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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:31 am
by matrixman
Wow. Thanks, duchess! Sounds like an author I might really like.
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 7:39 am
by Loredoctor
Matrixman wrote:Wow. Thanks, duchess! Sounds like an author I might really like.
If you are finding it difficult to purchase one of his Culture books, MM, let me know. I will able to purchase on for you; his books are stocked in all Brisbane book stores.
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:59 am
by Avatar
Matrixman wrote:Wow. Thanks, duchess! Sounds like an author I might really like.
You've never read him? Do yourself a favour MatrixMan. All the Culture novels are great, but I two of my absolute favourites are non-Culture --
Against a Dark Background (A true must-read) and
Feersum Endjinn, excellent, but not for a first foray into Banks.
My favourite Culture novels are
Player of Games and
Use of Weapons.
And just to keep the thread on track, here's some of Duchess' post in the Hangar, describig the awesom GSV's:
Duchess wrote:General Sysytems Vehicles were like enscapulated worlds. They were more than just very big spaceships; they were habitats, universities, factories, museums, dockyards, libraries, even mobile exhibition centers. They represented the Culture - they were the Culture. Almost anything that could be done anywhere in the Culture could be done on a GSV. Yhey could make anything the Culture was capable of making, contained all the knowledge the Culture had ever accumulated, carried or could construct specialized equipment of every imaginable type for every conceivable eventuality, and continually manufactured smaller ships: General Contact Units usually, warcraft now. Their complements were measured in millions at least. They crewed their offspring ships out of the gradual increase in their own population. Self-contained, self-efficient, productive, and, in peacetime at least, continually exchanging information, they were the Culture's ambassadors, its most visible citizens and its technological and intellectual big guns. There was no need to travel from the galactic backwoods to some distant Culture home-planet to be amazed and impressed by the stunning scale and awesome power of the Culture; a GSV could bring the whole lot right up to your front door...
Awesome. I think I'm going to have to do some re-reading.
--A
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:02 am
by Loredoctor
Avatar wrote:f my absolute favourites are non-Culture -- Against a Dark Background (A true must-read)
Good choice! Though
The Algebraist is rapidly becoming my favourite.
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:05 am
by Avatar
Haven't read that one yet...going to have to change that.
--A
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:27 pm
by The Somberlain
Don't forget his non M. stuff. I know it's not too relevant to this forum, being "normal" fiction, but The Crow Road, Espedair Street and The Bridge (which is a little bit SF-ish) are masterpieces.
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 9:42 pm
by aTOMiC
I always thought this concept was cool. The Space Battleship Yamato.
I've always been interested in warships and especially World War II battleships. When I saw this Japanese animated show as a kid it blew me away. I was into watching Anime shows like Battle of the Planets and Speedracer at the time. My interest faded soon thereafter.
Not many good pictures of the show but here are a few images from model kits and such.
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 5:05 pm
by Lord Mhoram
Imperial Super Star Destroyer
Executioner. Nothing beats that shi'ite.
Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:18 pm
by CovenantJr
I'm puzzled as to why you paired a picture of an Imperial Super Star Destroyer with a Stone Age flint arrowhead
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 9:38 am
by Avatar
Lord Mhoram wrote:
Imperial Super Star Destroyer
Executioner. Nothing beats that shi'ite.
That's what I'm talking about! Sod the Nuclear Sub. I want one of
those!
--A
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:32 am
by Loredoctor
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:28 pm
by Dawngreeter
The Esmer wrote:.... That show was awesome (for a tyke that young, and at that time, heh.) I also want to add that the main blonde woman on 1999 ( I forget her name) who had one eye that didn't quite match up, just enough to notice, and for maybe that reason I've always been attracted to beautiful women who have one eye thats slightly "off". heh. seems exotic to me somehow......but I insist it started with that show!
Space 1999, a great show to set off my budding young sci-fi mind. Just yesterday my wife was pissing me off for some reason and I said "time's up Konick!" she didn't understand. You people remember that episode? I loved Maya, that hot polymorphing chic.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:26 am
by Cail
All the ships from Babylon 5 ruled...From the station itself, to the Star Furies to the White Stars, to the Earthforce Destroyers-picture an amped-up Sulaco.
Then there was the organic-looking Vorlon and Shadow vessels.
On the whole, truly awesome stuff.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 2:13 am
by Loredoctor
Shame I missed the series.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 10:38 am
by Avatar
What you must do is look for FarScape LM. Very good for TV.
Funny, I was for some reason under the impression that it was Australian?
--A
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:01 pm
by [Syl]
Farscape was filmed in Australia with mostly Australian actors (Ben Browder as Chrichton being the main exception), giving you the impression that all aliens speak with an Australian accent. Rockne S. O'Bannon, the creator, is American. The Jim Henson Company (production) is American, even if it was briefly owned by a German company (I think they're currently owned by Disney). The writers were also mostly, if not entirely, American. The only one I can think of off-hand was Richard Manning (who also wrote for Sliders before it sucked and DS9), and he was a really cool guy. Talked to him several times on the Farscape IRC channel.
Anyway, yeah, great show. Very easy to find the torrents if you're into that kind of thing. The DVDs, last time I checked, were still too expensive (yep, still $120 per season).
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:04 pm
by Cail
WGN reruns Farscape quite a bit, I believe Sci-Fi does as well.
The B5 DVD's are still around $85/season.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:34 pm
by Nav
Funny you should mention the Farscape accents Syl, for a long time I thought Claudia Black was English because Aeryn's accent sounded (to me) much more convincing than Sharon's Australian accent in Pitch Black.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:25 pm
by [Syl]
Heh. I can't tell the two apart, usually, without contextual clues.
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:04 pm
by Loredoctor
Avatar wrote:What you must do is look for FarScape LM. Very good for TV.
I liked alot of it, from what I saw - especially the series villain - but I didn't like the enemy aliens much (the big lizard guys).
