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

Random’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Candiss wrote: "The Light mages are for group benefit, whereas the Dark mages are for personal desires. What Westerners (most especially Americans) would think of as a positive - following your dreams, going for what you want, etc. - is considered evil in this philosophical system."

Not necessarily. Its not the focus on individual goals that makes the dark ones dark. Instead it is the focus on what the individual wants and be damned what it does to anyone else.

On the other side, it is not the communal good that make the good ones good, but that they strive to make sure that the normal people are safe to make their own choices.

Its really not that different here in the west.

Of course, at least in my opinion, there was a strong thread of moral ambiguity running through the entire book. I believe we're meant to question the very definition of the labels of good and evil.

just finished and overall I enjoyed it.

I particularly liked the muted tone and ambiguous morality.

I went a head and picked up the rest of the series.

Ken wrote: "Where's the cake?
I like cake"

The cake is a lie

I just finished Stories of Your Life and Others.

As with all short story collections, you're bound to enjoy some more than others. My favorites, which I consider to be 5(+) star reads, are Tower of Babylon, Story of Your Life, Seventy-Two Letters, and Hell is the Absence of God.

I did find one of the main character's reaction inDivide by Zero to be annoying enough to detract from what was otherwise a fascinating concept.

I guess it is this story which makes me hesitate giving the book a full 5 star rating, but then I have to admit, no book is absolutely perfect, and some of the stories more than deserve that full rating.

So, I guess I will. This marks the fourth book since the start of 2009 which I've given 5 stars. :)

Oh, I mentioned this in our short story discussion of Understand and it really applies to the entire book. These are all excellent examples of why I love science fiction so much. Not only is there a lot of imagination, but every one of them causes you to think, to look at things from a different perspective, and you find yourself thinking back to the ideas and concepts long after you've finished.

Now its time for me to try to start Night Watch again. :)

Ran across this site in an author's blog today.

http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/ar...

Looks like they're starting to offer free stories online.

Stefan wrote: "Random, if you liked this story, you really should find Chiang's collection Stories of Your Life and Others. "Understand" is far from the best story in it. It's one of the best coll..."

I've already added it to my wish-list :)

Correction - bought, downloaded, stuck on my reader, and ready for me to get home so I can curl up and do some reading. :D

Still catching up...

This is an excellent example of why I love Science Fiction so much. I can't believe I've not really heard about this author before. He's on my watch list now.

That said, I don't really have much to comment on other than that was an exhausting read. The force and drive of the main character, his need for more was enough to wear me out just from sympathy. :)

Kerry wrote: "I guess my reaction fell into, nice, but what was the point? "

A man's grief and hope.

Candiss, I couldn't help but think of the Death of Discworld as well. :D

As for the others, it seemed rather straight forward to me.
There is a long used concept that faith comes before the thing that is believed in. For example, death (the cessation of life) exists as long as there is something living, but Death (the personification of the idea of death) is created and shaped by the thoughts, faith, fears, etc of anything that dies. In this case, Death was shaped by humans, who no longer exist.

The same can be said of all of the others in the story. Gods, cultural concepts, and the like are given form by the people who worshiped them, who sung the songs, dreamed of their forms. Without humans they no longer have meaning. If a god was created by the worship and faith of humans, then with humans gone the gods will go as well.

That's the reason for the group of worshipers. They are worshiping each other, trying to give those who depended more (or completely) upon humanity for their existence the possibility of survival.

Like the Dragon King (god of the seas), Death will always exist as long as there is something living, but their personifications were shaped by humanity.

The scene with the octopus mimics the concept of early life leaving the seas for the first time. It also shows emerging intelligence, that from these creatures will eventually come a society that has the imagination to replace humanity.

Death joins the worshipers at the end because he knows that this replacement is coming. That is the other gods and the like can survive for the short term, then they may have salvation in the society that is to come.

The new flower on the roof top and the red peacock are a bit of foreshadow symbolism which hint of the emergence of something new.

Slowly trying to get caught up on the short stories.

I personally found it quite moving. Grief and loss, determination and hope. I admit it brought a tear to my eye.

I grabbed the audio version last night, stuck it on my player this morning, and should be able to start it by morning....I hope.

*I will finish Cryoburn, I will finish Cryoburn, I will finish Cryoburn*

I'm determined I'm finally going to finish CryoBurn by the end of this weekend. I first started the book back in mid October and I'm starting to feel embarrassed about how long its taking.

Then I guess I'm on to Night Watch for the group discussion (been looking forward to it), then Daemon because my husband bought it for me and it looks rather fascinating.

I started trying to read Avempartha back in November, but I'm having serious issues trying to keep my attention focused on it, so it may fall off the list for a little while.

Oh, and somewhere in there I plan on getting caught up with the short story discussions.

Ack! Its January already? What the heck happened to 2010. I've been looking forward to Night Watch and I don't even have the book yet. Now to decide...ebook or audio.

Oh, and Yay Candiss!!!

I still have to disagree. A narrator rarely, if ever, overrides my interpretation of a work, or how something is said, emoted, etc. There have been a few times, often with rather poor readers, where I can see they have approached differently than I would have even if I have never seen the text itself.

To add to the mix, I don't "hear" the characters when I read text. I can see emphasis, emotion, etc but I never really equate it to an actual voice.

Sarah wrote: "Reading at your own pace and using your own imagination is hardly comparable to having someone else do it for you."

I have to disagree with this. Just because you listen to a book on audio does not mean you are not using your imagination.

Looks like its keep trying month, so I'm going to toss out Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward for Science Fiction . . . again :)

I did a reading goal for 2009 to read 50 books. By July and book 60 I was so sick of keeping track of everything I read that I vowed I'd never set a goal again. It just sucked all the fun out of reading for me.

What was the best fantasy book you read in 2010?

That would have to be a tie between Carol Berg's Breath and Bone and Andrzej Sapkowski's Blood of Elves. The second was odd. It seemed a little awkward, but was overall extremely compelling. I hope the rest of the books get translated.

What was the best science fiction book you read in 2010?

I didn't end up reading much SF this year, and the ones I did were rereads so I don't think I can honestly give a good answer here.

Best any-other-genre-that's-not-SF-or-fantasy book?

Except for a couple humor books, everything I read this year that wasn't spec fic fell under technical. I guess I would have the say the most useful has been an ARC copy of Software Testing with Visual Studio 2010

Best new book (meaning, actually published in 2010)?

Captured: Behind the Lens of a Legendary Wildlife Photographer
Which reminds me, I forgot to add this to my shelves.

What was your favorite Beyond Reality "Book of the Month" in 2010?

That would have to be Flesh and Spirit or Anathem. Anathem was a reread though, so I feel a little guilty counting it.

Who's the best author you discovered this year?
Probably Carol Berg

TV show?
I discovered No Heroics this year (Yeah, I know I'm a couple of years late). Very funny. :D

while I thoroughly enjoy both science fiction as well as fantasy, I have to admit to a passion for hard science fiction. I guess I just enjoy stories which focus on ideas. too many squishy books can get to me after a while and I find myself reaching for some favorite classics on the hard side.

I also enjoy mysteries, some horror, and humor.

I couldn't help myself. I had my mom read the story. Her initial response:

" I always say that my memories, my babies, everywhere I have ever lived, everyone I've ever known, everything I've ever done, is in my head. I think pictures don't say what is true. They just capture a fraction of a second of the expression on a face, the pose - they don't tell the real story. You can't see the twinkle in the eye or smell the person. In my opinion, pictures lie."

I have to agree with her.