February's Reading Month!!!!

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February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Huntress »

Hello everybody! As you may or may not know, February is reading month (at least here in Manitoba) so I'm putting up some links to really good sci-fi books including Drew Wagar's Oolite Saga!

Drew Wagar's Oolite Saga is based off the game Ooilte, and can be found here: http://www.drewwagar.com/books/oolitesaga/

David Weber's Honor Harrington series is a must read if you like more politics and drama in your read, and the first book On Basilisk Station can be found here: http://www.baenebooks.com/p-304-on-basi ... =210814742
If you find yourself liking the Honor Harrington series, the second book is available for free here: http://www.baenebooks.com/p-211-the-hon ... queen.aspx

In Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Theo Waitley has many problems - her parents aren't living together, she has to move to a new place and worst of all, she dubbed "physically challenged" by her school. Found here at http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1026-fledgling.aspx

And finally we have Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson, in which the government of Earth is determined to take out the last place in the galaxy that allows their residents more freedom then any other place. It takes the most brutal of acts ever to finally stop the government of Earth and the book may be found here: http://www.baenebooks.com/p-162-freehold.aspx

There you have it - some of my favourite books ever, and they're all free! If any of you have any more book suggestions, feel free to add to the list! Happy reading!!!

:D
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Cody »

The Honor Harrington series is a very good read - as intended (and admitted to) by the author, it's Hornblower in Space! As for more free reading (and audio): there are some great pulp sci-fi tales available in the Internet Archive, which is a wonderful resource. The Northwest Smith series is a good example - he may well have been the inspiration for the Han Solo character. Start with Shambleau - a somewhat creepy tale!
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by another_commander »

Not exactly Oolite related (apart from the mention of Drew's work) - moving to Outworld.
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Cody »

another_commander wrote:
... apart from the mention of Drew's work...
It should be noted that other Oolite fiction is available - my favourite being Local Midnight in the Vacuum Bar.
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Diziet Sma »

Many thanks for those links, Huntress! 8) :D
Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by fronclynne »

What, no Fielding?
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

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+1 for David Webber..... was a great read...

I have been reading quite a few good sci/fi books lately and surprisingly they were all free on iBooks store. admitedly most are the first book in a series and the other books cost real money but usually way less than a paperback. currently just read Neptune crossing by Jeffrey A Carver and just started The Firebird Mystery, a steampunk type mystery :mrgreen: . just started this and cant really recomend it yet but it might be fun.... Kid from an orphanage goes to work for s guy named Doyle living in 221Bee st London .... anyone spot the obvious reference????

you will have to wade through the "vampire,werewolf fantasy sword and sorcery" titles to get to the real scifi but it is there...

now i do love the sword and sorcery stuff too but my favorites are David Eddings, Raymond Fiest, Robert Jordan and Anne Mcaffery.

its getting hard to find a spaceship story nowadays thats not starwars,star trek etc...
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Cody »

More free reading: a very good translation of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (which is sci-fi in my opinion).
I would advise stilts for the quagmires, and camels for the snowy hills
And any survivors, their debts I will certainly pay. There's always a way!
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

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ah yes Mr Verne... good stuff. you will find a lot of the clasic scifi on free ebooks.
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by SteveKing »

+1 Verne - I'm lucky to have a Hardback copy of the famous ones - Twenty Thousand Leagues, From The Earth To The Moon, Around The World, Journey To The Centre

+1 Eddings (my son is named Garion from the books), RE Fiest, Jordan, Anne McC (The Ship Who Sang is a wonderful story), plus Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures (very Terry Prachett-esque)

My favourite bit of Space Opera though is Jack L Chalker's Rings Of The Master series - not sure if it's free ebook, but shouldn't be much. Well worth the read.

Don't forget AC Clarke, Azimov and Aldiss

And for those that remember - Kimball Kinnison in EE 'Doc' Smith's Lenseman series. OTT space opera!
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

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+10 Robert Asprin Myth series... some of the funniest stuff i have ever read...
Asimov goes without saying :mrgreen:
big fan of E E Doc Smith. Skylark books were my favourite. EA Poe , Frank Herbert, Harry Harrison, Greg Bear, Robert Silverberg, Ursula Le Guin

you are describing my entire childhood of reading!!!!

oh forgot Richard Cowper.. its a pseudonym but cant remember for whom.... still he wrote some great books

/rant
Why is it that nobody can write just a single book anymore? every thing i have read recently is book 1 of a series!!
/end rant
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Diziet Sma »

SteveKing wrote:
plus Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures (very Terry Prachett-esque)
Well.. If you're going to mention Robert Asprin and Science Fiction in the same sentence, how can you go past his Phule's Company series? Utterly brilliant and funny as hell! 8)
Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Mauiby de Fug »

Well, you guys seem to have my favourite classic Sci-Fi covered. Some newer stuff that I've been introduced to:

Leviathan Wakes - the first in the Expanse series by "James S. A. Corey"

Ancilliary Justice - the first in the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie

I was lent both of these by my friends, and whilst I've only read the first ones in each series, they were good enough for me to buy all the available ones for my dad for Christmas.
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by SteveKing »

Diziet Sma wrote:
...Phule's Company series? Utterly brilliant and funny as hell!
Yes indeed! I have read the first of - hadn't realised it was a series (or more likely forgot that it was).

Leviathan Wakes...
Mauiby de Fug wrote:
...they were good enough for me to buy all the available ones for my dad for Christmas
Was that so you could borrow them at some point in the future :mrgreen: They're on the to-read list - got to finish GOT (which can be a bit ponderous, but my favourite characters are still alive after 4 books - got to be happy with that :D )
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Re: February's Reading Month!!!!

Post by Amah »

I recently enjoyed a re-read of Ray Bradbury - the Martian Chronicles

or for some pulp magazines: Edmond Hamilton - Captain Future (I came to it by watching the 80ies anime Series)
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