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

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Final polls are up for our October BOTMs, and will be open through Friday July 31. It was a close race, and we have some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Final SF Poll

Fantasy: Final Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

Preliminary polls are up for our October BOTMs, and will be open through Friday July 24. As usual, you've submitted some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Preliminary SF Poll

Fantasy: Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

Just finished. I wasn't convinced I needed this; particularly for the first half, it was just a re-tread of the last book, although in a refreshing voice. But I did enjoy learning a bit more about the werewolves, and especially about the Obin.

As a musician myself, I also enjoyed the emphasis on music as a form of colony entertainment, and as a means of communicating with other species. I also found it endearing that Zoe doesn't always sing perfectly on-key!

Shel wrote: "For SF I'll nominate Planetfall by Emma Newman. I'll ponder a fantasy nom!"

Sorry, Shel, we read Planetfall in December 2018, which is within the last two years. You can re-nominate for December, if you'd like.

Rafael wrote: "I´d like to nominate Neuromancer by William Gibson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards in Science Fiction.

and The Way of Kings by [a..."

The group read Way of Kings in May 2014. It is indeed eligible for a re-read.

Nominations for October 2020

Hi everyone,
It's time to open nominations for our October 2020 Books of the Month. I'm giving each round a bit more time this month, since July is (at least traditionally) holiday season.

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 July 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Saturday July 18 and will run through Friday July 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Saturday July 25 and will be open through Friday July 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
The January Dancer
The Power
The Violent Century
Neuromancer
Salvation Day
The Long Earth

FANTASY:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Way of Thorn and Thunder
The Night Raven
The Way of Kings
What the Cat Dragged In
Freedom and Necessity

I read this series years ago. I enjoyed it then, and I've enjoyed the re-read now. I agree, Shel, that Cherryh is masterful at conceiving and writing alien civilizations. There are more than a handful of alien species here, and each is completely unique, with its own motivations and idiosyncrasies, some more comprehensible than others.

Like other Cherryh novels, there are moments when the complexity of action seems to get away from me. But it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the book and satisfaction at the conclusion. Time to re-read the rest, I think!

I am very glad we picked this up as a BOTM. I would not have been likely to pick it up on my own, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Muir creates a completely unique world with many divisions of necromancers (who knew?), then gives them puzzles to solve and a prize to fight over. There was more fighting than I really care for. But Gideon herself was a spunky, likeable character that kept me engaged. I do plan to continue with this series.

Final polls are up for our September BOTMs, and will be open through Tuesday June 30. It was a close race, and we have some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Final SF Poll

Fantasy: Final Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

We have a tight race for Fantasy this month. Last day to vote!

Science Fiction: Preliminary SF Poll

Fantasy: Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

I just read the Rivers of London series Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. I'd heard about these before, but finally got around to them. I enjoyed them quite a bit; in particular, they are terrific for creating a real sense of London locations.

A strong finish to the first "trilogy" of the series. I really enjoyed all three of these so far. Scalzi has a way of taking standard scifi tropes and giving them an unpredictable twist, giving the reader something extra.

Didn't you just know that naming the colony Roanoke was going to be trouble?

The relationship between Earth and the Colonial Defense Forces has been bothering me all along; now we see more of the ulterior motive in keeping Earth so sheltered. It became clear in the second book that there were a great many warlike races. While I can understand resisting assimilation by force, it was interesting to see the alien forces presented here as a unifying force (although not one without its own problems).

Preliminary polls are up for our September BOTMs, and will be open through Wednesday June 24. We have some wonderful choices. Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Preliminary SF Poll

Fantasy: Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

Christopher wrote: "I know these failed last time, but I would once again like to nominate Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang for sci-fi and The Song of Achilles by [author:Made..."

No problem, Christopher! We have several renominations in this round.

I'm going to throw a couple of choices into the ring this month.

For SF, Here and Now and Then. It got some attention in previous polls, maybe this is it's moment.

For Fantasy, The Absolute Book. A book about fantastical libraries and books.....

I loved this cover! What a stylish blend of Mayan symbols and Art Deco. Just beautiful!

I also enjoyed the story. It had a lovely, fairy-tale quality with all of the symbols and blood and sacrifice of the Mayan pantheon. (Maybe a "Meso-American Gods", perhaps?).

There was a wonderful sense of place. I have spent time in the Yucatan, in west Texas, and in southern California, and all of the places seemed authentic. The author is clearly familiar with all of the locales, and describes them clearly and intimately.

I was struck by the similarity in the endings between this book and Ghost Bride.

Nominations for September 2020

Hi everyone,
It's time to open nominations for our September 2020 Books of the Month. What do you want to read by the pool under the hot sun?

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 Wednesday June 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Thursday June 18 and will run through Wednesday June 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Thursday June 25 and will be open through Tuesday June 30.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
A Memory Called Empire
The January Dancer
The Long Earth
Midnight Robber
Here and Now and Then
The Tea Master and the Detective
Vagabonds

FANTASY:
The Deep
The Fellowship of the Ring
Song of the Beast
A Brightness Long Ago
Redemption's Blade
The Absolute Book
The Song of Achilles

I found this to be an enjoyable, light read. Like other comments above, I thought the friendships were warm and real. I'm not a D&D player, but my daughter and son-in-law are, and I recognize the way bonds form through shared experiences, even when it's imaginary play. Nick's cancer threw me for a loop at first, but the author managed to make it real without letting it dominate the story. Nick and Mia's growing relationship also felt sincere.

Downsides? The handwavy time travel bit, the handwavy memory recording headsets, and a one-dimensional villain.

While I found this mildly enjoyable, I don't expect to continue with the series. This one wrapped up well enough for me to let it lie.

Final polls are up. Lets vote!


Science Fiction: Final SF Poll

Fantasy: Final Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

I enjoyed this, even more than the first book in the series. I think this is, in part, because the first book spent so much time on the background situation that the actual story almost felt like an afterthought. I found this story much more engaging. Jared is a somewhat unreliable narrator, but we can at least empathize with the ambiguous situations he finds himself in. It's Boutin's motivation for treason that I can't really buy …. yes, I know it was his daughter, but he maliciously and gleefully slaughters thousands without a seeming second thought ...