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Punk's Not Dead Reading Challenge
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-02 8:02 PM (#12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Just finished reading my first book for the Punk's Not Dead reading challenge: Rudy Rucker's Software. I wrote a brief review of the book, so my (slightly) more cohesive thoughts can be found there. Here I'll just say that I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I found it to be entertaining and weird and thought-provoking. Some bits of mental flotsam that drifted through my brain as I read Software: The famous Cartesian proposition "cogito ergo sum"; a lyric from the Beatles' "I Am The Walrus": "I am he as you are he as you are me/And we are all together"; Carl Hiaasen (because a large portion of Software takes place in Florida and a lot of odd things happen there); Cheech and Chong (there's a character called Sta-Hi and he lives up to the name); the line "feed your head" from Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"; and Isaac Asimov (because he is name-dropped, but the robots have overcome his human-chauvinistic dictums). So, yeah Software churned up my brain a bit. It is a wonderful read, a trip, a blast, a gas. If my brain is a backup-tape copy and my body is a robot replica, am I still me? Deep thinking amid the humor and the weirdness. Very good book.
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pizzakarin
Posted 2016-03-04 9:33 AM (#12887 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Austin, Tx		I loved Software! My husband and I were reading it out loud and I ended up with the section with the Little Kidders, it was made all the more creepy by having to actually say the things they were doing and saying.

We are a little over halfway through Wetware and I can definitely say that if you liked Software you'll probably like wetware as well.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-05 4:23 AM (#12893 - in reply to #12887)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Hi Pizzakarin. I'd read in your review your adventures in verbalizing the Little Kidders' parts of the book. I think it's very cool that you and your husband read to each other. Thanks for the Wetware recommendation. I only recently realized that Software is the first of a series.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-09 7:43 PM (#12942 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Earlier today I finished the second of my Punk's Not Dead reading challenge books, Johnny Gruesome by Gregory Lamberson. I was really excited to read this one. What I anticipated would be a heavy-metal hellride of blazing, kinetic writing turned out to be tepid and boring. I couldn't get into it. But apparently mine is a minority opinion as the book has been heaped with praise. More thoughts are over at my review.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-03-20 9:50 PM (#13037 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		Sorry I completely did not realize this forum was here! I've decided to take on all three "Punks" Cyber, Splatter, and Steam. I will be taking on Jack Ketchum's "Dead River" Splatterpunk masterpiece. Richard K. Morgan's Cyberpunk Takeshi Kovacs series. I have not actually picked out a Steampunk series, but I know I am reading Jim Butchers' new one.
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pizzakarin
Posted 2016-03-22 10:12 AM (#13051 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Austin, Tx		Finished Wetware by Rudy Rucker last weekend. While it wasn't as good as Software it was still a worthy read and a must-read for anyone exploring cyberpunk. It may not have hackers and cyberspace (which is not to say that it is not an exploration of technology, but not one like Neuromancer or Synners), but in so many things it explores the rejection of convention and rules. Rucker is good at showing the reader ways in which their thinking is not the only way. For example, we have a taboo against cannibalism, but to a robot, that's survival of the fittest, taking another's parts and using them as your own (or another's chemical fuel i.e. meat). It does not mean that they live a Mad Max existence, but it does inform their society in a lot of ways.

My caution to the casual reader of Rucker would be that he is a writer of ideas, which he will throw at you one after the other (any one of which could be a novel in itself), but is not good at characters. He also tends toward stream-of-consciousness type prose, like he was more concerned that you get a certain feeling around an event than that he be clear about exactly what is happening.
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pizzakarin
Posted 2016-03-22 10:24 AM (#13052 - in reply to #13037)
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Location: Austin, Tx		Badseedgirl, I did the subgenre focus last year with steampunk. If you're looking for recs, Homunculus by James P Blaylock was the best of the seven I read.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-22 7:42 PM (#13054 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		I like the idea of subgenre focus. Perhaps if the Punk's Not Dead challenge is back next year, I'll focus on steampunk. That'll be an impetus to add some steampunk novels to my library. As of now, I have a smattering of splatterpunk and a bit more cyberpunk on my shelves, so that's why for this challenge I'm focusing on those two subgenres. But if pizzakarin or Badseedgirl (or anyone else) has any steampunk recommendations, I'd love to hear them so I can start collecting!
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Weesam
Posted 2016-03-22 8:45 PM (#13057 - in reply to #13054)
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Location: New Zealand		I would second Homunculus by James Blaylock in the steampunk sub genre. Also check out K.W.Jeter and his book Infernal Devices, and some of Tim Powers, starting with The Anubis Gates. I may be remembering wrong but I'm sure I read that one of these three (who were friends) first coined the phrase 'steampunk' to describe their work.

I recommend Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century, which starts with Boneshaker. Also check out such authors as Tim Akers, Felix Gilman and Chris Wooding.
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pizzakarin
Posted 2016-03-23 7:16 AM (#13059 - in reply to #13054)
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Location: Austin, Tx		I can't say that I came away from the challenge loving steampunk as a subgenre (I also didn't 100% finish the challenge though I was satisfied with the progress I made, having done 7 of 10), but I did enjoy the challenge and would like to finish up the three that I had picked out but not gotten to some day.

Of the 7, I would say that, for me, only Homunculus and The Digging Leviathan, both by Blaylock, rose above "good" and "fun" (not that there's anything wrong with novels who fall into those categories, I just want to point out which ones I would recommend to a list of standout fantasy novels).

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison came very close though I did not feel that it was strongly tied to steampunk.

The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia and The Mechanical by Ian Tregilliswas both explore the territory of "what is human?", a theme that I think is well suited for steampunk because of the smaller scope of the setting (as opposed to "what is human?" when dealing with computer AIs, most of the exploration of which I have found to be in books with other expansive setpieces to consider). My opinion of the former suffered because of a mediocre narrator for the audiobook. The latter is definitely intriguing, but clearly part of a larger story, which is not yet completely published (the sequel is out, but I understand it is a trilogy).

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest was fun, but had an eeevil mad scientist, a trope that irritates me. I will one day read the sequel, but it's not high on my list.

Edited by pizzakarin 2016-03-23 7:41 AM
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-23 7:18 PM (#13061 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Thanks Weesam, pizzakarin, for the recommendations, I truly appreciate them. A nice launchpad from which to start my (eventual) exploration of this subgenre.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-03-24 11:15 AM (#13062 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		Johnbem: I just adored Boneshaker, and Cherie Priest's entire steampunk series "Clockwork Century" Each novel is a stand alone, but there are some cross characters, and reading them in order does enhance the reading experience. They are just a fun series of books all set in the same world.

As far as splatter punk goes, Richard Laymon and Jack Ketchum are some of the Grandmasters of the Genre, along with Poppy Z. Brite. If you are looking for "Mainstream" authors of the sub-genre, look at Clive Barker, his novel The Hellbound Heart is the basis for the "Hellraiser" movie.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-27 10:49 AM (#13086 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Thanks Badseedgirl for the additional recommendations. I read Barker's "Books of Blood" long, long ago (highschool perhaps) and remember liking them. I've nearly finished a splatterpunk anthology and, like most anthologies I suppose, it is uneven, but there is some really good stuff in it. I'll expand on my thoughts when I finish and review it. I'm particularly intrigued by your steampunk recommendations. I'll be adding them to my never-ending always-expanding list.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-03-27 5:16 PM (#13089 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Another notch in my Roll-Your-Own Punk's Not Dead Challenge: I just finished the Splatterpunks: Extreme Horror anthology edited by Paul M Sammon. Some of the stories were very good and some were not my cup of tea, pretty much like with any anthology. Some of the material was very strong indeed, making even this long-time horror aficionado wince. Based on what I have lined up to read next, this concludes the splatterpunk section of my challenge. A good thing too; I need a bit of a respite from horror after the gut-punches administered by this anthology. Additional thoughts are in my review.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-04-02 11:31 AM (#13137 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		I finished Jim Butcher's fore into "steampunk" with The Aeronaut's Windlass. The audio version was just wonderful, Euan Morton's character voices were marvelous. I would call this novel, more "steampunk lite." There were not the cogs and gear I have come to expect from steampunk, because the airships were operated by ethereal crystals, but Mr. Butcher still managed to give it a steamy feel. I guess I have forgiven Jim Butcher for last years Hugo disaster, who am I kidding I could not stay made at him. Not the Author of Harry Dresden. I swear that series is my "Twilight," but I digress!

Next up is "The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter." by Rod Duncan, "Manners and Mutiny" by Gail Carriger, and "The Bookman" by Lavie Tidhar. I'm going to focus on the steampunk for now. Subject of course to what gets released to me from reserve at the local library.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-04-02 12:22 PM (#13138 - in reply to #13137)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Hey, Badseedgirl, I'll admit I don't follow the nominations and awards all that closely, so I'm curious: what was "last year's Hugo disaster"?

Also, I've never listened to an audiobook. What do you like about them and when do you listen to them? I've been curious about them, but I have a pre-conceived notion that I wouldn't fully enjoy the experience. I've been reading since before kindergarten, so about 40 years now, and because of that lifelong habit of actively engaging with a book, listening to an audiobook seems like it would be too...I don't know...passive for me. I don't know anyone else who listens to audiobooks either, so I'm just kind of curious as to what you think of them.

I've only read one Butcher novel, the first of the Dresden books, and I liked it quite a bit. I'm intrigued by the idea of crystal-powered airships; perhaps I'll give The Aeronaut's Windlass a try.

As far as my reading challenge, I'm re-reading Neuromancer for the first time since the 1980s. I didn't have much memory of it, other than that I loved it; I'm still loving it.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-04-02 8:42 PM (#13144 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		This is a pretty good article on the whole Hugo award fiasco.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/04/08/_2015_hugo_awards_ho...

Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novel "Skin Game" was one of the novels slated by The Sad Puppies. The Hugo voters overwhelmingly chose to reject the "Sad Puppies" and in several categories voted "no award given" rather than give an award to Sad Puppies nominees. Who knew geek awards could be so complicated!

On a fun topic, Audiobooks are awesome. I listen to them in my car and when I am doing housework. My tablet has Bluetooth and I can listen to it in my car or on my surround sound. I just download the book on my tablet from my libraries digital resources (Overdrive in my case). Good audiobooks are like old-time radio programs. I really got interested in them a couple years ago when I had a vision scare and was afraid I might not be able to continue reading like I enjoy. Wil Wheaton and Simon Vance are two of my favorite Narrators.

Oh Yeah, I read Neuromancer last year, and just did not like it. There I said it.

Edited by Badseedgirl 2016-04-02 8:48 PM
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-04-09 6:21 AM (#13211 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		I've just finished another Punk's Not Dead challenge book, William Gibson's Neuromancer. It's the first time I've read it in decades, and it was a perplexing and challenging read, but I really liked the writing, so 4 stars from me. Although I can see why it might not be everybody's cup of tea (Badseedgirl). Now onward to Count Zero. More thoughts about Neuromancer are in my review.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-04-09 6:32 AM (#13212 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		Oh, and Badseedgirl, thanks for the link to the 2015 "Hugo fiasco." That sort of thing is distasteful, especially in the realms of science fiction, which to me has always been a genre of openness and inclusion.
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-05-01 2:43 PM (#13423 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		After allowing myself to be sidetracked (by Peter Straub's novel Floating Dragon and by Fallout 4), I'm back on track with the Punk's Not Dead reading challenge. Earlier today I finished Count Zero by William Gibson. I enjoyed the book very much, a bit more than it's famous predecessor, Neuromancer. The story in Count Zero was easier to track. The writing was rich and textured and evocative. A good read with some poignant passages about the nature of art and what constitutes loss and yearning. Onward I go now into Mona Lisa Overdrive, the final book in the sprawl trilogy. After I read that and Burning Chrome after it, the William Gibson section of my challenge will be concluded and I'll be moving on to some other cyberpunk works.
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-05-06 3:55 AM (#13479 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		@weesam - What. Were your thoughts on the Bullet catcher's Daughter? It is on my list and I ended up buyig it so..... Was it money well spent?
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Weesam
Posted 2016-05-06 4:14 AM (#13480 - in reply to #13479)
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Badseedgirl - 2016-05-06 3:55 AM

@weesam - What. Were your thoughts on the Bullet catcher's Daughter? It is on my list and I ended up buying it so..... Was it money well spent?


I admit that I purchased the book mostly because I loved the cover. Fortunately, I thought it was indeed money well spent. It was a bit of a gamble for me as I really haven't taken to Steampunk, but I found these books presented a totally fascinating world, and Elizabeth is a wonderful character who I really believed in and wanted to travel with.

Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. If you do, be prepared to shell out more money for the next two books (which also have great covers!)
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-05-14 7:13 AM (#13576 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		I've finished Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson, which concludes his Sprawl trilogy. Thoughts are over in my review. Amusingly, the Library of Congress data in the front of my edition lists Gibson's birthdate as 1914. Either that's a typo, or Gibson is truly over 100, or he's uploaded his consciousness into some great orbiting AI somewhere.

This takes me to the halfway point of the challenge, and we're not even halfway through the year, so I'm in good shape to finish on time, even though I frequently allow myself to be distracted by other books not in the challenge, including some that are not even in the WWE database (*gasp!*) (I'm also JohnBem over at Goodreads). I thought I was going to read Burning Chrome next, but after three of Gibson's books, my brain wants a different flavor. So I'm next going with Approaching Oblivion by Harlan Ellison.

I discovered Ellison in junior high school. I've read Approaching Oblivion before, but somewhere in junior high or high school. I don't really consider this a re-read then, because that was over 30 years ago, and who the hell can remember much from that long ago? I have no idea why Approaching Oblivion is tagged as cyberpunk and I'm curious to find out. Onward!
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JohnBem
Posted 2016-05-20 10:07 PM (#13598 - in reply to #12872)
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Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania		OK, I've finished Harlan Ellison's story collection Approaching Oblivion. I still have no idea why the book is tagged as cyberpunk. I can see cyberpunk applying to Deathbird Stories, which contains "Along the Scenic Route," a tale to which the cyberpunk tag might apply. It might also apply to "I Have No Mouth An I Must Scream." But of the 11 stories presented in Approaching Oblivion, none seem to fit the tag. As much as I've enjoyed Ellison's writing over the years, this collection does not stand up strong. These stories are not, in my estimation, some of Ellison's best. So be it. Onward to the next book in the challenge (haven't yet decided which one that will be).
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Badseedgirl
Posted 2016-05-25 2:20 PM (#13629 - in reply to #13598)
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Location: Middle TN, USA		Hi Y'all. I just finished Gail Carriger's 4th and final novel in her YA steampunk series "Finishing School." This marks the official start of my summer reading list. It is time for some light and fluffy reading. I just have to finish "City of Mirrors" by Justin Cronin (624 wonderful pages). the last two books I read have been over 550 pages each, so I need some light reading, both physically and emotionally.

If you are looking for a light summer read, you can't go wrong with Gail Carriger. Plus she is entertaining!
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