What did you just read?

  • Guest, it's time once again for the hotly contested and exciting FoH Asshat Tournament!



    Go here and fill out your bracket!
    Who's been the biggest Asshat in the last year? Once again, only you can decide!

Rime

<Donor>
2,638
1,613
Usual for SciFi... Expanse. Red Son.

Prince of Nothing is amazing. Until the 'last' book of the second trilogy, where he fucks the entire series so he can write another trilogy.
 

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
Usual for SciFi... Expanse. Red Son.

Prince of Nothing is amazing. Until the 'last' book of the second trilogy, where he fucks the entire series so he can write another trilogy.
I have heard that, I'm about half way through that last book.
 

Blitz

<Bronze Donator>
5,630
6,146
I have not read the Expanse books, nor have I read the Altered Carbon stuff. I figured I'd put them off a little longer, I guess since the TV shows are ongoing I can get enough from them that way? Hard to explain. Looked at Scalzi's Old Man's War and Redshirts a little while back as well.

What's everyone's go to, "Best They Have Ever Read Series/Book"?
 

slippery

<Bronze Donator>
7,886
7,701
Sci fi is a wasteland imo. Lots of mediocre with little exceptional. It's also really broad so it helps if you have something more specific in mind. Peter Hamilton is pretty great for the commonwealth stuff. I like the solar clipper tales a lot but it's not for everyone
 

Luthair

Lord Nagafen Raider
1,247
85
Sci fi is a wasteland imo. Lots of mediocre with little exceptional. It's also really broad so it helps if you have something more specific in mind. Peter Hamilton is pretty great for the commonwealth stuff. I like the solar clipper tales a lot but it's not for everyone

Funnily I was also going to suggest Hamilton and I would also agree that Sci-Fi hasn't undergone the same renaissance that fantasy has.

Ready Player One is a fun burn as is The Martian if you haven't read those.
 

velk

Trakanon Raider
2,512
1,094
Recommendations? I usually would prefer Sci-fi or Spy thrillers, but I am kinda debating on starting a fantasy series. I wanna stay away from YA as well. Currently leaning starting The Way of Kings.

Well for sci-fi/spy thriller, try 'The Breach' by Patrick Lee or 'The Family Trade' by Charles Stross. 'Waypoint Kangaroo' is also pretty fun.
 
  • 1Solidarity
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 users

Ukerric

Bearded Ape
<Silver Donator>
7,862
9,411
Sci fi is a wasteland imo. Lots of mediocre with little exceptional. It's also really broad so it helps if you have something more specific in mind. Peter Hamilton is pretty great for the commonwealth stuff. I like the solar clipper tales a lot but it's not for everyone
Go-to authors for massively good SciFi:

- Peter Hamilton
- Alastair Reynolds
- Charles Stross
- Neal Asher

(seems to be a little UK bias there... hmmm....)
 

Ukerric

Bearded Ape
<Silver Donator>
7,862
9,411
I am kinda debating on starting a fantasy series.
I tend to skip on "classical fantasy", so I tend to recommend as currently very good fantasy the "Hidden Library" series. Basically, the heroine is working for an inter-dimensional library, collecting books from all kind from every alternative world. With a Dragon as an apprentice. The advantage of having all kind of worlds is that you have adventures in every kind of settings available, so the series has gone between an early 20th century London, an eternal carnival version of Venice, a weird imperial Russia and prohibition-era Boston & NYC. The worldbuilding (or rather universebuilding) is top-notch.

Only 4 books in the series so far, but she's already got enough complications to warrant the 5th. Hopefully soon...

(oh, and yet another UK author... hmmm...)
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Ukerric

Bearded Ape
<Silver Donator>
7,862
9,411
And finishing this with what I've just read (to stay within the title), I'm still in my foray into LitRPG. Most of it is drek, or uninspired semi-drek, but I've finished recently a couple of good ones:

- The Divine Dungeon series, which is the best and most interesting series within the "Dungeon Cores" sub-genre (basically, a riff on Dungeon Keeper-type games). 3 books in, the next (hopefully in a couple months) will be the last.

- The City and the Dungeon which is basically Earth after the Dungeonpocalypse. Most of the Earlier civilization has fallen, and the dominant power on Earth is now The City, which is located above the entrance to The Dungeon. People flock from all over the world to undergo the transformation into "Delvers", which unlock MMORPG features, including resurrection, cure disease, attribute increase and all that, and try to make a fortune. Alas, Delvers must consume daily one crystal from the Dungeon or suffer perma-death. The idea seem as cheesy as any litrpg, but it is extremely well executed with very good exposition and lots of thoughts about how having a MMORPG as the reality on earth would play out.
 

Ukerric

Bearded Ape
<Silver Donator>
7,862
9,411
Yea, but the sequels aren't as awesome as the original. As usual, once you try to "reveal" the machinery behind transcendental happenings, it tends to fail. Vinge did Tatja's Grimm World once, and he learned that you shall not delve too much in the mysteries of the transcendental (he did a bit in A Fire Upon the Deep later, but kept that in check).
 

gshurik

Tranny Chaser
<Gold Donor>
2,517
-56
I just started the Eisenhorn Warhammer 40k trilogy. Shits heretical, yo
 
  • 2Like
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 2 users

chaos

Buzzfeed Editor
17,324
4,839
I just finished The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. I had never read it, or anything she wrote, and when I saw her death the other day this was on sale on audible so I snatched it. Amazing fucking book, so so good. Probably the best characterization of humanity interacting with alien culture I have ever seen. And it's not even really alien.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Kovaks

Mr. Poopybutthole
2,354
3,142
Just finished library at mount char, really liked it, thanks for the recommendation, out of audible credits so loaded up the graphic audio of mistborn shadows of self which has been waiting for a while, the graphic audio books are weird but cool