All the Literature and Reading Stuff...

[Guard Dog]

"So long and thanks for all the fish!"

 

That's right! It's time to re-read The Guide. I suggest you all do the same!

Edited June 26, 2017 by Guard Dog

[Amentep]

I was just thinking about reading my collection of the HHGTtG. “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.”  Don't really have time atm, too many other things to read.

 

...

 

I hate those oddball questions in interviews.  Thankfully only had one: "What kind of bird do you see yourself as?"  Couldn't think of any bird at all except the damn albatross because of Rime of the Ancient Mariner.  Finally said it, and the interviewer kindly said "so you see yourself as being able to stay aloft over sea for long periods of time" which I guess was a better interpretation than "results in curses for sailors who shoot them".

[Blarghagh]

I would have to stop myself from claiming I see myself as a potoo bird.

 

[majestic]

Last year around this time I started my Star Wars Expanded Universe (formerly "canon" now shat on by Disney) project. I figured I could read all the novels that ever came out, not counting the young adult entertainment ones, now that there are no new EU novels coming out.

 

Oh boy. In terms of the old SW timeline I'm done with everything from the New Jedi Order series onwards to the end (up to and including Troy Denning's Crucible) and I have, in the past, read the more popular entries like the Solo trilogy and Timothy Zahn's books. Most of the books are surprisingly entertaining, obviously not high-brow literature but not nearly as pulpy as I expected them to be.

 

I figured I'd simply roll around and start with the books on the other end of the timeline, but Into the Void was such a chore to go through and after 52 different Star Wars novels I think I... uhm... need a break.

 

Thought it would be a good time to try and finally get through Ulysses. I don't like leaving books unfinished, even if it takes me years, but I'm really close to giving up. Ugh.

[Guard Dog]

The best thing about the new star wars movies is it took millions of words of truly awful writing of the "expanded universe" and rendered it moot.

[Malcador]

To be replaced by awful writing, no doubt.

[Raithe]

It still kind of surprises me how many sci-fi readers I know who had no clue that Baen Publishing have a Free Electronic Library that offers a selection of their books in various digital formats. Along with a batch of Reading / Teachers guides on a mix of their books. I mean seriously, they were offering that years before Kindle ever happened and I still find avid readers who don't know that.

 

So yes, just as a reminder to all who might not know it :  http://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012

[injurai]

The best thing about the new star wars movies is it took millions of words of truly awful writing of the "expanded universe" and rendered it moot.

 

Did people actually consider the eu anything other than fanfiction? Maybe very early on but at some point, given the volume, I'd expect people to wise up. Lucasarts merely opened the flood gates to rack in licensing revenues.

[Orogun01]

It still kind of surprises me how many sci-fi readers I know who had no clue that Baen Publishing have a Free Electronic Library that offers a selection of their books in various digital formats. Along with a batch of Reading / Teachers guides on a mix of their books. I mean seriously, they were offering that years before Kindle ever happened and I still find avid readers who don't know that.

 

So yes, just as a reminder to all who might not know it :  http://www.baen.com/catalog/category/view/s/free-library/id/2012

It might be that they stick to the better known authors, I generally try to avoid sci-fi that feels a bit "pulpy". 

[majestic]

 

The best thing about the new star wars movies is it took millions of words of truly awful writing of the "expanded universe" and rendered it moot.

 

Did people actually consider the eu anything other than fanfiction? Maybe very early on but at some point, given the volume, I'd expect people to wise up. Lucasarts merely opened the flood gates to rack in licensing revenues.

 

 

Lucas Arts had an entire department dedicated to nothing but keeping the EU in "check" and to develop storylines with the publishers and authors. I suppose they still do, considering that current Star Wars novels are once again considered canon. Officially sancitoned fan fiction, in other words, like Rogue One.

 

Considering that there are Star Wars novels by respected (and popular, although that says little about quality) fantasy/science fantasy authors like Michael Stackpole I'd also argue against it all being awful. Of course Stackpole isn't in the same ballpark as Clarke or the aforementioned Jules Verne but he's a far cry from being a terrible writer and far away from fan-fiction level of awful.

 

If you want awful check out E. L. James or Anna Todd.

[Raithe]

 

 

The best thing about the new star wars movies is it took millions of words of truly awful writing of the "expanded universe" and rendered it moot.

 

Did people actually consider the eu anything other than fanfiction? Maybe very early on but at some point, given the volume, I'd expect people to wise up. Lucasarts merely opened the flood gates to rack in licensing revenues.

 

 

Lucas Arts had an entire department dedicated to nothing but keeping the EU in "check" and to develop storylines with the publishers and authors. I suppose they still do, considering that current Star Wars novels are once again considered canon. Officially sancitoned fan fiction, in other words, like Rogue One.

 

Considering that there are Star Wars novels by respected (and popular, although that says little about quality) fantasy/science fantasy authors like Michael Stackpole I'd also argue against it all being awful. Of course Stackpole isn't in the same ballpark as Clarke or the aforementioned Jules Verne but he's a far cry from being a terrible writer and far away from fan-fiction level of awful.

 

If you want awful check out E. L. James or Anna Todd.

 

 

Let's not get into the whole Karen Traviss thing and the clashes she had with the SW fans.

[Guard Dog]

To be honest I've only read one Star Wars book (other than the novelization of the movies). That was the first on, Heir to the Empire. It sucked. Completely sucked. I didn't bother finishing it. I did read a Han Solo book when I was a kid. I believe it was Han Solo at Stars End. Actually, there was another book I read as a kid too where Luke actually fought Darth Vader before Empire Strikes Back came out. I don't remember much about either of them though.

 

I've read the novel version of all six movies and for the most part they were forgettable. Except for Revenge of the Sith. Matthew Stover absolutely nailed that one. Screenplays based on novels seldom live up to their source material and vice versa. That one is an exception. There was a bigger, better story than we got on the screen and is didn't have the painfully awkward dialogue delivery the actors gave us on screen,  The narrative styles is weird, 2nd Person Omnipotent, but it works really well.

[Amentep]

Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster from 1978 was the other early Star Wars book.  It came out a year before 1979's Han Solo at Star's End by Brian Daley. The Daley book was the first of a trilogy (Han Solo's Revenge and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy being the other two).

 

Anyhow Splinter of the Mind's Eye is an interesting artifact of the pre-Empire Star Wars (and in fact exists as a 'might have been', as Foster's book was developed to be filmed as a low-budget sequel to Star Wars should the film have failed at the box-office) and shows how in-flux some things were at the time (Luke and Leia's relationship, Han Solo's return)

[Guard Dog]

That's the one. I could not remember the title. That Han Solo book was in my school library. It was the only copy and there was a long line of names waiting to check it out. It's funny, I remember a time books were hard to get. K-Mart had a few and the grocery stores had a few. But mainly it was the library, both public and school where we got our books. I still use and even donate to the public library all the time. Not every book figures to be good enough to buy.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Guard Dog

[Amentep]

Public Libraries are great; spent a lot of time checking out books from them growing up (and our HS library wasn't bad for mainstream books and classic literature).

 

But I don't remember a time where books were hard to buy growing up.  Within driving distance there was a mall with a Waldenbooks, a bit further away was a mall with a B. Dalton.  But really close was a great used book store where I got plenty of books for under $1 (until it closed down when I was a teen) and a great newsagent that existed up until about a decade ago or so.

[Malcador]

Glad I read all of the EU stuff via the library. All went downhill after Zahn's initial books.

 

Course now I actually buy 40k novels so..

[Gromnir]

Public Libraries are great; spent a lot of time checking out books from them growing up (and our HS library wasn't bad for mainstream books and classic literature).

 

But I don't remember a time where books were hard to buy growing up.  Within driving distance there was a mall with a Waldenbooks, a bit further away was a mall with a B. Dalton.  But really close was a great used book store where I got plenty of books for under $1 (until it closed down when I was a teen) and a great newsagent that existed up until about a decade ago or so.

our favorite public library:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Prendergast_Library

 

sure, the harold washington library, particularly the owls, makes us smile fondly, but the prendergast library is unique in our experience. jamestown, ny is utter forgettable, but we always stop at the pendergast and spend a few hours reading when we happen to be in the vicinity.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Guard Dog]

Public Libraries are great; spent a lot of time checking out books from them growing up (and our HS library wasn't bad for mainstream books and classic literature).

 

But I don't remember a time where books were hard to buy growing up.  Within driving distance there was a mall with a Waldenbooks, a bit further away was a mall with a B. Dalton.  But really close was a great used book store where I got plenty of books for under $1 (until it closed down when I was a teen) and a great newsagent that existed up until about a decade ago or so.

I grew up in Ocala FL. It's a pretty big town now, but in the '70s it was a flyspeck. If they didn't have it at K-Mart, Pic-n-Save Drugs, Kash-n-Karry, or at the Seminole Feed and Hardware store, you didn't buy it. The old Ocala public library was my favorite that I've ever seen. It was a huge place. It was mostly underground, grass growing up the sides It was a 6 sided conical building with skylights at the top. The middle of the library with all the reading tables was bright but the book stacks went out from there like spokes in a wheel. And there were LOTS of them. Between the shelves it was dark and cool and smelled like old books. I loved it. It's gone now. Replaced by a nice, modern, sterile facility with nothing of the old places charm or mystery.

 

I just searched the web, I couldn't even find a picture of it.

[ManifestedISO]

 

 

Between the shelves it was dark and cool and smelled like old books. I loved it. It's gone now. Replaced by a nice, modern, sterile facility with nothing of the old places charm or mystery.

 

Same, ours was a 19th-century stone-built pioneer building less than 800sqft with no room for tables. I remember a donation cup with a picture of Mt. St. Helens on it and the smell of old books so unique.

[injurai]

What should I dive into first: Recommend just one, or one from each grouping.

 

Cosmere

Wheel of Time

Malazan

Thomas Covenant

The Black Company

 

Old Man's War

Culture

Foundation

Hyperion Cantos

 

I wont necessarily finish the entire series before starting the next. I don't really care if one of these is ongoing. Other than Cosmere I think they are all finished... not sure.

 

Mostly want to invest in the most engrossing. If you think the tropes in one merit it be read first or something because it's the better of two series that share a lot of similar tropes then that is more or less why I'm putting this question to you. So I don't wear myself out and never get to the better material. I know it's all subjective... but still...

 

Thanks!

[Bartimaeus]

How much do you enjoy reading about women tugging their hair and smoothing out their clothes?

Edited June 29, 2017 by Bartimaeus

[Guard Dog]

Wheel of Time is a lot of reading. It's like eating a box full of peanut butter sandwiches. It great if you really like peanut butter sandwiches. The first seven books were good. Then is lost it's way for a while. Then is gets back on track for a pretty good finish. All the loose ends get tied up except for one.

 

Malazan sucked. It's not about anything. It's a book of subplots.

 

Old Man's War was OK. Well, book one was OK. Book two less so. It was out of gas by book 3. Don't bother with book 4. He just re-wrote book 3 from a different characters perspective. Obviously Scalzi signed a 4 book deal but only had enough creative juice for 3. More like 2.5 really.

 

Some of the folks around here said good things about Black Company. I've never read it. The other's I'm afraid I don't know.

[injurai]

How much do you enjoy reading about women tugging their hair and smoothing out their clothes?

 

Which series is this? I guess it depends if it's a young women raised with certain expectations or just a self-indulgent scene meant to tantalize with the prospects of a kept woman to be.

[Bartimaeus]

Wheel of Time. I think GD's comment on it is pretty spot on. Sadly, I haven't read any of the others, so I can't really comment upon them.

[Raithe]

The Black Company starts off quite well, if you like your Fantasy with a certain Vietnam War element. Although when you get down to it, it should technically be considered more a linked set of shorter series. The Books of the North (a trilogy), The Books of the South (a duology), and the Books of the Glittering Stone (a quartet) plus a spin off stand-alone story. The whole thing covers about 30-40 years of the mercenary company.

 

The Books of the Norh start off as the viewpoint of a group of mercenaries who end up working for the Dark Lord. But the good guys are pretty crappily "bad" good guys as well, there's that vein of black humour that crops up in seasoned soldiers stuck in the trenches as it were. The Books of the South follow the company as they try to re-trace the origins of where they came from, and the Books of Glittering Stone turn more.. hm, philosophical in some sense about who they are as they head on to their glorious destiny.

 

 

 

In regards to the Wheel of Time - Personally, I really loved the majority of t he series. As has been mentioned the middle few books start to stretch and slow down some. Part of it is the abundance of characters and sub-plots and how it shows the ripple effects of actions taken. Which, your mileage may vary. Most fantasy stories seem to treat the main party as if they're in a bubble. They act, but the world only changes in specific manner to their actions, they move on and the world goes back to what it was. The Wheel of Time expands on so much of the consequences of the initial actions, and pretty much compounds it as the story goes on. So by the last few books there is a LOT going on and a lot of characters reacting and acting to various events. To me, it felt like a much more living, breathing world than most other series I've read.

 

Thomas Covenant... eh, it's one of those that can impress me on a certain literary level, but storywise it left me fairly repulsed.

 

Cosmere - Again this is an odd one. Basically Sanderson has said all of his various series are set in this fictional universe. They don't really cross-over, each series is stand-alone to read. So it's better to take Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker etc on their individual series merits rather than go through them en-masse.