TSF Book Club
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<p>That is some distance!
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Just read the girl with all the gifts, it's fairly terrifying and the author did a great job with characters . Nice twist at the end and the back story to the apocalypse was really well thought out. <br><br>
I'm guessing it's going to be a movie in a few years. -
<p>Struggled through a book by a bloke called David Weber called <em>Off Armageddon Reef</em>. The first book in the ongoing <em>Safehold</em> series, recommended to me by a bloke at work, to whom I have made my thoughts pretty clear.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safehold</a></p>
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<p>I'll let wiki fill you in further, but basically its a Scifi series where an alien race, seemingly bent on beating the shit out of any form of technology, has forced the remnant of humanity to flee to a distant planet, and revert to pre-industrial status in order to survive. Now we pick up the story 800 years later. Here is a list of the titles in the series:</p>
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<p><em>Off Armageddon Reef</em></p>
<p><em>By Schism Rent Asunder</em></p>
<p><em>By Heresies Distressed</em></p>
<p><em>A Mighty Fortress</em></p>
<p><em>How Firm a Foundation</em></p>
<p><em>Midst Toil and Tribulation</em></p>
<p><em>Like a Mighty Army</em></p>
<p><em>Hell's Foundations Quiver</em></p>
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<p>If you can't already tell, the author is a piston wristed gibbon.</p>
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<p>There are some half-decent bits to this, but there is shitloads of inner monologue for characters that add jack shit to the storyline. Simply put, the guy uses a thousand words where a hundred will do, and each book could probably be cut into a third. And even for the parameters of that universe, I had to suspend my disbelief.</p>
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<p>EDIT: Basically there <em>would probably be enough </em>material for a decent trilogy <em>out of these 8 books, </em>if the first book is anything to go by. And a good one really. But I don't need to hear 5 pages inside the mind of some Church official that couldn't have been said by "Let's call holy war on those fluffybunnys and be done with it!"</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="431991" data-time="1401699036">
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<p>Just read the girl with all the gifts, it's fairly terrifying and the author did a great job with characters . Nice twist at the end and the back story to the apocalypse was really well thought out.<br><br>
I'm guessing it's going to be a movie in a few years.</p>
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<p>Yeah Jegga, very well done. The way the author tied the threat back to something that already exists in nature made it very worrying indeed.</p>
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<p>I've just finished "The first fifteen lives of Harry August" by Claire North. Really, really good. The premise is there are some people among us who are effectively immortal, but keep reliving the same lifetime, so same start to every life, but they diverge from there. It has some real, "Jeez how is he going to get out of this" moments that are resolved with ingenuity, and makes you think. What would you be tempted to do if you were immortal?</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JC" data-cid="432107" data-time="1401760615">
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<p>Yeah Jegga, very well done. The way the author tied the threat back to something that already exists in nature made it very worrying indeed.</p>
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<p>I've just finished "The first fifteen lives of Harry August" by Claire North. Really, really good. The premise is there are some people among us who are effectively immortal, but keep reliving the same lifetime, so same start to every life, but they diverge from there. It has some real, "Jeez how is he going to get out of this" moments that are resolved with ingenuity, and makes you think. What would you be tempted to do if you were immortal?</p>
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<p>I'll have a look out for the book you mentioned.</p>
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<p><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Re the girl with all the gifts [spoiler] How terrifying would it be to be in Justineaus shoes having a box seat watching the world turn completely upside down? She's forced to teach those kids how to speak until she succumbs to the virus and those spores are going to kill off anyone that might have been able to help her. The ending was borrowed a bit from the original I am legend but far scarier. Really well done, I'm tempted to read Feed </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_(Grant_novel)�"></a><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">but I doubt it could be as good as that. I reckon it will turn into a film though, hopefully better than world war z [/spoiler]</span></p> -
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="NTA" data-cid="432041" data-time="1401707504">
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<p>If you can't already tell, the author is a piston wristed gibbon.</p>
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<p>All authors are, NTA. Mainly because writing is achieved with caffeine in the morning and alcohol in the evening. When it comes to editing, the caffeine and alcohol process gets reversed.</p> -
<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warne-Gideon-Haigh-ebook/dp/B007IL52TS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403259382&sr=8-1&keywords=on+warne'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warne-Gideon-Haigh-ebook/dp/B007IL52TS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403259382&sr=8-1&keywords=on+warne</a></p>
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<p>For anyone who is a kindle user, in the UK & is interested in Shane Warne, "On Warne" by Gideon Haigh is £1.99 on amazon, I've got it on my phone using the kindle android app & its fricking awesome lengthy morning work shit reading. Great book, stack of awesome insights into Warnie & Waugh & so on.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Declare-Mark-Taylor-ebook/dp/B008U1PG5A/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Z3GPKMSDTYW7PDA6DGP'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Declare-Mark-Taylor-ebook/dp/B008U1PG5A/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0Z3GPKMSDTYW7PDA6DGP</a></p>
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<p>Mark Taylors book is £1.46, but I'm not an aussie so I couldn't give a boiled turd really, Warne on the oither hand transends cricketing boundaries </p> -
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Siam" data-cid="436739" data-time="1403307399">
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<p>Yeah that book by Gideon Haigh is a good one.<br><br>
Gollum have you read the Ed Hawkins book about cricket match fixing , Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy ? Quite illuminating and suggests most of the cricket world don't actually understand how it all works.</p>
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<p>In my wish list, waiting for it to plumet in price. </p> -
<p>[i]Blood Will Out[/i] by Walter Kirn. It's about his "friendship" with "Clark Rockefeller". Entertaining stuff but the writing isn't up to his usual standard - strains a lot for metaphors. I wonder if it was written under a Ritalin influence.<br><br>
The story of John Hawkins is very interesting if you like similar themes.<br><br>
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.bardachreports.com/articles/v_19891000.html'>http://www.bardachreports.com/articles/v_19891000.html</a></p> -
<p><span style="font-style:italic;">Authority</span> (2nd book of the <em>Southern Reach</em> trilogy) by Jeff Vandermeer was pretty good. I'd describe it as Ballard-lite sci-fi/surrealist writing.<br><br>
I haven't read the first book of the trilogy yet, but I'd definitely recommend the second.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Tim" data-cid="437541" data-time="1403552548"><p>
Have heard it's really good. Will have to pick it up.</p></blockquote>
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I just finished it , it's superb . I hope he writes more books, this one obviously took it out of him though as was consumed by writing it. -
<p>Does anyone have any good books about world war one they'd recommend? My son gave me a great book about it a while ago and I'd be keen to read more, not necessarily just from a kiwi perspective -the book my boy gave me was pretty enlightening about the Canadians who seemed to always be sent into the worst places and if theres anything you'd recommend about them I'd be stoked.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="443652" data-time="1407139064">
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<p>Does anyone have any good books about world war one they'd recommend? My son gave me a great book about it a while ago and I'd be keen to read more, not necessarily just from a kiwi perspective -the book my boy gave me was pretty enlightening about the Canadians who seemed to always be sent into the worst places and if theres anything you'd recommend about them I'd be stoked.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/World-War-One-Short-History-ebook/dp/B002RI9QDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407144260&sr=8-1&keywords=short+history+world+war+1'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/World-War-One-Short-History-ebook/dp/B002RI9QDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407144260&sr=8-1&keywords=short+history+world+war+1</a></p><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span>World War One: A Short History by Norman Stone</span></span></span>
<p>Does exactly what is says on the tin, 180 pages, very easy read, great overview of the whole thing. Really excellent book, you'll either go "thats just what I wanted to know, I'm done". Or it'll set you up to plough through the other 700 page slog fests about it.</p>
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<p>The Sleepwalkers, by Christopher Clark, is great, and huge, but focuses on how the war came about, as opposed to the war itself. Really good read after only ever hearing "Franz Ferdinand got shot, Germany, like utter bastards, invaded the world". </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="gollum" data-cid="443680" data-time="1407144616">
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/World-War-One-Short-History-ebook/dp/B002RI9QDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407144260&sr=8-1&keywords=short+history+world+war+1'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/World-War-One-Short-History-ebook/dp/B002RI9QDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407144260&sr=8-1&keywords=short+history+world+war+1</a></p>
<span style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">World War One: A Short History by Norman Stone</span>
<p>Does exactly what is says on the tin, 180 pages, very easy read, great overview of the whole thing. Really excellent book, you'll either go "thats just what I wanted to know, I'm done". Or it'll set you up to plough through the other 700 page slog fests about it.</p>
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<p>The Sleepwalkers, by Christopher Clark, is great, and huge, but focuses on how the war came about, as opposed to the war itself. Really good read after only ever hearing "Franz Ferdinand got shot, Germany, like utter bastards, invaded the world". </p>
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<p>Cheers for that, have you read any good books about Germany leading up to the war? From my limited understanding Germany were pretty late to the empire building party and were keen as fuck to show they were as powerful as France and Britain.</p>
<p>I read this at christmas <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/Berlin-War-Hitlers-Capital-1939-45/dp/0099551896'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Berlin-War-Hitlers-Capital-1939-45/dp/0099551896</a> it was a great read, some of it was very eye opening- towards the end of the war the nazis rounded up jews that had been to politically sensitive to catch earlier such as husbands of aryans world war one heroes etc. The wives of these guys surround the prison demanded their husbands be released , the guards would come out and shoot into the air and the women would run away and then come back eventually the nazis caved and released them. The story of the jewish hospital and graveyard is particularly odd too.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="443652" data-time="1407139064">
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<p>Does anyone have any good books about world war one they'd recommend? My son gave me a great book about it a while ago and I'd be keen to read more, not necessarily just from a kiwi perspective -the book my boy gave me was pretty enlightening about the Canadians who seemed to always be sent into the worst places and if theres anything you'd recommend about them I'd be stoked.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.com/The-First-World-War-Complete/dp/0805076174'>http://www.amazon.com/The-First-World-War-Complete/dp/0805076174</a></p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="443685" data-time="1407146038">
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<p>Cheers for that, have you read any good books about Germany leading up to the war? From my limited understanding Germany were pretty late to the empire building party and were keen as fuck to show they were as powerful as France and Britain.</p>
<p>I read this at christmas <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/Berlin-War-Hitlers-Capital-1939-45/dp/0099551896'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Berlin-War-Hitlers-Capital-1939-45/dp/0099551896</a> it was a great read, some of it was very eye opening- towards the end of the war the nazis rounded up jews that had been to politically sensitive to catch earlier such as husbands of aryans world war one heroes etc. The wives of these guys surround the prison demanded their husbands be released , the guards would come out and shoot into the air and the women would run away and then come back eventually the nazis caved and released them. The story of the jewish hospital and graveyard is particularly odd too.</p>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Kingdom-Downfall-Prussia-1600-1947-ebook/dp/B002RI9PMM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1407149952&sr=8-6&keywords=bismarck'>http://www.amazon.co.uk/Iron-Kingdom-Downfall-Prussia-1600-1947-ebook/dp/B002RI9PMM/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1407149952&sr=8-6&keywords=bismarck</a></p>
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<p>This is great, but is a much larger scope. IE its Prussia rising up, unifying Germany etc. It was a bit of a slog, I skipped pretty large chunks that just bored me shitless.</p> -
<p>Just read "He's Back!" by Timur Vermes. It's a satire about Hitler falling asleep at the end of WW2 like Rip Van Winkle and waking up in 2011. People think he's a weird impersonator as he rants Downfall-style on cable TV about dogshit etc which encourages him to go into local politics. Clever and actually funny. It manages to address how, if he was such a mad bastard and nobody was actually a Nazi in 30s Germany he managed to get so many people to vote for him and do the bad things he asked. The style's odd, though. Apparently the author was going after the all-over-the-shop style of Mein Kampf. Worth a go though.</p>