Chris’s
Comments
(group member since Feb 25, 2011)
Chris’s
comments
from the Beyond Reality group.
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I read the Soldier Son trilogy some time ago, and I definitely agree with "dreary". It's such a switch from the wonderful Realm of the Elderlings!
Sorry! I agreed to fill in for Kathi, but I'm at a convention and just couldn't get to my computer until the afternoon!!!
I'm a bit of a collector, and I've acquired all of the Hugo and Nebula winners for my home library. Some have definitely held up better than others over time! But overall it's a pretty impressive body of work.That said, there are plenty of great stories that never win an award. I rely on recommendations and just plain browsing to build out my TBR list.
The Hugo Awards will be announced this week. How much importance do you give awards (like the Hugos, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus and others) when deciding what to read?
Cage of Souls is on sale today on Amazon.
Please share what you're reading this month (September 2022), and any comments you'd like to make about the book(s).All genres welcome here!
November BOTM final polls are open!Science Fiction Final Poll November 2022
Fantasy Final Poll November 2022
Final polls are open through Wednesday August 31. Please vote!
Nominations are closed and the preliminary polls are open!Science Fiction Preliminary Poll November 2022
Fantasy Preliminary Poll November 2022
Preliminary polls are open through Thursday August 25. Please vote!
I found it somewhat confusing at first to keep all the characters straight, so I was quite thankful for the character list. This is a complex story; the characters have complicated and sometimes conflicting motivations. The family alliances and competitions keep shifting, and the politics are ever-changing.The world-building of the moon colonies was imaginative, from a sun-powered giant smelter city to underground giant gardens. The dangers of living on the moon were ever-present, and the urgency to keep earning enough to pay for the four elementals (air, water, carbon and data) was striking. The contractual nature of the lunar society seemed a natural offshoot of settlements that started as a commercial venture rather than as national projects. That said, I appreciated that that several of the Dragons came from the more unusual Brazil and Ghana, rather than the typical US and Russia space race story.
The level of vengeance, particularly from the Mackenzies, was depressing. In such a precarious landscape, the idea of paying back "three times" ignores the real reliance that everyone has on each other.
I agree, Shel, the explicit sex didn't serve a purpose and took me out of the story.
I did go on to finish the trilogy. The remaining two books had just as much political intrigue as the first, and I felt that they wrapped up the story in a satisfying way. It was also much easier to keep track of the characters by that point!
Hi everyone, Once again, it's time to open nominations for our November 2022 Books of the Month.
Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:
1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.
2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:
a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month
and/or
b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011
Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.
General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.
Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Friday August 19.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Saturday August 20 and will run through Thursday August 25.
• The final run-off polls go up Friday August 26 and will be open through Wednesday August 31.
Thanks!
Chris, Moderator
NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
Native Tongue
Termination Shock
Matter
Dauntless
FANTASY:
The Book Eaters
A Master of Djinn
The Spirit Ring
Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
I definitely have favorites, but those favorites change over time. Lately, my top SF/F authors have been:Naomi Novik
John Scalzi
Erin Morgenstern
Robin Hobb
Alix Harrow
In other genres, I tend to snap up new books by
Louise Penny
Christopher Fowler
Attica Locke
Our October BOTM polls are open!Science Fiction Final Poll October 2022
Fantasy Final Poll October 2022
Final polls are open through Sunday, July 31. Please vote!
I thought this held up relatively well for a story almost 50 years old. Stories from that era tend to be a boys club of characters, but we had a number of female characters as well (yes, they were often romantic partners, but they were also starship pilots and crew members with their own agency). I thought that Rob/Bob was very human. Not particularly likeable, but understandable. He was lucky enough to escape the drudgery of the food mines on earth, but then too paralyzed by fear to risk shipping out on flights to the unknown. Or maybe just too aware of the statistics ... the payoffs could be big, but the odds were not in his favor. A desperate man in rather desperate circumstances.
Sigfried definitely grew on me as the book progressed. And I want to know more about the Heechees! I plan to continue with at least the next book in the series.
Nominations are closed and the preliminary polls are open!Science Fiction Preliminary Poll October 2022
Fantasy Preliminary Poll October 2022
Preliminary polls are open through Sunday, July 24. Please vote!
I prefer reading on my iPad using the iBooks app. But I also have a large collection of physical books (I have almost every Hugo and Nebula winner, and I'm working on filling in the gaps). I've been disappointed with library offerings in the past, but this year I've had much more success as they've switched to the Libby app. I tend to find audio books for road trips, and I sometimes need a book to read by the pool, so it's not uncommon to have an ebook, audio book, and physical book going at the same time.
I would like to nominate the Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk. Three books: Witchmark, Stormsong, and Soulstar.
Nomination from David Fox:For science fiction, I'd like to nominate Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Rusch's story is narrated by an (never-named) young woman with a passion for "diving" wrecked (space)ships to uncover long-forgotten history. Normally a loner, she assembles a team to dive a wreck so old that it has passed from history into legend. The physical danger the team encounters is scary enough, but soon this ancient wreck exposes the unresolved emotion histories of the team. You'll find it very hard to put down this book.
Like my fantasy nomination, this novel is the first in a series. The first novel is self-contained enough to be read stand-alone, but be warned - if you start the next one, you'll probably get sucked into the whole continuing and unfinished saga.
Nomination from David Fox:For Fantasy, I'd like to nominate The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It is a suspenseful coming-of-age story about Maniye, daughter of one of the Wolf Clan's powerful chiefs. Tchaikovsky's world building is just as impressive in fantasy as in science fiction. The Tiger and the Wolf is the first volume in Tchaikovsky's Echoes of the Fall trilogy, but resolves all the emotion and conflict around Maniye, making it a satisfying stand-alone read.
Hi! I'm Christine, one of the moderators. I generally go by "Chris" in person, but I tend to use "Christine" online to avoid confusion. You're welcome to use either version!My mother was a librarian, and I read whatever she brought home for me as I was growing up. I particularly remember all the Andrew Lang "color" fairy books, and of course "The Hobbit".
I suffer from decision paralysis whenever I enter a library or bookstore -- I want to read everything! These days I mostly read fantasy and science fiction, but I still read a bit of everything, and I particularly like stories that cross genres.
