Hey, just realized I had not left a comment when I watched this yesterday. I have heard of a few of these, but haven't read any. Sci-fi is not an area I read much...I think it's because when I was young getting into reading, I was very literal. When I tried sci-fi, I would think, "this could never really happen". Over the years, I opened my mind, but still never got into the habit of reading sci fi. Listening to your description of "Perdido Street" I think it would still be a stretch for me!! Thanks! Have a good weekend!
I've had the same problem trying to read SF, it's taken me quite a few attempts to get into it, and I still find it hard to relax into a story that takes place in a world vastly different from our own or with unbelievable elements, and some writers make it easier to enter into a strange world than others do, too. Perdido Street Station is a pretty good book, though, and Mieville's writing is pretty captivating - it's more like a dark fantasy than science fiction. Hope you have a good weekend, too!
This is a fun shelf! I understand your mixed reaction to Ligotti. I wanted to like Ligotti, and it seemed like I should in theory, but his stuff never fully clicked with me. Not sure why. I think the Wells story that anticipated the tank was called The Land Ironclads. Have you read the short story "The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories" by Gene Wolfe? It has connections to Wells's "The Island of Dr. Moreau," and I've always thought it a touching little story. I suspect many readers would. I never read beyond the first Hyperion novel. It ends on an uncertain note, but I felt like anything that followed could only be disappointing in comparison. I suppose I should just take the chance and find out. Looking forward to the remainder of the shelf. Hope all is well. Or at least that the existential dread isn't too crushing. 😉 Oh, and I did take a look at Harlan County, USA. Great documentary. Thanks for recommending it.
I don't think I've read anything by Gene Wolfe, except maybe a short story in an anthology - I want to say he wrote one about a barbarian that goes to fight a troll in a cave, but I could be wrong about that. I've heard a lot of good things about Wolfe, though. The second book in the Hyperion series is worth reading because in a way the first two are really like one long novel. I haven't read the third and fourth, but I've heard they're quite different than the first two. I'm glad you checked out Harlan County, USA, too!
@MustReadMore Wolfe is definitely worth a try. He deals largely in speculative fiction, but his style and sensibilities can be rather "literary." The resulting effect is probably not for everybody, but it's certainly distinctive. The novels making up "The Book of the New Sun" are his most widely praised work, but I normally recommend the "Best of Gene Wolfe" story collection or the novel "Peace" as less difficult starting points. However, you're a very experienced reader, so you'd probably be fine starting anywhere. 😁
Wow Penpal! I have read that book and I remember thinking it was great and also very disturbing. I don't remember much of it because it was many years ago I read it and I had borrowed the book from my brother I think. Just a few years ago I bought Bad Man which is by the same author Dathan Auerbach. It was also disturbing and at the end I could not decide if I liked the book or not and only felt that I should re read it sometime before deciding. So I am not sure if I would recommend it or not. But Penpal definitely left a strong impression on me.
I didn't know Auerbach had written any other books. Thanks for letting me know about Bad Man, I'll have to check it out one of these days, sounds interesting. Thanks for watching!
Hey John, great to see another video! I hope you’re doing great 🤝🎉
Thanks, and I hope you're doing great, too!
Hey, just realized I had not left a comment when I watched this yesterday. I have heard of a few of these, but haven't read any. Sci-fi is not an area I read much...I think it's because when I was young getting into reading, I was very literal. When I tried sci-fi, I would think, "this could never really happen". Over the years, I opened my mind, but still never got into the habit of reading sci fi. Listening to your description of "Perdido Street" I think it would still be a stretch for me!! Thanks! Have a good weekend!
I've had the same problem trying to read SF, it's taken me quite a few attempts to get into it, and I still find it hard to relax into a story that takes place in a world vastly different from our own or with unbelievable elements, and some writers make it easier to enter into a strange world than others do, too. Perdido Street Station is a pretty good book, though, and Mieville's writing is pretty captivating - it's more like a dark fantasy than science fiction. Hope you have a good weekend, too!
This is a fun shelf! I understand your mixed reaction to Ligotti. I wanted to like Ligotti, and it seemed like I should in theory, but his stuff never fully clicked with me. Not sure why.
I think the Wells story that anticipated the tank was called The Land Ironclads. Have you read the short story "The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories" by Gene Wolfe? It has connections to Wells's "The Island of Dr. Moreau," and I've always thought it a touching little story. I suspect many readers would.
I never read beyond the first Hyperion novel. It ends on an uncertain note, but I felt like anything that followed could only be disappointing in comparison. I suppose I should just take the chance and find out.
Looking forward to the remainder of the shelf. Hope all is well. Or at least that the existential dread isn't too crushing. 😉
Oh, and I did take a look at Harlan County, USA. Great documentary. Thanks for recommending it.
I don't think I've read anything by Gene Wolfe, except maybe a short story in an anthology - I want to say he wrote one about a barbarian that goes to fight a troll in a cave, but I could be wrong about that. I've heard a lot of good things about Wolfe, though.
The second book in the Hyperion series is worth reading because in a way the first two are really like one long novel. I haven't read the third and fourth, but I've heard they're quite different than the first two.
I'm glad you checked out Harlan County, USA, too!
@MustReadMore Wolfe is definitely worth a try. He deals largely in speculative fiction, but his style and sensibilities can be rather "literary." The resulting effect is probably not for everybody, but it's certainly distinctive. The novels making up "The Book of the New Sun" are his most widely praised work, but I normally recommend the "Best of Gene Wolfe" story collection or the novel "Peace" as less difficult starting points. However, you're a very experienced reader, so you'd probably be fine starting anywhere. 😁
Wow Penpal! I have read that book and I remember thinking it was great and also very disturbing. I don't remember much of it because it was many years ago I read it and I had borrowed the book from my brother I think. Just a few years ago I bought Bad Man which is by the same author Dathan Auerbach. It was also disturbing and at the end I could not decide if I liked the book or not and only felt that I should re read it sometime before deciding. So I am not sure if I would recommend it or not. But Penpal definitely left a strong impression on me.
I didn't know Auerbach had written any other books. Thanks for letting me know about Bad Man, I'll have to check it out one of these days, sounds interesting. Thanks for watching!