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Post by andys on May 25, 2017 15:28:57 GMT -5
Finishing up Brain Wave by Poul Anderson. The premise is that the Earth emerges from a subtle electromagnetic field that rotates around the galaxy and inhibits neural activity, so every creature on Earth that has a brain suddenly becomes immensely smarter. Animals rise up to the intelligence of humans, mentally retarded people become geniuses, and normal humans become super-geniuses. Some people even become psychic. It's one of those classic big concepts for a sci-fi book. It's well-written (because Anderson is a great writer with a very smooth style), although there are some interesting threads that don't get much attention, and some that do get attention weren't of great interest to me. Personally, I would have liked more focus on the animals and less on the labor unions (I think Anderson was still in his young socialist phase when he wrote this...). There's thread about a violent new religion coming about that didn't quite make sense to me. Anderson's generally a pretty nuanced writer in my experience, but I think he does trip up here and there in this one. The book repeatedly insinuates, for instance, that dumb people end up in manual labor or low-paying jobs and smart people end up as, well, scientists, but it doesn't quite ring true to me. I've known too many people that are quite smart but work "crappy jobs" because they get their mental stimulation elsewhere, such as creating art or reading. Or maybe they're really smart but just plain lazy and settle for less. Whatever. It might just be me but I generally find books like this depressing because the evolution often comes across as rather joyless. In this case the people who adjust to the change well all sort of turn into Vulcans while the people who don't...get to watch everyone turn into Vulcans. I guess I identify with the losers in this story rather than the winners and think being stupid is more fun  |
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Post by deuce on Jun 7, 2017 10:30:57 GMT -5
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Post by almuric on Jun 27, 2017 10:38:25 GMT -5
Devil's Due, by Taylor Anderson. 12th book in his Destroyermen series. You know the drill by now: WW2, alternate world, dinosaurs. I'm running out of ways to praise this series by now. Just read it.
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Post by deuce on Jul 2, 2017 8:55:09 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2017 11:15:04 GMT -5
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jul 13, 2017 10:13:00 GMT -5
Haven't read these but they sound interesting. I discovered they were reprinted by Berkley in paperback format in the late 60s with cover art by Jeff Jones. Note the Conan reference on the cover.   |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 13:40:15 GMT -5
Haven't read these but they sound interesting. I discovered they were reprinted by Berkley in paperback format in the late 60s with cover art by Jeff Jones. Note the Conan reference on the cover. I have only read the Conanized adaptations in the Marvel Conan comic. Those Jeff Jones covers look mighty tempting. Thanks for the Pics, Chris. |
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jul 13, 2017 14:17:56 GMT -5
I have only read the Conanized adaptations in the Marvel Conan comic. Those Jeff Jones covers look mighty tempting. Thanks for the Pics, Chris. You're welcome. The Berkley Medallions are among my favorite of the REH paperbacks. Yes - those Jones covers are very tempting indeed. Thanks for bringing these stories to our attention. Those Berkley volumes look like must-haves in my opinion! |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 14:24:27 GMT -5
I have only read the Conanized adaptations in the Marvel Conan comic. Those Jeff Jones covers look mighty tempting. Thanks for the Pics, Chris. You're welcome. The Berkley Medallions are among my favorite of the REH paperbacks. Yes - those Jones covers are very tempting indeed. Thanks for bringing these stories to our attention. Those Berkley volumes look like must-haves in my opinion! Yeah, the Berkley paperbacks have some classic Ken Kelly (I think some of his best work) covers. They are difficult to find here in the UK, but, I'm always lookin' out for them. |
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Jul 13, 2017 14:54:18 GMT -5
You're welcome. The Berkley Medallions are among my favorite of the REH paperbacks. Yes - those Jones covers are very tempting indeed. Thanks for bringing these stories to our attention. Those Berkley volumes look like must-haves in my opinion! Yeah, the Berkley paperbacks have some classic Ken Kelly (I think some his best work) covers. They are difficult to find here in the UK, but, I'm always lookin' out for them. If you're missing anything Berkley-wise try AbeBooks. They have a UK site as well. I've ordered many books from vendors in the UK at very reasonable costs. I love Abe. Happy collecting, Hun! Howard Berkley's on Abe in UK |
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Post by KiramidHead on Jul 13, 2017 16:35:25 GMT -5
Finished a few books recently:
The Dark Country, by Dennis Etchison - this one is a pretty great collection of short stories, with some great atmosphere and a very unique vibe.
Tristan & Iseult , by Rosemary Sutcliffe - I found this to be a very effective, stripped down retelling of the original legend. Sutcliff's choice to omit the love potion is an interesting deviation that works.
Also, I'm in the middle of reading The Hunter, by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake. It's pretty excellent so far, and it's neat to see how closely the director's cut of Payback followed this.
Others from the current purchases: Red Dreams, by Dennis Etchison, Anno Dracula 1899 by Kim Newman, The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff.
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Post by deuce on Jul 13, 2017 20:54:09 GMT -5
Finished a few books recently: The Dark Country, by Dennis Etchison - this one is a pretty great collection of short stories, with some great atmosphere and a very unique vibe. Tristan & Iseult , by Rosemary Sutcliffe - I found this to be a very effective, stripped down retelling of the original legend. Sutcliff's choice to omit the love potion is an interesting deviation that works. Also, I'm in the middle of reading The Hunter, by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake. It's pretty excellent so far, and it's neat to see how closely the director's cut of Payback followed this. Others from the current purchases: Red Dreams, by Dennis Etchison, Anno Dracula 1899 by Kim Newman, The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff. Sounds like you've got a lot of good reading lined up, KH! I like -- but don't love -- Etchison. I'm a big fan of Sutcliffe and Westlake, though they're completely different writers. I like what I've read from Newman. |
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Post by KiramidHead on Jul 13, 2017 23:09:27 GMT -5
Finished a few books recently: The Dark Country, by Dennis Etchison - this one is a pretty great collection of short stories, with some great atmosphere and a very unique vibe. Tristan & Iseult , by Rosemary Sutcliffe - I found this to be a very effective, stripped down retelling of the original legend. Sutcliff's choice to omit the love potion is an interesting deviation that works. Also, I'm in the middle of reading The Hunter, by Richard Stark aka Donald Westlake. It's pretty excellent so far, and it's neat to see how closely the director's cut of Payback followed this. Others from the current purchases: Red Dreams, by Dennis Etchison, Anno Dracula 1899 by Kim Newman, The Lantern Bearers and Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff. Sounds like you've got a lot of good reading lined up, KH! I like -- but don't love -- Etchison. I'm a big fan of Sutcliffe and Westlake, though they're completely different writers. I like what I've read from Newman. I'd read Lantern Bearers long, long ago in middle school, and never got around to properly reading Sword at Sunset. As far as Etchison goes, it's a bit of a new fascination, since I read his Halloween 4 script and wanted to get a little more into his writing. And some good news on the Newman front - according to this latest volume, the next novel length Anno Dracula is due out later this year. Hopefully it's worth the two shirt story collections' worth of build up. |
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Post by deuce on Jul 15, 2017 16:23:10 GMT -5
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Post by almuric on Jul 15, 2017 20:20:58 GMT -5
Space ferret with a gun?
I'm in.
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