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Thread ID: 101454	2009-07-15 19:01:00	Charles Stross	Deane F (8204)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
791945	2009-07-15 19:01:00	Anybody else here read sci fi by Charles Stross? Just discovered him. Damn good stuff.	Deane F (8204)
791946	2009-07-15 20:31:00	Yes, his books ok, try these, but read them in order, much better in my opinion, free as well, start with "Starfish" www.rifters.com http://www.rifters.com/	zqwerty (97)
791947	2009-07-15 20:59:00	Yep - read Peter Watts. Pretty good.	Deane F (8204)
791948	2009-07-16 05:07:00	How about this: The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect www.kuro5hin.org	zqwerty (97)
791949	2009-07-16 05:29:00	Read his shorter fiction, too much Space Opera for his longer ones........... I prefer Iain M. Banks Culture novels for that sort of thing....... www.bookzone.co.nz	pctek (84)
791950	2009-07-16 07:52:00	I'm a big Sci-Fi fan, but more of the space opera style. :) I really enjoy books that are part of a series. Some of the authors I've read recently and found to be good are: Chris Bunch David Drake Ken MacLeod Peter F. Hamilton Mike Shepherd I don't think I've read any books by Charles Stross, so I will have to check out the library. [edit: I see the library has 12 of his books. Are any particularly better than the others or good to start with?]	Jen (38)
791951	2009-07-16 08:58:00	I hate Space Opera, I hate it so much I want to swear. What the hell is the point of taking the worlds most boring stories and setting them in space?, Just to mess with people I reckon. Dangle the awesomeness of space and all its possibilites and then whack you over the head with 448 miserable charecters.All so similar and dry you can't tell them apart.Space opera ***, Even the name of it just reeks. The very worst book I have read in the last 10 years is Judas Unchained.	Metla (12)
791952	2009-07-16 09:47:00	Read "Starfish" Metla, you will freak out, have to modify that, the young innocent that you once were (lol) will.	zqwerty (97)
791953	2009-07-16 09:50:00	Yeah, the term "space opera" is a bit strange. I didn't realise it even existed until recently. But it does describe the genera I like - lighter sci-fi, action/adventure that follow the same group of characters in a series. Judas Unchained is part of Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga series. I quite liked this series, a bit long-winded in some places, but generally a good read. I thought the concept of using trains to travel through worm holes instead of starships to go from A-B quite different.	Jen (38)
791954	2009-07-16 13:04:00	I don't think I've read any books by Charles Stross, so I will have to check out the library. [edit: I see the library has 12 of his books. Are any particularly better than the others or good to start with?] I read two of his others first - "Saturn's Children" and "Halting State". But have just finished "Glasshouse". When I read that I thought, "this guy has talent". "Saturn's Children" is based on (what was to me) a fascinating idea - and "Halting State" which is basically a cop/detective story set in the near future where a "bank" (or "treasure store") inside a MMPORG gets robbed. I would recommend any of them and am looking forward to reading more of his novels. As for hard sci fi being superior to space opera - well, I think (the good examples of) both have merit and are aiming at pretty much the same thing - which is to predict or imagine how future technology will impact on how human societies will work (or devolve) and how power structures might change. Whether or not hard science is part of the story or not is less relevant to me than the author's imagination and storytelling ability. Iain M Banks makes some pretty sharp observations about humanity in his Culture series without hard science. And then there is Dan Simmons whose "Ilium" and "Olympos" are just brilliant through sheer force of storytelling ability without having to have any discussion about genre.	Deane F (8204)
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