Have you read...can you recommend...
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Amen to that!
I buy for kindle unless I absolutely have to have it on my shelf, and a great deal of willpower is required because we simply can't p u t up any more shelves; out of wall space.
So what is this The Martian of which you speak?
I buy for kindle unless I absolutely have to have it on my shelf, and a great deal of willpower is required because we simply can't p u t up any more shelves; out of wall space.
So what is this The Martian of which you speak?
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
It's an example of a Kindle-published breakout hit. The writer is an engineer, not a writer (and it shows in the prose). But he had a compelling idea, did a lot of research, and ended up with a really gripping story that is being made into a movie now. He put it up on Kindle for, like, 99 cents, self-published, and it turned into a phenomenon. There ended up being a bidding war from major publishers, and it was a NYT bestseller once it got "real" publication.
Here's the Amazon blurb (no spoilers):
Here's the Amazon blurb (no spoilers):
It isn't great literature (though it's not badly told, either; just a bit clunky). But it's a great story.Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.
But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
- Voronwë the Faithful
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
And a major motion picture starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott (which from the trailer I saw looks like it might be pretty good).
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
I haven't seen a trailer yet, but it certainly could be good!
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Ugh. Really liked that premise so I went and watched the trailer and it's one of those trailers that feels like it's practically telling you the whole damn story.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
This is one of those stories where the story is the story, if that makes any sense. I mean, experiencing the story along with the main character is the whole point, as in a story about someone trying to climb a mountain. You marvel at his determination, groan at every setback, etc., etc., but it's still just a guy walking a long way. Yet it held me; it was the first time in a long time I read a novel almost without stopping (we were at the beach).
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Interesting. Am surprised I hadnt heard of it. Will dash off to Amazon.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
That is interesting, and I hadn't heard of it either.
Although I am not dashing off to Amazon.
---------------
Please bear with my typos & grammar mistakes. Sent from my iPhone - Palantirs make mistakes too.
Although I am not dashing off to Amazon.
---------------
Please bear with my typos & grammar mistakes. Sent from my iPhone - Palantirs make mistakes too.
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Has anyone read the Robert Galbraith books? (for those who don't know, this is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling that she uses for the Cormoran Strike mysteries)
I'm in the middle of the second one ("The Silkworm"). It's the kind of book that you always want to read just one more chapter, and when you're at work you're looking forward to the next break so that you can squeeze in another couple of chapters.
Yes, it really is that good.
I'm in the middle of the second one ("The Silkworm"). It's the kind of book that you always want to read just one more chapter, and when you're at work you're looking forward to the next break so that you can squeeze in another couple of chapters.
Yes, it really is that good.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
I hadn't followed her ongoing path, so I didn't know she has been writing under s pseudonym. Obviously, I have not read the books.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
I will try and get hold of them!
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Has anyone read James Oswald? Apparently he writes detective stories set in Edinburgh.
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
I'm afraid not. Don't know him all.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Given that this thread started with Patrick Rothfuss, it seems like a good place to mention that he signed a deal with Liongate for a movie, TV and game package based on his books. He says that he was not expecting to really have a movie deal, because his work does not fit the structure of a fantasy movie, but that in combination with a TV show, it would be a perfect way to explore his world.
http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2015/10/hollywood-news/
http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2015/10/hollywood-news/
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Hm. I feel cynical, re TV series especially.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
About what, Impish? That it will happen or that it will be any good?
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
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Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
That it will be any good. That the subtlety of him being a failed and flawed hero will be lost.
Mornings wouldn't suck so badly if they came later in the day.
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
That seems possible, although Rothfuss is saying that he is pleased with the amount of creative control they are willing to give him. Besides, flawed heroes are all the rage now, it's getting an actual good person on screen that seems impossible. Winter Soldier is the only exception I can think of.
The failed part, that could be harder to get across.
The failed part, that could be harder to get across.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
So is he going to write book 3 to get this?
'You just said "your getting shorter": you've obviously been drinking too much ent-draught and not enough Prim's.' - Jude
Re: Have you read...can you recommend...
Isn't book 3 already written, and just being revised? I read that somewhere, that he wrote the whole tale as one gigantic book and then had to split it into three parts in order to get published and the division into three wasn't easy and the final revision of book three is taking a while.
But both a TV series and a movie?? That's the right way to do this story, for sure.
But both a TV series and a movie?? That's the right way to do this story, for sure.