SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Are You Reading? 2017 Thread
I've just finished Childhood's End, and although I'm not a big fan of SciFi this book left me speechless. It's a great book, I totally recommend it!
Leonie wrote: " I'm pretty fond of Granny Weatherwax myself :-)"I love the Discworld witches. Also Death ("MY NAME IS BILL. BILL...DOOR.")
Aleksandra_G wrote: "I've just finished Childhood's End, and although I'm not a big fan of SciFi this book left me speechless. It's a great book, I totally recommend it!"
A classic! What did you like best about it?
I'm not sure if I can name everything :) I liked how book is written, changing narrators so easily and smoothly, providing different perspectives to the story.
I liked the idea of world without wars.
I liked, although it saddened me as well, the fact that this book is actually reminder how small and fragile we are and how easily our world could come to an end. I'm aware that this is the common subject for a lot of SciFi books, but the way how it's written makes it special.
Aleksandra_G wrote: "I've just finished Childhood's End, and although I'm not a big fan of SciFi this book left me speechless. It's a great book, I totally recommend it!"
Yeah it's a powerful read that will stay with you for years. One of those classics that every sci-fi lover should read.
Aleksandra_G wrote: "I liked, although it saddened me as well, the fact that this book is actually reminder how small and fragile we are and how easily our world could come to an end."I agree -- this book does that really well.
YouKneeK wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Are all of the Discworld companion books worth to read? I have not even finished the Death arc (having only finished the Watch arc) so I am still hesitating."I’m not sure which on..."
Leonie wrote: "Silvana wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "Since my last post a couple weeks ago, I’ve finished:
1. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. I enjoyed this quite a bit. The plot itself isn’t that u..."
Interesting that so many readers here love the Witches arc. I tried Equal Rites and was utterly bored. Does it get better from that one?
So I far I only followed and finished Watch and industrial revolution subseries/arc. Death is still halfway.
Silvana wrote: "Interesting that so many readers here love the Witches arc. I tried Equal Rites and was utterly bored. Does it get better from that one?"I thought it did. The second book, Wyrd Sisters, was one of my favorites out of all the Discworld books I’ve read so far.
Equal Rites was a little different from the rest, and didn’t have the full cast of characters in it that show up in the later books. Granny Weatherwax is the only one of the main characters I remember seeing in that book.
YouKneeK wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Interesting that so many readers here love the Witches arc. I tried Equal Rites and was utterly bored. Does it get better from that one?"I thought it did. The second book, W..."</i>
And [book:Witches Abroad - the description of Nanny Ogg dancing....
Witches Abroad was another favorite of mine. :)
Personally I liked Equal Rites better than Wyrd Sisters, but I believe I'm in the minority there. I haven't read any of the other Witch books yet as I'm reading them all in publish order not by sub-series and I've only read through Moving Pictures so far.
Since it took me about 15 years to transition from book #2 to book #3, I'm going to weigh in for the solid buddy-stories of Rincewind, the Tourist, and Luggage.
Rob wrote: "I haven't read any of the other Witch books yet as I'm reading them all in publish order not by sub-series and I've only read through Moving Pictures so far."I’m doing the same thing regarding reading for the first time in publication order, although I’m about 26 books past you. I can see benefits of doing it either way – by publication order or by subseries. For my reading style, I prefer to see everything build up (the world, the characters, the in-jokes) in the order the author created it.
Mike wrote: "Since it took me about 15 years to transition from book #2 to book #3, I'm going to weigh in for the solid buddy-stories of Rincewind, the Tourist, and Luggage."
LOL, I did think Rincewind, the Tourist, and the Luggage were fun. It seems like the Rincewind stories are usually the least plot-driven of the bunch, but they always make me laugh.
I think if I reread the series I may do it differently.As far as Rincewind, I'm not a big fan, but the luggage is awesome.
Rob wrote: "As far as Rincewind, I'm not a big fan, but the luggage is awesome."I want the luggage. If they ever invent sapient pearwood I will be first in line.
Michele wrote: "Rob wrote: "As far as Rincewind, I'm not a big fan, but the luggage is awesome."I want the luggage. If they ever invent sapient pearwood I will be first in line."
You may have to elbow me out of the way.
Leonie wrote: "You may have to elbow me out of the way. "I'll have Cohen the Barbarian run interference for me :)
Ryan wrote: "Just started Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick."Well that looks interesting. I loved his Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future but had not heard of this.
::scampers off to add to list::
I finished some classic sci fi this week, The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, both by Isaac Asimov and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. I preferred the PKD book but, as usual, it was very strange.
Just starting Dragonflight. I have been meaning to read this for decades (literally) and the time has come!!!
Leonie wrote: "Michele wrote: "Rob wrote: "As far as Rincewind, I'm not a big fan, but the luggage is awesome."I want the luggage. If they ever invent sapient pearwood I will be first in line."
You may have to elbow me out of the way...."
Surely there will be a sapient pearwood big enough for all three of us, right?
Phrynne wrote: "Just starting Dragonflight. I have been meaning to read this for decades (literally) and the time has come!!!"Love those books. Come back and tell us what you think.
Sarah Anne wrote: "Leonie wrote: "Michele wrote: "Rob wrote: "As far as Rincewind, I'm not a big fan, but the luggage is awesome..."
Four Sarah. Me too!
Michele wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Just starting Dragonflight. I have been meaning to read this for decades (literally) and the time has come!!!"Love those books. Come back and tell us what you think."
I will:)
Michele wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Just starting Dragonflight. I have been meaning to read this for decades (literally) and the time has come!!!"Love those books. Come back and tell us what you think."
Yeah they're probably a bit dated now I would imagine. I did love them when I first read them as a teen. Interesting crossover between fantasy and sci-fi - a genre that's not often done well. I think these books have influenced many other 'dragon-based' stories, films etc. I remember the telepathic dragons in those books were pretty awesome. Maybe I need to reread. From memory, the first two books were good, but I think they became a bit twee after that, although as an eager teen I read them all.
I've never read the books but when I got my first computer back in the mid 80s I had one game - Dragonriders of Pern, 'based on the novels by Anne McCaffrey'. So anyway Dragonflight is on my to-read shelf as well.
just read Night's Master4 stars for me
hadn't read any by Tanith Lee before
quite different
enjoyable
I'm in the middle of The Three-Body Problem at the moment
slow going (need to keep the characters straight in my head), but very good
I read Dragonflight this week and really enjoyed it. What a lovely, emotional, intricate world she created. Now I'm reading Ninefox Gambit and now that I'm close to the end I sorta think I maybe understand what's going on. It reminds me of reading Hannu Rajaniemi.
Up next this weekend is Home and maybe continuing my PKD marathon with Dick: Five Novels of the 1960s and 70s.
Oh snap! My library finally has Children of Time and its available for me to pickup. That just moved to the front of the line for my weekend reading.
Mod
Quick! Shove all the books off the nightstand! Finish the current book tonight! GO GO GO! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
I am half way through Dragonflight and I understand why everyone likes it so much. One dragon is great, hundreds of them - awesome!
Phrynne wrote: "I am half way through Dragonflight and I understand why everyone likes it so much. One dragon is great, hundreds of them - awesome!"I really like the two books about Menolly and the Harper Hall, too -- Dragonsong and Dragonsinger.
I think the later ones done by McCaffrey's son aren't nearly as good.
Every so often I wonder if a super successful author turns over their fictional world to their kids to continue writing, in the same way that a successful businessman will leave them the family business to continue running lol
I love Dragonflight, and the Harper Hall books.I remember reading them as a teen. Dragonquest had the worst cover in the universe, though. It had a naked woman riding a piñata dragon on it - pretty well no relation to the story. I used to get it out of the library, and place it face down on the counter, holding the stamping page open, ready for the librarians!
Here's a link so you can see what I mean...https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Bo...
Leonie wrote: "I love Dragonflight, and the Harper Hall books.I remember reading them as a teen. Dragonquest had the worst cover in the universe, though. It had a naked woman riding a piñata dragon on it - pret..."
That is really bad Leonie:)
Leonie wrote: "I love Dragonflight, and the Harper Hall books.I remember reading them as a teen. Dragonquest had the worst cover in the universe, though. It had a naked woman riding a piñata dragon on it - pret..."
Ha ha ha. That is a bad cover. I think the copy I first read was a pb with a purple cover and a very 'seventies' feel in the cover art, of the queen dragon Ramoth and her rider Lessa, I think.
Leonie wrote: "I love Dragonflight, and the Harper Hall books.I remember reading them as a teen. Dragonquest had the worst cover in the universe, though. It had a naked woman riding a piñata dragon on it - pret..."
I don't think I would have even picked this up to read the back cover back in the day. I guess I was lucky enough to benefit from the great Michael Whelan covers available in the US at the time... I wound up reading most of her novels over many years.
Finished and loved it:)My review of Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
all right Jen, all right Allison.... I'm getting the book. "children of time".
It's possibly the worst cover I've ever seen!
CHILDREN OF TIME is seriously good. My favorite SF read of 2016. And my favorite (living) SF authors are Peter Hamilton, Richard Morgan, and Alastair Reynolds.
Leonie wrote: "Dragonquest had the worst cover in the universe, though. It had a naked woman riding a piñata dragon on it - pret..."Lord, that is a TERRIBLE cover lol!
@Conal, I agree, the Michael Whelan covers are the best.
As good as CGI has gotten, I keep hoping that maybe someone will make these into movies.
Michele wrote: "As good as CGI has gotten, I keep hoping that maybe someone will make these into movies."Yeah, maybe??? It would have to be done REALLY well - not just the CGI but the direction, acting as well. My beloved Earthsea was totally mucked up by the weird animated film made of it. But then, I suppose the Lord Of The Rings films were well done. Yeah, it can be done, but there've also been some shockers made of great books....
So, IF it was done well, yeah, that would be a film I'd love to see.
I diverged from F/SF and breezed through Crocodile on the Sandbank. I just won the latest book in this series so I figured I had better get a start on catching up. I enjoyed it for the lightweight mystery it is. I started listening to All the Birds in the Sky Thursday afternoon. I'm 40% of the way through and can't wait to get back on the road to continue listening.
absolutely one of the best series I have ever read
Jan130 wrote: "Michele wrote: "As good as CGI has gotten, I keep hoping that maybe someone will make these into movies."Yeah, maybe??? It would have to be done REALLY well - not just the CGI but the direction, ..."
I think it was optioned at one point, but not sure if it's still under option. I think a series would be great.
How would they deal with the dragon to human communication? I couldn't bear to see a CGI dragon talking out loud:)
Phrynne wrote: "How would they deal with the dragon to human communication? I couldn't bear to see a CGI dragon talking out loud:)"Not even with Sean Connery's voice?
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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Ashley Poston (other topics)Katherine Arden (other topics)
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Red Queen
as I get older I refuse to just waste my money on unfinished books. I will finish this bo..."
Ouch, I can feel your pain, that..."
Yes, I remember rolling my eyes at Mare's nonsense in the first 10 pages. The side characters are pretty flat as well. If I can't connect with any of the characters I will probably not like the story add that to it telling a story that's been told to death at this point and it doesn't make for a great read at all. I bought it last year and immediately started reading it, I'm almost to the half way point.