Mosca wrote: "The first half of Red Mars is really slow; but the second half really takes off. The rest of the trilogy is one of science fictions best."

Okay, I'll give it another go. I have a free e-book of it from the publisher so it's not like I have any excuse. :)

Jon wrote: I finished Starship Troopers last night - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/340... - and I'm starting To Kill A Mockingbird for something completely different this morning.

I'll check out your review. I loved it but I was very young. If you haven't read Mockingbird, you're in for a treat. It's wonderful and I'm not the type of person who automatically thinks classics are wonderful. I'm kind of pathetic that way, really.

For everyone about Cyteen: It was my first Cherryh book, too, so I don't know if reading something else first would be easier. I suspect not because most of the Merchanter books are space opera that take place among the traders whereas this is grounded in politics and psychological horror on-planet. I don't recall them having that much in common at all. I definitely agree it's much denser and weightier than anything else of hers I've read, even the Foreigner series.

Jon wrote: "I just started God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell."

That's on my shelf to read... I'll be interested in your reaction/review.

Having read "Cordelia's Honour" I have picked up the two other books I have by the author and am current reading "Paladin of Souls" having finished the first in the series on Saturday.
Prior to reading Cordelia's Honour they were the only books I had by the author and am enjoying rereading them.

I just started God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell.

William wrote: "I finished Felix Gilman's Thunderer, which I thought was a very good fantasy..."

I picked up a copy of Thunderer a few weeks ago but I haven't had much time for reading lately. Good to hear you enjoyed it.

I finished Felix Gilman's Thunderer, which I thought was a very good fantasy with some fascinating setting in an ever-changing city of a thousand Gods.

I'm now reading Joe Abercrombie's Best Served Cold, which I've been looking forward to since I really enjoyed his First Law trilogy.

I finished Starship Troopers last night - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/340... - and I'm starting To Kill A Mockingbird for something completely different this morning.

Just started Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff. This is great military SF with a strong female main character; a nice counterpoint to the first Vorkosigan saga novel the group is discussing in the "Series" section.

For lighter Cherryh fare, I loved her Chanur series as well. Cyteen is brilliant, but one of her denser books, not an easy read at all, quite dark and also very screwed up characters to say the least!

Bjtriton,

Cyteen was the first book by C.J. Cherryh that I read. So, at least for me, the world building worked. Another excellent Merchanter/Union book of hers is Downbelow Station.

She seems to "info dump" a bit in most of these books so that a new commer will, hopefully, not be left scratching their head. I found that after a bit of background, Cyteen picked up and was easy to follow.

The Bujold series is easier, and enjoyable; but the future world is not so philosophically interesting. IMHO

Mosca,
I have not read anyother Cherryh books... I'm looking forward to more. I am really enjoying this one, although its a very slow read for me. I hoped to start reading the Bujold series at the same time for the group, but this Cyteen is going to need my full attention at the moment. If I had read other books from her Union world, would this set-up come a little easier to me? As it is, Cyteen starts with a huge info-dump of world building that I am struggling to keep straight. I do like cynical world views though, and this book is promising to be fabulous. Its great to discover a new & fabulous author!

Kelly, I absolutely think you should give Red Mars another try, but its clearly a polorizing book. Many from this group didn't like it and tossed it. Its not an easy book, its very heavy & wordy--not a quick action read. But I enjoyed it a lot and think its an amazing work.

I just finished Richard Matheson's The Shrinking Man and posted a short review here.

Now I need to see the film again.

The first half of Red Mars is really slow; but the second half really takes off. The rest of the trilogy is one of science fictions best.

Cyteen is one of my favorite books of all time. I couldn't even get into Red Mars. I found it way too verbose, way too heavy, way too much stuff surrounding the story. Should I give it another try?

Bjtriton,

I've read both Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh and the "Mars Trilogy" i.e. Red Mars-Green Mars-Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Both of these trilogies (Cyteen was originally published as a trilogy, but later combined, unabridged, as a single work) are excellent works. And both trilogies have a huge complex social/political/science structure as a backdrop for the story as you say.

But I found them very different. Largely because the world views of the two authors are very different. Kim Stanley Robinson is justifiably recognised as a visionary; while C.J. Cherryh is unjustifiably overlooked by many. I guess this is because her future vision is so cynical and decadent (although not an unlikely projection from where we are today).

I hope you enjoy "Cyteen" as much as I did. C.J. Cherryh deserves more attention from "serious" readers than she gets.

Have you read any of her other books from the Merchant/Union worlds?

I just started Cyteen by CJ Cherryh--and so far so good. I'm just barely into it, but it reminds me in some ways of the Robinson's Mars trilogy with a huge complex social/political/science structure as a backdrop for the story. I love it so far!

I just finished A Grey Moon over China by Thomas A. Day, which I really enjoyed despite some minor flaws. It's definitely a book that deserves a wider audience than it's had so far. I posted a short review on the book's page.

Next up: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.

After some deep thought I am reading Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey. So far so good. Like putting on a favorite shirt.

C12vt wrote: "Just finished Little Brother. Wow! Read the whole thing in the last 24 hours. I highly recommend it (and hey, you can get it for free in e-form from the author's website, so no risk in giving it a ..."

Little Brother is a must read. It might give you an idea how much big brother is watching you NOW.

C12vt wrote: "Just finished Little Brother. Wow! Read the whole thing in the last 24 hours. I highly recommend it (and hey, you can get it for free in e-form from the author's website, so no risk in giving it a ..."

Thanks for the tip! This is a really good example of how free e-books benefit authors. I've never been drawn to Cory Doctorow but I'm looking for books to read on my phone, so I'm downloading this to try it out. If I like it, I'll be reading more books of his and he'll have gained a loyal customer.

Just finished Little Brother. Wow! Read the whole thing in the last 24 hours. I highly recommend it (and hey, you can get it for free in e-form from the author's website, so no risk in giving it a try). Scary how plausible most of it is...

Scar night. Very good.

I finished "The City & the City" and it is positively brilliant. Also just read "Scardown" by Elizabeth Bear, the second Jenny Casey novel, and started on the third, "Worldwired". These are fast moving and great fun, the characters are complex and real and I love her use of Canada as a major power (maybe it should be in 'Fantasy' after all).
edit--I just want to add that I have this group to thank for turning me on to E. Bear. I had read her novel "Undertow" and it was competent if ordinary SF, and I was quite willing to give her a miss thenceforth. The enthusiasm that "Hammered" aroused here turned me around. Thanks, all.

Just finished The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein - http://tinyurl.com/lk7lr2

Next up - Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts.

Just finished Bridge of Birds A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was and I loved it.

Today I started The Essential Ellison A 50 Year Retrospective.

I'm not reading anything genre at the moment. But I just read Santa Olivia which was very good.

Stefan wrote: "I just finished Haze, L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s latest SF novel --- it's excellent and highly recommended both to fans and people who aren't familiar with the author yet. ..."

I want to get it, but I'm going to wait for the paperback. I think I have all of his books to date. One of my favorite authors. Thanks for letting me know that it measured up.

Jim wrote: "I read The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Eighth Grade Bites over the weekend, a YA novel. It was pretty good. I'm looking forward to the next one. Surprisingly good, actually."

My son gave me that book to read. I've been meaning to start it--glad to hear a good review.

I couldn't find any of the BOM's during my last trip to the bookstore but I did pick up Replay by Ken Grimwood & I am enjoying it so far.

I just finished Haze, L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s latest SF novel --- it's excellent and highly recommended both to fans and people who aren't familiar with the author yet. I posted a review on the book's page.

Next up: I'll probably get started on next month's fantasy BotM, The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan.

Just finished Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven. I have a review here
( http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21846... ), but it was a 9/10 for me. Characters who were like real people, flawed but occasionally heroic; detailed descriptions that helped the reader see and understand a disaster that would be indescribable and unfathomable.

I just finished Plague of Memory, book 7 in the Stardoc series by S.L. Viehl.

After my disappointment with Rebel Ice, I wasn't sure I wanted to continue with this series. Glad to see Viehl is back on track with another fun and fast-paced installment.

Now reading Richard Matheson's The Incredible Shrinking Man.

I found Bridge of Birds stuffed behind a shelf in the used book store. I hope no one was hiding it to read in the store. And I know I'll want to other 2 as well.

Isn't that a joy? I still have the other 2 - I'll get to them someday for sure.

I'm about half way through Bridge of Birds A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was and I love it.

I'll have to check out Robert Wilson. Now I'm kicking myself because I saw Spin at GoodWill, but since I'd never heard of him before, got him confused with the other Robert Wilson who wrote Schrodinger's Cat, etc. Argh!

Finished Cordelia's Honor - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/461... - yesterday and started The Moon is a Harsh Mistress this morning.

I've enjoyed almost everything I've read by Stephenson, which is most of what he's written. If you're willing to forgive him for being a bit overenthusiastic when it comes to sharing his research, and a general lack of structure, he can be enormously entertaining.

I just finished my re-read of Shards of Honour for the upcoming series discussion, and just started on Haze, the newest novel L.E. Modesitt Jr.. So far it's everything you'd expect from a good book by this author.

C12vt swrote: "I recently read Anathem myself and loved it."

I read Anathem earlier this year and really enjoyed it too. It has set me on a Neal Stephenson binge. I've since read Cryptonomicon. And I'm now reading the first book of the Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver.

I've known about Stephenson for a long time; but have only recently begun reading him. What a treat.

Lori wrote: "Ohhhhh, a virgin read of Assassin's Apprentice, I'm so jealous!


Me too! Loved that whole series.

I recently read Anathem myself and loved it. It seemed slow (though good) for the first hundred pages, before I internalized the vocab and setting, but then I just couldn't put it down. I read the whole thing in three days.

I'm working my through all the Hugo nominees, so I also read Saturn's Children recently. I enjoyed it a lot - it played on so many classic SF themes yet felt so original. Hated the cover art, though.

Well, I finished Julian Comstock A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson, and it was absolutely excellent. I posted a brief review on the book's page. If anyone doubted that he could out-do himself after Spin, I think this will put those doubts to rest. Highly recommended!

Just picked up "The City and the City" by China Miéville. Gave it to an obliging friend for a birthday; he read it in less than a day and loaned it back to me. So the cats lose out on this one (and why should I give them books for their birthdays anyway? they only ever give me mouse toys and catnip for mine). Also just found "Mad Maria" by Marcio Souza and "In Betwen Dragons" by Michael Kandel (Stanislaw Lem's best English translator) in a second-hand store.

I just started Califia's Daughters and finding it quite enjoyable. I'm also delving into On Her Majesty's Occult Service and thinking that finally, finally, I've found a Charles Stross I might enjoy.

Finished Accidental Time Machine - http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/550... and starting Cordelia's Honor.

I am currently reading the Stand and just cracking . Waiting for me at the library is audio book edition.

I just finished Blood Rites by Jim Butcher. I'm totally hooked on the Dresden Files series, but I'm going to take a break for a while. Blood Rites ended so peacefully and happily for Harry that I want to give him a chance to relax for a while before I see him get beaten up again. I do have the next book in my to-read drawer though, so that resolution may not stick.

I'm about halfway through two non-genre books, Gilead A Novel by Marilynne Robinson and an ARC of Let the Great World Spin A Novel by Colum McCann. Gilead is a Pulitzer Prize winner and I strongly suspect that Let the Great World Spin is being promoted for the 2010 Pulitzer. (What's the deal with putting the words "A Novel" on fiction titles these days?)

I'm going to be getting a review copy of Diamond Star from Catherine Asaro in the mail soon. I really liked Schism when we read it last year and am looking forward to reading Asaro's latest.

Scar Night Currently reading Scar Night. I just finished Iron Sunrise by Charles Stross. It was a bit of a slog, but ultimately quite good.

Stefan wrote: "I just finished Night of Knives A Novel of the Malazan Empire, which is a novel set in the same universe as Steven Erikson's Malazan books, but written by his friend (..."

I'm really excited about that new one by Robert Charles Wilson. I read his short story, Julian: A Christmas Story, and remember thinking that I would enjoy reading a whole novel set in that world. I'm glad to see he did one.

I've been reading War for the Oaks by Emma Bull. I'm usually not a big fan of an urban fantasy setting, but I am enjoying this one. And my request just came through at the library for Shards of Honour so hopefully it will be nice out tomorrow so I can take a walk downtown to pick it up.

After the nastiness that was Chapterhouse Dune going to read the next on written by Anderson and Herberts son.
Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Finished Before They Are Hanged last night. If you've read the book already, my review (which contains a few spoilers) is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/498...

Next up is Cordelia's Honor.

Since I bought the two Haldeman novels at lunch, I decided to start reading The Accidental Time Machine instead of Cordelia's Honor.

Guess I have a mission for Lunch today Sefan. Thanks for nothing....ha ha ha