But I read Casey Neumiller's sci-fi novel Dead Man's Fugue a while back, and really enjoyed it. Destiny's Heir takes place in a vaguely Tolkienish world and it is a reminder that a skilled writer can get you to read outside your genre comfort zone.
I suspect that the reason that I have never been big on fantasy is that can (and usually does) become an excuse for, "There are no laws of science that actually consistently apply." But Destiny's Heir does a nice job of keeping the magic within constraints that I could respect and enjoy. Oh, and let's just say that it may be a technologically primitive world, but there are weapons more advanced than swords. That's all I'm saying!
Besides, I like to read novels written by people with computer science degrees. It gives me hope that when I retired (hopefully at the end of this year), I can start writing novels and make a modest living at it.
As a retired computer science guy - good luck with your goal!
ReplyDeleteI also rarely read fantasy, for the reasons you mentioned. These days, I don't read much SciFi at all - I don't know if there's any good "hard" SciFi being produced any more.
there is definitely some excellent hard SF coming out today--look for Baen Books. John Ringo, Tom Kratman, Travis Taylor, all doing good work. check out the best sellers in military SF in the kindle collection on Amazon. the late Ric Locke only got out one book, Temporary Duty, before dying way too young of cancer.
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