WWTBAM Bored

I haven't read much in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. A little Heinlein and that is about it. But I have immersed myself in Orson Scott Card's "Enderverse." IE-Ender's game and the continuing Ender books and the Shadow series.

Order of reading(all in EBook form) was
1) Ender's Game
2) Ender's Shadow-Possibly my favorite
3) Shadow of the Hegemon
4) Shadow Puppets-This one took me awhile-but I burned through the next 4 really fast
5) Shadow of the Giant
6) Speaker for the Dead
7) Xenocide
Children of the Mind
9) Working on "Ender in Exile"

Next up
10) Shadows in Flight
11)First Meetings

Not sure if I will explore more of OSC's work-but leaning towards it at this time-
Some of his work might be a little too much "Fantasy" for me-ie Alvin Maker-but plan on taking a look at the "Homecoming" series anyway.

For the last 3 years or so-I have been working my way through the entire works of Wilbur Smith-Just a few books left.

Not sure why the emoticon is there for #8-but I didn't put it there.

Spock wrote:Not sure why the emoticon is there for #8-but I didn't put it there.

An 8 followed by a single parenthesis is how you make a smiley face with sunglasses.

Spock wrote:I haven't read much in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. A little Heinlein and that is about it.

I suspect you would very much enjoy Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. --Bob

He's also writing a prequel series to Ender's Game, describing the First Formic War. I thought a couple of the characters in the first one, Earth Unaware, were far too whiney, but it got better in the second one, Earth Afire.

Bob78164 wrote:

Spock wrote:I haven't read much in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. A little Heinlein and that is about it.

I suspect you would very much enjoy Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. --Bob

I would be surprised if he hadn't read it already!

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:

Spock wrote:I haven't read much in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. A little Heinlein and that is about it.

I suspect you would very much enjoy Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. --Bob

I would be surprised if he hadn't read it already!

Not sure if I read that one-I may have dipped into it, but left it alone. I love the short story "The Long Watch", which I think is in another collection. I really love "Time Enough for Love" but I could not get into the next one in the same vein-"The Cat who walks through walls."

Marley mentioned the First Formic War series. As a rule, I avoid books where a famous author collaborates (or whatever ) with somebody else-IE all the 'Tom Clancy with John Doe' stuff-but I want to read the Formic War series-I see that there is another one coming soon called 'Earth Awakens".

Spock wrote:

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:I suspect you would very much enjoy Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. --Bob

I would be surprised if he hadn't read it already!

Not sure if I read that one-I may have dipped into it, but left it alone. I love the short story "The Long Watch", which I think is in another collection. I really love "Time Enough for Love" but I could not get into the next one in the same vein-"The Cat who walks through walls."

Marley mentioned the First Formic War series. As a rule, I avoid books where a famous author collaborates (or whatever ) with somebody else-IE all the 'Tom Clancy with John Doe' stuff-but I want to read the Formic War series-I see that there is another one coming soon called 'Earth Awakens".

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a stand-alone novel, not a short story. It's about a revolutionary movement on the Moon.

You probably read "The Long Watch" in The Green Hills of Earth. --Bob

Spock wrote:

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:I suspect you would very much enjoy Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. --Bob

I would be surprised if he hadn't read it already!

Not sure if I read that one-I may have dipped into it, but left it alone. I love the short story "The Long Watch", which I think is in another collection. I really love "Time Enough for Love" but I could not get into the next one in the same vein-"The Cat who walks through walls."

Marley mentioned the First Formic War series. As a rule, I avoid books where a famous author collaborates (or whatever ) with somebody else-IE all the 'Tom Clancy with John Doe' stuff-but I want to read the Formic War series-I see that there is another one coming soon called 'Earth Awakens".

I am officially surprised...

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Spock wrote:

tanstaafl2 wrote:
I would be surprised if he hadn't read it already!

Not sure if I read that one-I may have dipped into it, but left it alone. I love the short story "The Long Watch", which I think is in another collection. I really love "Time Enough for Love" but I could not get into the next one in the same vein-"The Cat who walks through walls."

Marley mentioned the First Formic War series. As a rule, I avoid books where a famous author collaborates (or whatever ) with somebody else-IE all the 'Tom Clancy with John Doe' stuff-but I want to read the Formic War series-I see that there is another one coming soon called 'Earth Awakens".

I am officially surprised...

I will have to add it to the list. As I said, I have not read very much Sci-fi. Doing some research, I see that" Ender's Game" and "Canticle for Liebowitz" are some of the highest rated sci/fi. I will probably put that on the list too.

In general, I don't read a lot of fiction. Although, a mystery or spy novel sometimes jumps into the reading pile. I have several hundred books on my Amazon wishlist and about 95% of them are non-fiction.

A lot of history, as you might expect, but also a strong showing of biogeography/conservation stuff.

Spock wrote:I will have to add it to the list. As I said, I have not read very much Sci-fi. Doing some research, I see that" Ender's Game" and "Canticle for Liebowitz" are some of the highest rated sci/fi. I will probably put that on the list too.

In general, I don't read a lot of fiction. Although, a mystery or spy novel sometimes jumps into the reading pile. I have several hundred books on my Amazon wishlist and about 95% of them are non-fiction.

A lot of history, as you might expect, but also a strong showing of biogeography/conservation stuff.

Those are three very different books. The strength of Ender's Game is the characters of the children and the effect of an impossible situation on children in general, and Ender in particular. I think of A Canticle for Leibowitz as a mood piece, and though I haven't read it in many years, I suspect that the end of the Cold War has robbed it of some of its power. I really think Moon (which, among many other strengths, is not a bad how-to manual on building a revolution) will speak to you much more than those other two possibilities. --Bob

Bob78164 wrote:Those are three very different books. The strength of Ender's Game is the characters of the children and the effect of an impossible situation on children in general, and Ender in particular. I think of A Canticle for Leibowitz as a mood piece, and though I haven't read it in many years, I suspect that the end of the Cold War has robbed it of some of its power. I really think Moon (which, among many other strengths, is not a bad how-to manual on building a revolution) will speak to you much more than those other two possibilities. --Bob

Oh, I don't know about that so much. The cyclical nature of history and the folly of the collective mindset of mankind doesn't seem to stray too far from the overall theme of Canticle.

I just finished the core of the Enderverse books last night-I try to read one chapter of Card and one chapter of a non-fiction book, but I cheated a lot on this series and often read more than one chapter of Card.

I think I read them in exactly the right order.

1) "Ender's Game"
2) "Ender's Shadow"
3) "Shadow of the Hegemon"
4) "Shadow Puppets"
5)" Shadow of the Giant"
6) "Speaker for the Dead"
7) "Xenocide"
"Children of the Mind"
9) "Ender in Exile"
10) "Shadows in Flight"

I am really glad I read the first 4 "Shadow" books before I read "Ender in Exile"-I can't imagine understanding (very well) the storyline about

Spoiler

Bean's son

without reading the 4 "Shadow" books. The

Spoiler

Virlomi

storyline also would have made less sense.

Just bought "First Meetings" so that is next up=then the "Formic War" series-then I think I will attempt another stab into Card's work-see if I can get into it.

I have 7 1/2 Wilbur Smith books left. The only one of his that I really did not like was "The Quest"-I could not finish it as it falls into the Fantasy genre.

tanstaafl2 wrote:

Bob78164 wrote:Those are three very different books. The strength of Ender's Game is the characters of the children and the effect of an impossible situation on children in general, and Ender in particular. I think of A Canticle for Leibowitz as a mood piece, and though I haven't read it in many years, I suspect that the end of the Cold War has robbed it of some of its power. I really think Moon (which, among many other strengths, is not a bad how-to manual on building a revolution) will speak to you much more than those other two possibilities. --Bob

Oh, I don't know about that so much. The cyclical nature of history and the folly of the collective mindset of mankind doesn't seem to stray too far from the overall theme of Canticle.

Have you read Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman?

Spock wrote:I just finished the core of the Enderverse books last night-I try to read one chapter of Card and one chapter of a non-fiction book, but I cheated a lot on this series and often read more than one chapter of Card.

I think I read them in exactly the right order.

1) "Ender's Game"
2) "Ender's Shadow"
3) "Shadow of the Hegemon"
4) "Shadow Puppets"
5)" Shadow of the Giant"
6) "Speaker for the Dead"
7) "Xenocide"
"Children of the Mind"
9) "Ender in Exile"
10) "Shadows in Flight"

I am really glad I read the first 4 "Shadow" books before I read "Ender in Exile"-I can't imagine understanding (very well) the storyline about

Spoiler

Bean's son

without reading the 4 "Shadow" books. The

Spoiler

Virlomi

storyline also would have made less sense.

Just bought "First Meetings" so that is next up=then the "Formic War" series-then I think I will attempt another stab into Card's work-see if I can get into it.

I have 7 1/2 Wilbur Smith books left. The only one of his that I really did not like was "The Quest"-I could not finish it as it falls into the Fantasy genre.

I am surprised I came back to Card after 6, 7, and 8 above. I think you'll like First Meetings, but it's more of a standalone piece. Based on your remarks about fantasy, you should probably avoid all the Alvin Maker novels. You might be interested in Pastwatch: the Redemption of Christopher Columbus -- kind of an alternate history/speculative fiction piece. The trilogy about biblical women is interesting --it's kind of speculative in that he fills in a lot of blanks from the Biblical accounts of their lives with stuff that would fit into the Mormon mythos. Empire (and I think there's at least one sequel) is right-wing paranoid fiction (NTTAWWT) that is vaguely entertaining. I liked Lost Boys a lot -- but it's kind of a Stephen King-ish horror piece. Gate Thief and its sequels are more fantasy.

Do read Moon. It does seem to fit your online persona, at least. I think you'd also like Starship Troopers, for the same reason.

If you want more classic sci-fi recommendations, let me know. I got lots.

Mr Kelley>>>>I. The trilogy about biblical women is interesting --it's kind of speculative in that he fills in a lot of blanks from the Biblical accounts of their lives with stuff that would fit into the Mormon mythos.

Do read Moon. It does seem to fit your online persona, at least. I think you'd also like Starship Troopers, for the same reason.

If you want more classic sci-fi recommendations, let me know. I got lots.<<<<

I am thinking about the biblical women books. I read "The Red Tent" about Jacob's wives and daughters, with a lot of speculative stuff and I enjoyed it so I plan to give them a try.

Heinlein-I read "Starship Troopers", "Tunnel in the Sky" and "Farmer in the Sky" as a teenager. I tried a few other short standalones of his but never got anywhere. I read and liked some of his short stories. I reread "The Long Watch" quite often.

When I was in my mid 20's, I read (and loved) "Time Enough for Love" , but that is where I am in my Heinlein.

Mr. Kelley>>>Do read Moon. It does seem to fit your online persona, at least.<<<

I just checked it out of the library, so we will see how an "Old School British Imperialist born 100 years too late" (LOL) likes it.

With Heinlein and Herbert being next to each other-I looked at Dune and was interested. What are your(or anybody's) thoughts on Dune(I am taking for granted that it is widely read here.)

I liked the first Dune novel, so I read the rest of them. Each one was better than the next.

I agree that you'll like The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

Spock wrote:Mr. Kelley>>>Do read Moon. It does seem to fit your online persona, at least.<<<

I just checked it out of the library, so we will see how an "Old School British Imperialist born 100 years too late" (LOL) likes it.

With Heinlein and Herbert being next to each other-I looked at Dune and was interested. What are your(or anybody's) thoughts on Dune(I am taking for granted that it is widely read here.)

I kind of had the opposite experience as jarnon with Dune. Loved the first one, then each one seemed to get successively more boring. I don't have a lot of patience, though.

jarnon wrote:I liked the first Dune novel, so I read the rest of them. Each one was better than the next.

I agree that you'll like The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

After reading the original (Dune) I read the next couple of books in the series. I think one of my good friends summed it up best: "After reading Dune I believe in divine inspiration. There's no other way to explain how someone could write one book that is so good and so many that are so terrible." I even dabbled with the "prequels" written by Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert (Frank's son). They weren't any better.

Not that long ago, as we cleaned out Boonie's parents/brother's attic, we unearthed an old copy of Canticle for Leibowitz.

It's the only book in this thread with which I am familiar. It has been years since I read it. Now that we found it, I may revisit it.

mrkelley23 wrote:I kind of had the opposite experience as jarnon with Dune. Loved the first one, then each one seemed to get successively more boring. I don't have a lot of patience, though.

I actually agree with you and Ear. "Each one is better than the next" was meant as a backhanded compliment.

So I gather that if I choose to read "Dune" don't go any farther than that in the series(s).

Any thoughts of "Foundation" and the series off of that? FTR-I have no plans (at this time) to read Foundation.

Spock wrote:So I gather that if I choose to read "Dune" don't go any farther than that in the series(s).

Any thoughts of "Foundation" and the series off of that? FTR-I have no plans (at this time) to read Foundation.

My guess is that you'll find Dune a bit mystical for your tastes, though it certainly has its share of realpolitik. For my money, a much better book with that vibe is Lord of Light -- by far the best book Zelazny ever wrote, and (in my opinion) a book that belongs on any list of Best Books of the Twentieth Century.

The original Foundation series (the first three books) are certainly a product of their times and their author. Asimov's books are almost always plot- (as opposed to character-) driven, and these books are no exception. I loved them when I first read them, but now that my reading tastes have become more sophisticated (than when I was a teenager) I'm finding the series simpler than I remembered.

If you do read the Foundation series (particularly the follow-ups), you'll also be well served to read the R. Daneel Olivaw trilogy: The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn. It helps fill in some gaps in Asimov's future history. --Bob

Spock wrote:So I gather that if I choose to read "Dune" don't go any farther than that in the series(s).

Any thoughts of "Foundation" and the series off of that? FTR-I have no plans (at this time) to read Foundation.

The original trilogy is very good, but certainly dated. The subsequent books are OK but only if you want to read the convergence of two of Asimov's series - the robot series and the Foundation series. To do that you'd have to read the robot books (starting with The Caves of Steel).