Have you read...can you recommend...

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elengil
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by elengil »

Incredible doesn't even seem a strong enough word. I think the last time I was so deeply moved by a book was probably the first time I read LOTR! There is definitely a richness and depth to her writing, you feel the age of the world. I love the seasoning of passages from Stone Lore.

Actual spoilers, if you haven't read the book and plan to, you really shouldn't read this...
Hidden text.
What's funny is I thought Damaya and 'you' were the same character right at first, then slowly let that go, only to realize not only was that right, but then so was Syen!

And I'm going to guess that the 'narrator' in the beginning was Hoa? As it was at the end?
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"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Alatar »

So I didn't read the spoiler. Whats being recommended here? Is it the Miles Vorkosigan Saga?

There seems to be an awful lot to choose from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga
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Inanna
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Inanna »

The broken earth trilogy by NK Jemisin.

And the Vorkosigan saga by Bujold (15 books to be read in internal time Order).
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Maria
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Maria »

I couldn't get through the first book of the Broken Earth trilogy.
I've listened to the Vorkosigan saga many times already. I looked on Wikipedia yesterday to see if another book was in the works yet, and didn't see anything. But I did see a graphic novel done on "Warrior's Apprentice" that I ordered. It's in French, but google translate to the rescue!

Edit: I don't generally get along well with comic books, but I'm interested to see what someone else's visualizations are like. :)
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

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Maria wrote:I couldn't get through the first book of the Broken Earth trilogy.
It took me some time. In retrospect the beginning doesn't make any sense at all until you actually understand the role of the characters in the world and a great deal more of the background. Because of that I actually did go very slowly through the first several chapters until it started to come together more into a follow-able story, then I reread the first couple chapters and finally it made sense what was happening!
The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Inanna
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Inanna »

Plus, as Maria, Prim and I had discussed, the change of tone to “You” can be quite jarring even while reading. And is likely Even more so on audio.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

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Alatar wrote:So I didn't read the spoiler. Whats being recommended here? Is it the Miles Vorkosigan Saga?

There seems to be an awful lot to choose from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorkosigan_Saga
The Vorkosigan books are really fun. I'm rereading the series right now, for the third time. I've also dipped into Bujold' Sharing Knife series...they veer a little into the adolescent, but they hold one's attention nonetheless.

Jemisin is simply a cut above. Just marvellous.

I also strongly recommend A Door into Ocean by Joan Sloczewski. It has the kind of lyrical quality Le Guin is famous for.

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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

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What are you recommending by Jemison, and is it Fantasy or SciFi?


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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Impenitent »

Jemisin's Broken Earth.

Fantasy or Scifi is a hard question to answer. Overlapping Venn circles.

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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

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Impenitent wrote:Jemisin's Broken Earth.

Fantasy or Scifi is a hard question to answer. Overlapping Venn circles.
Agreed, it isn't 'neatly' one or the other. Which makes it less predictable, I feel. But also not just 'anything goes' - it has rules, but you aren't always sure what the rules you don't know are.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._K._Jem ... rth_series
The dumbest thing I've ever bought
was a 2020 planner.

"Does anyone ever think about Denethor, the guy driven to madness by staying up late into the night alone in the dark staring at a flickering device he believed revealed unvarnished truth about the outside word, but which in fact showed mostly manipulated media created by a hostile power committed to portraying nothing but bad news framed in the worst possible way in order to sap hope, courage, and the will to go on? Seems like he's someone we should think about." - Dave_LF
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Inanna
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Inanna »

Alatar wrote:What are you recommending by Jemison, and is it Fantasy or SciFi?


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‘World-building’ would likely be the right category.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

For those few of you who enjoyed Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (it might just be you and me, Inanna), she has a new book, Piranesi, coming out on September 15.

https://www.tor.com/2020/02/05/the-plot ... nt-page-1/
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Impenitent »

Not quite...we are a trio at least.

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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Inanna »

Impenitent wrote:Not quite...we are a trio at least.

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In fact, I bought it on Imp’s recommendation.

And Squeeee! A new book!
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Impenitent wrote:Not quite...we are a trio at least.

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Yay! I don't think I knew that you were a fan, Impy. I know that Alatar was a fan of the mini-series, and I assume of the book too. Wampus is a big fan, but she hasn't been around for a while.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Inanna »

This forum has exquisite taste.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Jude »

I'm another one who loved Strange & Norrell. I haven't got my hands on the miniseries yet, but I do plan to.

Did anyone read her collection of short stories "The Ladies of Grace Adieu"?
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

I meant to respond to this, but forgot to.
I did read The Ladies of Grace Adieu and liked it, but not nearly as much as JS&MN.

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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

Post by Alatar »

J Michael Straczynski's autobiography "Becoming Superman". Highly recommended. More in the B5 thread but I probably could have put it here or in the Red Book just as easily, because its more about the craft of writing and what drives it than it is about B5.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...

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https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/ ... te-aisling

Not sure whether to recommend these or not because they are VERY Irish, as in about a very particular type of rural Irish girl working in modern day Dublin. Started life as a comedy facebook page, now three novels in and the first has been optioned for a movie treatment.

There's a description and extract here if anyone wants to try before they buy :)

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-sty ... -1.3206219
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