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I started reading it and found it fairly poor quality sci fi so I stopped somewhere in the first book. I think the bit where they slice a passing ship with newl
by swombat 9y ago
I started reading it and found it fairly poor quality sci fi so I stopped somewhere in the first book. I think the bit where they slice a passing ship with newly invented nanowires smacked more of a comic book or 50s golden age sci fi than the sort of “proper” science fiction I’m used to these days. That and the way the characters seem to have such simplified motivations. It’s just not good fiction - and science fiction has to also be good fiction.
Edit: wow, downvoted within a minute for not liking the same sci fi books. That’s a new low in HN groupthink.
- Unbeliever69 9y agoIt wasn't me! Personally loved the series! I'm always on the lookout for more "proper" sci-fi, so please share! I've been binge reading hard sci-fi this year and can't get enough. And yeah, HN is a tough crowd.
- swombat 9y agoThere’s so much awesome SF out there... it depends what you like! Personally, in very different styles, I found pretty much everything written by Iain M Banks excellent (start with Excession or Player of Games), I enjoy John Scalzi’s humourous sci fi space operas a fair bit too, Peter F Hamilton’s Reality Dysfunction trilogy was pretty decent... I’ve loved most of what I’ve read from Charles Stross but particularly Accelerando, Greg Egan’s Diaspora was awesome, like a modern day Childhood’s End (read that too if you haven’t, though it’s aged badly). Cloud Atlas is sorta science fiction and amazing. I’ve yet to not enjoy any book by Cory Doctorow - start with Pirate Cinema. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi was excellent. This should be enough to get you started!
- Unbeliever69 9y agoThanks for the list. All new territory except Cloud Atlas which I enjoyed immensely.
- geoah 9y agoYou should give it another shot, second book is pretty good, third one is great. It's not Quantum Thief, but it ain't have bad either :D
- swombat 9y agoDo the characters get a bit more complex than “humans killed ppl I loved so now I’m going to plot to end all human life”? Because it was really hard to suspend my disbelief on that one. People just don’t behave in unidimensional ways like that. And they forget trauma, fall in love, gain contrary motivations. Humans are complex creatures.
- yesenadam 9y ago"Don't be snarky." "Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."