Rob’s Comments (group member since Jul 06, 2012)

Rob’s comments from the The Sword and Laser group.

John (Nevets) wrote: "Ouch, Rob I think Tom's just messing with you. For Theft to come in second once again would just be cruel. It's either going to go down in flames well before then, or win out. ;-)"

He just doesn't want me to have to think of a new nomination next year..

Richard wrote: "The crushing feeling of seeing your pick thrown up against the #1 seed in the first round."

If it makes you feel better, I think it was a #1 seed the first year too and lost in the first round. It might have been the second though..

Phil wrote: "Never like these bracketed polls. Would much prefer 3 rounds of voting."

Then it wouldn't be March Madness!

No idea. Before Tom sent me the link, I'd never heard of it.

Dara wrote: "Pretty cool selection! This year might be your year, Rob."

LOL. I'm not so sure..

Theft of Swords has now been in all 3 March Madness brackets with no success..

I could easily see it losing to either Poppy War or Red Sister.

Right now, I'm not so sure about what's going to come out of the Laser bracket. My personal choice was your nomination of Nexus, but there are a lot of good books to choose from. Maybe it's finally Bradbury's time..

The Bracket is set!


Voting will start a little earlier than I announced so that we have a winner in time for the final March Podcast and to give everyone a few extra days to get a copy of the winner before April starts.

So round 1 will begin tomorrow: February 27th and end March 5th 11:59PM PST

The full list of dates for each round have been updated in the original post of this thread. I'll periodically be updating that post as each round goes on, but the details for each round will be in the individual threads.

The Bracket is set!


Voting will start a little earlier than I announced so that we have a winner in time for the final March Podcast and to give everyone a few extra days to get a copy of the winner before April starts.

So round 1 will be February 27th 12:01AM EST - March 5th 11:59PM EST

Once the polls are live, I'll update this post with direct links, and post again in the thread to remind everyone.

Sword Bracket

Sword Match 1:
(1) Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

vs.

(16) Dangerous To Know by K.T. Davies

Vote Here

Sword Match 2:

(8) The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

vs.

(9) Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

Vote Here

Sword Match 3:

(4) Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

vs.

(13) NPCs by Drew Hayes

Vote Here

Sword Match 4:

(5) Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

vs.

(12) The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Vote Here

Laser Match 1:

(2) The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

vs.

(15) The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

Vote Here

Laser Match 2:

(7) Nexus by Ramez Naam

vs.

(10) Year One by Nora Roberts

Vote Here

Laser Match 3:

(3) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

vs.

(14) Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older

Vote Here

Laser Match 4:

(6) After Atlas by Emma Newman

vs.

(11) The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison

Vote Here

Yeah, I'm pretty sure goodread thread view counts are unique.

Nominations are now closed. Here are the final nominations.

Keep an eye out in this thread for the announcement of the final bracket and the first round of voting!

Final Nominations

The nominations have now closed. Be sure to follow the information thread for the announcement of the brackets and first round of voting!

Here's where we stand:


Books Nominated: 82
Number of Nominations (ie participants): 141

-----------Multiple Votes----------------
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan - 9 (Roberator, Sheila Jean, terpkristin, Melanie, AndrewP, Iain, Scott, Daryl, Sandra)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence - 7 (Stephen, Elizabeth, Erik, Hyena, James, Logan5jr, Sky)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - 5 (David, corkhead, Danielle, taeli, Jo)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 5 (Christos, Steve, Joelle, Mimi, Steve)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James - 5 (Jenny (Reading Envy), Trike, James, Jasmine, Bob)
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - 5 (John (Taloni), Tina, Malcolm, Darrel, Sweta)
NPCs by Drew Hayes - 4 (Paulo, Aaron, Lúcio, Minsta)
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - 3 (Ben, Ruth, Steve)
After Atlas by Emma Newman - 3 (Phil, Louise, Vickstar)
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft - 3 (Andrew, Jacqueline, Sumayyah)
Nexus by Ramez Naam - 3 (Dara, André, Silvana)
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons - 2 (Matt, Callum)
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison - 2 (Mark, Dave)
River of Gods by Ian McDonald - 2 (TRP, Paul)
New Moon by Ian McDonald - 2 (Shad, Jessica)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - 2 (Rebecca, Maclurker)
Viriconium by M. John Harrison - 2 (Rick, Albert)
Year One by Nora Roberts - 2 (Cory, Luise)
Sabriel by Garth Nix - 2 (Adelaide, Taras)
Dangerous To Know by K.T. Davies - 2 (Tassie Dave, Richard)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - 2 (Anne, Jan)
Rivers of London / Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch - 2 (Aron, Troy)
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 2 (Tracey, Melani)
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - 2 (Selena, Marti)
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi - 2 (Cole, David)
The Armored Saint by Myke Cole - 2 (Aja, Pat)
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - 2 (George, Lorna)
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm - 2 (Tracey, Ed)
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - 2 (Scott, Matthew)

-----------Single Votes----------------
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (William)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells (Scott)
Glory Season by David Brin (Viola)
Startide Rising by David Brin (Clyde)
Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber (Césyl)
A Matter of Oaths by Helen S. Wright (Qukatheg)
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (Mike)
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (Jen)
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (Brendan)
The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Linguana)
Rosewater by Tade Thompson (Colin)
Dracul by Dacre Stoker (Ian)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Adam)
The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen (Joanna)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (Misti)
The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip (Mer)
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (Daniel)
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (Caitlin)
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (Erik)
The Spaceship Next Door by Gene Doucette (Jim)
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (Nick)
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (Vanessa)
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill (Erik)
Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis C. Chen (Bill)
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer (Mary)
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee (Fabiano)
On Basilisk Station by David Weber (Benjamin)
Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older (Christopher)
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden (E)
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin (Linnea)
Arcadia by Iain Pears (Greg)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (Robert)
Ubik by Philip K. Dick (HobbitFromPA)
Station Breaker by Andrew Mayne (Bryan)
Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar (LouLouReads)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Deb)
The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán (Benedict)
Crossover by Joel Shepherd (Fosfor)
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (David)
The Dark Glory War by Michael A. Stackpole (Alex)
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White (Deborah)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (Fresno Bob)
Dark Run by Mike Brooks (Tanja)
A Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata (Sky)
Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes (Lou)
14 by Peter Clines (Robyn)
The Caledonian Gambit by Dan Moren (Mike)
Ordination by Daniel M. Ford (Dan)
Ball Lightning by Liu Cixin (Steve)
All the Little Children by Jo Furniss (Sueanne)
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson (Alex)
God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell (kvon)
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (C)

Record of a Spaceborn Few is $2 today. This has been priced at 10 or 11 since it's come down, so this is a huge drop.

I've had it on my wishlist hoping to get it for a deal..so I'm happy to see that this morning.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B072BFJCB9/

Reminder that there is about 14 hours left to make/change your nomination..

I finally finished Witches Abroad which I started back in January on my way back from PAX. It was fun at times, but it took me along time to read something so short. I liked it better than the Rincewind books, but it may be my least favorite Witches book so far. - ★★★☆☆ - (My Review)

I also finished listening to Siege Tactics, which I enjoyed but not as much as the last book. I found it dragged a bit in places. It doesn't help that the last book focused on Rogues (which I love) and this book focused more on Paladins (which I don't). Still it's a fun series and I'll be picking up the next one just as soon as it's done. - ★★★½☆ - (My Review)

March meetup: https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/...

Silvana wrote: "Rob wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Hi Rob, sorry to bother you again, would it be possible to revoke my vote for Trail of Lightning and give it to Nexus?

Thank you and sorry for this."

I don't know..did..."

Nah, it's fine. I'm just giving you a hard time. I'll change it next time I do a roll up

Silvana wrote: "Hi Rob, sorry to bother you again, would it be possible to revoke my vote for Trail of Lightning and give it to Nexus?

Thank you and sorry for this."

I don't know..didn't you already change your mind once!?

Current Nominations

Just like last year I'll be periodically rolling up the nominations as we go.

FAQ:

How Many books can I nominate? One.

You CANNOT nominate one book and second another.
You CANNOT nominate both a Fantasy book and a Sci-Fi book.
Just ONE book total.
If you mention more than one, I'm going to pick one. Likely the first one you mention.
Please be CLEAR about your nomination.

Can we nominate any book we want? The main criteria is that it's a Fantasy or Sci-Fi book we haven't read.

That said, it's preferable that you also nominate a book by an author we haven't read as well. Those nominations will likely have a better chance of making the final bracket.

This year we have a new rule that prevents authors from nominating their own books. In addition we'd like to prevent people from nominating their friend's book etc. If I see you doing this, I will first warn you to pick another book, and later simply ignore your nomination all together.

Can I change My Nomination? Yes, but if you do so, please specify which book you are changing it from, as I'm doing this by hand.

How many books will be selected? 16 (8 Fantasy, 8 Sci-Fi)

When do nominations close? Monday, February 25th 8:00 PM EST. This will give Tom & Veronica some time to make the final bracket, and allow me to close the nomination thread before I go to bed :).

Which books will be selected? Whichever books Tom & Veronica want. They will simply use the nominations in this thread for suggestions.

How will the books be seeded? This is entirely up to Tom & Veronica. They may take into account how many people have nominated a book, but there is no guarantee.

The book I want was already nominated. You can second a nomination made by someone else, and I'll count how many people have nominated that book and sort accordingly.

No one else is nominating my book, should I change my vote to something more popular? In my opinion, you're better off just nominating a book you're interested in us reading than hoping to game the nomination system by changing your vote.

Most years some of the books in the final bracket had only a single nomination, while several books with multiple nominations didn't make it. Multiple nominations may help it get noticed or in the seeding, but really all of that is up to Tom & Veronica.

How are the Nominations Sorted? The numbering is based on number of nominations, followed by when they moved up the list (i.e. based on post order). This number will likely not reflect the actual seeding as that will be entirely up to Tom & Veronica.

My nomination is missing/wrong! Sorry about that. I'm doing this by hand. Please post again and yell at me for missing, or not grouping it with another nomination for the same book, or marking you down for the wrong book, etc. If you're not clear about your nomination (or you nominate 2) I may add the "wrong" book. Please be sure you're clear, and I can fix it.

Books Nominated: 77
Number of Nominations (ie participants): 132

-----------Multiple Votes----------------
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan - 9 (Roberator, Sheila Jean, terpkristin, Melanie, AndrewP, Iain, Scott, Daryl, Sandra)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence - 7 (Stephen, Elizabeth, Erik, Hyena, James, Logan5jr, Sky)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - 6 (David, corkhead, Danielle, Silvana, taeli, Jo)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 5 (Christos, Steve, Joelle, Mimi, Steve)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James - 5 (Jenny (Reading Envy), Trike, James, Jasmine, Bob)
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - 4 (John (Taloni), Tina, Malcolm, Darrel)
NPCs by Drew Hayes - 4 (Paulo, Aaron, Lúcio, Minsta)
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - 3 (Ben, Ruth, Steve)
After Atlas by Emma Newman - 3 (Phil, Louise, Vickstar)
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft - 3 (Andrew, Jacqueline, Sumayyah)
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons - 2 (Matt, Callum)
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison - 2 (Mark, Dave)
River of Gods by Ian McDonald - 2 (TRP, Paul)
New Moon by Ian McDonald - 2 (Shad, Jessica)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle - 2 (Rebecca, Maclurker)
Viriconium by M. John Harrison - 2 (Rick, Albert)
Year One by Nora Roberts - 2 (Cory, Luise)
Sabriel by Garth Nix - 2 (Adelaide, Taras)
Dangerous To Know by K.T. Davies - 2 (Tassie Dave, Richard)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende - 2 (Anne, Jan)
Rivers of London / Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch - 2 (Aron, Troy)
Dracula by Bram Stoker - 2 (Tracey, Melani)
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold - 2 (Selena, Marti)
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi - 2 (Cole, David)
Nexus by Ramez Naam - 2 (Dara, André)
The Armored Saint by Myke Cole - 2 (Aja, Pat)

-----------Single Votes----------------
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (William)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells (Scott)
Glory Season by David Brin (Viola)
Startide Rising by David Brin (Clyde)
Empire of the Ants by Bernard Werber (Césyl)
A Matter of Oaths by Helen S. Wright (Qukatheg)
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi (Mike)
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (Jen)
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (Brendan)
The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky (Linguana)
Rosewater by Tade Thompson (Colin)
Dracul by Dacre Stoker (Ian)
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (Adam)
The Office of Lost and Found by Vincent Holland-Keen (Joanna)
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (Misti)
The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip (Mer)
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (Tracey)
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (Daniel)
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (Caitlin)
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (Erik)
The Spaceship Next Door by Gene Doucette (Jim)
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (Nick)
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente (Vanessa)
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill (Erik)
Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis C. Chen (Bill)
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer (Mary)
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee (Fabiano)
On Basilisk Station by David Weber (Benjamin)
Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older (Christopher)
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden (E)
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin (Linnea)
Arcadia by Iain Pears (Greg)
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett (Scott)
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (Robert)
Ubik by Philip K. Dick (HobbitFromPA)
Station Breaker by Andrew Mayne (Bryan)
Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar (LouLouReads)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Deb)
The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán (Benedict)
Crossover by Joel Shepherd (Fosfor)
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson (David)
The Dark Glory War by Michael A. Stackpole (Alex)
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White (Deborah)
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (Fresno Bob)
Dark Run by Mike Brooks (Tanja)
A Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata (Sky)
Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes (Lou)
14 by Peter Clines (Robyn)
The Caledonian Gambit by Dan Moren (Mike)
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (George)
Ordination by Daniel M. Ford (Dan)

Dagger and coin was great..

Dara wrote: You don't have a copyright on high fives, Robert."

Challenge accepted..

Dara wrote: "André wrote: "I second Nexus by Ramez Naam"

HIGH FIVE FOR ANDRE!"

Copycat!