SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Al wrote: "I'm sneaking ahead on next month's reading pick by starting Starship Troopers early. I finished another book and had to make a decision. If I started..."

My copy just came in at the library. Since I didn't get to read this month's selections, I figured I had better get a jump on next month's! Alas, my poor Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues gets shoved to the side yet again!

When I last updated I mentioned I was reading Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World. It was awesome. Brief biographies of women who made serious contributions to the world, in a variety of fields and centuries (the woman had to be deceased to be included). I honestly want to place a copy in every high school science and history classroom as "here, don't let people tell you 'girls' can't, because we DID."

I read Shadows of Self and am currently reading The Bands of Mourning. I don't know to me these feel like the weakest Sanderson books. The first three Mistborn books were solid 5 Stars for me, these are 3s.

I returned to Caroline Linden, my favorite Harvard mathematics grad turned romance novelist for Six Degrees of Scandal and A Study in Scandal. Both solid fun reads.

I also returned to Mira Grant and knocked some more titles out. The Day the Dead Came to Show and Tell has kindergarten and first grade kids in a zombie attack at an elementary school. My husband asked "why do you read those when they upset you so much?" "Because they are so GOOD." Please Do Not Taunt the Octopus returns again to Newsflesh. Symbiont has me anxiously awaiting the next volume dropping in price so I can get it.

YouKneeK wrote: "Thanks, Melanie. It’s too late for me to start with Small Gods, since I’ve already started with a different book, but I’ll keep it in mind. I plan to try a few of the Discworld books even if I deci..."

I read my way straight through the lot of them and loved them all. Of course some are more memorable than others but they are all good.

My April reads were The Handmaid's Tale (4) and The Dragon's Path (3). I was traveling most of the month so my pace dropped a lot.

I am currently reading His Majesty's Dragon and City of Bones to get a head start on May's club bookshelf reading and fantasy book-of-the-month, respectively.

I finally found a good book I was needing for comfort and read about 100 pages last nite. Harvest of Stars by Poul Anderson a personal Grand Master. I'm going to read the whole series, have done the 1st 2 but don't remember them. One of his last series.

Just finished reading the Tortall Legends series (Terrier, Bloodhound, Mastiff) by Tamora Pierce. I'm not sure why I've not read any of her books before, but I've missed them somehow. Really liked this trilogy and will go on to some of her others as well.

I finished Golden Son last night and I am moving on to the finale Morning Star. This is a great series. But it is so gut wrenching at times.
I also finished The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin. It was a great finish to the Passage Trilogy. It will be released on May 24 2016. I highly recommend this series as well. If it has been awhile since you have read The Twelve you may want to brush up on it before jumping into The City of Mirrors. It's long but well worth the time.

Sterling wrote: "I finished Golden Son last night and I am moving on to the finale Morning Star. This is a great series. But it is so gut wrenching at times."

I agree, gut wrenching but great. My favorite series spanning last year and 2016

I'm bailing on everything I'm supposed to be reading and reading Sandstorm by James Rollins instead. I've wanted to read it for four or five years and a little birdie told me that it's good.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm bailing on everything I'm supposed to be reading and reading Sandstorm by James Rollins instead. I've wanted to read it for four or five years and a little birdie t..."

It is good ... I've read several of Rollins' books and liked all of them so far. Good writer, somewhat in the Clive Cussler tradition.

I've read others of his but I've been wanting to read the Sigma Force ones. He's a great writer. He also writes fantasy under the name James Clemens.

Sarah Anne wrote: "He also writes fantasy under the name James Clemens."

Wow, I didn't know that...

:)

This one was a freeby on Amazon which turned out to be light but very readable. Alien Hunters by Daniel Arenson

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And this is a great series. Trapped by Kevin Hearne

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Phrynne wrote: "And this is a great series. Trapped by Kevin Hearne

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

One of my ABSOLUTE favorite series! If you enjoy audiobooks, Luke Daniels is a fantastic narrator.

Karen wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "And this is a great series. Trapped by Kevin Hearne

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

One of my ABSOL..."

I have only read kindle and paper versions so far!!! I do listen to audio books quite a lot and it can be so disappointing when a narrator is not very good. So thanks for recommending this one and I will certainly try it:)

Sarah Anne wrote: "I've read others of his but I've been wanting to read the Sigma Force ones. He's a great writer. He also writes fantasy under the name James Clemens."

I find the Sigma Force books a bit like a combination of Clive Cussler and Dan Brown.

AndrewP wrote: "I find the Sigma Force books a bit like a combination of Clive Cussler and Dan Brown ..."

I could see that. Back when I was reading all of these types, I actually found that Rollins' writing was a bit better. Hopefully that includes this series :)

Just finishing up

Have to admit I stayed up until 1 AM reading this and am ignoring morning chores to finish it up. I enjoy paranormal books but find the majority of them actually unreadable for me and I'm delighted when I find one that really works well for me. Mature characters, no steamy sex scenes, interesting storyline.

Here's my latest batch of reviews.

First up, I listened to Aurora (My Review).

I also read The Palace of Glass. Django Wexler continues to impress me (My Review).

Finally, I got around to reading Attack on Titan Vol. 18, things seem to be slowing down again (My Review).

I think I liked it more than you did!

I finished it yesterday, so technically before the month even started :) I liked it quite a bit (4 stars I think) but I'm holding off on my review for a few weeks.

Currently reading The Prefect by Alastair Reynolds and House of Chains by Steven Erikson

I finished Station Eleven which was definitely a 5 star book and have now started The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.

This is the first year in the past decade I haven't been overwhelmed by reading for school, and I'm voraciously trying to catch up on everything that's happened since 2006. I'm not sure if you know this, but there's been a lot of new stuff that came out since then! May starts with Divergent by Veronica Roth, and I've just added several books y'all have mentioned to The List. Looking forward to trying things with such glowing reviews!

I'm planning on starting Whitechapel Gods and Island in the Sea of Time today. The latter is a book for the group challenge. I'm excited about both.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm planning on starting Whitechapel Gods and Island in the Sea of Time today. The latter is a book for the group challenge. I'm excited about both."

I liked "Island" a lot ... like a lot of what the author writes and this particular book is one of my re-reads collection.

Sharon wrote: "I liked "Island" a lot ... like a lot of what the author writes and this particular book is one of my re-reads collection. ..."

I read about 2/3 many years ago and never finished it. Still, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm glad to hear you liked it :)

I'm reading The Martian https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Been listening to the Alexis Carew series which starts with Into the Dark(3/5), On the 3rd book now. I don't think any series has taken it's the 18th century british navy in space as literally as this series has. That being said it is a fun series. I should mention that I liked the 2nd book better than the first (4/5), but of course my friend who just copies my reading list verbatim didn't because it "didn't have ship to ship action" (I think he would give 4/5 to the first one and 3/5 to the second when I asked)

***Also listened to Poor Man's Fight and Rich Man's War, the first was a clear 5 stars especially in audiobook format and this series was a real surprise to me in general at how good it was.***

Read Chains of Command, it was pretty good 3/5 still feels like setup for the next book though.

Listened to Into the Wild, it was great 4/5 not as good as Into the Storm personally but still I can't wait for the next book.

I'm moving on to the 3rd Alexis Carew book The Little Ships and Forging Divinity in audiobooks.

Reading Breakaway in paperback now. I think it's time for me to take a second look at this series.

Lara Amber wrote: "I read Shadows of Self and am currently reading The Bands of Mourning. I don't know to me these feel like the weakest Sanderson books. The first three Mistborn books were solid 5 Stars for me, these are 3s."

I can agree on Shadows of Self, I really liked some parts of that book, but man was it DARK. It also felt messier than the other ones. But I really enjoyed The Bands of Mourning and thought it was one of the strongest books in that series.

Aaron, I truly enjoyed both "poor man's fight and rich mans war". top notch military space opera type stuff. thank you for bringing it to my attention. The Unincorporated Man meets Honor Harrington".

My April read summary:

5-Stars:
William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope - audio


4 Stars:
Three Parts Dead - audio
Leashing the Tempest
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Snafu
Off the Grid
The Mote in God's Eye -audio
Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers
Fables, Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons
Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands
The Eyre Affair - audio
Moon Over Soho - audio
Fables, Vol. 7: Arabian Nights and Days


3-Stars:
Night Pleasures
Dying Bites - audio
Throne of Glass
The Black Ice - audio

I'm reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

Here is my my review for The Dragon Reborn.

VanillaSky wrote: "I'm reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

[bookc..."

[book:The Name of the Wind|186074] is so good! It took me a little while to get into it but when I did it wouldn't let me go. It is the book that I rate all other fantasy books by. I hope you enjoy it.
I haven't read Annihilation. I have heard a lot about it, it's one in my huge TBR stack.

I finally get to start Uprooted! Also working on The Wings of the Dove, Whitechapel Gods, and 'Salem's Lot.

Whitechapel Gods looks interesting to me (I love the cover). Let me know how it is.

Valerie wrote: "Whitechapel Gods looks interesting to me (I love the cover). Let me know how it is."

Will do :) Someone nominated it in my in person group last year and I've been trying to get to it since.

I just finished up the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne (loved them!), and now I'm working my way through The Demon Cycle by Peter V. Brett.

Currently reading book 5 of the Hard Luck Hank series. Space sci fi, plus a lot of humor. I have a soft spot for that. Hank is a 500 year old 3000 pound guy that's extremely hard to hurt and he solves problems for rich people on his space station. In the dumbest and most comaplainy way possible in most cases.

Next up will be the 2nd in the Harmony Black series by Craig Shaeffer (of Daniel Faust) that is more urban fantasy. She's an FBI agent witch who works for a special division that counters supernatural threats. Adult in tone, more serious than not. Really enjoy his writing so it will probably be well done.

After that will probably me searching for something interesting and fun that I've never heard of.

I finished City of Bones yesterday. I enjoyed it.
I finally decided to start Outlander. I have heard so much about it so I decided it is time. I have owned it for about 2 years, enough procrastinating. So far it is quite good.

I'm curious to see what you think of Outlander. It's been years since I've read it.

Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos, which unfortunately did not win the poll. I see Heinlein's influence in this, but I am hoping it is even better.

Here is my review of The Farthest Shore really loved it!.

I've gotten caught up in the enthusiasm of some friends, so I've dropped everything to read The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler. It's good so far.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I've gotten caught up in the enthusiasm of some friends, so I've dropped everything to read The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler. It's good so far."

I just finished the third book in that. It's a fun series.

Silvana wrote: "Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos, which unfortunately did not win the poll. I see Heinlein's influence in this, but I am hoping it is even better."

I liked this series a lot, good characterization and excellent action scenes. Pretty much *classic* space opera but an interesting storyline throughout the series.

I just finally finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King so I'm taking a breath before I decide what to go into next. Probably The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham.

@Sharon: I just finished Terms of Enlistment and I really liked it. Definitely a series to follow. I think people who enjoy ST should read this too; a great continuation in the same subgenre.