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Media Center>Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Only Thread
Buck 07:05 PM 03-20-2012
There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy.

In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier.

CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS

Baby Lee
1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series.
2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists]
3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM]

Frosty
1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga
2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books)
3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn

Huffmeister
(1) Dune - Frank Herbert
(2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged)
(3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass)

Jawshco
1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe
2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead
3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams

listopencil
1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series
2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first)
3. Doc Smith's Lensman series

vailpass
1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below)
2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year)
3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17
See Post 142
[Reply]
Frosty 04:52 PM 11-20-2019
Originally Posted by Mennonite:
I don't have to have a lamp on to read at night, I can adjust the print size as needed,
Have you tried changing the display to show white text on black? Life-changing. Especially when reading at night.
[Reply]
Mennonite 05:16 PM 11-20-2019
Originally Posted by Frosty:
Have you tried changing the display to show white text on black? Life-changing. Especially when reading at night.
Yeah, I prefer the black background too. Occasionally I'll use the sepia tone display though.
[Reply]
Frosty 05:39 PM 11-20-2019
Originally Posted by Mennonite:
Yeah, I prefer the black background too. Occasionally I'll use the sepia tone display though.
My biggest problem re eyesight is contrast so the sepia one is no bueno for me. It's also why I struggle with trade paperbacks. The pages tend to be more gray than white so there isn't as much contrast between the print and page.
[Reply]
vailpass 09:01 PM 11-20-2019
You guys use the kindle paperwhite? I started looking at them in case they have a good sale.
[Reply]
Frosty 10:20 PM 11-20-2019
Originally Posted by vailpass:
You guys use the kindle paperwhite? I started looking at them in case they have a good sale.
I just use the Fire 8". Got it for $50 a couple of years ago.
[Reply]
Mennonite 08:58 AM 11-21-2019
I own the 8 inch Kindle too. Big enough to read easily but small enough to carry around. I bought it a couple of years ago and it has been in constant use every day since then. For what I paid for it I figured it would crap out within six months, but it's still going strong. It's pretty damn durable too because I have managed to drop this ****er a million times over the years. A protective screen is advisable even if you don't have butter fingers like me. My chief complaints with the old model: keyboard can be a little glitchy if you're using it as a browser. And I think it could use more memory.

I've actually received two more of them as gifts since then. One is a much larger model and I never use it. It's just unwieldy compared to the smaller version. It's ok for watching movies or listening to audio books on though.

The third one is another 8 inch model. It being the newest it has three times as much memory and a better speaker. There is one major drawback if you use pirated books in that it won't play them. Easily fixed with a bit of modding. I think I had to download 4 files and it took all of 10 minutes. You will want to mod it a little no matter what so that you can access Google Play for more aps.

Edit:

I read a pretty good sci-fi short story recently called "The Lone and Level Sands" by Marco Panessa
[Reply]
vailpass 10:50 AM 11-21-2019
Hmmm...Kindle vs. Paperwhite. Tom's review makes me think I'll look at the Paperwhite as it looks like it will be at a good price for BF. That Oasis looks nice too if it goes on a really good sale.

I like the idea of being able to check out library books, didn't know that was possible. It looks like the Kobo e-reader might be a little better suited for that task since they own the interface software.

https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-e-...view-2766.html
[Reply]
Frosty 11:11 AM 11-21-2019
By the way, if you have a different tablet that you like, the Kindle app is free and works well. I use it on my iPhone and have had zero issues.
[Reply]
duncan_idaho 08:06 AM 11-22-2019
I love the Kindle app. I don’t read on my phone at home - use the iPad for that - but I love always having what I’m reading at my fingertips. Makes trips to the doctor, DMV, or even solo lunch breaks pretty easy to handle.

Re: new authors to check out, Ill recommend Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy (and the ensuing one shots and trilogy series).

It’s grim dark low magic fantasy. Multiple view points, very gritty, really interesting world.
[Reply]
vailpass 09:04 PM 11-22-2019
You guys make some good points. Amazon had the new Kindle Paperwhite marked down from $130 to $85 today so I ordered one. I think it'll be good on airplanes and I'll likely save enough on books to pay for it if I end up liking to read on it. Or I may hate it and it will go into the drawer of abandoned gadgets.
[Reply]
Mennonite 09:25 PM 11-22-2019
Originally Posted by vailpass:
You guys make some good points. Amazon had the new Kindle Paperwhite marked down from $130 to $85 today so I ordered one. I think it'll be good on airplanes and I'll likely save enough on books to pay for it if I end up liking to read on it. Or I may hate it and it will go into the drawer of abandoned gadgets.
These links may be of some use to you soon:

https://www.howtogeek.com/232726/how...n-fire-tablet/



https://b-ok.cc
[Reply]
vailpass 09:59 PM 11-22-2019
Originally Posted by Mennonite:
These links may be of some use to you soon:

https://www.howtogeek.com/232726/how...n-fire-tablet/



https://b-ok.cc
Holy crap that library link looks good. Thanks man. It works with Kindles?
[Reply]
Mennonite 06:53 AM 11-23-2019
Yep. If you need to convert a file to mobi you can use this program:

https://calibre-ebook.com


Alternatively you can use the first link I provided to gain access to Google Play where you can download other ebook aps that can play multiple formats without having to convert them.




I finished up vol. 9 of the Theodore Sturgeon short story collection last night.

Favorite story: "The Girl Had Guts "

Other stories of note:

"And Now the News "

This is one of several story ideas given to TS by Robert Heinlein during one of Sturgeon's frequent bouts with writer's block. It's memorable but I kind of wish Heinlein had kept this one for himself. My two biggest gripes with TS is that many of his stories run too long and his fascination with psychiatric therapy. This story features both. Someone who hasn't read 7 volumes of his short stories in a short period of time probably wouldn't be as annoyed by these things as I was. Worth reading.



TS collaborated with Don Ward to create two more of the stories in this volume. One is a grim little western called "The Waiting Thing Inside" and the other is a drama called "The Deadly Innocent." Both are flawed ("Waiting" needed to develop the female character more to be effective and "Innocent" didn't have a fully satisfying ending, but both stories have more " punch" than most of the other tales found here.


I'm also reading some stories by Leigh Brackett. They're ok. Imaginative and generally entertaining. So far I've read:

The Veil of Astellar
The Moon That Vanished
The Stellar Legion
Shannach—the Last
Martian Quest
[Reply]
vailpass 03:19 PM 11-23-2019
Originally Posted by Mennonite:
Yep. If you need to convert a file to mobi you can use this program:

https://calibre-ebook.com


Alternatively you can use the first link I provided to gain access to Google Play where you can download other ebook aps that can play multiple formats without having to convert them.




I finished up vol. 9 of the Theodore Sturgeon short story collection last night.

Favorite story: "The Girl Had Guts "

Other stories of note:

"And Now the News "

This is one of several story ideas given to TS by Robert Heinlein during one of Sturgeon's frequent bouts with writer's block. It's memorable but I kind of wish Heinlein had kept this one for himself. My two biggest gripes with TS is that many of his stories run too long and his fascination with psychiatric therapy. This story features both. Someone who hasn't read 7 volumes of his short stories in a short period of time probably wouldn't be as annoyed by these things as I was. Worth reading.



TS collaborated with Don Ward to create two more of the stories in this volume. One is a grim little western called "The Waiting Thing Inside" and the other is a drama called "The Deadly Innocent." Both are flawed ("Waiting" needed to develop the female character more to be effective and "Innocent" didn't have a fully satisfying ending, but both stories have more " punch" than most of the other tales found here.


I'm also reading some stories by Leigh Brackett. They're ok. Imaginative and generally entertaining. So far I've read:

The Veil of Astellar
The Moon That Vanished
The Stellar Legion
Shannach—the Last
Martian Quest
Good stuff, thanks man.
[Reply]
Frosty 02:56 PM 11-24-2019
Amazon is having a sale today only (11/24) on the Kindle version of all books in The Expanse series. I still needed book 7, so it's nice to be able to fill that in on the cheap.
[Reply]
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