Cyberiad Books

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Introduction Cyberiad is a shared account used by several persons. Please address your email to the appropriate recipient. cyberiad@pacific.net.sg	A series of whimsical commentaries on the state of the world, culture, music, technology, fiction, travels, games, film, art, and more.	These pages are designed specifically for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01. Viewing with older and other web browsers may result in anomalies. The web pages are designed for a 800 x 600 resolution.
Fabulist Literature Stanislaw Lem Italo Calvino Jorge Luis Borges Salman Rushdie Enterprise Business Week Fortune Forbes Bloomberg Information Technology MIT Technology Review Red Herring Upside PC Magazine PC World Internet World Byte CNET ZDNet Wired Mondo 2000 2600 Science and Technology Discover Hardware Tom's Hardware Guide Bill's Workshop The Firing Squad Hardware Zone Military Jane's Naval Institute Air Power Online Music Elements A Different Drum Isolation Tank Al Crawford's Reviews Music Labels Hypnotic / Cleopatra Mute October 4AD Wargames Decision Games Avalon Hill 3W The Gamers Roleplaying Games Warhammer GURPS Call of Cthulhu Runequest RPG Companies Steve Jackson Games Chaosium White Wolf Hogshead Games Workshop Wizards of the Coast Search Engine Northern Light	books Fantasy - Top 20 Recommendations A selection of imaginative works. (Note: The books are listed not in any order of merit. The listing includes works from a sequence.) 1. Michael Moorcock - The Elric of Melnibone series consisting of Elric of Melnibone, Sailor on the Seas of Fate, The Weird of the White Wolf, The Vanishing Tower, The Bane of the Black Sword, Stormbringer, The Revenge of the Rose, The Fortress of the Pearl. 2. Fritz Leiber - Grey Mouser and Fafhrd series. Swords and Deviltry, Swords against Death, Swords in the Mist, Swords against Wizardry, The Swords of Lankhmar, Swords and Ice Magic, The Knight and the Knave of Swords. A new volume Swords against Shadowland by Robin Wayne Bailey is available. 3. J.R.R.Tolkien - The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarilion. 4. Gene Wolfe - The Book of the New Sun consisting of The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, The Citadel of the Autarch. Other related books will include The Urth of the New Sun, Exodus from the Long Sun, Nightside the Long Sun, Lake of the Long Sun, Calde of the Long Sun. 5. Tim Powers - The Anubis Gates. 6. Christopher Priest - The Glamour, The Affirmation. 7. John Fowles - The Magus. 8. Michael Moorcock - Dancers at the End of Time. A sequence of five books. 9. Michael Moorcock - The Warhound and Earth's Pain. Further books follow the abovementioned. The Brothel in Rossenstrasse, The City in the Autumn Stars and a few others. 10. Fritz Leiber - Conjure Wife. 11. Paul Park - The Soldiers of Paradise, Sugar Rain, The Cult of Loving Kindess. A trilogy. 12. Jack Vance - The Dying Earth Quartet consisting of The Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel the Clever, Rhialto the Marvellous. Michael Shea's 'The Quest for Simbilis' is set in world of the Dying Earth. 13. Ursula LeGuin - A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore. A fourth book, Tehanu, is dismal. 14. Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood, Lavondyss. Several other related books are Gate of Ivory and The Bone Forest. 15. Michael Shea - Nifft the Lean, The Mines of Behemoth. 16. Ken Grimwood - Replay. 17. David Ambrose - Superstition. 18. Mary Gentle - Rats and Gargoyles, The Architecture of Desire. 19. Robert E. Howard - Conan, Conan the Conqueror. 20. J.G. Ballard - Vermilion Sands. books On the Choice of books Borders makes a presence in Singapore. The arrival of an American giant bookseller, Borders, in Singapore signals a beginning of an intellectual life that was never present before. The implications of the entry of this large corporate entity, was greeted less with less than enthusaism by the local booksellers which had always been complacent, content to bring in bland coffee table books, bestseller fare and other very sale-able books, and at the same time, the local giant bookstores, like Times the Bookshop and MPH doubled as stationery and computer software joints. The local giants were a mini-cartel in itself, a form of monopoly if you will, secure in the knowledge that the other will not attempt to rock the boat, and thus they dominated the bookseller market, straitjacketing the intellectual life in Singapore to extremely limited means. Fear was evident in some quarter when the news of Borders entry reached the ears of the decision-makers in the local bookseller industry. For some, like Times and MPH, there was no doubt some misgivings and anxiety that the bottomline would be severely affected. At the same time, there were some unfounded fear that the small independent bookstore would be forced out. As a consequence, the choice, and the books brought in by small independents would vanish. However, a check in the various bookstores in Singapore reveal a sorry tale. Local small independents like Sunny's in Far East Plaza, Sans in Funan Centre and so forth are run by Chinese-speaking and educated people, basically, the average traditional Chinese business, with a nose for base monetary rewards rather than the enlightenment of the masses. Pragmatism if you will. Thus, they bring in the usual bestsellers, romance novels and swordfighting novels. Do these guerrillas of the corporate world attempt to even bring, say, Jorge Luis Borges, William Burroughs, or Erich von Manstein in? The answer is a resounding 'NO'. These local independents are hardly the equivalent of the small independent bookstores found in Berkeley, San Francisco, London, Boston and New York with their eccentric proprieters. Borders' entry has heralded a new means of reading. Readers, yes, people who read, rather than 'book lovers', can now choose to pick up a Frederick Tuten or perhaps a Jostein Gaarder at Borders. At the same time, they could pick up something esoteric, like a book on Alfred the Great's reign in the Dark Ages, or something on the history of political theory or maybe Marshall McLuhan. Knowledge seekers do not have to suffer with the coffee table fare brought in by Times and MPH ever again. Such is the range of Borders. The many diverse people browsing at Borders is simply amazing. Where have all these people come from? One could meet people all kinds, from English engineers with an intimate knowledge of Science Fiction to anarchist web designers with an attitude and profession for magic mushrooms to military historians who could quote serial numbers off aircraft. Amazing people are congregating at Borders, perhaps creating a meeting of great minds. Singapore will never be the same again. A celebration is in order. A celebration of knowledge. A celebration of life. A celebration of people.
Cyberiad. This term has nought to do with the current Cyberspace phenomena, instead, it is the title of a 1974 fabulist tract, 'The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age', a masterpiece written by the iconoclastic Stanislaw Lem. This magical work consisting of short fables, written during the stifling Communist era in Poland, when the Warsaw Pact was close to its nadir under the leadership of Brehne. 'Cyberiad' describes the two constructors who in trying to out-invent each other conjuring the most bizarre and hilarious of situations and creations, including dragons of improbability, electronic bards and so forth. 'The Cyberiad' is a delightful collection of fables. Heavily recommended.	books Speculative Fiction - 20 recommended authors A list of speculative works. (Note: The authors listed not in any order of merit. Not every work of the author listed here will fall into the 'speculative' label.) Angela Carter Stanislaw Lem Christopher Priest Iain M. Banks Brian Moore John Fowles Olaf Stapledon Michael Moorcock Lucis Shepard Jostein Gaarder Margaret Atwood J. G. Ballard Peter Ackroyd Anthony Burgress Jonathan Carroll Doris Lessing Philip K. Dick M. John Harrison Salman Rushdie Ian Watson William Burroughs, Hunter Thompson and other Beats writers may have elements of the fantastic in their works, but the framework and context are another entirely different matter. books Worst Fantasy Books ever written - Top 3 Commercial trash at its worst. What could possibly be worse? (In no order of disgrace.These books belong to the trash heap of fantasy, being examples of absolute disasters in writing. Epitome of bad writing. Spare us.) 1. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman - The Dragonlance Chronicles. 2. David Eddings - The Belgariad. 3. Piers Anthony - The Xanth series.