Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[bookwormfjl]

Just finished Pandora's Star. Next Judas Unchained.....

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Tell me about it

I am randomly contacting various publishers and authors about it and have so far got a "we're thinking about it", "not a chance, matey" and an "it's in my publisher's hands"

I'm also hoping that a steam primer, intended to give steampunks a basic grounding in steam technology etc, actually comes to fruition (the chap doing it is a convert to ebooks, so it should be in at least a format the Sony 505 can read )

Keep us posted here on any success you have with your contacts. It's an irony that a genre that celebrates grafting the new/futuristic onto the old industrial trappings is lagging so far behind in ebooks - the ultimate fusion of old & new, literary speaking.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Good luck with Perdido. I was recommended that book by so many people when it came out and I've never been more bored reading in my life (well, maybe that's an over exaggeration).

Thanks, I'm on page 165 of Perdido St Station and it's just killing me. Why use 10 words when 800 will do?

I'm dreading the critical analysis I'll have to write.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

Thanks, I'm on page 165 of Perdido St Station and it's just killing me. Why use 10 words when 800 will do?

I'm dreading the critical analysis I'll have to write.

I've read a lot of steampunk, and yes, they get long and drawn out. But I think it's on purpose. Steampunk centers on the fusion of modern or futuristic (even magical) tropes onto past events or genres, esp. onto the Industrial Revolution - hence the name. In doing so, authors (IMHO) try to emulate the literary conventions of the former times - which were nothing, if not, long-winded and overly descriptive. The charm, if you will, of the new genre rests in the unexpected or sometimes grotesque appearance of something you recognize as modern, or even futuristic, in the midst of a long passage describing something you recognize from the past - which is accepted by the characters as perfectly normal. Sort of an "Aha" or "Wow" moment for the reader. And it's all worked into the narrative flow.

Looking up, I may have just reproduced your criticism in my explanation.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Finished Star Trek:SCE Breakdowns...

This book was ok... it was an after the disaster book where everyone mourns loss by facing a challenge. I do have to say I skipped the P8 Blue story because after a chapter I was bored.

Next up... Three Men in a Boat by Jerome.

BOb

The P8 Blue story was ok. I don't think it was boring. Though I do suggest maybe giving it another go. Remember that Refuge started off in a way that a lot of people would have stopped had it not been a book club of the month book.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cassidym

Just finished 'The Salomon Scandals' which David Rothman emailed me after the NOVA Meet Up last month. Good read and interesting to go through a book that takes place where you live for a change.

Next up Brad Thor and 'The Lions of Lucerne'.

The Spencer series by Robert B. Parker takes place in Boston which is where I am. So I know where things are going on when we are told were things are taking place And it's interesting to note some of the changes to Boston since the earlier books were written.

[JSWolf]

Last night I finished Losing the Peace by William Leisner. It is the Star Trek book that follows the Destiny trilogy.

Now I have started on The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffrey Deaver. Some say this should be read after the second Lincoln Rhymes book (The Coffin Dancer) because of when it was written and that Lincoln has a cameo.

[doreenjoy]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I've read a lot of steampunk, and yes, they get long and drawn out. But I think it's on purpose. Steampunk centers on the fusion of modern or futuristic (even magical) tropes onto past events or genres, esp. onto the Industrial Revolution - hence the name. In doing so, authors (IMHO) try to emulate the literary conventions of the former times - which were nothing, if not, long-winded and overly descriptive. The charm, if you will, of the new genre rests in the unexpected or sometimes grotesque appearance of something you recognize as modern, or even futuristic, in the midst of a long passage describing something you recognize from the past - which is accepted by the characters as perfectly normal. Sort of an "Aha" or "Wow" moment for the reader. And it's all worked into the narrative flow.

Looking up, I may have just reproduced your criticism in my explanation.

I think so!

The long descriptions that go nowhere -- that don't advance the plot -- drive me crazy. I like a faster pace. That's what most bothers me about the fantasy genre today: the pacing is soooo sloooooww.

I also feel that this book would be half the length if all uses of the word "vertiginous" were cut.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I think so!

The long descriptions that go nowhere -- that don't advance the plot -- drive me crazy. I like a faster pace. That's what most bothers me about the fantasy genre today: the pacing is soooo sloooooww.

I also feel that this book would be half the length if all uses of the word "vertiginous" were cut.

Well - in my experience - steampunk ain't space opera - or thriller paced. It is emulating the pacing of a bygone generation that wallowed if you will in the wordiness of an erudite author. Or took its time to tell a ripping good story.

A lot of fantasy also falls into this category - esp. that which is set in a feudal-like society, or has a royal lineage to explain to the reader. The slower pace and verbal stuffing tries to give a rich picture of the new world you're entering.

(And I didn't use the word vertiginous once! )

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Well - in my experience - steampunk ain't space opera - or thriller paced. It is emulating the pacing of a bygone generation that wallowed if you will in the wordiness of an erudite author. Or took its time to tell a ripping good story.

A lot of fantasy also falls into this category - esp. that which is set in a feudal-like society, or has a royal lineage to explain to the reader. The slower pace and verbal stuffing tries to give a rich picture of the new world you're entering.

(And I didn't use the word vertiginous once! )

I think this is one of the reasons I like steampunk - I like a ripping yarn I can get my teeth and mind into. I read quickly, too, and tend to find books that are too fast-paced or have too little bulk a bit unsatisfying . The literary equivalent of fast food, if you will Which isn't to say I don't read and enjoy fast paced books from time to time - I do. But the books I come back to time and again are longer, slower ones.

[doreenjoy]

Well, I can tell when I'm outnumbered. I bet y'all liked "The Lies of Locke Lamora," too.

Has anyone read Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson? That's next on my pile after I make it through Perdido St Station.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

Well, I can tell when I'm outnumbered. I bet y'all liked "The Lies of Locke Lamora," too.

Has anyone read Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson? That's next on my pile after I make it through Perdido St Station.

Well, errrr, yes I did.

And, not to influence you in any way, I did like Spin too. Very different. Much more action.

Just think, Dune (IMHO early steampunk) could have been shortened down to under 200 pages if the extensive descriptions of the ecology of Dune, the dynasties, and the spice industry had been removed. But again, a ripping good tale.

[doreenjoy]

It took me days to get into DUNE, too...and I recall skimming a lot of the description.

I'm doing the same with PSS.

I promise not to let other opinions bias me about SPIN.

[ficbot]

Just finished Alien Infection by Darrell Bain. It was all right. All of his protagonists seem very similar though, and I am getting bored of the vain, sex-crazed independently wealthy middle-classer.

I am reading Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop next because it's the biggest file on my Sony right now and I have some other stuff to load. I might knock off some of my unread magazines too.

[lilac_jive]

I'm reading "Cry Wolf" by Patricia Briggs, then on to "Three Men in a Boat."