Gaming Outpost Discussions

Gaming Outpost Discussions » Topic: Books http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books Gaming Outpost Discussions » Topic: Books en-US Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:47:51 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/search.php M. J. Young on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16686 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:02:34 +0000 M. J. Young 16686@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Thank you. Actually, when you are on the page for writing an article, to the right below the tags section are check boxes for article, blog, and review. If you don't check one it defaults to article. I've found that it's best to check the box you want before typing the title of the article (and to type the article title before doing the text) because the system will create a link for the article based on the checked (or not checked) category box as soon as it has a title or as soon as it auto-saves, whichever comes first. (The link then determines the category in the database, I think.) --M. J. Young Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16681 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:03:34 +0000 Tadeusz 16681@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ I'm not sure how to get it into the review section rather than the article section. I'm not eager to go diving into the system to find out more than I already have. But 'From My Bookshelf' is up. Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16678 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:02:10 +0000 Tadeusz 16678@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Because I didn't think about it. I'll see what I can do. M. J. Young on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16677 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:11:13 +0000 M. J. Young 16677@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ So, in view of my recent thread on <a href='http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/building-a-future-for-gaming-outpost'>Building a Future for Gaming Outpost</a>, why are none of these book recommendations written up as reviews and posted to the articles section? You obviously have informed opinions and are able to articulate them. I, at least, would be much more pleased to see these as new and archivable articles than as forum posts. Even an article on the order of the first post, a list of "other books worth your attention about which I am not doing a full review", would be a reasonable review from someone who had posted reviews of a few other books already. --M. J. Young Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16673 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:22:35 +0000 Tadeusz 16673@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Please. I'm not fond of Martin. I read that one and didn't like it for several reasons. OPH was indeed good, and I think I read almost the whole series. I used to own with my brother 1700+ comic books. I don't hate modern life. It has a lot of flaws, but anything human will. However, envisioning other possibilities allows you to see ways to improve what we have now. The last one sounds interesting. johnosevens on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16662 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:22:12 +0000 johnosevens 16662@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ May I? "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin - Some of the best political fiction I've ever read, and if you like stories that lack character shields... let's just say you have a better chance of surviving wearing a red uniform to a Shakespeare play. "On a Pale Horse" by Piers Anthony - The start of the Incarnations of Immortality sextet. You have to love a book that starts with a suicidal divorcee accidentally murdering Death and gets weirder from there. "Transmetropolitan" by Warren Ellis - If you are not a fan of graphic novels, this will make you one. It's a very interesting commentary on urban life, politics, journalism, and everything soulless, mindless, and witless about modern existence. If you hate it here half as much as Spider Jerusalem does, you need to read this. "Storm Thief" by Chris Wooding - If you like brave, strong young characters as a central focus, this is a good one. It's a really interesting world (chaos storms that rip through the city Changing Things at random) with young characters who are nonetheless brave, resourceful, and inspiring. Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16642 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:21:32 +0000 Tadeusz 16642@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Percy Jackson & Olympians The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan has some coolness as well. I suspect the movie will be better than the book. The first half I liked, but when they went to the Underworld, not so much. Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16641 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:24:38 +0000 Tadeusz 16641@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ And let's add 'To the Magic Born' by Christopher Stasheff which is actually two novels..Escape Velocity and The Warlock In Spite of Himself. EV is much more interesting with a lot of insight, but TWISOH is a lot more famous. One of Stasheff's other novels was the inspiration for City state of Haston which is a verse a couple versers really enjoyed. Gladiator by Harry Turtledove has a special interest for Multiversers. Its part of the 'Crosstime Traffic?????' series of YA novels about small shops run by extradimensional merchants. In this case, its in a reality where Communism has taken over everything, and one of the few bright lights is a game store with fabulous board games. Tadeusz on "Books" http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/topic/books#post-16639 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:30:20 +0000 Tadeusz 16639@http://gamingoutpost.com/discussions/ Some interesting books... Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMasters Bujold is two books...Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Its set in the Miles Vorkosigan space opera universe. A number of her MV books I've reread three times. One of her books made me laugh out loud and cry in the same book. St. Valentine's Night by Father Andrew Greeley is one of his romance novels about love and the Irish in Chicago. Its not neccessarily the most memorable. Greeley taught me a lot about love and humanity. Wolftime by Lars Walker is delightfully demented as it describes the human condition. Good and evil warring with the background of comedy. Odin has come to post-Lutheran Minnesota to face off against a dissapointed English lit professor who cannot lie. Very funny. Blood and Judgement also by Walker is stranger, probably less well done, and much harder to understand with grimmer topics. Infectress by Tom Cool, Commander in the USN...which makes him 'Commander Cool'! A bioterrorist in the near future and a man's loyal AI duel over the fate of the man. Cool has an interesting bit where he has two halves of the AI arguing with each other as to whether the spiritual realm exists. He also posits an interesting reason for pain...after the AI is first turned on, its a total sophist...err, solipsist. Its only after being tortured for some time that it admits reality exists outside of itself. A 'cool' read. The Moon is Always Full by David Hunter is a set of short, true, Southern cop stories. Yes, the South is sometimes violent and crazy. But while it can be depressing in too large a dose, a small bit can be quite amusing. Vigilant by James Alan Gardner. He also wrote 'Expendable'. He has some seriously wild ideas, and some deep thought about forgiveness. In his universe, there is no interstellar war because the godlike League forbids it. If you intend to, or have murdered by act or ommission, knowingly, you die as soon as you hit interstellar space...no exceptions. But you can send someone off to likely death. And it helps the locals back home to know that the people sent off to die are ugly. So if you're born with a facial birthmark, you don't get the easy surgical repair. Instead, you get drafted into the Expendables as they call them selves. He's very good. Count Scar by Robert A. Bouchard is a medieval fantasy about an old soldier given a castle for his retirement and he's put in the midst of a religious war. The opposing side has the doctrine of Perfected aka once God accepts you, you don't sin any more. For those of you, who've met a Christian for longer than ten minutes, you're no doubt laughing by now. One benefit of this doctrine is that it breeds arrogance, and arrogance makes for more powerful magicians. Its an unexpected book in a lot of ways. Jannissaries by Jerry Pournelle has a group of American mercs given a ride to an alien planet populated with different groups of humans so they can grow drugs for the aliens. Its a conquer the locals, scheme against the aliens military SF with a lot of drawings in it as well. I've read it a number of times. Its one of the military SF that ends with a large battle which gets drawn out on a map. This is a common thing in a number of military SF. Cradle of Saturn by James P. Hogan offers a startlingly different take on human history and the formation of the solar system. Its also a blistering slam against the Bishops of Big Science, and thats the first half. The second half is the predicted disaster. All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot is not the first book in the series. They are the tales of a Yorkshire vet working in the 40's and 50's. In one book, he discusses the first time he used pennicillin. They are terrifically funny as he narrates the various hardships like sticking one hand up a cow's butt while laying on slick stone at midnight without a shirt on in freezing weather with good humor.