Read any fun books lately?

[mjn9]

I'm heading to the beach in a few weeks and need to stock up.  What have you read that is fun?

I'm really enjoying "The Android's Dream" by John Scalzi right now.  That would be a good beach book.

Don't recommend anything too unusual because my county library system is only so-so....

mjn9

[Heradel]

Well, the Philip K. Dick short story anthologies are usually pretty good. Terry Pratchett makes for good, funny, as deep as you want it to be, reading for the summer.

If you like Zombies, World War Z makes for a great read.

[Simon]

The Ultimate Beach SF novel:

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester.

Action packed, clever, perfection.  Often listed as the most significant SF novel ever written. 

If you want something with a bit more soul:

More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

Pure emotion.

[Listener]

Depending upon how long you're going to be at the beach, I would recommend either of the Sean McMullen trilogies -- Greatwinter or Moonworlds.

Greatwinter:
Souls in the Great Machine
The Miocene Arrow
Eyes of the Calculor
(Greatwinter is kind of like "windpunk" -- steampunk, but without the steam engines.)

Moonworlds:
Voyage of the Shadowmoon
Glass Dragons
Voidfarer
(Swords and sorcery, but comical and not formulaic.)

[mjn9]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Already read and loved the Bester book.  My county library system has almost no Theodore Sturgeon, and not that one....

I tried Terry Pratchett awhile ago but didn't really get into it (maybe I'll try again), same with the World War Z zombie one.

I've read and enjoyed the Greatwinter trilogy, but my library only has the first of his Moonworlds one.

Maybe I'll look for some more Philip K. Dick books.

I have a 13-hour drive each way plus a week at the beach, and I read voraciously

[DKT]

Have you read Chasm City by Alasdair Reynolds?  It's big, fun, SF noir. 

[Listener]

Have you read Chasm City by Alasdair Reynolds?  It's big, fun, SF noir. 

I liked that one, but I really don't think I got into it.

[DKT]

Have you read Chasm City by Alasdair Reynolds?  It's big, fun, SF noir. 

I liked that one, but I really don't think I got into it.

It took me a little while to get really into it (the first few chapters were good but not great) but once I got a little further I couldn't put it down.  And I was flat-out amazed at how all the story threads were closed.  I expected a lot of them to not be answered or at least that their answers wouldn't satisfy me (like the stigmata virus the cult indoctrinated members with and the three different storylines running through the book). I was pleasantly surprised. 

[Mfitz]

I'm just about finished with Eifelheim.  I don't know that I'd say it was a fun read, but I have very much enjoyed it.

[Listener]

Now that I think about it, Heinlein books are almost always fast reads (except "Time Enough for Love" which took me FOREVER).  I would recommend:

Friday
Job: A Comedy of Justice
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starship Troopers

I actually LIKE a lot more Heinlein than that but those are probably my favorites.

[mjn9]

My library system actually has Chasm City!  But its the only Alistair Reynold's book they have, and I'm pretty sure I've already read it.

I enjoyed Eifelheim, too.  I, too, would not necessarily rate it as a "fun" read but it was a very interesting story.

I'll have to see what the ol' library has of Heinleins.  I've read many of his books but there are many that I haven't, and my library seems to have a lot of his books.

I'm looking forward to the arrival of "From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain" by Minister Faust which looks like good beach reading.

Mike Resnick's Starship books are also a fun beach read.

I think Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky" and "Fire Upon the Deep" may be 2 of my all-time favorite books and maybe I'll just have to read them for a 3rd time at the beach.

John C. Wright's Golden Age trilogy is also very fun to read.

As I read over this list I guess I'm kind of in the mood for space opera.

I've also recently enjoyed Jon Courtenay Grimwood's Arabesk trilogy, although its not at all space opera.

[Anarkey]

As I read over this list I guess I'm kind of in the mood for space opera.

Every time I have a vacation, I pull out a Bujold Vorkisogan book to read.  They're fast, fun, and with more depth than you might think.  I highly recommend them, especially if what you're after is action and space opera.

[AarrowOM]

I'd suggest the Nightside novels by Simon R. Green.  (They were reviewed at the end of one of the EPs, which is what prompted me to buy them.)  If I am recalling the review correctly, the books are equivalent to literary snack food, being relatively quick reads, a lot of fun, but really nothing more.

For something a bit more substantive, I recently got into Ben Bova's Voyagers trilogy again (through Audible.com).  My personal opinion is that Voyagers is not a light read, whereas Voyagers II: The Alien Within and Voyagers III: Star Brothers are.

[jscorbett]

I've been on an Orson Scott Card kick lately.  A friend introduced me to his stories last year, and I've read about 15 of his books so far.  I started with his Enders series, and then Alvin Maker (which is more fantasy than sci-fi I guess).  Magic Street was a good one that brought "A Midnight Summer's Dream" to reality.  Or Enchantment that brought to life some Russian folklore.

[mjn9]

Well I'm back from the beach and had a great time.  Thanks for all the suggestions!

Here's what I ended up reading on the beach and the 2 13-hour drives this week:

"Science Fiction- the Best of the Year 2007 Edition" edited by Rich Horton (one of my father's Day presents), which included several fun stories, at least one of which has been on escape pod (The House Beyond Your Sky by Benjamin Rosenbaum);

"Dies the Fire" by S.M. Stirling (another Father's Day Present) which was ok (good enough to track down the next 2 in the trilogy) but a little more sword fighting than I like.

"The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006 (The Best American Series)"  by Brian Greene and Tim Folger.  Not "fun" per se and not fiction but its kind of a tradition for me to read these at the beach.

"Cowl" by Neal Asher.

And I've started "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

I look forward to trying some of your other suggestions.

[Listener]

I just finished reading "From Russia With Lust: the Nikolai Dante Omnibus" by David Bishop.  Got it for $6 at the store; three full novels.

It's a combination SF/alternate history -- the Russian Revolution never happened, and it takes place in 2672/2673.  There's a lot of action, several LOL moments, clever plays on words, homages to other SF/genre pieces, and enough sex to keep it interesting.

Homages include:  Monty Python, Stainless Steel Rat, Star Wars, X-Files, John Grisham, and James Bond, as well as others I probably missed.  The third book is probably the funniest.

If I have one problem with the books, it's that there's a little too much deus ex machina in a few places.  Also, like some other authors I've read, Bishop tends to use the same phrase one time too many -- not so's you'd notice it happening a lot, but I caught it at least three times with three different phrases.  Still, an enjoyable few days were spent reading this.

[Mr. Tweedy]

I'm currently reading "Shadowplay" by Tad Williams.  Like all his stuff, it spends 80% of its time developing characters while the plot moves  s l o w l y  along, so it probably isn't good beach reading.

DKT's got a hit with Chasm City.  That's got some very cool stuff in it, but all the characters are rotten bastards, so it's hard to root for anybody.

I'd recommend a short little book called "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis.  That's quite possibly my favorite SF book ever, although most people would say that's an odd choice.  Lewis gives Mars an oxygen atmosphere, but I'm not sure if they knew any better back in 1938.

[Listener]

I'm currently reading "Shadowplay" by Tad Williams.  Like all his stuff, it spends 80% of its time developing characters while the plot moves  s l o w l y  along, so it probably isn't good beach reading.

DKT's got a hit with Chasm City.  That's got some very cool stuff in it, but all the characters are rotten bastards, so it's hard to root for anybody.

I'd recommend a short little book called "Out of the Silent Planet" by C.S. Lewis.  That's quite possibly my favorite SF book ever, although most people would say that's an odd choice.  Lewis gives Mars an oxygen atmosphere, but I'm not sure if they knew any better back in 1938.

I'd like to read OotSP -- there's a particularly good piece of fanfic I read of the same title, so I imagine the insipration is very good too.

I liked Chasm City but found it a tad hard to follow sometimes.

And the only Tad Williams book I read, I felt the same way... too much development, not enough stuff happening.

[eytanz]

Out of the Silent Planet is a good book (as is its first sequel whose name I can't spell. The second sequel, That Hideous Strength, is by far Lewis's worst book), but you have to have a high tolerance for Christian Allegory. I have friends who are devout Christians and big fans of Lewis's philosophical writings but can't read these books because they find them too unsubtle.

[Mr. Tweedy]

The second (much heavier, more philosophical) book is Perelandra.  I agree that "Hideous Strength" was very weak by comparison.  It was a great idea, but very poorly executed, more like a rough draft than a finished novel.

I don't think you're correct in saying that "Silent Planet" is Christian allegory, at least not at all in the same way as "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" is allegory.  Maleldil is not analogous to God.  Maleldil is God.  Thulcandra is not analogous to Satan.  Thulcandra is Satan.  The story is simply written from a Christian perspective, assuming that all beings described in Christian theology are literal and real.  The characters just use Malacrandrian words for things.

[Planish]

I found the entire Worldwar tetralogy (starting with In The Balance), the sequel trilogy Colonization plus the windup single Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove to be hugely entertaining, if you don't mind starting an 8-book series about Lizard-like aliens mixing it up with just-barely-united Earth armies in the middle of WWII.

[Listener]

I found the entire Worldwar tetralogy (starting with In The Balance), the sequel trilogy Colonization plus the windup single Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove to be hugely entertaining, if you don't mind starting an 8-book series about Lizard-like aliens mixing it up with just-barely-united Earth armies in the middle of WWII.

I really liked that series, although I felt that:

* The end of the fourth book (the fourth Worldwar) was a bit disappointing in how long the conclusion actually took.
* The same with the end of Colonization.

Be warned, Turtledove contains a MASSIVE amount of characters in most of his books.

For a more-fun Turtledove, try "The Two Georges".

[Leon Kensington]

Up to 6 in the Dresden Files (Jim Butcher) series (because that is all I've read though I am sure that up to the current 9 are wonderful as well).

Monster Island (David Wellington)- Zombies, need I say more?

Beowulf (Seamus Heaney Translation)- Dragons, huge man-eating monsters, and their mothers.

Last Colony (John Scalzi)- The final book in the Old Man's War Trilogy and by far the best.

2001 (Arthur C. Clark)- It's 2001...

Brave Men Run (Mathew(sp) Wayne Selznick(sp))- It's like Heroes but a little bit harder in the science area.

Ancestor (Scott Sigler)- Jurassic Park with 300lb. mammals.  And it's Siggy.

Revelation Space Trilogy (Alasdair Reynolds)- 1st one great, 2nd one good, 3rd one end it on page 400.

Hydrogen Steel (K.A. Bedford)- Think Do Robots Dream of Electronic Sheep combined with 2001 and a good old 1930's detective story.