Here you go, sj.
It's good to have cargo. Makes us a target for every other scavenger out there, though, but sometimes that's fun too.
Mal ,'Shindig'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
DavidS - Aug 07, 2007 4:26:35 pm PDT #3599 of 28199
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Jessica - Aug 07, 2007 4:34:58 pm PDT #3600 of 28199
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
like he has to get out every tiny bit of information he knows about a subject whether or not it is relevant to the story.
His earlier stuff was much tighter. I love his current rambling mode too, but at one point he did write books you could life with one hand.
Ginger - Aug 07, 2007 5:16:00 pm PDT #3601 of 28199
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I really like Stephenson, but I'll confess I haven't tackled the last two books. I felt like I needed to do more weight lifting to prepare. I'm a Gibson fan too, but they're very different writers. I really liked Snow Crash. It caught me up immediately with its contention that there are four things the United States does better than any other country: movies, music, software and high-speed pizza delivery.
sj - Aug 07, 2007 5:18:46 pm PDT #3602 of 28199
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
William Gibson's book tour
Damn. We're supposed to be having dinner with my not!mil on the day he's going to be in Cambridge. Maybe she'll cancel.
His earlier stuff was much tighter. I love his current rambling mode too, but at one point he did write books you could life with one hand.
Thanks. I'll have to look for some of his earlier stuff.
§ ita § - Aug 07, 2007 5:32:30 pm PDT #3603 of 28199
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I tried rereading Snow Crash a few years ago and found it tediously smug. I think I've lost the cyberpunk love. At least, the sheen is off the rose.
I'm currently finishing up the Tad Williams cyberpunk trilogy, and it's making me like cyberpunk even less--not because of the implementation of it in the book, but just because the book is pointlessly long.
Laga - Aug 07, 2007 7:14:08 pm PDT #3604 of 28199
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
I loved the smugness of Snow Crash but The Diamond Age has replaced Joe Haldeman's The Forever War as my favorite SF book. I find Sterling less challenging that Gibson and therefore more approachable but I can still get into a Gibson book if I have enough time to read the first few chapters in one sitting. My favorite is Mona Lisa Overdrive but I almost said Islands in the Net which begs the question: What do you guys think of Bruce Sterling?
DavidS - Aug 07, 2007 7:33:29 pm PDT #3605 of 28199
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
What do you guys think of Bruce Sterling?
I really liked Islands in the Net.
I also really loved some of his short stories, but his novels are less effective for me.
For cyberpunk I prefer Pat Cadigan (Synners) and Greg Bear (Queen of Angels) - both very cool books.
Nutty - Aug 07, 2007 7:34:36 pm PDT #3606 of 28199
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
just because the book is pointlessly long.
I have yet to read a Tad Williams novel that doesn't suffer from this problem.
Gris - Aug 07, 2007 7:36:34 pm PDT #3607 of 28199
Hey. New board.
I love Stephenson. I re-read Snow Crash recently and found it not as amazing as the first time, but I'm with Laga on The Diamond Age - it is by far my favorite. More easily readable than Cryptonomicon (and without the random tangents on things such as breakfast cereal) plus, nanotechnology is my favorite weird future technology to explore. And fairy tale references are always awesome.
I also stalled on Quicksilver, however. I plan to pick it up again, someday.
Neuromancer left almost no impression on me. I plan to reread it the next time I'm entering a science fiction headspace, to see if it was just a fluke.
Laga - Aug 07, 2007 7:52:19 pm PDT #3608 of 28199
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
Yah, I read Neuromancer and Cryptonomicon and I recall enjoying the experience but I really can't remember just what exactly they were about. That's the funny thing- you guys are talking about the detailed imagery in Gibson and when I think back to Gibson I have read the imagery that comes to mind is the book covers. With Stephenson I get whole film clips of scenes from the novels running in my brain.
I just remembered that my best friend ordered us a pizza and then read the first chapter of Snow Crash out loud to us. I think everyone should start reading the book that way!