New Sci-Fi Book- Knife References

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Jedi Knife

Jedi Knife

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Has anyone read William Gibson's latest book All Tomorrow's Parties? It has a few notable knife scenes in it. If anyone is unfamiliar with Gibson's work, he is the one who coined the phrase "cyberspace" and started the entire "Cyberpunk" genre. His writing is quite mature and streetwise, hopefully there are other knife afficionados here that may like it. One cool character carries a knife in a magnetic retention harness, ala Nealy. Check it out!

JK
 
Hey, don't spoil it for me! That's one thing on my Christmas List that I might actually get!

I am in the middle of Neal Stephensons Cryptonomicon right now. Half of it takes place during WWII, the rest in present day Manila. Some decent knife content all around, and a great combination of my favorite genres.

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
Jedi -

I read All Tomorrow's Parties the week it came out. (I've been hooked on William Gibson since Neuromancer came out back in 1985 or so...) I thought of Bud Nealy too when the magnetic neck knife sheath was described. Good read, although I still think Gibson has yet to live up to Neuromancer.

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Tony King
Tulsa, OK
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A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes bleed the hand that uses it.
-Rabindranath Tagore


 
How does it compare to Virtual Light or Idoru? I doubt he could keep pace with his early work, though Mona Lisa Overdrive came close. Count Zero is still a personal favorite.

Have you fellows read any Alfred Bester? The Grandfather of Cyberpunk, if you ask me. Tiger, Tiger (also published as The Stars My Destination) is an absolutely seminal work in the field, a must read for Gibson fans.


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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
BTW, I think any of the science fiction readers here would enjoy the sub-genre of "libertarian SF".

Go to www.lfs.org , the Libertarian Futurist Society. Any of the Prometheus Award winners are a sure bet.

Some of my personal favorites (INPO): L. Neill Smith, J. Neill Schulman, Victor Koman, John Varley, Allen Steele, and of course, the grand master himself; R. A. Heinlien.

Neal Stephenson Rocks! Be sure and read Zodiac, and Snow Crash - considered one of the seminal works of "cyberpunk". He's credited with coining the term "avatar" to refer to someone's virtual representation in cyberspace.

Joe
Heavily armed fan-boy geek-from-hell
 
I went through a bit of Varley, and I think the first few real books I actually read were Heinliens "juvenile" novels (Have Spacesuit - Will Travel, The Star Beast, etc.) but pretty much broke with that when I first read Haldemans Forever War. I can’t even look through Heinliens later novels, I think The Number of the Beast was the last one I tried. I do like David Brin for your more traditional SF, the first Uplift Trilogy is great, I especially liked The Uplift War, Fiben Bolger made me proud to be a primate.

And don't leave out Stephensons A Young Ladies Illustrated Primer, I found the neo-Victorians a blast, and other authors are still playing catch up with nanotech.

I feel a move to Community coming on…

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA


 
Stephensons A Young Ladies Illustrated Primer
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Also known as The Diamond Age.
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[This message has been edited by Ewok (edited 21 December 1999).]
 
Originally posted by Ewok:
Stephensons A Young Ladies Illustrated Primer
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Also know as The Diamond Age.
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Click to expand...

I just prefer the Sub-Title. A good answer to "What are you reading now?"



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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
Guys, I am sorely tempted to start dropping a few names as well. But what Is the point? I read everthing Sci Fi related I could until about 15 years ago, when I discovered that the Real world (both past and present) was weirder and stranger than I had Ever imagined or read about in the type of novels you're talking about. Varley's feathers grow tiresome, Gibson is amusing cyber but punky, Stephenson is Really inventive, but I have to Crash now.

Try reading: Aldous Huxley, Stephen J Gould, Carlos Castaneda, Lewis Thomas, John Muir, Mircea Eliade, John Locke, Gerald Edelman, Steven Pinker, Carl Freidrich von Weizsacker, Paul Davies, John D. Barrows, Doug Hofstadter, P.D. Ouspensky, G.I. Gurdjieff, Rumi, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Idries Shah, Itzhak Bentov, Benjamin Franklin, Zen Master Dogen, Philip Kapleau, John Barth, Charles Darwin, JG Frazier, Benjamin Lee Whorf, JT Fraser, Thomas Kuhn, Fritjof Capra, Annie Dillard, and Edward O. Wilson, D.R. Suzuki, Peter Matthiessen, Immmanuel Kant, Steven J Hawking, Edward Shroedinger, Martin Heidegger, Martin Buber, Julien Jaynes, Daniel Dennett, Daniel Boorstein, Mark Helprin, Umberto Eco, Norman Maclean, Bertrand Russell, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. I should also mention (the real) Paracelsus. Some of the best stuff I ever read. And that's just a quickie. Write back and I'll suggest some more.

Paracelsus (former sci fi junkie)

sorry to spoil the party
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The world is stranger than we Can imagine. and getting weirder all the time.
 
Not dropping names, just discussing past and present interests. I read a lot of History currently, and some hard-boiled crime novels, but don’t rule anything out. Any specific suggestions in relation to our discussion? A laundry list that excludes some of my favorites doesn’t really interest me. We started with Gibson and Cyberpunk, moved to Liberal SF, where are you headed with your list? Anything specific we might be interested in would always be appreciated.

And if you stopped reading Speculative Fiction 15 years ago, how is it you are so familiar with Stephensons work?

Please don't talk down to us, we all live in that real world of yours.


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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
James, I'm sorry. I am Not trying to talk down to you. Yes, I have read a lot of the titles and authors you guys are talking about. I just read less of speculative fiction (as you call it) than I used too. I read all sorts of things, both fiction and non-fiction, old and new. I just found that my prediliction for science fiction took up so much of my time that I didn't read some other things that have taught me a lot more and entertained me just as much. Most of it is boxed up now.

You are right. I shouldn't have written that post. I just ran around the house grabbing books and posting the authors. But I really like all of those writers. You might too. I'll try to get back to you guys tommorrow with a real sci fi list and some of my other favorite current fiction writers (eg recently, James Morrow and Christopher Moore).

Please excuse me. It is really late were I am, feeling grumpy. I don't think any of us live 'in the real world'. We All live in our own worlds. I just want mine to be as Big as possible. But I guess you guys do too, or you wouldn't read those books (BTW Joe Haldeman blew me away with his early books like Forever War and the recent quartet whose titles escape my tired brain right now). What good would it serve to post a laundry list of Your favorites anyway other than to identify those on this forum who think just like you? I like diversity, strangeness, and really weird stuff. Some of my Best friends irritate the Hell out of me, but I Learn from them. Isn't that what you want too? By the way, Very nice reply
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Paracelsus (aka Brad)

[This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 21 December 1999).]
 
Brad, my apologies to you, as well. Not that late here, I have just had my fill of spoilers of late. I have really enjoyed your post here since you joined; I’m not at all surprised by your (former) interests.

I also just re-read the “So, where are you from” thread, and on Wednesday nights the sky sounds like Harlem in the ‘30s, it is only blue when I have to work indoors, and it is often tinged green at the Pacific when the sun is setting past the Great Highway.


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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
Originally posted by stjames:
How does it compare to Virtual Light or Idoru? I doubt he could keep pace with his early work, though Mona Lisa Overdrive came close. Count Zero is still a personal favorite.

Have you fellows read any Alfred Bester? The Grandfather of Cyberpunk, if you ask me. Tiger, Tiger (also published as The Stars My Destination) is an absolutely seminal work in the field, a must read for Gibson fans.
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James -
I think Neuromancer is much tighter and faster moving than any of his other work. There is a collection of Gibson's early short stories called Burning Chrome that is a very good read. One of the stories therein introduces the character of Molly from Neuromancer.

Molly is my favorite Gibson character. You gotta love a woman with OTF blades implanted under her fingernails!
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Tony King
Tulsa, OK
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A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes bleed the hand that uses it.
-Rabindranath Tagore


 
Whitebear, I liked "Hologram Rose" from Burning Chrome best, although the best known must be "Johnny Pneumonic". Another great collection from that time is Mirrorshades, ed. by Bruce Sterling. "Tales of Houdini" is my favorite from that one.


Molly Millions is definitely our kind of girl. I have been waiting for someone to use that as an alias on the forum for a long time...

Anyone one besides me like The Difference Engine? A little slow paced, but I love seeing historical figures put in different roles. A world where Disreli is a poet Byron a politician, fun stuff if that’s your bag.


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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
The pieces of SF that REALLY affected me:

Snowcrash

Neuromancer

Startide Rising by David Brin (ya wanna root for the underdogs? This is the ULTIMATE)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - the best look into the psychology of winning a fight you'll see in a long time. HIGHLY recommended - probably a factor leading up to my suing my Sheriff years later, because there comes a point where no matter how risky, if the only way to WIN is to do something that looks totally nuts, that IS the thing to do.

Unintended Consequences by John Ross. If you care about freedom, read this book. Period. And no, it ain't SF.

Jim
 
Molly Millions is definitely our kind of girl. I have been waiting for
someone to use that as an alias on the forum for a long time...
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...or even better-"Steppen' Razor!"

That would make a good one.


JK
 
Ender's Game has been mentioned. I read the "parallel novel," a sort of prequel-sequel-parquel, Ender's Shadow. It was even better.

Unintended Consequences has to be the most remarkable piece of historical fiction I've ever read. While I enjoyed its pro-gun message and consider it a great book (and the author a very good writer), it is uneven in tone. Specifically, it falls apart when the author breaks from fictionalizing past events and forecasts a future in which gun owners overthrow the yoke of oppression. Regardless of your opinion of such a future, it did not match the rest of the novel.

Razor

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AKTI #A000845
And tomorrow when you wake up it will be worse.

 
Steppen' Razor - "Measure Twice, Cut Once".

Sound familiar?

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James Segura
San Francisco, CA
 
StJames; Libertarian Science Fiction! I'd have to go back to lurker mode if I thought anyone thought I was a liberal!
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Paracelcus; For Ptolemy's sake! You've had 507 years to read all them books. I'm afraid I have to admit, I'm a hard core Skiffy addict have been since I read Starship Troopers at an age you wouldn't believe if I told you. I do venture farther afield, but it's usually technical stuff, or my other secret obsession; pulp noir. I try to read a book a day, and average about 3 to 4 a week (thanks BF). Most pulp of course, but I find SF to be the best (my favorite) at harboring subversive philosophy in otherwise inconsequential yarns.

I do appreciate the "laundry list" though; coming from one whose posts I enjoy so much, I'll check some of the unfamiliar ones out. My philosophy is; if there is a book in the library I haven't read yet, you'll never hear me say I'm bored. BTW Stephen J. Gould also Rocks! Too bad most of his stuff is out of print AFAIK.
 
I also just read "Tomorrows Parties" and enjoyed it very much! It got me thinking about great "blade" themed stories and I would have to say "Glory Road" by Robert Heinlein is my all time favorite. You can just tell Heinlein is a knife guy by reading it, same for Gibson. One of the scenes in "Parties" has a character flicking open his ceramic bladed switchblade, and pondering why it's so much fun. And of course, it's a hand forged damascus blade that saves the day! No way some non-knifer would think to include elements like that! I'd like to hear more suggestions in the same genre, so suggest away if you 've got favorites no one has mentioned. By the way, I am a librarian, and I have to throw in my opinion on the relative worth of "speculative fiction". It seems to me that much of the list posted by Paracelsus could fall into the category of "opinion", in other words, how that author sees things. The value of this kind of writing lies in it exposing you to a different point of view than you might have. Well written fiction, of all varieties, should have the exact same effect. It should take you "outside the box", as they say in the corporate world these days. An imagined situation or scenario can be the best of all canvases on which to paint the tapestry of new ideas, and aren't those new ideas, a new way of seeing, what we really gain? I just hope my fellow forumites enjoy everything they read!
 
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