The Book Thread - fiction, nonfiction, reference, etc

Dr. Pezus · Mar 09, 2024, 10:16 AM

Quote from: Legend on Mar 09, 2024, 12:05 AMThis book really is crazy. I knew the author created his own alternate universe with a small tweak in the fundamentals of physics, but I didn't expect it to explain all these other things too. Pretty dang cool.

Makes me wish more books were turned into video games. I aint got time to read them all.
Don't you have to pay attention to them to enjoy them though? How is that better than reading a book for the same amount of time?

And an audiobook won't work for this book. It has a lot of charts and diagrams to explain stuff.

Well yeah you can't do anything too intensive while listening but I do it when walking the dog for example. But yeah doesn't work for all books but there are some great audiobooks out there. It's weirdly easier and less tiresome. When reading I often get tired and want to go to sleep lol.

The Sandman is something everyone should listen to in Audible. The production value is insane.

Legend · Mar 10, 2024, 07:47 AM

I watched a bit of sandman on netflix. Same thing?

Dr. Pezus · Mar 10, 2024, 12:55 PM

Quote from: Legend on Mar 10, 2024, 07:47 AMI watched a bit of sandman on netflix. Same thing?

Same source material (Neil Gaiman's graphic novels) yes but very different. It's probably the best audiobook production ever made; they've already done 3 parts and more will come. Each around 10-15 hours iirc.

The most recent part even has Dolby Atmos. All of them have multiple famous actors playing characters and nobody is phoning it in. James McAvoy plays Dream for example and does so brilliantly.

Music and sound is awesome. Neil Gaiman himself is the narrator! The book is basically like a play where you have multiple people playing the parts and not just the narrator reading.

Legend · Mar 11, 2024, 05:06 AM

I did it! I read a book cover to cover.

Was the Clockwork Rocket if anyone cares. I'd recommend it but it was not at all the book I expected. People described it as the hardest of hard sci fi but it was more like a speculative evolution fantasy book. The alien world was cool and gave me a lot of Outer Wilds vibes but I wish it had more consistency. Sometimes it was legit hard sci fi with detailed explanations of thermodynamics and photon dynamics, while other times it felt like simple allegories for stuff on Earth. Also there was an obvious science flaw and a few other things that the science failed to explain so that stopped me from getting too invested on that front.

Will read the sequel eventually. I want to see more of this universe.

Legend · Mar 28, 2024, 06:23 AM

I'm halfway through the sequel. The physics are a lot harder to follow. Prob a bit harder in general, but I also think it's because I only have a "youtube" understanding of these concepts while I had a real understanding of most of the stuff from the first book like 4d geometry.

My understanding of 4d might have spoiled a big reveal that's coming up though.

Legend · Mar 29, 2024, 07:17 PM

Finished the sequel. Not as good, but still had some good moments.

Really disappointing with the sci fi side of things. The first book was all about how you expected things to be normal, but small tweaks actually compound to make the universe incredibly cool and strange. Meanwhile the second book is all about how this incredibly cool and strange universe is actually pretty normal.

There were entire chapters just about the aliens discovering quaternions, lasers, quantum mechanics, etc. You recognize the end goal incredibly quickly yet still have to sit through page after page of math/physics explanations. The final result is not exactly the same as it is on Earth, but only once was that difference more than a small technicality.

The first book felt like the author figured out a whole bunch of unexpected consequences for his universe and built a story around them. Sometimes it was very awkward like "hey protagonist, can you help me with my homework?" but the result was often really intriguing. The central story was incredibly intriguing with some high stakes situations.

This book still had some great moments but they were few and far between. Definitely the worst book I've read in a decade

the-pi-guy · Mar 30, 2024, 04:45 PM

Not quite the same thing. But I decided to buy this.

This is a strictly limited one-time reprint, so order early to be sure you get a copy. It features unique 25th Anniversary branding and some slight changes to the slipcase and cover but is otherwise identical to the original printing. (2/2)#DarkSouls #DarkSoulsTrilogy
— Future Press (@FuturePress) December 6, 2023

Legend · Mar 30, 2024, 08:18 PM

That's pretty cool. I like companion books like that. I have a few Avatar ones and I'd like more in general.

the-pi-guy · Apr 17, 2024, 01:04 PM

This is a cool book.

Spoiler for Hidden:

Legend · Apr 25, 2024, 06:55 PM

A bit past the halfway point with the 3rd book in this series, the arrows of time.

Better than the second and has the potential to be better than the first. The big rotational physics consequence I expected to be explored in the second book is instead happening here, more or less.

Spoiler for Hidden:

Legend · Apr 26, 2024, 07:02 PM

I finished the 3rd book. Really great! And the flaw I noticed in their plan from the first book was addressed.

Only minor complaints with some of the characters and plot devices.

So when will it get made into a movie/tv show?

Legend · Apr 26, 2024, 07:37 PM

https://vimeo.com/21742266]

Watch this trailer for the first book. Your heart will be racing!

Legend · Apr 26, 2024, 11:37 PM

btw this is the youtube video that inspired me to make this thread and buy a book.

I wonder which Greg Egan book I'll read next.

edt: I mostly love hard sci fi just because it tends to make something more original and engaging. Having more equations or being harder to follow doesn't make it harder sci fi imo.

Instead it's hard sci fi when the book deals with the consequences and restrictions of real life. I wouldn't say the Martian is less hard sci fi just since it deals with a smaller story or spends less time convincing the reader that things really work this way.

Legend · Mar 08, 2025, 04:03 PM

https://vizioneck.com/forum/index.php?topic=10641.0

Since I read books now, I'm looking for my next read. Probably Rendezvous with Rama or Embessytown. Both supposedly have similarities with Hapax so I'm wanting to broaden my sci fi knowledge base. Will they make me cry in the corner with my pitiful sci fi game, or will I laugh at how mediocre they are to Hapax?

nnodley · Mar 08, 2025, 04:08 PM

Wow old dog thread. Heh

I recently just finished the entire Red Rising saga(still one book left to release). It's incredible.

On book 2 of the expanse now