I recently bought a couple of books I read many years ago and enjoyed them almost as much now. The two Gerald Seymour ones were not bad at all (of course you always know how they will end because he always kills off his heroes)
both worth reading and not very long. Then I bought one of Wilbur Smith’s early novels. I used to be a big fan of his back in the late 70’s and '80’s as were both my parents. I stopped reading with the one where Sean Courtney goes to Africa. I don’t mind books with a common hero or theme as long as they don’t go on for too long - and for me that was the end of the line!
I read “The Dark Of The Sun” (filmed as “The Diamond Hunters”) which was a bit disappointing. I read it several times as a young soldier, but now I’m a lot older I was finding a lot of “d’oh” moments. I also bought
but although I liked it a lot back then, I ditched it halfway through this time as I found it just too corny.
Back to my non-fiction stuff!
PS - If anyone finds a copy of Firepower by Chris Dempster and Dave Tomkins at a reasonable price, please let me know. That was an awesome book about the mercenaries fighting under Christodolou and “Mad Mike” in the '70’s Angola civil war, fighting for the UNITA/FNLA against the wicked, communist MPLA backed by the USSR via Cuba. It’s non-fiction and rare these days and the only one I could find cost over £70.
“Children of Time” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’ve been on a SciFi kick recently, oddly, in part to learn more about AI. This book has zero to do with AI but the third book in the series, “Children of Memory” almost accidentally, as the author didn’t really intend do so, perfect explains language models through the example of sentient birds. In book one, it is spiders which are sentient.
I bought Killer In The Kremlin but was unimpressed with the first chapter or so, as it seemed to me that all the author was doing was bragging and name-dropping, and his knowledge of military things didn’t seem as good as he obviously thinks it is.
I didn’t totally give up on it, though, and it’s sitting under my new Police Motorcyclists handbook (I’ve got a one day rider’s course on Sunday with the local constabulary) waiting its turn.
I’ll report back when I get through it.
I’ve read that whole series and just finished the last one recently. It is a great story from one of the best hard-core science sci-fi authors in the game. I’ll be reading more of his work in the future.
If you want another book that explores the theme of ‘sentience’ and be freaked out by where current technology (not just AI) could potentially take us, read ‘Natural History’ by Justina Robson ( ISBN: 0-333-90745-0).
Edit: I love her writing, ranges from ‘hard’ SF (such as Natural History) to fun fantasy/sci-fi mashup (Quantum Gravity series). I reckon you would like her, here is a quote from her latest book (Paper Hearts), which I have just ordered:
“Do Not Kill was an absolute limit in my initial conditions, which I accepted.
I have so far failed to see the point of it.”
NIZI, A.I.
For an all too real glimpse of a dystopian future, you must read Gibson’s Neuromancer trilogy (AI features heavily). Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space series is another great trilogy (sentient machines) and as @Victork2 said anything by Peter Hamilton is a solid read.
I really liked the way no FTL travel and relatavistic time dilation was woven into the story for a lot of the characters. That reminded me a bit of the "Forever War’.
Haldeman’s forever war is one of the greatest Vietnam books I read. I bet it still rings eerily true for the veterans of the 21st century. It’s sequel, Forever Peace was good too.
Finished it this morning. Consider it a solid read. I liked how the author summarized each of the major individuals lives after the war up to and including their passing in the last chapter.
I’ve been reading my Yefim Gordon books on various Russian planes. Already finished Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-57, and Chinese Warplanes, now I’m on MiG-23/27. Reading this makes me realize I think I’d rather have a MiG-27K than the MiG-23ML in DCS! But any Flogger is better than no Flogger…
After that I’ll be moving onto his Sukhoi Interceptors book (Su-9/11/15) that I started but got sidetracked off of…
Hi Snowy55! As a flight sim fan, if you’re interested in the history of aviation, I would recommend “The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough. It’s a great book that tells the story of the invention of the airplane and the lives of the Wright Brothers. It’s a fascinating read that provides insight into the challenges and triumphs of early aviation. If you’re interested in simulation specifically, you can also check out “Stick and Rudder” by Wolfgang Langewiesche. It’s a classic guide to flying that has been used by pilots and sim enthusiasts alike for decades.
