Recent (hard) Sci-Fi Short Story Collections - Page 2

twowheels · 08-14-2014, 03:31 PM

Looks like they have the text on their website:

http://subterraneanpress.com/magazin..._by_ted_chiang

Is that the entire story/book?

I quickly threw it in Sigil, did some quick formatting, and copied it over to my Kindle.

jgaiser · 08-14-2014, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twowheels

Looks like they have the text on their website:

http://subterraneanpress.com/magazin..._by_ted_chiang

Is that the entire story/book?

I quickly threw it in Sigil, did some quick formatting, and copied it over to my Kindle.

Yeah, it appears to be. It's also part of a great short story compilation from Ted Chiang Stories of Your Life and Others.

GeoffR · 08-14-2014, 05:00 PM

Too late, beat me to it.

gmw · 08-15-2014, 05:10 AM

Some good suggestions in here, thanks everyone.

The last things I read from Stephen Baxter were "Moonseed" and a co-author with Arthur C. Clarke called "The Light of Other Days" ... and neither had me rushing out to find more. But I see he has a short in Engineering Infinity, so he'll get another chance to impress me.

DrNefario · 08-15-2014, 08:13 AM

I don't like all of Baxter's stuff, but I really liked Voyage.

ShellShock · 08-15-2014, 05:05 PM

Yes, Voyage is good, but I think Titan is better - a manned, one way mission to Titan using space shuttle level technology. Gung ho stuff.

DrNefario · 08-15-2014, 05:17 PM

I bought Titan not long ago, when it was cheap, but haven't got to it yet.

gmw · 08-16-2014, 12:42 AM

ShellShock, did you read Moonseed? What did you think if of that (being the third of the trilogy)? It's a long time ago that I read it, and about the only thing that I can remember about it was having trouble getting through it (I don't remember whether I even finished it).

Whereas I do remember "The Light of Other Days" quite well. The first two-thirds of it was great stuff, I thought, but they completely lost it for me in the conclusion. They took the original, fascinating idea and joined it to another (that seemed quite unrelated to me, the poor ignorant reader), and then waffled on to a quick end as if they realised their mistake and decided to cut their losses.

Ninjalawyer · 08-16-2014, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twowheels

Looks like they have the text on their website:

http://subterraneanpress.com/magazin..._by_ted_chiang

Is that the entire story/book?

I quickly threw it in Sigil, did some quick formatting, and copied it over to my Kindle.

Great find. I love Ted Chiang.

ShellShock · 08-19-2014, 06:03 AM

I have read MoonSeed once, but I can't remember anything at all about it, so it was probably OK but not great. Whereas I have read Voyage and Titan twice each, and will probably read them again.

gmw · 08-19-2014, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShellShock

I have read MoonSeed once, but I can't remember anything at all about it, so it was probably OK but not great. Whereas I have read Voyage and Titan twice each, and will probably read them again.

So it's not just me that can't remember it, that's reassuring. It also encourages me into thinking I should give him another chance.

Angst · 08-21-2014, 11:05 AM

Accelerando - Charles Stross

Available for free download here.

Barty · 08-25-2014, 07:45 PM

I also recommend ted chiang. Try his stories of your life collection. I don't know if I'd classify him as hard Sci Fi. I think his writing is very lyrical. Unfortunately, he's not prolific.

twowheels · 09-10-2014, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angst

Accelerando - Charles Stross

Available for free download here.

Ugh... this book is killing me. I'm about to put it down and give up on it.

Thanks for the recommendation (wasn't made directly to me, but I picked it up on the advice of this post), but it's not doing it for me. I don't think I'll be trying any more of his stuff if it's anything like this.

I hate sci-fi that way over-uses current terminology to describe things that are supposed to happen in the future, and this book just does a dictionary dump of technical terms. Worse, I actually know what the words mean and they don't mean anything string together the way he used them much of the time. And AOL? Seriously? That dated the book already, illustrating the problem.

I found this review that does a good job expressing exactly how I feel:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R35IEJ9XRJNYKH

DrNefario · 09-10-2014, 08:20 AM

I think I had the same reaction as you, although I did finish the book. I haven't read a lot of Stross, but I've never really clicked with any of it, and it seems to just be the way they are told.

08-14-2014, 05:00 PM	#18
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	Too late, beat me to it. Last edited by GeoffR; 08-14-2014 at 05:03 PM.

08-15-2014, 05:05 PM	#21
ShellShock Wizard Posts: 1,178 Karma: 2431850 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: IPad Mini 2 Retina	Yes, Voyage is good, but I think Titan is better - a manned, one way mission to Titan using space shuttle level technology. Gung ho stuff. Last edited by ShellShock; 08-15-2014 at 05:07 PM.

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08-14-2014, 03:31 PM	#16
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,853 Karma: 13432974 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro, Boox Note Max	Looks like they have the text on their website: http://subterraneanpress.com/magazin..._by_ted_chiang Is that the entire story/book? I quickly threw it in Sigil, did some quick formatting, and copied it over to my Kindle.

08-15-2014, 05:10 AM	#19
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Some good suggestions in here, thanks everyone. The last things I read from Stephen Baxter were "Moonseed" and a co-author with Arthur C. Clarke called "The Light of Other Days" ... and neither had me rushing out to find more. But I see he has a short in Engineering Infinity, so he'll get another chance to impress me.

08-15-2014, 08:13 AM	#20
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,197 Karma: 12000000 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I don't like all of Baxter's stuff, but I really liked Voyage.

08-15-2014, 05:17 PM	#22
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,197 Karma: 12000000 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I bought Titan not long ago, when it was cheap, but haven't got to it yet.

08-16-2014, 12:42 AM	#23
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,818 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	ShellShock, did you read Moonseed? What did you think if of that (being the third of the trilogy)? It's a long time ago that I read it, and about the only thing that I can remember about it was having trouble getting through it (I don't remember whether I even finished it). Whereas I do remember "The Light of Other Days" quite well. The first two-thirds of it was great stuff, I thought, but they completely lost it for me in the conclusion. They took the original, fascinating idea and joined it to another (that seemed quite unrelated to me, the poor ignorant reader), and then waffled on to a quick end as if they realised their mistake and decided to cut their losses.

08-19-2014, 06:03 AM	#25
ShellShock Wizard Posts: 1,178 Karma: 2431850 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: IPad Mini 2 Retina	I have read MoonSeed once, but I can't remember anything at all about it, so it was probably OK but not great. Whereas I have read Voyage and Titan twice each, and will probably read them again.

08-21-2014, 11:05 AM	#27
Angst Cannon Fodder Posts: 2,876 Karma: 52253556 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Probably a library Device: PRS-350, Kindle DX, Kindle Paperwhite	Accelerando - Charles Stross Available for free download here.

08-25-2014, 07:45 PM	#28
Barty doofus Posts: 2,545 Karma: 13089041 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	I also recommend ted chiang. Try his stories of your life collection. I don't know if I'd classify him as hard Sci Fi. I think his writing is very lyrical. Unfortunately, he's not prolific.

09-10-2014, 08:20 AM	#30
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,197 Karma: 12000000 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I think I had the same reaction as you, although I did finish the book. I haven't read a lot of Stross, but I've never really clicked with any of it, and it seems to just be the way they are told.

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