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

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Preliminary (first round) polls are up! Let's vote!

Science Fiction: Preliminary SF Poll

Fantasy: Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Chris, Moderator
Beyond Reality

What a beautiful, lyrical story. This was a re-read for me, but it was great to revisit these characters. Morgan tries so hard to avoid his fate and make his own future, but he knows that he is caught up in events. Yet he still tries to make his own terms, taking time to run with the vesta (I want to be a vesta, too!) or to be a tree. The magic of the land-rule; to truly know and care for every vestige of your entrusted land. I'm am ready to move into the next one!

Hi everyone,
Guess what? It's time to open nominations for our April 2019 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 Sunday January 20.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Monday January 21 and will run through Friday January 25.
• The final run-off polls go up Saturday January 26 and will be open through Thursday January 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
The Power
Death of a Starship
Dogs of War
Annex
The History of Bees

FANTASY:
Tooth and Claw
Green
The Last Days of New Paris
The Fall of Gondolin
Redemption in Indigo

I found this one to be generally enjoyable. I find myself liking most time-travel stories, so this read was perhaps meant for me. I enjoyed the silly acronyms and the relationship between Mel and Tristan. The idea of magic tied to quantum mechanics was an interesting bit of world building. I liked the different formats, from a journal to letters to office memos, used to tell the story. I felt for the witches, trying to regain their magical ability but reduced to performing parlor tricks in a box. OF COURSE something is bound to go wrong!

My complaint is that the book is just too long. For a somewhat silly, lighthearted time travel story, this book is heavy indeed.

I read these when they first came out, and I am SO glad to revisit them in this series read. Every character has been on a journey; most have emerged scarred but stronger. A few, like Kyle Haven and some of the New Traders couldn’t adapt and are lost along the way. Several, particularly Althea, Malta, and Wintrow, find their happiness in an unexpected direction.

Some memorable moments:
- Reyn and Tintaglia’s search for Malta
- The return of Elderlings
- The references to Fitz in Paragon’s recarving
- Paragon and Vivacia coming to terms with their divided selves
- Malta living up to her Trader heritage
- The promise of more dragons to come

Loved this arc!

Hi everyone! I'm looking forward to being a moderator …. please be patient as I figure it out! Candiss, Nick and now Kathi have set a high bar....

Thank you both! You've left some big shoes to fill... :-)

I enjoyed this book. Okorafor is adept at introducing us to Nigerian culture with her cast of local and American characters. With Sunny we learn about leopard people, both their advanced skills but also advanced dangers. Watching Sunny grow in her self knowledge, confidence and responsibility was delightful, in everything from finally playing a game of soccer to more dangerous tests of skill and teamwork. The worldbuilding here is top notch, blending elements of the real Nigeria with a layer of magical realism. A unique voice.

This was a real surprise. It was certainly not your typical first contact … or first settlement … or anything typical. Ren was such a flawed yet touching character; it was wrenching to see her innermost self exposed to the colony. I don't know that I've seen a mentally ill character written both so believably and yet so accurately.

I was so intrigued with the many unanswered questions that I moved on the next book, only to find myself back on earth with a completely new set of characters. Still intriguing, but very different.

I'm willing to pitch in!

What a story! So many different threads. A few things are now more clear, including the relationships of the serpents to the live ships. We get our first glimpse of the Rain Wilds town of Trehaug, and better glimpses of Rain Wild society. We still have open questions, though; why IS Amber so invested in Paragon, for example?

From an imposing presence in the first book, Kyle Haven is almost absent here. His few appearances are small and whining. Kennit and Etta become more human and sympathetic, if not exactly likable. Althea and Brashen discover their inner strengths in refitting Paragon and building their rescue crew.

The Satrap is a weak and unsympathetic character. The Companions of the Heart make sense as advisors, although the Satrap expects more. I tried to convince myself that Serilla’s rape was necessary to her character development, but she disappeared at the end of the book and I’m still on the fence. Maybe she’ll crop up again in the next book.

On the other hand, Malta has become more and more interesting. She is definitely becoming more adult, both physically and in her point of view. With her new connections to the Rain Wilds i expect her to be central in the next book.

I nominate Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho for fantasy. Delightful, reminiscent of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

What impressive world building! It doesn’t take much imagination to see the seeds of this technology already apparent today. The medical treatments that brought Robert “back to life”. The ubiquitous access to information. Virtual realities. Spoofing digital identities. As a student working on my Masters degree in Library Science, confronting issues regarding book digitization and the purpose of libraries in the digital age is also compelling. And what a wonderful opportunity to be introduced to the fabulous Geisel Library!

I’ll be honest, though, that I found the plot confusing and less interesting than the world itself. The geezer/high schooler team of Juan and Robert finally paid off, and I enjoyed Mira’s character quite a bit. But I still don’t understand what the cabal thought they would accomplish with their attack on the bio labs and the riot at the library. I suppose they were just manipulated themselves but, I’ll be honest, it’s still somewhat murky.

Loved this story! Novik always tells a compelling story with memorable characters. The constantly shifting points of view could have been confusing, yet somehow each character was instantly identifiable. Casting a moneylender as someone who turns silver to gold was a clever updating of a classic tale. Every character grew in the course of the tale, and even minor characters such as Miryam’s grandfather had moments of heroism. I couldn’t put this down.

The Geisel Library is an important location in the book. Check out photos of this unusual building in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisel_...

Oh, so many new threads! We start a new story arc from scratch with new places and new characters.


I think the big themes are change and rebellion. Kyle and Kennit both try to introduce big changes, sometimes too fast for success. Althea, Wintrow and Malta rebel against their set roles, but in very different ways. Interestingly, we admire Althea and Wintrow for their efforts to remain true to themselves and their higher purpose, but we resent Malta's stubborn egocentricity that leads her family into unexpected entanglements. The slaves are rebelling, with the help of the pirates. And we leave Vivacia pondering her personhood and sentience, with perhaps a hint that she wants more of a voice in her own future.


There are some big unknowns still hanging at the end of the book. What is Paragon's back story? Why are the sea serpents both attracted to and confused by the live ships? What is the real foundation of the relationship between the Rain Wilds and the Bingtown trading families?

Can't wait ….

I agree. The worldbuilding is so dense, it's hard to get this story rolling. But it continues to pick up steam, and there's no predicting where it's headed. The reader's relationship with Mycroft's character, in particular, covers the entire emotional spectrum, and his relationships with all the other (many) major players give us a window to the other points of view. I don't know that we can ever come to like or even trust Mycroft but, in the end, we may at least understand his motivation to a degree.

I propose The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. for science fiction, and Shadow of The Fox for fantasy.

This is a complex and convoluted ride, but an addictive one. There's a huge cast of characters, many with multiple names and titles. The worldbuilding is full of big ideas …. very fast world-wide travel has made national identity irrelevant, individuals choose to identify with political groups and housemates and often wear conspicuous items to show their unique backgrounds, vocations, and avocations, there's a 20 hour work week (unless you choose to spend more time at your vocation). It should be Utopia. And yet …


There's a lot of philosophy in Too Like the Lightening, enough that sometimes I felt my eyes glaze over. Some sections seem needlessly violent or sexually graphic. Having now read the second book Seven Surrenders, however, I see that it all ties together. Even the uncomfortable bits are needed to understand the motivations of our huge but interrelated cast of characters. This is masterful worldbuilding with an intriguing plot; not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.

Michael Sullivan tells a good, fast-paced story, and this is no exception. Although largely a story of the conflict between the humans and the Fhrey, it also highlights the struggle for leadership within the human and Fhrey societies. There are strong characters on every page: Raithe, Penelope, Arion and Suri are standouts, but even minor characters such as Roan, Grygor (the gourmet giant), and Minna (the wolf) are notable. Our villains, both Fhrey and human, suffer from both greed and a sense of entitlement. The wordplay only adds to the fun, in the "sure? pretty sure." dialogue between Suri and Arion, or comments like "if you can't trust an ancient talking tree, what was the point of having one?"


Although Legends of the First Empire is envisioned as a six-book series, the first three books are published and form a satisfying arc in themselves. If you liked this one, continue on with Age of Swords and Age of War.