SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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What Else Are You Reading?
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What Else Are You Reading in 2018?
Hello Soo, For me, Gene Doucette's writing is more three dimensional (tighter) which allows me deeper into the story, the humorous moments seem more natural and less like a gag set-up. Dresden and Iron Druid read like something that needs to be made into a movie, show or cartoon to be complete.
I know these series have their fans, many of them.
@ Jennifer - Share what you think about Borne. That's in my audio TBR. @ colleen - You're getting a head start! I should start that one too. =)
@ Don - I am not a fan of Iron Druid. The writing in Dresden gets better but you have to suffer the first 4-5 books to get there. I actually like Harry a lot and the world always had promise. The writing matured over time and it's much more developed later. I like how details are kept true and connected throughout the whole series. Hints of events that happen much later are sown in the earlier books.
Immortal Chronicles is on my audio TBR. I'll try to knock it up the reading list.
Soo wrote: "@ colleen - You're getting a head start! I should start that one too. =)"
First time ever I'm ahead of the BR game. ;)
Finally finished Assassin's Quest and The Deep, with the former getting a wonderful 5 full stars.... the latter, not so much.
@Alondra glad you enjoyed Assassin’s Quest. Care to join our discussion in The Farseer Trilogy buddy read thread?
Borne was an unusual book... Apocalypse on Acid.
Soo, I have heard that before, about the writing getting stronger. I think it was Aaron who said it a while back, mabe even a couple people.
Soo, I'm giving "Blood Rites" a try. Interested in what you think about "The Immortal Chronicles".
I just started an ARC of “The Seclusion” by Jacqui Castle. It’s really interesting so far. A future America dystopia, in which The USA has literally walked itself off and it’s citizens live in an extremely rigid and regulated society, so details of which are not unlike Soviet Communist countries. I’m about 15% in and just waiting for the shit to hit the fan for the main character.
Don, I'm not sure if I would recommend reading Dresden out of order. You end up missing a lot but I guess you could be surprised in a good way by how things transpire. I would also say that you could wait another 4 years to try out Dresden because it'll take a while for the series to wrap up.Empire of Silence - About 20% in and it's okay. The writing seems to be on the YA side. I like the renaissance vibe that I get from Hadrian's education. Other than that, he's a spoiled brat. I'm waiting to see how he grows under pressure.
I’m listening to Dragon Queens by Traci Harding & reading the Druid of Shannara by Terry Brooks. I’m only new to the group so could someone please point me to the books to read for November
Anthony wrote: "@Alondra glad you enjoyed Assassin’s Quest. Care to join our discussion in The Farseer Trilogy buddy read thread?"I may have to dip over there! Thanks :)
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Thanks Alison, have downloaded & am ready to go
I read Song of Achilles months ago. Loved it.
Just read James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Last Flight of Dr. Ain" while I had to wait to be allowed back into a meeting and I liked the sense of foreboding and suspense she created in this one.
Anthony wrote: "Is that your first Tiptree?"No, I've dipped in and out of Her Smoke Rose Up Forever. I think my first one was "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" when my best friend recommended it years ago. (Love it!) The last Tiptree I read before this one was "Love is the Plan the Plan is Death" last month and that was extraordinary.
"The Last Flight of Dr. Ain" was good, but will probably not become my favorite of hers.
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Metamorphoses was an interesting book! I need to get back to my classical literature collection soon. I still need to read the Aeneid, and a few others.
I read Calculating The Stars. I liked the beginning and the end, but much of the rest seemed to lack tension or urgency. It felt like it was trying to be a 'stand up and cheer' story but in the wrong situation. (That worked in The Martian and Hidden Figures, but totally different. ) Yes, she achieved her personal goal, however. I'm currently reading Trail of Lightning. It's good! :)
I am currently reading The Red Rising series, I'm on book 3 at the moment. It's quite good so far, though it falls into the trap of easy solutions at times. Still worth it though!
Thomas wrote: "Yes, it was deemed too dark for the time though and didn't get very good box office. The film was a merge of the first two books in the series, at least from what I've read so far."To Dark for the Time
And actually not all that well done either.
I’m in short fiction mode after reading and very much enjoying Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, and just finished a novella by Avram Davidson called “Duke Pasquale’s Ring.” Based on this novella, and another story of his I’ve read, I can tell he was an incredibly original, quite brilliant stylist. Some of the specifics of plot got obscured in the flourishes of his prose, but I’m curious if anyone has read more of his work, and if so, if you would recommend anything in particular. I’m definitely intrigued.
I just finished Twisted (A Ghost Story): Lights Out Series - Book 1, I'd picked it up free a while back and read it as a quick palate cleanser before I moved on to Conquest of Earth, and it was a really pleasant surprise! It's SUPER short, took maybe an hour to read? I loved the main character, highly recommend if you want something quick, fun, and a little spooky.
Anthony wrote: "I’m in short fiction mode after reading and very much enjoying Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, and just finished a novella by Avram Davidson"I’ve only read stories of his collected in various award anthologies and I don’t have any specific recollection of them, I’m afraid. Looking at his publications, though, I see that his Adventures in Unhistory: Conjectures on the Factual Foundations of Several Ancient Legends has been on my TBR list for 35 years but was out of print for most of that time.
What a title! I wound up getting The Avram Davidson Science Fiction & Fantasy MEGAPACK® for .99 so we shall seeeee...
Since last time...- finished the last of three loaners from a friend with The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 3: Nine School Competition Arc, Part I. Our little weekly group is watching the anime, and the books aren't adding much aside from poorly-translated, repetitive, boring tech talk, so finishing the second arc with v. 4 is as far as I'm likely to take it with the light novels. (review)
- Heart's Blood by Juliet Mariller: I DNF-ed this one almost exactly two years ago. Let's just say that a month before the elections my mind wasn't in the right place for it. This time around, I loved the atmosphere/sense of place and the sweet romance. (review)
- All but done with Los Nefilim by T Frohock. Dark fantasy's a good match for this time of year.
- Tried out Malazan with the prologue and first chapter of Deadhouse Gates. Intriguing, if somewhat too invested in being harsh and shocking right out the gate. More later!
Anthony wrote: "What a title! I wound up getting The Avram Davidson Science Fiction & Fantasy MEGAPACK® for .99 so we shall seeeee..."It seems such a great deal and thank you. I am so surprised about the price (well, there are always so many surprising things within this book club:) And this is not the first time you told us about the discount stuff, thank you. Ah, I am just going to say it (even though people might(Already) think I am stupid.) I really thought you are that kind of person who don’t look at the price tag when you do shopping but you keep posting these on sale news. Thank you:)
I’m very much my mother’s son, Wen. A bargain hunter through and through!
Oh dear. I’ve already bought a few of these megapacks off Amazon’s kindle store, and I’ll be getting this one as well. It never ends, does it?? (thankfully!)
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Since I last wrote here, I finished:
Binti: I liked it quite a bit! Soothingly upbeat with amazing visuals and a neat structure.
Dreadnought: Cute. I empathized with and wanted to protect Danny a lot. I think the author got stronger as she wrote and will continue to do so.
An Unkindness of Ghosts: was often hard to read but was really quite different and evocative. I loved the gender discussion especially.
Now reading:
Stories of Your Life and Others: I don't tend to love short works as much as full novels, but these are fascinating concepts. I have to take it in doses though.
The Consuming Fire: I really needed a light palate cleanser and so far this is really hitting the spot for me. He cracks me up, and I think this cast and world lend themselves better to his humor than Old Man's War did.
Allison wrote: "I like finding deals. It's as close to hunting as I ever hope I need to get. But if I need to hunt, I really hope couponing translates to my abilities. ;-)Since I last wrote here, I finished:
[b..."
I just started Lagoon and it's terrific!
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Since I last wrote here,..."
I keep hearing! I might have to check that out. Are you doing the buddy read? I hope you're able to check it out if that's of interest :) It seemed like there was quite the discussion going!
Beth wrote: "Since last time...- finished the last of three loaners from a friend with The Irregular at Magic High School, Vol. 3: Nine School Competition Arc, Part I ..."
I’m guessing they ran out of room for more words on the cover.
Anthony wrote: "What a title! I wound up getting The Avram Davidson Science Fiction & Fantasy MEGAPACK® for .99 so we shall seeeee..."Dang, that's a bargain. Fine, I get the PC guide.
Edit: oh, there seems to be a whole lot of similar "Golden Age of SF" collections of various authors for the same price. Like 47 or so of them... hmm, to pick and choose?
The great American Read rates Outlander number two, Nonsense ! Balderdash!
And apparently 50 shades of grey is up there too 🙄
Allison wrote: "He cracks me up, and I think this cast and world lend themselves better to his humor than Old Man's War did."I was going to say, if you prefer the Scalzi stuff that's lighter than Old Man's War, you should read... but then I realized the answer to that is pretty much every Scalzi book except the Old Man's War series :) Fuzzy Nation, Redshirts, The Android's Dream and Agent to the Stars are all rather more comical.
It’s more about what people are reading more than what is good literature. 50 Shades makes a lot of lists because it was so widely read. Not by me.....To Kill a Mockingbird is more a should be up the top so people vote it up there whether they’ve read it or not. There were big campaigns on FB. Not sure if it’s that wonderful but I’m not from America and am not as close to the issues and that’s probably why it’s not as important to me. Over here in the 100 best books that’s voted on every year at Better Reading The Book Thief has kicked TKAM off top spot. Don’t get me wrong...TKAM is a great book and I enjoyed the read at 15 when we had to read it for school but I’m not sure it’s the greatest book of all time. Close maybe with its mix of issues and writing but then again I haven’t read every book.
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I was going to say, if you prefer the Scalzi stuff that's lighter than..."
Haha! I do, it's a good thing to have around for after something very dark. I'm sure I'll slowly try more of his stuff, but I do like trying to spread out the authors I try!
Okay, I've finished The Lion's Mouth. A little different since Hanne was more on the side than usual, but still good. Now just waiting for the next audiobook to come in at the library.Dreadnought may or may not get finished. The narrator was really ruining it for me so I'm switching to the ebook instead and giving it another shot. We'll see.
I'm halfway through In the House in the Dark of the Woods. It's really weird and atmospheric, but I'm not sure if it's actually going anywhere right now? Still it's written well enough that I keep coming back to it.
I finished So Far So Good, a collection of Le Guin's poems. Some were really great and some were a little meh for me. Overall it was a winner.
Also finished Tales from the Inner City, which is magical realism with some gorgeous illustrations to go with the short stories. A really quick but beautiful read.
I'm currently debating among The Shining Girls, I Am Legend and Other Stories, and Sparrow Hill Road as my next audiobook since I dropped Dreadnought. I need something creepy for my October commute listen.
Last night I finished A Closed and Common Orbit. Such a lovely read! Not much action or drama, but some excellent characterization. I liked that it filled out her universe, especially with future cultural references, including pop culture. I'm hoping to start on the next novel soon.
I got through the last few books in the Temeraire series. I enjoyed the series as a whole, but the last two were not my favorite. I did, however, follow up the end of the official series with a bunch of Temeraire/Jane Austen crossover fanfic, which was very enjoyable. (Sadly I am still waiting for the canon crossover, in Golden Age and Other Stories, to arrive at the library.)I also finished The Poppy War and then read The Rape of Nanking to try to understand a bit of the history better. I did learn about it in my high school history class, but learning the details helped me to understand The Poppy War better. (The Rape of Nanking is hard to read because of the horrible events it describes, but it's actually a fairly short and non-academic.)
In between I've been reading some short stories - working on Stories of Your Life and Others for the buddy read as well as occasionally alleviating the grimness of many of my other reads with lesbian steampunk from Steampowered, Steampunk Lesbian Stories. And I just started back into the Dominion of the Fallen series by Aliette de Bodard with the short story Of Books, and Earth, and Courtship. (More lesbians!)
Kaa wrote: "And I just started back into the Dominion of the Fallen series by Aliette de Bodard."I've heard really great stuff about de Bodard, but haven't figured out where to start with her stuff. I heard The House of Shattered Wings has some hard stuff in it, so I've been hesitant to dive in, but also that The House of Binding Thorns is really great.
I've also heard great things about the Xuya novellas, like On a Red Station, Drifting and The Citadel of Weeping Pearls.
Any thoughts on where to start with de Bodard?
@Ariana: Honestly, I've only read a few of her books so far. The author's recommendation for the Dominion series is to start with some of the prequel shorts before moving on to the novels. Of Books, and Earth, and Courtship is the first I've read, but In Morningstar's Shadow is available free online, and I'll be reading that soon (most of the others are not readily available online). The House of Shattered Wings was a good book, but it took me a while to get through and it does have some pretty brutal scenes (I think the beginning may actually be the worst), so I would probably agree that the shorts are a better introduction to the world.Of the Xuya stories, I've only read On a Red Station, Drifting, which I liked, but I've also heard good things about the other two.
A CLOSED AND COMMON ORBIT is great but you should lower your expectations for the follow up.
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Working for the Devil (other topics)Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (other topics)
Fool's Assassin (other topics)
Exo (other topics)
2018 on Goodreads (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Samuel R. Delany (other topics)Samuel R. Delany (other topics)
Samuel R. Delany (other topics)
Aliette de Bodard (other topics)
George Mazurek (other topics)
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I could also maybe be arm twisted into doing a buddy of Practical Magic...