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Liberation Is A Better Novel Than Anathem, Says Amazon

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lukeoneil47
11/10/08

In reply to Liberation Is A Better Novel Than Anathem, Says Amazon
Hey, for someone who has pretty much only read literary fiction his entire life, (with a particular focus on Russian novel, and American and South American post modernism) as well as passing sci fi authors like Vonnegut, but has always loved dystopian stuff like some of Atwood's work, and the obvious classics, Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury etc... and ALSO, greatly enjoyed The Road, Blindness, and Ministry of Special Cases recently, where should I start if I want to get into literary quality sci fi?

Suppose I should also mention I love Gaiman's Sandman, but didn't care for American Gods at all. So, there is my algorithm of taste. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm pretty open to concept driving comic books and films, but with books for some reason I have a really low tolerance for bs.
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Grey_Area
11/10/08

@lukeoneil47: Gene Wolfe
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
11/10/08

In reply to Liberation Is A Better Novel Than Anathem, Says Amazon
My library doesn't have most of these. Hell, it doesn't have most of the stuff io9 recommends. There's 16 holds on 4 copies of "Anathem". They're great on mysteries but crap on SF. So I shan't be reading "Liberation" any time soon.

I need a nice neat list of the books io9's recommended to send into the library as suggestions.
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Grey_Area
11/10/08

In reply to Liberation Is A Better Novel Than Anathem, Says Amazon
THIS IS A DISASTER!!!

I could not stand Liberation; Being the etc. which surprised me be cause I really dig complex Pynchonesque plots with references to Everything. I thought this would be like Neal Stephenson or Matt Ruff's Sewer, Gas and Electric. Instead it felt like 300pp of slam poetry. Just painful. I ate an entire box of Brillo pads afterward to expunge all memory of this dog.

On the other hand I just finished Anathem for the third time. Love it more with each reading.

Do I have a point? Not really--except that reviewers compulsively tell people what they're reading, I suggest just nod your head politely and back away. Read 5 or 6 reviews (or none) and take their combined opinion with a salt lick then read the book and make up your own mind.
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Rasselas
11/10/08

In reply to Liberation Is A Better Novel Than Anathem, Says Amazon
Liberation's subtitle puts me off a bit.
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Charlie Jane Anders
11/10/08

@Rasselas: How come?
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Rasselas
11/10/08

@Charlie Jane Anders: It's so self-consciously self-conscious that it threatens to creep up its own duodenum and expire in a fit of pluperfect postmodernist cod-Pynchon.
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