Science Fiction
Discussion
Guvernator said:
I guess if you are a hard sci-fi IMB fan than it could be said that Algebraist is a little bit more "popular fiction" orientated as the plot isn't as nuanced as his other stuff and the action moves along at a fair clip but I still loved it. I like to think of it as his fun book as opposed to his other tomes which are a bit more heavyweight.
Neal Asher is outstanding, his Ian Cormack and Polity series of books are brilliant. The Polity stuff does borrow quite heavily from IMB's Culture stuff IMO (i.e. incredibly intelligent AI minds running everything) but the pace and action are turned up to 11. If you like IMB's Culture novels, think of Neal Asher as the Micheal Bay\Hollywood version.
Not sure I would describe any of IMB's books as hard sc-fi. They are space opera in IMHO. Not enough detail about the physics and engineering behind the technology to be hard sc-fi.Neal Asher is outstanding, his Ian Cormack and Polity series of books are brilliant. The Polity stuff does borrow quite heavily from IMB's Culture stuff IMO (i.e. incredibly intelligent AI minds running everything) but the pace and action are turned up to 11. If you like IMB's Culture novels, think of Neal Asher as the Micheal Bay\Hollywood version.
Guvernator said:
DrTre said:
The Algebraist was one of the best!
I could never understand how it got such a lukewarm reception, I really liked that one.
I guess if you are a hard sci-fi IMB fan than it could be said that Algebraist is a little bit more "popular fiction" orientated as the plot isn't as nuanced as his other stuff and the action moves along at a fair clip but I still loved it. I like to think of it as his fun book as opposed to his other tomes which are a bit more heavyweight.I could never understand how it got such a lukewarm reception, I really liked that one.
plasticpig said:
Not sure I would describe any of IMB's books as hard sc-fi. They are space opera in IMHO. Not enough detail about the physics and engineering behind the technology to be hard sc-fi.
Ok perhaps I worded that badly as I appreciate hard sci-fi refers to a specific sci-fi sub genre. I just meant to say The Algebraist seems to be a lighter read then most of IMB's other stuff. It's like his trashy holiday novel equivalent (if such an expression can ever be used to refer to any of IMB's work) 
Asher's Spatterjay series is also VERY good. Again set in the Polity universe but with a focus on the interesting goings on of the residents of a polity world called Spatterjay where an indigenous leech bite can infer humans with virtual immortality and superhuman strength. Yes that's as weird and fun as it sounds!
Bloody hell, one of my favourite books/characters is going to be a Netflix show
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-classic-cyberpunk-novel...
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-classic-cyberpunk-novel...
d too. Could be a good series that.
DrTre said:
He's not evil!
He's a righteous dude....who can, admittedly, be a bit punchy. And shooty. And stabby. And a bit torture-to-insanity-y.
But apart from that..
Well, his morals are a tad lax but does have a certain sense of honour. He's a righteous dude....who can, admittedly, be a bit punchy. And shooty. And stabby. And a bit torture-to-insanity-y.
But apart from that..
Edited by DrTre on Thursday 21st January 09:22
DrTre said:
Bloody hell, one of my favourite books/characters is going to be a Netflix show
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-classic-cyberpunk-novel...
Excellent! http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-classic-cyberpunk-novel...
I remember hearing that Joel Silver's production company bought the rights years ago for a rather large sum. Given the amount of dumbing down you inevitably get I always wondered how they'd handle the body swapping thing and still make it intelligible to the residents of Bumhole, Wisconsin. Maybe this is the way...
jmorgan said:
DrTre said:
He's not evil!
He's a righteous dude....who can, admittedly, be a bit punchy. And shooty. And stabby. And a bit torture-to-insanity-y.
But apart from that..
Well, his morals are a tad lax but does have a certain sense of honour. He's a righteous dude....who can, admittedly, be a bit punchy. And shooty. And stabby. And a bit torture-to-insanity-y.
But apart from that..
Ends / means. Anything in between is irrelevant!
I can see this being treated rather like Preacher and Breaking Bad - classic anti-hero character who takes absolutely zero BS. Except in this case with rather more projectile weaponry.
I'm hoping they keep the fighting semi-realistic and avoid over-Hollywood'ing it.
The thing for me is who they pick to play him - half-asian / half slavic is a rare mix, even before you consider he's got special-forces build and is far from a pretty-boy...
havoc said:
Ends / means. Anything in between is irrelevant!
I can see this being treated rather like Preacher and Breaking Bad - classic anti-hero character who takes absolutely zero BS. Except in this case with rather more projectile weaponry.
I'm hoping they keep the fighting semi-realistic and avoid over-Hollywood'ing it.
The thing for me is who they pick to play him - half-asian / half slavic is a rare mix, even before you consider he's got special-forces build and is far from a pretty-boy...
But for flashbacks, you're right.
havoc said:
Ends / means. Anything in between is irrelevant!
I can see this being treated rather like Preacher and Breaking Bad - classic anti-hero character who takes absolutely zero BS. Except in this case with rather more projectile weaponry.
I'm hoping they keep the fighting semi-realistic and avoid over-Hollywood'ing it.
The thing for me is who they pick to play him - half-asian / half slavic is a rare mix, even before you consider he's got special-forces build and is far from a pretty-boy...
Gassing Station | Books and Literature | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff