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

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

I think I was 19 or 20 and in college. I watched the first movie with a buddy of mine (which apparently came out in 2001). He liked the movie enough to pick up the books (I think the first 4 were out by then?).

He liked the books so much he loaned them to me and by the time Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out, I was picking them up on release day.

Jessica wrote: "Senlin Ascends seems to appear in both "multiple votes" and "single vote" categories, although with different voters.

ETA: So clearly it belongs in the multiplER votes section."

Oops. Good catch. If someone doesn't say they are seconding a book, it's easy for me to overlook. I'll fix it next time I'm on a computer.

Less than 1 week left for nominations..Last year we had 187 people make a nomination. So far this year we've had 114 people nominate something so far.

I had hoped/expected to see a bigger spike after my monthly message, but I guess I don't have the same sway as a message from Tom or Veronica does.

We've had over 400 views of the nomination thread, which means only roughly 1/4 of people have actually nominated something. Maybe those people like the stuff that's already been nominated? Then again last year's thread had over 800 views so it seems interest is down.

I may bug T&V to tweet about it. I don't think they have yet? I forget now..

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: 66
Number of Nominations (ie participants): 114

-----------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)
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)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - 5 (David, corkhead, Danielle, Silvana, taeli)
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)

-----------Single Votes----------------
Nexus by Ramez Naam (Dara)
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 Armored Saint by Myke Cole (Aja)
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)
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi (Cole)
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)
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (Selena)
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)
Dracula by Bram Stoker (Tracey)

I took a break from SFF to listen to Bruce Lee: A Life. I liked it, but it dragged a bit in places. Overall a pretty interesting book though. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Next I listed to Ship of Smoke and Steel and after a bit of a slow start Django Wexler showed why he's become one of my favorite fantasy writers. It's not quite as good as the last few Shadow Campaign books, but it's awfully close. - ★★★★½ - (My Review)

Welcome Bill and Bob

Ruth wrote: "Update: I have now bought The Fated Sky audio book!"

👍

Ed wrote: "Rob wrote: "Ed wrote: "I'll nominate Downbelow Station."

We've already read Downbelow Station."

Ah, well. I missed that."

You can nominate something else we haven't read instead!

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: 54
Number of Nominations (ie participants): 96

-----------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)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 5 (Christos, Steve, Joelle, Mimi, Steve)
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - 4 (John (Taloni), Tina, Malcolm, Darrel)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - 4 (David, corkhead, Danielle, Silvana)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James - 4 (Jenny (Reading Envy), Trike, James, Jasmine)
NPCs by Drew Hayes - 3 (Paulo, Aaron, Lúcio)
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - 3 (Ben, Ruth, Steve)
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)
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft - 2 (Andrew, Jacqueline)

-----------Single Votes----------------
Nexus by Ramez Naam (Dara)
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 Armored Saint by Myke Cole (Aja)
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)
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi (Cole)
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer (Mary)
The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee (Fabiano)
Rivers of London / Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (Aron)
On Basilisk Station by David Weber (Benjamin)
Infomocracy by Malka Ann Older (Christopher)
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden (E)
After Atlas by Emma Newman (Phil)
Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin (Linnea)

Tassie Dave wrote: "If you can come up with a better title for the folder, (Than what I used), that will fit in 32 characters, go for it. I couldn't find a way to remove 8 characters :-?
It is probably the longest book title we've had.."

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? vs.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Looks like you're right. At least if we use the original title.

Androids is the only book I've had to abbreviate in all the years I've been a moderator.

I think what you did is fine. The only other thing I can think of is something like: HP & The Philosopher's Stone.

Here I come to create this thread so I can send the monthly group message and Dave already beat me to it. >.<

For once I've actually known the book pick in advance because I wanted to send the monthly blast today with enough time for people to get their March Madness nominations in, so I bugged Tom to send out the Patreon yesterday.

Personally I like both the Jim Dale and Stephen Fry versions of the audiobook. I think I prefer Jim Dale for the earlier books, and Fry for the later books when things get a lot darker.

I don't think you can really go wrong with either version, but it's the internet so of course there are people who don't like one version or the other, or both, and many who will go to war declaring the one they like is the best/only version to listen to.

I just did a reread of the Dale versions last fall, so I'll probably be skipping doing it again this month. Next time I plan to do the Fry versions again.

My personal advise from running one of these is to try to find a day/time/location that works for most people in general and do the same thing every month.

You won't maximize the monthly attendence that way, but you will simplify things for everyone.

Like I just generally try to keep the last Saturday if each month open, since I know that's when our Meetup is.

That said, we generally reschedule or combine the November and sometimes December meetings due to the holidays.

Much like here, traffic is probably a consideration with people coming from different directions, so picking somewhere relatively central at a time when traffic is better helps a lot too.

Anyways, just my two cents worth. Each group had seemed to find what works best for you guys.

Once you have something scheduled I can add it to the monthly blast. Good luck!

terpkristin wrote: "I listened to both books and everything in this thread is correct."

Seconded.

Ruth, you should get the second one in audio imho.

Sandra wrote: "I nominate Theft of Swords"

*high fives Sandra*

If you have a date for March, I can include that instead (then I'll just include it again next month if the date hasn't passed yet)

You guys meeting in February? I'm going to be sending the monthly message out Saturday morning (EST)

Most of the anime sources I follow said it's great. The first good anime adaptation. My friends who don't like anime saw it last night and liked it.

I may go see it this weekend.

Lame. I really liked the most read authors too.

I guess I'll have to build it into my goodreads parser app now..

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: 42
Number of Nominations (ie participants): 78

-----------Multiple Votes----------------
Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan - 8 (Roberator, Sheila Jean, terpkristin, Melanie, AndrewP, Iain, Scott, Daryl)
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence - 6 (Stephen, Elizabeth, Erik, Hyena, James, Logan5jr)
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - 4 (John (Taloni), Tina, Malcolm, Darrel)
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse - 4 (David, corkhead, Danielle, Silvana)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - 4 (Christos, Steve, Joelle, Mimi)
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James - 4 (Jenny (Reading Envy), Trike, James, Jasmine)
NPCs by Drew Hayes - 3 (Paulo, Aaron, Lúcio)
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons - 2 (Matt, Callum)
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison - 2 (Mark, Dave)
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - 2 (Ben, Ruth)
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)

-----------Single Votes----------------
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (Anne)
Nexus by Ramez Naam (Dara)
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (William)
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells (Scott)
Glory Season by David Brin (Viola)
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft (Andrew)
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 Armored Saint by Myke Cole (Aja)
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)

Ed wrote: "I'll nominate Downbelow Station."

We've already read Downbelow Station.