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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

David Brin

agvvv

15:52 / 17.04.04

Just picked up Kil`n People by Brin. Is it good? Better or worse than his earlier stuff? Also. whats the story on this guy?

■

18:51 / 17.04.04

Not much, but I do know that it was supposed to be just Kiln People, and even he can't work out why the publishers changed the title.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:37 / 17.04.04

The first Brin I ever read was "The Postman"- don't let the movie put you off, it's a damn good book.

The Uplift series are also ace... though they don't start really rocking until the second one. Just the very concept is great, although "Sundiver" does veer dangerously close to "English country murder only in space" territory. By the time the dolphins appear, though, you'll forgive the guy any clumsiness. The second Uplift trilogy suffers from not having enough dolphins. (As does "The Uplift War", volume three of the first trilogy, but that's kind of fun anyway.)

Hmm... now you've reminded me, I must finish reading the second trilogy.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

22:40 / 17.04.04

Oh, and I met him once... I was working in an SF bookshop, and he came in to do a signing. Someone asked him what he thought of the Postman movie, and his answer was something along the lines of: there're three things you want a film of your work to be. One is to be a good film. Two is to make lots of money. Three is to be morally accurate to what you were trying to say in the book. I believe his next utterance was "one out of three ain't bad" or something along those lines.
He was a very nice man, for what it's worth.

onorthocrasi

06:16 / 18.04.04

Kiln People was friggin amaxing. It is the only book ive read by him and it certainly inspires me to read others. Part murder mystery, part spiritual journey it explores a future where all humans can have cheap clay duplicates of themselves running around helping them be it mundane tasks, sexing up your partner(s), working your job, ect.

It is incredibly well executed and has an incredible payoff at the end.

Read it soon!

h1ppychick

13:51 / 18.04.04

The only Brin book I have read is The Practice Effect, many many moons ago. Which book would you recommend as the best to start with? (also as a side note, which is the best Iain M. Banks book to start with?)

eyethankewe.

Cloned Christ on a HoverDonkey

22:30 / 19.04.04

h1ppychick:

"which is the best Iain M. Banks book to start with?"

I would say you should start with Consider Phlebas, it being the first of his s.f. novels and the one where the Culture are first introduced. I actually enjoyed this book more than any of his other science fiction, it being more quirky and less formulaic than its newer counterparts.

I don't think he's done any s.f. I would consider to be bad, but some are definitely a lot better than others. Lemme know how you get on with Phlebas, if you read it, h1ppychick. 8)

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