Sandi's comments
(member since Mar 29, 2009)
Sandi's comments from the Beyond Reality group.
(showing 1-20 of 108)
I was reading Dracula The Un-Dead, but have briefly paused to read The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker because I just have to know what happens in 2355. The Dracula book is really awful.
I'm pretty sure the Conn Iggulden books are historical fiction. I read Genghis Birth of an Empire and it was definitely historical fiction with no fantasy elements. I'm pretty sure his series about Rome is the same. (I really did enjoy the Genghis book though.)
I just finished Julian Comstock A Story of 22nd-Century America and am going to give it five stars. It's the fourth book I've read by Robert Charles Wilson. (How long ago was it that we read The Chronoliths on the Yahoo group?) So many authors get stale and keep writing variations on the same book, but Wilson just keeps getting better and better. I'm starting Dracula The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker tonight. It's due next Saturday and I suspect I may not be able to renew it. It's getting good buzz in the press and I was really surprised to find it in the library. I'm afraid that someone will be reserving it, thus preventing my renewal.
I thought it was interesting how things that are currently thought of as disabilities are turned into strengths in Watts's imagined future. We may call people with mental disabilities "special" today, but in the world of the book, these people are truly special. Our protagonist has half a brain and his disability enables him to analyze events without emotion. I thought The Gang was especially interesting. The way Watts treats each personality as an individual was difficult to grasp at first, but soon became normal. I liked that he treated these characters as if they were normal (or super-normal).
Stefan wrote: "Deedee, I'm so glad you found Julian Comstock - easily my favorite SF novel this year! There are scenes in that novel that I will never forget. I plan to nominate it for BotM here once it's avail..."Everybody I know who has read it has loved it. I just started it.
The vampire in Blindsight is very, very different from what you think of when you think of vampires. The book is definitely one of the hardest SF books I've read in a while. Everything has a scientific explanation. I thought it was interesting that every member of the crew was damaged in one way or another and they were chosen for their particular disabilities.
Stefan wrote: "I'm about to go start reading her All the Windwracked Stars. I have a review for the sequel (or prequel?) By the Mountain Bound due. It looks very interesting - I'm ..."I read "All the Windwracked Stars" recently. I think it kind of falls into the New Weird category. It's mostly fantasy, but parts seem kind of science-fictiony. It really helps if you have a basic understanding of Norse mythology. It was probably one of the most difficult novels I've read this year. I found myself having to go back and read early parts because the section I was in wasn't making any sense because I hadn't understood something that happened earlier.
Have you noticed that Norse mythology is becoming a popular fantasy theme lately?
Jim wrote: "I'm reading Hell House by Richard Matheson right now."I think "Hell House" may be one of the scariest books I've read. Of course, I was in my teens when I read it. Other books that scared the heck out of me:
The Omen by David Selzer
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
and
The Shining by Stephen King
I've always loved suspenseful, scary ghost stories. However, I rarely read horror because I really don't have patience for gore. I prefer psychological horror.
Ron wrote: "A lot of 'unseeing' seems to be done by the citizens of London too."That sounds like Neverwhere A Novel by Neil Gaiman.
Stefan wrote: "I remember that one --- it's the one that gives the perspective of the "other side", right? Labienus etc? I remember not liking it as much either. Still a brilliant series, I think."That's the one. I realized when I looked at the copyright information that it's a bunch of short stories pieced together into a novel. It reminds me of one of those sitcom flash-back episodes. I'm at the San Francisco earthquake section that's narrated by Victor. That and the part with Lewis and the Irish monks are the best segments. I think I might have liked it better if it was just a short story collection.
I'm really struggling with The Children of the Company. It's nowhere near as entertaining as the other 5 novels I've read in the series.
I've got a trifecta going. I'm reading The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, The Children of the Company by Kage Baker, and The Hero of Ages.
Looks like we're going for classic SF in December.
That is a good question, C12vt. I think the familiarity of the characters and the plot let the setting stand out.
Frankly, I found the characters pretty forgettable and kind of cliched. For me, this book was all about the mystery and the concept of the superimposed cities.
Well, I haven't read the book, but I always liked the title. I knew that stigmata had religious significance--it's a manifestation of Christ's wounds on a believer's palms and feet. Random's definitions of "Palmer" and "Eldricht" further the religious meaning of the title. Does the story match the supernatural meaning of the title?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is my favorite. I led a discussion on it for another group and was really impressed with how much was in the text. It was the second time I'd read it. That's when I realized it take two readings to "get" a PKD story.I've also read Ubik, Eye in the Sky, The Man in the High Castle, and a short story collection, The Philip K. Dick Reader. I haven't read anything by him that I didn't like. I may have been confused, but I liked it.
Ricky wrote: "I want to reread it if I have time. PKD was a genius. His books took ordinary smucks into extraordinary worlds and made you question reality."It usually takes a second reading to even understand PKD.
I went to Borders today, they didn't have it either.
I have completely lost track of which books are being read in which groups and when. I just checked my library's website and it says "missing on shelf". I guess I may have to use the 30% Borders coupon I just got. I like PKD well enough to own a copy.
