Science Fiction
Discussion
captain_cynic said:
Where do you find your reasonably priced books these days? Amazon used to be good when most books were a fiver, now I'm struggling to find one under £8.
I have a kindle unlimited subscription which has payed for itself over and over, spend alot of time on trains and planes and it has been a god send. RizzoTheRat said:
captain_cynic said:
I'm the kind of reader who prefers the dead tree version.
I always was, even after my wife first bought me one, but I've come round to the idea in a big way.captain_cynic said:
Don't get me wrong, it's great for reference material so I can find things quickly. So much so that I'd be hesitant to by a textbook in paper but I already stare at a screen for far too long at work (then gaming). Plus I like to take books to places where electronics get damaged (beaches, pools, floating bars).
I'm the opposite, I'd much rather have a text book in paper as it's easier to flick though to the relevant bit, but prefer novels on Kindle these days. Screens look a lot more like paper than a monitor screen, but I think they've really missed a trick not producing a waterproof one sooner. Phones have been waterproof for years why have e-readers only just caught up?Anyway back on topic, having bought the first of Craig Alanson's Expeditionary Force books on a whim after someone mentioned them a few pages back, I ended up reading all 6 back to back (always a danger on kindle
), very entertaining if a little bit repetitive at times.Clockwork Cupcake said:
Jammez said:
I love reading sci fi but have a habit of reading things very fast & not always remembering them (means I can read books numerous times which my wife finds very odd!)
Sadly I am the complete opposite. I can pick up a book that I last read 20 years ago, read the summary on the back cover, and am then able to recall so much about the book that there is little point in reading it again. 
Having said that, some books are worth reading again to savour, though. I recently re-read a few Discworld books and whilst I recalled all the main plot points, they were still enjoyable.
irocfan said:
geeks said:
I am about halfway through the Space Team series by Barry J. Hutchison. Laugh out loud stuff in places, very easy to read and follow and pretty well written too, worth a look if you enjoy comedy scifi stuff!
is that the one with the vajazzle?Not i am couple past it now (actually have just started "Return of the Dead Guy!" so actually I am more than half way through, enjoyed them that much I had lost track, also the danger of Kindle!
I am just getting into Neal Asher's The Soldier: Rise of the Jain Book 1 and am very much enjoying it so far. Quite a romp actually - plenty of high tec geekery and action. Recommended 
DibblyDobbler said:
I am just getting into Neal Asher's The Soldier: Rise of the Jain Book 1 and am very much enjoying it so far. Quite a romp actually - plenty of high tec geekery and action. Recommended
Enjoying Neal Asher for sure!Warmfuzzies said:
I’ve been buying my Iain m banks and Alistair Reynolds from the bay of E. Picked up plenty of mr Reynolds hard backs for only 3-4£ a time. Have about 20...... or so at present, this thread has certainly opened my wallet...
I've recently been re-Culturing myself.Just finished Look to Windward, and often received odd looks from the wife as I laughed out loud at various passages. The geek in me rather enjoyed the conversation where they were insulting each other purely through ship names...
DibblyDobbler said:
I am just getting into Neal Asher's The Soldier: Rise of the Jain Book 1 and am very much enjoying it so far. Quite a romp actually - plenty of high tec geekery and action. Recommended
Read all the others not acquired that one yet. Just started the lost fleet series again so might once I've finished this RobDickinson said:
DibblyDobbler said:
I am just getting into Neal Asher's The Soldier: Rise of the Jain Book 1 and am very much enjoying it so far. Quite a romp actually - plenty of high tec geekery and action. Recommended
Read all the others not acquired that one yet. Just started the lost fleet series again so might once I've finished this 
DibblyDobbler said:
I am just getting into Neal Asher's The Soldier: Rise of the Jain Book 1 and am very much enjoying it so far. Quite a romp actually - plenty of high tec geekery and action. Recommended
Yet to read a Neal Asher novel I haven't liked. I've still got to read the 3rd book in the Owner series and 2nd and 3rd in the Transformation series before starting on Rise of the Jain.So, yesterday as part of Amazon Prime Day, Prime members got 3 months free access to Kindle Unlimited.
I had a look for books by Adrian Tchaikovsky and found Dogs of War was included so started reading it.
My name is Rex. I am a good dog.
Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, south-eastern Mexico.
Rex is a genetically engineered Bioform, a deadly weapon in a dirty war. He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he's got to kill a lot of enemies.
But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash?
There's a few themes that are lifted from elsewhere. Master is a Col Kurtz (Apocalypse Now / Heart of Darkness) type character but he isn't 1-dimensionally so. In fairness, the similarity to Kurtz is lampshaded / acknowledged.
If you have ever seen the Jet Li film Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog) then parts of the plot might seem rather familiar, but this didn't detract from it for me. Plus there is so much more to the book than that.
Just like Children of Time there is a great mix of good story, geeky tech details, self-consistency and plausibility (marks of good sci-fi in my opinion), and character development. Plus, like Children of Time, it explores transhumanism, ethics, humanity, and the like.
I wholeheartedly recommend it.
I had a look for books by Adrian Tchaikovsky and found Dogs of War was included so started reading it.
My name is Rex. I am a good dog.
Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy calibre weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instil fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, south-eastern Mexico.
Rex is a genetically engineered Bioform, a deadly weapon in a dirty war. He has the intelligence to carry out his orders and feedback implants to reward him when he does. All he wants to be is a Good Dog. And to do that he must do exactly what Master says and Master says he's got to kill a lot of enemies.
But who, exactly, are the enemies? What happens when Master is tried as a war criminal? What rights does the Geneva Convention grant weapons? Do Rex and his fellow Bioforms even have a right to exist? And what happens when Rex slips his leash?
There's a few themes that are lifted from elsewhere. Master is a Col Kurtz (Apocalypse Now / Heart of Darkness) type character but he isn't 1-dimensionally so. In fairness, the similarity to Kurtz is lampshaded / acknowledged.
If you have ever seen the Jet Li film Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog) then parts of the plot might seem rather familiar, but this didn't detract from it for me. Plus there is so much more to the book than that.
Just like Children of Time there is a great mix of good story, geeky tech details, self-consistency and plausibility (marks of good sci-fi in my opinion), and character development. Plus, like Children of Time, it explores transhumanism, ethics, humanity, and the like.
I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Tuesday 17th July 10:50
Clockwork Cupcake said:
I had a look for books by Adrian Tchaikovsky and found Dogs of War was included so started reading it.
I wholeheartedly recommend it.
I read this a few months ago, then promptly forgot to come on here and recommend it.I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Tuesday 17th July 10:50
+1
A very good read.
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