What SF are you reading now, 2000-2014?

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished


Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I kicked (stopped reading) this book because it was somewhere between depressingly mediocre and insultingly awful


Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi
Rating: 1 star
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the popular science FACT book


A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sabri]

Just finished this riveting space opera by the author of Children of Time.

Shards of Earth
Rating: 4 stars
Review

[Natalie]

Oh! I'm working on the Shadows of the Apt series by Tchaikovsky. Definitely want to get to The Final Architecture series too!

[Sabri]

Natalie wrote: "Oh! I'm working on the Shadows of the Apt series by Tchaikovsky. Definitely want to get to The Final Architecture series too!"

Ah, how is it? I've not read any of his fantasy; in fact the only fantasy I've read in the last few years is the Stone Sky trilogy. Which is technically science fantasy! Fantasy was absolutely my go-to as a teenager but at some point I decided that the hit/miss ratio was a bit too low. Although I guess The Doors of Eden has fantasy elements and I did enjoy that.

[Natalie]

I'm halfway through the 2nd book, Dragonfly Falling and I think it's great! Complex plot and unique world and characters. I especially like that the prose is strong.
As for fantasy, I think Mistborn by Sanderson, The First Law by Abercrombie, are strong. I plan to start The Faithful and the Fallen by Gwynne soon because I enjoyed Shadow of the Gods.
And if you haven't read Alastair Reynolds or the Teixcalaan series by Martine, I do recommend.

[Sabri]

Thanks for the recs. I read & enjoyed the Teixcalaan series but no Reynolds for me yet.

[Natalie]

Good to know!

[Thomas]

I am in the middle of Seth Dickinson's Exordia. Aliens invade Kurdistan.

[Peter]

Thomas wrote: "I am in the middle of Seth Dickinson's Exordia. Aliens invade Kurdistan."

I'll be interested in your reaction. I started out liking it, stalled at the nuclear attack, and my library loan expired with the book unfinished,

[Natalie]

I'm curious as well Thomas. I've seen the book recommended but wonder what you think.

[Oleksandr]

+1 on curious about Exordia. I've read the first of his fantasy series and liked that it turned to fantasy economics, but fully disagree with what would have been the result of the policies

[Thomas]

For what it is worth, my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

[Natalie]

Thanks for the warning! I struggle with heavy violent or rape scenes.

[Ed]

I just enjoyed the new book Mal Goes to War. I ate it up in one day. Lots of snarky fun.

[Oleksandr]

Ed wrote: "I just enjoyed the new book Mal Goes to War. I ate it up in one day. Lots of snarky fun."

has it any connection to the 1959 movie Babette Goes to War
?

[Thomas]

Oleksandr: Mal and Babbette have about the same relation as Babette has to Barbarella. I.e., only a little.

[Ed]

Oleksandr wrote: "... has it any connection to the 1959 movie Babette Goes to War
?"

Did Babette have her face eaten by a dog? If not, then I don't see a connection.

(view spoiler)[(Mal is an uploaded consciousness. He spends a while in a cyborg whose human body is dead and decomposing. Thus the dog eating the face. He gets more interesting bodies later.) (hide spoiler)]

[Oleksandr]

I guess it can be an interesting book to read

[Sabri]

I recently completed the second book in Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture series.


Eyes of the Void
Rating: 3 stars (well, 3.5)
Review

[Natalie]

I'm working on his Shadows of the Apt series and plan to get to the Final Architecture series soon. Thanks for the insight!

[Sabri]

Just wrapped up Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture series with Lords of Uncreation (am on mobile so linking difficult).

Review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Oleksandr]

Sabri wrote: "Just wrapped up Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture series with Lords of Uncreation (am on mobile so linking difficult)."

I like the author but this particular trilogy hasn't worked for me

[Sabri]

Fair enough! What do you think spoiled it for you?

It certainly has a different tone and feels to his other work. And IMO he hasn't yet come close to the masterpiece that is Children of Time.

I had a sense in this trilogy that he was trying to play to his strengths in conjuring up a big variety of species, genders, sexualities etc... . I enjoyed the playfulness of this, but I could easily understand if some people found that a bit forced.

[Oleksandr]

Sabri wrote: "Fair enough! What do you think spoiled it for you?"

I guess I don't like a science fantasy feel of it, I like his SF and his fantasy, but the mix doesn't really works for me

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the overrated science-fiction thriller (now a streaming series!)


Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

By the way, I notice this thread is for books published in 2000-2020 but the folder has been changed to 2000-2014. Should the thread be changed as well?

[Natalie]

Thanks for pointing that out. I made a new thread for 2015 & Up but it isn't displaying on the home page. It is there when you select discussion board at the top, so you can see all at once. I'll figure out how to make that thread visible again!
For now, I'm not being too picky

[Stephen]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "I finished the overrated science-fiction thriller (now a streaming series!)


Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Rating: 3 stars
Review: htt..."

I’ve been wondering about Blake Crouch.

[Natalie]

If you've been posting more modern reads to this thread, that is fine. I just wanted to let you all know the 2015 & Up folder and reading thread was hidden because no one had used it for a while. I've added a comment so it should be visible on the home screen.
I just edited the time periods of the two modern period reading to match our reading timelines!
Let me know if you have questions.

[Sabri]

Thanks for the updates Natalie! I was a bit confused why I couldn't find the "2015 and up" thread on the Android app. It must have been because it was hidden, because I can find it now :)

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Stephen wrote: "I’ve been wondering about Blake Crouch."

I thought he was OK but he didn't blow me away or anything. I would be open to trying another of his, maybe that Pines book, but I doubt he'll ever be a favorite of mine. Plenty of folks disagree with me though....

[Leo]

For me Blake Crouch sits in the same league as Stephen King. a safe choice. I really like to read the books of Crouch, I met not one yet that disappointed me. I also liked the Pines trilogy. Otoh, I almost all rate them no more than 3 stars, so an OK read, not brilliant. But allways a pleasure to read.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

Leo wrote: "For me Blake Crouch sits in the same league as Stephen King. a safe choice. I really like to read the books of Crouch, I met not one yet that disappointed me. I also liked the Pines trilogy. Otoh, ..."

That's fair. I prefer King over Crouch based on my very limited experience with both authors but that may be just a matter of preference.

[Thomas]

I am finishing Allen Steele's second book in the Coyote Horizon series. It is not as much fun as the other series set in the same universe.

[Natalie]

What do you like about Steele's writing Thomas? I haven't heard of him

[Papaphilly]

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Leo wrote: "For me Blake Crouch sits in the same league as Stephen King. a safe choice. I really like to read the books of Crouch, I met not one yet that disappointed me. I also liked the Pines tri..."

Leo wrote: "For me Blake Crouch sits in the same league as Stephen King. a safe choice. I really like to read the books of Crouch, I met not one yet that disappointed me. I also liked the Pines trilogy. Otoh, ..."

I enjoy both authors, but think Stephen Kingis a true master of the craft. Blake Crouch is potato chips for the mind. Fun, fast, and not much going on in the deeper story.

[Papaphilly]

I just finished Troublemakers: Stories by Harlan Ellison and enjoyed it immensely.

[Thomas]

Natalie, Allen Steele has won a couple of Hugos. In the nineties, he wrote near-future fiction based on an alternate history of the space program—notably, Tranquility Alternative. It reminded me of Heinlein’s future history. In 2002, he wrote Coyote, the first of a series of interstellar exploration novels whose characters are refugees from a dystopian America. He keeps the science out of the realm of pure fantasy.

[Natalie]

Sounds interesting Thomas. I'll have to add him to my TBR

[Thomas]

Drive, a short piece by James S. A. Corey, is a poignant cold equations story.

[Thomas]

I just finished Hunter's Run (2007) and Shadow Twin (2005). Both are collaborations by Dozois, Martin, and Abraham. I think Abraham had more to do with the Shadow Twin. They are both the same story--one a novella, the other a novel.

[Thomas]

I have just finished reading "Bones of the Earth" by Michael Swanwick. It is better than its current ratings on GR and Amazon would suggest.

[Natalie]

You find interesting books by authors I'm not familiar with Thomas. It's always nice when a book turns out better than expected!

[Leo]

After staring at it for years, I finally dared to start reading Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton.
Lots and lots of pages, it is going to take me a very long time. And probably must be followed by Judas Unchained.
I hope I manage to finish it without starting too much other books 'in between'.