Listening to the third book in The First Law trilogy. I really like the characters and their internal narrative, as well as the writing style. The pace is pretty slow, but I never found it boring, happy to follow the characters’ thoughts and actions. Inquisitor Glokta is probably my favorite, because of his dry wit and cynicism, with just a pinch of humanity.
I don’t know why you would listen to a SF novel… I enjoyed The Quantum Thief a lot—the start in the Dilemma Prison was interesting, and I loved the worldbuilding of the Oubliette.
Do you listen to Audiobooks at all? Are you only specifically against SF as an Audiobook?
I ask because I’m a huge fan of Audiobooks, but I’ve long believed that SF (and fantasy) are both particularly hard to like in Audiobook format. Non-fiction is by far better.
(I do still listen to some SF/Fantasy on Audiobooks, but it’s usually authors I already know, or in worlds I already know).
Do you listen to Audiobooks at all? Are you only specifically against SF as an Audiobook?
I am against audiobooks in general for myself due to my particular circumstances so my direct experience is limited, but it seems to me that SF/fantasy may not work for most people as audiobooks since they trade so heavily on immersive flavor and world-building (particularly The Quantum Thief, which is in the ‘explain nothing and make readers figure everything out from context’ school of hard SF), which would be impeded by the slowness of audio and the intrusion of someone’s voice.
FYI, you’re mostly right, at least based on my experience. I tend to have a much harder time listening to Audiobooks of SF/fantasy, and a harder time listening to any fiction vs. non-fiction.
I also have a much easier time listening to SF/Fantasy when it’s in a setting I already know (e.g. sequels, books I’ve read before, etc). Also easier to listen to books from authors I read a lot (but that may be true in general, come to think of it).
I still highly recommend anyone who can to listen to Audiobooks, at least of non-fiction, as one of the best and easiest hacks around.
Just read Brandon Sanderson’s “Firefight” which is the sequel to Steelheart. Sanderson is as amazing as usual. The books are a very novel take on the idea of superpowers.
Tl;dr of my post: If you liked Steelheart, I heavily recommend reading Worm.
Long version:
So, Sanderson is in my top 5 favorite authors, I think almost every book of his is amazing, and I loved Steelheart.
But shortly after reading it, I started reading the (now finished) online web serial Worm (from Yudkowsky’s recommendation on HPMOR). It has a very similar premise to Steelheart, at least initially.
And let’s just say, Worm makes Steelheart look terrible in comparison. Worm is just so much better.
Again, I’m a huge fan of Sanderson, and I still like the Steelheart series, but I now read it and think to myself that it’s just not even close to realistic, Worm is how people with powers would actually behave.
Seriously, read Worm. And if you happen to read this comment and not have read Sanderson, read his books too (I would start with the Mistborn trilogy, possibly the best trilogy of all time).
Have you read Firefight? It does a good job of pointing out why people with powers in Steelheart act how they do. (I haven’t read Worm but it is on my reading list.)
Read Christopher Nuttall’s “Schooled in Magic” series. I’d describe it as HPMoR but with a main character who is a) slightly more mature and b) not nearly as smart or educated. Overall, while I’ve had a mixed view of a lot of Nuttall’s other works I have a high opinion of this one.
Currently reading Annie Bellet’s “The 20-Sided Sorceress” series which is an urban fantasy setting where the main character grew up thinking of magic in terms of Dungeons and Dragons and uses a D20 talisman to focus her magic. Not too surprisingly it is full of geek-culture references. Overall, amusing.
Fiction Books Thread
Listening to the third book in The First Law trilogy. I really like the characters and their internal narrative, as well as the writing style. The pace is pretty slow, but I never found it boring, happy to follow the characters’ thoughts and actions. Inquisitor Glokta is probably my favorite, because of his dry wit and cynicism, with just a pinch of humanity.
finished off Hannu’s quantum thief trilogy: The Fractal Prince & The Causal Angel (the last prominently features CEV under that name, incidentally)
The Corpse Exhibition: And Other Stories of Iraq (review)
I tried listening to The Quantum Thief, but gave up after an hour or so. I found it bland and somewhat annoying.
I don’t know why you would listen to a SF novel… I enjoyed The Quantum Thief a lot—the start in the Dilemma Prison was interesting, and I loved the worldbuilding of the Oubliette.
Do you listen to Audiobooks at all? Are you only specifically against SF as an Audiobook?
I ask because I’m a huge fan of Audiobooks, but I’ve long believed that SF (and fantasy) are both particularly hard to like in Audiobook format. Non-fiction is by far better.
(I do still listen to some SF/Fantasy on Audiobooks, but it’s usually authors I already know, or in worlds I already know).
I am against audiobooks in general for myself due to my particular circumstances so my direct experience is limited, but it seems to me that SF/fantasy may not work for most people as audiobooks since they trade so heavily on immersive flavor and world-building (particularly The Quantum Thief, which is in the ‘explain nothing and make readers figure everything out from context’ school of hard SF), which would be impeded by the slowness of audio and the intrusion of someone’s voice.
FYI, you’re mostly right, at least based on my experience. I tend to have a much harder time listening to Audiobooks of SF/fantasy, and a harder time listening to any fiction vs. non-fiction.
I also have a much easier time listening to SF/Fantasy when it’s in a setting I already know (e.g. sequels, books I’ve read before, etc). Also easier to listen to books from authors I read a lot (but that may be true in general, come to think of it).
I still highly recommend anyone who can to listen to Audiobooks, at least of non-fiction, as one of the best and easiest hacks around.
Just read Brandon Sanderson’s “Firefight” which is the sequel to Steelheart. Sanderson is as amazing as usual. The books are a very novel take on the idea of superpowers.
Tl;dr of my post: If you liked Steelheart, I heavily recommend reading Worm.
Long version: So, Sanderson is in my top 5 favorite authors, I think almost every book of his is amazing, and I loved Steelheart.
But shortly after reading it, I started reading the (now finished) online web serial Worm (from Yudkowsky’s recommendation on HPMOR). It has a very similar premise to Steelheart, at least initially.
And let’s just say, Worm makes Steelheart look terrible in comparison. Worm is just so much better.
Again, I’m a huge fan of Sanderson, and I still like the Steelheart series, but I now read it and think to myself that it’s just not even close to realistic, Worm is how people with powers would actually behave.
Seriously, read Worm. And if you happen to read this comment and not have read Sanderson, read his books too (I would start with the Mistborn trilogy, possibly the best trilogy of all time).
Have you read Firefight? It does a good job of pointing out why people with powers in Steelheart act how they do. (I haven’t read Worm but it is on my reading list.)
It’s less the “why do they act that way”, more “if you had this superpower, what kind of really weird but powerful stuff could you do with it”.
Worm is full of people using superpowers in really inventive ways, in a way that Steelheart/Firefight aren’t.
Read Christopher Nuttall’s “Schooled in Magic” series. I’d describe it as HPMoR but with a main character who is a) slightly more mature and b) not nearly as smart or educated. Overall, while I’ve had a mixed view of a lot of Nuttall’s other works I have a high opinion of this one.
Currently reading Annie Bellet’s “The 20-Sided Sorceress” series which is an urban fantasy setting where the main character grew up thinking of magic in terms of Dungeons and Dragons and uses a D20 talisman to focus her magic. Not too surprisingly it is full of geek-culture references. Overall, amusing.