The Second Apocalypse
Miscellaneous Chatter => Literature => Topic started by: Royce on January 23, 2014, 12:26:34 pm
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I am thinking mostly of his science fiction books, but any suggestion is welcome.
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Oh Royce!
Start at Foundation. Make it as far as you can into the main five (read the books as they were published in book form, not the serial release - though that would be cool - and not in their narrative order, I think all of the prequels were released later).
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Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation.
Or at least thats how I started. I really liked Foundation, Empire was pretty good, and I can't remember if I finished Second Foundation. Ahh yes, the Seldon Prophecy... takes me back.
Also notable, The Gods Themselves was a nebula/hugo award winner and there really aren't that many books that have won both. I haven't read it but it is on my list specifically for that reason.
The only other 'book' I read by Asimov was "I, Robot", though its not so much a book as it is a collection of related short stories. It's nothing like the movie (lol), but I enjoyed it.
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Thanks guys:)
I visited my father during the holidays and he had an Asimov book in his shelf, think it was one of those foundation novels.
He is not a fiction kind of guy really, very political with a soft spot for Communism/Marxism and Russian history. And with communism comes atheism and existentialism, so he threw Camus book "the plague" in my face when I was fifteen.That was a very depressing experience at that age:)
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The whole reason I started reading Asimov is because its my Dad's favorite author. The Foundation trilogy that I pulled from his dusty bookshelf was much older than myself. He never much got into fantasy, always scifi, but recenly he's been reading mystery novels. I gave him DotD and thought it would be a hit (I'm very much my father's son) but he thought it was 'just ok' (I was shocked).
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Lol - Fathers. Hell of the thing.
Few people have put books in my hand. The Libraries of my life had fed me (ultimately, skewed samples). Asimov was one of those. I, Robot is actually the first in it's own series, which Asimov tried to eventually bridge to Foundation. I found it in my elementary school library way to early for serious comprehension, though I "read it" whatever that meant to my child/brain.
Otherwise, the books themselves provided hints and whispered rumours of each other and so I'd seek more out.
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I think, like with a lot of his books, I, Robot was retroactively tied into his other books. I believe Asimov wrote a lot of short stories for sci-fi magazines and he ended up writing novels based on his own general thoughts. It feels like he imagined a general future for the universe, and everything he wrote was a part of that same future.
As a scientist turned sci-fi writer his stuff is fun to read... Makes me with that Micho Chaku would start writing, that guy has enough crazy ideas to fill up volumes of sci-fi. (As I wrote this I looked him up, and he's actually made several books, though mostly non-fiction, and I didn't see anything striction sci-fi).
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Man, I wish my dad was a reader. He's a musician (a drummer to be specific) and so you might say he has the spark of an artist (though I don't think he ever really cultivated it beyond being a phenomenal drummer -- which of course is perfectly fine). He works as a carpenter, and genuinely possesses one of the most amazing "common sense" minds that I've ever encountered, despite the fact that he's incredibly uneducated and not worldly at all. He can build the most beautiful piece of simple architecture you've ever seen (a bar in someone's basement, for example), fix virtually any household problem imaginable (he's mainly a jack-of-all-trades advanced-handyman these days), and despite all his ignorance, every once in a while he comes out with this crazily profound viewpoint on a complex problem that makes it extremely simple. Then he ruins it by turning around and making a racist black person joke.
I think we might need to make a Dad Thread.
Sooooo back on topic, Asimov is one of my top five "Authors I Should Have Read Years Ago and Still Haven't". Part of it is that I have this weird thing with sci-fi. It's like, I never want to read it, but then once I finally force myself to do so, I actually enjoy it. The other part is that I tend to want to read fiction that I think will help me with my own writing. Of course, this is a bit silly, since if I'm writing fantasy, and only reading fantasy, then I'm purposely limiting myself. I realize it's silly but I know I need to break out of it. I see myself going on a legit sci-fi kick in the next few months.
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Well, in retrospect I wish I could have learned more handiwork while growing up, because now I am kind of pathetic at building or fixing anything:).
I have gotten better at it recently though, being around lots of practical minded people surely helps, and it actually is very satisfying on a deep level to build something from scratch. Me and another guy built a stable to our horses last year(just the boxes inside,not the whole thing), and it was fun and it made me feel like a MAAAANN!:)
I felt exactly what you feel about sci-fi FB, but after a few laps I enjoy it as much as anything else. It is all about ideas for me when I pick my books,and there are maybe no other place there are more interesting ideas portrayed than in the sci-fi genre.
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Man, I wish my dad was a reader. He's a musician (a drummer to be specific) and so you might say he has the spark of an artist (though I don't think he ever really cultivated it beyond being a phenomenal drummer -- which of course is perfectly fine). He works as a carpenter, and genuinely possesses one of the most amazing "common sense" minds that I've ever encountered, despite the fact that he's incredibly uneducated and not worldly at all. He can build the most beautiful piece of simple architecture you've ever seen (a bar in someone's basement, for example), fix virtually any household problem imaginable (he's mainly a jack-of-all-trades advanced-handyman these days), and despite all his ignorance, every once in a while he comes out with this crazily profound viewpoint on a complex problem that makes it extremely simple. Then he ruins it by turning around and making a racist black person joke.
I think we might need to make a Dad Thread.
Lol - my contributions to that might not be great. But yeah, my Dad never read much until a couple years ago he decided to read all the original texts of the Abrahamic religions (he's Protestant); I think, he's also moved onto the portions of the Vedas.
Sooooo back on topic, Asimov is one of my top five "Authors I Should Have Read Years Ago and Still Haven't". Part of it is that I have this weird thing with sci-fi. It's like, I never want to read it, but then once I finally force myself to do so, I actually enjoy it. The other part is that I tend to want to read fiction that I think will help me with my own writing. Of course, this is a bit silly, since if I'm writing fantasy, and only reading fantasy, then I'm purposely limiting myself. I realize it's silly but I know I need to break out of it. I see myself going on a legit sci-fi kick in the next few months.
Dude... Do it! This is just like Dune, you fool (admittedly, Dune is a much bigger influence on TSA and Asimov is a much different writer than Herbert). But Foundation... Foundation and Empire... Second Foundation! :O! What?! ;)
Well, in retrospect I wish I could have learned more handiwork while growing up, because now I am kind of pathetic at building or fixing anything:).
I have gotten better at it recently though, being around lots of practical minded people surely helps, and it actually is very satisfying on a deep level to build something from scratch. Me and another guy built a stable to our horses last year(just the boxes inside,not the whole thing), and it was fun and it made me feel like a MAAAANN!:)
Congrats, Royce! That is awesome. Also, you've mentioned riding before, I wish it was something else I'd kept up with (I rode, cared for, compete with, and showed a horse for about a year and a half when I was a teenager). So you are lucky to do so when you wish :).
I felt exactly what you feel about sci-fi FB, but after a few laps I enjoy it as much as anything else. It is all about ideas for me when I pick my books,and there are maybe no other place there are more interesting ideas portrayed than in the sci-fi genre.
Lol - No! I refuse to believe we cannot imagine more.
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Congrats, Royce! That is awesome. Also, you've mentioned riding before, I wish it was something else I'd kept up with (I rode, cared for, compete with, and showed a horse for about a year and a half when I was a teenager). So you are lucky to do so when you wish
Yeah those are fantastic animals indeed:) The one I ride the most is an Icelandic horse.
Lol - No! I refuse to believe we cannot imagine more.
Lol. Ok, the TSA forum beats any sci-fi novel out there in regards to great ideas:)
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go for the basic sequence of end of eternity, the robot books, and foundation books. some moments are weaker than others, but th whole is great. (i'm still working through the empire books, which fit between R and F--can only assume they'll be consistent.)
the gods themselves kicks ass, and is among the hardest of hardcore science fiction. nightfall is alright, a well conceived but perhaps ineptly executed thought experiment--maybe better as short fiction.
his nonfiction guide to the bible is very readable and cool, too.
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Thanks, solo.
I'd honestly never heard of the italicized titles and I value your perspective much - especially on all things books.
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Just thought id chime in here.
Obviously Foundation series is a keystone of Asimovs work. I can also recommend The Gods Themselves, Nemesis and Caves of Steel - all standalone novels.
Not sure which of these 3 is my favourite and while not as good as Foundation they are definitely worth reading for different reasons. The Gods Themselves has some interesting aliens. Nemesis has some great psychological exploration and The Caves of Steel has cool androids!
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can definitely read caves of steel as stand-alone, though it fits into the broader robot/empire/foundation continuum. it's the original nerd-boiled novel, i think: detective story laid over geeky secondary world.
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Yeah Caves of Steel does sort of fit in both Foundation and Robot series.
Little bit of trivia: R. Daneel Olivaw is actually the most used character in all of Asimovs novels - appearing in them more than any other robot or human character.