-a-holic said:

I'd holdoff on reading/listening anymore for at least 10 years. It took him 14 years to write the first 5 books and he has 5 more planned in the series.

I think you're good to read anything unfinished by Sanderson.  The Stormlight Archive is fantastic and while it's slated for 10 books, it will be split into two 5 book series.  So only one to go to finish out part 1.  He's a very prolific writer and isn't going to turbofuck his readers like GRRM or Rothfuss.

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  • 1 month later...
1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

Has anyone read the 3 Body Problem books?  Really enjoyed the Netflix show and I was thinking about reading these next.  Are they a good read?

I tried to read them years ago and really hated the translation.

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14 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Yeah, chinese

Is Chinese the universal written language in China and Mandarin and Cantonese is more of a spoken thing? Please pardon my ignorance.  The Tencent film adaption is in Mandarin. 
 

I worked with some Mandarin speakers before. Their translated emails were a brutal assault on the English language. I’m going to try the 3 Body Problem audiobooks, but I have no expectation of finishing. 

Edited by billfromlaketravis
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On 4/6/2024 at 8:36 AM, billfromlaketravis said:

The Tencent film adaption is in Mandarin. 

It’s rough to watch as you’re having to read everything while trying to watch it, and it’s dense and some stuff doesn’t come across as well as the first book.  

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On 4/8/2024 at 7:56 PM, atomheartbevo said:

It’s rough to watch as you’re having to read everything while trying to watch it, and it’s dense and some stuff doesn’t come across as well as the first book.  

I’d still recommend it if you’re reading the books. It’s a close adaption and helps to visualize events in the books. 

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On 4/6/2024 at 6:36 AM, billfromlaketravis said:

Is Chinese the universal written language in China and Mandarin and Cantonese is more of a spoken thing? Please pardon my ignorance.  

Yes, the written language is a Chinese which is also split into Traditional and Simplified (where some of the most complex kanji letters are...made simpler). The spoken dialects are Mandarin, Cantonese, and literally hundreds of others.

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Book readers and show watchers, is We’s Einstein joke in the books or did B&W write that? I’m pressed if they wrote that for the show. It’s a perfect analogy for 3 Body Problem. 

I started The Dark Forest. I don’t like the narrator as much. Some English guy. 
 

The pacing is a little jerky, but the Evans - San-Ti conversations are great. It’s pretty obvious the San-Ti didn’t need Evans when the Sophons reach Earth.

I’m currently in the Wallfacers chapter. Pretty cool. 
 

I’m trying not to look ahead, but it’s clear The Dark Forest is building towards something big. 

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23 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Book readers and show watchers, is We’s Einstein joke in the books or did B&W write that? I’m pressed if they wrote that for the show. It’s a perfect analogy for 3 Body Problem. 

It’s different in the book if I recall right, less of a joke and more of a story, which either way the Trisolarans didn’t quite understand it, but they knew she was conveying information to him, which is why they tried to kill him.  I think the show did it much better.

The Dark Forest gets into cosmic sociology a lot more. I have confidence they’ll pull it off.

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