nivek
As Above So Below
The Smoky God (1908) by Willis George Emerson
Attached is a pdf of this book, a fascinating and fun read about a Norwegian man named Olaf Jansen and his father whom both sailed into the hollow earth and described their adventure and what they saw and the giants they met...
...
Attached is a pdf of this book, a fascinating and fun read about a Norwegian man named Olaf Jansen and his father whom both sailed into the hollow earth and described their adventure and what they saw and the giants they met...
...
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Relevant because they recently explored two of the four Japanese carriers lost at Midway. This is hands down the best book on that topic I have ever read. A fresh set of eyes and some time brought forth tons of detail. Each carrier was different in several ways both in terms of construction and the nature of their crews, they had personalities. Kaga and Akagi were not purpose built carriers, they were converted from a battleship and battlecruiser hull respectively for the same reasons and Saratoga and Lexington were. Big, tough customers compared to their peers. All four went down not because of the weapons used against them but because of the fires those weapons caused and their inadequate damage control. It's likely the Japanese had to scuttle them themselves and they just don't want to talk about it to this day.
Yes, a geek out for sure but they don't write fiction that is a fraction as riveting as real history, once you get your head into it.
Yes, a geek out for sure but they don't write fiction that is a fraction as riveting as real history, once you get your head into it.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Quick read, well done. Weir has a formula so if you've seen or read The Martian you'll recognize it. Good writing, engaging, characters you care about and an excellent take on what extraterrestrial life might appear as. It gets a tad sciencey and I admit to some page-flippage but aquick enjoyable read. Nice ending.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I was just randomly surfing and found this trailer. Why is it in this thread? Because it's a 15 book series I've read, more than once, and is amazingly detailed and clever. Far more so than any of it's contemporaries and I've been through a few. I like Alternate History Military SF, problem is, most of it is bad. This isn't.
Now, this trailer IS bad but it's a fan who took the time to splice together a movie that will never be made using bits and pieces of other things. There are some serious discrepancies but so what, and it's only two and a half minutes long and gives you the gist. Somewhere deep inside me is the geeky teenager who gets into this stuff
Now, this trailer IS bad but it's a fan who took the time to splice together a movie that will never be made using bits and pieces of other things. There are some serious discrepancies but so what, and it's only two and a half minutes long and gives you the gist. Somewhere deep inside me is the geeky teenager who gets into this stuff
Standingstones
Celestial
I was looking for a Christmas present for my niece. She is a huge fan of the Beatles. I came across this book for her. She was pretty excited to get the book. When my wife took a look she decided to pick it up for me.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
This looked like a good one to just waste time on. I have my nose in another book about Shiloh and this seemed a good way to dispel some of that gloom.
It's obviously written to be part of a series but I didn't realize it's a 24 books (and maybe still counting). Not bad but not that good. The only reason it gets any mention at all is it's very much like Harry Harrison Stainless Steel Rat or maybe a mix with some Heinlein characters.
It might be a good one to introduce a young kid to SF with, depending on what kind of kid you have. A friend just finished reading Lord of the Rings with his ten year old. I dunno, it's not bad, kind of fun but it isn't really for grown ups.
It's obviously written to be part of a series but I didn't realize it's a 24 books (and maybe still counting). Not bad but not that good. The only reason it gets any mention at all is it's very much like Harry Harrison Stainless Steel Rat or maybe a mix with some Heinlein characters.
It might be a good one to introduce a young kid to SF with, depending on what kind of kid you have. A friend just finished reading Lord of the Rings with his ten year old. I dunno, it's not bad, kind of fun but it isn't really for grown ups.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Beautifully written, they flow smoothly and three times I was disappointed the books ended.
Good stuff here although you really have to read multiple authors in the same subject to see the bias inherent. It's more apparent with someone like William Manchester writing about MacArthur, or FDR for that matter. He's another one that writes beautifully but his work does not flow a fraction like this, it's more like running in sand.
Obviously Nigel, like me, is an FDR fan. Tons of personal detail in here I'd never heard plus I had no idea that Winston Churchill was, among many other things, a gigantic pain in the ass on military terms and seems Stalin had a sense of humor, something you ordinarily might not expect.
Good stuff here although you really have to read multiple authors in the same subject to see the bias inherent. It's more apparent with someone like William Manchester writing about MacArthur, or FDR for that matter. He's another one that writes beautifully but his work does not flow a fraction like this, it's more like running in sand.
Obviously Nigel, like me, is an FDR fan. Tons of personal detail in here I'd never heard plus I had no idea that Winston Churchill was, among many other things, a gigantic pain in the ass on military terms and seems Stalin had a sense of humor, something you ordinarily might not expect.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I love military alternate history and these two are nicely done. Not great but the amount of research and real historical detail is impressive.
I'd imagine at least one more book but it's cohesive unlike similar series from Harry Turtledove or William Forstchen that are formulaic 'war porn' designed to never end, a series of ten books could've been two or three.
In this vein you also have Robert Conroy and again, William Forstchen in cahoots with Newt Gingrich. Bad, generally all bad.
I'd imagine at least one more book but it's cohesive unlike similar series from Harry Turtledove or William Forstchen that are formulaic 'war porn' designed to never end, a series of ten books could've been two or three.
In this vein you also have Robert Conroy and again, William Forstchen in cahoots with Newt Gingrich. Bad, generally all bad.