I agree with your takes on all but one of the books! (I haven't read the Ogawa book yet.) You might enjoy Stephenson's epic historical fiction trilogy The Baroque Cycle, or his science fiction thought experiment Seveneves, more than Snow Crash. I know I do. The Prydain Chronicles keeps getting better in subsequent books, so I encourage you to continue with the series. I had a great time chatting with you, Jake and Josh on your Tigana discussion livestream, and I can't wait to hear your reactions to Kay's Sarantine Mosaic and Under Heaven, along with the rest of his works. I love that Vance is starting to get more attention these days. He's one of my favorites, and my next video is a retrospective look at his works and influence across multiple genres (fantasy, science fiction and mystery).
I always love your recommendations! I'll be sure to continue the Prydain Chronicles and look into The Baroque Cycle. The Tigana discussion was fantastic! Thank you so much for joining that discussion! I look froward to starting the Sarantine Mosaic later this year. How timely that you're working on a Jack Vance retrospective video! I'm very excited about that!
Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy, which begins with Red Sister, is indeed a dying Earth story of a sort. Hooray for The Chronicles of Prydain! It was my first fantasy series when I was around eleven. I’m looking forward to my Tigana reread later this year, after which I’ll dive into more books by GGK. Happy reading, Johanna!
I didn't realize The Chronicles of Prydain was your first fantasy series! I'm so delighted to hear that. Tigana had some incredible moments, and I hope your GGK journey continues with some of his other great works!
Glad you hear you enjoyed the Prydain Chronicles! It was my first fantasy series I read in 6th grade, and I revisited them two years ago and found them delightful. They only get better after the first two in my opinion - the 4th book being quite remarkable for a middle grade book!
Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga are very different reads and I think you will like them. I'm so happy that Vance is getting some attention! Prydain Chronicles is definitely in my future. His Westmark trilogy was one of the first fantasy series I ever read, so he has a special place in my heart. I need to make time for GGK. A Song for Arbonne and his Sarantine Mosaic look really interesting. Those are some great recent reads. Great video!
I'm so glad you're bringing Jack Vance attention on your channel as well! As you mentioned in your video, he's been influential on George R.R. Martin and so many great authors. What an imagination he had! The Prydain Chronicles is a fun, well-written palate cleanser series. Can't wait to hear your GGK thoughts! Happy reading!
What a diverse reading month you had in April, Joanna. I absolutely love it. You have some authors that I’m familiar with in your reading. I read The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa about five years ago and still remembered the story. Like you, it was not a favorite read but I still enjoyed reading it. And I like Japanese slice of fiction too. I would recommend Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata. Kawabata is considered one of Japan’s greatest fiction writers and his economy of language and storytelling are excellent. Snow Country is his magnum opus but Thousand Cranes, Beauty & Sadness, and Sound of the Mountain are very good too. Jack Vance is getting more Booktube love. That’s wonderful. Vance’s work is highly influential on the science fiction and fantasy genres and needs to be recognized more. I have not read the Dying Earth saga. But, I have read Emphyrio (one of his best standalone novels) and The Asutra (the 1st book in his Durdane series that was published in the early 1970s). You are right about his characters being flat and one-dimensional. However, I believe you read Vance for setting and the themes he presents in his stories. Also, I believe it is so important to have different types of reading experiences. Characters are important and for most readers..their number one criteria for enjoying a book. However, setting and theme oriented stories are just as important and adds a different reading experience. Glad you took a chance on Jack Vance. Tigana is my next GGK read. I read Lions of Al-Rassan in April and just loved that novel. I have read 7 GGK novels to date and Lions of Al-Rassan is my 2nd favorite GGK novel only surpassed by Children of Earth and Sky. But it is a photo finish. Looking forward to reading Tigana in the future. A great video, Johanna. Happy Reading. 😊👍🏿
Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words about the variety here. I will look up the Kawabata book! I agree about having different kinds of reading experiences, and I loved Vance's imaginative settings and the way he was able to combine setting with theme. He also has incredible contrast to his prose, from the beautiful and sublime to the grotesque. The Lions of Al-Rassan is such a gem and I hope you enjoy Tigana! I'm looking forward to reading more from GGK. Happy reading! 😊
I hope you get a chance to read Snow Country by Kawabata. It is a unique love story and Kawabata brings the setting of northern Japan to life. Will be interested to see what you think about it. 😊👍🏿
YES LLOYD ALEXANDERRRRRR! I LOVE Time Cat by him, a childhood favorite. I have never read other books by him, but I do love the Disney Black Cauldron movie and somehow never realized it was a book
Oh wow! I didn't know you were a fan! I highly recommend checking out The Chronicles of Prydain. Such a huge step up between books 1 and 2, in my opinion, and everyone keeps saying the series gets better and better!
Those are some solid reads. The Professor in the Ogawa novel reminds me of 10 Second Tom from 50 First Dates. Nice to see the Dying Earth get some modern day attention, it's amazing how well they've held up given they're like 75 years old at this point. I need to check out Prydain, didn't know there was a movie based on it!
How funny! My husband mentioned 50 First Dates when I told him about The Professor in that story! 😄 He loves that movie. The Black Cauldron is based on the second Prydain book. I read that the first book, The Book of Three, received some critical reviews at the time of publication (1964), but The Black Cauldron won a Newberry Honor Award. Hope you enjoy it!
Aww! I read The Chronicles of Prydain as a child and absolutely loved them. Though I haven't revisited them as a adult. I still have them though, so maybe I will. What a fabulous reading month!
I wish I had discovered them as a kid, but they're fun to read as an adult. I'm sure they'll be meaningful to you with the nostalgia connection. Thank you!
Interesting Dying Earth trivia: the rules for casting spells in Dungeons & Dragons come directly from these stories. Snow Crash! I’ve got nostalgia feels there, since I read it in ‘94 when it came out. I remember it being a real product of its time, when the Web was just beginning to be a thing, and I was super excited by its world-changing potential, and an immersive 3D cyberspace might be coming soon, instead of VR being an expensive novelty which is where it’s at today 30 years later.
Snow Crash has so many incredible, prophetic ideas and commentary given the time it was written! I am sure VR is going to be more of our "reality" in the near future, which is wild to think about!
@@Johanna_reads I’ve been saying it since the 90’s: I don’t think VR is ever going to be a massive mainstream phenomenon until we get past the cumbersome gear needed to experience it. No one WANTS to strap a chunk of plastic to their face, and certainly not for long. I’m certain we’ll eventually have brain & eye implants that’ll allow you to interface with a virtual environment without the external gear, and then it’ll take off. But that’s a way down the road yet.
Oh my, I was considering reading Snow Crash! Now I definitely need to get it, I've been reading quite a few classics this year and this one is top of the list, tbh! I didn't know about Alenxander's nor the movie honestly; great to find out! I think I remember a review of Tigana from you; I read another book about memory this year, I may get into this one! Thanks for sharing Johanna, your reviews and thoughts are always spot on!
Thank you, Livia! Although Snow Crash didn’t quite land for me, I still think it’s worth reading just for noticing how prophetic it was. I still stand behind the first quarter of the book being exceptionally strong! Happy reading! 💖
Great upload! The Dying Earth series was also highly influential on the original 1970s Dungeon and Dragon games. I tried reading Snow Crash 15 years ago but dnfed midway through because I didn't like the info dumping. I have been thinking of trying it as an audiobook though as I find that kind of storytelling style is easier for me to digest as an audiobook. That's why I always do Brandon Sanderson books that way because his tell not show style of writing makes me go crazy when I'm reading his work but makes his story easy to follow when I'm passively listening while doing other things.
Thank you, Andrew! That’s good to know about The Dying Earth. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who felt that way about Snow Crash. I know exactly what you mean about Sanderson, which is why I’ve been on such a long Sanderson-diet. Maybe I’ll return to the Cosmere with an audiobook someday!
I’m currently reading The Lions of Al-Rassan as my first GGK, and I’m blown away by the prose! I think the writing is in the same tier as One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Love the Dying Earth. That first book of six stories got me really into reading all the Vance I could find for years. I slowed down a bit because ther'es only so much and now I've got his number (in a cool way) i want to eke out the remaining ones. The setting of the DYing Earth thoguh is incredible and so full of frantic life and dangerous at this end-of-the-world decadent time, and the characters and their emotions feel like something out of the ancient myth jof a mystery culture. The Cugel books in the series are so amusing as well with their mordant humour and cunning schemes. You always visit so many places when you read a Vance book and I love that. And teh prose is just begging to be read aloud in most of his books. interesting to hear that description of the characters being like puppets, or the experiecne being like watching a puppet show. i hadn't thought of that but it reminds me of the last Vance book i read, Emphyrio, which does actually feature a puppet show prominently. Tanith lee is awesome and yeah, I can definitely relate her style to Vance's sometimes, even if I didn't also come across her story in the Songs of the Dying Earth anthology. That one is quite good by the way! Still need to get into the Flat Earth books! They sound incredible and I'm looking forward to it. Another influence on both Lee and Vance is another writer whose style i really enjoy, Clark Ashton Smith. His particular style of "decadent weird" is somethign i have seen mentioned in connection with the Flat Earth stories, and that definitely got me intrigued as well. But I have been reading her short stories since I was a kid getting the magazines in the early 90s. She was featured in Asimov's a lot, and I learned (after watching them) that she wrote the screenplays for a couple of episodes of a show I was really getting into at the time. her name was always popping up in anthologies I discovered later and in the 2000s I read the Birthgrave trilogy, which was mostly great but captured me largely because of it's incredibly vivid and rich writing. Still haven't read much other long work by her -- most recently Biting the Sun which was very different and surprising, not dark and almost gothic as she usually is in my experience but light-hearted, whimsical and sarcastically candid. Seriously though, she must have thousands of short stories...I love short stories and she's one of the greats.
I've heard great things about the Crugel stories! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Dying Earth, Tanith Lee, and Clark Ashton Smith. I've heard of Smith, but now I've very curious to check out that author. Happy reading!
@@Johanna_reads Smith only wrote shot prose pieces, but so many of tem ar a trat. I really like his storis set in weird "dying earth" type worlds or alien settings more thanthe oes set in his time (mostl the 1930s). Thelatter red more like H.P. Lovecraft, who I also like, but Smith is a much more lyrical and powerful writer when he wnts to be. Not necessarily better I gess, just more of stylist ... and much more "decadent". Ha reding, indeed!
Thanks for the reminder about the Prydain Chronicles. I never read it as a kid but it's been on my list as an adult. If you've never read it before I think you might really enjoy Tamora Pierce's The Lioness Quartet. I read this as an adult for the first time a couple of years ago and it was wonderful. I'm hoping to get to Tigana this year, it's been sitting on my shelf for forever. I was never drawn to Snow Crash in the past but now you have me curious.
Nice variety 😊 Have been meaning to try Stephenson. Tigana was very good but I look forward to trying another. And finally, sorry, that The Housekeeper and the Professor wasn’t a complete hit. I’m not into maths or baseball either. I guess it was the language, and the portrayal of the Professor and the son that charmed me.
I'm excited to hear any GGK thoughts if you pick up his other books! The Housekeeper and the Professor was an excellent recommendation for my reading taste, even certain parts didn't quite hit the mark for me. I can totally understand its appeal, and I'm glad I read it!
I have always been interested in Chronicles of Prydain, but all the new shiny books keep distracting me from the backlist haha. Glad you enjoyed it! And I am looking forward to reading Tigana one day, it seems to be such a hit or miss book and I am so curious to see where I will fall. Great wrap-up as always 💖
Thank you, Esmay! I would love to hear your thoughts on Prydain and Tigana. Chronicles of Prydain works as a great palate cleanser. I can't remember if I mentioned that I listened to the audiobooks, but the first two are combined on Audible with an excellent narrator! ❤️
Great wrap up, Johanna! You’ve been reading a wide variety it seems, which is awesome. I really would like to try some GGK, probably next year for me. Happy reading!
Thank you, Colin! While epic fantasy is my favorite genre, I enjoy spicing up my reading with other genres. I would love to hear your thoughts on GGK! 😊
I'm at glad you enjoyed Prydain. The 4th book is my favorite. It transcends the young fantasy pocket the series kind of lives in. A very formative series for me. I was mixed on Snowcrash. The worldbuilding was so interesting, and forward thinking. As it went on some things became a bit grating. I wish it were a more serious story.
I will make sure to continue the Chronicles of Prydain! Snow Crash had such an incredible start, and it I also have such mixed feelings about the rest!
Speaking of “Dying Earth”: Vance and many other post-WW2 S&S writers, such as Fritz Leiber and Poul Anderson, had a lot inspiration from Clark Ashton Smith (who is the often overlooked third leg of the “Weird Tales Trio” together with HP Lovecraft (famous for his Cthulhu Mythos Cosmic Horror) and Robert E Howard (of Conan the Cimmerian fame), possibly due to him surviving to become an old man and therefore had much more intellectual control than his late compatriots over their IPs, but still served as a mentor for and living bridge and witness between the pre-WW2 and the post-WW2 S&S writers) and his ”Zothique” short stories set in a Dying Earth with Bronze Age Tech (“Zothique” coming from Greek “Zoticus”, “Full of Life”, says a lot about CAS’s ironic wit and decadence mixed with death and brutality). Just finished the two first novels Vance’s later Arthurian inspired “Lyonesse” Trilogy, really enjoyed them! Also, you might have caught that a lot of D&D’s Magic System is borrowed from Vance’s “Dying Earth”! I mentioned “The Chronicles of Prydain” in my “Edan” Talk with Professor Chase, as I felt a strong connection to the dreams of our Assistant Pig Keeper with those of the Farmboy Dayraven, and how Chase similarly very well balanced really dark moments with a “Classical Fantasy” Atmosphere not unlike Lloyd Alexander (I believe Alexander served as an American Intelligence Army Officer during WW2 in Wales)! And as I also mentioned to the Professor, a bunch of friends my age have childhood traumas from “The Horned King” from the animated movie! 😆 Yeah, while Stevenson does have a sharp wit, «Snow Crash» is the most satirical and lighthanded work I have read by him, a simply brilliant intellectual writer! It I am gonna defend the Virtual Librarian scene, I think it is important to remember the time the book came out: Today Wikipedia, Virtual Personal Assistants and AIs have become commonplace, but in the early 90s it most have seemed like magic to get information handed to you so quickly and effectively! Refresh my memory, had you read any “Sun Eater”? As for myself I read the first two novels last month. And what are you next GGK read in the horizon? I plan to read “ A Brightness Long Ago” this Summer! Cheers! 😊
Such a fascinating web of influences there! I've read a little bit of Robert E. Howard's Conan, but not enough. I can imagine a connection between Vance and Lovecraft with all the tentacles I noticed in The Dying Earth! 😄 I just learned the Philip's first fantasy series was The Chronicles of Prydain! That horned king is pretty scary! I totally understand and agree with the Librarian being innovative for the time it was written, but I generally don't enjoy dialogue-info-dumping in any story. I generally don't like feeling like I'm being "talked at" as a reader, but I understand the technique is very clearcut and efficient. I have not yet read Sun Eater. I think I'm going to try to read Book of the New Sun first. I'm hoping to read The Sarantine Mosaic this fall! 😊
@@Johanna_reads Of the three, I would say REH has the more memorable characters and action, Lovecraft is all about an atmosphere of dread and nihilism, while CAS in my book has the better prose (unlike the working class Texas small town resident REH and the riches to rags multi-phobic New Englander Lovecraft, CAS had a West Coast Tan and was a popular guy (especially with women😄!), who even in his youth was celebrated for his decadent poetry: As a side note, I do find it very fascinating how three so different guys would become pen pals!) and character and vivid atmosphere to his settings: Where REH espoused a bold existentialism preferring nature/the frontier “Barbarism” to Urban Life and “Civilization” and Lovecraft was a nihilist who saw everywhere decay, dread and an uncaring Cosmos looking upon humanity as dust, CAS definitely had a “let’s party at the end of the world” vibe, mixing decadence, sensuality, brutality & dread, where violence and love, and life and death, are two sides of the same coin, naturally linked or interwoven together! You might not be surprised that I find “The Sarantine Mosaic” to be amazing! Most people seem to prefer book 2 “Lord of Emperors”, but I just adore book 1 “Sailing to Sarantium”: Not only do I think it might be GGKs best prologue (in my opinion, it could have been an amazing short story all on its own!), but I found the story almost therapeutic and life-affirmative during one of the darkest periods I have ever had. Enjoy! 😊
Loved the wrap up! I had a very similar experience with Snow Crash, really engaged by the start but then steadily losing interest as it went on toward a conclusion that I just didn’t care about at all. I ended up feeling like it would’ve worked so much better as a novella, since the idea of the world is cool but Stephenson didn’t seem to know what to do with it.
Thank you, Ben! I loved the way the characters were introduced and the Metaverse concept, but it felt like those things were oddly less developed as the book went on to showcase this grand interplay of ideas that resolved rather quickly. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it, but it just wasn't my favorite execution.
The prydain books were all at my elementary school's library. I think I read all the novels. Would be interesting to know if he even really thought he was writing a series when Book of the Three was published. Wasn't exactly the expected thing for all fantasy authors then like it is nowadays. I can see how that would be a slightly confusing title considering how many "Book III of the Blackmage Cycle" type titles there are in fantasy. Many years later he published a book of folktale-like additions to Prydain, and I got the book from my old workplace. I never revisited the Prydain books since those childhood days but reading the folktales was kind of neat. They definitely had that vibe about them of faerytales from an unknown land, but even sometimes brought to mind that first Dying Earth book, just in the way some of the stories were told, where everything was small-scale but grandiose at the same time, like "these are the legends of the people on whose shoulders our world was moulded!"
That's a good question about The Book of Three! I thought The Black Cauldron was a big step up from book 1, and many have told me the books get better and better. I'll have to continue sometime!
Wonderful reviews as always, Johanna! I'll give the Housekeeper and the Professor a try, the premise sounds quite intriguing to me and even if it's a miss, at least it's short haha. Snow Crash has been on my radar for a couple of years now, thank for mentioning the male-gazey aspects you noticed because with older sci-fi/fantasy works it's something I like to be aware of before starting the book! Also, what do you think would be a good place to start with GGK's books?
Thank you so much! To be fair, I think Stephenson was using the male gaze to critique it. I could easily interpret it that way, but I could also imagine it being unsettling since the female character is a young teenager. I started my GGK journey with The Lions of Al-Rassan based on Jake Bishop's recommendation, and I think that was an excellent starting point. I hope you enjoy GGK and The Housekeeper and the Professor!
Hi Curt! I hope you enjoy both books if you pick them up! Snow Crash was a bit more outside my comfort zone, but it might have one of the best beginnings I've read in a long time!
Nice to see you're not afraid to pick up some older classics like Jack Vance and not forget how influential his work was on Gene Wolfe and Christopher Ruocchio. Another classic author who contributed to define the genre and keeps getting overlooked is Bruce Sterling and his Schismatrix Plus, which supposedly served as a huge inspiration for A.Reynolds' work. If Neuromancer is on your TBR list, I'd suggest trying Sterling first as it's a much easier switch from fantasy. Definitely look it up.
I read a book this month called The Fox Wife that may be up your street. It takes place during the last years of empress Cixi’s reign in China (though the setting includes time in Manchuria and Japan). I really really liked it. It focuses on Asia’s fox legends which I remember learning about when I was about in elementary school from Hellboy of all places. The author of the book is member of the Chinese community in Malaysia, though I think she lives here in the states now. I think that’s the only fiction I’ve read in a bit. I mostly read history. Reading R*pe of Europa right now which is bloody unbelievable. Documentary of the same name was fascinating. Well happy reading
I'm looking up The Fox Wife now! I'm currently reading Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie, and there's some interesting female human-fox story in that collection that I loved! Happy reading!
I had a great reading month in April Stars in your eyes by kacen callender One summer in Savannah by terah shelton Harris Pack up the moon by kristan Higgins This could be us by Kennedy Ryan Out of shape by gracie gold memoir Miss memory lane by colton Haynes memoir Happy place by Emily Henry Her too by bonnie kistler Lizzie Blake's best mistake by mazey eddings The way i am now by amber Smith The witching hour by Anne rice book 1 in the mayfair series
Tigana is also my least favourite GGK, it was my first. I own a fair few of Neal Stephenson's books and I've heard repeatedly that Snowcrash is "diet Stephenson" so i figured I'd go for one of his more unapologetically him books like Termination Shock or Anathem. My most recent reads include Robin Hobb's Golden Fool and Fool's Fate, Josiah Bancroft's Senlin Ascends which was a re-read and the other night i finished Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island. I'm taking a break from RotE, so I'm picking back up authors with similar styles so i restarted GGK's Children of Earth & Sky and im loving it. I'm a sucker for Renaissance inspired settings. I'm also reading Robert McCammon's Swan Song. Its fine so far but the apocalypse has only just kicked off so still early days yet.
I'm looking forward to reading more from GGK, and it's neat how you can choose his books based on the time period you're most interested in. How interesting that Snow Crash is considered "diet Stephenson." I'm open to trying something else by him someday. I would love to hear if you end up loving (or not loving) Swan Song as much as everyone these days! 😄
Really intrigued by Snow Crash I have to say. Despite the disappointing middle, the intro you described sounds so cool! I just picked up Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon which is an absolute tome but it sounds so interesting to me. Not sure whether to start smaller (Snow Crash) to do a kind of litmus test of his writing style or throw caution to the wind and just go for it!
Wish I could offer more guidance, but Snow Crash is the only book I've read. The beginning was so much fun, and I hope to read more from Stephenson someday!
@@Johanna_readsSnow Crash was Stephenson's first novel, I enjoyed it when it came out and he's one of the authors whose work I tend to buy on release. Cryptonomicon is really good as is the Baroque Cycle (some unexpected overlap between those two) and Seven Eves was pretty good (on President Obama's read list too) but it's almost two stories in one. I recommend him, he's a pretty good writer.
@@Paul_van_Doleweerd genuinely curious, as a seasoned Stephenson reader where would you suggest starting? Are there any quirks to his writing that would encourage a primer read? I think I'm a little in my own head about starting Cryptonomicon after seeing someone evoke comparison to gravity's rainbow, which doesn't scare me but I'm familiar with what that reading experience demands
@@jamcarnage Personally my general opinion is publication order, although I was less enamored by Anathem than his other works, and he is generally more an idea-driven writer than a character-driven one.
Thank you, Bart! I'm considering making another sci-fi TBR, but my problem is that most SF books will be series. I'm not doing the best job with my series TBR, but I'll do my best! 😅
It's like an instant-portal! You put it on and are immediately in another world. It's such a weird feeling to be so immersed in another place, take the headset off and see your living room! 😂
Oh, I'm surprised to see The Housekeeper and the Professor here. I actually gifted that book to Josh when he visited here in Hiroshima. I'm sorry you didn't connect to it as much. It's a very Japanese book. Subtle and unique.
It’s definitely my style of book! The spiritual-number passages and baseball parts didn’t quite resonate with me, but I loved the premise, gentle quality, and setting!
A great month of reading excellently discussed as always. Is it just my impression or has your reading taste become much more eclectic in recent months?
Thank you! Yes, I think so. Part of that had to do with creating a sci-fi TBR at the end of last year, but I keep getting curious about various works of fiction. Most of these are short books, so that helps!
It makes me so happy to see The Chronicles of Prydain mentioned. It is one of my favorite fantasy series and I’m delighted the first two books were a positive experience for you.🩵
There is a lot to like in Snow Crash but Stephenson seems to become too enamored with his own writing and reaches snark overload. Do plan on reading Anathem at some point. Tigana also had a lot to like but there is slow burn and here you have a slow smolder. And he has some quirks that are just offputting for a while.
Snow Crash was good, and entertaining, but I thought it did sort of fall down at the end. i didn't even mind allt the expository dialogue because the concepts were cool and I am sort of used to this in harder science fiction (which Stephenson does also write though I would say this book is something else), but all that stuff toward the end with the religious nutter and everything, I don't know, just didn't find it as interesting as the setup and the world he created for the story. That pizza delivery scene is one hell of an opening. I read Stephenson in longer form with Seveneves and I don't think on the whole I enjoyed it. So far I haven't tried other stuff but he is versatile and I have read up on a lot of the other books -- probably will try sometime. But there are so many books and so little time....
@@Johanna_reads Have you read much WIlliam Gibson? I eel like taht's probablt eh biggest antecedent. I agree though. or maybe jut a tighter ending. It's a ook i read so long ao nwthat I kind of wonde waht my hought would be now. Perhas I'll pick it up gain..
@@Johanna_reads neuromancer the most famous one an it's defiitly a worthyclassicin my opinion. There are a few thers 'v read. He doesn't always operate within science fiction but often it's tese indof nar-future cyber futures. on of the first "cyberpunk" writrs. If you like shot sores as uch as I do, BurningChrome is an excellent collction.
I agree with your takes on all but one of the books! (I haven't read the Ogawa book yet.) You might enjoy Stephenson's epic historical fiction trilogy The Baroque Cycle, or his science fiction thought experiment Seveneves, more than Snow Crash. I know I do.
The Prydain Chronicles keeps getting better in subsequent books, so I encourage you to continue with the series.
I had a great time chatting with you, Jake and Josh on your Tigana discussion livestream, and I can't wait to hear your reactions to Kay's Sarantine Mosaic and Under Heaven, along with the rest of his works.
I love that Vance is starting to get more attention these days. He's one of my favorites, and my next video is a retrospective look at his works and influence across multiple genres (fantasy, science fiction and mystery).
Glad you are doing a video on Jack Vance. He has a lot of work worth exploring.
I always love your recommendations! I'll be sure to continue the Prydain Chronicles and look into The Baroque Cycle.
The Tigana discussion was fantastic! Thank you so much for joining that discussion! I look froward to starting the Sarantine Mosaic later this year.
How timely that you're working on a Jack Vance retrospective video! I'm very excited about that!
Mark Lawrence’s Book of the Ancestor trilogy, which begins with Red Sister, is indeed a dying Earth story of a sort. Hooray for The Chronicles of Prydain! It was my first fantasy series when I was around eleven. I’m looking forward to my Tigana reread later this year, after which I’ll dive into more books by GGK. Happy reading, Johanna!
I didn't realize The Chronicles of Prydain was your first fantasy series! I'm so delighted to hear that. Tigana had some incredible moments, and I hope your GGK journey continues with some of his other great works!
Glad you hear you enjoyed the Prydain Chronicles! It was my first fantasy series I read in 6th grade, and I revisited them two years ago and found them delightful. They only get better after the first two in my opinion - the 4th book being quite remarkable for a middle grade book!
I'll have to continue the Pydain Chronicles! I wish I had been introduced to that series at that age. Charming middle grade fantasy tales!
Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga are very different reads and I think you will like them. I'm so happy that Vance is getting some attention!
Prydain Chronicles is definitely in my future. His Westmark trilogy was one of the first fantasy series I ever read, so he has a special place in my heart.
I need to make time for GGK. A Song for Arbonne and his Sarantine Mosaic look really interesting.
Those are some great recent reads. Great video!
I'm so glad you're bringing Jack Vance attention on your channel as well! As you mentioned in your video, he's been influential on George R.R. Martin and so many great authors. What an imagination he had!
The Prydain Chronicles is a fun, well-written palate cleanser series.
Can't wait to hear your GGK thoughts! Happy reading!
The second Dying Earth novel, Eyes of the Overworld, is one of the most hilarious books I've ever read and one of my top 5 novels of all time.
Oh really? How interesting!
What a diverse reading month you had in April, Joanna. I absolutely love it.
You have some authors that I’m familiar with in your reading.
I read The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa about five years ago and still remembered the story. Like you, it was not a favorite read but I still enjoyed reading it. And I like Japanese slice of fiction too. I would recommend Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata.
Kawabata is considered one of Japan’s greatest fiction writers and his economy of language and storytelling are excellent. Snow Country is his magnum opus but Thousand Cranes, Beauty & Sadness, and Sound of the Mountain are very good too.
Jack Vance is getting more Booktube love. That’s wonderful. Vance’s work is highly influential on the science fiction and fantasy genres and needs to be recognized more.
I have not read the Dying Earth saga. But, I have read Emphyrio (one of his best standalone novels) and The Asutra (the 1st book in his Durdane series that was published in the early 1970s). You are right about his characters being flat and one-dimensional.
However, I believe you read Vance for setting and the themes he presents in his stories. Also, I believe it is so important to have different types of reading experiences. Characters are important and for most readers..their number one criteria for enjoying a book. However, setting and theme oriented stories are just as important and adds a different reading experience. Glad you took a chance on Jack Vance.
Tigana is my next GGK read. I read Lions of Al-Rassan in April and just loved that novel. I have read 7 GGK novels to date and Lions of Al-Rassan is my 2nd favorite GGK novel only surpassed by Children of Earth and Sky. But it is a photo finish. Looking forward to reading Tigana in the future.
A great video, Johanna. Happy Reading. 😊👍🏿
Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words about the variety here. I will look up the Kawabata book!
I agree about having different kinds of reading experiences, and I loved Vance's imaginative settings and the way he was able to combine setting with theme. He also has incredible contrast to his prose, from the beautiful and sublime to the grotesque.
The Lions of Al-Rassan is such a gem and I hope you enjoy Tigana! I'm looking forward to reading more from GGK. Happy reading! 😊
I hope you get a chance to read Snow Country by Kawabata. It is a unique love story and Kawabata brings the setting of northern Japan to life. Will be interested to see what you think about it. 😊👍🏿
YES LLOYD ALEXANDERRRRRR! I LOVE Time Cat by him, a childhood favorite. I have never read other books by him, but I do love the Disney Black Cauldron movie and somehow never realized it was a book
Oh wow! I didn't know you were a fan! I highly recommend checking out The Chronicles of Prydain. Such a huge step up between books 1 and 2, in my opinion, and everyone keeps saying the series gets better and better!
Those are some solid reads. The Professor in the Ogawa novel reminds me of 10 Second Tom from 50 First Dates. Nice to see the Dying Earth get some modern day attention, it's amazing how well they've held up given they're like 75 years old at this point. I need to check out Prydain, didn't know there was a movie based on it!
How funny! My husband mentioned 50 First Dates when I told him about The Professor in that story! 😄 He loves that movie. The Black Cauldron is based on the second Prydain book. I read that the first book, The Book of Three, received some critical reviews at the time of publication (1964), but The Black Cauldron won a Newberry Honor Award. Hope you enjoy it!
Aww! I read The Chronicles of Prydain as a child and absolutely loved them. Though I haven't revisited them as a adult. I still have them though, so maybe I will. What a fabulous reading month!
I wish I had discovered them as a kid, but they're fun to read as an adult. I'm sure they'll be meaningful to you with the nostalgia connection. Thank you!
Interesting Dying Earth trivia: the rules for casting spells in Dungeons & Dragons come directly from these stories.
Snow Crash! I’ve got nostalgia feels there, since I read it in ‘94 when it came out. I remember it being a real product of its time, when the Web was just beginning to be a thing, and I was super excited by its world-changing potential, and an immersive 3D cyberspace might be coming soon, instead of VR being an expensive novelty which is where it’s at today 30 years later.
Snow Crash has so many incredible, prophetic ideas and commentary given the time it was written! I am sure VR is going to be more of our "reality" in the near future, which is wild to think about!
Old guys unite! 🤣
@@Johanna_reads I’ve been saying it since the 90’s: I don’t think VR is ever going to be a massive mainstream phenomenon until we get past the cumbersome gear needed to experience it. No one WANTS to strap a chunk of plastic to their face, and certainly not for long. I’m certain we’ll eventually have brain & eye implants that’ll allow you to interface with a virtual environment without the external gear, and then it’ll take off. But that’s a way down the road yet.
Oh my, I was considering reading Snow Crash! Now I definitely need to get it, I've been reading quite a few classics this year and this one is top of the list, tbh! I didn't know about Alenxander's nor the movie honestly; great to find out! I think I remember a review of Tigana from you; I read another book about memory this year, I may get into this one! Thanks for sharing Johanna, your reviews and thoughts are always spot on!
Thank you, Livia! Although Snow Crash didn’t quite land for me, I still think it’s worth reading just for noticing how prophetic it was. I still stand behind the first quarter of the book being exceptionally strong! Happy reading! 💖
Great upload!
The Dying Earth series was also highly influential on the original 1970s Dungeon and Dragon games.
I tried reading Snow Crash 15 years ago but dnfed midway through because I didn't like the info dumping. I have been thinking of trying it as an audiobook though as I find that kind of storytelling style is easier for me to digest as an audiobook. That's why I always do Brandon Sanderson books that way because his tell not show style of writing makes me go crazy when I'm reading his work but makes his story easy to follow when I'm passively listening while doing other things.
Thank you, Andrew! That’s good to know about The Dying Earth. Glad to hear I’m not the only one who felt that way about Snow Crash. I know exactly what you mean about Sanderson, which is why I’ve been on such a long Sanderson-diet. Maybe I’ll return to the Cosmere with an audiobook someday!
Thanks JohNna!!!
I’m currently reading The Lions of Al-Rassan as my first GGK, and I’m blown away by the prose! I think the writing is in the same tier as One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Hooray! GGK can write! I loved that book, and I'll someday have to try One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Thanks for the advice on where to start with GGKay.
I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on a GGK book! Thanks for watching!
Love the Dying Earth. That first book of six stories got me really into reading all the Vance I could find for years. I slowed down a bit because ther'es only so much and now I've got his number (in a cool way) i want to eke out the remaining ones. The setting of the DYing Earth thoguh is incredible and so full of frantic life and dangerous at this end-of-the-world decadent time, and the characters and their emotions feel like something out of the ancient myth jof a mystery culture. The Cugel books in the series are so amusing as well with their mordant humour and cunning schemes. You always visit so many places when you read a Vance book and I love that. And teh prose is just begging to be read aloud in most of his books.
interesting to hear that description of the characters being like puppets, or the experiecne being like watching a puppet show. i hadn't thought of that but it reminds me of the last Vance book i read, Emphyrio, which does actually feature a puppet show prominently.
Tanith lee is awesome and yeah, I can definitely relate her style to Vance's sometimes, even if I didn't also come across her story in the Songs of the Dying Earth anthology. That one is quite good by the way! Still need to get into the Flat Earth books! They sound incredible and I'm looking forward to it. Another influence on both Lee and Vance is another writer whose style i really enjoy, Clark Ashton Smith. His particular style of "decadent weird" is somethign i have seen mentioned in connection with the Flat Earth stories, and that definitely got me intrigued as well. But I have been reading her short stories since I was a kid getting the magazines in the early 90s. She was featured in Asimov's a lot, and I learned (after watching them) that she wrote the screenplays for a couple of episodes of a show I was really getting into at the time. her name was always popping up in anthologies I discovered later and in the 2000s I read the Birthgrave trilogy, which was mostly great but captured me largely because of it's incredibly vivid and rich writing. Still haven't read much other long work by her -- most recently Biting the Sun which was very different and surprising, not dark and almost gothic as she usually is in my experience but light-hearted, whimsical and sarcastically candid. Seriously though, she must have thousands of short stories...I love short stories and she's one of the greats.
I've heard great things about the Crugel stories! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Dying Earth, Tanith Lee, and Clark Ashton Smith. I've heard of Smith, but now I've very curious to check out that author. Happy reading!
@@Johanna_reads Smith only wrote shot prose pieces, but so many of tem ar a trat. I really like his storis set in weird "dying earth" type worlds or alien settings more thanthe oes set in his time (mostl the 1930s). Thelatter red more like H.P. Lovecraft, who I also like, but Smith is a much more lyrical and powerful writer when he wnts to be. Not necessarily better I gess, just more of stylist ... and much more "decadent".
Ha reding, indeed!
@@DamnableReverend good to know!
Thanks for the reminder about the Prydain Chronicles. I never read it as a kid but it's been on my list as an adult. If you've never read it before I think you might really enjoy Tamora Pierce's The Lioness Quartet. I read this as an adult for the first time a couple of years ago and it was wonderful. I'm hoping to get to Tigana this year, it's been sitting on my shelf for forever. I was never drawn to Snow Crash in the past but now you have me curious.
Thank you for the recommendation! I hope you enjoy Tigana, Snow Crash, and The Prydain Chronicles if you get to them!
I'd second that recommendation. I read all the Tortall books as an adult and enjoyed all the subseries except the Becca Cooper set.
Nice variety 😊 Have been meaning to try Stephenson. Tigana was very good but I look forward to trying another.
And finally, sorry, that The Housekeeper and the Professor wasn’t a complete hit. I’m not into maths or baseball either. I guess it was the language, and the portrayal of the Professor and the son that charmed me.
I'm excited to hear any GGK thoughts if you pick up his other books! The Housekeeper and the Professor was an excellent recommendation for my reading taste, even certain parts didn't quite hit the mark for me. I can totally understand its appeal, and I'm glad I read it!
I have always been interested in Chronicles of Prydain, but all the new shiny books keep distracting me from the backlist haha. Glad you enjoyed it! And I am looking forward to reading Tigana one day, it seems to be such a hit or miss book and I am so curious to see where I will fall. Great wrap-up as always 💖
Thank you, Esmay! I would love to hear your thoughts on Prydain and Tigana. Chronicles of Prydain works as a great palate cleanser. I can't remember if I mentioned that I listened to the audiobooks, but the first two are combined on Audible with an excellent narrator! ❤️
@@Johanna_reads oooh thanks for that rec, always love a good audiobook!!
Great wrap up, Johanna! You’ve been reading a wide variety it seems, which is awesome. I really would like to try some GGK, probably next year for me. Happy reading!
Thank you, Colin! While epic fantasy is my favorite genre, I enjoy spicing up my reading with other genres. I would love to hear your thoughts on GGK! 😊
I'm at glad you enjoyed Prydain. The 4th book is my favorite. It transcends the young fantasy pocket the series kind of lives in. A very formative series for me.
I was mixed on Snowcrash. The worldbuilding was so interesting, and forward thinking. As it went on some things became a bit grating. I wish it were a more serious story.
I will make sure to continue the Chronicles of Prydain! Snow Crash had such an incredible start, and it I also have such mixed feelings about the rest!
Speaking of “Dying Earth”: Vance and many other post-WW2 S&S writers, such as Fritz Leiber and Poul Anderson, had a lot inspiration from Clark Ashton Smith (who is the often overlooked third leg of the “Weird Tales Trio” together with HP Lovecraft (famous for his Cthulhu Mythos Cosmic Horror) and Robert E Howard (of Conan the Cimmerian fame), possibly due to him surviving to become an old man and therefore had much more intellectual control than his late compatriots over their IPs, but still served as a mentor for and living bridge and witness between the pre-WW2 and the post-WW2 S&S writers) and his ”Zothique” short stories set in a Dying Earth with Bronze Age Tech (“Zothique” coming from Greek “Zoticus”, “Full of Life”, says a lot about CAS’s ironic wit and decadence mixed with death and brutality). Just finished the two first novels Vance’s later Arthurian inspired “Lyonesse” Trilogy, really enjoyed them! Also, you might have caught that a lot of D&D’s Magic System is borrowed from Vance’s “Dying Earth”!
I mentioned “The Chronicles of Prydain” in my “Edan” Talk with Professor Chase, as I felt a strong connection to the dreams of our Assistant Pig Keeper with those of the Farmboy Dayraven, and how Chase similarly very well balanced really dark moments with a “Classical Fantasy” Atmosphere not unlike Lloyd Alexander (I believe Alexander served as an American Intelligence Army Officer during WW2 in Wales)! And as I also mentioned to the Professor, a bunch of friends my age have childhood traumas from “The Horned King” from the animated movie! 😆
Yeah, while Stevenson does have a sharp wit, «Snow Crash» is the most satirical and lighthanded work I have read by him, a simply brilliant intellectual writer! It I am gonna defend the Virtual Librarian scene, I think it is important to remember the time the book came out: Today Wikipedia, Virtual Personal Assistants and AIs have become commonplace, but in the early 90s it most have seemed like magic to get information handed to you so quickly and effectively!
Refresh my memory, had you read any “Sun Eater”? As for myself I read the first two novels last month. And what are you next GGK read in the horizon? I plan to read “ A Brightness Long Ago” this Summer! Cheers! 😊
Such a fascinating web of influences there! I've read a little bit of Robert E. Howard's Conan, but not enough. I can imagine a connection between Vance and Lovecraft with all the tentacles I noticed in The Dying Earth! 😄
I just learned the Philip's first fantasy series was The Chronicles of Prydain! That horned king is pretty scary!
I totally understand and agree with the Librarian being innovative for the time it was written, but I generally don't enjoy dialogue-info-dumping in any story. I generally don't like feeling like I'm being "talked at" as a reader, but I understand the technique is very clearcut and efficient.
I have not yet read Sun Eater. I think I'm going to try to read Book of the New Sun first. I'm hoping to read The Sarantine Mosaic this fall! 😊
@@Johanna_reads Of the three, I would say REH has the more memorable characters and action, Lovecraft is all about an atmosphere of dread and nihilism, while CAS in my book has the better prose (unlike the working class Texas small town resident REH and the riches to rags multi-phobic New Englander Lovecraft, CAS had a West Coast Tan and was a popular guy (especially with women😄!), who even in his youth was celebrated for his decadent poetry: As a side note, I do find it very fascinating how three so different guys would become pen pals!) and character and vivid atmosphere to his settings: Where REH espoused a bold existentialism preferring nature/the frontier “Barbarism” to Urban Life and “Civilization” and Lovecraft was a nihilist who saw everywhere decay, dread and an uncaring Cosmos looking upon humanity as dust, CAS definitely had a “let’s party at the end of the world” vibe, mixing decadence, sensuality, brutality & dread, where violence and love, and life and death, are two sides of the same coin, naturally linked or interwoven together!
You might not be surprised that I find “The Sarantine Mosaic” to be amazing! Most people seem to prefer book 2 “Lord of Emperors”, but I just adore book 1 “Sailing to Sarantium”: Not only do I think it might be GGKs best prologue (in my opinion, it could have been an amazing short story all on its own!), but I found the story almost therapeutic and life-affirmative during one of the darkest periods I have ever had. Enjoy! 😊
Loved the wrap up! I had a very similar experience with Snow Crash, really engaged by the start but then steadily losing interest as it went on toward a conclusion that I just didn’t care about at all. I ended up feeling like it would’ve worked so much better as a novella, since the idea of the world is cool but Stephenson didn’t seem to know what to do with it.
Thank you, Ben! I loved the way the characters were introduced and the Metaverse concept, but it felt like those things were oddly less developed as the book went on to showcase this grand interplay of ideas that resolved rather quickly. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it, but it just wasn't my favorite execution.
If you enjoyed the Black Cauldron, you should try the Lockwood & Co. series! I just finished it and LOVED it.
Thank you for putting Lockwood & Co. on my radar!
The prydain books were all at my elementary school's library. I think I read all the novels. Would be interesting to know if he even really thought he was writing a series when Book of the Three was published. Wasn't exactly the expected thing for all fantasy authors then like it is nowadays. I can see how that would be a slightly confusing title considering how many "Book III of the Blackmage Cycle" type titles there are in fantasy.
Many years later he published a book of folktale-like additions to Prydain, and I got the book from my old workplace. I never revisited the Prydain books since those childhood days but reading the folktales was kind of neat. They definitely had that vibe about them of faerytales from an unknown land, but even sometimes brought to mind that first Dying Earth book, just in the way some of the stories were told, where everything was small-scale but grandiose at the same time, like "these are the legends of the people on whose shoulders our world was moulded!"
That's a good question about The Book of Three! I thought The Black Cauldron was a big step up from book 1, and many have told me the books get better and better. I'll have to continue sometime!
Wonderful reviews as always, Johanna! I'll give the Housekeeper and the Professor a try, the premise sounds quite intriguing to me and even if it's a miss, at least it's short haha. Snow Crash has been on my radar for a couple of years now, thank for mentioning the male-gazey aspects you noticed because with older sci-fi/fantasy works it's something I like to be aware of before starting the book! Also, what do you think would be a good place to start with GGK's books?
Thank you so much! To be fair, I think Stephenson was using the male gaze to critique it. I could easily interpret it that way, but I could also imagine it being unsettling since the female character is a young teenager. I started my GGK journey with The Lions of Al-Rassan based on Jake Bishop's recommendation, and I think that was an excellent starting point. I hope you enjoy GGK and The Housekeeper and the Professor!
Hi Johanna. I have the professor and housekeeper book and one more by that author on my TBR. I might give Snow Crash a try.
Hi Curt! I hope you enjoy both books if you pick them up! Snow Crash was a bit more outside my comfort zone, but it might have one of the best beginnings I've read in a long time!
Nice to see you're not afraid to pick up some older classics like Jack Vance and not forget how influential his work was on Gene Wolfe and Christopher Ruocchio. Another classic author who contributed to define the genre and keeps getting overlooked is Bruce Sterling and his Schismatrix Plus, which supposedly served as a huge inspiration for A.Reynolds' work. If Neuromancer is on your TBR list, I'd suggest trying Sterling first as it's a much easier switch from fantasy. Definitely look it up.
Thank you for the recommendation! I’m glad I was able to get to Vance before reading Gene Wolfe and Ruocchio. Glad to hear about Sterling’s influence!
Great video Johanna! I’ve been wanting to try Neal Stephenson. I’m really loving Tigana, but I’m not very far into it.
Thank you, Chas! If only the rest of Snow Crash was executed as well as the first quarter of the book. I’m excited to hear your thoughts on Tigana!
I read a book this month called The Fox Wife that may be up your street. It takes place during the last years of empress Cixi’s reign in China (though the setting includes time in Manchuria and Japan). I really really liked it. It focuses on Asia’s fox legends which I remember learning about when I was about in elementary school from Hellboy of all places. The author of the book is member of the Chinese community in Malaysia, though I think she lives here in the states now.
I think that’s the only fiction I’ve read in a bit. I mostly read history. Reading R*pe of Europa right now which is bloody unbelievable. Documentary of the same name was fascinating.
Well happy reading
I'm looking up The Fox Wife now! I'm currently reading Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie, and there's some interesting female human-fox story in that collection that I loved! Happy reading!
I had a great reading month in April
Stars in your eyes by kacen callender
One summer in Savannah by terah shelton Harris
Pack up the moon by kristan Higgins
This could be us by Kennedy Ryan
Out of shape by gracie gold memoir
Miss memory lane by colton Haynes memoir
Happy place by Emily Henry
Her too by bonnie kistler
Lizzie Blake's best mistake by mazey eddings
The way i am now by amber Smith
The witching hour by Anne rice book 1 in the mayfair series
Nice! I've missed hearing about your monthly reading lists! :)
Still waiting for Snow Crash to come in!
I'm excited to hear your thoughts!
Tigana is also my least favourite GGK, it was my first.
I own a fair few of Neal Stephenson's books and I've heard repeatedly that Snowcrash is "diet Stephenson" so i figured I'd go for one of his more unapologetically him books like Termination Shock or Anathem.
My most recent reads include Robin Hobb's Golden Fool and Fool's Fate, Josiah Bancroft's Senlin Ascends which was a re-read and the other night i finished Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island.
I'm taking a break from RotE, so I'm picking back up authors with similar styles so i restarted GGK's Children of Earth & Sky and im loving it. I'm a sucker for Renaissance inspired settings.
I'm also reading Robert McCammon's Swan Song. Its fine so far but the apocalypse has only just kicked off so still early days yet.
I'm looking forward to reading more from GGK, and it's neat how you can choose his books based on the time period you're most interested in.
How interesting that Snow Crash is considered "diet Stephenson." I'm open to trying something else by him someday.
I would love to hear if you end up loving (or not loving) Swan Song as much as everyone these days! 😄
@@Johanna_reads yeah about that... I got 100 pages into Swan Song and all it did was make me want to re-read The Stand 😅🤣
The Dying Earth books are still my favorites by Vance, Lyonesse is close to it. I’d like to reread the first Dying Earth book as it’s been a while. ⚔️
I loved how Vance combined setting with theme in the Dying Earth. He's one of those writers whose imagination seems endless!
Really intrigued by Snow Crash I have to say. Despite the disappointing middle, the intro you described sounds so cool!
I just picked up Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon which is an absolute tome but it sounds so interesting to me. Not sure whether to start smaller (Snow Crash) to do a kind of litmus test of his writing style or throw caution to the wind and just go for it!
Wish I could offer more guidance, but Snow Crash is the only book I've read. The beginning was so much fun, and I hope to read more from Stephenson someday!
@@Johanna_readsSnow Crash was Stephenson's first novel, I enjoyed it when it came out and he's one of the authors whose work I tend to buy on release. Cryptonomicon is really good as is the Baroque Cycle (some unexpected overlap between those two) and Seven Eves was pretty good (on President Obama's read list too) but it's almost two stories in one.
I recommend him, he's a pretty good writer.
@@Paul_van_Doleweerd genuinely curious, as a seasoned Stephenson reader where would you suggest starting? Are there any quirks to his writing that would encourage a primer read? I think I'm a little in my own head about starting Cryptonomicon after seeing someone evoke comparison to gravity's rainbow, which doesn't scare me but I'm familiar with what that reading experience demands
@@jamcarnage Personally my general opinion is publication order, although I was less enamored by Anathem than his other works, and he is generally more an idea-driven writer than a character-driven one.
Interesting analysis of books that did not quite work for you. I can’t wait to see what SF books you’ll add to your TBR in the future. 😀
Thank you, Bart! I'm considering making another sci-fi TBR, but my problem is that most SF books will be series. I'm not doing the best job with my series TBR, but I'll do my best! 😅
From recent videos it seems you have really loved reading sci-fi
I love that sci-fi often explores different kinds of themes or themes in a different context than fantasy!
What did you think of VR? I still remember the first time I used a headset my sophomore year of college and was blown away by it.
It's like an instant-portal! You put it on and are immediately in another world. It's such a weird feeling to be so immersed in another place, take the headset off and see your living room! 😂
Oh, I'm surprised to see The Housekeeper and the Professor here. I actually gifted that book to Josh when he visited here in Hiroshima. I'm sorry you didn't connect to it as much. It's a very Japanese book. Subtle and unique.
It’s definitely my style of book! The spiritual-number passages and baseball parts didn’t quite resonate with me, but I loved the premise, gentle quality, and setting!
A great month of reading excellently discussed as always. Is it just my impression or has your reading taste become much more eclectic in recent months?
Thank you! Yes, I think so. Part of that had to do with creating a sci-fi TBR at the end of last year, but I keep getting curious about various works of fiction. Most of these are short books, so that helps!
It makes me so happy to see The Chronicles of Prydain mentioned. It is one of my favorite fantasy series and I’m delighted the first two books were a positive experience for you.🩵
Thank you! I'm glad to hear it’s one of your favorites! Look forward to continuing the series 😊
There is a lot to like in Snow Crash but Stephenson seems to become too enamored with his own writing and reaches snark overload. Do plan on reading Anathem at some point.
Tigana also had a lot to like but there is slow burn and here you have a slow smolder. And he has some quirks that are just offputting for a while.
It was very snarky! Anathem looks very cool. You'll have to let me know if you enjoy it. Hahahaha about Tigana!
If not for Neuromancer, Snow Crash would be THE cyberpunk book.
Someday I'll have to try Neuromancer!
@@Johanna_reads It's sequels are underrated but Neuromancer is the icon.
If not for Neuromancer, Snow Crash wouldn’t EXIST. 😆
@@MattonBooks I don't know, there was quite a bit of cyberpunk at the time aside from Neuromancer.
@@Montie-Adkins I’d argue pretty much all of it wouldn’t have been without Neuromancer. 🤷🏻♂️
Snow Crash was good, and entertaining, but I thought it did sort of fall down at the end. i didn't even mind allt the expository dialogue because the concepts were cool and I am sort of used to this in harder science fiction (which Stephenson does also write though I would say this book is something else), but all that stuff toward the end with the religious nutter and everything, I don't know, just didn't find it as interesting as the setup and the world he created for the story. That pizza delivery scene is one hell of an opening.
I read Stephenson in longer form with Seveneves and I don't think on the whole I enjoyed it. So far I haven't tried other stuff but he is versatile and I have read up on a lot of the other books -- probably will try sometime. But there are so many books and so little time....
The pizza delivery was one of the best openings ever! It set the bar super high for me. I wish we could've gotten more Metaverse development!
@@Johanna_reads Have you read much WIlliam Gibson? I eel like taht's probablt eh biggest antecedent. I agree though. or maybe jut a tighter ending. It's a ook i read so long ao nwthat I kind of wonde waht my hought would be now. Perhas I'll pick it up gain..
@@DamnableReverend I haven’t, but I’ll have to look into him.
@@Johanna_reads neuromancer the most famous one an it's defiitly a worthyclassicin my opinion. There are a few thers 'v read. He doesn't always operate within science fiction but often it's tese indof nar-future cyber futures. on of the first "cyberpunk" writrs. If you like shot sores as uch as I do, BurningChrome is an excellent collction.
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