TSF Book Club
-
Nepia the Bowden one is very good, when I read the Hastings one I kind of got the feeling he was trying to show off all his obscure knowledge of ww2 and the tone of the book was pretty negative throughout.. I got it on sale I got mixed up and thought I was grabbing Beevors latest book which I'm guessing is much better. I heard Freyberg gets a lot of attention in that one.
-
Also check out the film of right stuff, I grabbed it on DVD a while ago and it's as good as the book. Really well cast, especially Yeager .<br>
I saw a review of a book about those early astronauts wives apparently a fair amount of them are divorced now but they all keep in touch. NASA had them on a very short leash to get the best image they could for the astronauts. -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="390385" data-time="1379033076">
<div>
<p>Nepia the Bowden one is very good, when I read the Hastings one I kind of got the feeling he was trying to show off all his obscure knowledge of ww2 and the tone of the book was pretty negative throughout.. I got it on sale I got mixed up and thought I was grabbing Beevors latest book which I'm guessing is much better. I heard Freyberg gets a lot of attention in that one.</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm weary of Beevor now after reading Crete. I was a huge fan after reading Stalingrad and Berlin. But, I used all the same sources as Beevor did for Crete for my MA thesis (and surprisingly kept most of them and my notes) and I don't think a bunch of his conclusions regarding Freyberg are valid (even with an inherent bias as a NZer) and I found that he was selective in his accounts of many of the different battles and skirmishes choosing to completely disregard some regimental histories (rather than utilise them as a tool through a particular lens). He seemed to move a step from 'these are the errors made' which is fair enough, to a more personal attack.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, Stalingrad and Berlin are still cracking books that I'll recommend to anyone with an interest in the subject. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm definitely keen to watch The Right Stuff when I finish the book.</p> -
I didn't know he'd done a book about Crete, shame if its not any good because Stalingrad and Berlin were awesome. <br><br>
I saw a book at paper plus today about the standoff between kiwi and Tito s troops at Trieste , that's something I've been interested in hearing about. Apparently Tito was promised the area as a reward for joining the allies and they reneged on the deal. I'm probably wrong on the details though. -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="390402" data-time="1379040960">
<div>
<p>I didn't know he'd done a book about Crete, shame if its not any good because Stalingrad and Berlin were awesome.<br><br>
I saw a book at paper plus today about the standoff between kiwi and Tito s troops at Trieste , that's something I've been interested in hearing about. Apparently Tito was promised the area as a reward for joining the allies and they reneged on the deal. I'm probably wrong on the details though.</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>TBF I think that Beevor has a great writing style, and his books open up history to a bunch of people that don't usually read history. Crete is probably worth reading as it is an easy read (in comparison with some of the books on Greece/Crete out there), you just need to remember he's taken a line in regards to the command structures/leaders on Crete and his focus is Freyberg (whereas the various company commanders deserve more inspection IMHO).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I've read about Trieste a bit - good to see there is book about it, from my memory your details seem spot on. We were nearly involved in the first battle of the cold war.</p> -
<p>jesus, committing to a new fiction series is harder than committing to a woman. I am in the hunt for a new series to read, and could do with some help.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Since I finished the Malazan books I have read:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>David Gemmels "Troy" series (nice easy and fun read, the story is pretty well told I think)</p>
<p>Conn iggulden's "Conquerer" series (another story well told)</p>
<p>And I am just finishing Richard Morgan's "Woken Furies". Made me realise I haven't read any science fiction for ages (the last was Stephen Donaldson's "Gap" series) and I really enjoyed it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, anyone got any suggestions for a few Sci Fi novels? Not really knowing any good authors is seriously hampering me.</p> -
<p>Under the Dome by Stephen King. First Stephen King book I have read (or at least I remember reading). The plot is about a small town cut off from the outside world due to an invisible force-field. A load of characters but there is culling as the story progresses. Ending was so-so but a fun 806 page read. The tv series was naff. 8/10</p>
-
<p>M4L - Peter Hamilton (Fallen Dragon is a good standalone novel) and the late Iain M Banks (Culture novels) are two quality sci fi writers. If you want to check out some older sci fi then James Blish is pretty cool (<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_in_Flight'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cities_in_Flight</a>). A mate got me his 'Okie' series and I enjoyed it a lot. A cool story and really interesting to read his ideas for the future etc.</p>
-
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="391933" data-time="1379499801">
<div>
<p><span style="font-size:12px;">So, anyone got any suggestions for a few Sci Fi novels? Not really knowing any good authors is seriously hampering me.</span></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>Alistair Reynolds does some good sci fi style books, Revelation Space was v good & he's written a LOT which is nice if you decide you like his style.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Also, its probably been mentioned, but Iain M Banks. Fucking genius.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>On fantasy, Joe Abercrombie, very dark humour style akin to a lot of Malazan, but less confusing. And try The Gentlemen Bastards series by Scott Lynch </p> -
<p>yea, i randomly chose the Void trilogy by Peter Hamilton, and it's fucking great. Almost polished it off already, and will move straight into the Night's Dawn trilogy, which is supposed to be even better</p>
-
<p>Did you catch the Commonwealth Saga (2 books) before the Void series? The two Saga books are primo (better than the void ones imo). The Night's Dawn series is bad-ass. </p>
-
<p>doh, just saw the word 'randomly'!</p>
-
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Paekakboyz" data-cid="403346" data-time="1384739359">
<div>
<p>Did you catch the Commonwealth Saga (2 books) before the Void series?<strong> The two Saga books are primo </strong>(better than the void ones imo). The Night's Dawn series is bad-ass. </p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>Yeah, they're better than the Void books, I reckon. Great villain.</p> -
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"><img src="http://www.atomicbooks.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/o/corpseonimjin.jpg" alt="corpseonimjin.jpg"> </span></p>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;">CORPSE ON THE IMJIN! and other stories by HARVEY KURTZMAN</span></strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10.5pt;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;">Hard-cover collection (pub. 2012) of war comics written and mostly illustrated by the "godfather of underground comix" Harvey Kurtzman from his two legendary comic book titles "Two-Fisted Tales" and "Frontline Combat" published by EC in the 1950s. Twenty-five short stories, each runs about 6-7 pages and covers battles from centuries of warfare. They were originally created & published during the Korean War, but notably none of the them glorifies combat or serves as propaganda, the protagonists are mostly anti-heroes portrayed as being almost universally terrified. Each story comes with a twist ending -- not surprising, these were made by the same crew publishing "Vault of Horror" and "Tales From the Crypt," where the twist-surprise-ending was the staple story-telling method. The content is grim and humorless... making it hard to believe Kurtzman went directly from these to creating and masterminding MAD magazine. His brushwork on these titles is deceptively simple but displays complete mastery. The book has a couple of old interviews with Kurtzman highlighting this period of his career, and reproduces ALL of his glorious colour covers -- arguably the best comic book covers ever published.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;">Affordably priced, too. Click for a simple 90-second promotional video:</span></p>
<p style="margin:0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;">
<p style="margin:0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="margin:0in;"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> -
<p>Just re-read the digital version of one of the physical books I have in a box somewhere in the garage - <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.com/Commissar-Sven-Hassel/dp/0753822555'>The Commissar by Sven Hassell</a>. WW II story told from the German perspective about a regiment of penal soliders. Haven't read any of his books since I was a teenager 20 years ago, but they have aged remarkably well. Still pretty brutal and unhappy, but good reading</p>
-
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Stockcar86" data-cid="410764" data-time="1389923727">
<div>
<p>Just re-read the digital version of one of the physical books I have in a box somewhere in the garage - <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.com/Commissar-Sven-Hassel/dp/0753822555'>The Commissar by Sven Hassell</a>. WW II story told from the German perspective about a regiment of penal soliders. Haven't read any of his books since I was a teenager 20 years ago, but they have aged remarkably well. Still pretty brutal and unhappy, but good reading</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>I remember being keen on those Hassell books when I was a teenager as well. Must have another look.</p> -
Me 3 but it was a lot longer than 20 yrs ago.<br><br>I'm currently enjoying the Red Gambit series by Colin Gee.<br><br>It's a very plot driven alternate history based around the USSR launching a sneak attack into Germany in the summer of 1945, having allied themselves with the Japanese.<br><br>The self published e-books (I'm up to the 3rd) are clearly labours of love by a military history anorak (actually a retired Pommy fireman). The detail in terms of maps, tactics, capabilities of weapons etc is impressive as are the extensive bibliographies attached to each book. There are also companion biographies available as separate titles.<br><br>Its written as a history of World War 3 from some time in the future and features large cast of historical and invented characters from both sides. There is a wealth of material on divisional structure logistics and all the other components of war including the politics but because it is a real page turner this doesn't get tedious or distracting.<br><br>Its not particularly well written but it is a rollicking good read. Characters are all pretty much the same - brave honest men called upon to do an awful job yadayada but that's OK because not many characters reappear. Typically he sets out the strategy of a battle through the device of the Field Marshalls or politicians briefing people and them narrows it down to some (usually expendable - think of the guy in a red shirt on a Star Trek away mission) combatants on the front line. You do build up a very good impression of the arbitrary nature of modern warfare.<br><br>You sort of figure the good guys will prevail (we do after all still have the bomb up our sleeve) but it does suck you in. Boys Own stuff coupled with the detail of a top fantasist
-
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Crucial" data-cid="410765" data-time="1389924337">
<div>
<p>I remember being keen on those Hassell books when I was a teenager as well. Must have another look.</p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p>I will have to search them out. I've read a bunch of <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">Hans Hellmut Kirst's novels about the WWII and enjoyed them ... probably not as brutal from the sounds of things. The Fox of Maulen is probably the best one to start with.</span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);">Dogmeat: I quite like alternate history books ... the best I've read is Guns of the South ... which probably wouldn't be considered alternate history like the rest of Turtledove's books as it includes time travel and dastardly South Africans. WS19125986329819 - holster your weapon, I didn't write the book. </span></span></span></p>