QQ Book Club

[Sleep]

I've only read the first book in the series then, not quite my cup of tea I don't think.

 

[pepperjack]

I hadn't read what Sleep mentioned though. Hmm.

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It comes recommended very highly. Also Snow Crash, by the same author.

 

[Gremlin Jack]

Hmm, anyone here read any of Bujold's Vorkosigan series? Or Eric Flint's 1632 series?

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Big fans of both. Unfortunately...

I found 1632 and 1633 decently good. Past that it goes all hydra with the plot threads and it's quality is all over the place.

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Pretty much this. Although I've found sticking to the main series written by Flint works out pretty well. Also, with Vorkosigan, the last two novels have been mostly romance in a sci-fi setting, rather than the action/intrigue that first made me fall in love with Miles. Maybe because those novels didn't focus on Miles at all -- I guess he's slowing down now that he's a count with a gaggle of kids. At least "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" had the mystery of what his amoral in-laws were up to, as well as some derring-do and fast thinking from the much-maligned "that idiot Ivan". The latest one "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen" was romance pure and simple. Well-written, certainly, but not what I come to the Vorkosigan series for, y'know? Hopefully the next one will be more along the lines of "Diplomatic Immunity".

If you can still find Flint's 'Mother of Demons' that used to be on Baen's free library, I recommend that as well. I will concede though that MoD scratched a particular itch of mine with culture clash and alien views on humans.

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It's actually funny. Anyone who's read most of Flint's books can see where in his later works he reuses and perfects concepts that first saw the light of day in Mother of Demons.

Then I feel compelled to mention the excellent, if heavy on the world-building side, The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. It's both really good and with some 'small' alterations excellent material for QQ.

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It comes recommended very highly. Also Snow Crash, by the same author.

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Both are amazing novels. The world-building is not only fabulous, but some of Neal Stephenson's ideas were literally prophetic.

The Diamond Age introduces the practical application of genetic algorithms for problem solving, (only with actual fucking instead of software). But greatest of all was the concept behind the main story of Diamond Age, so simple in its idea yet so epic in execution.

Spoiler: minor spoiler

A rich dude wanted a portable educational nanotech-based AI for his graddaughter, only the AI's purpose was to ensure the girl led a full and interesting life, rather than simply teach her. And the guy who made it also secretly made some extra copies, one for his daughter, and another ended up in the hands of a street urchin. And the butterflies flapped their wings as the winds of change blew cold...

Snow Crash, though, is something else. Its the book that used the word 'avatar' to describe online personas, before the internet was more than a geek's hangout. It predicted the rise of social networking, MMORPGS (and that people would care more for their online personas than their real selves) over a decade before the existence Facebook, World of Warcraft, and Second Life. Plus, the main character has one of the coolest business cards ever...

Its a shame the card doesn't mention how he uses all these skills to the utmost to ensure that damn pizza gets there in 30 minutes or less...

 

[cliffc999]

I realize this is a horrendous necro, but rather than start a new thread for discussing books I figured this was the appropriate place.

CJ Carella, familiar to some of us as a longtime RPG supplement author for Palladium Games... aka 'the guy who actually wrote the good shit, like Phase World and Dead Reign'... has decided to start a LitRPG novel.

This novel concentrates primarily on action-adventure, with a focus on power-leveling and learning new magic and class subsystems. Future novels will deal with town and stronghold management. There is also a harem (fade-to-black, non explicit) subplot that plays a part in the story without detracting from it.

Sample chapters can be found at my website:
http://cjcarella.com/twilight_templar_the_eternal_journey_book_one

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So... since I know QQ enjoys a good Gamer fic, enjoy a published one!

 

[ThePoarter]

I'm Currently reading "homicide Life on the killing streets" and "Dominance of the pacific" they're really interesting books.