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 2023?
Thanks Jan! I am mostly over the cough now, though the stomach issue has taken up the baton of Taking Its Sweet Sweet Time To Leave. :( But it could be worse, I suppose. Still thankful that these have happened now, and not on my vacation in a few weeks. At this point I think my immune system will be titanium plated for vacation!I'm glad that you're getting into Abaddon's Gate now. Each book in the series introduces new people and plots, along with the central characters, and I always find them so fascinating and interesting. Abaddon is a bit... philosophical, but considering the whole series and some of the questions raised, I think it makes sense. I hope you continue to enjoy it!
yesterday book 5 of David Brin's uplift saga Infinity's Shore. It really links up books 2/3 (the unresolved issue) with book 4, Brightness Reef (on planet Jijo.), so if you got to the end of Uplift War, and was wondering (trying not to spoil!), uh, they found this thing, and now what? your answer is partially answered in Inifinity's Shore. Partially? only because I still have questions, hopefully answered in his final Uplift War book, Heaven's Reach.So, I'm reading Heaven's Reach now!
I'm currently reading -- The King of Plagues by Jonathan Maberry
- Golem100 by Alfred Bester
- Let the Fire Fall by Kate Wilhelm
- Inverted World by Christopher Priest
- Dust by Hugh Howey
- Return from the Stars by Stanisław Lem (I may give up on this)
- A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
In the hopper
- Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick
just finished It happened one summer .latest 6 star read
FOURTH WING
Becky wrote: "I'm glad that you're getting into Abaddon's Gate now. Each book in the series introduces new people and plots, along with the central characters, and I always find them so fascinating and interesting. Abaddon is a bit... philosophical, but considering the whole series and some of the questions raised, I think it makes sense. I hope you continue to enjoy it"Thanks Becky. GTK.
Finished book 7, and starting book 8, Tiamat's Wrath. I remember this one being incredible, so I’m very much looking forward to this reread.
Becky wrote: "Finished book 7, and starting book 8, Tiamat's Wrath. I remember this one being incredible, so I’m very much looking forward to this reread."It might take me a little while to get there, but I will look forward to that one.
I've been sidetracked today by a new release which I decided to start, even though I haven't yet finished Abaddon's Gate. Only Good Enemies is a #2 after Only Bad Options, which is a fun space opera kinda fantasy crossover I read last year.
Finished book 5 of Harry Potter, only two books to go. I have to say, the movies left out so much, too much. Every why question I had about the movies has been answered in the books. Also, why is Peeves not in the movies?!?!
Too expensive would be my guess, Tyler, and the Weasleys could fill in nicely for the chaotic element. So he wasn’t really needed.
Screenplays adapted from original material almost always have to cut, combine, or make up new stuff, otherwise the movie is just too long. A typical movie is about 2 hours long. Combine meaning combining characters, combining scenes. Even breaking the movie apart into two or three still isn't enough. Look at Dune (new vs old, old being the David Lynch version). Lynch tried to shoehorn a long novel into a single movie, and that movie raced along, skipping here to there (let's ignore the special effects which limited him, so much simply didn't exist at that time). For me, I really didn't care about the characters at all, not saying the acting was bad, those actors are quite good, but they need time to establish a reason to give the viewer a reason to care. I read (on wikipedia!) that Jodorowsky's attempt at Dune ballooned up to 10+ hours. Maybe Lynch didn't have the budget to break the movie into 2 movies,
Anyhoo, to fit a decent sized novel into a 2 hour movie, it's gotta cut/combine stuff. So we lose characters like Peeves and Tom Bombadil (LotR), or have their arcs cut way short (Tonks in the HP movies).
Marc wrote: "Screenplays adapted from original material almost always have to cut, combine, or make up new stuff, otherwise the movie is just too long. A typical movie is about 2 hours long. Combine meaning com..."In my experience short stories or novellas are most easily adapted to a single film length and after the third one the Potter books are bricks - great fun to read but miles too detailed for a film.
Pride and Prejudice is only 300 pages long but the best adaptation fills 6 and a half hours.
Banshee wrote: "It seems a lot of us are into Expanse now! I was a bit cautious after Book 1, because it had a lot of promise, but I didn't like either of the POV characters. But now I'm halfway through [book:Cali..."I enjoyed the very first book of this series. Incredibly amazing. And an escape from my deep anxieties after 11/2016. It did the job.
But I was reluctant to move on. Even after watching some of the TV series. There didn't seem to be enough wins for the heroes.
But you've caused me to rethink this. Perhaps I'll jump to the one you've mentioned here.
Cecile wrote: "I enjoyed the very first book of this series. Incredibly amazing. And an escape from my deep anxieties after 11/2016. It did the job. But I was reluctant to move on...."That was my reaction to The Expanse series too. The first book was a fascinating read. I wasn't really in the mood for the second book when I read it (similar timing/reasons) and don't see myself getting back to the rest any time soon. I can certainly see the attraction, but... just not what I want to read right now.
On the other hand, the authors' contribution to Amazon's The Far Reaches Collection (How It Unfolds) was my clear favorite of the bunch.
I just finished Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret, by Judy Blume (non-SF, a reread), which was wonderful again as an adult and I’m happy to say the new film is very faithful! and (Fantasy) Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, by Juno Dawson, which was very very good. Highly recommended.
DivaDiane wrote: "I just finished Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret, by Judy Blume (non-SF, a reread), which was wonderful again as an adult and I’m happy to say the new film is very faithful! and (Fantasy) Her..."
I first read that book when I was in the sixth grade. It's been, I don't know, 42 years ago maybe? And yikes that sounds awful. I liked it back then.
Cecile, I wouldn’t recommend skipping books in the Expanse series. If you’re not feeling them at the moment, I would just say to wait until you do instead of jumping ahead. They are intended to be read in order, and there’s so much context and information that carries through and builds from book to book, and so much NEW stuff introduced in each book too, that I can’t imagine jumping ahead would be anything but super confusing and frustrating. YMMV but I would hate for you to dislike it if you jumped ahead and didn’t have all the background for it to make sense. :)If you’re into audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to these. Jefferson Mays is incredible.
After reading several long, heavier books recently, I decided to read CL Polk's Even Though I Knew the End, which won the Nebula for best novella this year. It was a quick and satisfying read - a mash-up of fantasy, noir mystery, and F/F romance set in 1930s (I think) Chicago.
Recursion
by Blake CrouchFantastic amazingly inventive story about time travel. I really don't want to lay out the plot but i will say that Crouch has combined a great, extremely detailed plot with writing of a high order. 5 stars, highly recommended.
Marc wrote: "Anyhoo, to fit a decent sized novel into a 2 hour movie, it's gotta cut/combine stuff. So we lose characters like Peeves and Tom Bombadil (LotR), or have their arcs cut way short (Tonks in the HP movies)."Yes, I get that it's impossible to fit everything into a movie. But I do remember feeling sad at the time that Tom Bombadil never made an appearance. Otherwise i did enjoy the LOTR movies.
Jan wrote: "Marc wrote: "Anyhoo, to fit a decent sized novel into a 2 hour movie, it's gotta cut/combine stuff. So we lose characters like Peeves and Tom Bombadil (LotR), or have their arcs cut way short (Tonk..."I had a hard time with the LOTR movies when they came out because I read the books so much when I was younger and was so familiar with it that the differences were jarring. I didn't really like the movies until Return of the King but it still annoys me how they handled Faramir in that movie. Never really minded the differences in the Harry Potter movies versus books but I read the books closer to the time that the movies came out and I was older.
I liked Faramir in both the books and the moviesI finally hit a second book that I absolutely could not read: Skylark of Valeron. Not enough time to read to waste on it. Currently reading:
Scion of Cyador by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
First Lord's Fury by Jim Butcher
The Shadow Pavilion by Liz Williams
Severance by Chris Bucholz (replacement for Skylark and much better book about a generation ship)
Company Commander, Charles B. Macdonald*. Having just finished another combat memoir, Patton's Best, I was still in the mood for one. Since I already have one of Macdonald's single volume histories (A Time For Trumpets, about the Bulge), and since CC was referenced extensively in Snow and Steel, I figured I'd tackle it first. As a bonus, it's about 1/4 the size of Trumpets.*He wrote two volumes of the official history of the war afterwards.
I'm rereading The Machineries of Empire series with great pleasure. I just finished Raven Stratagem - there were several riveting character arcs that I had forgotten about, and I loved how the plot came together.My review is here ;)
And right now I'm reading Tale of Tales – Part I: A Strange Bunch, a fairy tale based on Eastern European mythology. I like the story, but the writing isn't great and most of the characters are bland. It's a quick, entertaining, and undemanding read, though. The book was also free, I won it in a giveaway :)
I’m rereading Smiley's People, a spy novel by the great John Le Carre. I think I read it once before, not long after it was published. It’s really good. I’m also reading Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka, an interesting anthology of reprinted stories, most by genre writers.
Finished A Memory Called Empire finally last week (or the week before...can't remember when) and have gone for something completely different this time. Thursdays at Orange Blossom House by Sophie Green. She writes mainly about female friendships and her books are lovely. I've read The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club and The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle and have The Bellbird River Country Choir sitting here ready to go as well. I was thinking it's time to read them before her next one comes out. Or at least one of them lol Also waiting for Joanna Nell's new one Mrs Winterbottom Takes a Gap Year. Her others are lovely. The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village, The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home, The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital, and The Last Voyage of Mrs Henry Parker. So yeahhhhh as far from SFF and dystopian novels as you can get. I have so many new SFF books sitting here that need to be read and I just don't feel like reading lately. Oh well. I'll get back to it again at some point.
Mod
Ryan wrote: "I've almost finished Tasmakat by Rachel Neumeier. Where are you, Michelle?!"Oh no! I have it, but I wanted to read numbers 1 and 3 first to refresh the details and nuance in my mind. Then I broke up my rereads with other genres so I wouldn't get Tuyo overload. How is it?
Mod
Becky wrote: "Cecile, I wouldn’t recommend skipping books in the Expanse series. If you’re not feeling them at the moment, I would just say to wait until you do instead of jumping ahead. They are intended to be ..."I second the no skipping books. Unlike some series this one builds on what came before and doesn't really do recaps in the later books. Also unlike many series I have read this one always has that moment where it hooks you and you feel the need to finish it. Since I read more than one book at a time, I love it when that moment hits.
Jan wrote: "Marc wrote: "Anyhoo, to fit a decent sized novel into a 2 hour movie, it's gotta cut/combine stuff. So we lose characters like Peeves and Tom Bombadil (LotR), or have their arcs cut way short (Tonk..."Tom Bombadil is a fan favorite from the books, but realistically he doesn't do much to drive the story forward and he is a very large distraction from other events. There are only two things that really come out of the Hobbits, one a mild reinforcing point that is done better when they get to Bree and the other a very important plot point.
The first is the encounter with Old Man Willow. It shows that the Hobbits are still very naive. They have no idea what they are getting into. The second is the Blades they get in the Barrow. These blades are enchanted with spells designed to injure the Nazgul, the Witch King in particular. The fact that the Hobbits have them at all is a telling point at least twice later in the story. But for all that leaving him out of the Movies is probably a good idea.
Brett wrote: "Company Commander, Charles B. Macdonald*. Having just finished another combat memoir, Patton's Best, I was still in the mood for one. Since I already have one of Macdonald's single volume histories..."Company Commander was a great read. Time for Trumpets is also amazing. It is almost a version of the Official US Army History on the Battle of the Bulge, but much easier to read.
Okay I do enjoy the occasional Cozy Mystery, but generally not those with animals involved. This one though caught my attention mostly because it is a Corgi. I have to admit that since watching Cowboy Bebop I have a soft spot for intelligent Corgi's. Mostly the Corgi leads the MC around to where the clues are, but not much else. All in all the book isn't really ground breaking or so well written that it leaps out at you, but it is a fun and relaxing read. Will have to give the second one a look. Case of the One-Eyed Tiger
My review of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parkerhttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The basic story is pretty straight forward as far as fantasy stories go. Group gets an order to preform a task, picks up a specialist on the way and then they go for the big boss battle. What sets this book apart are the characters. The two Necromancers would be thought of as comic relief in most books, here they are the main characters. Their castle staff and the things that go on there are well over the top and help, (along with the characters) make the book one long list of out of context quotes. A great book for taking the edge off and getting away from the way serious books that make up most Fantasy/SciFi lists. Well have to give the second book a look.
Two Necromancers, a Bureaucrat, and an Elf
A good study, if not exhaustive, of the problems and resolutions of supplying armies in the field. Often times he seems to come up with different reasons for why things worked the way they did than would be the accepted norm for various times of warfare. Things like Napoleon didn't devise a new method of supply, or warfare in any real sense, just took advantage of things that others had done previously on a more grand scale. One of the things that he came up with in conclusion was that vehicles have not extended the reach of armies on the move. Sort of the Soviet way of doing things. Punch go as far as you can, stop and resupply and move again. This also appears to have been the case on the Western Front as well, only a little less visible and blamed primarily on the lack of good ports as opposed to any other reason. I found some weaknesses in the book, which in the ten year update chapter at the end I was glad to see that the author actually expressed as well. Things like the book is very Euro-centric. No campaigns in the America's or Asia in this work. But since this book came out there are a number of other authors who have dived into the subject and now there is if anything a great deal of selection to look into these aspects of Supplying Armies at War.
I most likely won't be following this avenue of reading, but I am glad that I read this book, it provides a lot to consider.
Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton
A reread of Jingo by Terry Pratchett. A reminder of what a remarkable author he was.My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Dj wrote: "Okay I do enjoy the occasional Cozy Mystery, but generally not those with animals involved. This one though caught my attention mostly because it is a Corgi..."What surprises me is that there are so many cozy canine conundrum series involving corgis. My spouse, who specializes in this genre, says that this series is the best of the ones featuring this breed.
@Dj - it's a longshot but perhaps a military history of Mao Zedong's guerrilla campaign might have something of Asian logistics, even if outside looking in. That's a significant gap in the record, if just in translation.
Just finished Heaven's Reach by David Brin. It's the concluding book of his uplift universe, and yes, it mostly ties up the questions I had when I finished Uplift War. Mostly! If you ever read uplift war, and wonder, what happened to the streaker? You should read the follow-up books in order. Glad I finished it, yet sad I finished it!Anyhoo, on to AE Van Vogt's Slan Hunter, the follow-up to Slan, which I read a year or so ago.
OK Correction, I guess I'm NOT starting The Last Flight of the Cassandra... it's not included in Memory's Legion, not available via library, kindle, or audible... and is apparently not series canon anyway. So on to Auberon!
Ryan wrote: "I'm almost finished. I'll let you know tomorrow :)"Did you finish it, Ryan? My reading time of late is at a premium so I'm only 25% into my re-read of Tarashana.
Of War & ruin by Ryan Cahill :- But I've hit a speedbump! I put it down about 4 weeks ago, around 60%, & I just can't find the ooomph to pick it back up! It's just going nowhere fast which is a pity as the characters are likeable but it's just sssloooooooooooow!
I'm slowly reading my way through the July issue of Clarkesworld. "Clio's Scroll" by Brenda W. Clough was wonderful. I've read it this morning and I cannot let it go. It's set in Italy in the early 1300's and a historical figure I never expected to see in a sci-fi story makes an appearance. It's glorious. (There are aliens.) I hope it wins an award or gets nominated, at least...
Finished Auberon and started Leviathan Falls. Last novel of the series, and then one more story and I’m done. I can’t believe how fast it went!
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SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I feel for you Becky. Glad the cough is getting better. I'm more than half way through Abaddon's Gate (Expanse #3) so not as far into the series as you (yet). It took me a little while to get into this one, but I'm well hooked into it now. The new characters just took me some time to get to know, I think.
I too had a horrible non-Covid sinus-type illness for a good two weeks recently, but have pretty much stopped coughing at last. It's winter here (Australia) and it seems the bugs are out in force.
Michelle, I sympathise with you too. I had viral bronchitis late last year for the first time in my life, and boy was I sick. 5 months of that sounds horrible, and it's good to hear that you are mostly over it now.