Bought this Banks novel for $1 at a local used book store. Post-Apocalyptic, bit of a downer. Takes place in Scotland, so I expect the Doctor to show up and sort every thing out.
Love Stephenson, Cryptonomicon was prophetic in many ways. I have Amathem on my stack of to read books.
This is not a report of what I'm reading, but a question about something I've read. I can't remember what it is, though, and it's been bugging me for days. This is the set-up: a teen-aged boy is frustrated by his parents (also a redundancy) because they're dull and he wants them to be like these characters in books he reads, or maybe movies he sees, who are sort of like Nick & Nora Charles. Then, iirc, he somehow stumbles into a reality in which they are his parents and they have adventures together. Does that sound familiar to anyone? At first I was thinking "Chabon," but I don't think that is right.
It took a while for me to get into it, but now about 1/3 in I'm enjoying it.
How is the Boy in the Suitcase? It's on sale at kindle this month, and I was considering it.
Today's kindle deal of the day is also Danish; We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen. It sounds pretty good:
Carsten Jensens debut novel has taken the world by storm. Already hailed in Europe as an instant classic, We, the Drowned is the story of the port town of Marstal, whose inhabitants have sailed the worlds oceans aboard freight ships for centuries. Spanning over a hundred years, from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Second World War, and from the barren rocks of Newfoundland to the lush plantations of Samoa, from the roughest bars in Tasmania, to the frozen coasts of northern Russia, We, the Drowned spins a magnificent tale of love, war, and adventure, a tale of the men who go to sea and the women they leave behind.
Ships are wrecked at sea and blown up during wars, they are places of terror and violence, yet they continue to lure each generation of Marstal menfathers and sonsaway. Strong, resilient, women raise families alone and sometimes take history into their own hands. There are cannibals here, shrunken heads, prophetic dreams, forbidden passions, cowards, heroes, devastating tragedies, and miraculous survivalseverything that a town like Marstal has actually experienced, and that makes We, the Drowned an unforgettable novel, destined to take its place among the greatest seafaring literature.
Have fun with the Swamp Thing series. You definitely picked a great TPB to start with. The first two collected volume of the Swamp Thing were mediocre, but fun, typically horror stories via dumb comic book "powers" premise. Alan Moore basically reenvisioned the entire Swamp Thing origin without actually hurting the continuity of the story. You can keep reading all the way through to the TPB titled "Reunion" and never run out of solid horror stories that, often, are thought-provoking, and most pretty damn fun, to boot. That's like 6 volumes, including your "Saga..." TPB; plenty of reading material.
Gaiman's Sandman series is the greatest comic series ever. Read 'em in order, though, or it gets a bit confusing. Also, just an fyi, the first Sandman TPB "Preludes & Nocturnes" can be a bit sluggish. Gaiman was still trying to figure out exactly how he was gonna run the Sandman show, especially in terms of whether it was part of the DC Universe or not. There's a few guest appearances in that first TPB, but that's the only time it happens. Even if "Preludes & Nocturnes" doesn't grab you, I recommend continuing on to the second volume "Doll's House." Gaiman really finds his wings by then.
For everyone, if you were thinking about maybe trying a comic title out, but normally it's not your thing, I highly highly highly recommend "Unwritten." It talks about the power of stories, the truths behind fiction, and it's a great fantasy mystery to boot. I think a lot of people here would enjoy it as a story and as a premise.
@Denver - "Post-Apocalyptic, bit of a downer." "Well that seems a little redundant."
I suppose that it could be post-apoc and the story tells about how humanity overcomes and makes a new and better world out of the disaster. With only 40 pages to go, nothing good is going to happen in this one, so it is more like The Road.
After reading Irving's In One Person I would say that novels should not be written to promote causes, no matter how virtuous they are. They tend not to be really successful as novels; Uncle Tom's Cabin comes to mind. There may be exceptions, but not many, I think.
One chapter, about two thirds of the way through the book, is both technically masterful and deeply moving. It juggles many characters, each with his or her own agenda, and focuses on Miss Frost, who comes as close to being heroic as anyone I can think of in contemporary fiction, but certainly not conventionally heroic. After she and the other most interesting and energetic character are permanently gone offstage, though, Irving seems to just go through the motion of tying up a lot of loose ends. One later chapter, not even the last, is titled "A World Of Epilogues." Of course, being Irving, you'll meet a private school in a New England town, an aspiring writer, single parents, wrestlers, and plenty of sexual tension.
Yep - Creature from Jekyll Island is indeed a real eye-opener. I have the book and was amazed to read how things really are. This is not conspiracy stuff, but true facts. It definitely is not comfort-reading, but we need to know this stuff.
>but how many examples of that have you seen? Offhand I can't think of any.
You are right, most are depressing. Song of Stone is especially dark, in a Cormac McCarthy sort of way. Here is a list of Post-apoc stories. John Christopher's Tripod series is more or less what I had in mind, although it is less post-apoc than I would have thought. Maybe movies are happier, Reign of Fire ends more or less happy (humans survive, Star Wars becomes the religion). When Worlds Collide at least the humans find a place to live, War of the Worlds our germs overcome the aliens.
Maybe A Canticle for Leibowitz, although humans just do the same stupid things over again. The Stand? At least in the good-guy part of the world.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a great book. And though the destruction repeats, it's fundamentally hopeful. (As is The Road in its own very faintly glimmering way).
Plong, I tried Special Topics earlier this summer and after maybe 100 pages, gave up. Something about the quirky characters meets quirky teacher with narrator that apparently knows how to name drop books, wore thin.
This is a curious one. I got it free through a link to a publisher giveaway on here some time back. It's very surreal/strange/goofy/supernatural/defiant towards the laws of logic or physics. Like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett with less realism and more noir tendencies, with horror motifs but more funny than scary. It's not high literature, and some of the ideas are better than others, but it's actually quite a fun ride if you are willing to be carried along by sheer volume of inventively unexpected random happenings rather than plot logic or depth of character. (You'll see from the Amazon reviews that people seem to love it or hate it). For some reason the following sentence (appearing apropos of nothing during an outdoor scene) just now tickled my sense of humor, and it exemplifies the style well:
"And then all the birds became mice and fell from the sky in a chorus of alarmed squeaking."
If you like offbeat humor and want a light read this might work.
Bad Thoughts wins this round: "The Book of Revelation is hopeful (so I hear)." In the meantime, I am giving Special topics a bit more time. It is amusing, but not at all what I thought I was getting into.
So, I read Virtual Light this weekend. It was enjoyable, but I had a few issues with it. Mostly my issues focused on the religion, AIDS, and anthropology story lines. I found the connections there weak, so the parts discussing them felt tacked on in an effort to add philosophical weight to what was otherwise a fun "people caught up in something bigger than them which puts their lives in danger" story. The other thing that got to me, and still bugs me, is when Loveless makes Chevette take off her pants in the scene in the RV. For the life of me I cannot figure out why the hell he would do that. I realize it provided an excuse to discuss Rydal's interest in her, but there was no reason for Loveless to do it, so it was really forced.
Now reading:
Also got some Amazon gift cards over the weekend, so a whole stack of books are on their way to my door.
@craig: I had a lot of trouble with Virtual Light too, maybe for different reasons. I find the amount of brand name dropping in Gibson's work distracting.
Comments
Bought this Banks novel for $1 at a local used book store. Post-Apocalyptic, bit of a downer. Takes place in Scotland, so I expect the Doctor to show up and sort every thing out.
Love Stephenson, Cryptonomicon was prophetic in many ways. I have Amathem on my stack of to read books.
This is not a report of what I'm reading, but a question about something I've read. I can't remember what it is, though, and it's been bugging me for days. This is the set-up: a teen-aged boy is frustrated by his parents (also a redundancy) because they're dull and he wants them to be like these characters in books he reads, or maybe movies he sees, who are sort of like Nick & Nora Charles. Then, iirc, he somehow stumbles into a reality in which they are his parents and they have adventures together. Does that sound familiar to anyone? At first I was thinking "Chabon," but I don't think that is right.
plus some Danish crime
It took a while for me to get into it, but now about 1/3 in I'm enjoying it.
How is the Boy in the Suitcase? It's on sale at kindle this month, and I was considering it.
Today's kindle deal of the day is also Danish; We, the Drowned, by Carsten Jensen. It sounds pretty good:
Have fun with the Swamp Thing series. You definitely picked a great TPB to start with. The first two collected volume of the Swamp Thing were mediocre, but fun, typically horror stories via dumb comic book "powers" premise. Alan Moore basically reenvisioned the entire Swamp Thing origin without actually hurting the continuity of the story. You can keep reading all the way through to the TPB titled "Reunion" and never run out of solid horror stories that, often, are thought-provoking, and most pretty damn fun, to boot. That's like 6 volumes, including your "Saga..." TPB; plenty of reading material.
Gaiman's Sandman series is the greatest comic series ever. Read 'em in order, though, or it gets a bit confusing. Also, just an fyi, the first Sandman TPB "Preludes & Nocturnes" can be a bit sluggish. Gaiman was still trying to figure out exactly how he was gonna run the Sandman show, especially in terms of whether it was part of the DC Universe or not. There's a few guest appearances in that first TPB, but that's the only time it happens. Even if "Preludes & Nocturnes" doesn't grab you, I recommend continuing on to the second volume "Doll's House." Gaiman really finds his wings by then.
For everyone, if you were thinking about maybe trying a comic title out, but normally it's not your thing, I highly highly highly recommend "Unwritten." It talks about the power of stories, the truths behind fiction, and it's a great fantasy mystery to boot. I think a lot of people here would enjoy it as a story and as a premise.
@Cafreema
If you're gonna read William Gibson, you've gotta read "Neuromancer," one of the all-time great books.
Cheers.
I will have to check out Unwritten.
Later, he does Jersey!
I suppose that it could be post-apoc and the story tells about how humanity overcomes and makes a new and better world out of the disaster. With only 40 pages to go, nothing good is going to happen in this one, so it is more like The Road.
One chapter, about two thirds of the way through the book, is both technically masterful and deeply moving. It juggles many characters, each with his or her own agenda, and focuses on Miss Frost, who comes as close to being heroic as anyone I can think of in contemporary fiction, but certainly not conventionally heroic. After she and the other most interesting and energetic character are permanently gone offstage, though, Irving seems to just go through the motion of tying up a lot of loose ends. One later chapter, not even the last, is titled "A World Of Epilogues." Of course, being Irving, you'll meet a private school in a New England town, an aspiring writer, single parents, wrestlers, and plenty of sexual tension.
Overall, worth reading, but not great.
Comes highly touted, but I Haven't decided yet.
You are right, most are depressing. Song of Stone is especially dark, in a Cormac McCarthy sort of way. Here is a list of Post-apoc stories. John Christopher's Tripod series is more or less what I had in mind, although it is less post-apoc than I would have thought. Maybe movies are happier, Reign of Fire ends more or less happy (humans survive, Star Wars becomes the religion). When Worlds Collide at least the humans find a place to live, War of the Worlds our germs overcome the aliens.
Maybe A Canticle for Leibowitz, although humans just do the same stupid things over again. The Stand? At least in the good-guy part of the world.
This is a curious one. I got it free through a link to a publisher giveaway on here some time back. It's very surreal/strange/goofy/supernatural/defiant towards the laws of logic or physics. Like Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett with less realism and more noir tendencies, with horror motifs but more funny than scary. It's not high literature, and some of the ideas are better than others, but it's actually quite a fun ride if you are willing to be carried along by sheer volume of inventively unexpected random happenings rather than plot logic or depth of character. (You'll see from the Amazon reviews that people seem to love it or hate it). For some reason the following sentence (appearing apropos of nothing during an outdoor scene) just now tickled my sense of humor, and it exemplifies the style well:
"And then all the birds became mice and fell from the sky in a chorus of alarmed squeaking."
If you like offbeat humor and want a light read this might work.
Now reading:
Also got some Amazon gift cards over the weekend, so a whole stack of books are on their way to my door.
Craig
Craig
I immediately thought of Coupland while reading CWOO's post.