Chris’s Comments (group member since Feb 25, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Chilly days, longer nights, dry leaves rustling, maybe even a fire in the fireplace. Definitely incentive to cozy up with a good book! No matter what's in store for you this month, I hope it includes some good reads. What are you reading in November? Post here -- any book, any genre welcome

I'll throw in a couple of options:

Science Fiction: The Praxis - I haven't read this one, but galactic intrigue sounds good

Fantasy: Raybearer - just finished this YA novel in an afro-centric world, and liked the characters and world building

I read the books as they came out, and then again as a trilogy earlier this year. I enjoy the series very much, but i'm not planning to read it again with the group. But I may join in on the discussion!

Kathi wrote: "I have been following the discussion even though I didn’t read the book and just want to make a couple personal comments.

I was a special education teacher for 28 years. My sister, for whom I am c..."

Thank you so much for sharing this, Kathi. Your insight adds a personal dimension to what was already a moving story.

Mary wrote: "Chris wrote: "The Marquis de Carabas is intriguing, and could probably star in a story in his own right."

clears throat

How the Marquis Got His Coat Back"

Yes, yes, but it's only a short story. I want a whole book!

Just finished Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. A great YA fantasy with good world building and interesting characters. It's a duology, starting the second book now.

Just finished this again, and really enjoyed it just as much the second time. I think it helps if you have some familiarity with London; I’ve spent enough time there to appreciate Gaiman’s wordplay on the different neighborhood and tube station names. There is a lot of visual imagery. I’ve never seen the TV production, but I can imagine many of the scenes.

Croup and Vandemar are creepy villains. The Marquis de Carabas is intriguing, and could probably star in a story in his own right. Richard Mayhew is Everyman, and we can sympathize with his predicament throughout. Although Door is central to the plot, our damsel in distress left me a bit flat. But the bit players are well defined and individual. It makes for an engaging whole.

Bonus: I just looked up the cast of the original BBC production, and Peter Capaldi (recent Dr Who) played Islington. Great casting!

I agree, this is a real classic. Charlie is like able and engaging and happy; he truly wants more than anything to become smarter, and we want him to succeed. Today, not only is IQ somewhat suspect as a measure of intelligence, but we recognize many types of intelligence, including emotional intelligence. Charlie’s anger when his dreams are unfulfilled is heartbreaking.

The doctors characters are not as well rounded. There’s more of a Dr. Frankenstein vibe when they anticipate adulation for “their” creation. They are definitely motivated to advance science, but they have really not thought through the ethics or outcomes of their work on a patient’s life.

Everyone ought to read this at least once. It’s just that good.

Days are getting shorter, so there's more incentive to cozy up with a good book! No matter what's in store for you this month, I hope it includes reading some good books. What are you reading in October? Post here -- any book, any genre welcome

I agree with Kathi that this is a very personal story built on existence of a science fictional device. The issues reminded me of a movie I saw recently, CODA, about a hearing child of deaf parents. It is a real struggle when a family tries to cope with differently abled individuals, particularly when some individuals may be perceived as less able by society at large.

I think the premise could as easily launched a thriller -- how big is the government or corporate cover up? How many people have lights but non-working Pilots? --- but the author chose to explore the personal impacts of the technologies instead.

I read this a few years ago, and I have to say that I'm really enjoying this re-read. In fact, I've continued on with the series, and I'm almost done. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything past book 1.

This story is so readable, built in short scenes that keep you constantly engaged. The POV characters are all quite interesting and believable. Cithrin and Geder are amazingly similar in some ways -- they are both loners, they both have a unique view of their world that lets them see courses of action that no one else around them sees -- yet they couldn't be more different. Geder is perhaps the most relatable mass murderer in recent memory.

The spider goddess priests are creepy. The central struggle between "truth" and "conviction" seemed far-fetched, until I ran into an example just the other day. I am working with an upcoming large event whose COVID policy will require vaccinations and masking. A woman sent me a YouTube video to convince me that vaccinations don't work. When I politely agreed to disagree, she replied "BUT IT'S SCIENCE". Daniel Abraham may have been ahead of his time.

Back to school? Hard at work? Or just enjoying a bit of relief from summer heat? No matter what's in store for you this month, I hope it includes reading some good books. What are you reading in September? Post here -- any book, any genre welcome

The first thing that strikes me about this trilogy is the ambitious, ever expanding time scope. The first book covered a couple of decades; the second book covered 400 years of the Trisolaran invasion; the final book picks up from there and carries on to the end of the universe!

The second is that, although the book involves several alien species, the focus of the story is on the reactions of humanity to the changing situations. In the broad scope of time, villains become heroes become villains again, become heroes ..... Humanity becomes warlike, becomes effeminate, becomes warlike again .... There is no absolute truth, but only perceptions of the moment.

Perhaps the Chinese point of view of the author is reflected in the weight given to morale, community spirit and internal dilemmas of our main characters, compared to the actual actions and plot momentum.

So what are we left with? The universe of this series is not a friendly place. Yet humanity still accomplished great technological feats, and many people led fulfilling lives.

Perhaps I will just sit for a while and contemplate my tea.

Have you finished reading Death's End by Liu Cixin, book 3 in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy? What did you think?

Spoilers OK here (entire series).

Please check in here and let us know if you’re reading or planning to read Death's End by Liu Cixin, book 3 in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy.

NO spoilers in this topic thread, please!

If no one else nominates, do my choices win by default?????? come on, folks, let's make it a contest!

For Fantasy, I'll nominate A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow. I loved her previous books, Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches, so I'm enthused about this one.

For SciFi, I'll nominate This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman. I haven't read much by this author, and it seems like a gap that I should fill.

Oh, I like the Stariel quartet! Just finished it, and I almost nominated it.

Yes, Shel, I freely admit that one of the middle Wheel of Time books doesn't really go anywhere. I know a lot of people who stopped after that one. But it gets better afterwards, I swear!

I agree, Shel, I wouldn't have thought to place this story in Toronto. But it completely worked! I also tend to shy away from stories with a lot of "dialect dialogue", but this story hit the sweet spot -- not too difficult to read, but enough to add to the color and atmosphere of the story.

I've only been to Toronto once, for a single day. It rained torrentially as we damply rode a tourist bus around town, seeing some sights but reluctant to do much exploring in the bad weather. Our highlight was dinner in the CN Tower; the rain cleared enough that we had a great view of the city and lake as we enjoyed our Canadian specialties. I was tickled to find the CN Tower feature in the book!

I'll nominate The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and final books completed by Brandon Sanderson). There are 15 books including a prequel. The timing is good, as a television series is in development to premier on Amazon Prime. Many of the books in the series were nominated for Hugo awards, as was the series as a whole.