What are you reading?

[crocos]

Just preordered this as it looks like a mix between Death Race 2000 and Jurassic Park. Needless to say my interested has need piqued:
The Running of the Tyrannosaurs

[xor]

Reza Aslan - Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

[Cyberbob]

Originally Posted by xor

Reza Aslan - Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

It's awesome. It gives a clear 'historians view' on him as a person and really deep dives into the culture at the time to give some fantastic context that I was certainly missing until reading it.

[Farmer Joe]

Originally Posted by Kar

The abyss beyond dreams

Finally, another commonwealth novel.

Finished this last week, after seeing your post. Enjoyed it but didn't think it was as good as the other ones. Still, always nice to read some trashy scifi .

[Farmer Joe]

Another for The Martian - read it awhile ago and loved it!

[chiQ]

Originally Posted by Cyberbob

It's awesome. It gives a clear 'historians view' on him as a person and really deep dives into the culture at the time to give some fantastic context that I was certainly missing until reading it.

Intrigued! Will check it out at some stage.

[crocos]

Nexus by Ramez Naam
Set in 2040, post-human intelligence is real - and considered a danger that needs to be destroyed. Clones, genetic splicing, artifically hyperintelligent humans, all considered illegal by the Chandler Act and the Copenhagen Accords.

Nexus: A new street drug that has the curious properties of letting people feel each other's emotions, hear each other's thoughts.

From naive Californian university students revelling in their new found connectedness to neuroscience conferences in Bangkok, a tale unwinds plumbing the depths of human reactions to the unknown.

Fully recommended - check it out. I'm about to start on the sequel, Crux.

[chubby]

^^ had these.also recommend.

[Rince]

Originally Posted by Farmer Joe

Another for The Martian - read it awhile ago and loved it!

I'm 20% in, and loving it too.

[Rince]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Up to SOL 38 and loving it! Thanks for the heads up.

66 here :-)

[Ajax]

I'm on The Martian bandwagon also - currently about halfway through. It somewhat reminds me of Arthur C. Clarke's A Fall of Moondust.

[ilk]

Originally Posted by Cyberbob

It's awesome. It gives a clear 'historians view' on him as a person and really deep dives into the culture at the time to give some fantastic context that I was certainly missing until reading it.

I couldn't enjoy it as a history, just felt too much like "this is the story I'd like to tell and since there is basically no documentary evidence from the time I can let my imagination run wild"

[Ab]

Originally Posted by Cyberbob

It's awesome. It gives a clear 'historians view' on him as a person and really deep dives into the culture at the time to give some fantastic context that I was certainly missing until reading it.

A historian's view, eh?

Professor of creative writing at the University of California Riverside, Aslan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religions from Santa Clara University, a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. Aslan also received a Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology.

Don't fool yourself - this is not a work of history. It's the work of a professional creative writer and former born-again Christian who has studied religion and religious figures - whether based on fact or not.

This book is storytelling to make money and has as much value as a work of history as does The Da Vinci Code.

[Rince]

Originally Posted by Rince

66 here :-)

and done...

They better not fuck up teh movie version... that was an awesome story.

[[BT]Monza]

I want to read me some Hunter S Thompson, where do I start?

[Ab]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

[pxpx]

Originally Posted by Ab

Doing a Culture marathon right now, started at Phlebas, working forward by publication date.

halfway through Phlebas at the moment and thoroughly enjoying.

[Ajax]

Originally Posted by Ab

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The original magazine article is here.

[Ab]

Originally Posted by pxpx

halfway through Phlebas at the moment and thoroughly enjoying.

I really enjoyed Surface Detail, the imagery of the virtual hell stayed with me for a long time. Not my fave Culture novel, but not the shittest either.

[Kryten]

The Martian is going for $3USD on Amazon, and the entire Mistborn Trilogy is $5.75USD.

I've just looked over my beach reading backlog - I sure hope there's some free time available!

[Lylmik]

Originally Posted by pxpx

Wool
Finished this recently, started slow but got really good.

The plot in both books seems to pick up pace after the first act and then move very very fast - pretty sure it's been done this way for eventual adaptation into a film trilogy..

Just finished reading this. Quite enjoyed it, will likely get the other too.
I definitely read the second half in much less time than the first, but I think that probably has more to do with having the time on the weekend to do it, rather than the pace of the book. Perhaps.

[Rince]

Originally Posted by Ab

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

queued up on the kindle for my Xmas/Summer reading.... (summer? what summer?)

[crocos]

Originally Posted by Rince

queued up on the kindle for my Xmas/Summer reading.... (summer? what summer?)

Summer is the season where the gloom lasts a bit longer and you only need to use the heater every 5th day or so rather than every day.

[Native]

Another +1 for the Martian.

[pxpx]

Originally Posted by Ab

I really enjoyed Surface Detail, the imagery of the virtual hell stayed with me for a long time. Not my fave Culture novel, but not the shittest either.

Finished Phlebas last night, onto The Player of Games for the NYs break up at the beach.

[Ajax]

Just finished The Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker. A painfully insightful little work of philosophy with many interesting things to say about humanity, mortality and religion.

[spigalau]

Blind Descent - James M Tabor

True story based on the attempts of both american & russian groups searching to find teh worlds deepest cave system.

http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Descent-.../dp/0307736784

[chiQ]

I got a couple of early Halo books I didn't have, so I'm working my way through all I have at the moment. Such a mixed bag, but still an awesome universe.

[Cinclant]

Originally Posted by pxpx

http://expanse.wikia.com/wiki/The_Expanse

Just read 1,2,3 from this series. The author(s) both collarborate with GRRM.

Not too bad really - quite light sci-fi space opera.

thanks for this recommendation, this series is awesome

and was pleasantly surprised to see ScyFy are making a tv series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo

probably totally lol, but am interested

[Kryten]

Joe Abercrombie's Half a King and Half the World - quicker reads than his earlier stuff and bloody (heh) good. Recommended.

I also finished off Ancillary Sword. Not as good as the first, but that's kind of expected when the first as so much world building and exposition that isn't necessary for a sequel. Still some damn good sci-fi, though.

[Rince]

The Martian trailer is out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI looks good.

[Rince]

Originally Posted by Rince

The Martian trailer is out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI looks good.

and ObXKCD: http://xkcd.com/1536/

[Kryten]

Originally Posted by Rince

and ObXKCD: http://xkcd.com/1536/

I've just started the audiobook instead of a third re-read, it's very very good (and much handier when mowing the lawn).

[Delphinus]

Originally Posted by Rince

The Martian trailer is out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue4PCI0NamI looks good.

It does. Although I'm worried watching the film will ruin the very fond memories I have of the book...

[Lightspeed]

I'm reading this mysterious Flesh Interface "story" at the moment. It's very creepy/interesting:
https://www.reddit.com/user/_9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9

The narrative in order of posting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/narrative

[StN]

^^ I'm in!

[Cyberbob]

Just finishing The Martian (Audiobook read by R. C. Bray)

Haven't watched the movie deliberately, as I've heard many good things about the book and didn't want the movie to ruin that.

Amazing stuff. Love the amount of science/math, but i hear the movie is less about that side of things.

Does make me want to play KSP.

[Lightspeed]

Originally Posted by Lightspeed

I'm reading this mysterious Flesh Interface "story" at the moment. It's very creepy/interesting:
https://www.reddit.com/user/_9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9

The narrative in order of posting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/9M9H9E9/wiki/narrative

So many quality lines:

The work could be described as Sisyphean. Trying to re-culture a person after years of all that whiz-bang feed stimulation is like pushing a heavy boulder up a hill. And occasionally the boulder is masturbating.

"Mind what I say, boy!" his father said. "I don't like ontological paradoxes, and I don't like you sassing me!"

[crocos]

Two books on the go at the moment.
Representing dead-tree format, we have Chapterhouse: Dune (Frank Herbert).
And in the ebook corner, we have The Hydrogen Sonata (Ian M. Banks)

FIGHT!

[Ab]

Originally Posted by crocos

Two books on the go at the moment.
Representing dead-tree format, we have Chapterhouse: Dune (Frank Herbert).
And in the ebook corner, we have The Hydrogen Sonata (Ian M. Banks)

FIGHT!

Like that's a contest. As you have it in deadtree format Chapterhouse Dune is more suited to lining the bottom of a birdcage or perhaps starting a fire.