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

Random’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Is it that time already?

For Fantasy
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord. I just finished it not too long ago and I was highly impressed. It had a wonderful feel to it.

For Science Fiction
Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson because it looks interesting and its been sitting on my wishlist for ages :)

Choosing a favorite is a difficult choice. My top three are:

Movement - for its beauty
The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees - for its creativity and tone
The Axiom of Choice - for its cleverness in theme and presentation

If pressed, I guess I would have to choose The Axiom of Choice. This was the story that struck me hardest and left me thinking about it, and the ideas it presented, long after I had finished.

As for guessing which will win, I don't know. My tastes so rarely match up with that of others. I will be content, however, if any of the three I mention win. :)

I just started Redemption in Indigo this morning. So far I'm really enjoying the tone. Its also in audio and the narrator does a great job.

Beautifully written and quite imaginative. I suspect it will be worth keeping an eye on her in the future.

My only problem is that I feel like I missed something at the end and I'm not sure what it may be.

Random wrote: "At the same time, the ending gives the impression that it was the lack of choice that was the illusion, even though it does nothing to show any other choice available."

Is it a sign of impending madness when you start replying to yourself? :D

In regards to my quote:

How often is it that we do this to ourselves? We seem to convince ourselves that there are no other choices, other paths, available. I know I have done this, and I have seen others do it as well.

The ending very blatantly only offers one choice. However, it is also a kind of parallel with the start of the story, which in of itself gives the impression that those multiple paths were available and viable all along, if the character had only been willing to see them and take them.

I should add - the characters and events in this story are actually irrelevant in regards to the point. The fact that people are drawn to this portion of the story is, in my opinion, a sign of how well he was able to write this on two different levels.

I still have two more stories to go, but so far this, along with Movement, are my favorites of the group.

Like Stefan, I liked the gimmick and feel it works very well with the underlying theme.

In regards to the initial choice mentioned by Sarah and Stefan, was that a choice of free will anymore than any other "choice" offered in the story?

". . . an axiom is a logical statement that is assumed to be true. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted within the particular domain of analysis, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other (theory and domain dependent) truths." - yanked shamelessly from Wikipedia

The story directly confronts the idea that freewill is an axiom, that it can never be proven because it is impossible for us to know the paths not taken. In fact, the lack of viable other choices reinforces the idea that freewill is only an illusion, and that any postulates based upon this axiom are in of themselves faulty. (What a nightmare of a statement. I think I might go mad if I knew for certain that this was true.)

At the same time, the ending gives the impression that it was the lack of choice that was the illusion, even though it does nothing to show any other choice available.

No conclusions, but I have a feeling I'll be thinking about this story for a long time, and that is the sign of a good story. There's no doubt in my mind that this sits squarely in the realm of SF.

Stefan wrote: "Good point. It's like the emotional content of the story is book-ended by these moments of absurdism."

That was my problem with the story. Parts were so absurd that it seems to overpower the rest.

The book sounds like it would be just up my alley, but I'm having a horrible time getting started. I'll keep trying and hope to get into the discussion a little later.

Tad wrote: "Wow... I'm learning more about Heinlein. This explains a few things.

Old Man's War: liked the beginning quite a bit, pulled me in. But while on one hand I appreciated the dialog being light, on t..."

This is my second book by Scalzi and in both cases I ended up feeling that they were good, but something was really missing. now if I only knew what was missing.

Thinking about it, I think what I end up walking away from his books with is a feeling of pointlessness.

The lists do look a little anemic.

I've been wanting to read Steel Across the Sky for ages now so I won't nominate for Sci-Fi.

For fantasy, lets try
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. Its rather new, easily available in multiple formats, and does not sound like your average western European based fantasy.

Stefan gave it 4 stars (reason it came to my attention). I suck at descriptions so if you want to know more, go take a look at his review. :D

I initially read this story last month and I have been waiting for my thoughts to get sorted before posting. They do not seem to be willing to become sorted however. :D

I do agree with Nick, it is best to go into the story blind.

I keep thinking the author was trying to make a point, but has gone to such extremes in doing so that the entire thing has become ludicrous.

Ah, but this is so much more than just a soldier story. It raised a definite question about the use of force and the ease of that use. It also brings up points of humanity, what makes us human, and identity.

For example, we have the obvious point in the battle with the Covandu. Inch tall beings who could be slaughtered just by stepping on them. And its all being done by these super soldiers. Or when they attacked the Whaid system. Surely I'm not the only one who had the word 'bullies' floating through my head for that entire portion.

He has an interesting cynical view of the universe where xenophobia and aggression seem to be the default setting for all species out there, or at least all of the ones we met.

My only complaint is that I don't believe Scalzi went far enough and leaves a lot for the reader to piece together. The up side is that this also forces the reader to draw his/her own conclusions instead of being fed a certain view point.

I just finished this morning. I still haven't decided on my rating. Overall I enjoyed it, there were a few spots that really bogged down for me and I had to fight my way through them.

I just finished last night. Would have been sooner, but I forgot the book at work last weekend *sigh*

I'm really rather surprised I never ran across the earlier books in this series before Goodreads. During the time they were being published, I was coming pretty close to living at my local book stores.

I have to say, Jhereg was a whole lot of fun. Part heist/caper with a splash of detective and a sprinkling of mafia for flavor (all rare in most fantasy, especially of that time period). I adored Vlad's quick wit, and it kept reminding me of the reasons I enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora.

I'm not much for action. I much prefer to watch a plan being made or a puzzle being solved, than I do fight scenes. (For example, the fight scenes in the Mistborn series, which so many people raved about, bored me to tears.) That said, Jhereg pretty much hit the spot, and it managed to hold my attention through all of the other distractions I have going on around me.

I do plan on reading the rest of the series, though I don't know if I want to do it now, or wait to see if maybe we'll pick it up as the next series read. :)

I like the idea of opening a thread for each story on the 1st and allowing it to be somewhat free form.

I've already read a few on the list and look forward to discussions.

Interesting suggestion. We'll be due for a Fantasy series next time around. :)

Started the book last week and I'm getting near the end now. Its been fun so far.

Jim wrote:
"I bought my copy when it first came out in paperback & it's been chewed on by a puppy. That made turning some of the pages a bi..."

i have a cat who likes to eat books. He's kind of strange. I don't believe we have a book in our house that doesn't sport at least one pair of fang punctures in one of the corners of the cover. :D

I finally managed to get an old copy of Jhereg, which I'm starting today (I hope). Another dead tree edition, but hopefully I'll manage to not loose it like I have with Something Wicked This Way Comes. That I managed to leave at a friend's house about 40 miles away. *sigh*

Also want to get Old Man's War read before the end of the month so I can maybe actually join in on a discussion.

My reading time keeps getting squeezed less and less due to other distractions.

Curse you Bioware!

MB wrote: "I like anthropological SF ! Anyone have suggestions for me? Feel free to send them my way."

The Dark Beyond the Stars by Frank M Robinson. Trust me on this one :D