Nominations for September!

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

With all the excitement about the series discussion polls, I completely forgot to start taking nominations for September! So, please post your nominations here as soon as possible (before June 20th). As usual, everyone can make one SF and/or one fantasy nomination. Almost any SF&F book is eligible - something new and exciting, or an old favorite, or something you're planning to read soon and would like to discuss here.
You can nominate a book by posting the title AND author here, and please take a moment to let us know why you're nominating the book to help motivate us to vote for it!
I'll set up the first round of polls in 5 days, on June 20th.

Stefan

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:


FANTASY:
The Well At The World's End by William Morris (phoenixfalls)
Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar (ruby)
Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente (nick)
Monster by A. Lee Martinez (geoffrey)

SF:
Slow River by Nicola Griffith (phoenixfalls)
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod (nick)
The Myriad by R.M. Meluch (ruby)
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
Evolution by Stephen Baxter (geoffrey)

[Phoenixfalls]

Fantasy: The Well at the World's End, by William Morris.
The Well at the World's End is a fantasy novel by the British artist, poet, and author William Morris. It was first published in 1896 and has been reprinted a number of times since. Using language with elements of the medieval tales which were his models, Morris tells the story of Ralph of Upmeads, the fourth and youngest son of a minor king, who sets out, contrary to his parents' wishes, to find knightly adventure and seek the Well at the World's End, a magic well which will confer a near-immortality and strengthened destiny on those who drink from it. Lord Dunsany, E.R. Eddison, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkein were all influenced by Morris' work. (so sayeth Wikipedia)
Incidentally, because this novel is so old, it's copyright is expired in the U.S. and is available free online through Project Gutenberg.

SF: Slow River, by Nicola Griffith
She awoke in an alley to the splash of rain. She was naked, a foot-long gash in her back was still bleeding, and her identity implant was gone. Lore Van Oesterling had been the daughter of one of the world's most powerful families...and now she was nobody, and she had to hide. Then out of the rain walked Spanner, predator and thief, who took her in, cared for her wounds, and taught her how to reinvent herself again and again. No one could find Lore now: not the police, not her family, and not the kidnappers who had left her in that alley to die. She had escaped...but the cost of her newfound freedom was crime and deception, and she paid it over and over again, until she had become someone she loathed. Lore had a choice: She could stay in the shadows, stay with Spanner...and risk losing herself forever. Or she could leave Spanner and find herself again by becoming someone else: stealing the identity implant of a dead woman, taking over her life, and creating a new future. But to start again, Lore required Spanner's talents--Spanner, who needed her and hated her, and who always had a price. And even as Lore agreed to play Spanner's game one final time, she found that there was still the price of being a Van Oesterling to be paid. Only by confronting her family, her past, and her own demons could Lore meld together who she had once been, who she had become, and the person she intended to be...
This won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Lambda Literary Award.

[Nick]

I will nominate for sci-fi Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod. McLeod sounds like an author I would be interested in, since he is a friend and compatriot of Iain Banks, and he is described as a Scottish version of Bruce Sterling – techno sci-fi with tongue-in-cheek political ramblings. That’s enough to get me to try him out; and I think it would be nice to hear other opinions. The narrative flip-flops between near future absurdities and distant future situations which (hopefully) parallel and reflect each other.

[Ruby]

For fantasy: by Martin Millar
For science fiction: by R. M. Meluch

I'm in a frivolous mood, apparently.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I've added a nomination myself this time: Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson. It's one of the best novels I've read in a while, and is in the running for a Hugo this year. It was also recently released in mass market paperback. We've discussed a few books by this author in the past, and I think that this one might lead to an interesting discussion.

[Edward]

Phoenixfalls wrote: "Fantasy: The Well at the World's End, by William Morris.
The Well at the World's End is a fantasy novel by the British artist, poet, and author William Morris..."

I *loved* Well at the World's End. Highly recommended.

[Nick]

Maybe it's time for a group read of Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente -- I'll nominate it for fantasy. Valente's been a "bridesmaid" in these votes many times. I've never attempted her work, though I've certainly been tempted from the great things I hear about her from the members of this group. ---and, to spice things up, there are those who find her mystifying! -- that's always a plus for me.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

Last call for nominations! I'm setting up the polls tomorrow.

[[deleted user]]

OK, here are a couple nominations:

Fantasy: Monster by A. Lee Martinez - this just looks like a fun, funny bit of urban fantasy brain candy.

Science Fiction: Evolution by Stephen Baxter - This is the first and last millions of years of of our family tree. When I first read it, I just couldn't put it down.

[Stefan, Group Founder + Moderator (Retired)]

I've just set up the polls - please go vote! I'm only running one round of polls this time, because we didn't have a lot of nominations so there's no need for run-off polls (but I'll set up a tie-breaker if one of them ends up as a tie).