What are you reading in February 2015?

[Candiss]

Please tell us what you are reading, or plan to read, in February.

[Christine]

I abandoned The Secret Place; too many words and minutiae. Now I'm about to read The Three-Body Problem

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm about a third of the way through Kraken.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

No surprise, I'm reading Gardens of the Moon.

[Jim]

I'm reading The Gabble by Neal Asher and Born Fighting How The Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb. Also on deck is The Ganymede Club by Charles Sheffield.

[Alissa]

I'm reading Grand Conspiracy by Janny Wurts, with the following book, Peril's Gate, already close at hand. Brilliant epic fantasy.

[Random]

I'm just starting Gardens of the Moon today.
In audio, I'm listening to The Dead Path.

[Chris]

I just started The Last Policeman and have high hopes for it.

[Sumant]

Here is my review of dune

[Helen]

I'm reading Firefight. Books that I'm reading soon are: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Gardens of the Moon and The Martian.

[Tani]

I finished Mars Crossing by Geoffrey A. Landis this morning. It was OK, but nothing too special. Mediocre in all ways is my assessment. I'm really not sure why it was nominated for a Nebula, but it kind of makes me afraid to read the other books from that year.

I am starting The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle to take its place, which was a nominee for the 1997 World Fantasy Award.

[Justine]

Helen wrote: "I'm reading Firefight.

I'd be interested to hear what you think of Firefight when you are done, Helen. I just finished it myself. I won't say what I thought (because I don't like it when people do that to me when I haven't finished reading something myself)…except that I didn't rate it where I thought I would? :)

[Justine]

I'm reading The Three-Body Problem right now. Next I'm thinking of starting Range of Ghosts and then probably The Dragon's Path. Also I would like to read A Darker Shade of Magic which comes out at the end of February.

[Tani]

I finished Mars Evacuees by Sophia McDougall yesterday, which I really loved. It was the best kind of young adult: engaging and exciting, and I was highly impressed by it.

I am now officially starting Gardens of the Moon, which I am very excited about!

[Justine]

And after all that, that's what I started reading too. :)

[Helen]

Justine wrote: "Helen wrote: "I'm reading Firefight.

I'd be interested to hear what you think of Firefight when you are done, Helen. I just finished it myself. I won't say what I ..."

I gave it a four but it's more of a 3.5. There were an odd collection of characters, some seemed rounded while others were almost caricatures. I'm curious to where it will go next.

[Nick]

I finished Ilium, a chunkster by Dan Simmons, and am looking forward to its (longer) sequel, Olympos. Probably not as good as Simmons' Hyperion series, but then, few things are.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Nick wrote: "Probably not as good as Simmons' Hyperion series, but then, few things are. "

Agreed!!

[Ken]

I liked Ilium, it was Olympus that let me down
If I remember correctly

[Bill]

I'm reading the 2nd Cassandra Kresnov novel Breakthrough by Joel Shepherd

I recently finished:

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon—a mystery about a missing parrot investigated by a doddering old "Sherlock Holmes"-like character. Wonderful! as is Chabon generally.

{book:House of Glass|21446092] by James Maertens book 1 of a YA+, Celtoid, Harry Potter like fantasy with a literary bent.

Crossover the 1st book in the href="https://www.goodreads.com/series/51705-cassandra-kresnov">Cassandra Kresnov series by Joel Shepherd. The series is a far future political/military epic Sci-Fi. The action never lets up. It's pure fun.

The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman one of the best alien-oriented Sci-Fi's I've read. It's on my favorites shelf.

Next up the be The Complete Lyonesse by Jack Vance. I've read Poul Anderson's King of Ys series. A comparison will be fun.

[Random]

Finished The Dead Path, which I rather liked.
Started Some Kind of Fairy Tale which is failing at holding my attention.

Once I finish or give up on it, I'm going to do a reread of Blindsight to prep me for Echopraxia.

Still working on Gardens of the Moon. I'm not far yet, but I'm enjoying what I have read so far.

[Shel, Moderator]

Ken wrote: "I liked Ilium, it was Olympus that let me down
If I remember correctly"

I am with you. Had a hard time getting through Olympus. Neither one was as masterful as the Hyperion series. I do have Flashback on my shelf waiting to be read when I feel like I have the attention span for it!

I'm picking away at short stories while I figure out what to read next.

[Ken]

Finished The Peripheral. Very good book. Gibson is back in fine form

Reading Red Planet Blues

[Christine]

I finished The Three-Body Problem (which I don't recommend due to the excessively detailed hard science; the story line is intriguing) and have now started A Darkling Sea

[Bill]

Christine wrote: "I finished The Three-Body Problem (which I don't recommend due to the excessively detailed hard science; the story line is intriguing) and have now started [book:A Darkling Sea|1793..."

How does the Hard Science interfere with your enjoyment? I like har sci-fi as well as space opera.

[Christine]

I have no problem with hard science, but about half of the book was taken up with explanations of hard science stuff. To me, it interfered with the story and was unpleasant to "slog" through. Still, I like the basic plot and would read the two sequels if I weren't sure they will also be filled with too many pages of hard science. I fee like this book was written for Neil DeGrasse Tyson...

[Tani]

Yesterday, I finished The Eyes of God by John Marco, which OK but not great. It felt kind of like a soap opera, where the characters constantly change their personality in order to create drama in the plot.

I also finished listening to A Dance of Blades by David Dalglish, which I felt was much better than the first book in the series. I connected more with the characters, and really got into the story.

To replace these, I started reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown and an out of genre book, The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne.

[Justine]

I loved Red Rising…I thought it was a great debut book. The follow up, Golden Son is even better, in my opinion, and really shows Brown's growth as a writer.

[Christine]

I'm waiting for Golden Son from the library; in the meantime, once I finish A Darkling Sea, I have The Slow Regard of Silent Things, The Bone Clocks and Landline at home

[Lindsey]

I've only finished one book so far this month, The Rosie Project, which was a light read for a book club but had some representation problems.

In the middle of The Advanced Genius Theory: Are They Out of Their Minds or Ahead of Their Time? (which is total bunk so far) and Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography (another book club read which is fun, if a bit confusing). Once I'm done with those, it's Kate Elliott's newest, The Very Best of Kate Elliott. And then hopefully back to Deverry.

[Tani]

Justine wrote: "I loved Red Rising…I thought it was a great debut book. The follow up, Golden Son is even better, in my opinion, and really shows Brown's growth as a writer."

I've heard a lot of great things about both books, so I'm definitely excited to start reading the series. I'm reading it at work, so I really gotten anywhere with it yet, but the first few pages did a great job of pulling me in, so I anticipate it being very entertaining for me.

[Helen]

Gardens of the Moon is getting more understandable and exciting, I may have to stay up late!

[Ken]

Finished Sawyers Red Planet Blues
I didnt like they style he was writing in. Detective Noir, I didn't much care for the main character.
The writing was, per usual for Sawyer, very good.

Reading a book about Islam
No God But God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam

[Shel, Moderator]

I finished Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, which was wonderful - needed something light and completely different afterwards so I'm now reading Curtsies & Conspiracies and have Waistcoats & Weaponry lined up for when I finish. I still have to make it to the library to pick up my copy of Gardens of the Moon, which is waiting patiently for me :)

[Justine]

My ereader unfortunately died rather unexpectedly. However, I was able to dig my paper copy of Gardens of the Moon out of one of my bookshelves without too much difficulty, so at least I'll be able to finish what I was in the middle of reading. Without my ereader though, I'll be rethinking what to read next...

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I'm close to finishing Gardens of the Moon and hope to squeeze in The Drawing of the Dark before continuing the Malazan series with Deadhouse Gates.

Let me just add that Gardens of the Moon has not been as bleak as I feared--there are lots of great moments, some humor, catchy dialogue, and fascinating characters. The plot developments are intriguing and sometimes confusing, with gods, magic, soldiers, budding romance. I'm hooked.

[Random]

Just finishing my reread of Blindsight. Its been one that I've not been able to stop thinking about since we read it as a group years ago. It improves on the reread and I suspect I'd get more out of it if I did another one as well.

I should be able to start Echopraxia at some point today.

I've been on the move for weeks now so haven't made as much progress on Gardens of the Moon as I had hoped. Planning on setting aside some time this weekend for just reading to see if I can get caught up. I have enjoyed what I have read so far.

Benefit of audiobooks. With 3 hours commuting a day, I get plenty of time to listen. Not so much for reading print. :(

[Maggie]

I had so many books on my slate this month, I was very relieved that I didn't need to reread Gardens, because since I have read it 3 times, I think I am good! I am going to join in either at Memories of Ice (my fave Erikson) or Midnight Tides (which Ive only read once-lol)

Meanwhile, I am still trying to finish A Deepness in the Sky-which I love but have in small print) and Kraken, which I should finish tonight

[Bill]

I'm reading Suldrun's Garden book 1 of the Lyonsees series by Jack Vance

[Helen]

Loved Gardens of the Moon and The Martian. Couldn't put that down. Quite glad I joined the library. Still need to read my Sherlock book then Murder on the Orient Express or Waylander.

[Philip]

Candiss wrote: "Please tell us what you are reading, or plan to read, in February."

My random SF/F grab-bag ( https://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com... ) pick this month was:
The War Against the Rull
...so far, lovin' it--good Old School space opera.
And I'm continuing to slowly work through Robert Silverberg's Majipoor series with the short but sweet (and pretty weird):
The Mountains of Majipoor

[Jonathan]

God of the Dead by M.C. Norris. Really good book. Started it yesterday and by the time I went to sleep Kindle showed me having 67% done with the book. It reminds me a little of Dean Koontz. Fucked up reality with a science fiction edge. I recommend it.

[Christine]

I finished A Darkling Sea which I highly reommend and last night started The Slow Regard of Silent Things which I quit reading this morning saying WTF to myself. The next book on my shelf is non Fantasy/SciFi Landline

[Tani]

I inhaled Red Rising by Pierce Brown yesterday, which I loved. Now it's back to Gardens of the Moon before I can allow myself to read Golden Son.

[Shel, Moderator]

Going to start Gardens of the Moon tonight - am also intermittently listening to Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers on audiobook, macabre but fascinating. I just love Mary Roach!

[Tani]

I finished The Bear Went Over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle yesterday, which was my current award nominee/winner. I did not like it. It's a satire, which I am not generally a fan of. Satires depress me, to be honest. So that was a disappointment.

To replace that book, I have started Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

I finished Drawing of the Dark and hope to start Deadhouse Gates soon. We are leaving on a road trip tomorrow and I typically don't read a lot on those kinds of vacations. But we'll see if I can squeeze in a chapter or two here and there.

[Helen]

I know I'm off genre but I loved Murder on the Orient Express. Next is either The Return of Sherlock Holmes or Waylander.

[Bill]

I finished Suldrun's Garden book 1 of the Lyonsees series by Jack Vance—very good mythic fantasy.

I'm about a third of the way thru Killswitch book 3 of the Cassandra Kresnov Sci-Fi series—purely escapist fun.

[Christine]

I finished Landline a couple days ago and really can't recommend it; I gave it 2 stars (the second becuse I finished it). I have no books on my shelf, my husband is reading The Bone Clocks on my eReader so I have to wait until he is done. I dropped by the library today and picked up Warbreaker which I'll start tonight