Book Recommendation Thread

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Just finished Book 6 (Babylon's Ashes) of The Expanse. I like how the authors really raised the stakes in the last two books, which feel more like a series and less like "The Adventures of Holden & Friends." Looking forward to Book 7.

Now imagine me saying in a Jerry Seinfeld voice if you must, but what's the deal with the novel titles?

It's easy to see how they were going for something evocative, but let's stop and think about each for a second:

Leviathan Wakes — Sure, OK, the protomolecule takes over Venus and the result is a big monstrosity. Works for me.

Caliban's War — Because the Martian general who weaponized the protomolecule is a dick, I guess? So he's like Caliban from The Tempest? Um, okay.

Abbadon's Gate — Abbadon being Hebrew for "destruction" and also a name for a demon from Revelations (a.k.a. Apollyon). Nothing in the book suggests that the gates themselves will lead to destruction. The only way this works is if you read Book 5 and call it foreshadowing; to which I call bullshit.

Cibola Burn — Cibola being one of the cities of Eldorado, and Ilus/New Terra being the Eldorado in question? Okay. Where's the "burn" though? No one is racing there.

Nemesis Games — works because Marco Inaros spends this book and the next going all Khan Noonien Singh on Holden's can't-we-all-just-get-along act, less because he's pissing on the Free Navy's cheetos (that's more of a Book 6 thing) more because he's porking his baby mama.

And in keeping with the Star Trek analogies, can we agree that Filip is mirror-Universe Wesley Crusher?

Babylon's Ashes — sort of works as the old empires have been shot to shit, "alas, Babylon" and all. But like the previous title, generic as fuck.

Persepolis Rising — lemme guess, disgruntled MCRN Admiral Winston Duarte (the guy supplying Marco with MCRN stuff) props up Laconia as the Persia to the Solar System's disgruntled, chaotic Peloponnesian League. I now fully expect a space Thermopylae by the gates where a ton of people will die but turn back his budding evil space empire.
 
Just finished A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. Short and easy to consume and an important work for english literature.

It chronicles the author's experiences in Paris during the twenties. If you've ever seen Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris you'll be familiar with the setting, although the movie was more whimsical and nostalgic (which was kind of the point).

I love Hemingway's style of prose: direct and blunt but engaging. I can't believe how he can string together a sentence with about 5 or 6 "and"s but makes it work!

I felt particularly touched by it because that place and time, with it's focus on meeting people (especially young artists and writers) in cafés and bars in a French setting resonates with my experiences in Montreal.

My goal is to read a dusty tome of his complete short stories during my vacation this summer.
 
I've got one (actually two) for non-fiction.

Dodge City: Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and the Wickedest Town in the American West by Tom Clavin.

Great book that really keys in on the events in Dodge City in the late 1870s. Briefly talks about their adventures elsewhere, such as Wyatt's sojourn in Tombstone, Arizona.

If you would rather read about Tombstone, Jeff Guinn's The Last Gunfight is excellent.
 
I finished reading The Sun Also Rises. Boy that is a book that uses a whole lot of symbolism. It's almost too much, if you're paying attention. Otherwise, because of Hemingway's blunt prose, you might simply take it all at face value and just shrug in boredom at the end.

This book really resonated with me: in my youth (10-15 yeas ago lol) I spent a lot of time in cafés in downtown Hull (Quebec), flirting with girls or feeling jealous. The alcohol and the booze and the music all made quite a whirlwind in my memory. I guess that is why this book resonated with me, for good and ill. Sure Quebec isn't France, but there's something about French Canadian girls... Hell that's why I married one! Anyway, digression over...

It's refreshing to read a book that reveals so much about the characters and their relationships without blatantly explaining things.

I'd recommend it even though it's depressing as fuck if you're invested in what's really going on and figuring out the symbolism. Plus it's an interesting introduction to bull fighting.

Next up was going to be The Old Man and the Sea, but the first few pages put me to sleep. I'm gonna try Henry Miller's the Tropic of Cancer next.
 
The Black Company series by Glen Cook is pretty decent. I've burned through most of it over the last three months or so.
 
Red Mars made me rethink a lot of what I had assumed about planetary colonization and terraforming. One of the most thoroughly researched pieces of hard SF I've encountered, and still holds up really well for something published in '93.

Some of the characters are obnoxious, but at least the other characters note that fact.
 
If you like mafia fiction, Omerta by the late Mario Puzo is an excellent read. It was my favorite book when I was in high school and I've recently begun re-reading it.
 
My wife just got me Secret Rio — a travel guide of sorts to obscure spots in the city I was born in and lived all my life. A fun read and very inspiring for urban fantasy gaming.

Turns out Éditions Jonglez has a whole line of "secret & unusual" travelogues including Rome, Venice, Buenos Aires... I feel like getting them all, Pókemon style. :smile:
 
Just finished Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley about. 3/5 book but if your looking for something not a terrible choice.

A History of Wales by John Davies, a brilliant book if your a Welshman or a history buff.

And currently reading Kull of Atlantis (Collection) by RE Howard which is just awesome.
 
HorusArisen said:
A History of Wales by John Davies, a brilliant book if your a Welshman or a history buff.
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I'm not a history buff, but I am Welsh. And the sheer volume of history round this part of North Wales is staggering. And yet hardly touched on in favour of more glamorous places. Even though Owain Glyndwr died not far from here, the first Parliament of Wales took place here, Edward 1st built a house for his wife to have parties in and some accounts have him naming his newborn son as Prince of Wales here. Not to mention the Bronze Age mines, Iron Age villages and Stone Age hill forts in the area. Oh, and more castles than you can shake a stick at.

As for a recommendation, thanks to a thread on here, I've picked up Consider Phlebas for the first time in years. I'd forgotten why Iain M Banks is so good. Remember, folks, Iain Banks is the same guy, but for some reason his science fiction, as opposed to his literary fiction, has the M in there.

I never did find out why that is. Publishers, maybe?
 
Consider Phlebus is still my favorite of the Banks books, and in many ways the one where some of his influences, like Andre Norton and Larry Niven are most visible. The little guys crushed by the machine is pure Norton, except her little guys usually fare better in the end.
 
Aos said:
the one where some of his influences, like Andre Norton and Larry Niven are most visible.
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I loved _Consider Phlebas_ but I've never read anything by either Norton or Niven. Anyone care to recommend? ;)
 
The Niven inspiration is the ring shaped habitat, and the autodoc and probably some more tech stuff. Niven's best work, imo, is his Known Space Stories, especially those written in the 60's and 70's. He does fantastic world building. A personal favorite stand alone of his is World out of Time.
Norton wrote primarily boys books, or juviniles as they are sometimes called. The Zero Stone; Uncharted Stars are. Both enjoyable, but my personal favorites are likely the Solar Queen Books (e.g., Sargasso of Space) The Last Planet; and Starman's Son.
If you enjoy the last one I would also steer you to Hiero's Journey, those two, probably, along with Jack Kirby's Kamandi, are the closest you're ever going to get to Gamma World in fiction.
(Have you read Kamandi? Read Kamandi.)
Norton's books, like a good deal of the stuff from the first half or so of the 20c usually has an alternate title or two, so stay sharp! (Daybreak 2150 = Staman's Son, for example).
Norton and Niven are both solid, but not in the same league as Banks line by line.
 
Currently rereading The Illuminatus Trilogy for the first time in decades. It's fun. But it makes me slightly sad to realise it will never again feel as "dangerous" as it did when I was nineteen.
 
Another vote for Niven here. Particularly the various Known Space books. Which have some of the coolest aliens in them, from the cowardly but ultra advanced Pierson's Puppeteers to the Pak Protectors, who think nothing of wiping out entire species to protect their own descendants. And it's written with so much relish and enjoyment that it becomes infectious and you have to read more.

His solo books are good, but his partnerships with Steven Barnes and Jerry Pournelle are incredible. There's a reason that The Mote in God's Eye is considered a classic.
 
I'm a fan of H.Beam Piper. I started with his short stories and moved on to his Federation novels. Nice sci fi books.

Lately I've been reading B.V Larson's Undying Mercenaries sci fi books.
 
Currently (for the past few years) my favorite book has been Blindsight by Peter Watts. It's that rarest of books, one that kept making me set it aside so I could just sit there and think about what I had just read. One of the best and most frightening first contact books I've ever read.

It supplanted The City & The City by China Mieville. Another book with such a unique concept that it stayed with me long after I read it.

For a lighter read, I've enjoyed the Grand Central Arena books by Ryk Spoor. Big scale space opera with interesting characters (especially if you're a fan of E.E. "Doc" Smith.)

Lately, I've been into military SF. The series I'm currently following as they come out:
Jack Campbell - the Lost Fleet and related series.
Glynn Stewart - Castle Federation series, Duchy of Terra series, Starship's Mage series
Evan Currie - not sure if there's a name for the overall setting, but it started with the Odyssey One books and now has some other associated books. Gets a bit odd in parts...but still pretty good. Also the unrelated Hayden War series.
 
Tom B said:
Lately, I've been into military SF. The series I'm currently following as they come out:
Jack Campbell - the Lost Fleet and related series.
Glynn Stewart - Castle Federation series, Duchy of Terra series, Starship's Mage series
Evan Currie - not sure if there's a name for the overall setting, but it started with the Odyssey One books and now has some other associated books. Gets a bit odd in parts...but still pretty good. Also the unrelated Hayden War series.
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If you've been into Military SF lately. Check out the Hammers Slammers series by David Drake. I personally love it.
 
Ronin said:
If you've been into Military SF lately. Check out the Hammers Slammers series by David Drake. I personally love it.
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I read Drake long ago. Drake, Laumer, Weber, Haldeman, etc. These are much newer and although they all have different takes on the genre, I've enjoyed them all. (Plus, they're ongoing so I usually have a new book coming out in one or another of them...)

Also right now, really enjoying the Bobiverse books by Dennis E Taylor. These are something new, with a great sense of humor, but also hard SF. Listening on audiobook, and the narrator is perfect for the book.
 
Tom B said:
Jack Campbell - the Lost Fleet and related series.
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I liked that for once a space navy book was written by someone who actually thought a great deal about tactics in three dimensions, and the inclusion of actual religion in a F/SF book was nice to see in a genre that normally treats faith as something icky to be avoided at all costs. But the dialogue, and the romance subplot...I nearly couldn't finish the series.

I haven't read much fantasy or SF in a while; increasingly my tastes run to nonfiction or historical fiction (real history is more interesting than the best fantasy). The Shardlake series by C.J. Sansom and the Crowner John novels by Bernard Knight are my current reading list. They're less twee than a lot of medieval murder mysteries, which tend to be written by women for women. They're both pretty upfront about how unfair, capricious and deadly life in medieval England could be, especially once powerful nobles are involved. The Crowner John novels often don't even bother much with who committed the crime, focusing more on the messy conspiracies and politics behind them. They're a lot like Chandler that way.

At the other end of the spectrum, Linnea Sinclair is an SF romance writer who's punching below her weight. Her book Finders Keepers clearly started out as Star Wars fanfic but it feels more like Star Wars than any licensed EU novel I've ever seen. She gets the milieu.

Her real treat of a book is Accidental Goddess, about a character who's sort of what you'd expect a female-Han-Solo-as-a-Jedi to be who saves a small planet from alien invasion by doing some Force space storm trick or whatever. The storm knocks her forward three hundred years in time, to an era where the planet has become populous, successful, highly technological, and everyone on it worships her as a literal goddess and saviour of their people. Or, more accurately, a highly stylized and mythologized version of her that doesn't physically resemble her any more. Hilarity ensues.
 
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