Club409 - BOOKS DO YOU READ THEM

Drew

Total posts: 5110

6/10/2014 2:22 AM

finished book 1 of gateway on audible i kept stopping and starting so it probably seemed longer than it acutally is i'd say the best thing about it was the atmostphere i really got a sense that things were just gradually and inevitably going downhill for earth and people no convoluted dystopia just getting worn out

Oscar

Total posts: 1323

6/11/2014 11:55 AM

Just finished the Warrior's Wings series (LGT first book) by Evan Currie same author of the Odyssey One series I mentioned earlier. It's similar to the Odyssey One series but it's in a different universe with different technology and tactics. This one involves a lot more special forces ground combat but still has it's fair share of space battles.

Drew

Total posts: 5110

7/31/2014 10:30 AM

I enjoyed the Foundation trilogy. Prob seem out the other books later. Appreciated not having to read through events as they happened when I just read the events being explained how they would happen.

Drew

Total posts: 5110

7/31/2014 10:43 AM

World War Z: I'm not really into zombie stuff but I guess I keep reading the books. This one is a collection of accounts of things that happened in chronological order as they happen. I was glad they didn't spend a whole lot of time talking about the mayhem/destruction/brains. About halfway through it's the story of fighting back. Another good thing is that if you're at a boring part you know it'll be somewhere else soon. Most fun to me is the Big Govt Planners having to throw off old ways of thinking because they suck for zombie purposes. Haven't seen the movie so I can't comment on that. 3.5 out of 5 LaMOEs

Drew

Total posts: 5110

8/15/2014 6:01 AM

One Nation by Ben Carson - Like a lot of people I became aware of Dr Carson after seeing his speech at the 2013 national prayer breakfast. An article came out the next day titled Ben Carson for President and a lot of people agree. I try not to be cynical all the time about politics so I'm cautiously monitoring him preceding a likely presidential candidacy. This book pretty much lays out what he calls common sense approaches to national problems both governmental and cultural. I was hoping he'd get into specifics but it's all pretty general and so his ideas are harder to look at critically which is probably intentional. A common theme is empathy and trying to see the issue from another point of view. That was probably my main takeaway he can see what drives people on both sides. One thing that he got specific about was that he is a creationist. It's weird to think a world renowned neurosurgeon thinks the earth is 6000 years old but there it is. He explains why he believes so but also laments that we're so polarized something like that difference of belief can be a disqualifier which I agree is lamentable. The book inserts a lot of anecdotes from his lifetime rising out of poverty. The movie Gifted Hands with Cuba Gooding is the whole story if you're interested (it's on Netflix). But overall the lightness on specifics left me wanting more. 2 out of 5 conjoined twins

ezmac102

Total posts: 1045

8/15/2014 4:27 PM

Ditto to Drew. I read World War Z recently then watched the movie. The movie is literally nothing like the book. Not a single detail. Even the zombies are different. In the book they are Walking Dead-like zombies (get infected die from it turn and become a slow moving zombie). But the movie has more 28 Days Later type zombies. I digress. The book is more of a look at how humanity reacts and evolves due to the crisis. Like Drew said it doesn't focus so much on the gore and horror. Lots of interesting little characters and stories like a bunch of puzzle pieces that make up the larger story. It's a interesting read and it'll go pretty quick.

Drew

Total posts: 5110

8/19/2014 5:10 AM

Re: odessey one book 4 - as I understand this it's the conclusion to the saga but that would only be because they say so. Nothing is actually concluded. None of the mysteries are solved or questions answered. He adds in a new Mysterious Being only casually mentions the previous Mysterious Being and leaves out completely the Mystery People Behind It All. I think he got caught up in telling the play by play of the fight but forgot to tell a story. I mean the stuff he covered was competently told. But so I'm clear I wasn't as disappointed as I sound while I was reading it. I just remember realizing I'm getting close to the end without figuring out what it's all about. I feel like maybe he just wanted to be done with this series and move on to the next. Bottom line I enjoyed the first three books even in my modified reading order and I enjoyed book 4 while I was reading it.

Drew

Total posts: 5110

8/20/2014 4:40 AM

So more inquiring on the internet suggests that another story arc is coming for odessey 1 which I guess makes sense because the last word in book 4 is "soon"

Drew

Total posts: 5110

9/26/2014 5:44 AM

The Way of Kings(Stormlight Chronicles Book 1): An in progress fanatasy series book 2 was recently released. It's by Brandon Sanderson who we've discussed before here. I listened to the audible version during bike rides mowing the grass waiting at airports and commuting. I've got a new pet peeve and it's where writers (movies games books whatevs) use a bunch of proper nouns early on that you don't know what they are. I suspect it's to give a sense of bigness to the world invoke some curiousity and to also feel like things are already happening and alive but it annoys me. (Here's a youtube that covers that and some other intro techniques comparing Skyrim to CoD4:MW) The book skips around between 3 major characters doing things separately and one of the characters has a backstory so his chapters skip between the present and his childhood. There's also a recurring minor character that pops up occassionally doing his own thing. So pretty much 5 stories. One thing that I can recommend is the audible narration. The readers make it a performance so it's easy to keep up with who's talking (one of the readers is actually named Kate Reading). Minor issue for the narration is that when the characters finally start to interact (not till very late in the book) they didn't agree beforehand how to pronounce some of the names. So the book is OK just a little dull. There's not really a story plot here as in exposition conflict resolution. It's pretty much all exposition and long winded at that. The whole book is 45 hours. It's well written just slow and a little indulgent on the writer's part I suspect. I'm going to keep listening as I intend to keep riding the bike mowing the grass and commuting but I'm not all fired up about it. I would only recommend it if you have some time to occupy. 2.5 out of 5 "STORM YOU!!"s

Oscar

Total posts: 1323

10/7/2014 2:35 PM

Rendezvous with Rama - good hard sci-fi by Arthur C. Clarke about a gigantic alien spaceship discovered entering the solar system on a ballistic trajectory and our attempts to explore it. Character development was a little lacking but the plot kept me turning pages quickly. Ending was a major cliff hanger that left me saying "that's it??" and according to wiki: "The book was meant to stand alone although the final sentence of the book suggests otherwise. Clarke however denied that this sentence was meant to hint at a continuation of the story-according to his foreword in the book's sequel it was just a good way to end the book and was added during a final revision."

However there were sequels "co-written" by Clarke and a guy named Gentry Lee but in the words of wiki: "Lee did the actual writing while Clarke read and made editing suggestions." And regarding the plot:

Lee's writing has been criticized for excessive descriptions of the characters' personal lives and especially plentiful sex scenes unrelated to the plot reminiscent of romance novels. In one critic's words:

"[It] just drags on and on and is littered with unnecessary sex scenes that if you read much of Gentry Lee’s work you will find is one of his obsessions. I fail to understand why Lee feels that he must include sex scenes in the middle of a science fiction novel that have nothing to do with the story. Once would be OK but after about the fourth time I found myself dropping the book and thinking 'again?!'"

No thanks! So basically it's a single novel with a fanfiction romance novel followup series but without the followup series the plot effectively goes nowhere and I feel it would've been better if I just skipped it. 4/5 for the quality of writing and basic premise but brought down to 0.5/5 by the plot to nowhere and creepy followup co-author.