SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
This topic is about
This Alien Shore
Group Reads Discussions 2020
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"This Alien Shore" First Impressions *No Spoilers*
I'm in the middle of it and it is a nice mix of cyberpunk and space opera. I've never read anything by the author and actually surprised I've never hears about her
I am just a little ways in. I am intrigued by the world/universe that is being developed and the characters are interesting too. I also always like mysteries so I'm looking forward to how that element plays out.
I'm 40% of the way through. One thing I noted is that it was a NY Times notable book of the year in 1998. I wonder what % of their notable books each year are speculative fiction. My guess is that the % has been going down, but it would be interesting to check. I do know that Exhalation: Stories made their top 10 this year.
Another thing which I don't think spoils anything was I am enjoying how prescient the author was to anticipate technology back in 1998. For example, this quote:
"Outworld etiquette said it was rude to indulge in a lengthy internal dialogue when there was a real person sitting right in front on you. Not that folks didn't do it all the time anyway, but with strangers he liked to be proper"
I feel like this could easily be describing people with their smart phones just zoning out mid-conversation as they check social media, etc.
First impression: not exactly the kind of story that captures me from the start, but looks like a decent read.
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As soon as I finish Embassytown I will embark on this!
I've been drawn in by the first few pages so far... so many questions!
Christopher wrote: "Another thing which I don't think spoils anything was I am enjoying how prescient the author was to anticipate technology back in 1998. For example, this quote:"
I noticed that too. There are also things on network neutrality, ubiquitous surveillance and constant net access, which sound ahead of time for 1998
I'm a few chapters into this and the questions just keep piling up. I'm intrigued.If you're reading this on a Kindle device/app it probably started you on the first chapter and so encouraged you to skip everything before it (one of the things that annoys me about the app). The dedication that appears ahead of the chapter is, I think, worth a read.
Got a paper copy. All I know so far is it looks big... I won't be able to read it for a couple of weeks yet due to taking a trip to see my sons.
I thought I was going to have to go buy a copy and then found it on my bookshelf so I must have read it in the past and liked it or it would have gone to the local Half Price Books. I’ll be starting it (again?) tonight.
For a speculative work I'm amazed at how well it reads like a thriller. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Like some others have mentioned, I'm surprised I've never heard of this book or this author before now.
This is my first time participating in a group read and the book is not one which I would usually pick for myself to read.However, I am enjoying reading this so far, it seems an interesting universe and I am looking forward to learning more about it as I read more.
I often skip BOTMs if my libraries don't have a copy, but the kindle sample of this 1 grabbed my interest, so I bought it. Several chapters in now & I'm delightfully intrigued! :-)
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I’m already annoyed with the writing and the story, and nothing has captured me so far. I’ll give it a bit longer, but I highly doubt I’ll continue to the end XD
Hank wrote: "I too am surprised that I have not heard of the author, the book is quite good and of course my ego requires me to know of all good books throughout time :)"I second this. I too liked the book and hasn't heard about the author before.
I started listening to this yesterday. I liked the in medias res beginning and I'm definitely intrigued by the worldbuilding. I'm looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.
I finally got a good start on this. Definitely enjoying it. It’s nice that it’s fast paced, because it will keep my reading soles up. I may finish it in good time. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of Friedman either. Must read more about her.
I started listening too and am intrigued as well. So far the technology is quite cool. Although the little "horror scenario" in the first and third chapter made my hands somewhat sweaty, but then I'm a bit claustrophobic and have a fear of heights… I also never heard of Friedman and would probably not have picked this "ugly cover" up by myself.
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@Sabrina: yeah, the cover would definitely have been a no-go for me as well. I've heard of Friedman before, but I've never read anything by her. I'm making slow but steady progress, cause this is one of those books where I don't connect with the characters and feel no urgency to know what happens next. So I read some chapters, then I go on to another book, then back to some more chapters, etc. That is not to say that I don't like it, I'm pretty sure it ends up with a good rating, but on an intellectual level, not on an emotional.
Gabi wrote: "@Sabrina: yeah, the cover would definitely have been a no-go for me as well. ..."LOL - isn't it absolutely hideous :-)
I don't feel the urge to listen constantly either, but I'm still intrigued and want to know more.
It’s sunny about the cover. It’s a Michael Whelan and u usually like his covers. This is so busy and way too busy for how small the paperback cover is. Covered with ugly grey beings except who I’m assuming is Jamisia big, and beautiful. Weird.
I started this last night. The opening scene grabbed me, and there are so many little details I have suspicions about, and I'm excited to see where this goes!
Diane wrote: "It’s sunny about the cover. It’s a Michael Whelan and u usually like his covers. This is so busy and way too busy for how small the paperback cover is. Covered with ugly grey beings except who I’m ..."I agree the cover is way too busy. I think the person next to Jamisia's hip is (view spoiler)
Gabi wrote: "@Sabrina: yeah, the cover would definitely have been a no-go for me as well. I've heard of Friedman before, but I've never read anything by her. I'm making slow but steady progress, cause this is o..."I just recently finisher C.S. Friedman's The Coldfire Trilogy: Black Sun Rising/ When True Night Falls/ Crown of Shadows and it was excellent. Ditto for Magister Trilogy.
Meredith wrote: "Diane wrote: "It’s sunny about the cover. It’s a Michael Whelan and u usually like his covers. This is so busy and way too busy for how small the paperback cover is. Covered with ugly grey beings e..."I read it on a Kindle and didn't even notice the cover. I had to go back and look and yeah it's kind of bad.
My library hold came in, so hopefully on my dinner break tonight I'll get started on this. I'm pretty excited to give this a try. It sounds like something I should like.I don't know if I'd call the cover ugly, but it certainly isn't appealing to me. Not a fan of the layout though. It could be greatly improved by a better layout.
My 2020 resolution is to participate in groups more instead of just lurking, so hi. I’m about a quarter in to this so far. Quite a few interesting concepts and threads going. I do have some questions but I like when not everything is spelled out at once, so I can be patient and let it unfold. Not sure where it’s going but enjoying the read so far.
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IRL bookclub deadlines are interfering with my This Alien Shore reading, but I hope to return to it next week!
Maybe 3/4 done now. Highly enjoyable. It's the best book I've read with this group, narrowly edging out A Memory Called Empire.
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Would this qualify for a challenge as "Set in the Future" in your opinions?Personally I don't like the word "the" in the challenge, so I might just ignore it, substitute "a possible" instead. But even then, is this remotely possible?
I'm maybe 15% or so in and having a bit of trouble for some reason.
I've also been wondering if there's a possibility that this book is lesser known because the author is female. Seems to me that I recall that, at the time, publishing decisions were very controversial. Maybe there's another thread about representation that this belongs on; maybe I have no clue what I'm talking about. :shrug:
Btw, I like the cover. It reminds me of A Night in Lonesome October... I wonder if we're going to be expected to recognize the individuals, or at least the variants that they represent. I also like the more golden light in the lower level, and the purplish above, and how our girl is so strikingly luminous. It may not work well on e-device or mmpb, but the hardcover is attractive imo.
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Personally I don't like the word "the" in the challenge, so I might just ignore it, substitute "a possible" instead. But..."
I think it depends on how strictly you interpret it. I don't think this is a "hard" scifi novel, but I do think it captures a lot of things that have actually happened in the past 20 years incredibly well.
Cheryl wrote: "I've also been wondering if there's a possibility that this book is lesser known because the author is female. Seems to me that I recall that, at the time, publishing decisions were very controvers..."I certainly hope this was not the case. The first books in the Harry Potter series were being published at the same time. Interesting to note that both authors chose to initialize their names rather than spelling them out, which would show they were female right on the cover. You'd have to find a source to prove something like that.
J.K. Rowling was known to be female because of all the publicity about the Harry Potter books. I didn't know Friedman was female until I looked the name up on Wikipedia.Her first books were SF and later ones were fantasy, so maybe that bothered people. Plus the covers showed women characters in a lot of cases.
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Just read an interesting article this week that I came across on Twitter entitled “The Decade That Women Won” about the Hugo Awards. It’s at vector-bfsa.com. From that measure, women are doing better, but there is still sexism to be battled.
CBRetriever wrote: "J.K. Rowling was known to be female because of all the publicity about the Harry Potter books. I didn't know Friedman was female until I looked the name up on Wikipedia.Her first books were SF an..."
Forgive the poor source (the first one on google), but I think we can assume it is accurate: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/enter...
It says her publisher made Rowling use her initials to disguise her gender. Obviously as HP got more popular everyone learned that Rowling was female, but the initial decision was rooted in the perception that sales would be lower if potential readers saw a female name on the cover.
I don't doubt it, but people very quickly found out she was a woman if I remember rightly.
Strange to me that Rowling's publisher would give that advice. Female authors are well represented in children's lit. Maybe if they had imagined the crossover into the adult market, I could understand it, but I don't think they anticipated that.
pre-teen boys aren't too fond of reading adventures written by women so maybe that's why
CBRetriever wrote: "pre-teen boys aren't too fond of reading adventures written by women so maybe that's why"Just curious, is it a hunch or common sense or there is data to back it up?
here's one study that mentions it:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/bl...
and this one mentions
"Boys tend to resist reading stories about girls, whereas girls do not tend to resist reading stories about boys"
https://www.readingrockets.org/articl...
I couldn't find one specifically about authors
and more on the topic:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Coldfire Trilogy: Black Sun Rising/ When True Night Falls/ Crown of Shadows (other topics)Feast of Souls (other topics)
Exhalation (other topics)
Please refrain from discussing any specifics of plot, characters etc. Save that for the full discussion thread, open in a few days!
Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ medical experimentation, mental health issues, dealing with trauma. (hide spoiler)]