Book Group

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GregP
GregP
Feb 2022
11:27am, 16 Feb 2022
132,915 posts
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GregP
I know several people who have similar taste in Sci Fi to me who have damned Three-Body Problem with the very faintest of praise.
McGoohan
McGoohan
Feb 2022
11:37am, 16 Feb 2022
51,004 posts
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McGoohan
Gave after the bore-fest book 1
KPM
KPM
Feb 2022
12:43pm, 16 Feb 2022
918 posts
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KPM
GregP I read the first book last year and thought it was a bit boring. I had no interest in a cultural revolution in China, which was the main part of the first book; it wasn't really my bag.

For whatever reason though, I think a few of the novel ideas that are threaded into the story that stuck with me, i decided to read it again and must say the second time through I thought it was brilliant.
Went straight onto book 2 and then book 3 and am powering through it as we speak. The scope of the first book seems very small, but it is insane how far it goes.

Book 1
Cultural Revolution in China, set sometime in the 1960s i think? Some minor dealings through a game with an alien race. Turns out they're real and due to someone who'd given up on Earth, give the aliens the ability to locate Earth. They set off to find us and the journey will take centuries.

Book 2 - this is where it kicks off for me
More info on aliens, who develop technology to restrict human development - maybe this is in book 1 actually. Time passes and they are monitoring our every move to stop us from being able to progress to a state where we can defend ourselves against them. The story focuses on the brilliant ways we come up with to try and solve this problem of being in 100% surveillance and finding a way to still try and stop them, when restricted technologically as we are. Hundreds of years pass.

Book 3 - still all in
They arrive. We're completely powerless against them and without hope. Or are we? Mind blowing ideas abound
GregP
GregP
Feb 2022
1:14pm, 16 Feb 2022
132,935 posts
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GregP
Hmm. Maybe it's me and mine. We were equally underwhelmed by the Tchaikovsky books with the spiders.
GregP
GregP
Feb 2022
1:15pm, 16 Feb 2022
132,936 posts
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GregP
In terms of Big Ideas, while we're here, I'm thoroughly enjoying Pandora's Star thus far.
KPM
KPM
Feb 2022
2:53pm, 16 Feb 2022
923 posts
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KPM
Yeah we all have our own preferences, i'm just saying that the second time around it clicked for me - this is quite rare as i've tried to re-read a few things before and newarly always have the same opinion (Dune - dense and boring!)

Peter F Hamilton, I keep getting tempted by his stuff and then put off as i've read him classed as 'Space opera', making me imagine Coronation Street, in space.
GregP
GregP
Feb 2022
2:55pm, 16 Feb 2022
132,940 posts
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GregP
I read The Reality Dysfunction a few years ago and liked it a lot. Pandora's Star is, so far, altogether better.

The Expanse series are space opera. What's not to like?
KPM
KPM
Feb 2022
3:06pm, 16 Feb 2022
925 posts
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KPM
I do have The Expanse series queued up as i'm enjoying the TV show, but when it comes to books I usually prefer reality-shifting/psychological Sci-Fi (I can't get enough Dick) and find it hard to spend time on other things, though I have loads queued up.

The other issue with those types of books is the size. They're usually the size and weight of weapons, those books, so it's a lot of time to invest.
Badger
Badger
Feb 2022
5:01pm, 16 Feb 2022
14,844 posts
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Badger
I liked Pandora's Star and the concluding book, disliked the Reality Dysfunction as magical fantasy dressed up as SF, and hated the end of Great North Road so much that I've never read another word by Hamilton.
Badger
Badger
Feb 2022
5:02pm, 16 Feb 2022
14,845 posts
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Badger
(Channelling my inner McG there I think :) )

About This Thread

Maintained by fetcheveryone
The Fetch Everyone Book Group

January 2025 book


Welcome to Season Eight

Unbelievably, we've been renewed for another season

January 2025 (Maclennane)
I'm Starting To Worry About This Black Box Of Doom (Jason Pargin)
Discussion: fetcheveryone.com/forum/i-apos-m-starting-to-worry-about-this-black-box-of-doom---jason-pargin---jan-2025-book-group-discussion-thread-63445
Poll: fetcheveryone.com/polls-view.php?id=11794

---

Last two books of Season Seven

December 2024 (Westmoors)
Mind of Winter (Laura Kasischke)
Discussion: fetcheveryone.com/forum/mind-of-winter---dec-2024-book-group-discussion-thread-63388
Poll: fetcheveryone.com/polls-view.php?id=11632

November 2024 (McG)
Appliance (J O Morgan)
Discussion: fetcheveryone.com/forum/appliance-by-j-o-morgan---nov-2024-book-group-choice-63327
Poll: fetcheveryone.com/polls-view.php?id=11610

Worry not, all previous runners and riders from all previous rounds can be found on this thread:
http://www.fetcheveryone.com/viewtopic.php?id=58751

Currently Choosinating

Not yet chozzed:
Little Nemo
Columba
Serendippers - on a break
Night-owl
Linds
Chrisull
Quimby
Dio
Fetch
The Scribbler
Grepples
Bint
McG
Westmoors

Already chozzed:
Maclennane

Fetch's Positronic My Book Listing Device!: fetcheveryone.com/mybooks.php

===

Discussion thread for all those unofficial but almost official books we discuss on the thread:
http://www.fetcheveryone.com/viewtopic.php?id=59469

===

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