New books thread!

[Treach]

Will Wight!!!

Glad to see he kept writing. I read travelers gate as it was released. Not the best writing, but I really really enjoy his books. I couldn't put down the first book of unsouled last night. Onto the second one this weekend.

[Madin]

Right now just a teaser, but if you like Welcome to Nightvale, X-Files, or dramatic podcasts: http://tor-labs.com/steal-the-stars. Sort of like a book!

[Vaen]

Just finished American War by Omar El Akkad -- first fiction novel by an Egyptian-Canadian journalist who covered Iraq/Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, the Arab Spring, Ferguson, etc. Deals with a second American Civil War. Very solid for a debut effort, but the fact that it's a first effort is pretty apparent at times.

Currently reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Only 1/4 in, but it's a pretty fascinating novel already. Anyone who enjoys the concept of David Brin-esque uplifting or evolutionary what-ifs or far-flung science fiction where humanity is hanging on by a thread (ala Greg Benford), would probably enjoy this.

2312 worth a read then? I find Kim Stanley Robinson a bit tough sometimes, started off absolutely loving his Mars trilogy but then don't think I finished it.

Blue Mars was such a disappointment. Red was slow, Green was possibly the best. I want to like Kim Stanley Robinson's work so bad, but he's like Vernor Vinge or a significantly better Larry Niven to me -- really cool concepts that are worth reading about, but the plot takes such a back-seat sometimes that reading his stuff just isn't very compelling (or the plot is there, but sucks).

[Taziar]

Currently reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Only 1/4 in, but it's a pretty fascinating novel already. Anyone who enjoys the concept of David Brin-esque uplifting or evolutionary what-ifs or far-flung science fiction where humanity is hanging on by a thread (ala Greg Benford), would probably enjoy this.

I liked the David Brin Uplift books, and of course his Postman. Will check out Children of Time.

[Vaen]

Currently reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Only 1/4 in, but it's a pretty fascinating novel already. Anyone who enjoys the concept of David Brin-esque uplifting or evolutionary what-ifs or far-flung science fiction where humanity is hanging on by a thread (ala Greg Benford), would probably enjoy this.

I liked the David Brin Uplift books, and of course his Postman. Will check out Children of Time.

Yeah, just be aware that the writing style is nothing like Brin's, but the uplift concept is a core part of the premise and Brin gets some naked shout-outs early on.

[Taziar]

Currently reading Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Only 1/4 in, but it's a pretty fascinating novel already. Anyone who enjoys the concept of David Brin-esque uplifting or evolutionary what-ifs or far-flung science fiction where humanity is hanging on by a thread (ala Greg Benford), would probably enjoy this.

I liked the David Brin Uplift books, and of course his Postman. Will check out Children of Time.

Yeah, just be aware that the writing style is nothing like Brin's, but the uplift concept is a core part of the premise and Brin gets some naked shout-outs early on.

Ha! Opening line of the book uses his name.

Side note: technology is amazing... I just checked this book out from my local library online and downloaded it to my phone and all in the span of moments. Overdrive media app for anyone interested. Can Check out ebooks and audiobooks as long as you have a library card, download them for 21 days or whatever. Pretty cool.

[ecthus]

Recently finished The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, which is largely about climate change and that we're living through one of the largest extinction events in world history. One of the saddest and most disturbing books I've ever read.

I finally got around to reading some Samuel Delany, a schi-fi trilogy of his from the 60s called the Fall of the Towers. Very weird style, almost childish at times, but otherwise reminds me a lot of Mieville (including sentient cactus????)

Re: Kim Stanley Robinson. It's been interesting to see sci-fi and fantasy slowly accepted in academia over the last decade. KSR and Octavia Butler seem to be the ones who get the most play, including at public lectures where I wouldn't have expected them, likes ones on climate change and cities. I only see this trend in scholarship exploding over the next decade or so as we stare deeper and deeper into the hell that we've created and try to make sense of how it happened.

[Vaen]

Recently finished The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, which is largely about climate change and that we're living through one of the largest extinction events in world history. One of the saddest and most disturbing books I've ever read.

Read this last summer. Really well-written and researched, but woof. So depressing.

Re: Kim Stanley Robinson. It's been interesting to see sci-fi and fantasy slowly accepted in academia over the last decade. KSR and Octavia Butler seem to be the ones who get the most play, including at public lectures where I wouldn't have expected them, likes ones on climate change and cities. I only see this trend in scholarship exploding over the next decade or so as we stare deeper and deeper into the hell that we've created and try to make sense of how it happened.

It's definitely interesting to see this expand beyond the Nivens and the Benfords and the "really firetrucking qualified physicist/astronomer" type of authors and more to, uh, what would we call them? Environmental-Sociological futurists?

[Mronz]

Atlas Shrugged,
Book took forever to get through, very frustrating beliefs and economic principles, but a fantastic plot.

Just finished the last book, in the last trilogy by Robin Hobs, from the Fits and the Fool saga. Totally hoping that she truly isn't done, but I fear she is. Her writing style of the protagonist... was often irritating, but totally was captivated by the story lines.

[Kanae]

Not sure if this is listed anywhere, but..

Steven Erikson's Malazon Book of the Fallen is amazing.