Genre fiction discussion (SF/Horror/Fantasy etc)

The Lounge General Discussion
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I know there are topics on general ‘what are you reading’, and a comics/graphic novel one, so hopefully there is some space for this.

I’m interested to see what people do and don’t enjoy in these genre’s. Do you like the vintage stuff? the more modern? Which authors are culturally important that you don’t get on with, and who is underrated? etc

To kick things off, here is some brief recent notes from reading in this field.

I used to enjoy, although not on a fanatical level, reading some ‘epic fantasy’ stuff (mostly more modern). Stuff like Brandon Sanderson, Stephen King’s dark tower series, a couple of the Wheel of Time/Malazan books, etc. After some years out of it I suddenly had a craving to try reading one of these epic series again, and after some research, I tried out:

John Gwynne - Valour
I read 90% of the way through this, and in the end it just fell down on what I was worried might happen… terrible, uneconomic writing and clunky plotting. I’m no book editor (although I do draft/oversea drafting of letters for a living), but I think I could easily edit this down to a 1/3 of it’s size. I don’t mind reading within tropes (because otherwise I wouldn’t be anywhere near making this Topic), but nah… not enough to engage me, or inspire me to continue with the series.

After this, I thought i’d read a ‘minor’ Stephen King novel in the fantasy ballpark

Stephen King - Eye’s of the Dragon
This is hard done by to be such a little spoken about King book. It’s quite simple, and I guess a YA book at the core, but it’s just a perfectly told fairytale/arthurian legend influenced type story, riffing on fairy tales you know and sprinkling in just enough details and twists to make it fully engaging. Quality

Now for SF. My ADHD hyperfocus went into overdrive and I did loads/too much research into ‘vintage’ SF, and bought quite a lot of used old books on ebay. I’ve been dipping in and it’s been a very mixed bag, which just a couple of successes.

Stenislaw Lem - Solaris
Brilliant book. Had fancied reading it for years, but my perception of what it would be like has been coloured by a a weird experience, where I went to a screening of the original Solaris film (presented on film), at a point where I don’t think my tastes were mature enough for it, and then after what seemed like a very long 45 mins, the film actually set on fire. They were going to fix it, but I didn’t stick around.
Maybe it’s best I waiting until I was nearly 40 - I could definitely it appreciate now.

Thomas M. Disch - The Genocides
Similar in theme to Day of the Triffids, based on what I know of that. Really dark and interesting book, that just took its premise way too far. Lots of ideas, but not much characters. Very interesting but wouldn’t recommend it unless someone was massively into the genre.

The failures have been a couple of Robert Silverberg books, which is frustrating given how much praise I’ve seen for him, and Brian Aldiss’s Hothouse, which was just leaving me cringing after about 10 pages. Not sure why… I just found it very silly and hard to engage with.

I’ll stop waffling now… maybe this won’t come as a surprise, but I don’t have any friends actually interested in even reading stuff like this, let alone discussing it :rofl:

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Forgot one…

For balance, a modern SF I also read and really enjoyed was Bourne by Jeff Vandermeer. Absolutely brilliant and I’m always amazed at what comes out of his mind, even if I don’t always connect. Big fan of the Southern Reach trilogy, and Ambergris was interesting… when it wasn’t being boring (which it sometimes was).

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Strangely enough, i Haven’t read that many books in these genres, but besides the mandatory K.Dick ones, i still have a vibrant memory of “The Stars my destination” ( or Tiger ! Tiger! in it’s UK Title ) by Alfred Bester.

I know this one had many movie adaptation projects that never made it, but i doubt any could match the level of greatness the reading of the book gave me.

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In the SciFi/Fantasy genre, I’d really recommend Jack Vance’s Dying Earth Trilogy, particularly the novel Eyes of the Overworld. Great shit…

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You mean the Russian one then. I’d love to see that version of it. You’re right amazing book, that really can’t be done on screen. The … can’t continue without too many spoilers.

This is a sub-genre – eastern European sf.

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Speaking of Tarkovsky adaptations, Roadside Picnic is excellent!

Any Gene Wolfe readers in here?

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Heard of Gene Wolfe. That’s it so far ha

Vance is on my radar too

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I never pass up a chance to mention Gene Wolfe and his Book of the New Sun tetralogy. It’s the one work of fiction I’m sure I will be reading and pondering for the rest of my life. There are some artists/authors like David Lynch whose work is fascinating, beautiful, confusing, and grotesque, but that is constantly offering these glimpses at a deeper ineffable truth. Wolfe is one of these people for me. I’m not feeling especially articulate at the moment, so here’s what some others have said about him:

Also, the dude invented the machine that makes Pringles.

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Love Borne, the Southern Reach books, and Lem. All of Lem, really. Solaris is weird because the canonical translation is from Polish to French to English, but I think it’s still better than the more recent direct translation. I think my favorite Lem is probably Fiasco, and all his very Borgesian short stories.

Ted Chiang’s short stories are great. The first of those Ann Leckie novels…the Robert Charles Wilson Spin trilogy…Greg Bear’s Hull Zero Three…Sue Burke’s Semiosis…and a great one by a former student of mine, Lena Nguyen, called We Have Always Been Here.

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I’m still getting through Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. Annihilation was better than the film (though I do love the director! mostly due to the added detail, i thought it was a fine adaptation and got screwed in distribution.)

Don’t expect a perfect answer but since we’re talking gente-

Are there any good books that involve the turmoil of loneliness and solitude of space? Churning through, wrestling with various emotions as a compelling factor over plot devices or hacky narratives?

Worth an ask! I’ve picked up a few cosmic/supernatural horror Event Horizon and Dead Space style spookies but also looking for something grounded in humanity (and its shadow.)

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Solaris has elements of that!

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Tempted as I am to try and power through the original Polish before a trip to Warsaw, that is an excellent suggestion I didn’t even consider after scrolling past the earlier mention :slight_smile:

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I thought of a couple more recent ones, Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards, which is a postapocalyptic novel about bonobos, and Neal Stephenson’s Fall, or Dodge in Hell. He’s hit and miss with me but this book is about artificial life in an unexpected and innovative way.

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If you’ve got kids, consider books by Brandon Mull. His series, Fablehaven, was a big part of our family during the height of the pandemic. My boys are now 9 and 12, for reference. The series is 5 books and it flows into a second series called Dragonwatch.

Personally I’ve been making my way through all the James SA Corey books and I read the first of the Three Body Problem books not too long ago. I really enjoy those.

All the same, those Brandon Mull books are a solid read, even for an adult.

Oh, I just read Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman), with the boys. My 2nd or 3rd time through. Their first. That landed pretty well with them.
I wanted to read Good Omens with my older son, as well as some other Terry Pratchet, but I think the poetic silliness is still a bit much for him to process. Same goes for Hitchiker’s guide. I considered asking him to put it on his summer reading list, but I think I was about 16 when I found it, and remember giggling like an idiot while reading it, so we’ll hold off a couple years.

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I loved the first half or so but couldn’t finish it after that. It just dragged on and on once it got to the more fantasy-oriented sections.

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I appreciated how Garland limited the scope of the novel by (as I recall) focusing on a single viewpoint through the course of the story. It created space to focus on the incredible visuals and made for a nice standalone sci-fi movie.

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Oldie but goodie: William Hope Hodgson’s The House on the Borderland. Early cosmic horror that inspired Lovecraft, also a short and entertaining read.

(Sorry for the multiple posts!)

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Possibly the greatest novels ever written.

Vance was the key influence on my life from the age of about 14 until, well, now really.

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I loved the “character” Firx…

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Amazing series of books, dubious right wing politics of the author aside. It’s a shame the graphic novel version tailed off though as they were quite promising.