Israel SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
Book Discussions
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What are we reading
I'm reading The Children of Men on my iPad. I am quite a bit more impressed than I thought I would be.I'm also reading The Poverty of Historicism and Tropes for the Past: Hayden White and the History / Literature Debate but they are a lot less sci-fi. Fantasy, maybe.
Mona - I also just bought Wise Man's Fear, but I am now reading Gorky Park, so it will have to wait. I'd love to discuss it with you when we both have finished it (and everyone else who has read can of course join in).
Mona wrote: "I just finished "Extremlely laud and incredible close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and an e-book i got from a group in good reads to review: "Evolution" by Kelly Carrero. I am currently reading "The r..."I loved The Night Watch, and all the other books in the series. I bought the first one and then had to wait for the second and third to be translated into English. It was worth the wait for sure. :-)
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Anyone want to join me?"
Hm, this book sounds familiar. I wonder if I have a copy somewhere on my shelves.
I just finished reading Age of Miracles, which really depressed me, especially after having recently read Bitter Seeds. I need to read a book in which no one dies and no children are harmed. I imagine they must exist.
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So I'm currently reading In the End, by Alexandra Rowland, and I'm actually really enjoying it.
Last week I finished King of Thorns, part 2 of The Broken Empire - by Mark Lawrence. I must admit that the first book Prince of Thorns was hard to start with, but after 50 pages about, I fell in love with Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath. Jorg is one of the meanest, merciless, brutal character as they come. and still his a good boy :-)his journey for vengeance and later for taking over the world is one of the better stories I read lately
Jorg grow up with the story by wisdom and power learn some mercy and some magic discover some lost science.... vary good read cant wait for the next chapter in the series
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Alon, Prince of thorns and king of thorns are on my list, but maybe I should bump it up on my list. Does the second book has a cliffhanger ending?
Just finished The Magicians. I'm not a fantasy reader (strictly SciFi) but a friend insisted and I obliged, so this novel was a novel experience...The book was altogether enjoyable (although somewhat annoying at parts) but it's probably not the best book to make the SciFi-Fantasy crossover with.
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The book was altogether enjoyable (although somew..."
Well, first I want to say that the The Magician King is so much better than The Magicians ( I keep telling everyone this just to make sure that they read it b/c so many people weren't impressed with The Magicians and don't intend to read the sequel).
And second, you're right about this not being the best book to cross over to fantasy with. For someone just trying out fantasy I would recommend something by Brandon Sanderson, either Mistborn or Warbreaker (which you can actually download for free on his website). Or if you want to get a feel for some good, classic fantasy try Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings or The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. These are the books that I started out with.
Read Fifty Shades of Grey to see what all the fuss is about.P.S. Did not see what all the fuss is about.
Nimrod wrote: "Alon wrote: "Last week I finished King of Thorns, part 2 of The Broken Empire - by Mark Lawrence. I must admit that the first book Prince of Thorns was hard to start with, but after 50 pages about,..."both of the books could stand alone...
the second book starts 4 year later but keep flashing back to the missing years and doesn't Finnish in a cliffhanger. kick it up your list you not going to regret..
Ok, I can't believe I put this book off for so long, but I've just finished Rendezvous With Rama.I think the notion of having a single favorite book is ridiculous, but as far as a book can qualify for that title, Rendezvous With Rama fits the bill.
(view spoiler)
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I think the notion of having a single favorite book is ridiculous, but as far as a book can qualify..."
I haven't read anything by Clarke yet because I'm afraid it will be too hard-core sf for me but I really do need to at least give him a try. I've heard good things about this book so it's probably the one I'll go with.
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P.S. Did not see what all the fuss is about."
Hm, I'm not sure if you're the book's intended audience ;)
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I think the notion of having a single favorite book is ridiculous, but as far as a book can qualify..."
I read my inherited copy of Rendezvous with Rama quite a while ago. I quite liked it but not enough to search out more by Clarke.
I find the style of older SciFi a little plodding and a lot chauvinist but also I'm not really a 'First Contact' type of person, I prefer stories that are way out in Space like Foundation or Dune.
Simcha wrote: "I haven't read anything by Clarke yet because I'm afraid it will be too hard-core sf for me but I really do need to at least give him a try..."It is a bit hard-core i.e. its main appeal is the scifi bit, the construction of a fascinating alternative internally consistent world, pushing forward mind boggling ideas. It seems that the plot and the characters are secondary, indeed the plot of said book is... well... unremarkable, it's not bad, but it's just not the point of the book, and frankly the characters are plainly... well... plain...
But the sci-fi bit is just so good!
Esther wrote: "I read my inherited copy of Rendezvous with Rama quite a while ago. I quite liked it but not enough to search out more by Clarke.
I find the style of older SciFi a lit..."
Plodding is a bit harsh, slow, yes, or rather we are fast, but I'm not going to get into the whole heightened stimulus threshold of the 21'st century media hyper-consumer runt...
Chauvinist, yes, but Clarke is not nearly as bad as, say, Heinlein. Ok, so we have to wince a bit at the somewhat dated social outlook, but the books are still good... Put Shakespeare under the scrutiny of modern values and he doesn't come out looking to good either.
Now that you mention it, I'd defensively pick Foundation over Rama, that's why I said that the notion of a single favorite book is ridiculous, it's all so relative and fluid and temporary...
I haven't read Dune yet, I think I've been subconsciously avoiding it, can't say why...
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I have no argument with you there. And to be more specific about 'plodding' I was trying to capture not just the slowness of the pace but the almost unchanging steady regularity.
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I was too sure about it as cyberpunk, at least in books, is not really my thing but I am surprised at how much I am enjoying it. I think the author is making it easy for me by taking it easy on the jargon and restraining any 'purple-prose', stream-of-consciousness descriptions of cyberspace.
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Esther: I had forgotten that I was going to see if I had the book around so I could try to read along with you. I'll go take a look now. I don't think I've ever read any cyberpunk before.
I just loved Neuromancer, for me, it's the essence of cyberpunk... Esther, I hope you keep on enjoying it. Simcha, I really recommend it, if you are only going to ever read one cyberpunk book, Neuromancer is the one.I've been meaning to give it a re-read, I read all the sprawl books very far apart so I lost most of the connection between them, ever since I was planing to do a sprawl marathon, but I don't think I'm up to it at the moment.
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Although it is a classic it has a much lighter writing style than the classics from the 1940-50s. Also much of the jargon that would have confused readers in 1980s is now in everyday usage thanks to the worldwide spread of computerization and the internet.
Peleg wrote: "I just loved Neuromancer, for me, it's the essence of cyberpunk... Esther, I hope you keep on enjoying it. Simcha, I really recommend it, if you are only going to ever read one cyberpunk book, Neu..."
General consensus seems to be that Neuromancer just improves with rereading and it is a short enough book that I am already considering it. So maybe when you are up to it you could post on a thread...
read the Hunger Games trilogy. I liked the first book, the second was still OK, the third wasn't as good.
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Yeah, book three wasn't great but I really couldn't see any way for the trilogy to end in a way that would leave everyone alive and happy, which is my favorite kind of ending (yes, I admit that I like happy endings). But I didn't hate the books as much as so many other readers seem to.
Simcha wrote: "Jon wrote: "read the Hunger Games trilogy. I liked the first book, the second was still OK, the third wasn't as good."Yeah, book three wasn't great but I really couldn't see any way for the trilo..."
I agree. Considering she wanted to end it then she did a good job with the third book. Overall I liked the trilogy. I'll give the Divergent series a try too.
Re: many people not liking the book, that's just because MANY people read it (and voted for it). It just seems like a lot when in reality it's a small percentage (98% liked the first two books for example).
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Plus it's published by Tachyon press, who are awesome.
Just finished the following Genre books:
Zero Day: A Novel - Present day with fake computer virii, not the best.
The Enchantment Emporium - More fantasy then SCI FI, Great Canadian literature, probably the only fantasy book I ever read about Calgary Alberta!
Dodger ON the list here, not the best, but a nice quick read.
Dartmouth Conspiracy EXCELLENT, don't really know if this should be called SCI-fi/Fantasy as there are not lasers and no swords. but the anachronism's make it FEEL like time travel. Similar to the feel from the two book set by Blackout
Old Man's War Only 7 years old, but feels like from the 1950's, VERY Haldeman Joe or Robert A. Heinlein, didn't want to read the next two books of the series. But if you like space opera and killing lots of aliens this is for you.
Non-Genre - lots of stuff,
Currently reading:
A Fall of Moondust
The Song of Achilles
Next up:
Cloud Atlas
America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't
Too bad the holidays are over, less time to read!
Zero Day: A Novel - Present day with fake computer virii, not the best.
The Enchantment Emporium - More fantasy then SCI FI, Great Canadian literature, probably the only fantasy book I ever read about Calgary Alberta!
Dodger ON the list here, not the best, but a nice quick read.
Dartmouth Conspiracy EXCELLENT, don't really know if this should be called SCI-fi/Fantasy as there are not lasers and no swords. but the anachronism's make it FEEL like time travel. Similar to the feel from the two book set by Blackout
Old Man's War Only 7 years old, but feels like from the 1950's, VERY Haldeman Joe or Robert A. Heinlein, didn't want to read the next two books of the series. But if you like space opera and killing lots of aliens this is for you.
Non-Genre - lots of stuff,
Currently reading:
A Fall of Moondust
The Song of Achilles
Next up:
Cloud Atlas
America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't
Too bad the holidays are over, less time to read!
Mod
Zero Day: A Novel - Present day with fake computer virii, not the best.
The Enchantment Emporium - More fantasy then SCI FI, Great Canadian literature, pro..."
I also just finished The Enchantment Emporium and Old Man's War. Old Man's War was awesome and left me wishing that the body switching thing was really possible. It would definitely make me feel better about getting old.
The Enchantment Emporium was entertaining but, as is usually the case for me with Tanya Huff's books, I didn't really connect with any of the characters. It was a fun read but I don't think I'll be reading any of the other books in the series.
Eyalg wrote: "I read the RedShirts and love it, I am aware however- that some people did not enjoy it like me.
Any how- you have to see at least one or two chapters of Star Trek in order to enjoy the plot..."
Absolutely amazing! I have the Audio book, read by Wil Wheaton, best match of reader and book EVER (except for Ready Player One)
Any how- you have to see at least one or two chapters of Star Trek in order to enjoy the plot..."
Absolutely amazing! I have the Audio book, read by Wil Wheaton, best match of reader and book EVER (except for Ready Player One)
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at the mo im re-reading Storm:
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That was one of my first fantasy series and I loved it. I've been meaning to reread it but am afraid it might not be as good as I remember it.
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Just finished:
The Woman Who Died a Lot
One of the best in the series. I wait all year for his new books and this one does not disappoint!
Finished Monday:
Wicked Business
Didn't like it as much as I would have liked. I have read the first 18 Stephanie plum books, and I loved the reader. In this book she has the same reader, and the same voices for the secondary characters. It is like if the witch is just a bounty hunter. I have the next in the series, but I don't think that this will be next on my list! Avoid unless you really have nothing else to read. The story is a rehash and is derivative.
On Shabbat read:
The Round House
This is NOT S/L genre, but has sort of some Indian mysticism. This is a national book award winner, so it cannot be bad! I didn't even feel bad that I "wasted" my time in non Genre. This book deserves the award. It is a mystery book, so there is crime and punishment. It is pretty straight forward, and easy to read so don't be afraid! You too can enjoy a good fun book, that even won an award!
Finished last week:
The Fandom of the Operator
Loved it! highly recommended. Got Knees Up Mother Earth set for Friday. I cannot wait!
Almost finished :
The Name of the Wind
I am having trouble putting this down. I cannot recommend this enough.
In the last month that I didn't update and rate, so timing is a bit off!
1) Non-fiction, but reads like Sci-Fi. If you need a grounding in reality from daily Sci-fi try:
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
2) Finally second book in pathfinder series: Ruinsgot it and ATE it up in one day! Both my 16 year old son and I loved it!
3) Finished Cloud AtlasWas worth it! Don't be scared that it looks like a big book, you will get through it and enjoy it. Missed the movie, but not missing it!
4) Had a lot of fun with : Gateway, this was cool and old fashioned. Not for the kiddies, but for the old fogies that don't mind some old time Pohl space opera!
Have a happy end of the war!
The Woman Who Died a Lot
One of the best in the series. I wait all year for his new books and this one does not disappoint!
Finished Monday:
Wicked Business
Didn't like it as much as I would have liked. I have read the first 18 Stephanie plum books, and I loved the reader. In this book she has the same reader, and the same voices for the secondary characters. It is like if the witch is just a bounty hunter. I have the next in the series, but I don't think that this will be next on my list! Avoid unless you really have nothing else to read. The story is a rehash and is derivative.
On Shabbat read:
The Round House
This is NOT S/L genre, but has sort of some Indian mysticism. This is a national book award winner, so it cannot be bad! I didn't even feel bad that I "wasted" my time in non Genre. This book deserves the award. It is a mystery book, so there is crime and punishment. It is pretty straight forward, and easy to read so don't be afraid! You too can enjoy a good fun book, that even won an award!
Finished last week:
The Fandom of the Operator
Loved it! highly recommended. Got Knees Up Mother Earth set for Friday. I cannot wait!
Almost finished :
The Name of the Wind
I am having trouble putting this down. I cannot recommend this enough.
In the last month that I didn't update and rate, so timing is a bit off!
1) Non-fiction, but reads like Sci-Fi. If you need a grounding in reality from daily Sci-fi try:
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
2) Finally second book in pathfinder series: Ruinsgot it and ATE it up in one day! Both my 16 year old son and I loved it!
3) Finished Cloud AtlasWas worth it! Don't be scared that it looks like a big book, you will get through it and enjoy it. Missed the movie, but not missing it!
4) Had a lot of fun with : Gateway, this was cool and old fashioned. Not for the kiddies, but for the old fogies that don't mind some old time Pohl space opera!
Have a happy end of the war!
Mod
The Woman Who Died a Lot
One of the best in the series. I wait all year for his new books and this one does not disappoint!
Finished Monday:
Wicked Business
Didn't like it as much ..."
I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed The Woman Who Died a Lot since I've really been looking forward to reading it. Though I can't imagine how it can top Something Rotten. That book was so good that just thinking about makes me tear up.
And I wholeheartedly agree with you about The Name of the Wind, and the sequel is just as good.
what's up this week!
1) Finally finished book 2, Kushiel's Chosen. You would think a book about a submissive whore would be more "fun" and easier, but it gets so tedious. After a while I want to use some flashettes on her, stop crying bitch! If you have gotten through the series good on ya. (However I am sure I will start the next book soon, darn it)
2) Oldie but goodie for the week, The Big Time. Lots of fun! It is a bit confusing (like most Leiber, Fritz) but the vision of the future presented here is fun. This is a "Rare Hugo winners" book, the rest of the series should also be good.
3) From the man who wrote, The Men Who Stare at Goats, a mix of "non-fiction" and partial fiction. A new eclectic collection of short newspaper pieces, all previously published but fun to re-read. The book Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries may be considered as partially off topic, but don't let that scare you. He pokes at NLP and ALPHA, new agey mind control techniques. I especially like the "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_..." is fun. As many here may actually be Stanley Kubrick fans it is worth the time.
4) Saw this Youtube interview with Patrick Rothfuss, for the fans it is worth it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft79kU... You can also join the good reads channel for this at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4... ,
5) Off topic book of the week read, Gone Girl. I know this won all kinds of awards, but it really is a good book. Main thing DO NOT READ anything about this as anything other that "read it" would be a spoiler. So I also cannot say anything more.
I hope you have a story worthy week!
O.C.
1) Finally finished book 2, Kushiel's Chosen. You would think a book about a submissive whore would be more "fun" and easier, but it gets so tedious. After a while I want to use some flashettes on her, stop crying bitch! If you have gotten through the series good on ya. (However I am sure I will start the next book soon, darn it)
2) Oldie but goodie for the week, The Big Time. Lots of fun! It is a bit confusing (like most Leiber, Fritz) but the vision of the future presented here is fun. This is a "Rare Hugo winners" book, the rest of the series should also be good.
3) From the man who wrote, The Men Who Stare at Goats, a mix of "non-fiction" and partial fiction. A new eclectic collection of short newspaper pieces, all previously published but fun to re-read. The book Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries may be considered as partially off topic, but don't let that scare you. He pokes at NLP and ALPHA, new agey mind control techniques. I especially like the "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_..." is fun. As many here may actually be Stanley Kubrick fans it is worth the time.
4) Saw this Youtube interview with Patrick Rothfuss, for the fans it is worth it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft79kU... You can also join the good reads channel for this at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4... ,
5) Off topic book of the week read, Gone Girl. I know this won all kinds of awards, but it really is a good book. Main thing DO NOT READ anything about this as anything other that "read it" would be a spoiler. So I also cannot say anything more.
I hope you have a story worthy week!
O.C.
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It's nice to see here more S&L fans :)
btw - long ago they had on their podcast an interesting interview with Patrick Rothfuss.
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(S&L episode 112)
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1) Finally finished book 2, Kushiel's Chosen. You would think a book about a submissive whore would be more "fun" and easier, but it gets so tedious. After a while I want to ..."
I didn't love Gone Girl. If this had been a paper book I probably would have thrown it at the wall after I finished.
So, What's up for my Chanukah reading?
1) Fun books of the week. (got to keep it lite!)
Knees Up Mother Earth- (I thought I would finish before, but had to delay. As usual, Rankin fans would love this. Americans would have no ideas what they are talking about, (which is why I love it)
Keeping up the fun, The Song of the Quarkbeast, Some may call this as YA, but you have to be a bit mature to get most of the jokes. Maybe it is just me being a kid. If you like this kind of stuff, then you cannot miss this type.
As promised I read the second book of the Wicked series
Wicked Business - actually getting into it more than the first book. But for me popcorn series are always this way, start getting hooked, and cannot stop.
Finished the book for the reading list Leviathan- Didn't get it, on the other hand will want to read more of the series. Some originality, but a lot of borrowed ideas. I personally like my fantasy in fantasy lands, After last month, Dodger, and this now, I will have to re-read the hobbit. Last time I read it was out loud to my kids, and they even remember it!
On an alternative note, I really tried to read Brasyl, got 1/2" way in, then chucked it. I really could not get into it. Maybe I am just a northern mail, and not able to read "world" literature. Anybody get through this?
Last but not least, on the last pages of Survival, Great old time cracking space opera yarn. Ya got your good aliens, ya got your space travel, ya got your evil aliens. A real page turner, (that is why no update!)
So didn't get to read all that much this week, so these are all the recommendations that I have.
What's up for next week?
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't Non fiction, but should be fun.
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon - Sci-fi fix
Maybe some non-Genre? Got Back to Blood LOVED I am Charlotte Simmons Hated The Bonfire of the Vanities(but forced myself to finish)
Also got lots of half finished books, MAYBE I will get around to them.
Hope you all have a story worthy week!
1) Fun books of the week. (got to keep it lite!)
Knees Up Mother Earth- (I thought I would finish before, but had to delay. As usual, Rankin fans would love this. Americans would have no ideas what they are talking about, (which is why I love it)
Keeping up the fun, The Song of the Quarkbeast, Some may call this as YA, but you have to be a bit mature to get most of the jokes. Maybe it is just me being a kid. If you like this kind of stuff, then you cannot miss this type.
As promised I read the second book of the Wicked series
Wicked Business - actually getting into it more than the first book. But for me popcorn series are always this way, start getting hooked, and cannot stop.
Finished the book for the reading list Leviathan- Didn't get it, on the other hand will want to read more of the series. Some originality, but a lot of borrowed ideas. I personally like my fantasy in fantasy lands, After last month, Dodger, and this now, I will have to re-read the hobbit. Last time I read it was out loud to my kids, and they even remember it!
On an alternative note, I really tried to read Brasyl, got 1/2" way in, then chucked it. I really could not get into it. Maybe I am just a northern mail, and not able to read "world" literature. Anybody get through this?
Last but not least, on the last pages of Survival, Great old time cracking space opera yarn. Ya got your good aliens, ya got your space travel, ya got your evil aliens. A real page turner, (that is why no update!)
So didn't get to read all that much this week, so these are all the recommendations that I have.
What's up for next week?
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't Non fiction, but should be fun.
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon - Sci-fi fix
Maybe some non-Genre? Got Back to Blood LOVED I am Charlotte Simmons Hated The Bonfire of the Vanities(but forced myself to finish)
Also got lots of half finished books, MAYBE I will get around to them.
Hope you all have a story worthy week!
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The Emperor's Soul was good but too short. I like my Sanderson books to be heavy enough to double as a weapon (not that I would use it as such...) and long enough to last me for many weeks.
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Did you read his other short story, Legion? I listened to the audio book when it was offered for free but it was so different from his other books that I'm not sure what I really thought of it. I guess it wasn't fantasy enough for me, but it was definitely interesting.
Israel SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Child 44 (other topics)The Age of Miracles (other topics)
Steelheart (other topics)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)
The Rithmatist (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Raymond Chandler (other topics)Fritz Leiber (other topics)
Joe Haldeman (other topics)
Robert A. Heinlein (other topics)
Robert A. Heinlein (other topics)
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I LOVED The Wise Man's Fear! I can't recommend it enough.
I had read Matched but wasn't that impressed with it. I thought the characters were boring, the premises of the story weak and I'm sick of love triangles. But I might have liked it more if I had read it when I was a teenager, or preteen.