Recently Read...

[dude]

Plenty of those too.

[deezelboy]

Adam Roberts' Gradisil. Here a new propulsion method puts low Earth orbit into the reach of individuals, or at least fabulously wealthy individuals. The orbital habitats they build are nicely low-tech: topping them up with atmosphere and  sealing off leaks is a constant chore.

Gradisil tells the story over three generations of trying to unite these orbital habitats into a nation (the Uplands) through igniting a war with the US, with the underlying theme of revenge anchoring the three parts. There's some nice satire regarding the US interpretation of war - here, it's all legalities; the battles can be won but the legal costs of the ensuing peace may make it prohibitive, leading to situations where the US won't declare a war unless there's a 100% chance of winning.

There's an audacious sequence detailing the fall of an astronaut from low orbit to the Earth's surface lasting twenty pages. Roberts manages to pull it off, and look effortless while doing it. As far as individual scenes in tenative-Hard SF go, it's quite an achievement.

[deezelboy]

Gary Gibson's Against Gravity, read for the title alone, but the plot is bolted securely to the ground. It's a competent enough SF thriller - in a none too subtle Bush era satire the US government experiment with turning security risks into nanotech augmented super soldiers while trying to contact God (in Tipler type Omega Point guise) through a space station. Ten years after the ruse has been blown our protagonist, an augmented survivor of the camps, comes into contact with several conspiracies trying to gain access to the space station. Intrigue ensues.

[Hudson]

So, I bought AvP Three World War a long time ago, maybe six months when I bought a Star Wars Omnibus book and just started reading it today. So far I'm impressed.

I really like the way that a lot of the Aliens comics and AvP ones link together. Obviously the Machicko storyline is all one continuity, but then there's a spinoff where marines visit the old Ryushi colony after. Then the later ones tie in with Berserker. Cool the way they're linked together with similar locations and characters.

So far though I'm really glad that the Colonial Marines in TWW look really Aliens accurate and not over the top and ridiculous like some of the 1990s comics turned out.

[deezelboy]

Spent most of the Olympics reading Iain Sinclair's Ghost Milk: Calling Time on the Grand Project. Or nearly all grand projects (Sinclair briefly considers San Quentin to be his ideal grand project) as his scope widens beyond Hackney. His reflections on visiting the Greek Olympic stadium as the economy goes belly up are spot on: the Games will be empty buildings, future ruins rather than regeneration. Also, lots on JG Ballard's grand project, himself, and an appearance from Michael Moorcock as well.

[deezelboy]

Fell through M John Harrison's Empty Space. It's so beautifully indefinable in there.

[dude]

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

I'm really not sure how these books got elevated beyond something you read while bored at the airport. Fun, but very disposable.

The Whisperer in Darkness by H.P. Lovecraft

I liked this one quite a bit. It gives you the facts without spoon feeding you.

[Hudson]

Now that I'm a bona fide English major, I gotta read stuff. Currently reading Voltaire's Candide and it is f'ing hilarious so far. Love it.

[dude]

Parker - The Score by Donald Westlake and Darwyn Cooke.

Awesome, beyond awesome. I loved this to bits. I'm going to assume this was an abridged adaptation because it felt kinda short. But I love this kind of hard boiled noir.

[Hudson]

Adding to more school assignments, I just read "A Rose for Emily" and will probably be too creeped out to get a restful night's sleep for a couple days.

[dude]

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

Wow, this was far darker than I ever expected it to be. Just as much horror as it is sci-fi.

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary by Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra

The entire Bloody Mary collection. Recommended, Garth Ennis just going all out with no leash is always a pleasure.

[dude]

Total Recall: My Unbelievable True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Once his arse licking of the Shriver/Kennedy family and pointless encounters with the Republican party started taking over the interesting stuff, I tapped out.

Nemesis by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. Excellent concept, but completely stupid execution. I can't say I dig Mark Millar all that much. 

[dude]

Alien: The Illustrated Story by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson. Easily the best comic book adaptation of a film ever conceived. I love that it plays out like an alternate cut of the film (Which is what the creators must've seen given some of the material in the book was deleted from the film). Really damn good.

I'd like to say I found it, in some obscure corner of a half dilapidated comic book store, in a shitty part of town, untouched since 1979, but it's a 2012 reprint, so it should be commonly available if anyone is interested.

At least the half dilapidated comic book store, in a shitty part of town, part is true. But that's Parramatta for you. I don't think there's a good part of town to begin with.

[dude]

Metro 2033 by Dimitri Glukovski

Brilliant. The whole thing takes place in the Russian underground metro after the nukes went off. Really immersive in its world building. On paper the story is standard Luke Skywalker 'heroes journey' fare, but as you read on, a lot of the tropes are subverted and not to spoil it, but by the end you realise it's actually a complete perversion of the heroes journey.

The only gripe I have, was that the English version is obviously translated from the Russian original, but some of the wording just feels like the missed the mark occasionally.

[deezelboy]

Read it a year or two ago. It's a great premise, but seriously in need of structure and discipline.