Desparately seeking story

[morsla]

It's been ages since I read much fiction. I think it's partly due to no longer having travel time to and from work, but it's also because of a growing despair that good stories are getting harder to find.

I love Of Science and Swords, but their latest catalogue doesn't give me much hope for the state of my bookshelves. Either the store is

Comments

[aeduna]

MattMatt started me off reading the Malazan books of the fallen which I was pretty impresed by. Um, Kate Elliot's stuff seems ok, if I can get the 2nd one back off someone. Avoid the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson like you would avoid the vomit of a rabid dog. ... apart from that i haven't read much new for ages - no public transport = no time to read.

[morsla]

I think the Malazan website is broken - it seems to be an elaborate menu for arranging 404 errors at the moment :)

PT reading time was one of the few good things about working out in Burwood - I had almost four hours a day to read. I haven't managed to find a good way of riding and reading, though... damn traffic/pedestrians/immobile obstacles keep getting in the way.

[virtual_munkee]

Ooh a call for decent reading! My fave sort of post. I saw you mentioned the words...SPECULATIVE FICTION. I may be going out on a limb here, but have you read anything by JG Ballard? Sure, a few people have heard about Crash, and Empire of the Sun...But Ballard TRULY shines in his short to novel-length fiction.

There is a great short story collection or two out there, I recommend just reading from the front. I have a favourite story..I will have to track it down...Anyways its about the sun going nova and the plants on earth all hyperaccumulating metals (ie gold leaves) to deal ....Super nerdy :P

Here is a review of one of his collections from polyester books online...

Complete Short Stories Vol 1, The Ballard, J.G.
"The Complete Short Stories of JG Ballard are required reading for all connoisseurs of Ballard's writing. This compilation brings together 96 short stories drawn from previous collections of Ballard's short stories, including The Voices of Time and War Fever, as well as four previously uncollected stories. The result is

[virtual_munkee]

Ooh I also recommend his novels, The Crystal World and The Drowned World.

Have you read any Kurt Vonnegut? Cat's Cradle was pretty good.

Neil Gaiman's novels are FANTASTIC, OH MY American Gods was one of the best books I read this year! Bring on Stardust.

Hmm will think of more laters, my mom always swore by Alistair Reynolds...Definitely recommend him. And Greg Bear.

[morsla]

I haven't read nearly enough Ballard, although I have a bunch of short stories. I love SF short story compilations... so many ideas to explore in so little space.

Greg Bear tends to make my head hurt (still haven't gotten around to finishing Diaspora), although I've liked most of his stories so far.

I read American Gods while travelling in the US, which was... odd. Especially when a huge storm was tearing through downtown while I was holed up on a couch reading the final conflict...

[virtual_munkee]

damn i will have to dig up some recommendations!

but kurt vonnegut for sure :)

have u read ursula le guin's short stories/spinoff stories? she has some great scifi blended with fantasy stuff.

but i am being too obvious, i know!

*thinks*

[delwyn]

If you're after fantasy and haven't read George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, I highly recommend it. On the SF front, Alfred Bester's work always needs more fans (unfortunately the author is no longer among the living) - grab The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man for starters. In either case, you're welcome to borrow these books from me :)

[deathbyshinies]

Have I hassled you about the Bordertown books yet?

Loosely-strung-together collection of novels and short stories, set in a shared world, written mainly by USian authors in the 90s. The premise: at some point in the eighties, between the punks and the venture capitalists, Faerie came back. The stories are set in the once-human city that stands where it happened, a place where runaways and rejects from both worlds tend to gravitate. High Tolkenian elves with silver hair don't just mix with sharehousing ratbags who'd be at home in a John Birmingham novel, they tend to be them. There are magic-powered motorbikes cruising down the main street, ghosts in abandoned alleys, and penicillin and healing magic for sale at the local Chinese grocery store. People hold ceildhs in abandoned warehouses with spellboxes running the lighting, and muttering the wrong insult to the wrong scruffy streetkid at the wrong time can get you turned into something really peculiar. I'd start here if I was you, and move on to here and then probably here -

[morsla]

I'd forgotten about Vinge - I think I read some of his short stories years ago. Haven't picked up any of his novels yet, but anyone with that many Hugo awards must be doing something right...

[morsla]

Ooh - I'd love to borrow Perdido Street Station. I tried to track it down in the mega-bookstores in Chicago and Toronto, but couldn't find a copy anywhere...