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

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

I thought this was a pretty good book, and an excellent effort for a first novel. But the musical elements of the plot didn't work for me, and they were supposed to be foundational to the society. I keep coming back to the moment when two characters wrapped their harps in muslin and put them in their packs so that they wouldn't be recognized. Harps, even lap harps, are LARGE and BULKY. I get the impression that the author is not a musician, so her writing about musicians rings somewhat false and got in my way. But I did enjoy other elements of the overall book.

I thought this was a well told story. It certainly left a lot of open questions, such as the nature of the Tesslies. I agree that it got preachy near the end; are we supposed to think that Gaia intentionally set off earthquakes and tsunamis?? But I thought the interactions in the Shell were believably human, and the storytelling style across timelines really worked to keep me entertained.

I will nominate All the Birds in the Sky. It's been showing up on several Best of 2016 lists, and I'm anxious to read it.

I found this to be a densely creative story. I thought the pervasiveness of virtual reality to be believable, as well as the idea that you can master commands to shape that reality from inside. Several characters were memorable -- the old man and the little girl, the Wicked Tribe, and certainly !Xabbu. But I can't say that enjoyed the book. I had to slog through too much outright evil for no specific purpose, and I still don't have a clue as to what motivates our villains or why they need to trap children's minds. While I can admire the author's fecund imagination, I find that I am not interested enough in the story to continue to the other books.

I had been reading Otherworld, one of the monthly selections, but I found I desperately needed a break. This really fit the bill. This was a comforting read, following some old friends. I find that I enjoy the Deverry series more with every book.

* Evander finally felt like a real character, with his own arc. I was surprised to see him release his followers, and I worry about his loneliness. I like him more and more.
* For being part of the Dragon Mage series, the dragons weren't very prominent.
* Who is the guy with the apple???

I read Angry Planet a few months ago, and I agree that this is a really satisfying read. I just finished the second book, A Closed and Common Orbit, which has some overlapping characters and may be even better. Definitely recommend!

I found this thought provoking. Is technology itself good or bad? Or is it just what people do with the technology? Once technology is developed, is it even possible to suppress it, or keep it for a few? There were strong parallels with atomic energy development here - it's hard to keep the genie in the bottle once everyone knows the genie exists.

On a much, much lighter note, I followed Nexus with Connie Willis' new book, Crosstalk. It's a romantic comedy dealing with the benefits and perils of telepathy.

Well.... this just doesn't come across as science fiction to me. And because I was expecting science fiction, I was disappointed. Yes, time travel magic happens, but I see it as a vehicle for what is essentially historical fiction. It's not even speculative fiction, really, since the author based her story on historical accounts. As historical fiction I thought it was well written, but it didn't cover new ground. It certainly seems to have a strong following, however, and I may have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been expecting something else.

I think this may be my favorite so far. Old favorites plus new faces, and I finally feel like I'm seeing at least a blurry outline of the big picture.

Thanks for the tip, aPril. Finished second book and enjoyed it just as much. But now I need the third! You don't have any more magic, do you??

I found this enjoyable and I bit unexpected. It reminded me of Firefly, a cast of likeable but prickly misfits who find their own family on a ship. While plenty of interesting situations develop, this is a case where the journey is far more engrossing than the destination. Well done!

I enjoyed this one! The different Londons were an interesting concept, and I liked the characters. I liked the coat, too, but I expected it to play a larger role. I'm not sure how the possession magic worked, though; it almost seemed to violate the rules about crossing the boundaries between the cities. But the story kept me engaged to the end. I'll be looking for a sequel...

I enjoyed the increasing complexity of the plot lines. I also enjoyed Rhodry more in this story. Jill seems to be feeling a bit defensive about choosing dweomer over a personal life, and a bit put out with anyone who chooses differently. And Shel, I also liked seeing Nevyn back in the "past" storyline. I was going to miss him!

But I want to know more about the elves on the island!

I really enjoyed this one. I agree with many others, a unique world and a unique storytelling approach. I'm psyched, the next book was released just moments ago! It's next on my list...

I loved the first section of this book! I was hooked from the first sentence. The urgency as the world responded to the emergency was believable and compelling. I liked the second section of the book very much as well. The science was solid, and the squabbling between the various groups felt (disappointingly) human and real. But the third part? Too much, too fast. The third part should probably have been a book in its own right. Given the title, this is probably the book he wanted to write. But it left me feeling somewhat let down. Overall, though, a worthy effort.

Totally agree, Kerry. It wasn't the ideal ending I wanted, but it was true to the characters. Very interested to see where we go next.

I found this one creative and interesting. I particularly like the storytelling style, an epistolary novel using reports and briefs and journals instead of letters. I could buy into the mix of science fiction with political considerations.

Not everything rang quite true. The motivations of some characters seemed too simple, and I certainly would have liked to know more about why only certain people could trigger the headsets. But overall, I thought this was a good read.

I agree with you Kathi. It was very hard to get into this book; so many distracting details that were never explained and often never figured in the story after the first jarring introduction (unlike Malazan, where we were often injected into a seemingly overcomplicated world, only to find that each complication was a necessary piece of the whole. Not sure it's fair to compare ANYTHING else to Malazan, but there you have it).

While there was creative world building, I didn't find this book to meet most of my criteria for a good story. I found the characters flat, there were no good villains, and the magical system had no "cost" which could make it believable.

And it definitely wasn't a standalone novel. Fie!

I read Dreamsnake last year. It surprised me a bit; I thought it was going to be a fantasy read for some reason. But I liked the world building, and I enjoyed the story quite a bit.

This seemed very dated, particularly at first. The union boss was straight out of Upton Sinclair. And the constant "schizophrenic" refrain was just tiresome. But then, towards the end, it went somewhere unexpected. I haven't read much PKD, but I expect that's his trademark move...