July 23, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Grant Fritchey (7/23/2009)
Another completely off-topic post.My 11 year old is starting to discover books (YAY! Finally). He just tore through Zelazny's "Damnation Alley." I need more in this vein. Any recommendations?
Also, he's fascinated with the concept of zombies, although he's never seen a movie (way too young) or read any other book on it. Any one know a young reader's book on zombies?
A lot of Zelazny's stuff is great. "Lord of Light" and "Creatures of Light and Darkness" are both well worth a read. "Doorways in the Sand" and "Roadmarks" are probably closer to the Damnation Alley feel.
Steven Brust has a literary voice that sounds a lot like Zelazny and I'd recommend any of the "Vlad Taltos" novels. More fantasy than sci-fi ( or is it syfy now since the channel changed its name?).
Some of the early Heinlein novels like "Citizen of the Galaxy" or "Podkayne of Mars", though dated in some ways, are works I remember fondly from childhood.
Heinlein's "Green Hills of Earth" short story collection was the first science fiction I ever read and I grabbed everything I could get my hands on after that.
I think I've read everything Heinlein, Asimov, Zelazny, and Harlan Ellison ever wrote.
July 23, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Kit G (7/23/2009)
Congrats on your kid learning about books! Zelazny's Amber series might be a good. I haven't read Damnation Alley but I've read a bunch of his other stuff. I enjoyed "My Name is Legion" and "Lord of Light" although that one might be a bit rough at 11 years old. I read "Lord of Light" when I was around 16 I think.Can't help you much on zombie books though. Dracula, yes. (Saberhagen's series about Dracula is a must read for Dracula lovers as "The Dracula Tape" is Bram Stoker's "Dracula" from Dracula's viewpoint, very good reading as are the others in the series.)
I know this is a bit old for the yung'uns, but for adults with a twisted sense of humour, how about "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"? Haven't read it yet, but I heard it's a commentary about all that forced civility during Victorian times, and how far it would go in really unusual circumstances. Will have to read it at some point.
Gaby
________________________________________________________________
"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."
- Albert Einstein
July 23, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Gaby A. (7/23/2009)
Kit G (7/23/2009)
Congrats on your kid learning about books! Zelazny's Amber series might be a good. I haven't read Damnation Alley but I've read a bunch of his other stuff. I enjoyed "My Name is Legion" and "Lord of Light" although that one might be a bit rough at 11 years old. I read "Lord of Light" when I was around 16 I think.Can't help you much on zombie books though. Dracula, yes. (Saberhagen's series about Dracula is a must read for Dracula lovers as "The Dracula Tape" is Bram Stoker's "Dracula" from Dracula's viewpoint, very good reading as are the others in the series.)
I know this is a bit old for the yung'uns, but for adults with a twisted sense of humour, how about "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"? Haven't read it yet, but I heard it's a commentary about all that forced civility during Victorian times, and how far it would go in really unusual circumstances. Will have to read it at some point.
Yeah, I'm a huge Pride & Prejudice fan, combined with a huge zombie movie fan. That one is on my list. Maybe I'll get it when I get the Kindle.
----------------------------------------------------The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood... Theodore RooseveltThe Scary DBAAuthor of: SQL Server 2017 Query Performance Tuning, 5th Edition and SQL Server Execution Plans, 3rd EditionProduct Evangelist for Red Gate Software
July 23, 2009 at 12:50 pm
"I Am Legend"? The book, not the movie. Might be a little dark for the age that he is.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability
July 23, 2009 at 12:54 pm
GilaMonster (7/23/2009)
"I Am Legend"? The book, not the movie. Might be a little dark for the age that he is.
I've heard the book is so much better than the movie (haven't seen the movie either), but a good classic scifi from it's reputation.
Gaby
________________________________________________________________
"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."
- Albert Einstein
July 23, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Gaby A. (7/23/2009)
GilaMonster (7/23/2009)
"I Am Legend"? The book, not the movie. Might be a little dark for the age that he is.I've heard the book is so much better than the movie (haven't seen the movie either), but a good classic scifi from it's reputation.
It's a great book. A bit dated, but still holds up.
----------------------------------------------------The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood... Theodore RooseveltThe Scary DBAAuthor of: SQL Server 2017 Query Performance Tuning, 5th Edition and SQL Server Execution Plans, 3rd EditionProduct Evangelist for Red Gate Software
July 23, 2009 at 1:00 pm
And now for something completely different...
Anyone here have experience using Ingrian, the encryption device that works with SQL Server. It's a relatively straightforward app, but seemed to have misplaced any manuals we have (creating them from scratch now) and looking to see if anyone has .PDF of it.
Gaby
________________________________________________________________
"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."
- Albert Einstein
July 23, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Harlan Ellison... now there's a guy with an... odd writing viewpoint and a fairly depressing one at that. I've read a few of his novels, never clicked enough to read more.
Heinlein's early stuff is great. "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" is one of my favorites as is "Citizen of the Galaxy". Well worn books. Got disgusted with "The Number of the Beast" half way through and was disappointed with the ending and have refused to read any of his newer stuff after reading "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls." "Friday" was okay though.
Depending on interests in Fantasy, I would recommend the Harpist in the Wind series by Patricia McKillip. There is, of course, the Dragonriders of Pern in the fantasy genre.
-- Kit
July 23, 2009 at 1:19 pm
GilaMonster (7/23/2009)
They believe that free houses, electricity and water are their right.
Heh... future project managers? 😛
--Jeff Moden
July 23, 2009 at 1:23 pm
RBarryYoung (7/23/2009)
You could 1) drink too much
Heh... NOT possible... 😛
--Jeff Moden
July 23, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Grant Fritchey (7/23/2009)
Another completely off-topic post.My 11 year old is starting to discover books (YAY! Finally). He just tore through Zelazny's "Damnation Alley." I need more in this vein. Any recommendations?
Also, he's fascinated with the concept of zombies, although he's never seen a movie (way too young) or read any other book on it. Any one know a young reader's book on zombies?
The 10 book series called "John Carter of Mars" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Speculation is that he died before he wrote the 10th novel and someone lamely tried to fill in but the first 9 are outstanding. No zombies per se` but some awesome creatures...
I wish Spielburg would make movies from them.
--Jeff Moden
July 23, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Jeff Moden (7/23/2009)
The 10 book series called "John Carter of Mars" written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Speculation is that he died before he wrote the 10th novel and someone lamely tried to fill in but the first 9 are outstanding. No zombies per se` but some awesome creatures...I wish Spielburg would make movies from them.
"A Princess of Mars" has been optioned several times over the years to be made into a film. I'd like to see Zack Snyder do it, not Spielberg. Although, if Spielberg paid for it...
----------------------------------------------------The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood... Theodore RooseveltThe Scary DBAAuthor of: SQL Server 2017 Query Performance Tuning, 5th Edition and SQL Server Execution Plans, 3rd EditionProduct Evangelist for Red Gate Software
July 23, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Michael Moorcock's Elric series would make some awesome movies. When I saw the previews for Hellboy II, I thought briefly that someone had made the movie, but alas, the last Emperor of Melnibone has not reached the silver screen yet. Which is too bad.
-- Kit
July 23, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I'll second the Elric series. My son also loved the Artemis Fowl and Pendragon series. More sci-fi, but at 10 he thought they were excellent.
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July 23, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Heinlein's really good for that age. So is Piers Anthony.
A bunch of AE Van Vogt's stuff (I may have misspelled the name) is really good for that age as well. Was originally written for pulps and has a lot of iconic/shallow characters involved in a lot of action and excitement, which works quite well for most 10-14 year olds.
Earthsea is good for that age as well.
Narnia, which works differently at different ages, from about 6 on up. Watership Down is another one that works at a lot of different ages.
The original Sherlock Holmes stories are also great at that age. The characters are shallow, the plots are in-you-face, but they're fun and it's good reading.
The Redwall Abbey stories are great for the 10-14 crowd as well.
Eragon was popular in that age range a few years back. Didn't like it myself, but it was very popular. Not so much as Harry Potter, but both were aimed at the same age range.
I've never much been into zombie books. Movies? Slightly. Books? Not really. So I can't recommend much that way. But the above should all be about right for what you're looking for.
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