Book recomendations

[mrbadger]

Still waiting for the day 'Player of Games' is made into a movie, still ranks as my number 1 book, must have read it 30x

That would be possible with the advances in CGI. Whether the book could be condensed into a single movie succesfully would be the thing.

a Netflix mini series of it would be more something I'd want.

[birdtable]

There was talk many years back of making a movie of Player of Game but nothing came of it... All of Banks novels would make great movie/mini series with maybe the exception of Excession (my favourite) and Feersum Endjinn.. Getting the emotions of "Minds" and ancillaries across to non readers would be a problem. How does one portray the nuances of Flere Imsaho.

[red assassin]

Amazon is considering a TV series based on Consider Phlebas - https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/21/1703 ... ision-show

[mrbadger]

There was talk many years back of making a movie of Player of Game but nothing came of it... All of Banks novels would make great movie/mini series with maybe the exception of Excession (my favourite) and Feersum Endjinn.. Getting the emotions of "Minds" and ancillaries across to non readers would be a problem. How does one portray the nuances of Flere Imsaho.

Excession is also one of my favorites, but translated poorly to audiobook. Possibly if they'd done a full cast adaption, such as they have with Dune or some other books it would have been better, but as it is, narrated by Peter Kenny it doesn't work well.
He does a good job with the other books, so it's not him, it's the source material that doesn't translate well.

[pjknibbs]

Amazon is considering a TV series based on Consider Phlebas

That's probably one of the easiest to make into a TV series or movie, I think--it's pretty much all space opera without too much in the way of complication in it, unlike the other Culture stories.

[Morkonan]

Amazon is considering a TV series based on Consider Phlebas - https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/21/1703 ... ision-show

Amazon has been aggressively moving forward with content generation.

http://www.thisisinsider.com/ranked-the ... now-2017-9

I've heard good things about "The Man in the High Castle" and "Sneaky Pete" but little about their other productions.

The thing is - They can run a series that doesn't capture a large audience while trying to push into the market. They have enough money to "loss lead," so I have reservations about quality, value, etc.

It's all a brand-new thing, with companies trying to secure their market share and get their brand associated with exclusive content. Let's hope they do a good job. (Though, them having an LoTR IP and being able to touch that... /shiver)

[mrbadger]

Adaptions of so many classic SF novels went badly in the past.

Heinlein's the puppet Masters was turned into an awful movie. Not even capable of being saved by having Donald Sutherland in a leading role. Hardly any of his books were well adapted.

Starship Troopers the movie is a great film, but to claim it's a close adaption of the book is an exercise in self delusion.

It's about as close to its source as Blade Runner is to 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'. That's an amazing film, but it has almost nothing in common with the book, except I think that the mispruniciation of the leads name to Deckard is used in the movie instead of his original name.

But will current movie adaptions still be talked about and watched in two decades time?

Starship Troopers may not be perfect, but it's pretty darned good, and Blade Runner in it's first cut was all over the place, and it bombed at the box office, but 36 years later it's still the gold standard for SF, copied by anyone who wants to make a film with meaning.

How many people re-watch David Lynches Dune movie? I've not watched at anywhere near as much as Blade Runner or Starship Troopers. I've probably watched the Scyfy channel miniseries more, and that was far from perfect.

The Audible full cast audiobook version is great, that I've listened to several times.

I'm interested in the possibiity of a new series of Dune movies, but I'll not be getting my hopes up.

[muppetts]

A tad more pulpy but

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/351 ... e_Universe

The Man Who Used The Universe is a good and easy read, plus you can probably get second hand for a couple of quid. His Alien books are good too.

[Morkonan]

I just remembered this one!

P. Anthony - Biography of a Space Tyrant.

This is good "space opera" stuff. I really enjoyed it, even though some reviewer's poo-poo'd it. (Likely because of some political-sounding messages they did not like. But, that's not the point of the story.)

Anthony weaves a really interesting tale, here. There are some really cool operators in his plot, too. It's out of print, of course, but it should be in any used bookstore, maybe available elsewhere too.

PS - I have no idea what the situation is with e-readers and out-of-print books. In thinking on that, surely someone has tried to exploit this rich market full of content! It's just sitting there and nobody is going to "print it." Buy the electronic rights on the cheap, make boatloads of money, buy a spaceship... Anyone?

[Jericho]

Hi All,
Thanks for all of your suggestions, I'll start investigating. Work has just got crazy, so I'll doubt that I have the time to read for another 2 weeks or so. Gives me a chance to have a look at some of the recommendations.

I do have an Ian M Banks book somehwere, Red Mars or something (first in a series). I started reading it years ago, but only got a chapter or so in, when something else was released and I was hooked on that instead (Mass Effect 2 maybe...).

[Morkonan]

"Red Mars" is KSR (Kim Stanley Robinson) If you have that and haven't read it, yet... or the rest.

Quit your job, read books instead.

Do what I do when stressed for time - Leave it on your nightstand, read a page or two before you turn out the light.

[DanRan]

Hi All,
Thanks for showing promising mass gainers results and all of your suggestions, I'll start investigating. Work has just got crazy, so I'll doubt that I have the time to read for another 2 weeks or so. Gives me a chance to have a look at some of the recommendations.

I do have an Ian M Banks book somehwere, Red Mars or something (first in a series). I started reading it years ago, but only got a chapter or so in, when something else was released and I was hooked on that instead (Mass Effect 2 maybe...).

Any fantasy book fans in here? I just finished reading the first book of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself series and I love it. Couldn't recommend it enough. I hope the rest of the series is just as good.

[RegisterMe]

Any fantasy book fans in here? I just finished reading the first book of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself series and I love it. Couldn't recommend it enough. I hope the rest of the series is just as good.

It is. The best "nobody's ever heard of it" fantasy book series I've read starts with "The Black Company" by Glen Cook. Steven Erickson drew a lot of inspiration from them for his Malazan Book of the Fallen series.

[Morkonan]

Any fantasy book fans in here? I just finished reading the first book of Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself series and I love it. Couldn't recommend it enough. I hope the rest of the series is just as good.

It's a wonderful book! I love all of his stuff. Make sure to read "Heroes," too - Outstanding!

Besides Glen Cook's masterpiece of "The Black Company" series (Soon to be made into a television series /fingerscrossed) that RgisterMe rec'd, above, I'd heartily recommend to you David Gemmell's "Drenai Series." They're somewhat, sometimes, stand-alones, but they all take place in the same fantasy setting, sometimes sharing timelines, sometimes making history for others in the series. It's wonderful heroic fantasy! (Finding these books may be difficult. Check your "Used Books" stores.)

I'd also recommend "The Powder Mage" series by Brian McClellen. At first, you'll be a bit incredulous. But, much like Brandon Sanderson's "Mistborn" series, another good recommendation, you'll soon be quite comfortable with the idea that there are people who can do magic after eating gunpowder... (That actually doesn't play strongly into the stories like the magic mechanics in Mistborn do ie: It's not the focus of the stories.)

[BugMeister]

The Kingdom Of Speech by Tom Wolfe
- brilliant, insightful and often hilarious.. well worth a read..

- and here's Tom himself, dapper and erudite as ever..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfg0pGly-LM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YnrhVnz2O4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdFs0eTeHOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ButAxst6CFs

[Morkonan]

The Kingdom Of Speech by Tom Wolfe
- brilliant, insightful and often hilarious.. well worth a read..

Ah, the Man in the White Hat. Love his stuff and he's certainly a worthy author. I'd have to say, though, that he may have stepped out of bounds a little bit on this one, but that's what any worthy author is supposed to do, right?

Fiction Recommendations:

I generally steer a bit clear of Christopher Tolkien's spinoffs from Tolkien's notes. I've read several, but nothing in years. I recently picked up "The Children of Hurin" because I just finished reading the Silmarilian twice, for want of something to read, and once again became a fan of Hurin. The book actually turned out to be pretty good. It didn't have any great revelations, but was still worth reading. It is not quite as derivative as I feared it might be, so I may buy some more of his other stuff. (I've already read the Unfinished Tales books, but he's got one on Gondolin that I'm sort of interested in.)

Clen Cook brings us another episode in the manfold tale of "The Black Company," with "Port of Shadows." It's a "good" book. It doesn't suck. It's not wonderful or great nor does it stand out as some masterwork fantasy - It is what it is. BUT, and I think it's important to note, "The Black Company" are what they are, in their fictional setting. Cook, IMO, transfers some of that attitude towards how he writes for The Black Company, no matter what he writes about them. It's not quite as "gritty" as some other works, but it does not shirk from controversy and displays the mostly amoral activities of The Black Company as fans would expect. It focuses on Croaker as the Annalist during a period while they're still serving "The Lady," but after the Battle of Charm. (For fans in the know)

[pjknibbs]

I generally steer a bit clear of Christopher Tolkien's spinoffs from Tolkien's notes. I've read several, but nothing in years. I recently picked up "The Children of Hurin" because I just finished reading the Silmarilian twice, for want of something to read, and once again became a fan of Hurin. The book actually turned out to be pretty good. It didn't have any great revelations, but was still worth reading. It is not quite as derivative as I feared it might be, so I may buy some more of his other stuff. (I've already read the Unfinished Tales books, but he's got one on Gondolin that I'm sort of interested in.)

It's worth noting that the Silmarillion was essentially reconstructed from Tolkien's notes by Christopher after his death. He even mentions in one of the "history of Middle Earth" books that he regrets some of the editorial decisions he made at the time, since he thinks he would have chosen differently with his current knowledge of the legendarium.

[Aye Capn]

Glen Cook has this amazing ability to show through Croaker's moral lens that when he says some version of, "They had it coming," you know damn well Croaker knows he's lying.

His description of Soulcatcher's tyranny as "The Protector" is so remarkably human you have to imagine Mr. Cook worked for someone like her at some point in his life. We all kind of know or have known someone like that, entitled to and by power.

Croaker going off on Tobo was also epic. "I've spent my whole life watching people like you treat people like me as disposable playthings," or something close to that. I wish I could remember the exact quote. He was so done with Tobo's crap. Raise this kid right or he'll be another Soulcatcher, you can almost hear him thinking it.

The Black Company series is so old I was a kid when I read the story of the Company in the North. It'll feel strange to revisit that era as an adult.

[Morkonan]

It's worth noting that the Silmarillion was essentially reconstructed from Tolkien's notes by Christopher after his death. He even mentions in one of the "history of Middle Earth" books that he regrets some of the editorial decisions he made at the time, since he thinks he would have chosen differently with his current knowledge of the legendarium.

He mentions some of that in the "Children of Hurin." But, it's also true that the focus of the Silmarillion is still correct. It wouldn't have been possible, for instance, to add some of the other material to the book, like the Gondolin tales or what's in The Children of Hurin or the various bits in Unfinished Tales, which was originally intended to be it's own "book." So, the Silmarillion stands "as is" and, IMO, it's good the way it is. Though, strictly speaking, Turin and Neinor/Niniel might not have been appropriate in the Silmarillion. But, their tale is mixed up in with the Noldor et al, so it was probably unavoidable.

Glen Cook has this amazing ability to show through Croaker's moral lens that when he says some version of, "They had it coming," you know damn well Croaker knows he's lying.

^--- THIS! And, all the other stuff you posted!

When you're reading Cook's "Black Company" you "feel" the moral relativism that he develops with this band of mercenaries. No matter who the "Annalist" is, you can see that there are two sets of rules: One for the members of The Black Company and who the F cares about anyone else?

And, Cook doesn't point this out for readers... No, nothing so simple. Cook relies on the reader being drawn in by the narrator to see through their eyes, adopt their view, and realize that in order to make sense of some of what is written, the reader must understand that The Black Company does not operate under the same ethical or moral codes that one uses when going to the grocery store. The Narrator's are not "Unreliable Narrators." They are moral relativists and that's part-and-parcel to what he's creating. He's not making any moral or social statements, either - He's simply telling a tale at the Company/Platoon level of a band of mercenaries.

I love this series. It's definitely in the top three of my favorites, perhaps even my most favorite due to how its written. People that don't like it often point out things that other stories with other writers would have included in it.

"It's a fantasy story about a bunch of guys fighting stuff and so why isn't there a big battle scene with somebody writing about how swords were being swung by warriors with mighty thews?"

That's NOT what the series is about, even though The Black Company is, deservedly and undoubtedly, the most feared Mercenary Company in the land.

Yes, you're absolutely right - The reader absolutely knows, or should, what's going on in a character's head and what they're basing decisions on, even though, or actually because of, Cook not plainly writing it in.

There was one passage towards the end of the series (So far! There is supposed to be one very last book that takes place at the "end" of the Black Company series.) where the Black Company was preparing for a big battle. There was quite a bit of buildup. And then, when another writer writing a different sort of story would have embellished a big battle sequence into the story, the "climax" was something like "Yeah, so there was this big battle an' stuff and we won."

At first, I was taken aback and felt let down. Then, seconds later, I cheered. I realized that a narrator who's a merc in a mercenary company isn't going to sit there and "bore" some anonymous reader with the stuff that they do every day, which is killing people and breaking stuff. They're going to get right to the point, cover the big highlights, and then get to the stuff that is interesting to them. It was a brilliant decision and if he had written out some long battle sequence, at that point, it would have been the wrong decision.

Yeah, so I love me some Black Company!

[Aye Capn]

The best of all "They Had It Coming" moments was when the Company set the flying poles so that if their enemies triggered the self-destruct the poles would blow up the Shadowgate.

When this inevitably happens it unleashes hell on their enemies' world, killing off half the population and reducing the wizard population -- the only people who could fight off the Shadows -- to I think three "Royal Families" who become obsessed with finding good wizard genes and having lots of children to rebuild their decimated populations. So much for your Wizard Kingdom.

Croaker's attitude is, "Their fault for destroying the Shadowgates." Of course they had it coming. They crossed the Company.

The way they twist the pacifists' peaceful, self-sacrificing protests of Soulcatcher's cruel reign into dire warnings -- "The Black Company Lives. Beware!" -- had me laughing as well. It's this flavor of evil bastardry that makes us love the Company.