Whatcha reading in May 2016?

[Hillary]

I remember The Blade Itself being my favorite of the First Law trilogy; probably just enjoying the characters, particularly Logan and Glokta. I think Abercrombie, even with the humor, can get pretty grim (Best Served Cold is probably the grimmest ) -- not quite as bleak as most KJ Parker, but similar territory.

Brendan, I got about 5 books into the Foreigner series (enjoyed them, although I remember the pacing being a bit slow in a few) -- just checked wikipedia & saw there are now 17 books out! with another coming soon (already titled) and more planned.

As series go, I've noticed the "quartet" (though not especially common) seems to have supplanted the "tetralogy."

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

G33z3r wrote: "Randy wrote: "I finished Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Starting a re-read of Ubik by Philip K Dick..."

That sudden change of style could cause whiplash. :)"

Yeah they are on totally different ends of the sci-fi spectrum.

By the way, I found an interesting piece of fan fiction relating to RP1 written by Andy "The Martian" Weir: "Lacero"

You can read it for free here: http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/lace...

[Brendan]

Hillary wrote: "I remember The Blade Itself being my favorite of the First Law trilogy; probably just enjoying the characters, particularly Logan and Glokta. I think Abercrombie, even with the humor, can get prett..."

Before They are Hanged (First Law Book #2) and Best Served Cold were my favourites of the series. The Blade Itself I liked a ton, it is one of the only times i have ever, upon finishing a book, immediately bought book #2 and then finished THAT in the same sitting, but it suffered from the problems of 1) as mentioned, nothing much happens and 2) no notable female characters. In these aspects, it successfully parallels the first book of Lord of the Rings. These problems get solved pretty well in book 2.

Hillary, at the moment I just plan to read the first book! I'm not big on long series, so we shall see about the rest of them.

[[deleted user]]

Peter wrote: "I've added The Blade Itself to my to-read list, but given what I've read on Goodreads about the book, I plan to buy it used...."

The ebook might go on sale again someday, if you're patient and put it on a watchlist. Looks like a couple of us here managed to grab it for $1.99. (Of course, books 2 & 3 go full price, if you like it..)

[[deleted user]]

Brendan wrote: "I wanted to read Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, but I would have to order it as a fairly expensive paperback, which I would rather not do. ..."

Her Smoke Rose Up Forever was our anthology discussion topic last October, and the trade paperback was (& is) a bit pricey. Also, not enough in print to have many used copies show up. Two of the stories in it are available free online (see discussion index.)

[Peter]

G33z3r wrote: "Peter wrote: "I've added The Blade Itself to my to-read list, but given what I've read on Goodreads about the book, I plan to buy it used...."

The ebook might go on sale again someda..."

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep an eye on my Book Bub and Early Bird Books alerts. I've also put the e-book version on my B & N wish list, which alerts me when the price of an item on it changes.

[Classic SF Fan]

Finished G R R Martin and Lisa Tuttle's Windhaven,a pleasant enough little tale about the descendants of a crashed spaceship on a stormy almost completely sea covered planet. Sea travel is hazardous and slow,and the people on the small islands of the archipelagos have lost all technology over the centuries All there is left is the almost indestructable material of the ships solar wing. This was converted to single person glider rigs,and over the centuries these fliers have been the only way of contact between the islands. But things have deteriorated,the fliers lord it over the non fliers,and keep their privileges to themselves. Till Maris comes along and changes society by challenging the old regime,with greater consequences than she ever intended.
Interesting world building,but rather uninspired characters. it also suffers from being patched together from 3 novellas.
I read this for my Worlds Without End 1980s Defining Books challenge We are working through to read 50 books from 50 years of SF,1950-1999.
I read The Snow Queen for 1980, Windhaven for 1981,and next up will be Michael Bishop's No Enemy but Time ,probably early June,as I am now preparing for 6 visitors from the US in 10 days time,a lot to do,and reading has to take a back seat!
Looking forward to the Bishop story,I really enjoyed his Transfigurations
For now I will try to finish off Marissa Meyer'sWinter and Kate Griffin's The Midnight Mayor

[Dan]

I've just started reading Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence So far I am enjoying it, easy to read and an interesting story line

[Shaitarn]

Just started Embers by Laura Bickle.

[Lauren]

Just started The Lies of Locke Lamora, and am enjoying the heck out of it! (The narrator is fantastic.) I'm also giving the novelization of The Force Awakens another shot - via audiobook. Marc Thompson, (the narrator), acts the CRAP out of whatever he's given, which makes the writing much more bearable. ;)

[Michele]

So far this month I've read -

We Are All Completely Fine, about what happens to those kids who experience something otherworldly and then have to try and live in the real world - they're all a mess and the book was weird, very psychological. It was very well written I thought, but it didn't blow my mind or anything.

Fragment - a thriller about an tiny island no one has ever explored and has a completely different ecosystem...kind of stupid but exciting and weird. Junk food reading :)

Envy of Angels about a catering company that only does events for demons - the chicken nuggets, that's all I can say.

A Rip in the Veil - time travel romance, readable if you don't think about it too much, lol. It was cheap :)

Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and Shades of Earth - a YA generation ship trilogy. I really liked the ideas in this one, a bit heavy-handed on the messages, and there was a forced love triangle that was annoying (two were obviously the couple, then the other guy felt jammed in and unbelievable as a love interest) and I saw the resolution coming from a mile away. Still, it was good overall and had some creative world-building, and I think it would be really good for teens. I don't see a lot of space SF written for the YA crowd - at least not...hmm, medium SF (mostly hard science ideas, not explained in detail, and at the end a bit of FTL travel and communication with some handwavy wormhole "explanation" but other than that these are fairly realistic and not in the space fantasy style at all).

And now I'm about halfway through Songs of the Earth which I'm really liking a lot. Very traditional epic fantasy but feels fresh and is nicely written. Unless she somehow blows the ending, I'll for sure be reading the rest of the series.

Edit - Oops, I forgot Harmony Black a very down-to-earth sort of urban fantasy crime drama - FBI agent who happens to be a witch, tracks down a serial killer who has either resurfaced after 20 years or is a copycat. This world seems to have magic practitioners and "demons" and that's it, and they're not "out" to society at large.

[Gary]

After finishing Something Wyverian This Way Comes and The Hunt for Red Oskorlisk by Jeffrey M. Poole
I am now rereading A Multitude of Monsters which I last read when it was first released in paperback

[Peter]

Lauren, Michelle and Gary, you've all got some interesting reading done and going on. This stuff looks worth checking out once I make more progress on adding titles from my personal library to my Goodreads lists.

[Gary]

I had been on a pretty solid diet of mystery fiction for a while. I am also reading Alibi in High Heels by Gemma Halliday to finish off a challenge in another group.

I have anumber of fantasy books in the pipeline. Since you can no longer get E-book versions of The Belgariad in the US, I will be resorting to my real book versions to re-read books 3-5 of that series. I also have The King's Justice by Katherine Kurtz to read as I do a reread of The Deryni series. Then there are the next 3 books in The Wheel of Time, books 4-6.

[Classic SF Fan]

When I read Clarke's The Sands of Mars earlier this month I commented on the enthusiam and boundless hope of Clarke's work on the exploration of space(see message #80 above)Well,Poul Anderson's Hugo nominated The Enemy Stars is a very different kettle of fish.
Four very disparate men are the crew on a spaceship off to examine a dead star when there is a catastrophic accident and their means of getting home (very similar to the matter transporters in Star Trek) are almost completely destroyed. Months of striving for solutions to the technical problems see them dying one by one,as they struggle against starvation and desperate dangers. Its definitely a stark,bleak, downbeat read,with only a little lightening of the tale at the poignant ending.
It may be very short but as so often with these old SF books,it carries thoughtful questions about man's often tragic struggles with adversity and danger,and our thirst for new frontiers.
Anderson could always merge hard SF and humanity,placing his all too human characters in hard even tragic situations,and showing the diverse reactions of individuals to said circumstances. I am reminded of Clifford D Simak in many ways,though he was rather kinder to his characters!
A fascinating if rather sad read. Good stuff!

[Sarah]

Just read Niven's The Goliath Stone

I am still not sure what I think of it.

[Shaitarn]

Just about to re-read Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb.

[Garyjn]

Just finished Blind Lake by Robert Charles Wilson. It was my first book by Wilson and I enjoyed it quite a bit, 4★.

[Colin]

Recently have began reading Libriomancer by Jim C. HinesIt is any sci-fi reader's dream land. All day when i'm not reading it, I wish I were. It's been a while since I've had that feeling.

[Dan]

I am reading by I read it years ago when it came out and am re-reading it for the first time, so far am really enjoying it

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Dan wrote: "I am reading by I read it years ago when it came out and am re-reading it for the first time, so far am really enjoying it"

Hi Dan. I really enjoyed Ender's Game, read it three times I think, and now I'm in the middle of reading the entire series. Have you read any of the other Ender books?

I recently finished Shadow Puppets and in a couple weeks I'll be moving on to Shadow of the Giant. So far the ones I enjoyed the most are Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Ender's Shadow. The others have all been tedious to some degree. I barely finished Children of the Mind.

[Gary]

Colin wrote: "Recently have began reading Libriomancer by Jim C. HinesIt is any sci-fi reader's dream land. All day when i'm not reading it, I wish I were. It's been a while since..."

I have heard good things about this series. I will have to check it out.

[Doug]

Currently wrapping up The Wise Man's Fear, it appears I'm not the only one doing so this month. It's truly great in spots and I really like it overall. But! My God, Kvothe can be so incredibly repetitive. 1800 pages into the series, we KNOW you're Edema Ruh, we KNOW you love a good story, we KNOW you're no stranger to the key aspect of solving whatever the current riddle confronting you happens to be. It's still great but Kvothe can really get on my damn nerves.

Also working on finishing up a re-read of The Golden Compass before devoting some more time to Grave Peril. I've heard Jim Butcher's Dresden series gets more and more wild as it goes so I'm looking forward to #3.

[Dan]

Randy wrote: "Dan wrote: "I am reading by I read it years ago when it came out and am re-reading it for the first time, so far am really enjoyin..."

Hi Randy - I've not read any of the others but will look them up - just too much other stuff I want to read at the moment!

[Plaguedoctor]

Currently reading by A.L. Burgess Jr.

It's actually pretty interest so far, I just hope the ending is worth while.

[Classic SF Fan]

Finally finished Kate Griffin's The Midnight Mayor and whizzed through Bob Heinlein's stitch up of two short stories written way back in 1941, Orphans in the Sky a major influence on the generation starship genre. Its certainly fast moving and with fascinating ideas,a bit of a boy's own sort of tale,but I wasnt at all keen.I had issues with the casual brutality and violence,the attitude to females,(feminists would want RAH boiled in oil after reading this book! lol),the mostly very unlikable characters,and also the preposterous ease in which an ignorant young man somehow manages to launch a space shuttle and navigates it to a planet and nonchalantly lands it ! Even RAH has to make a sort of excuse,admitting that it would be highly unlikely indeed,but that the boy was just a lucky lad! Sorry,just barely credible,and not my cup of tea.
Much more enjoyable is Andre Norton's The Stars are Ours! I'm about half way through and its a good read,perhaps a tad more political than is normal for Norton.More about it when I finish it.

[Gary]

Norton is almost always good reading. I grew up reading stuff like The Time Traders, The Sioux Spaceman, and other Norton novels. I think it is a shame that the first 3 Witch World Books are not currently available in E-book format.

[Brendan]

My reading pile is as big as it almost ever gets right now. Just too much stuff.

Finished Foreigner, which i'm almost glad i didn't love. No temptation to read the other 17 books in the series. Main character was not that compelling, and it felt like the book would have worked better with a less interplanetary storyline. Atevi were close enough to humans, both culturally and physically that the whole thing felt a little weird.

Currently reading Too Like the Lightning, which i picked up knowing nothing about the book's plot or author, but writers i respect a ton (Kameron Hurley, Jo Walton, Max Gladstone) raved about it and that's good enough for me.

Also reading Sharp Ends and when that's done i'll go for a light read with Seveneves.

[Claudia]

My favorite thing is alien psychologies and my biggest complaint the prevalence of humans in rubber masks.

But I found the first 3 books in the Foreigner series quite satisfactory in their social & psychological differences, though they were not huge.

So sorry you thought the alien psychology in Foreigner too close to human. Have you read the earlier Chanur series by Cherryh? Excellent aliens.

What books do you think have good "alien" psychologies/cultures in them? I'm always looking.

[John]

Just finished Snowfall on Mars by Branden Frankel. Next in the Sci-Fi world will be Dome City Blues by Jeff Edwards.

[Garyjn]

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I've probably read more King than any other author, but I've never touched on this one, so I was pleased to come across it in my local library. In paperback, no less. I'm not at all familiar with the plot, (had no idea why there was a ' before Salem) so I'm really looking forward it.

[Lauren]

Garyjn wrote: "'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I've probably read more King than any other author, but I've never touched on this one, so I was pleased to come across it in my local libra..."

I think I saw the film of Salem's Lot a few years ago - in fact I think I've seen a new and old film of it. Would be interesting to read the book, you'll have to let me know what you think of it :-)

[Garyjn]

Lauren wrote: "Garyjn wrote: "'Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I've probably read more King than any other author, but I've never touched on this one, so I was pleased to come across it in..."

Haven't seen a movie adaptation of the book, which is fortunate, since I rarely read a book after watching the movie. I'm about 180 pages in and it has me fairly engrossed. This is, I think, my 10th King and so far I'm thinking it's going to be one of the better ones.

[Brendan]

Claudia wrote: "What books do you think have good "alien" psychologies/cultures in them? I'm always looking."

Hmm, this is a good question. Books that come to mind for me would be The Word for World is Forest, Embassytown, The Gods Themselves, Downbelow Station.

I have not read the Chanur series, I find cat-people aliens very offputting.

[Classic SF Fan]

Finished Leigh Brackett's fun Black Amazon of Mars and Andre Norton's The Stars Are Ours . I wont be reading any SF for a week or so,as I am having my 6 visitors from USA arriving in UK 29th,and its all go from here on! lol. See you all after they have gone and I get back to normal reading.

[Claudia]

Brendan wrote: "Claudia wrote: "What books do you think have good "alien" psychologies/cultures in them? I'm always looking."

Hmm, this is a good question. Books that come to mind for me would be [book:The Word f..."

I've only read Downbelow Station of those four. I will put the others on my to read list at once!

BTW, the lion people on the cover of Pride of Chanur are only one of several oxy-breathing races and several methane-breathing aliens in the series, all of whom share space stations. My favorite oxy-breathers are flightless birds that change identity when stressed. My favorite methane breathers are the matrix-thinkers, the t'ca. The nearly-incomprehensible t'ca translate between the oxy-breathers and the one or two (no one is sure whether the chi are pets or masters in their own right) other methane breathers. The other for-sure sapient methane breather, the knn, after much pleading by the t'ca, finally kind of learned the concept of trade. :)

So, unless you're utterly phobic about lions, IMO you are short-changing yourself by not reading the series.

[Kivrin]

John wrote: "Just finished Snowfall on Mars by Branden Frankel. Next in the Sci-Fi world will be Dome City Blues by [..."

How was Snowfall? It's on my TBR list.

[Kivrin]

Claudia wrote: "My favorite thing is alien psychologies and my biggest complaint the prevalence of humans in rubber masks.

But I found the first 3 books in the Foreigner series quite satisfactory in their social..."

I personally love "alien" cultures in the "Cast" series by Michelle Sagara. There are a lion race, a bird race, an immortal race, Dragons, and of course, humans. I think they are all unique, and I love the interactions. The first book is "Cast in Shadow". Warning...there are already 11 books in the series. Not all of them are great, but they shift focus from race to race revealing more background as they go along.

[Claudia]

Thanks! I'll give Cast in Shadow a look.

[George]

Claudia wrote: "My favorite thing is alien psychologies and my biggest complaint the prevalence of humans in rubber masks.

But I found the first 3 books in the Foreigner series quite satisfactory in their social..."I've read the first 15 now and, obviously, love the Foreigner series. The thing about being too close to humans though: it's probably true that most alien races will be much different than humans, but we'll only be able to have meaningful interaction with ones that are reasonably close. It's a huge universe, and plenty of room for a wide range of intelligent life.

[Gary]

There have actually been two TV mini-series based on Salem's Lot. The original is better, but then it has James Mason as part of the cast.

[Kieran]

I'm doing a re-read of and as well, I started which is racking up quite the fine on my wife's library card

Note: Yes I use her card since mine has been locked out cause of overdue fines. My kids keep hiding the books and I forgot they're due until I find them hidden in the piano bench.

[John]

Kivrin wrote: "John wrote: "Just finished Snowfall on Mars by Branden Frankel. Next in the Sci-Fi world will be Dome City Blues [bookcover:Dome City Blues|2..."

Snowfall was good. Author did an excellent job of creating a realistic, though dark world. I liked the main character and the storyline of him investigating a murder. It had a very Blade Runner feel to it.

[Kivrin]

John wrote: "Kivrin wrote: "John wrote: "Just finished Snowfall on Mars by Branden Frankel. Next in the Sci-Fi world will be Dome City Blues [bookcover:Do..."

Great to know. Thanks!

[Olivia "So many books--so little time.""]

Right now I'm reading Hot Sky at Midnight by Robert Silverberg. So far I've been enjoying it.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

For June, I'm wrapping up my re-read of Philip K Dick's Ubik.

I'm also in the final stretch of George R R Martin's A Storm of Swords.

And I've been reading along with my daughter's 7th grade English class as they discuss Lois Lowry's The Giver.

[Gary]

Lots of good stuff there Randy. I am down to the last 3 stories in and took a brief break from as the characters stopped for food and gas near Lake Como in Italy.

[Claudia]

Randy wrote: "And I've been reading along with my daughter's 7th grade English class as they discuss Lois Lowry's The Giver. "

What do you think of The Giver? IMO Lois Lowry isn't writing dystopia, but horror for YA.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Claudia wrote: "Randy wrote: "And I've been reading along with my daughter's 7th grade English class as they discuss Lois Lowry's The Giver. "

What do you think of The Giver? IMO Lois Lowry isn't writing dystopia..."

The Giver is OK. I mean, I like it, but I have guessed most of the surprises all the way through. I think a lot of people read it during their formative teen years and they retain a pleasantly-tinged memory of the book. I can't rave about it - it's not particularly well-written, and the detached tone of the first half of the book reminds me a lot of Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which I didn't like.

The best part of The Giver, to me, is the discussions I get to have with my daughter each day after school. This is probably the first book she's read that could be labeled "sci-fi" so it's been nice to talk to her about it. And it seems to be making her more interested in reading, so I like that.

[Matt]

I'm currently readingPredator Cities x 4 and The Traction Codex by Philip Reeve

It's actually classed as a children's book, but it certainly doesn't read like one. It's a bit like Philip Pullman'sHis Dark Materials in that respect.

I'm finding it immensely enjoyable.