2025 Science Fiction Team Chat

[Tina Reads]

I'm currently reading Lessons in Chemistry for the Mad Science prompt and am enjoying it. So far I've read seven books for prompts this month. I have to say that Ready Player One was a surprise five star that I wasn't even sure I'd like going in. Some of the reads were meh, and I wouldn't have picked them if it wasn't for the prompts.

[Tina Reads]

Aga wrote: "It’s great that we have also "Prompts of the Month" and power points to gain from Books of the Month."

I know! While I haven't loved all of them, I'm happy that I can get a few extra points here and there. I've got some long library holds for some of my picks.

[Peter]

Aga wrote: "It’s great that we have also "Prompts of the Month" and power points to gain from Books of the Month.

I’m lucky my local library has Neuromancer (I read for VBC) with a computer code on the cover..."

Hi Aga, can you point out which cover has code on it from the Goodreads list of all editions? I can't seem to find it! Thanks a bunch. I just started reading Neuromancer, hooray me :)

[CJ]

April prompts have been posted! Remember that the mods have said that books for the monthly prompts need to be started and finished within that month.

April Protagonist: Mentor
1. Aged: Read a book with an older main character.
2. Teacher: Read a book where a main character formally learns (skills or book knowledge).

April Antagonist: Wicked Stepparent
1. Not My Child: Read a book where a character raises a child that is not theirs by birth.
2. Envy: Read a book where jealousy is important to the plot.

Original post in the combat thread

[Ellen]

Here's some ideas for Aged: Read a book with an older main character. Some books from the SciFi bookshelf are on this list.

Protagonists Over 60

I'm leaning towards The Hearing Trumpet but I do have an Agatha Christie on request at the library for another group's challenge which would fit if it comes in. Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple books would both work.

[CBRetriever]

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good
and
An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

are interesting and feature the elderly lady in question as the main character

[Megan]

I'm really excited for those April prompts! The Aged one just shot Remnant Population to the top of my TBR for next month.

[CJ]

I have Remnant Population on my TBR too. I am considering that or one of the Drizzt books I haven't read yet, as in the series, Drizzt is suppose to be over 50 in all the books after the first 3.

Also on my TBR is This World is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa, that fits the Envy prompt, and If We Were Villians by ML Rio for the Teacher prompt.

I found one of the Penric books, Demon Daughter, that ought to fit the Not My Child prompt.

[Ellen]

I'm thinking I might use Othello for the Envy prompt.

[CJ]

Ellen wrote: "I'm thinking I might use Othello for the Envy prompt."

Yes, definitely. I already read it earlier this year or I would've gone with that one, since I'm reading through Shakespeare's plays.

[Ellen]

CJ wrote: "Ellen wrote: "I'm thinking I might use Othello for the Envy prompt."

Yes, definitely. I already read it earlier this year or I would've gone with that one, since I'm reading throug..."

You gave me the idea to use Shakespeare. I used Hamlet for a sidekick prompt. I might read If We Were Villains for education . It seems like it will be a good companion read for Othello.

[Juliana]

Hi team! I finished one more book for the March Protagonist.

I haven't managed to read any of the BOTMs mainly because I rely on my local library for books in english (I live in Norway), and I didn't find any of them at it. :(

[Aga]

Peter wrote: "Aga wrote: "It’s great that we have also "Prompts of the Month" and power points to gain from Books of the Month.

I’m lucky my local library has Neuromancer (I read for VBC) with a computer code ..."

It’s a Polish translation

[Ellen]

Juliana wrote: "Hi team! I finished one more book for the March Protagonist.

I haven't managed to read any of the BOTMs mainly because I rely on my local library for books in english (I live in Norway), and I did..."

I wonder how much availability is affecting other team members ability to read the botms

[CJ]

I'm in the US so it's been mostly OK for me. It's only been this month so far that a BotM wasn't accessible for me. I can't justify buying books I'm only reading for the group unless I can get it for under $5, so I rely a lot on my libraries, my KindleUnlimited and Audible subs and what I already own. I vote for BotMs accordingly. But I can see how this could be much more difficult for people outside of the US.

[CBRetriever]

CJ wrote: "I'm in the US so it's been mostly OK for me. It's only been this month so far that a BotM wasn't accessible for me. I can't justify buying books I'm only reading for the group unless I can get it f..."

same here and I hope that people let me know if I've nominated a book that isn't available for everyone (happened with a Charles de Lint book recently), so I can withdraw the nomination

[Ellen]

I usually check the books availability during the nomination phase. I didn't for the March books until right before voting ended.
I use under $5 as my rule it I buy. (I made an exception for We Are All Ghosts in the Forest) I also have an audible subscription which helps with books not in the library.
But is it fair for a book to be excluded because it isn't available in the US but is available in other countries.

[CJ]

I am a little worried about the June SF BotM poll. Several of those books are not very mainstream choices and aren't in my libraries with only one is available on KU in the US. The one that is most likely to be in most libraries I've already read and do not want to read again, and might be a pass for more sensitive readers (Annie Bot--see content warnings on The Storygraph).

[Adeline]

The group tends to pick books I've already read or have no interest in reading (particularly YA). ^^;

I've already read Lost Ark Dreaming and To Shape a Dragon's Breath is YA, so no power points from me in April, sorry.

May doesn't look too good for me either, because again I've read half of the books. (I do not recommend Escape Velocity. It has a rating of 3.09 on GR and for a good reason.)

[CBRetriever]

I think I read 6 last year and none have interested me this year so far. If Witch King wins, that will be my first for this year.

I keep getting frustrated because there are so many excellent authors works who never win the poll and the winner is usually something I'm not interested in. Charles de Lint and Steven Brust deserve a spot on our lists.

Also, the recommendations seem to be mostly newer books. Maybe once a year have a "classic" month

[CBRetriever]

OK, if Artifact Space wins for May, I will likely read that one as I like the author's fantasy books

ETA: nope, the only Kindle version is in German and the Paperback is over $17

[Ellen]

I've them all this year so far but that is because of the challenge. I love to read all the books in challenges I sign up for. Even if I don't enjoy them so much.
I only read 5 of the books last year. I think a classic month at least once a year sounds good.

[Ellen]

I saw that Artifact Space was available on audible but did not check the language. You are right, only available in German.

[Adeline]

That's strange. The English Kindle version is available on German Amazon.

[CBRetriever]

Adeline wrote: "That's strange. The English Kindle version is available on German Amazon."

especially strange since the 2nd book in the series is available in English

[Shawnie]

Availability has affected my group reads. I've had to make the decision to quit buying books just for botm reads. I feel so let down when I spend the money on a botm that I end up disliking. lol

[Tina Reads]

Megan wrote: "I'm really excited for those April prompts! The Aged one just shot Remnant Population to the top of my TBR for next month."

Ooh, that was a great novel! I hope you enjoy it!

[Tina Reads]

The next two books I've got planned are for prompts: Antimatter Blues for Clones, 2010 for numbers on the cover. Then I'm reading Lost Ark Dreaming for a BOM powerpoint which I've got on hold, and The Marlow Mystery Murder Club for the Elderly April prompt. I'll be getting Dark Matter for a hold later in April (I hope) for the AltDimension prompt.

At that point I'll have one prompt left on the list. I need to research the other April prompts before I make decisions on what to read.

[Peter]

Aga wrote: "Peter wrote: "Aga wrote: "It’s great that we have also "Prompts of the Month" and power points to gain from Books of the Month.

I’m lucky my local library has Neuromancer (I read for VBC) with a ..."

Thanks, Aga. Sadly, I can't read Polish :) But I'm almost done with Neuromancer, and I might use it for a March bonus point theme.

[Shawnie]

Tina Reads wrote: "The next two books I've got planned are for prompts: Antimatter Blues for Clones, 2010 for numbers on the cover. Then I'm reading Lost Ark Dreaming for a BOM powerpoint which I've got on hold, and ..."

Antimatter Blues is high on my tbr. :)

[Adeline]

Does anyone who's read The Tainted Cup remember how old Ana is, if it's even mentioned? Because I don't remember. I'm reading the second book right now, so I'm wondering if it fits the Aged prompt.

[Tina Reads]

I don't think it explicitly says how old she is, but I believed that she was in her fifties based on how people interacted with her and her history with the people in the command structure. It was clear that she is a *lot* older than Din. I'd say yes, but there's no definitive answer.

[Tina Reads]

@Shawnie Antimatter Blues was good! I still liked the first book better but it was really satisfying, especially the end. I hope you enjoy it!

[CJ]

I don't recall anything in The Tainted Cup that suggested Ana was that much older than Din.

[Adeline]

Ana does call Din (and others) boy/child, so I do think she's quite a bit older than him. Unfortunately Din didn't describe her much beyond having bone-white hair and looking fragile in the current book. But I'm not sure that's because she's old or because of her ethnicity. There *is* a reveal in the second book that could mean she's waaay older, but nothing definite.

[Aga]

I have a question about >April Protagonist: Mentor/Aged: Read a book with an older main character< prompt too.

I have a candidate: MC is an inn owner, a husband and a father of three kids. The oldest girl seems to be a younger teenager. He is not as fit as he used to be, but squeezes an adventure here and there.

Do we consider him an older character?

[Melanie, the neutral party]

post1021:
Question: What would you consider an "older main character"? Is this just about excluding YA so no MC under 30 or are we talking about characters in their 70s/80s here?

Someone considered elderly for their species.

[Aga]

Melanie wrote: "post1021:
Question: What would you consider an "older main character"? Is this just about excluding YA so no MC under 30 or are we talking about characters in their 70s/80s here?

Someone consider..."

That’s the question. Who is considered elderly?

[Edwin]

Aga wrote: "That’s the question. Who is considered elderly?"

My philosophy for this whole challenge thing is that is all about having fun and less about rules per se. So unless it has been clearly specified otherwise by our illustrious moderator, it is up to you how to interpret it. As long as you can reasonably justify your choice in your mind, which you clearly have in your example, go for it.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

agree.

[Aga]

Edwin wrote: "Aga wrote: "That’s the question. Who is considered elderly?"

My philosophy for this whole challenge thing is that is all about having fun and less about rules per se. So unless it has been clearly..."


Thank you, Edwin! This is helpful. I’m going with the book I’ve mentioned.

[Sarah]

We’re at 42 power points- only 8 more BOTMs need to be read to open up one of the additional prompts! Gonna try and get to Lost Ark Dreaming this month too but just putting it out there.

[CJ]

I should be able to finish Lost Ark Dreaming by tonight. Unfortunately I am still waiting on my library hold for To Shape a Dragon's Breath and likely won't get it until next month.

[Aga]

I’m planning to read Lost Ark too.

[Ellen]

I started Lost Ark today.

[Edwin]

I'm planning to start Dragon's Breath later this week.

As an aside, I was able to snag the kindle version of it for $2.99 on Amazon US on April 8. It looks like it is up to $5.99 now. I have never understood how they price their stuff.

[Ellen]

Posted these here since we are getting close. So we can think about what we want to go with.

Objects of Power
First object unlock when a team earns 50 points

Big Dumb Object
1. Big: Read a book where a character wields an oversized (for them) weapon.
2. Object: Read a Book that features an object (and not people) on the cover.

Charged Jewelry
1. Jewels: Read a book where a piece of jewelry is important to the plot.
2. Pretty: Read a book with something sparkly on the cover.

Chekhov's Gun
1. Foreshadowing: Read a book where an object in the beginning of the book foreshadows something significant that happens at the end of the book.
2. Armory: Read a book with any kind of gun on the cover.

MacGuffin
1. Treasure: Read a book with a MacGuffin (an object or element in a story that drives the plot, but serves no further purpose).
2. Breathing: Read a book where the MacGuffin is a sentient being.

Powerful Weapon
1. Wow: Read a book with a legendary weapon (A weapon of myth, sung of in songs and spoken of in whispers. Old, powerful, and possessing a name).
2. Ouch: Read a book with someone injured or dead on the cover.

Religious Artifact
1. God(s): Read a book where religion is important to the story.
2. Priest: Read a book with any kind of religious official or priest on the cover.

[CJ]

Wow, those are some fun prompts. Let's go, team!

I'll hold off on my planned reread of Moorcock's Elric series, as it so fits the Wow prompt. (It features a weapon that got its own Blue Oyster Cult song--co-written by Moorcock himself!)

Just finished Lost Ark tonight (and personally really enjoyed it).

[Sarah]

I’d be okay with the legendary weapon prompt - should be easy enough to find in SFF. I was also thinking I’d be okay with the object on the cover as opposed to people? (Reading the Red Rising Saga this year and most of those are objects not people, hunger games books would also apply I think.)

I’m trying to look at which of these would be the easiest to identify/come across in our regular reading choices. Any other prompts stand out to anyone?

[Edwin]

I would suggest the Big Dumb Object prompt. The 1st part would likely fit for anyone considering the legendary weapon category, and the 2nd part would be a lot easier to fulfil than that of the Powerful Weapon prompt I think.