Great Books- what are you reading now?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Melf, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    A number of well known fantasy/sf artists have done John Carter art. Frank Frazetta was one (a sword company even makes a version of his John Carter sword http://filmswords.com/frazetta/martian-longsword.htm). More recently, Michael Whelan did some good stuff (see here - scroll down http://adventuresinnerdliness.blogspot. ... helan.html).

    For what its worth, a couple of early issues of Dragon had some John Carter stuff in them IIRC. One article for sure I can remember being collected in Best of the Dragon Vol. I (the one with the red cover). I've been trying to track down TSR's old wargame "Warriors of Mars" but haven't seen a copy for less than around $200. Heritage made a line of Barsoom minis back in the day, and I've seen some 15mm Barsoom minis more recently; forget the company, but they made Victorian sci fi minis including Wells' Martian tripods as well.

    Andy
     
  2. Dale

    Dale Administrator

    Incantations of Immortality series is one of my favorite from him. I'm only speaking about the original seven books (never read the much later written 8th book). Good thought provoking stuff.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnations_of_Immortality
     
  3. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    I guess this is why I don't remember this in his books because I've only read the Incarnations of Immortality and some of his Adept series. Of course, I haven't read these books since my late teens so I may just be misremembering what was in them. At that age, I would probably not have minded or really noticed it but would probably be more aware of it now.

    (I liked the reference to Ted Kennedy in one of the Incarnations books. I remember, as a kid, trying to find out what it was referring to and coming away realizing that Anthony used a lot of real world history as an aside in them.)
     
  4. chgowiz

    chgowiz Footpad

    I finished the first book of the Guardian of the Flames series - The Sleeping Dragon. I've been picking them up via paperbackswap.com.

    Now I remember why I both liked and was bored by Rosenberg. When he's rolling, he's rolling. When he gets long winded, I snooze.

    I had to put Foundation down. I was getting seriously bored.
     
  5. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    Just finished "World War Z" and highly recommend it. Next stop on the zombie reading express, "Day by Day Armageddon" : )

    Andy
     
  6. sir jon

    sir jon Spellbinder

    Seconded, wholeheartedly. Even the audio performance is pretty harrowing.
     
  7. chgowiz

    chgowiz Footpad

    WWZ is a GREAT book! It's one of those you can rip through in a day and still have a good read.
     
  8. tstone

    tstone Level 0 Character

    WWZ is awesome, as is The Zombie Survival Guide, also written by Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks. Interviewed him on my radio show. Simply awesome.

    Just finished Neil Gaiman's "American Gods". Excellent rumination on religion, spirituality, magic, mysticism and the soul, as well as culture and how it changes.

    Great stuff.
     
  9. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    Yes, Neil Gaiman's American God's is a great read. If you liked it, then you'll really enjoy the follow up book set in the same world: The Anansi Boys. It's not really a sequel but I really liked it. It has a different flavor from AG but still a worthwhile read. (In some ways, I liked it better.)
     
  10. tstone

    tstone Level 0 Character

    Funny you should mention Ananszi Boys. It's on my "to read" stack that I'm taking with me over my coming post-surgery convalescent leave...
     
  11. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    Midway reviews are very iffy. Did you ever slog your way through to the end or did you switch to Piers Anthony?
     
  12. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    Just started Pawn of Prophecy by Eddings. I've had these Eddings books sitting around for ever and the Chess titles always put me off for some reason. Not a bad start, a bit Lord of the Rings so far but likeable.
     
  13. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    Heh heh.. this is why I will not read any modern "fat fantasy" books, let alone series. For that 800 pages worth of effort, I will have read World War Z, Day by Day Armageddon, Margaret St Clair's The Shadow People, and one - possibly two - other novels. Given the choice between reading one really long novel that is ok, and up to 5 novels, I'll read the five novels. Even if one or two of them suck (unlikely since I usually choose well), I'll still have the pleasure of reading several different authors' cool stuff : )

    Let's face it, for the time invested read the Game of Thrones series you could probably completely read your way through the suggested reading list in the back of the AD&D 1e DMG..

    Andy
     
  14. Emperor Xan

    Emperor Xan Troubadour

    I'm currently reading William Gibson's "Virtual Light". The trilogy's a break for me from reading Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle. Now, that's an epic series.
     
  15. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Yep. I finished the GoT and it was GOOD! I am onto the next book in the series. I believe it is going to be made into an HBO series soon as well.
     
  16. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Anasi Boys was only OK IMO. I really liked American Gods though.
     
  17. geekpreacher

    geekpreacher Spellbinder

    Well, there's no accounting for taste. 8p

    Seriously, I liked the character interaction in Anansi Boys but loved the myth aspect of American Gods. That's the aspect I liked better than AG but the storyline in AG was on a totally different scale and proved to be awesome.
     
  18. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    While I found Game of Thrones more than disappointing I wouldn't say the same for all lengthy novels or series of novels. If the story is good then I love having a long novel. One of my favorite writers is H.Beam Piper and there just isn't enough of his writing around (and each of his stories was short). Lord of the Rings could be considered a long novel but I found it all to short. I would have loved to have had much much more.
     
  19. kveldulf

    kveldulf Chevalier

    Big Piper fan as well! One of these days I intend to make the drive up from where I live (west of Philadelphia) and check out his old stomping grounds. It is a true shame that he chose to take his own life rather than continue writing. I was introduced to his stuff thanks to the suggested reading list in the old Star Frontiers RPG and am forever greatful for it. His fiction remains the biggest influence on the Star Frontiers games I run. The good news for Piper fans is that the copyright on much of his works appears to have expired / not been passed on to anyone, so you can find most of his work online for free at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/p#a8301). Would be great if someone actually created an RPG sourcebook based on Piper's fiction..

    Andy
     
  20. JasonZavoda

    JasonZavoda Level 0 Character

    My Mom's family is from around Altoona. Not much to see though you can always stop in at Punxi and visit the groundhog.

    Piper's work has inspired a number of authors, even those who don't give him credit. Robert Adam's Castaways in Time, the 1632 series (though that author actively dislikes Piper) and a good deal of the TRAVELLER RPG material. Piper truly believed in reincarnation so suicide to him was simply speeding up the process.
     

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