SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Michele wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Currently reading Story of Your Life since there is a movie coming out about it and Ted Chiang is recommended by some friends. "

LOVE that entire collection. I think I'd heard ther..."

"Arrival" just opened today.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016...

O.o looks good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMo3...

^

It won't be released in my country, arghhh

Finished Children of the New World: Stories and I'm Buffy and You're History: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Contemporary Feminism, both excellent.

Working on J. G. Ballard's Crash, not sure I'll be able to get through it. Very odd.

That Buffy one looks really fun :)

Sarah Anne wrote: "That Buffy one looks really fun :)"

It was! The author is both an academic and a fan, and does a great job bringing both perspectives to the book. I know zip about feminist theory (there were three waves, who knew??) but I learned a lot about it reading this. Gave me a lot to think about.

I think my favorite chapter was the one about Riley, which looks at how his character let the series interrogate traditional views of masculinity. There's also a fun chapter on Andrew :)

I'm totally going to have to read that.

Michele wrote: "I've started J. G Ballard's Crash. It's...weird. I mean, even weirder than I expected, knowing the basic premise. I may not be able to finish it; it's actually getting a little boring ..."

That Buffy one does look fascinating.

I just finished The Darwin Elevator. Took me forever, because despite all of the action the story dragged incredibly. Interesting plot, but I ended up skimming through most of the second half of the book. Has anybody read the complete trilogy?

I just read Penric’s Mission, the third Penric & Desdemona story which came out earlier this month. Very good!

I finished The Subtle Knife in audio. 3 Stars(My Review).

My review of Tigerman by Nick Harkaway

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

Over the past week I've finished Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled (hmmm...), J. G. Ballard's Crash (ugh), Wine of the Dreamers (wow), and a re-read of Ken Grimwood's wonderful Replay (ahhh, so satisfying).

Now finally getting back to du Maurier's The Progress of Julius, which I started a couple of months ago but got sidetracked.

Since it lost the last voting I decided to read Luna: New Moon before I lose the will to read it. Interesting setting, culture. More Dune-ish than ASOIAF. Could not say it was a fast read though.

So,I'm trying to get through Parliament of Whores, and I do love many things politics, but this one is a little slow, which is surprising given it's supposedly comical...

I just finished Children of Time. Excellent read.

This one: Children of Time? How was it?

Tanima wrote: "So,I'm trying to get through Parliament of Whores, and I do love many things politics, but this one is a little slow, which is surprising given it's supposedly comical..."

I love P. J. O'Rourke :)

I finished Queen of Sorcery last night and now I'm halfway through Magician's Gambit. These books sure do go fast!

They do :) Queen of Sorcery is my favorite one.

Cathy I also read THE DARWIN ELEVATOR but have no desire to read any more of the trilogy.


Whoever said they Hyatt finished CHILDREN OF TIME, hurray! One of my favorite reads of 2016.

I'm currently "slumming" ( cleansing my palate after reading two Fantasy classics "The Obelisk Gates" and "City of Swords") with a Deborah Crombie mystery

Just finished Castle of Wizardry, now on to Enchanters' End Game!

Finished The Progress of Julius - a bit heartbreaking, really, but I liked the big sweep of the story.

Just started Version Control. So far so good.

I just finished Enchanters' End Game last night and I'm not sure what I'll read next. I might get started on Children of Time, but there's still time before December and I feel like I should read some non-fiction, since I've read practically nothing but SF&F all year.

Juniper Green wrote: "I also started Children of Time. I'm really curious if I'll like it as much as everyone else seems to do..."

I hope you like it! I think it is great fun!

Just finished City. A true heartbreak. So much yearning in these early sci-fi masterpieces, and so much sorrow. This is very pessimistic about the future of humanity. Almost worse than A Canticle for Leibowitz. Clarke's The City and the Stars leaves us on knife-edge... but Simak is relentlessly dark about human future. About to start Way Station... See if there is any more optimism there.

Stoyan wrote: "Just finished City. A true heartbreak. So much yearning in these early sci-fi masterpieces, and so much sorrow. This is very pessimistic about the future of humanity. Almost worse t..."

I haven't read nearly enough sci-fi from that era... only a few books by Clarke and one or two by Asimov. I hadn't even heard of City and Way Station. I'll have to add those to my list. Alas, my list is now so long that adding things to it doesn't much increase my chance of reading them.

I wonder if our memory is selective in this regard. It seems possible that we're more likely to forget the lighthearted books and remember the thought-provoking.

David wrote: "Stoyan wrote: "Just finished City. A true heartbreak. So much yearning in these early sci-fi masterpieces, and so much sorrow. This is very pessimistic about the future of humanity...."

I really think some of the earliest sci-fi written, during and after WWII is among the most thought-provoking writing we will ever encounter. Most Grand Masters lived through horror, and their questioning of how humanity can survive is among the most valuable... Asimov is an unrelenting optimist. Both his Foundation, and Robots and Empire series foresee some grander purpose beyond the fragmentation and degeneration of the present. His The End of Eternity is absolutely astounding as a concept and also, in the end, optimistic. Simak is vastly more pessimistic. Once our technology frees us from any possible care... what would we do? Who would we be? Very disturbing questions.

Stoyan wrote: "Just finished City. A true heartbreak. So much yearning in these early sci-fi masterpieces, and so much sorrow. This is very pessimistic about the future of humanity. Almost worse t..."

I read City last year and I had a similar reaction to the pessimism of Simak. I can't say I was quite as emotionally moved as you but I definitely detected what I took as a bit of depression in Simak. I had a very old paperback and in the forward Simak wrote how disillusioned he was about the creation and use of the nuclear bomb and what it said about humans and that City was his outlet. I think you articulated it perfectly, there is a deep sorrow and/or moroseness to the book.

I read All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai. My review:

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

Stoyan wrote: "Just finished City. A true heartbreak. So much yearning in these early sci-fi masterpieces, and so much sorrow..."

Very true. I've read City several times and it never fails to tug at my heart.

My review of Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman .

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

My reading slowed down a bit once fall hit, so I haven’t been posting much. I realized I now have a large pool of great books that I feel are worth sharing:

A Classic:
-Robot Dreams is a series of short stories by Isaac Asimov, a sci-fi forefather. I felt a sense of reading dejavu as a read many of them. I’m not sure if I’ve read some of these stories before or if the tales/concepts are just so integrated into science-fiction that they just seemed familiar. Some of the technology in the stories definitely show their age, but the themes are quite timeless. The tales all have intriguing endings (sort of in the vein of O’Henry).

Epic Fantasy (or books that have been around for awhile that I’ve just discovered):
-I did a re-read of the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, and Dragons of Spring Dawning. They were my gateway fantasy books back-in-the-day. I was worried actually that they wouldn’t be as good as I remembered them, but they have held up quite nicely as a re-read.

-Traitor's Blade and The Lies of Locke Lamora (a group side read) are both classic swashbuckling tales. They both take place in unique worlds full of corruption, dirty politics, and a little magic.

-The main character in Sabriel is necromancer...but the good kind. This world crosses over a little with the real-world, and magic is a major part of the plot. It’s a little YA in nature as the main character is just learning how to truly use her powers, but it’s not the annoying, whiny YA that many dislike.


Speaking of YA...:
-A Closed and Common Orbit doesn’t have the same ensemble feel that The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet had which at first disappointed me. The sequel follows Lovelace’s struggle to integrate into this society and very well developed world. The world is still very fascinating and this book is amazing in its own way.

-Crooked Kingdom (a sequel to Six of Crows) was just as amazing as its predecessor. Multiple plots, multiple conflicts, multiple flawed characters all struggling in a flawed world. I loved it, and this series is my favorite of this year so far.

Humorous SFF Books (because sometimes you need to laugh):
-I re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in anticipation of last month’s vote resulting in a different way. Like the Chronicles, I was hoping to not be disappointed. This book is just as hilarious as a re-read.

-Screw The Galaxy was an adventurous choice for me. Knowing it was self-published meant it could be really good or really not. It’s certainly not serious SF but the character as well developed and the plot engaging. I gladly recommend it.

-The Android's Dream is a quirky SF tale of human/alien politics in an imaginary future. I listed to it on audio, and Whil Wheaton's reading made the story even better!

-The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant is the quirky tale of (as the title suggests) an accountant turned into a vampire against his will. He decides to ignore the fact that he is a vampire and continue living his boring accountant life. At a high school reunion, drama finds him. The book follows several accidental adventures. This is a nice, light read. The fact that is is several separate tales makes it good for picking up and reading sporadically.

I am reading pure brain candy right now, no deeper musings about the state of self or life in general involved..... Burn for Me. Yes, the cover is hideous, I know. The book deserves a better one.

Sandi and Valerie, I miss your end of month lists! I've been months without. You ladies will do them this time, right? Please?

Cathy (cathepsut) wrote: "I am reading pure brain candy right now, no deeper musings about the state of self or life in general involved..... Burn for Me. Yes, the cover is hideous, I know. The book deserves..."

Hey I haven't read that! Must be the only Ilona Andrews I have not read yet:)
The cover is awful. Thank heavens for Kindle so I won't have to look at it.

Phrynne wrote: "Cathy (cathepsut) wrote: "I am reading pure brain candy right now, no deeper musings about the state of self or life in general involved..... Burn for Me. Yes, the cover is hideous,..."

The book is pretty entertaining. Doing a re-read, because the second book will come out... in a few months... Any excuse! The male hero is pretty nice, I like him better than Curran Lennart... :)

Stoyan wrote: "I really think some of the earliest sci-fi written, during and after WWII is among the most thought-provoking writing we will ever encounter..."

Agreed -- well said.

Finished Version Control -- wow. Just...wow. Well-crafted, many-layered, chock-full of nerdy physics as well as very human characters, and as a bonus there are all kind of little references to things I love (Firefly! Yay!).

Zipped through The Murder of Mary Russell last night and this morning -- great backstory for Mrs. Hudson :)

Next up... Not sure. I started All the Birds in the Sky but the first two pages turned me right off, so I've put it aside for another time. Maybe a re-read of Atlas Shrugged, always a good winter occupation.

At the end of October, I finished Pawn of Prophecy (3). In November, I read Caliban's War (5), Fool Moon (3), and The Grace of Kings (4).



Now I have started The Lions of Al-Rassan.

Chris wrote: "Now I have started The Lions of Al-Rassan."

Wonderful book. Enjoy :)

I just finished Ambition, the second book of Yoshiki Tanaka's famous ten-volume Japanese space opera, Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

I thought the first book was mediocre, and I thought this book was mediocre, too. I only continued reading due to my love of the old anime series that these books inspired. Unfortunately I don't think that love will be enough to motivate me to read the third book.

My review of Veiled by Benedict Jacka

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

Chris wrote: "Now I have started The Lions of Al-Rassan."

I need to start that as well for the discussion mid-month but I should probably read Children of Time first.

Al-Rassan is mid-month Dec, right? You guys have me worried.

Yep, just planning ahead. If I don't, then I pick up another book and get pressed for time.

Sarah Anne wrote: "Al-Rassan is mid-month Dec, right? You guys have me worried."

Some of us don't average a book per day. We need a head start. :)

Lol! I've only been doing a book every day and a half lately. I might fall behind!

Chris wrote: "Now I have started The Lions of Al-Rassan."

Hank wrote: "I need to start that as well for the discussion mid-month but I should probably read Children of Time first."

Wait there is a discussion on this? How did I miss that? Link please?

Re-reading Atlas Shrugged. So good (and so often, I think, misunderstood).

Re. The Lions of Al-Rassan

Michele wrote: "Wait there is a discussion on this? How did I miss that? Link please?"

It is one of the two Bookshelf reads for December. See 2016 Group Bookshelf Reading Calendar/Planning.