Chris’s
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(group member since Feb 25, 2011)
Chris’s
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from the Beyond Reality group.
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Currently reading:"God as my witness, none of this would have ever happened if it were not for those two fools back in Salalah. Them and their map."
I will nominateSea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. This won the 2022 Goodreads Readers Choice for Science Fiction.
I will also nominate Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. This is the first book of a series nominated as Best Series for the 2023 Hugo Awards. I just started it, and I'm so impressed with the world building, characters, and creative magical system. I think the group would like it, too.
Well, I am definitely a huge LMB fan. But this book is clearly an early work, and (in my opinion) rather unexceptional. A harmless read, not at all sorry I read it, but not something that sticks with you once it's done.
The 2023 Hugo Awards nominees have just been announced. They are divided into short form (like a TV episode) and long form (movie or entire season of a TV series). This year's nominees are:Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
* Andor: “One Way Out”
* Andor: “Rix Road”
* The Expanse: “Babylon’s Ashes”
* For All Mankind: “Stranger in a Strange Land”
* She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: “Whose Show is This?”
* Stranger Things: “Chapter Four: Dear Billy”
Best Dramatic Presentation Long Form
* Avatar: The Way of Water
* Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
* Everything Everywhere All at Once
* Nope
* Severance (Season 1)
* Turning Red
Have you seen these? What do you think of this year's nominees?
The 2023 Hugo nominations are out (books published in 2022). Several books that we've read have been nominated:* Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree is nominated for Best Novel
* The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is nominated for Best Novel
* The Childen of Time series by Adrian Tchaikovsky is nominated for Best Series (we read all three books)
* The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir is nominated for Best Series (we read Gideon the Ninth)
I nominate the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (10 books).
I thought this was just fantastic, really thought provoking. Without becoming preachy, it managed to address some major themes. and I learned alot about cephalopods ...We see octopuses (yes, apparently it's NOT octopi!) exhibiting signs of sentience -- but it's not enough to identify sentient individuals. What about the next step, to build an actual community, or culture, that can pass on knowledge to the next generation?
The AI-managed fishing boats, with their slave crews, were chilling. They were exploiting the world's oceanic resources, while they themselves were being exploited, with seeming no way out.
Big themes, but a really good story, too.
July is here, and we've got a new month of books to read and discuss.Books of the Month - For July, you selected:
--Science Fiction: The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
--Fantasy: The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold
There are a couple of starter topics up for each book, but please feel free to start more.
We also have our schedule set for the next couple of months:
--August 2023 Science Fiction: Translation State by Ann Leckie
--August 2023 Fantasy: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
--September 2023 Science Fiction: Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds
--September 2023 Fantasy: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
Series news - We are currently reading the third book in the the MaddAdam trilogy by Margaret Atwood, MaddAddam. Join in anytime!
Lastly - Don't forget to check out the Question of the Week (a new one posts each Sunday) and drop by the "What are you reading in July 2023?” topic to share your picks, pans, and progress for the month. All genres welcome in this topic!
Chris, for the mods
Name (mm/yy): finished reading (spoilers); Post here to discuss The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. Spoilers ahead!
Post here if you are reading or planning to read The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. No spoilers please!
Jun 30, 2023 07:22AM
Post here if you are reading or planning to read The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. No spoilers please!
Final polls are open! What would you like to read and discuss in September? Vote now!Final Fantasy poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Final SciFi poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Preliminary polls are open! Please take a moment and vote for what you'd like to read in September.Preliminary Fantasy poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
Preliminary SciFi poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
This topic continues on a different thread, due to a change in moderator (see Nominations for September part 2).
Our nominations so far:Fantasy
The Bees by Laline Paull
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
The Legend of Charlie Fish by Josh Rountree
Science Fiction
Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall
I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane
We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart
Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds
Nominations remain open thru Sunday June 18.
Prelimary polls will open on Monday June 19, closing Saturday June 24.
Final polls will open on Sunday June 25, closing Friday June 30.
We need some more nominations! I’ll add Hands of the Emperor for Fantasy, and we Shall Sing a Song Unto the Deep for SciFi.
I am traveling this week, so I’ll post a summary of the nominees and start the polls when I’m back home. Nominations are open through Sunday the 18th.
I loved this carefully crafted story, weaving together strands of Celtic and Arthurian legends, the natural world and magic, love and loss. Peretur's more-than-natural abilities to communicate with animals and to move quickly and silently help her succeed. But it's her dogged determination to learn to use the spear, to work her way across the countryside by doing chores, to fight alone against bandits to help farmers that makes us cheer her on to earn her place among Arturos' Companions.
