Sci-Fi

[Richard Chuggar]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

[Dr. Nguyen Van Falk]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

The best part of this post is what it doesn't say.

[flannj]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

The best part of this post is what it doesn't say.

[ChuckD]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

The best part of this post is what it doesn't say.

I don't know if I quite get it. Are you trying to say Chad rents his books from his parents?

[Quality Start Machine]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

The best part of this post is what it doesn't say.

I don't know if I quite get it. Are you trying to say Chad rents his books from his parents?

If only there was a place to rent books, like a Blockbuster or something.

[R-V]

Two recommendations:

Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.

Great books, the both of them.

I own this one. 

The best part of this post is what it doesn't say.

I've bizarro Tdubbs'd it. Very good, but not as good as this one (WARNING: 37.5% of thread consists of KurtEvans posts).

[PenPho]

Bumping this thread because I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

For a book that's about, in part, an internet subculture/sensation, it holds up pretty well in 2010. 

I know Gibson's much better known for Neuromancer - wondering if this is a must-read?

[Pre]

Bumping this thread because I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

For a book that's about, in part, an internet subculture/sensation, it holds up pretty well in 2010. 

I know Gibson's much better known for Neuromancer - wondering if this is a must-read?

If you enjoyed Pattern Recognition, now's a great time to finish up the arc with
Spook Country and Zero history.  They aren't sequels in the strict sense but threads
of the first two culminate in the third.  I always find Gibson both insightful and
entertaining. 

I love his earlier cyberpunk novels.  I rarely revisit books, but I've read them all
multiple times.  I highly recommend them all in approximate order that he wrote
them.  Not only due to some character interleaving, but because I think he
managed to develop a real universe (or setting or microcosm if you'd rather since
it's mostly southern california based and never beyond low earth orbit) and
following along as he creates from book to book adds another meta level to the
experience.  Don't let my pitchfork level, probably misguided, over analysis push
you away from the fact that his books are very entertaining with multidimensional
characters and a ton of action.

His latest three have somehow managed to move backwards in time from cyberpunk
to the 'near future' setting wise but at the same time are so much more modern.  I
think cyberpunk, as much as I love it, spoke to the concern that ubiquitous access to
data would lead more to increased oppression as power structures harnessed and
exploited the data to perpetuate themselves.  Instead it has mostly lead to more boring
classic commercial exploitation and assholes like us uniting in a common interest (in this
case the Cubs) and instead spending all our time have the same generic conversations
that still happen in bars, dorm rooms, parents' basements, and such.  It's a lot more
interesting to explore the concept of the disenfranchised regaining meaning, importance,
and control versus some stupid bullshit about twitter or facebook or something.  I'm sure
Douglas Coupland or someone is giving it a shot and I'm sure I don't give a shit.  Gibson
has moved on to far more relevant ideas about things like the interdependency and feedback
loops in our society and who, if anyone, really controls things at this point.  He doesn't
present answers, he doesn't even directly bring up the questions.  He writes entertaining
fiction, but the concepts are in there somewhere.

Gibson and Iain M Banks (but never Iain Banks) are my two favorite living novelists, I
recommend them to pretty much everyone and it was awesome that they both recently
released novels.

Anyone have any recent cyberpunk or (a guilty pleasure of mine) space opera type
recommendations?  I'd even settle for some decent options.  So much of it is garbage
sadly, but I love anytime there is something decent to read in either genre.

[Richard Chuggar]

Bumping this thread because I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

For a book that's about, in part, an internet subculture/sensation, it holds up pretty well in 2010. 

I know Gibson's much better known for Neuromancer - wondering if this is a must-read?

If you enjoyed Pattern Recognition, now's a great time to finish up the arc with
Spook Country and Zero history.  They aren't sequels in the strict sense but threads
of the first two culminate in the third.  I always find Gibson both insightful and
entertaining. 

I love his earlier cyberpunk novels.  I rarely revisit books, but I've read them all
multiple times.  I highly recommend them all in approximate order that he wrote
them.  Not only due to some character interleaving, but because I think he
managed to develop a real universe (or setting or microcosm if you'd rather since
it's mostly southern california based and never beyond low earth orbit) and
following along as he creates from book to book adds another meta level to the
experience.  Don't let my pitchfork level, probably misguided, over analysis push
you away from the fact that his books are very entertaining with multidimensional
characters and a ton of action.

His latest three have somehow managed to move backwards in time from cyberpunk
to the 'near future' setting wise but at the same time are so much more modern.  I
think cyberpunk, as much as I love it, spoke to the concern that ubiquitous access to
data would lead more to increased oppression as power structures harnessed and
exploited the data to perpetuate themselves.  Instead it has mostly lead to more boring
classic commercial exploitation and assholes like us uniting in a common interest (in this
case the Cubs) and instead spending all our time have the same generic conversations
that still happen in bars, dorm rooms, parents' basements, and such.  It's a lot more
interesting to explore the concept of the disenfranchised regaining meaning, importance,
and control versus some stupid bullshit about twitter or facebook or something.  I'm sure
Douglas Coupland or someone is giving it a shot and I'm sure I don't give a shit.  Gibson
has moved on to far more relevant ideas about things like the interdependency and feedback
loops in our society and who, if anyone, really controls things at this point.  He doesn't
present answers, he doesn't even directly bring up the questions.  He writes entertaining
fiction, but the concepts are in there somewhere.

Gibson and Iain M Banks (but never Iain Banks) are my two favorite living novelists, I
recommend them to pretty much everyone and it was awesome that they both recently
released novels.

Anyone have any recent cyberpunk or (a guilty pleasure of mine) space opera type
recommendations?  I'd even settle for some decent options.  So much of it is garbage
sadly, but I love anytime there is something decent to read in either genre.

Obviously you're a fucking loser, but this Spook book seems cool.

[Slaky]

Bumping this thread because I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

For a book that's about, in part, an internet subculture/sensation, it holds up pretty well in 2010. 

I know Gibson's much better known for Neuromancer - wondering if this is a must-read?

If you enjoyed Pattern Recognition, now's a great time to finish up the arc with
Spook Country and Zero history.  They aren't sequels in the strict sense but threads
of the first two culminate in the third.  I always find Gibson both insightful and
entertaining. 

I love his earlier cyberpunk novels.  I rarely revisit books, but I've read them all
multiple times.  I highly recommend them all in approximate order that he wrote
them.  Not only due to some character interleaving, but because I think he
managed to develop a real universe (or setting or microcosm if you'd rather since
it's mostly southern california based and never beyond low earth orbit) and
following along as he creates from book to book adds another meta level to the
experience.  Don't let my pitchfork level, probably misguided, over analysis push
you away from the fact that his books are very entertaining with multidimensional
characters and a ton of action.

His latest three have somehow managed to move backwards in time from cyberpunk
to the 'near future' setting wise but at the same time are so much more modern.  I
think cyberpunk, as much as I love it, spoke to the concern that ubiquitous access to
data would lead more to increased oppression as power structures harnessed and
exploited the data to perpetuate themselves.  Instead it has mostly lead to more boring
classic commercial exploitation and assholes like us uniting in a common interest (in this
case the Cubs) and instead spending all our time have the same generic conversations
that still happen in bars, dorm rooms, parents' basements, and such.  It's a lot more
interesting to explore the concept of the disenfranchised regaining meaning, importance,
and control versus some stupid bullshit about twitter or facebook or something.  I'm sure
Douglas Coupland or someone is giving it a shot and I'm sure I don't give a shit.  Gibson
has moved on to far more relevant ideas about things like the interdependency and feedback
loops in our society and who, if anyone, really controls things at this point.  He doesn't
present answers, he doesn't even directly bring up the questions.  He writes entertaining
fiction, but the concepts are in there somewhere.

Gibson and Iain M Banks (but never Iain Banks) are my two favorite living novelists, I
recommend them to pretty much everyone and it was awesome that they both recently
released novels.

Anyone have any recent cyberpunk or (a guilty pleasure of mine) space opera type
recommendations?  I'd even settle for some decent options.  So much of it is garbage
sadly, but I love anytime there is something decent to read in either genre.

Miss you.

[PenPho]

Bumping this thread because I just finished Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.

For a book that's about, in part, an internet subculture/sensation, it holds up pretty well in 2010. 

I know Gibson's much better known for Neuromancer - wondering if this is a must-read?

If you enjoyed Pattern Recognition, now's a great time to finish up the arc with
Spook Country and Zero history.  They aren't sequels in the strict sense but threads
of the first two culminate in the third.  I always find Gibson both insightful and
entertaining. 

I love his earlier cyberpunk novels.  I rarely revisit books, but I've read them all
multiple times.  I highly recommend them all in approximate order that he wrote
them.  Not only due to some character interleaving, but because I think he
managed to develop a real universe (or setting or microcosm if you'd rather since
it's mostly southern california based and never beyond low earth orbit) and
following along as he creates from book to book adds another meta level to the
experience.  Don't let my pitchfork level, probably misguided, over analysis push
you away from the fact that his books are very entertaining with multidimensional
characters and a ton of action.

His latest three have somehow managed to move backwards in time from cyberpunk
to the 'near future' setting wise but at the same time are so much more modern.  I
think cyberpunk, as much as I love it, spoke to the concern that ubiquitous access to
data would lead more to increased oppression as power structures harnessed and
exploited the data to perpetuate themselves.  Instead it has mostly lead to more boring
classic commercial exploitation and assholes like us uniting in a common interest (in this
case the Cubs) and instead spending all our time have the same generic conversations
that still happen in bars, dorm rooms, parents' basements, and such.  It's a lot more
interesting to explore the concept of the disenfranchised regaining meaning, importance,
and control versus some stupid bullshit about twitter or facebook or something.  I'm sure
Douglas Coupland or someone is giving it a shot and I'm sure I don't give a shit.  Gibson
has moved on to far more relevant ideas about things like the interdependency and feedback
loops in our society and who, if anyone, really controls things at this point.  He doesn't
present answers, he doesn't even directly bring up the questions.  He writes entertaining
fiction, but the concepts are in there somewhere.

Gibson and Iain M Banks (but never Iain Banks) are my two favorite living novelists, I
recommend them to pretty much everyone and it was awesome that they both recently
released novels.

Anyone have any recent cyberpunk or (a guilty pleasure of mine) space opera type
recommendations?  I'd even settle for some decent options.  So much of it is garbage
sadly, but I love anytime there is something decent to read in either genre.

About 50 pages into Neuromancer right now, but looking forward to Spook Country after this.