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PrintableImago said: Fauxie said: Is that any good? I've flicked through it a few times and read short bits of it in the book shop but never bought it. It's basically updated pulp fiction with an exotic 'Thai' feel. Of course, you're in Bangkok so I don't know how exotic it would be to you.  Hopefully not like those parts of 'The Beach' where there's all this stuff about snake's blood and whatnot. Makes the markets in the small sois sound so much more exotic than they really are. They should've had the protagonist being approached to try eating sour mango or something. Or maybe to buy a suit. Far more realistic. | |
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ThreadBare said: Imago said: It's basically updated pulp fiction with an exotic 'Thai' feel. Of course, you're in Bangkok so I don't know how exotic it would be to you.  Was Burdett interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" about this novel recently? It sounds familiar.Not sure 
I bought it cause it sad "bangkok" and the cover was pretty  | |
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Imago said: ThreadBare said: Was Burdett interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" about this novel recently? It sounds familiar.Not sure
I bought it cause it sad "bangkok" and the cover was pretty Two things: 1.  @ 'exotic Thai feel'. So clip-on.
2.  @ 'exotic Thai feel'. | |
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Imago said: ThreadBare said: Was Burdett interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" about this novel recently? It sounds familiar.Not sure
I bought it cause it sad "bangkok" and the cover was pretty NPR did interview him. Now, I *know* I might listen to it too often, if that's possible. did you at least read the jacket cover, Imago?  | |
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ThreadBare said: Imago said: Not sure
I bought it cause it sad "bangkok" and the cover was pretty NPR did interview him. Now, I *know* I might listen to it too often, if that's possible. did you at least read the jacket cover, Imago? no, I literally saw the word "Bangkok" with the cobra head, and thought the cover looked like a really cool wrapping paper you buy at those fansy schmancy gift stores
I sometimes buy a book totally random just to give it a chance 
That's how I stumbled on Orson Scott Card's stuff.  | |
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Imago said: ThreadBare said: NPR did interview him. Now, I *know* I might listen to it too often, if that's possible. did you at least read the jacket cover, Imago? no, I literally saw the word "Bangkok" with the cobra head, and thought the cover looked like a really cool wrapping paper you buy at those fansy schmancy gift stores
I sometimes buy a book totally random just to give it a chance
That's how I stumbled on Orson Scott Card's stuff. It's also pretty much how you go about choosing your boos.  | |
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Fauxie said: Imago said: no, I literally saw the word "Bangkok" with the cobra head, and thought the cover looked like a really cool wrapping paper you buy at those fansy schmancy gift stores
I sometimes buy a book totally random just to give it a chance
That's how I stumbled on Orson Scott Card's stuff. It's also pretty much how you go about choosing your boos. That's bitter | |
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Imago said: Raze said: Tell me about this guy and his writng (this book or any others you've read). I've been kind of wanting to read some of his stuff, because he's always just sitting there at Borders, and I'm tired of standing in the book store for 2 hours every week desperately trying to find something to read at the beach. People seem to love him, but I vaguely recall when he was writing "Iron Man" for Marvel, that some people were up-in-arms because he's a big neo-con. Is that true, and if so, does it come through in his writing? I wouldn't know what his political views are, truthfully. I would be surprised that he was a neo-con, but then again--I dont know. Orson Scott Card's characters are always deeply conflicted and flawed. His sci-fi novels stand out from other writers in that the story is ALWAYS based on the human experience--not the sci-fi. And Ender's Game is brilliant. The first book is a terrrific fast read, and Speaker for the Dead is an incredible followup. What's so unique is that of the four books under the Ender Series: Ender's Game Speaker for the Dead Xenocide Children of the Mind None of them are similar to the others. They all are different types of stories that continue the saga. Unfortunately the first two books are absolutely brilliant with the third book being pretty good, and the forth book biting off more than he could chew--the fourth book is the only one that is truly sci-fi, and deals with so many concepts at the same time that the story of the protagonist (Ender Wiggen) gets lost in the mix. Card's characters are three dimensional, conflicted, and his style of writing is biting, deliberate, and almost surgically delivered. You really care for the characters, and you really feel the stakes of each one's decisions. What's really wierd is that in Xenocide, one of the overreaching themes is challenging the status quo or challenging 'myth' and 'religions', and throughout the entire series there's a rebellious nature to what is happening. I guess it could be taken as a libertarian type of thing --I just never really took it that way.
The books are excellent though. If you REALLY want to read the Ender series, you may want to read them in this order: Enders Game Speaker for the Dead Then the Hegemon series (which cronical Bean's life) Then circle back around and read xenocide and Children of the Mind (cause they really kind of end the story on a downer quality wise and by the tone of the story). Overall I love the Ender series.  Thank you. I know what I'll be reading after I get done with Neil Gaiman. Or I'll alternate back and forth. I appreciate the effort in describing these for me. "Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you." - Kahlil Gibran | |
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