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Bob Russell · 09-19-2005, 01:51 PM

Those sound like some great books to keep in mind for my "serious reading" list. (World is Flat, and Freakonomics I mean.)

Currently, I'm reading Plato from Harvard Classics about Socrates' last days. It's actually fascinating to me, even though it sounds old and dry.

I finished Ender's Game, and it is probably the most enjoyable sci fi I've ever read. I really got into the characters so it wasn't all just artificial and empty like a lot of sci fi seems to me to be. Very addictive also. I had so much fun with it, I miss it now that I'm done. I feel sort of like I got to know the main character and I miss him!

I'd like to read Orbitsville which is supposed to be really good, except it's only available in paper form and even maybe out of print, so I'll probably wait.

I'm also listening to the EarthCore podcast novel, and am a little more than half way through. It's not bad. Sort of has the feel of a first novel by an author just learning his trade, but I get the impression his writing is getting better the further I go. Unfortunately, the plot seems to be getting a little boring to me so I'm not sure that I'll finish this book. (Sci Fi isn't my favorite genre anyway.) On the other hand, I think this author might really have a big time future, and I'm interested in his future books.

You can find it here, by the way... http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/

There are portions of EarthCore that are really, really nice, and I appreciate the way that things are written so you don't lose track of the story if you miss one sentence. It's fun to listen to, despite his silly voice characterizations! (They voices are corny, but kind of enjoyable even though I can't tell the men from the women!) I didn't find the characters very compelling so far, which is my main complaint. I didn't really care about them enough either to empathize with them or to dislike them. And while he had some great analogies to use, I think he overused them in the early chapters. Phrases like "was as enthralled as a cat at the window" (or whatever it was) can get annoying if used to much. But I have to admit that they were pretty good analogies.

Anyway, like I said, it leaves me with the feeling that here is one extremely talented writer who is just getting started with a first book and great things are ahead. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with over the next few years, and even though I may or may not finish EarthCore I'm definitely keeping him on my list of authors that I like.

(BTW, Scott -- If you're reading this I hope you won't hold the comments against me! I'm not much of a sci fi reader in general. And, of course, I have no skills or education to give any credible basis for my comment. They're just my personal opinions for better or worse. But congratulations on your big successses so far, and I hope your work will continue to explode with lots of future success.)

09-19-2005, 01:51 PM	#47
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Those sound like some great books to keep in mind for my "serious reading" list. (World is Flat, and Freakonomics I mean.) Currently, I'm reading Plato from Harvard Classics about Socrates' last days. It's actually fascinating to me, even though it sounds old and dry. I finished Ender's Game, and it is probably the most enjoyable sci fi I've ever read. I really got into the characters so it wasn't all just artificial and empty like a lot of sci fi seems to me to be. Very addictive also. I had so much fun with it, I miss it now that I'm done. I feel sort of like I got to know the main character and I miss him! I'd like to read Orbitsville which is supposed to be really good, except it's only available in paper form and even maybe out of print, so I'll probably wait. I'm also listening to the EarthCore podcast novel, and am a little more than half way through. It's not bad. Sort of has the feel of a first novel by an author just learning his trade, but I get the impression his writing is getting better the further I go. Unfortunately, the plot seems to be getting a little boring to me so I'm not sure that I'll finish this book. (Sci Fi isn't my favorite genre anyway.) On the other hand, I think this author might really have a big time future, and I'm interested in his future books. You can find it here, by the way... http://www.scottsigler.net/earthcore/ There are portions of EarthCore that are really, really nice, and I appreciate the way that things are written so you don't lose track of the story if you miss one sentence. It's fun to listen to, despite his silly voice characterizations! (They voices are corny, but kind of enjoyable even though I can't tell the men from the women!) I didn't find the characters very compelling so far, which is my main complaint. I didn't really care about them enough either to empathize with them or to dislike them. And while he had some great analogies to use, I think he overused them in the early chapters. Phrases like "was as enthralled as a cat at the window" (or whatever it was) can get annoying if used to much. But I have to admit that they were pretty good analogies. Anyway, like I said, it leaves me with the feeling that here is one extremely talented writer who is just getting started with a first book and great things are ahead. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with over the next few years, and even though I may or may not finish EarthCore I'm definitely keeping him on my list of authors that I like. (BTW, Scott -- If you're reading this I hope you won't hold the comments against me! I'm not much of a sci fi reader in general. And, of course, I have no skills or education to give any credible basis for my comment. They're just my personal opinions for better or worse. But congratulations on your big successses so far, and I hope your work will continue to explode with lots of future success.)