Read any good books lately ?

[IronGiant]

(None of your Boormanesque "kniggets in shining armour" and other assorted BS)

Ahhh, gotta take you up on that - 'Excalibur' is a superb and atmospheric 'fantasy' film. Okay, it's not going to win any awards for historical accuracy, but it's superb nonetheless.

I'm all for keeping things as accurate as is humanly possible, but seen as a pure fantasy 're-telling' of the Arthurian legend it stands head and shoulders above all others (books excluded of course).

[The_Subtle_Knife]

firstly I can't believe people are recomming books here they haven't read -- crazy!

anyway:

Only Forward
by Michael, Marshall Smith


THis is one of the best sci-fi fantasy books I've ever read,

It should be a Terry Gilliam film..


Hitch Hikers type humour done very very darkly.

I really can't get the story out of my head.
Let's hope steven speilburg doesn't get it a ruin it.

[Peet]

Been reading a lot of cyberpunk(-ish) lately:

Jeff Noon - Pixel Juice
Short, trippy sci-fi stories, often with a cynical edge and strange enough to feel they just might actually take place.

William Gibson - Idoru
Artificial intelligence and Japanese pop-culture.

William Gibson - Pattern Recognition
Reads like an Apple ad, so it should go down well around here.

Arthur C. Clarke - The Songs Of Distant Earth
Certainly not cyberpunk, but damn good sci-fi nonetheless. I reckon the quality of Clarke's writings varies quite a lot, but this is definitely my favourite. Fascinating, sort of sad or mellow (though probably quite predictable) story, interesting bits of science and a nice tropical island setting. Other good less known books by Clarke are The City And The Stars (more fiction than science, and might possibly feel a bit dated in places) and The Hammer Of God (a fair bit of both science and fiction).

[Jimmy T. @]

(None of your Boormanesque "kniggets in shining armour" and other assorted BS)

Ahhh, gotta take you up on that - 'Excalibur' is a superb and atmospheric 'fantasy' film. Okay, it's not going to win any awards for historical accuracy, but it's superb nonetheless.

I'm all for keeping things as accurate as is humanly possible, but seen as a pure fantasy 're-telling' of the Arthurian legend it stands head and shoulders above all others (books excluded of course).

I was a bit harsh there really, I love it too TBH ; but yes, I just meant that I was glad that Cornwell kept it a tad more authentic than the usual retellings, that have everyone prancing about in 15/16th century styles and manners.

Have you read the Marion Zimmer Bradley books? The first one is "The Mists of Avalon"; I read them some time ago, but seem to recall them being similar in fashion to the Cornwell books; but more from the female perspective.

Here's a linky..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 89-4250053

[IronGiant]

I was a bit harsh there really, I love it too TBH ; but yes, I just meant that I was glad that Cornwell kept it a tad more authentic than the usual retellings, that have everyone prancing about in 15/16th century styles and manners.

No worries, i know what you mean.

Have you read the Marion Zimmer Bradley books? The first one is "The Mists of Avalon"; I read them some time ago, but seem to recall them being similar in fashion to the Cornwell books; but more from the female perspective.

Here's a linky..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 89-4250053

Thanks. Yes, I vaguely recall reading The Mists of Avalon but at the time (over 10 years ago) I found it slow going. Maybe I'll try it again.