Question What are you reading?

[Star Voyager]

Just found this while looking for some Blue Streak info:
http://homepage.mac.com/sjbradshaw/baxterium/prospero.html

Got a few of Baxter's books: Quite good short, but spotted a couple of errors so far.

N.

I need to read that :11sign:! The next book I plan on reading, though, is "No Man's World", by Martin Caidin (a favorite).

 

[insanity]

I just finished You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers. Really good

 

[anemazoso]

Funny thing, I've read most of these books.. The Rama Series is one of my favorite...... Andy44! But if you enjoy that type of fiction I recommend most of Stephen Baxter's work Alistair Reynolds and of course Larry Nivin. I also really enjoy Dan Simmon's Hyperion series and am currently re-reading Olympos after re-reading the prequel Ilium. Although Dan is not a "Sci-fi" writer I think he's is exceptional.

 

[allonan2361]

Frank Herberts Dune

 

[Notebook]

I miss out on all your stories because I'm too lazy to wait for links to load and you never provide a summary of the topic...

Anyway, I'm reading The Dead Hand, a history of the end of the Cold War focusing on Soviet WMD, including the secret Soviet doomsday system the book is titled from, as well as the extensive biological weapons programs, both of which went largely undetected by Western intelligence agencies.

The Dead Hand is a very Strangelovian system: in the event the US hit the USSR with a decapitating first strike, these three guys in a bunker underneath a mountain would launch "command missiles" which would broadcast launch orders from above to any remaining ICBM bases in the Soviet Union, bypassing dead communications lines and assuring a retaliatory strike.

Great idea for deterrence, but it stayed secret and thus was of no deterrent value!

Even scarier is that it was designed at first to be completely controlled by computer with no human intervention! Too crazy even for Soviet generals.

"Skynet became self-aware at 2:14am EDT August 29, 1997..."

I think his is my first post here Andy44, so you haven't missed much! I think I read most of the sci-fi authors, and keep looking for new one's. I agree with Anemazoso, and will keep a look-out for Dan Simmons.

Re: Baxter's "Prospero", a short(very) based around a UK manned launch from Woomera, late 60's. Won't spoil the ending. A sort of Gemini mission based around Blue Streak and Black Prince.

Captures the scrapping of the UK rocket programme, just as it was getting going. Nice touch calling the capsule "Prospero" that was the first and last UK launched satellite.

I did read somewhere that it was to be called "Puck", then as cancellation of the Black Arrow launcher was confirmed, changed to Prospero, the Wizard who gave up his powers. Bit poignant.

N.

 

[PhantomCruiser]

Patrick O'Brien's "The Thirteen-Gun Salute", during lunch at work (it may take me a while)...

 

[Ark]

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill.

It reads like the history of Umbrella Corporation or something.

 

[Ark]

Just finished Manifold: Time by Stephen Baxter. I loved it, the space marine assault on the asteroid was particularly neat.

 

[flytandem]

....generally, too busy daydreaming to read. But occasionally I've dreamed about actually reading a book. Then I get distracted and return to better thoughts.

 

[Ark]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Glad I'm finally getting around to reading it.

 

[Andy44]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Glad I'm finally getting around to reading it.

I really enjoyed that book. The only good story I've read so far that examines the consequences of relativity on space travelers.

Just finished The Dead Hand by David Hoffman, history book about the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR, and the efforts to get control of the huge nuclear weapons and biowarfare material left behind.

 

[Eccentrus]

Just finished Pompeii by Robert Harris, tomorrow I'll be back on reading Henry's Clinical Pathology, damn...

 

[atuhalpa]

"The Family" by Jeff Sharlett.

 

[orb]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. Glad I'm finally getting around to reading it.

I had read it few years ago. Great book :thumbup:.

 

[Jake]

Currently re-reading Neuromancer, by William Gibson. Great book, the mood and aesthethics are particularly good.

 

[Graham2001]

'Stolen Thunder' by David Axton, standard early 1990's plotline. Terrorist leader angers a family by killing a USAF Pilot. They contrive to steal a B-52 & full bomb load to take him out.

They succeed with the help of everybody he's managed to anger.

Contains a wonderful clanger in the first chapter where the main characters steal the aircraft under the cover of flying it to an air museum in Perth, Western Australia.

I live in Perth, we do have an air museum, it is located in the inner suburb of Bull Creek and there is not enough room for a B-52 there.

 

[Xyon]

"Reiksguard", part of the Empire Army series in the Warhammer universe. A good read, I'm almost done with it and planning to move on to the next one in the series when I do.

 

[Ark]

"The Family" by Jeff Sharlett.

Oooh, that one is on my reading list, is it good?

 

[Messierhunter]

Contains a wonderful clanger in the first chapter where the main characters steal the aircraft under the cover of flying it to an air museum in Perth, Western Australia.

I live in Perth, we do have an air museum, it is located in the inner suburb of Bull Creek and there is not enough room for a B-52 there.

I used to fantasize about stealing the F-14A sitting on display at the air museum in my hometown, if only for a Tom Cruise style tower buzz.

I'm currently reading Sky Walking. It's a great insight into what it's like to join the mission specialist side of the corps, perfect for lesser nerds like myself. High Calling is next on my list.

 

[n122vu]

Patrick O'Brien's "The Thirteen-Gun Salute", during lunch at work (it may take me a while)...

That's how I read a lot of Tom Clancy.

Currently working on Rainbow Six.