What book are you currently reading, or recommend?

[Muck]

"The Fall of Hyperion" - Dan Simmons

Hyperion's 6 stories-within-a-story of what brought each of the pilgrims back to the planet Hyperion were really emotionally captivating and powerful (the one about Sol Weintraub and his daughter Rachel, pictured on the cover above, really got to me), but in this one, the shit is hitting the fan. The Hegemony, the Ousters, the TechnoCore in a universe-wide cage match! Don't be put off by all the scifi jargon, as it's really the characters and ideas that make these such great books.

Dan Simmons is the man.

I'm a huge fan of the Hyperion Cantos. As good as the first two books are, the second duology had a greater impact on me. I came very close to naming my daughter after Aenea.

 

[The KSB]

I just finished "Dance with Dragons." Trying to to start War and Peace. It seems a bit daunting though.

 

[Muck]

Another book about Project Constant Peg, the US evaluation program of captured Soviet fighters.

 

[BayBuck]

I'm a huge fan of the Hyperion Cantos. As good as the first two books are, the second duology had a greater impact on me. I came very close to naming my daughter after Aenea.

You're talking about Endymion/Rise of Endymion, right? I probably need to start into those two next, as the Hyperion pair left me wanting to spend more time in Simmons' futureverse (despite a very satisfying conclusion). Have you also read the Ilium/Olympos set?

 

[Muck]

You're talking about Endymion/Rise of Endymion, right? I probably need to start into those two next, as the Hyperion pair left me wanting to spend more time in Simmons' futureverse (despite a very satisfying conclusion).

Yes.

They differ from the first two books in being written a more traditional format (ie no long dream sequences or retelling of Canterbury Tales). They are also set a couple of hundred years later in the timeline showing the consequences of the events in the Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion

Have you also read the Ilium/Olympos set?

Yep. While not quite as beautiful as the Hyperion Cantos they are still damn good reads.

Humanity's descendents become advanced enough that they are for all intents and purposes gods (Clarke's Third Law)...so they recreate the Trojan War on the surface of Mars?

Hell yeah I'm down for that.

 

[BlufftonBuckeye]

Truly a fantastic read. Highly recommended, isn't a boring/dry book. Really gets your attention, is applicable and interesting, and not too long.

As soon as I wrap this up, I'm moving on to:

Followed immediately by:

 

[Muck]

 

[Muck]

 

[THEWOOD]

Finished the 1st, now on to the second.

Second book was very good, now on to the third...

 

[buckeyefool]

 

[jwinslow]

Read The Hunger Games on a recent vacation and have been enjoying the sequel via audio CD (Columbus Library )

Finished the Hunger Games series. Good, enjoyable read.

Agreed. Not an all-time classic but a fun diversion. I

It entertained me and I was eager to see how it all ended.

I am now a little more than half way through the 2nd book. I think this one is better.

Same here, enjoying book 2 even more than 1. I'm hoping book 3 is better than the disappointing reviews.


I haven't seen the movie, but from reading the book, I can see how people would find it a bit cartoonish and ridiculous. What works well when reading could be rather overboard in the theaters if you aren't emotionally invested in the book first.

 

[THEWOOD]

Book 3 of Hunger Games was a let down, and the movie was even worse.

 

[BayBuck]

More Dan Simmons:

"Song of Kali" - Simmons's first book, a horror novel with the city of Calcutta and the cult of Kali as the embodiment of the evil and violence that lies just below the surface of the human experience.

 

[muffler dragon]

 

[morbitzerker]

Right now I'm reading:

If I Did It by O.J. Simpson
Murder in Brentwood by Mark Fuhrman
You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney
A Briefer History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking
Harvey Penick's Little Red Book by Harvey Penick