General Discussions

Books, if you love Firefly you will really love reading....

POSTED BY: Murkymerc
UPDATED: Friday, April 7, 2006 18:36
VIEWED: 24405
PAGE 5 of 10

SIGNYM

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 7:56 PM

WHOO HOOO!!

Second vote for CJ Cherryh except I would add "Downbelow Station". It's very much like FF- a space story of human migration and colonies, and the forces that drive them to part from the "old world" (although in this case, the Alliance is the colonies and they win).

And second vote for Brust! While I don't find all of his books of equal quality I really enjoyed the first of his Taltos series. Brust, BTW, is Hungarian and it shows.

And a second for for Stanislaw Lem! (Except I found "Memoirs Found in a Bathtub" to be overwhelmingly claustrophobic).

Firefly combines the best of science, fiction, and politics in an unsanitized, unperfected future. Along those lines, I'd like to recommedn the following:

Gene Wolf's "The Shadow of the Torturer" and his short story "The Death of Dr Island". "The Shadow of the Torturer" is set in the distant future where WE are the distant (geological) past: there is a passage in the book where Severian is climbing a cliff, and embedded in the sedimetnary rock are bright shards of tile. "The Death of Doctor Island" is a true tragedy. It's indescribable, but it's a quick read.

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card (but not the remainder of the series) is another socio-political science-fiction story.

EDITED TO ADD: And I confess to a weakness for the Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley. They contain elements of fantasy, which I usually dislike, but the characters, setting, history and societies are so thoroughly realized that I can't stop reading them once I start! I think thees books would do well for a book club.

PS- I read, but didn't particularly like, "Kushiel's Dart". The society lacked something... it wasn't realistic enough to inform the present day, but it wasn't imaginative enough to be anything other than the usual proto-feudal stand-in that you find in most fantasy genres.

------------------------
Free as in freedom, not beer.

CORNCOBB

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:15 PM

Thanks for the advice. Cant think why Stephen would add a bit at the end and then tell us not to read it - got me puzzled. But say thank ya.

"Gorramit Mal... I've forgotten my line."

IVY

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:19 PM

Very interesting about your loathing for first-person narrative (which I respect). I think that is what I loved so much about the Kushiel series. I like to see the world through Phedre's eyes.

Ivy

I've been sane a long while now, and change is good...

GRIZWALD

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Corncobb:
Cant think why Stephen would add a bit at the end and then tell us not to read it - got me puzzled. But say thank ya.

Because he's a MEAN, MEAN MAN, that's why!

Well, not really, but he certainly enjoys yanking the chains of his fans.

I also think he has turned into a different person since his accident. Not always a pleasant person, but hopefully a sober person who will live to get to know his greatgrandkids rather than ending up in an early grave.

____________________________________________________
They could not take the sky from them -
Our Big Damn Heroes made a film!
I'm gonna see Serenity then
go back the next morning and see it again.
Cuz no one at Fox knew this show had no equal
C'mon Universal, and greenlight the sequel!

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

IVY

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:44 PM

SIGNYM - by chance are you a geologist? You were very enthusiastic about the sedimentary rock? (I am a geologist - so I understand)

Ivy

I've been sane a long while now, and change is good...

SIGNYM

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:57 PM

NO, but my sister is. That detail really... really.. stuck in my mind. I think far-future-writers assume that what we built will disappear. I have never before or since seen a sci-fi writer embed our legacy into geology.

---------------------------------
Free as in freedom, not beer.

SAB39

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:04 PM

Quote:
I have never before or since seen a sci-fi writer embed our legacy into geology.

Not exactly the same thing, but did you ever read Terry Pratchett's Strata?

LEGOLAD

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sab39:
You'll laugh at me for this, but the only books that I've loved like I love Firefly are Harry Potter.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME

LEGOLAD

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:12 PM

Okay, apparently I don't know how to use quotes. How embarrassing. Give me time; I've been here a day. For now, let's try that again; sorry about that:

Sab39, there's nothing wrong with Harry Potter, aside from its disgusting level of popularity. Personally, I tried to avoid reading the books for a long time; when I finally did, I realized why they're so successful: they're freaking addictive -- I read all six in a row. They're like a disease! But seriously, they're fine books, entertaining if not very original; Rowling really uses the conventions of the genre well. Agree with you about the films, though; absolutely terrible -- except the third one, which I was actually really impressed with. No Serenity, mind you...
obviously...

Desktop, glad you managed to track down His Dark Materials. Definitely worth the effort. You know the first one's being made into a film? That kind of scares me. There are so many ways to mess it up. Ah, well.

And thanks for the welcome, David; happy to be here!

"We need a hood ornament."

SIGNYM

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 9:50 PM

I've got to add the first book from the "Rissa Kerguelen" series "Young Rissa" by FM Busby.

Quote:
In a dystopian Earth, Rissa Kerguelen loses her parents and is sent into 'total welfare,' the virtual enslavement of the majority of the earth's population. By winning the lottery she buys her way out, but will she be able to stay away from the corporate government which now dominates Earth?

Like many series, (Dune, Ender's Game etc) the promise of the first book isn't borne out by the remainder of the series. I also have an issue with the focus on Rissa as part of a very small elite who save the world. In that way, very much like "Atlas Shrugged" but with an opposing view of corporatism. But it is incredibly insightful and predictive look at how the vast majority might enslaved (some would say: already are).
---------------------------------
Free as in freedom, not beer.