November SciFi suggestions

[dwndrgn]

Please make your suggestions for the November SciFi discussion.

Remember to give a brief description of the book itself and then give us a reason to vote for it.

Own it!

 

[cyborg_cinema]

Own it!

...I own—the Hugo/Nebula winning—Gateway by Frederik Pohl. Gateway blends social commentary with intersteller DnD. In one paragraph, Robinette Broadhead is getting his head examined. In another, he is cruising deep space in a one-man starship. Pohl was an editor before he took on writing full time. There may be enough Gateway book reports out there to fill a library.

 

[dwndrgn]

I apologize for the confusion...

Own it! is a phrase used by some to imply that you need to make such a convincing argument that everyone believes you. I was not implying that you need to own the book that you are suggesting. Actually, I'd prefer if you didn't as that would suggest that you haven't yet read it. Hence the rule that states the book must have been published within the past 12 months.

 

[cyborg_cinema]

I apologize for the confusion...

...I had undstood, but was trying to be punny. So, you mean any books published after August 2004?

 

[dwndrgn]

sorry, didn't get the pun (wasn't a great day for me or I would have)
Yes, after August of 2004...

 

[cyborg_cinema]

...wasn't a great day...

...the weekend is almost here.

 

[dwndrgn]

Yeah, but this weekend I've got to work both friday and sat nights...sigh.

Anyway, enough of me...my suggestion is:

The Traveller by John Twelve Hawks
I will admit I had some trouble finding a book to suggest with the new rules, especially since so many these days are parts of trilogies, series and duologies...but this one intrigued me and I don't even read scifi that much. Here is what Bookmarks Magazine says:
"First in a projected trilogy called The Fourth Realm, The Traveler impressed all critics. Twelve Hawks presents big ideas about free will and determinism, good versus evil, social control, and alternate dimensions, all while impressing with knowledge ranging from the New Testament to string theory. Although reviewers compared the novel to the films Kill Bill, Star Wars, and The Matrix—with echoes of authors Dan Brown, Stephen King, George Orwell, and Michael Crichton thrown in—they called it wholly original. Given its complexity, the author (a mysterious entity living "off the Grid" who’s unknown even to his agent and editor) could have fumbled anywhere. But he didn’t, from the sophisticated plot to the compelling heroine."

Sounds pretty interesting to me - plus I love discussing free will

 

[cyborg_cinema]

This Twelve Hawks sounds interesting.

Twelve Hawks is a very mysterious fellow....I believe he always speaks with a satellite phone...and a satellite phone is virtually untraceable. . . . his agent, Joe Regal, says Twelve Hawks uses a synthesizer to disguise or filter his voice.—Jason Kaufman, John Twelve Hawks's editor at Doubleday

I wonder how he gets paid—Swiss bank account?

 

[stencyl]

I'd like to nominate Accelerando, by Charles Stross. It's a work of post-singularity science fiction that has gotten great reviews. I have downloaded it and have been meaning to start it.

Here's a short summary and review:

Manfred Macx, a 21st-century intelligence amplification entrepreneur, lives partly in the physical world and partly in the virtual world of artificial intelligences, the Internet, biotechnology, and molecular nanotechnology. His 12-year-old daughter Amber, who seeks independence from her controlling mother, indentures herself to a company aiming to extract a fortune from the resources of Jupiter. Decades later, Amber's son Sirhan, a victim of multiple virtual childhoods, researches his dysfunctional family and uncovers a sinister new life form that threatens the continuation of biological life in the universe.​

Expanding on his award-winning short story cycle that appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, Stross (Singularity Sky) reveals a vision of the future that encompasses and expands on the newest technologies and explores the possibilities of humanity's future. Joining the ranks of William Gibson (Neuromancer), Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash), and Bruce Sterling (Schismatrix), Stross fuses ideas and characters with cheerful abandon and creates a high-tech galactic adventure that belongs in most libraries.​

​

 

[cyborg_cinema]

Manfred Macx, a 21st-century intelligence amplification entrepreneur, lives partly in the physical world and partly in the virtual world of artificial intelligences...

...that sounds interesting—a story gamers could relate to.

 

[JohnMay]

Peter F hamilton Pandora's Star

In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them. For what if their disappearance indicates some kind of galactic conflict? Since a conventional wormhole cannot be used to reach these vanished stars, for the first time humans need to build a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance. But it arrives to find each 'vanished' star encased in a giant force field -- and within one of them resides a massive alien civilisation.

Reason for Voting ? I love This book Cant wait for the follow up to come out. Anyone Read Nights Dawn Trilogy ? Awesome.

 

[mikeo]

As I already see two books I was going to read, I have to ask - is there anything to stop a book being nominated again if it misses on first/second/11th nomination?

Assuming not, it'd be good if people mentioned if a book is old enough to be on it's final nomination - useful to know if you have two you might want to vote for!

 

[dwndrgn]

As I already see two books I was going to read, I have to ask - is there anything to stop a book being nominated again if it misses on first/second/11th nomination?

Assuming not, it'd be good if people mentioned if a book is old enough to be on it's final nomination - useful to know if you have two you might want to vote for!

Nope, you can always nominate a book again if it doesn't get voted in the first time.
All you need to do is check amazon or any other bookseller's website, they always post the date of publication.

 

[dwndrgn]

Only three nominations so far...nobody else has seen something new and interesting?

 

[Rane Longfox]

I nominate Richard Morgan's "Market Forces"
Its not one of his Takeshi Kovacs books, but is a "futuristic thriller" about the dog-eat-dog world of "Conflict Investment", where promotion is gained by racing your rivals off the road. Chris Faulkner, the main character, is the "good guy" who has just joined a new firm. He's a hot-shot in the world of conflict investment, in a time when the gulf between the lower and middle classes is widening by the day. Pretty standard stuff, you might think, but Morgan adds an extra dimension with Faulkner's family life, which is going down the pan.
A truly excellent book. Morgan's best, IMHO

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0575075848/qid=1125929145/sr=8-4/ref=pd_bbs_4/026-6683188-8935647

 

[finvarre]

I want to nominate yet another space opera - The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld. I've read that the author wanted to write a kind of Star Wars space opera story as he thinks it should have been written, and am quite curious about the result. Don't know if it's any good, but anyway...

Here's the synopsis;

The undead Emperor has ruled the Eighty Worlds for sixteen hundred years. His is the power to grant immortality to those he deems worthy, creating an elite class known as the Risen. Along with his sister, the eternally young Child Empress, his power within the empire has been absolute. Until now. The empire's great enemies, the Rix, hold the Child Empress hostage. Charged with her rescue is Captain Laurent Zai. But when Imperial politics are involved the stakes are unimaginably high, and Zai may yet find the Rix the least of his problems. On the homeworld, Zai's lover, Senator Nara Oxham, newly appointed to the Emperor's War Council, must prosecute the war with the Rix while holding the inhuman impulses of the Risen councillors in check. If she fails at either task, millions will die. And at the centre of everything is the Emperor's great lie: a revelation so shattering that he is willing to sanction the death of entire worlds to keep it secret ...

 

[dwndrgn]

Five good nominations so far. The poll will go up in a day or so. Good luck for your picks guys!