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?
😂 Raucous! I hope they take the bait!
Glorious pulp Sci-Fi: I finished:
We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick - perhaps the "unofficial" prequel to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
and I started reading:
A Quest for Simbilis by Michael Shea - the "unofficial" official Dying Earth book that Jack Vance never wrote
I just finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow --- an extended metaphor about books and reading, really great lessons about the dangers of being "a good girl", amazing characters, a huge "F YOU" to white savior narratives, and what was for me a perfect ending.
I’ve gone and done it again. I will never learn.https://www.instagram.com/p/B4F38w9BtpK/
A Night in the Lonesome October
Velocity Weapon
Too Like the Lightning
The Snow Queen
After the Flood
Perihelion Summer
Our Souls at Night
I just finished My Sister, the Serial Killer which I read in one sitting. It was perfect for this time of year.
I also have THE BURNING WHITE on my TBR pile but will probably hold off until thanksgiving break to inhale it in a few days.
I loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January. The cover drew me in and I wanted to buy it. It was such a lovely book.
Just finished Scythe and will be picking up the second in the series tomorrow. Neal Shusterman is probably one of my favorite YA authors with his original story lines.DNF'd The Goblin Emperor. Not my cuppa and there are too many more interesting titles out there.
Probably taking a step away from sci-fi/fantasy to read the Gary Sinise bio Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service. My husband is in the process of building a house for a wounded warrior which the Sinise Foundation is paying for and I want to know a little more about the man behind the foundation.
Listening to The Princess Bride which, apparently, is an abridged version. Read by Rob Reiner who is doing an ok job but my ears are cringing because he's 1. not lisping "incontheivable" and 2. pronouncing Inigo to rhyme with indigo.
Hoping to finish up Six of Crows as well as The Hanging Tree in the near future.
Mod
Nice, RJ! It's fun to look back sometimes. This this will be a mood for awhile or is this going to be a welcome break from other things?
I really want to get to Ten Thousand Doors. Gah! Where's the pause button?
I've heard good things about both The Burning White and My Sister the Serial Killer! I'll look forward to your thoughts, MadProfessah.
Karen and Monica, hope you get a book soon that blows you away!
First of my catchup - read Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With The Wolves: Contacting the Power of the Wild Woman and reviewed it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2998996188and
PD James' Death in Holy Orders - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3022933473.
Second catchup - Majorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3022944817
and
Laline Paull's The Bees - reviewed - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3027116720
Final catchup - read Anthony Horowitz's Crocodile Tears - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3027143904.
Done I am with
The Obelisk Gate and on I move into the final book of the trilogy
The Stone Sky. Excellent writing this saga The Broken Earth.
I finally caught up on all my reviews. Hopefully I don't fall so far behind again.Uncrowned - I liked it, but not as much as the last one. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
A Little Hatred - It's good to be back in the First Law World. I thought this was a solid new addition to the series. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
Career of Evil - I think this is the best book of this series so far. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - Pretty good at parts, and a bit annoying at others. ★★★½☆ - (My Review)
Started C.S. Friedman's Coldfire TrilogyBlack Sun Rising
When True Night Falls
Crown of Shadows
since I finally purchased the last book in the series. So far, so good. I'm liking the characters, trying to figure out what's going on, etc
Reading the YA novel Wilder Girls. Very creepy “disfiguring/debilitating/often fatal illness leads to quarantine of girls at an isolated school” theme.
So much to comment on! I own the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman and think it’s great!!What the heck is “Six of Crows” and why does it have 222k ratings on Goodreads with an average well above 4.0? Sounds like it’s well in my wheelhouse but I’ve never heard of the author Leigh Bardugo.
I agree that CAREER OF EVIL is the best of the Cormoran Strike books. I keep on borrowing and returning unread the 4th book because it’s 600+ pages and I just feel like I want to spend my time elsewhere.
I’m just beginning “Velocity Weapon “ but it seems pretty cool so far.
I finished The Burning White. Now that's the way a series should finish. Five stars from me.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Just hit the halfway point in Velocity Weapon and holy shizznit this book is awesome. I am absolutely loving it. 🚀
MadProfessah wrote: "So much to comment on! I own the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman and think it’s great!!"I'm loving it so far. After two of the last series I read (Lightbringer and The Bloodbound), I really needed something to love with fully realized adult characters. I also read A Bait of Dreams which held up quite well (it was published in the 80s)
MadProfessah wrote: "What the heck is “Six of Crows” and why does it have 222k ratings on Goodreads with an average well above 4.0? Sounds like it’s well in my wheelhouse but I’ve never heard of the author Leigh Bardugo."It's YA fantasy and I LOVED it. It has a great cast of characters that are all slightly on the rebellious side and is written cleverly. Highly recommend!
I've been working my way through The Historian but it's 700 pages of tiny writing so it's a bit of a slog. So I've just picked up From Here On, Monsters as a quick intermission and I'm really looking forward to starting Salvation Lost soon!
Krystal wrote: "I've been working my way through The Historian but it's 700 pages of tiny writing so it's a bit of a slog. So I've just picked up From Here On, Monsters as a quick inte..."I wish you better luck with the Historian than I had with it. It has the distinction of being one of only 8 books on my "Loathed" shelf.
I am very much enjoying Ada Palmer's Too Like the Lightning. Very glad people in this group made me aware of it.I'm also still planning on reading Kim Stanley Robinson's Green Mars and will likely start that later this week.
Phrynne wrote: "I finished The Burning White. Now that's the way a series should finish. Five stars from me.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."
The audio is 39 hours. I won't be finished anytime soon. But I'm enjoying it so far..
I haven’t updated here in quite a while. I’ve read some really great stuff in the last couple of months, including my first encounters with the novels of some of the giants in the field.Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh, winner of the Hugo, featured one of the most powerful depictions of a refugee crisis, and the ripple effects of armed conflicts on ordinary citizens, that I’ve ever read. Cherryh’s style is highly unusual, and I can see why it might not work for some, but I was blown away by it.
Sabriel by Garth Nix was a big disappointment. I thought aspects of the world building were intriguing, but I found the storytelling to be quite flat, and I didn’t ever become emotionally invested in Sabriel’s story, even when it involved grief and loss, which are normally subjects that, when treated well, I always find very compelling.
Synners by Pat Cadigan had some very entertaining moments, with sharp, witty dialogue and vivid characters, and it was wonderfully prescient in its vision of virtual reality (it was written years before that technology became real), but in the end, it wound up spinning its narrative wheels a bit too much.
Gateway by Frederik Pohl, a double Hugo- and Nebula-winning novel, was immensely readable and fascinating. It had some questionable sexual politics, and a bit of a predictable subplot concerning therapy, but I was impressed by the richness of the writing of a self-absorbed, slightly deluded first-person voice.
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson was a reread for me, and I loved it even more this time around. So ambitious, intelligent, complex, and visionary.
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold, another double winner, was mostly enjoyable but never quite took off for me. This is my third Bujold novel, and while I can see why she’s so popular (her writing is fluid and her characters are very appealing), I have yet to be really taken away by one of her books. I’ll keep giving her a chance to do so, though, since there’s nothing in particular that I can really find a big fault with.
The Rosewater Insurrection by Tade Thompson improved on its wonderful predecessor in the Wormwood trilogy with a more tightly-focused narrative, and more variety in POVs. I look forward to reading the conclusion soon.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer was eerie, elusive, mesmerizing, and really effective at drawing me in, even when I couldn’t be certain what its ultimate storytelling goals were. One of the more unique reading experiences I’ve had.
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer was another wonderfully unique read, and one of my favorite books of the year. It’s also one that I can imagine many people bounce off of, due to its oddness and density of ideas and intentionally baroque prose. But I absolutely loved it.
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis, yet another double-winner, was another fantastic demonstration of her mastery of plot married to humane characters, in which the elaborate twists and turns and seemingly tangential side stories all coalesce into a profoundly satisfying, bittersweet, totally earned resolution.
Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber wowed me with the poetic verve of its prose, the enjoyably high-energy antics of its heroes, and its surprising darker tones that grounded it throughout. Some problematic sprinklings of sexism were the only blotches on a terrifically delightful read.
And finally, Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson was an excellent continuation of the epic saga of the terraforming of Mars. I can’t wait to read the concluding volume in the Mars Trilogy soon.
thank you for the wonderful reaction to those books - I love when people do that rather than just link to their reviews. I've been wanting to read Downbelow Station and you've convinced me. I love her writing.
So, I just finished listening to Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Ruin,” and holy crap. I was lukewarm on the first book, but this one utterly blew me away. It made the first book BETTER just by making it so the story went somewhere. THere’s a really much better impression of the alien that was lacking in “Children of Time.”
@CBRetriver thanks for the kind words. I hope you enjoy Downbelow Station! I am planning on reading a lot more Cherryh (this was my first encounter with her work). Hard to believe only one of her books is on our shelf. I’d like to rectify that.
Oh, and there’s only one KSR book on our shelf, which seems to be a mistake. There’s nothing by Pohl or Poul Anderson, either.
Anthony wrote: "I haven’t updated here in quite a while. I’ve read some really great stuff in the last couple of months, including my first encounters with the novels of some of the giants in the field..."Wow, what a neat and inspiring summations! Found myself nodding enthusiastically along near almost all of the list; you are reminding here of just how great a selection of books there has been as of late, indeed.
I would, on my own part, like to add (on the top of my head):
Walking to Aldebaran - A completely delightful thriller/horror/planetary exploration romp, densely packed with the character of our Mark Watney-esque narrator. I was utterly entertained throughout, and for it this short read jumped on top of my list of Tchaikovsky’s works. Right above...
Cage of Souls - which was also a remarkable feat. Mixing the same sort of narration with an attitude, some colorful characters and cast interaction, wonderful concepts for 'end of times' society, and spiced it with surprisingly thrilling action too. A well paced and well flowing whole, with some great pathos as well.
There has indeed been many such great reads recently, I realize, and this has made me eager to go back and appreciate them again like this! ...in better time.
Oh, but I must too add to the encouragement for reading Downbelow Station! What an unexpectedly satisfying read (and pleasingly slow-burning too - it feels like the fondness for it just increases further one gets).
I agree with Chessie. I like to see what people think of the books here. I never click on the review link. Thanks for that Anthony and Jempuu I’ve now got a couple more added to my TBR. I’m trying to read Something Wicked This Way Comes. Problem is that carnivals usually mean nightmares for me. And this time has been no different.
Really enjoying Night in the Lonesome October. It’s been really hard only reading one chapter a day though.
Zone One: it does some things really well, it's nice and thinky-thoughty and the style is dense and immersive, given the right frame of mind. But that frame of mind is in limited supply with me, and sadly, what could have been a cool and fun literary experiment of a zombie story decided to keep it so cool that it froze me out. (review)
I write a line or two then add links to my reviews because its a more complete summation of my thoughts. But I also personally prefer to read more detailed individual reviews as opposed to walls of text in a comment. So I prefer when people post links to reviews!Anyhoo, I finished From Here On, Monsters last night and it was super weird. It might be fantasy, it might be mystery ... whatever it is, it was completely beyond my comprehension. I really enjoyed reading it though!
Mod
Beth, I enjoyed your review of Zone One."I fully believe that a self-consciously literary genre book could be enjoyable, but unfortunately this one didn't manage it for me."
That sums up my reaction to many literary authors' forays into genre.
Lowell wrote: "So, I just finished listening to Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Ruin,” and holy crap. I was lukewarm on the first book, but this one utterly blew me away. It made the first book BETTER just by making i..."Glad to hear the second book improves on the first book. I had to make myself continue with book one because, you know, shudder... I ultimately really liked it so I just purchased book 2 through Audible.
Strangely enough, I just started with Diablo this month. The narrator is very natural but ambient as well. I am also reading a Warhammer`s Neferata and a few others.
Carrie wrote: "Started reading Dark Lord of Derkholm"I just finished it a few days ago, I'm curious to know if you enjoy it !
I really LOVED it but I'm a fan of Mrs Wynne Jones' style. I just found out there is a sequel, Year of the Griffin.
But first I'm reading The Name of the Wind, I'm halfway through and I enjoy it. My only complain is that the main character is to good to be true, he just seems to have every gift and qualities you could think of.
I am happy that I found a book where the hype worked for me! This year I had rather little luck with new books that were raved about, so I was a bit sceptical when I started The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, but it turned out to be a portal story with both a deeply human narration and a wonderful pictoral prose. It is to similar parts brutal and comforting, dealing with issues of race. The protagonists are a girl and her dog ... what can go wrong? ;)(and Chris' hint worked again: the only review with gifs I saw was a negative one ...)
Fizzgig wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Started reading Dark Lord of Derkholm"I just finished it a few days ago, I'm curious to know if you enjoy it !
I really LOVED it but I'm a fan of Mrs Wynne Jones' style. I just found out there is a sequel, Year of the Griffin."
There's also The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, which is probably what led to DWJ writing Dark Lord.
Gabi wrote: "I am happy that I found a book where the hype worked for me! This year I had rather little luck with new books that were raved about, so I was a bit sceptical when I started [book:The Ten Thousand ...""deeply human narration" is the perfect way to put it.
Gabi wrote: "I am happy that I found a book where the hype worked for me! This year I had rather little luck with new books that were raved about, so I was a bit sceptical when I started [book:The Ten Thousand ..."I think I mentioned it underneath one of your statuses but I loved Harrow's short story A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies, so I'm glad to hear that this one is also good. I'll need to bump it up a bit on my tbr-list, I think.
Fizzgig wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Started reading Dark Lord of Derkholm"I just finished it a few days ago, I'm curious to know if you enjoy it !
I really LOVED it but I'm a fan of Mrs Wynne Jones' ..."
So far it's great. This is actually my first book by her. I love the Gibli movie Howl's Moving Castle and I thought I'd check out some of her books. I have a couple of them laying around.
Anna wrote: "Fizzgig wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Started reading Dark Lord of Derkholm"I just finished it a few days ago, I'm curious to know if you enjoy it !
I really LOVED it but I'm a fan of M..."
Oh nice I'll have to check it out.
@Mareike: yes you mentioned the short story. And the novel is highly recommended, indeed.
At the moment, I am reading:A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia Savage
Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens
an issue of Analog
The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra
The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan (reread)
Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (reread)
Buckskin Run by Louis L'Amour (reread)
Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (might give up on this one--I like the premise and the prose but the story isn't grabbing me)
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I've seen enthusiasm elsewhere for Tim Pratt's work so I also read his Hugo Award winning short Impossible Dreams. It's set in a video store but despite my only occasionally watching movies I really enjoyed the story. My weakness for rom-coms may have helped there. I'm going to try to convince my partner that reading this will make up for our not having seen any movies recently. Wish me luck.