Random’s Comments (group member since Apr 30, 2009)

Random’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

I finally got around to starting Blind Lake the other night. So far, I think its building to something fascinating.

Batsap wrote: "I don't consider Jurassic Park to be sci-fi, not really, but I think that other people do. It deals with cloning and DNA, so it could be defined as sci-fi, but to me it is a thriller. "

The thing to keep in mind is that genres are not completely exclusive. There's no reason a book can't inhabit both thriller and science fiction.

Sandi wrote: "I knew I had heard fairly recently that a famous contemporary of Galileo had written the first science fiction novel. I just couldn't remember who, so I turned to Google. The first science fictio..."

I'm so glad you posted that. I heard about it years ago and I've been trying to remember who it was for days.

Believe it or not I am still working my way through The Windup Girl. I'm starting to think that I'll never manage to finish a book again. :)

I vote for pre 1980 too. 85 makes me feel very old. Well to be honest, 80 makes me feel old too. :)

RL distractions are a pain. Had a few myself this month. I'm still trying to get through the Windup Girl. I've made it to chapter 26 but have been stalled there for a few weeks now. :(

When I was young I wanted to be an astronaut really badly. I remember my mother telling me that women couldn't do that. It was a great pleasure watching her go up. :)

I ended up starting a dual major in astronomy and physics (physics only required one additional class above the astronomy degree). That got diverted in my second year and I ended up delving into the computer field. I have to admit, I enjoy the software industry and would likely make a very poor academic. :D

I also remember being told by my friends that I'd never get a boyfriend if I kept playing with computers.

I know its not exactly science fiction related, but Sally Ride died today from pancreatic cancer. For those of us pushing towards science and technical goals in the 80s, she was an example we could point to and say "if she can do it, so can I".

Link Here

I've considered Foreigner but just looking at the size of that series exhausts me. :) Is this a series I'd want to power my way through or something I can pick back up at a later time without going nuts?

I've also considered Fortress in the Eye of Time but I think I might want to start with her SF first.

For Science Fiction lets try The Quiet Invasionby Sarah Zettel

For Fantasy I'm going to try Vellum: The Book of All Hours by Hal Duncan

Why? Because they both sound good and I've been wanting to read them for a long time. :D

And while I'm at it, I vote that all future monthly selections have to be taken from my To-Read list so I might have a chance of the number of books going down instead of going up. ;)

Another b-day come and gone which means more books. YAY! After last year's massive haul, this is tiny in comparison. Actually I still haven't even managed to get to most of last year's haul. :D

This years more modest list:

Audio
Glasshouse by Charles Stross
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

ebooks
The Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel
Nothing Human by Nancy Kress
Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson
A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda
The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin (Prep for September's book of the month)

Oh, and there will be a C. J. Cherryh book tossed in there as well as soon as I figure out which one to choose. :)

So, I've finally decided to correct the fact that I have never read a book by C. J. Cherryh. Anyone have any suggestions for a first go?

I have it and hope to start it soon.

I'm going to skip science fiction because I want to read Steel Across the Sky.

For fantasy, I'll nominate Vellum: The Book of All Hours. It has mixed reviews, but I've heard good things from trusted sources. At the least, it should have good potential for discussion.

Might consider Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War or Serrano Legacy series.

If you are interested in some very classic space opera, my husband adores E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen series.

Added - Husband has also mentioned E.E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark series.

I would be game as long as it is part of the usual monthly book selection. Perhaps put it around 1985 or earlier though I may be dating myself saying 80s seem too recent for classics. :)

Its not that I felt it needed to be described in excruciating detail.

Example: I have a very hard time buying the fact that two people can go from first meeting, attraction, infatuation, and discussion of marriage all over the course of a couple of days. Two people who for the most part barely even spoke to one another. And one of them was unconscious for part of that time. I mean most teenagers usually manage to go more than a few days between first meeting and declarations of "you are the only one I would wish to wed".

Another example is Raseed's crisis of conscience. So, we have the scene where he gets the crimson quicksilver that Litaz needed. He knowingly accepted that stolen item. This is where we should see him struggle. I mean, he even briefly considered steeling the stuff himself (though the lucky appearance of the Falcon Prince saved him from having to do that). Instead he feels a little guilty and that's about it. Then at the end at the scene at the Cobra Throne when he was seemingly transported to the lake of flame. We should have had payoff here for his guilt of the earlier deed. This should have been a big struggle for him. What we got was a brief moment of fear, then almost immediate acceptance that no one is perfect and off we go, its all good again.

Another example is Zamia's inability to take lion form after being injured. A perfect setup for it to continue to fail her at a point when needed. Instead we get "oh my period is done", and boom it works just in time for the final battle.

I just didn't feel like anything was earned. It was all too easy, too simple, from character development to even the final battle.

So, I finally finished this last night and I have a few thoughts.

I have to say overall I have mixed feelings. The potential is certainly there but I think the execution could have been better.

I wish there had been a little more world building. Actually, scratch that. I get the feeling he has built things up quite well, he just didn't spend a lot of time telling us about it.

I can't believe I am saying this, but I almost wish there had been more filler. In a way it was almost like reading a Readers Digest abridged version. Everything happened so very fast, all jumbled together. We delved into the characters wants, desires, motivations too deeply too quickly. I felt like we hadn't earned all of the exposition we received.

There's certainly potential here and I'm curious to see how he'll have grown in his writing with the next book.

Candiss wrote: "

Edit to add: The Halloween Tree! I need to be sure to re-read it this October. "

Oh, I haven't thought of that in ages. I'll have to try to dig up a copy.

I still haven't managed to finish Something Wicked This Way Comes (still haven't gotten back to that friend's house), but the lyric quality was such a joy.

The loss of yet another formative author of my youth. Very sad. Fahrenheit 451 was one of the few books I had to read in school which I really enjoyed.

I'm about two thirds of the way through the book and hope to be finished with it soon.

Janny wrote: "I will also nominate one of her SF titles, badly overlooked - she's a tremendous SF writer, up to any of the idea books out there, and her aliens are extremely well drawn.

For SF,

Sarah Zettel, The Quiet Invasion, which was awesome. "

I almost nominated that one myself. Another one which has been sitting on my wishlist for far too long. :)