Never read any Lem but I've had The Futurological Congress sitting on my bookshelf for months. It's a short book but it sounds like a lot of his stuff is pretty dense and not a fast read. Is this generally true?
Dense is a good word to use for a lot of his books, yes. I haven't read Futurological, so I can't say anything that. I personally think that the Cyberiad is the funniest and most accessible book of his. Solaris is not too bad either, and that's also a classic and a good place to start.
I read a copy of Dostoevsky's The Grand Inquisitor which is a selection of chapters from The Brothers Karamazov (which I have not read) and an extended reply by Dostoevsky entitled "The Russian Monk," as well as an essay 'reflecting the subtlety and power of Dostoevsky's critique of modernity and his alternative vision of human community.'
Not really my thing, though I can tell from the chapters from The Brothers Karamazov that I will enjoy that when I read it.
After that I read:
The Robots of Dawn is the third Asimov book I have read (after The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun). I am not sure how I feel about the plot element of
psychic robots
. It's not so much about it becoming less hard science fiction as it is about what I saw as generally unsettlingly paternalistic behavior from the robots, and seeing that as taking it to an even more unsettling direction
where Giskard was making judgments about what thoughts the humans were allowed to have
.
I liked the robot stories, even though they sort of creeped me out.
Today I am reading:
A Dirge for Prester John is a planned trilogy of books based around the concept that the original letter from Prester John in 1165 wasn't simply a hoax but reality. In the first book, the Habitation of the Blessed, the frame story is that a monk named Brother Hiob who is in the Himalayas in 1699 with his brothers on missionary work comes across a tree whose branches grow books instead of trees. Hiob begins the work of translating three books, working sections at a time as the books are beginning to rot (they are fruit after all), as he follows three narratives about the Kingdom of Prester John - one written from John's perspective when he first came to Pentexore, one from the perspective of the nanny to the Royal Family, and one from the perspective of Hagia, John's future wife amongst the inhabitants of Pentexore.
The second book, The Folded World has a similar structure, but follows a younger Hagia, a lion-philosopher taking care of John and Hagia's deformed daughter (who graces the front cover), and another John (John Mandeville) who discovers the land of Pentexore on his travels.
It's a really wonderful series so far that I find really easy to get lost in.
The Robots of Dawn is the third Asimov book I have read (after The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun). I am not sure how I feel about the plot element of
psychic robots
. It's not so much about it becoming less hard science fiction as it is about what I saw as generally unsettlingly paternalistic behavior from the robots, and seeing that as taking it to an even more unsettling direction
where Giskard was making judgments about what thoughts the humans were allowed to have
.
I liked the robot stories, even though they sort of creeped me out.
Finished up The Hero of Ages, the third book in the Mistborn series.
I really enjoyed it. Made slogging through some of the duller sections in the second book worth it.
-Having Vin's earring be a tiny spike for Ruin to use to influence her, as well as the reason she could pierce copper clouds was a fantastic piece of foresight. I was glad Marsh got to redeem himself by removing it, as well.
-Sazed turning out to be the actual "Hero of Ages" was a nice surprise.
I'm quite excited for The Alloy of Law next week, since it will presumably
deal with the new status quo of the world, though several hundred years in the future.
Don't know if I'll jump right into that or if I'll go read another of the Culture books or something from that best Sci-Fi books thread that I haven't read. Maybe Strange in a Strange Land.
I have a paper copy of Windup Girl, but couldn't really get into it. I just did not give a fuck about what genes were used to create the fruit the MC is talking about in the beginning.
Yea, I've only read the first chapter so far, and I've spent most of the time trying to figure out exactly what it is the MC does. The first chapter finished with some action, which kept me intrigued to read on, I just didn't have time this weekend.
I finished Under Heaven recently and after finishing it I made the decision to never bother with Kay again. Such a disappointment considering the book's wonderful start.
The trilogy. I don't think I ever finished the third book, so I don't know, maybe it ended well.
I finished Under Heaven recently and after finishing it I made the decision to never bother with Kay again. Such a disappointment considering the book's wonderful start.
Well, we shall see. I am about 3/5 of the way through it now and I am enjoying it. There's bits and pieces here and there that remind me of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising Sequence.
The trilogy. I don't think I ever finished the third book, so I don't know, maybe it ended well.
I finished Under Heaven recently and after finishing it I made the decision to never bother with Kay again. Such a disappointment considering the book's wonderful start.
Just found the last one hundred pages or so to be utterly disappointing. Felt like all the setup of the prior pages came undone and the careful focus on Tai and the world around him disappeared, only to be replaced
by a conflict I couldn't care about, whose main purpose seemed to be to resolve this political situation developing between Tai and his brother's master without actually delving into politics.
Gone were the deliberate conversations and the fantastic wuxia-laden world; an abrupt, hastily told war story replaced it instead, and overall the story suffered for it.
Highly recommend it. Worthy of the Booker. Short, and very readable. You can read it in a sitting or two.
Only one chapter in, but I'm reading
I might read that The Postmortal book. Looks interesting. I want to start ASOIAF but I don't think I can bother to read the whole series. I might go read some Jim Crace or some of the Ian McEwan stuff I missed. Or maybe something from the 19th century, not sure yet.
And I thought that the world-building, the writing, and the atmosphere were the best parts, though I was less enamored by the plot itself. I didn't dislike it by any means, but I found myself more interested when I was learning about the planet and the societies of its inhabitants than when I was being told what was happening in the present.
Has anyone read the Kindle Deal of the Day book? Or read anything from the author? The premise sounds like something I'd like but the cover reminds me of one of those Amish romance novels you see at a Walmart check out line (well here in PA anyway).
Got a handful of new books recently that I plan on reading soon. This is the latest one and it might be my next:
Almost done with I Have Seen the World Begin, and just started this, which should take me a day or so, or at least several short sittings (it's very short):
