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Is it just me or.........Follow

#1 Apr 29 2004 at 11:53 AM Rating: Default
Has anyone else noticed the "lack" of good engrossing science fiction novels recently? Could say the same for Fantasy in fact.

Along with the increasing prices of books, its seems to me the quality is dropping off..

Waiting on George RR Martin to come out with his next book is just bothering the hell out of me.

I wnet into the world of David Gemmel. good stories, but lacking in depth...

What do I mean? Almost every single book I have bought recently flows real well about 3/4 of the way through, and then wham, it seems the author is is a rush to finish up the book.. major battles are downplayed from many many pages to a single paragraph:

And this army swung up from the east and was defeated by general so and so

on and on..


It really pisses me off...

At least the book should remain at the same depth of storytelling and details from start to finish.... geez...
#2 Apr 29 2004 at 12:04 PM Rating: Default
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Try Orsen Scott Card for Sci fi.

The Enders Game / Speaker for the dead / Genocide set is pretty good. the paralell series lacks something that those had but it's still worth a read. <The Shadow series.>
#3 Apr 29 2004 at 1:12 PM Rating: Default
Been there, read them. Great books.

But have you seen anything NEW?
#4 Apr 29 2004 at 4:09 PM Rating: Default
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Try The Ill-Made Mute by Cecila Dart-Thornton, or Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Neither are typical Fantasy, both are well written and both have a couple of sequels if they grab your fancy.

Edited, Thu Apr 29 17:10:32 2004 by Deathwysh
#5 May 01 2004 at 7:58 AM Rating: Default
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J.V.Jones 'The cavern of Black Ice' and 'Fortress of Grey Ice' , they are particularly good.

problem is American new and English New aren't the same thing Smiley: grin
#6 May 08 2004 at 10:47 PM Rating: Excellent
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robin hobb has a new one out, david weber has another on the way soon. i think elezabeth moon also has a new one in the works. Larry Niven's next ringworld book is supposed to be out in a month or two.
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#7 May 13 2004 at 6:50 PM Rating: Default
I don't know how new it is, but try C.S. Friedman's The Coldfire Trilogy (3 books, obviously). Also, anything by David Eddings is good.
#8 May 14 2004 at 9:48 PM Rating: Default
When the market for new stuff goes dry, start digging into the old stuff to tide you over. Do you have a good second hand book store near you? Those places are goldmines!
#9 Jul 29 2004 at 2:54 AM Rating: Default
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I'm not lacking.

Current favorite authors are GREG BEAR and DAN SIMMONS. I can't get enough of those guys.
#10 Jul 30 2004 at 1:02 PM Rating: Default
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Just reading Grag Bear's Eon and Eternity myself attually i rate them, has he got any other good ones out?
#11 Aug 01 2004 at 1:23 AM Rating: Decent
The Viscount of Adrilankha series by Steven Brust is some good fantasy.
#12 Aug 02 2004 at 10:04 PM Rating: Default
The most recent books that I have felt gave me a good read were by Harry Turtledove. I don't know if he has put out anything more recently but I enjoyed the ones that I read.
#13 Aug 07 2004 at 7:31 AM Rating: Default
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Have you read the rest of Card's works? Good stuff


I also have a feeling we haven't seen the last of the Shadow series. I find the location of where Bean and Petra intend to live and the language used in the later books in the main series a bit too coincidental.


There's also the deal with not all of the embryos being found.
#14 Aug 08 2004 at 12:55 AM Rating: Excellent
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I've been enjoying Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, even though it's not really fantasy or science fiction. If you've read his earlier sci-fi books, it's basically that same sort of setup, just set in the late 1600s. I love his writing style though, and if you don't, you'll hate this. The lady at the counter when I paid for it said he writes like a snotty english professor, which is sort of true, but I love his sense of humor and how sarcastically witty his characters tend to be.
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#15 Aug 08 2004 at 12:56 AM Rating: Excellent
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I also sometimes go to the Salvation Army store near me and pick up 5 random hardcover books that look like sci-fi/fantasy. Can't beat 5 books for $10. If even one of them is a good read, it was worth it.
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#16 Sep 04 2004 at 10:03 PM Rating: Decent
Elizabeth Haydons series, Symphony of Ages was fantastic. The characters development was well done, and the story was fairly inventive for a fantasy story arch.

Stackpoles Dragoncrown War Cycle is fun, and well done. I was a bit put off by the begining of the first one, but worked through the first 100 pages and then was pulled in hook, line and sinker.
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