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?
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Carolyn
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Aug 07, 2019 03:58PM

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Eric, that is funny...I wonder what the author would change if he could go back in time! Tad Williams is kind of an iconic name.
Leticia, that's quite a recommendation! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'll have to check it out.
Ryan, little joy in that it's breaking your heart? I thought Temeraire was supposed to be on the lighter side of things? Or do you mean little joy because it's really not your speed right now?
Haha Karen it sounds like you have it all figured out! We had some great discussion about Calculating Stars in group, and there was a buddy read of Fated Sky, if you wanted to revive it ^^
Carolyn, I've heard such mixed reviews about that book! Looking forward to your final thoughts :)
Leticia, that's quite a recommendation! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'll have to check it out.
Ryan, little joy in that it's breaking your heart? I thought Temeraire was supposed to be on the lighter side of things? Or do you mean little joy because it's really not your speed right now?
Haha Karen it sounds like you have it all figured out! We had some great discussion about Calculating Stars in group, and there was a buddy read of Fated Sky, if you wanted to revive it ^^
Carolyn, I've heard such mixed reviews about that book! Looking forward to your final thoughts :)

These books were first published 29 years ago and re-released in 2016. I believe Tad Williams updated his comments. The sequels to the first trilogy are new. He admits he had never intended sequels, but his "friends" pressured him into it. It will be interesting to see how the sequels compare to the original.
Eric wrote: "Allison wrote: "Eric, that is funny...I wonder what the author would change if he could go back in time! Tad Williams is kind of an iconic name."
These books were first published 29 years ago and ..."
Ahh, gotcha, he's talking about the extended epic, not the original. I hope it all hangs together for you!
These books were first published 29 years ago and ..."
Ahh, gotcha, he's talking about the extended epic, not the original. I hope it all hangs together for you!

Perhaps. The acknowledgement calling the tale a bloated epic was in the back of book two. Hard to tell given the re-release. This saga does sag in some places, but that is not unlike other "fantasy epics." I'll know more when I get into the sequels.

These books were first published 29 y..."
and wasn't the last part of the trilogy published as two volumes in paperback? I just bought the bridge book and the first book in the next series. Also, I love the Bobby Dollar books




Just started now on Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky, about 16% in and enjoying it very much so far; it's putting me in mind a bit of The Drowned World by JG Ballard which I read earlier in the year.

To stay on topic, I finished Too Like the Lightning which was a very interesting read. I'll comment more on it in the Buddy Read in October


Did you check out the buddy read thread?


I've read a small box of translated manga I took along, but not a lot of pure text stuff: just a couple of stories from Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer which has renewed my love for Tanith Lee's writing. Also a chapter or two of A People's History of the United States. It wouldn't seem like good vacation reading either, but it's working since the chapters have discrete topics. Fascinating and infuriating.
When I get home I'll get back into Phedre's adventures.
Audio to wind down before bed has been The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, pure comfort reading. I have portions of it all but memorized, but it's nice to sink into Stephen Fry's narration of it.

This sounds fascinating indeed. And I can easily imagine the infuriating to be true too.

"The White Road" probably doesn't deserve such a high rating, cause it's quite light fantasy with a fannish character - but Seregil and Alec are my guilty pleasure and so they get points for sympathy.
"The Big Time" was a read in my award-winners quest. I was expecting a 'typical' 50ies SF novel, but instead was surprised by a totally weird chamber drama that intrigued me and made me want to read more from Fritz Leiber.
"Downbelow Station" was near DNF at some point, but got better the more the story evolved. In summary, Cherryh's try academic style just isn't my cup of tea, but her detailed views of the future are very well done.
And now I have to roll a dice, if I should read one of the group reads, one of the Buddy Reads, pick up one of the books I abandonned last week - or start something else ...

Next up I plan to read The Odyssey by Homer. I read Lattimore’s translation of The Iliad last year, so I’m sticking with his translation of Odyssey to maintain a consistent feel between the two experiences.




It is. That’s all part of his future history called the Humanx Commonwealth. The two main species are humans and thranx, thus the portmanteau “Humanx”. There are something like 30 books, so you can really get in deep with it,


My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now reading Cat’s Cradle. I could have sworn I read in my early 20’s but none of this amazing book seems remotely familiar.
Glad to know I'm not missing much, Phrynne!
Carolyn, yeah, I keep hearing mixed reports on Time War. But Cat's Cradle is a classic! and Middlegame is also well received! Enjoy!
Thomas you seem to be on a roll lately! So glad you're having a good time ^^
Carolyn, yeah, I keep hearing mixed reports on Time War. But Cat's Cradle is a classic! and Middlegame is also well received! Enjoy!
Thomas you seem to be on a roll lately! So glad you're having a good time ^^

Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2923787278
and
A Life In Secrets: The Story Of Vera Atkins And The Lost Agents Of Soe by Sarah Helm - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2934217362.


People loving what they're reading is so addictive! Gotta blow through these books so I can find time for more!



@Diane: I can't wait to hear what you think of Downbelow Station, as I have it penciled in to read in September!

A little over a third of the way through The Way of Kings and so far I'm loving it. I enjoy all the character POVs that I've read and I'm really intrigued by the world building going on. This is looking like a series that I will definitely enjoy just sinking in to. And with that page count there's plenty of sinking to do.
And I'm just starting This Is How You Lose the Time War and Sisters of the Vast Black. Too early to make any concrete opinions, but so far they both seem promising.

Anyway, I started it yesterday and have read nearly half of it already! You can tell I’m on vacation, but it is really good! If anyone feels like reading it now and discussing here too, I’d welcome that. It’s not a long book.
What's Migration about, Diane?
Perdido Street Station was so good until the back half and then I got bored, then impatient, then lost, then annoyed, and then enraged and then it ended. Mieville loves his SAT word list, but not so much his editor, I think.
I switched my eye-book for Muse of Nightmares and it's still a ton of fun but I find myself less wrapped up in the glamour of it...don't know if it's because I left time between the books or because I had such high hopes or if it's actually just not as strong a book?
Giving myself a break from the tough subjects (I hope!) with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
I've also now achieved equality between the men and not men authors I've read (and remembered to record on GR, obvs)! So now I'm going to strive to remain within 1% of that.
Perdido Street Station was so good until the back half and then I got bored, then impatient, then lost, then annoyed, and then enraged and then it ended. Mieville loves his SAT word list, but not so much his editor, I think.
I switched my eye-book for Muse of Nightmares and it's still a ton of fun but I find myself less wrapped up in the glamour of it...don't know if it's because I left time between the books or because I had such high hopes or if it's actually just not as strong a book?
Giving myself a break from the tough subjects (I hope!) with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
I've also now achieved equality between the men and not men authors I've read (and remembered to record on GR, obvs)! So now I'm going to strive to remain within 1% of that.

Um. Well, the extent to which this affects readers seems to vary a lot, even among queer readers, but I had a tough time with the end of the book because of some (general topic warning) (view spoiler) . It's only a brief scene, but that's a sensitive topic for me. YMMV.

I found a photo of me reading a book probably last year sometime and I have absolutely no idea what it was. I could swear I never read it. I know I did. It was one of those photos where you have the book in front of you open and it’s the view from where you’re sitting and reading. Yeahhhh no idea lol
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