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Fredrik

Read A Book

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I recently read Sphere by Michael Crichton and I'd just like to say that it's possibly the best book I've ever read. I read it from cover to cover in one day with just a few short breaks, there was simply no way I could've put it away for any longer.

The story's about a small group of people, including the main character Norman, who head down to a military installation situated deeply under the surface of the ocean to investigate what's presumed to be a crashed airplane. But there's something else going on, something way bigger...

And what a plot! The story goes from interesting at the start to fascinating to mind-bogglingly tense before you're half way through. Then the twists come. Right when you think the situation couldn't get any worse, there's a twist to the plot that takes you farther away from the expected resolution. Things eventually turn out in ways you couldn't ever expect.

As a work of science fiction, Sphere leaves nothing to wish for and plenty of things to think about. Everything makes sense in a way you rarely see in the genre of sci-fi, where usually random gadgets do random supernatural things and the author gives vague and implausible explanations why. Sphere is different, being plausible in every way I can think of. Both the fictive and non-fictive technologies make perfect sense. The characters draw intelligent and logical scientific conclusions in reaction to events, while there's still plenty of room for speculation in the reader's mind.

What really makes the book is that it's immensely cinematic. Many well-known classic masterpieces such as The Lord of the Rings get more impressive when they go to the big screen, but for Sphere, there's just no need for that. I found reading the book just as intriguing as watching a movie in terms of breathtaking suspense and action. The imagery is nothing short of astonishing, Crichton manages to portray characters and environments so vividly that there's no way a movie could've done it better. (And as you might know, there is a Sphere movie, and it sucks.)

I found the dialogue very natural and the language exceptionally good. I have not recently read a book with such straight-forward, yet embellished and varied English.

Science fiction/horror is my absolute favourite genre (why else would I be in this community), and Sphere is a prodigiously good piece of that. Crichton's Jurassic Park was great, but Sphere is better, especially if you're in for the sci-fi. So if you're looking for something to read and you haven't read this book, go go go! :P

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The last book I read was Dune: House Harkonnen. I'd really like to tell you about it, but you'd have to read Dune, Dune: House Atradies, and possibly 2 or 3 other Dune novels to understand what I was talking about.

I thought it was a decent book. Better than many books I read, but definately not one of the best Dune books. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson can probably never write the depth that Frank Herbert wrote in the original 6 Dune novels, but they do a good job of keeping true to the setting and not changing any details (and yes, Duncan Idaho appears in every book in this trilogy as well).

But where Frank Herbert produced insightful mind-expanding literature, Brian Herbert can only produce action and political intrigue. And lots of it. Also, it gives a shitload more backstory than the rest of the novels, considering this trilogy IS all backstory.

I look forward to reading House Corrino, and also the original Dune againas well (its been like 7 years).

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Yes, Sphere seriously rules. I read it a few years ago and I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. I was quite young back then so it did take me a while to read, and a lot of it I didn't quite understand, but I still thought it was awesome. I'd advise anyone to read it.

Too bad the film version sucked slightly.

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Well shit I might have to read it then Fredrik :D

You should submit that as a review you know :P

And I own and have read the 3 prequels as well as the 2 "first" Dune novels : Dune and Dune Messiah. Haven't read Messiah yet, but gonna soon.

Dune, IMO, has to be one of the most fucking excellent sci-fi. It is really that good. Fuck, it's got action and suspense.

Blah. I love it that much. Frank Herbert, and his son Brian along with Kevin have written 9 books of purely good stuff.

You need to get them now.

By the by, Sphere the movie blew a donkey's ass. Even my mum said it sucked.

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The last book I read was Ice Sation. I think that it would make a great game. lots of baddies, all sorts of guns, over the top acton bits...

I have aslo read Sphere a wile ago. pertty good. i've hard the movie bites though.

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The Dune miniseries Sci-Fi put out is quite excellent, IMHO.

I've read the 7 books of Dune last year, and 2 of the prequels, but I have yet to pick up House Corrino.

Michael Crichton writes some good stuff. Too bad the translations to big screen all sucked in comparison.

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Heh, The Hobbit and all related books in the series by J.R.R Tolkien rock. I love fantasy-based stuff.
Also, Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Skeleton Crew, Rose Madder, Pet Sematary, they all rock as well.

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If you like Crichton, Airframe is by far one of his best. I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON 's excellent too, from a story perspective. But in perspective to teh cahracters...well, some seem a rehash from, believe it or not, Jurassic Park/The Lost World.

I just read Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds, and MAN is that book fucked. Fucked as in some of the best sci fi I've read since I finished Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Now I'm reading C.S. Lewis's Perelandra. Boring at first, but really interesting once you get into it. I can now see why he was nearly excommunicated so many times...Heh.

Oh, and DO NOT see the movie of Sphere, it sucked ass.

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pilottobombadier said:

If you like Crichton, Airframe is by far one of his best. I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON I AM A MORON 's excellent too, from a story perspective.


Rofl. Somebody else falls prey!

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I read bits of Skeleton Crew. My favorite story was "Survivor Type", for some reason i love those third person, imminent doom stories. They're usually told through a diary or a security camera's lens.

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One of my fave short stories ever by Stephen King would probably be Dolan's Cadillac. Excellent stuff. And then there's the Fifth Quarter, also excellent.

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Oh yeah, Philip K. Dick. I thought Minority Report was going to be a tacky hollywood lameout until i saw his name in the credits...that shut me up. I skimmed through one of his short story books. One of them had a story called "The Little Movement" Where toy soldiers were trying to take over the world. (I'm not gonna say any more...try to find that one for yourself!)

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SHouldn't be hard, they re-released all of his short stories as soon as Minority Report was released. And you have to remember, Total Recall wasn't the greatest SF flick..it was a pretty cool action movie, but it was very shallow, and it was based on Dick's We Can Remember It For You Wholesale. Although, Screamers (based on something I now forget the name of) was quite decent, I thought.

Anyway, I once read a short story by Dick called Human Is. It was really good, it certainly touched upon his humanity and sociological philosophies...but that was about it. It left out his religious and political ideals though.

I have 3 of his books, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, A Scanner Darkly, and We Can Build You. We Can Build You was pretty messed (but aren't all of his works a total headtrip? :P), and I've yet to read A Scanner Darkly, although from what I gather, it's one of his strangest novels to date.

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wow. i just finished reading sphere before i came on the forums =O! i almost started a thread about it too. overall i think it was one of the best books i have ever read. it truly was a page turner, and could easily defeat the movie in almost evey way.

the best part of the book; when norman realizes Jerry is Harry, uses his physcology on them, and jerry knowing what norman is doing repplies, "I WILL KILL YOU ALL". that was easily the peek of terror :)

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Danarchist - i too have recently read Dune : House Harkonnen and House Atredies... i'm just looking for House Corrino now to finish the trilogy.

Let's see... recently i've read

Aliens : Earth Hive, Nightmare Asylum, Female War

Fight Club (the original Chuck Palahniuk novel... amazing...)

Spawn (Shawn Hutson novel, still reading that one)
Renagades (Another Shawn Hutson)
Victims (Yep, Shawn Hutson again)

Star Wars : Vector Prime (Oh my god, they killed Chewie! You bastards!)

Star Wars : Tales from the New Republic (Some very good side stories)

Servant of the Bones (Anne Rive novel)

Btw, my hair's bright red! Woohoo!

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I've also read and can concur, was a great novel.

Due to the amount I have to read for my literature degree, I rarely get a chance to read anything else, but when I do it's normally sci-fi genre. I'm a big Star Trek TNG fan and read unofficial novels based on that.

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right now I'm read bad blood, one of the creation cinema books. they explore different genres of film. in this case its discussion on seril killers/mass murderers in real life and the movies. the first part of the book puts up cases of real life killers and then gives a small description of movies based on them. very cool stuff. before I read another book in that series, meat is murder, about cannibal culture. when I'm done with bad blood I'm gonna read american psycho, which they made into a good movie.

I do want to read sphere. chriton write good and puts forth excellent plots. I like his scientific angle.

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Spike: I've been reading all of the Expanded Universe novels - excepting the Young Jedi Knights ones which I've no interest in -- I loathe Kevin J. Anderson's Star Wars stuff except for some bits of Darksaber.

I've also read all of the New Jedi Order books up to this point, still haven't picked up a copy of Traitor yet.

NJO is pretty much great stuff, darker and edgier.

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Top 5 Books on dn's shelf that he reads in semi-rotation:

5) Filth by Irvine Welsh
4) Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
3) Jaws by Peter Benchley
2) Hannibal by Tom Harris
1) The Garden of Unearthly Delights by Robert Rankin

I've got all the darkhorse Alien books and lots of pratchett also, but the above are my favourates.

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Arioch said:

Spike: I've been reading all of the Expanded Universe novels - excepting the Young Jedi Knights ones which I've no interest in -- I loathe Kevin J. Anderson's Star Wars stuff except for some bits of Darksaber.

[/b]

YES! Kevin Anderson does indeed write like a lobotomised hamster... i can't understand why he's so revered. The books i've read are godawful, though i agree with you on Darksaber... the only scenes i really enjoyed were those with Daala and Pelleaon's new Star Destroyer fleet.
Timothy Zahn got the characters spot on when he wrote the Heir to the Empire trilogy... Anderson on the other hand would have us believe that he's never seen the films.

I've also read all of the New Jedi Order books up to this point, still haven't picked up a copy of Traitor yet.

NJO is pretty much great stuff, darker and edgier.


If Vector Prime is anything to go by, then i'll be picking that series up ASAP.

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Maonth

I've read them all. All of them. The 4 Rogue Squadrons, 3 Wraith Squadrons, one Rogue, then Starfighters of Adumar.

Spike

There's a bit of a schism between KJA fans and Zahn fans in the SW EU novels fanbase. KJA and his cronies and Zahn and his pissed each other off regularly... case in point where they brought up a 2nd Emperor's Hand in Children of the Jedi. Then Zahn's own EH Mara Jade says she doesn't believe the cloned Emperor was for real in Visions of the Future. Things of that nature. Readers take sides.

I for one take Zahn's side (that includes Stackpole btw). Heir to the Empire is the best thing done for Star Wars. Ever.

I've got my griefs with the NJO series, but overall it is excellent. (Not that sad to see Chewie gone--he's been fairly underwhelming as a character as time passed in the EU novels.)

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Chewie's scenes are restricted to :

"Chewie rumbled an affirmative"

or...

"Chewie smacked the stormtrooper across the chest, hoisting up his bowcaster to take down the approaching scouts"

That kind of thing.

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Precisely.

He went out in VP, but he went out well.

Some EU books are real lacking in defining the relationship between Chewie and Han. They're great friends but sometimes they just look like master and servant.

VP brought it all back up together, IMO.

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True, Chewie was definitly the bitch in that relationship.

In the meantime, i shall make myself feel better by buying the Expanded Universe Starwars figures in Worlds Apart, Liverpool... Grand Admiral Thrawn figure, heh :)

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Spike said:

True, Chewie was definitly the bitch in that relationship.

I always thought he was the one who got Han to go back to the first Death Star to save Luke Skywalker's ass.

In the meantime, i shall make myself feel better by buying the Expanded Universe Starwars figures in Worlds Apart, Liverpool... Grand Admiral Thrawn figure, heh :)

Bastard.

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Arioch said:

I always thought he was the one who got Han to go back to the first Death Star to save Luke Skywalker's ass.

[/b]

Like a wife playing on her husband's conscience :)

Bastard.


There's Mara Jade, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Thrawn, C'boath, Clone Emperor, Kyle Katarn (Dark Forces)...

You even get an ysalamir with Thrawn.

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