90 réponses à ce sujet

[cedgedc]

I am not a sci-fi fan in general. I enjoy sci-fi movies, alien invasions etc. But mass effect was the first sci-fi title game i've gotten involved with (aside from star craft II ) in uhm.. maybe 10 years?

I read the books, and am just about finished with the last. I loved them. They were very simple, immersive, compelling. Kahlee Sanders is a great character.

I've typically been more of a Fantasy reader - Big R.A Salvatore fan. Read lots of Robert Jordan as well.

Looking for a reading recommendation. Perhaps something that is sci-fi for the non-hardcore sci-fi reader. Ideally I'd love to find an author who's written a fun series that I can follow for a bit.

Would love to hear any suggestions you may have!



(Note: I have no interest in reading any of the many star wars novels.)

[ME_Fan]

Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton
Complicated and nothing like the film, but a very good sci fi read. Btw this thread doesn't belong in the Mass effect forums.

[Rurik_Niall]

I strongly recommend the Darth Bane trilogy, written by Drew Karpyshyn who any Bioware fan should immediately recognise.

[Anza Power]

If you played any of the Doom games I found Doom: Knee Deep in the Dead as awesome as ME's books, though only the first one, STAY AWAY FROM THE SEQUELS!

I haven't read Darth Bane yet but I'm gonna because they're by the same author so they must feel alot like the ME books...

[Irrepressible]

Are the ME novels actually any good?

I generally have preconceptions that literature tied to games isn't all that awe-inspiring, but have been looking for some new books to read so was pondering it...

[Rurik_Niall]

I've only read the first one, been waiting forever for the library to get a copy of the second in, but the first one was pretty good. It was pretty interesting getting to read a story about Anderson and Saren.

[MajesticJazz]

Lol, OP said that Kahlee Sanders was a great character.....

[Synobal]

The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, it's got 6 books with a 7th starting a new but connected series coming out the 26th of April. The first book is Dauntless

From the book jacket of the first book Dauntless

With its senior command dead and many of its ships crippled and stranded deep in enemy territory, the only hope for the Alliance fleet rests in the hands of Captain John "Black Jack" Geary -- a legendary war hero who, after nearly a century in survival hibernation, has been found in an escape pod floating in deep space and reawakened The war between the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds has been going on for a century -- and now, as entire generations have lived and died during wartime, no one even knows why the bloody conflict began in the first place. But as Black Jack Geary struggles to come to grips with his almost godlike reputation -- while trying to find a way to somehow extract his fleet from an impossible situation -- he begins to realize that there are dangers in the universe even more perilous than intergalactic war

As you are I'm also a big Fantasy fan, though never Salvatore. If you don't like the Lost Fleet series I suggest Vatta's War series by Elizabeth Moon the first book is Trading in Danger

From the book jacket of Trading in Danger

The protagonist in Trading in Danger is Kylara Vatta, the youngest child in a wealthy trading family who is forced to resign in disgrace from a prestigious military academy and must somehow find her way in the world.

To keep her out of the public eye until the media frenzy dies down, Ky's father offers to let her captain an old rust bucket of a spaceship on its final voyage to a distant scrapyard. But when her faster-than-light drive breaks down, and her ship is stranded on a space station in the middle of a suddenly violent colonial war, she is forced to grow up in a hurry.

Modifié par Synobal, 12 avril 2011 - 07:42 .

[Chala]

I've never read books related to game... The trauma of game's movies is too much and I'm afraid of this to happen in the books

[Rurik_Niall]

Video game books vary a lot, some of them are great, some are mediocre, some are just plain terrible. The Baldur's Gate novelisations ranged from terrible (the first two) to mediocre, (the third) with the third one being a sad waste of Drew Karpyshyn's talent, not his fault mind you, nobody could have salvaged the train wreck of that trilogy of novels after how thoroughly Athan's screwed the pooch. I'd say the first Mass Effect novel is good, not great but still worth reading.

[Synobal]

The Calling, the second book in the Dragon Age Novels is very good, the first one was pretty bad though. Thankfully you can skip the first one and basically lose none of the story, as there's a lot of recapping and the plots of the two books are really only connected by the characters in both and nothing else.

[Eradyn]

Irrepressible wrote...

Are the ME novels actually any good?

I generally have preconceptions that literature tied to games isn't all that awe-inspiring, but have been looking for some new books to read so was pondering it...

Try to check them out from the library.  If you can't, whatever you do, don't pay full-price.  They are not worth that.

[Gentleman Moogle]

Oh, what the hell, I'll give out my recomendations:

Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

All by Timothy Zahn, set in the Star Wars universe. Some of my favorite extended-universe books. Zahn is a great writer, and really brings life to the SW universe.

Dorsai, by Gordon R. Dickson. It's an older book, and it's more "hard" sci-fi, but it's really well-written and pretty intense.

"The Dragon And..." series, also by Gordon R. Dickson. More light-hearted fantasy books, but with a decent amount of epic all their own. "The Dragon and the George" is the first book.

The "Honor Harrington" series, by David Weber; these are more space-opera-y books like ME. Not difficult reads, and some pretty fun stuff that goes on. I enjoyed the first book, though I generally prefer stuff that's a little deeper and more involved. Might be good for you, though.

Wraith Squadron
Iron Fist
Solo Command
All by Aaron Allston; more Star Wars novels, but following Wedge Antilles and his squadron-mates than the "main stars" of SW. I love Allston's writing style, very easy to read and filled with witty dialogue and engaging characters.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps ya.

[cedgedc]

Irrepressible wrote...

Are the ME novels actually any good?

I generally have preconceptions that literature tied to games isn't all that awe-inspiring, but have been looking for some new books to read so was pondering it...

I have always avoided video game-based novels like the plague. I found the ME novels to be -awesome-. Basically? It's just like having more DLC for the game, but you play as someone else.

It really reads a lot like the game plays. Same feelings, same vibe, but more insights. You get to read from the perspective of Aria and TIM, which is great.

I read the second and third books first (strangely enough) and then went back to read the prelude (revalations). I skipped that one because I didn't think Anderson would be interesting to read about. I was wrong. It's very cool, very compelling, and an easy read.

[cedgedc]

Neofelis Nebulosa wrote...

Frank Herbert's Dune.

Hehe I actually read this right before launching into the ME series. Very cool book. Couldn't get through the second one though, it's too slow and depressing :-\\

[Raanz]

Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear

[cedgedc]

Gentleman Moogle wrote...

Oh, what the hell, I'll give out my recomendations:

Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

All by Timothy Zahn, set in the Star Wars universe. Some of my favorite extended-universe books. Zahn is a great writer, and really brings life to the SW universe.

Dorsai, by Gordon R. Dickson. It's an older book, and it's more "hard" sci-fi, but it's really well-written and pretty intense.

"The Dragon And..." series, also by Gordon R. Dickson. More light-hearted fantasy books, but with a decent amount of epic all their own. "The Dragon and the George" is the first book.

The "Honor Harrington" series, by David Weber; these are more space-opera-y books like ME. Not difficult reads, and some pretty fun stuff that goes on. I enjoyed the first book, though I generally prefer stuff that's a little deeper and more involved. Might be good for you, though.

Wraith Squadron
Iron Fist
Solo Command
All by Aaron Allston; more Star Wars novels, but following Wedge Antilles and his squadron-mates than the "main stars" of SW. I love Allston's writing style, very easy to read and filled with witty dialogue and engaging characters.

That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps ya.

Thanks for all the great leads! I will definitely look these up!

[cedgedc]

MajesticJazz wrote...

Lol, OP said that Kahlee Sanders was a great character.....

To each their own. I find it compelling when the main character isn't a hardcore commando hero. Just a scientist who can throw a pretty solid punch.

[Synobal]

Oh and Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksenarrion is a pretty nice fantasy story too, but my sci fi suggestions are above of course.

[cedgedc]

Synobal wrote...

The Calling, the second book in the Dragon Age Novels is very good, the first one was pretty bad though. Thankfully you can skip the first one and basically lose none of the story, as there's a lot of recapping and the plots of the two books are really only connected by the characters in both and nothing else.

Cool, I'll take a look at this.  Hadn't even considered looking at the dragon age series. Who's the author?

[MajesticJazz]

cedgedc wrote...

MajesticJazz wrote...

Lol, OP said that Kahlee Sanders was a great character.....

To each their own. I find it compelling when the main character isn't a hardcore commando hero. Just a scientist who can throw a pretty solid punch.

Its not that she isn't a commando, it is just that she is a Mary Sue who has no real flaws. She JUST happens to be right in the center of all of these conflicts, but yet she really doesn't hold any relevance to them. Furthermore, she is a very stubborn character who always "accidently" runs into important information. Sort of reminds me of Inspector Gadget. 

Unlike all of the other characters in the novel, Kahlee is nothing more than a simple plot device. I hope the 4th ME novel coming out this October has NOTHING to do with Kahlee.

[Synobal]

cedgedc wrote...

Synobal wrote...

The Calling, the second book in the Dragon Age Novels is very good, the first one was pretty bad though. Thankfully you can skip the first one and basically lose none of the story, as there's a lot of recapping and the plots of the two books are really only connected by the characters in both and nothing else.

Cool, I'll take a look at this.  Hadn't even considered looking at the dragon age series. Who's the author?

I'd suggest The Lost Fleet series though is much better. The Author of the Calling is David Gaider.

[nelly21]

My favorite book is the Count of Monte Cristo. Amazing book. I recommend it.

As far as sci-fi goes, Jurassic Park was mentioned and it is excellent. My favorite one is Ender's Game though. Dune is also good but Herbert is a little long-winded for my taste.

As far as fantasy goes, I recommend the Song of Ice and Fire series. Great characters and dialogue. Hopefully, Martin will finish the frikin' series some time in this century. Also, I just began the Sword of Truth series and was pleasantly surprised. Not deep or thought-provoking but definitely fun and full of interesting characters.

[cedgedc]

MajesticJazz wrote...

cedgedc wrote...

MajesticJazz wrote...

Lol, OP said that Kahlee Sanders was a great character.....

To each their own. I find it compelling when the main character isn't a hardcore commando hero. Just a scientist who can throw a pretty solid punch.

Its not that she isn't a commando, it is just that she is a Mary Sue who has no real flaws. She JUST happens to be right in the center of all of these conflicts, but yet she really doesn't hold any relevance to them. Furthermore, she is a very stubborn character who always "accidently" runs into important information. Sort of reminds me of Inspector Gadget. 

Unlike all of the other characters in the novel, Kahlee is nothing more than a simple plot device. I hope the 4th ME novel coming out this October has NOTHING to do with Kahlee.

There aren't that many flaws in these novels. I think you're looking for too much depth in a shallow pool. Name a few of Anderson's flaws if you can find any?

I appreciated it for what it was, and enjoyed Kahlee as a main character simply because i came into the series with few expectations -none of them high- and was suprised at the sort of main character i found myself following.

Gillian was very fun to read about as well. I love all her little maneurisms and so forth. The way she eats is awesome.