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 2019?
I read two epic fantasies in a row and both were huge duds, which was a bummer. First was The Shadow of What Was Lost. There were a few nice parts, but I never got a real feel for the characters in this one, and I felt a bit alienated by what felt like a very bro-oriented worldview.
And just today I finished The Priory of the Orange Tree. This one should have been right in my sweet spot (it's definitely not bro-centric), but I found the writing flat, and, as with SoWwL, I felt like I was never given a chance to know the characters.
Hopefully the next two--our group read, A Memory Called Empire, and abuddy read, The Way of Thorn and Thunder--will be an improvement!
I agree with you about The Priory Travis. Should have been great and just kind of fell flat. Not terrible, but way too long to only be a three star read. I think Shannon spent too much time on obscure lore that didn’t contribute much to the plot.
Well, that knocks Priory even further down my TBR. If I'm going to invest in reading an 800 page book, I want something that's going to be more exciting than "flat".
I am really looking forward to reading A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE.
Kaa wrote: "Well, that knocks Priory even further down my TBR. If I'm going to invest in reading an 800 page book, I want something that's going to be more exciting than "flat"."Lol! I had borrowed it from the library but just took it back unread. I can't read 800 pages if it is only mediocre.
Not really a "currently reading" since I don't think I'll get to this one for a few months... I traded with a "little free library" yesterday for the first time and got a copy of The Night Circus. I looked on their website and this LFL doesn't quite fit the remit of bringing reading to disadvantaged areas (it's in a 1%-ish suburb), but it was a fun little thing to do.MadProfessah wrote: "I am really looking forward to reading A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE."
Me too, MadProfessah. I'm starting it tomorrow!
I am currently reading:- a children's book by Erich C Davis called Trinity the Troublemaker
- A dystopia called TRI Socialization by Alex M Bright (almost done, would recommend)
- The Dark Fantastic by Ebony Elizabeth Thomas
I have queued:
- Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (reread because I have now bought the trilogy)
- The Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Voigt (rediscovered these young adult novels I loved as a teenager)
- The Neuromancer by William Gibson
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Jacqueline wrote: "Soul Music was my first introduction to Prachett but it wasn’t the book. It was an animated series that was on at 5.30 of an afternoon for the kids. It was brilliant. They also did some of the Witc..."Oh really? I didn't know that existed?! I will have to check it out.
I have seen The Colour of Magic movie and have ordered the Hogfather TV special (which i will probably watch after I have finished reading the book). But perhaps I will try and track down Soul Music too and see if I appreciate the show more than the book - Sadly it is probably one of my least favourite Discworld books I have read so far.
My book club has just started Stranger in a Strange Land. Lucky me it will help with my challenge here.
currently reading and enjoying Helen Lowe's series The Wall of Night. engrossed in Book 2 'The Gathering of the Lost'. I thought it was a trilogy when I started but I since discovered she is and has been working on the final volume for some time. I hate having to wait. I usually wait until a series is completed before starting it (like the Wheel of Time or GoT)
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Jokester, I hope you don't have to wait long! It is agony waiting for a story to finish.
Nathan wrote: "I have seen The Colour of Magic movie and have ordered the Hogfather TV special (which i will probably watch after I have finished reading the book)."My parents have the DVDs of the Hogfather mini-series and my partner insists on us watching it every year. It's fun. Hope you enjoy it!
Beth wrote: "My parents have the DVDs of the Hogfather mini-series and my partner insists on us watching it every year."It's the same here except that we are the parents and that it's usually following The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Currently reading "A Brightness Long Ago" by Guy Gavriel Kay. Kay never disappoints, what an amazing story teller. This is as good a book as any of his other.
Has anybody read "Blackwater" The Caskey family stories by Michael McDowell. I thought it was an amazing story... Stephen King, Robert McCammon type stories?
Finishing Weber’s Safehold series. Light space opera.
Earlier today I finished Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear. Just going by the title, I was expecting something cyberpunk-ish, but this is actually steampunk in a semi-wild west setting. I had mixed feelings about it. Some of the steampunk elements seemed a bit weird to me, and they were mostly used to move the plot forward rather than being an integral part of the setting. The story had a slow build-up, focusing too much on an insta-love-type relationship in the beginning, but the main character had a fun voice and I did enjoy the story more as it progressed. The story is intentionally narrated with bad grammar which might drive some people nuts but didn't bother me. My longer review.Next up, I plan to read Alphabet of Thorn by Patricia A. McKillip.
I've finished the four book Greatcoats series.
. Book 5,
and a short story in the same series,
, "Archangel Project." Now back to The Band, 
Bloody Rose.
After 3 months (one of which I spent reading nothing at all) I finally finished The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It finished stronger than it started but I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else seems to - ★★★½☆ - (My Review)I also listened to The Silkworm, which I thought was decent, but not fantastic. I'll probably continue on with the series eventually. - ★★★☆☆ - (My Review)
The third book is quite good. I’m currently trying to read the 4th in the series (LETHAL WHITE) but it is nearly 650 pages so I’m a bit put off.
MadProfessah wrote: "The third book is quite good. I’m currently trying to read the 4th in the series (LETHAL WHITE) but it is nearly 650 pages so I’m a bit put off."Good books except I wish Robin would stop complaining and Cormoran would stop walking so much when his false leg is sore. It makes me uncomfortable.
I had not much luck with my book picks lately ^^'.A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay was a great disappointment. It read like a light version of "The lions of Al-Rassan". I fear my expection for GGK novels is just too high.
Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward was a textbook experience in how not to write an exciting plot. It made me wonder what editors are for?
The group pick Witchmark by C.L. Polk was a cute read, yet left me with the feeling of having read some fanfiction.
I'm three quarters through Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey and the melodramatic tragic heroine erotic novel style is not my cup of tea (although it makes for a good background while working)
So imagine my relief when I started The Way of Thorn and Thunder by Daniel Heath Justice this morning, which has a certain Broken Earth vibe in prologue and first chapter and fills me with hope.
I heard
as part of the Tor collection Audiobook. Quite funny and original even if I won't be following the series at the moment. I'm really lazy about following up any series lately. I read
and liked it very much, it was a 5 star book! This was not my first steampunk book but my favorite so far in the genre. Is it in the group bookshelf?
Gabi wrote: "I had not much luck with my book picks lately ^^'.I want to read
but I'm dreading it too because it's so long... And I got tired of books full of erotic scenes, they seem like unnecessary filler in a fantasy/sci-fi book. Already didn't like that in
Leticia wrote: "I want to read
but I'm dreading it too because it's so long... And I got tired of books full of ..."In this case they aren't unnecessary fillers, cause the heroine is a very special kind of courtesan and uses her calling for political deeds. But her speciality is BDSM and that makes the erotic scenes rather un-erotically (well for me at least).
Yet the book is a surprisingly fast read. I'm already over 750 pages in - in like … 3 or 4 days, I think. (listing to it on audio)
I remember Altered Carbon as being pretty good.
I've just absolutely burned through The Outsider by Stephen King over the weekend, and I didn't know when I started it there were cross-over characters from the Bill Hodges trilogy. So now I'm reading those, as I had been meaning to for a while. I've put Children of Ruin on hold for the moment, as although I was enjoying it, I felt like I wasn't quite in the right mood for it and didn't want to rush through it just to get to something else.
Oh wow! I just returned THE OUTSIDER back to the library because I have so much other amazing stuff on my TBR I want to get to first (THE CALCULATING STARS, CHILDREN OF RUIN, A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE, STORM OF LOCUSTS etc etc). I’m currently reading SMOKE AND IRON because I’m sure it will be a quick read.I’m glad some characters from Bill Hodges show up or else I wouldn’t even attempt THE OUTISIDER I am not really a big Stephen King fan but I do like mystery/thrillers and that trilogy was great!
You know it’s funny- everyone calls the Hodges trilogy thrillers- but when I read them I felt like they were still horror.It doesn’t matter in the end. I loved them too, regardless of genre, but it made me wonder what the difference even is.
The Outsider felt more like a mystery/thriller though. I chalked it up to when the reveal happens. In Mr. Mercedes the bad guy’s identity is known right from the beginning, and IIRC that’s not true of The Outsider (which is great by the way, I do hope you get around to it!)
I'm reading
at the moment and it's hard to put down!
I don't want to say too much about The Outsider for fear of spoilering, but yes it's great! I am feeling a bit the opposite way round though to you Sarah, I thought The Outsider had some quite strong horror elements to it, and so far (about 75%) Mr. Mercedes is more like a CSI / police procedural (admittedly a really rather grim and twisted one mind you!)
I do agree about the mystery in The Outsider though, partly what made it very difficult to put down.
I can see that argument If you look at the book strictly from Hodges POV. Thinking back- his parts are pretty straightforward procedural.I guess I just struggle with Brady’s POV being included and his identity being revealed on page one. I think his parts are all horror because he’s such a twisted character. It’s no longer a mystery to the reader.
Whereas in The Outsider it’s the other way around- the reader is solving the mystery along with the characters. Does that make sense?
I also don’t read a lot of mysteries/thrillers/police procedurals so I have no idea how common the Hodges structure is!
Yes totally Sarah, I get what you mean! I was thinking more about (view spoiler) in The Outsider being more classic horror, reading some of those parts made me want to keep the light on!
Lizzie wrote: "Yes totally Sarah, I get what you mean! I was thinking more about [spoilers removed] in The Outsider being more classic horror, reading some of those parts made me want to keep the light on!"
Yup - I totally get that! I guess maybe they're all genre benders? Either way- they're all great books and that's all that really matters to me. I just thought it was interesting!
It was a little while back I read this, but wanted to recommend New Street Stories - An Anthology of New Writing by New Street Authors.
It is a well produced Indie anthology with a variety of stories set around New Street in Birmingham UK. Various genre, including sf and urban fantasy - several clever variations on time travel, an urban fantasy special forces squad under New Street Station, a super hero story and one with a Dr Who feel about monsters. I reviewed it in more detail here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished up Foxglove Summer audiobook only to find out that the library doesn't have anymore titles in this series! What's a girl to do??Came across Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows while searching through Libby and thought I would give it a shot. Anyone else ever read it?
Slowly working my way through Bellman & Black and The Book of Life
Definitely give Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows a shot Karen. I loved it. It was a Reece Witherspoon Bookclub pick last year sometime.
Just finished Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey from our groupshelf.Wasn't the right kind of book for me - way too melodramatic and sultry, and after 31 hours of listening I was just glad that it was over.
Any more 1000 pagers on the groupshelf …? ;)
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I just finished Strange the Dreamer and just loved it. I had a few gripes, but they were minor, and I really loved the writing/narration style. I'll definitely be continuing...some day. But now I'm reading the club books and starting A Darker Shade of Magic
I read Strange the Dreamer at the beginning of the year. I loved it. Just finally finished One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence. 5 hearty stars. It’s Mark’s first foray into science fiction and he has made the jump rather well. Set in 1986 it’s full of D&D and Time travel. And lots of other stuff too. Can’t wait until the end of July so I can read book 2 in the series Limited Wish. It’s already out overseas but Australia has to wait. It comes from Amazon and we can’t order from Amazon UK and US anymore. We can only get stuff from Amazon Australia.
Third book syndrome? Definitely not as good as the first two.My review of Blameless by Gail Carriger
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just finished The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2840839587.
Gabi wrote: "Any more 1000 pagers on the groupshelf …? ;)"Great question! These are the longest books on our shelf:
The Stand (1153)
Kushiel's Dart (1015)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (1006)
The Wise Man's Fear (994)
Pandora's Star (988)
1Q84 (925)
Seveneves (881)
Ship of Magic (880)
Wizard's First Rule (836)
A Game of Thrones (835)
I've only read 3/10 :(
Wow, Anna! Thank you! I've read 5 of those. I will mark the rest for possible audiobooks.
Allison wrote: "I just finished Strange the Dreamer and just loved it."Looks interesting, but is it YA? 'Cause...I'm kind of a YA grump.
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I really liked that book, too. (Strange the Dreamer, that is.) I haven't picked up the sequel yet, although I intend to!
Since I'm suffering from reading a bunch of duds recently, I decided to re-read one of my favorites: The Book of Atrix Wolfe
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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and
Anne Boleyn: Adultery, Heresy, Desire by Amy Licence and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2819905541.