SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Just started Born of Hatred audiobook.

Still working my way through Those Who Hunt the Night. I got sidetracked by a shorter library loan.

I'm hoping to start Borderline today.

Just started Perdido Street Station. It's pretty much a trip so far. Not really sure what to think about yet.

Perdido Street Station

Finished Ex-Heroes and moving straight into Ex-Patriots.

I just finished Dragon Actually which rocked as per usual for S. L. I have a few books that I'm currently reading but not sure which I'll pick up tonight. I just got Kushiel's Dart which I was dying to read before it arrived but now... I'm not so sure. I guess it will depend upon my mood tonight whether I pick up one of the books I'm currently reading or start a new one.

Veronica wrote: "Finished Ex-Heroes and moving straight into Ex-Patriots."

How did you like it? I own it, but I am having trouble getting past the cover to actually read it.

I just finished the Queen of the Orcs trilogy by Morgan Howell, which began with King's Property. I liked it quite a bit. The series has a heavy focus on orcish culture, which isn’t something I’ve ever seen before, and I really liked how it was portrayed. I thought the middle of the trilogy got bogged down with too much angsty romance, but the rest of it focused more on the actual story and so was more interesting. I could be a bit bleak, especially in the first book, and the ending was bittersweet.

My reviews:
Book 1 – King’s Property
Book 2 – Clan Daughter
Book 3 – Royal Destiny

Later today I plan to start the first book in the series The Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham, The Dragon's Path. I had planned to wait until closer to mid-April and read it with the people doing the book club challenge, but I’m at a good stopping point in my other reading and I’ve been anxious to read it.

YouKneeK wrote: "Later today I plan to start the first book in the series The Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham, The Dragon's Path."

I really enjoyed that series. I hope you do too!

Rob wrote: "I really enjoyed that series. I hope you do too!"

Thanks! I enjoyed the author’s Long Price Quartet, so I’ve been looking forward to this. I’ve only had time to read about 5%, but so far I really like it.

I just finished The Scar and now I'm trying to wrap up Three Parts Dead and Lonesome Dove before family comes to visit next week.

YouKneeK wrote: "Rob wrote: "I really enjoyed that series. I hope you do too!"

Thanks! I enjoyed the author’s Long Price Quartet, so I’ve been looking forward to this. I’ve only had time to read about 5%, but so f..."

I liked it a bit more than Long Price, but I'd read 4/5 Dagger & Coin books before reading Long Price. I was going to read it after but then The Spider's War got delayed.

I am reading Living Dead in Dallas. I needed something fun after being thoroughly irritated by my two previous reads.

Esther wrote: "I am reading Living Dead in Dallas. I needed something fun after being thoroughly irritated by my two previous reads."

I just read a bunch of the true blood books last year. They are very entertaining, easy reads. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Sterling wrote: "Esther wrote: "I am reading Living Dead in Dallas. I needed something fun after being thoroughly irritated by my two previous reads."

I just read a bunch of the true blood books last..."

I liked the TV show for about the first 4 seasons and I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Until Dark despite not really being a PR fan, so I have hopes for this one :0)

Esther wrote: "Sterling wrote: "Esther wrote: "I am reading Living Dead in Dallas. I needed something fun after being thoroughly irritated by my two previous reads."

I just read a bunch of the true..."
I never watched the tv show, but I really enjoyed the books.

As part of my resolution to read more non-SFF, my last two audio books were non-fiction and a thriller. Although the non-fiction deals largely with technology, and the thriller got pretty fantastical by the end.

First I finished listening to Steve Jobs, which I took a break from to listen to something else. I really enjoyed it, despite my general dislike of Jobs (My Review).

Then I listened to The Einstein Prophecy, which was OK, but not great (My Review).

I thought I was going to read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler next, but if I own it-- and I think I do-- I can't find it and will hopefully pick it up tomorrow at the library from interlibrary loan.

I'm now reading and enjoying The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor.

Currently listening to Surface Detail. This was my first foray into Audible in 2013. I put it on hold for a couple of years because I thought I had to listen to it over the network (and I'm an IT person). I tried the cellular once on a commute and exceeded my data limit before I ever got to work. So I relegated myself to wifi only which meant only when I was home. When at home I prefer to actually read, so this was a bust. Fast forward a couple of years and I ran into someone who listened to Audible regularly. I asked if he had unlimited data. He laughed and said, "Why don't you just download it to your phone?" Brilliant!!! (I would add that the person that suggested it to me wasn't the brightest bulb so I felt extra stupid...). I have listened to many Audible books since that epiphany, but I finally made my way back to this one. Its a good one so far...

My March reads were Fahrenheit 451 (3), The Golem and the Jinni (5), The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (3), Wool Omnibus (4), and Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang (3).

I am currently reading The Dragon's Path and The Handmaid's Tale.

I like that summary idea Chris!
Books finished in March

A House in the Sky - 4
Memory of Water - 4
Kindred - 4.5
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - 3
Those Who Hunt the Night - 3
Turn Coat - 5

Currently reading
Revelation Space - audio
Steelheart - kid school dropoff audio
Tennis: Winning the Mental Match - kindle

I need to pick up 3 Parts Dead soon but my reading time keeps getting squeezed by real life

Three Parts Dead is a really quick read. It was also a very interesting world.

Chris, did you do audio on Fahrenheit 451? I thought the book was three stars but because of Tim Robbins' narration I gave it five. He was amazing.

Sarah Anne wrote: "Chris, did you do audio on Fahrenheit 451? I thought the book was three stars but because of Tim Robbins' narration I gave it five. He was amazing. "

Yes, I did the audiobook. I really disliked Tim Robbins as narrator, but the 3 stars is for story alone.

That's too bad. That was one of my favorite audios last year.

Hank wrote: "I like that summary idea Chris!
Books finished in March,,

I'll give my favorites since my full March list would swamp everyone. :)

Lonesome Dove
The Midnight Mayor
Carrion Comfort
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
A Fire Upon the Deep

I like the idea of seeing what people have read :)

I can't believe March is almost over!

Non-Fiction:
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, I just love Mary Roach and I definitely learned a lot about the digestive system. My Life on the Road was very interesting and gave insight into Gloria Steinem's life, but not something I consider life changing or to be added to a college curriculum.

Young Adult:
Winter was good, but the series didn't finish as strongly as it started. Firefight was great. I know Uprooted isn't supposed to be YA, but it definitely felt Young Adult to me.

Romance:
A Week to Be Wicked and Once Upon a Winter's Eve. Historical romances with one heroine a geologist and other a language expert. Both very amusing.

Fantasy:
Of Noble Family was a good ending to the series. Red Seas Under Red Skies was great.

Currently Reading: Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science-and the World and The Republic of Thieves.

Um. That's super spoilerly..

Sorry. I have deleted it.

No worries. Maybe I was the only one surprised when I read that book, but just in case I wasn't.

True. I wasn't really thinking. And it was a good surprise:)

I just skimmed my friend's reviews, and about half of them spoil it almost right away..so you're not alone in that. I think the excitement is just hard to contain. I still somehow missed it ahead of time though.

My review is fairly short because it's nearly impossible to talk about the things I liked about that book without spoiling that detail.

I still think The Heroes is my favorite of his though.

I missed it! And now I'm dying of curiosity.

I got Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang as an interlibrary loan today and started to read it right away, though I've only read first three chapters. They were promising, so I think I will finish this one soon enough and it helps that the book is relatively short one, too.

I'm also still reading Uprooted, Station Eleven and A Vision of Fire by Gillian Andersson, which has progressed the most being around the halfway point.

Finished Drysine Legacy which I still absolutely loved, I was expecting to drop this series to a 4 on this book but it was great as well. This one focused a lot more on the AI civil war conflict of the past and spoiler but a surprise to absolutely no one, it's starting to come back.

Screw The Galaxy - A weak 4 stars, it was a fun fluffy read, it had quite a few flaws but the characters came off strong and diverse and overall it was funny throughout and very enjoyable.

Finished The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 03, I heard this series didn't start diverging from the webnovel until book 5...well that was wrong, there is a significant scene establishing an entirely new antagonist. I guess this is part of the plan to make the middle 1/2 of the series less dry, sounds like a good move.

Starting on The Outlaw in audio, first book was really enjoyable, and despite being a Lit-RPG, I would actually recommend it to all SF fans because it avoided many of the tropes that turn people off of them. One warning it is a Russian novel and the love-interest feels kind of randomly inserted because you gotta have a love-interest don't ya know.(this is a very very small portion of the book however, as basically all of it is spent trying to not die)

Just finished Red Country by Joe Abercrombie. My (spoiler free) review is here:)

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

I just finished The Raft, very unusual (and very good) dystopian sci-fi by a new South African author.

I decided to re-read the Chanur series by CJ Cherryh before tackling book 1 of Neal Stephenson's The Baroque Cycle. I need some space action/adventure to clear my mind :-)

Here is my re-read review of The Great Hunt 2nd book in WOT series.

Valerie wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Finished Ex-Heroes and moving straight into Ex-Patriots."

How did you like it? I own it, but I am having trouble getting past the cover to actually..."

I'm really enjoying it, Valerie. I had had it on my TBR list for a couple of years myself and finally picked it up to read in order to meet a reading challenge for another group. There are the obvious superhero tropes but it's all done intentionally. The plot twists have always surprised me. I'm up to reading this year's release, book 5, .

I'm reading The Caves of Steel. So far I'm really liking this book.

Veronica wrote: "Valerie wrote: "Veronica wrote: "Finished Ex-Heroes and moving straight into Ex-Patriots."

How did you like it? I own it, but I am having trouble getting past the c..."

Good to know. I think I may own the first four books. I just need to find time to dive in.

I am going to adopt the summary model that some of you are using:

March Books

Audio
Angels' Blood - 2
The Goblin Emperor - 3
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances - 4
The War of the Worlds - 3
Behemoth - 3
Grave Memory - 3
Modern Romance - 4
Brighter Than the Sun - 3
Mr. Kiss and Tell - 4
Fairest - 3
The Immortal Who Loved Me - 2
Luckiest Girl Alive - 4
Born of Hatred - 4
Grave Visions - 4
First Frost - 4


Kindle
Kindred - 5
Feel the Burn - 2
Those Who Hunt the Night - 3


DTE
How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back - 3
White Trash Zombie Gone Wild - 4
Loyalty in Death - 3
Summoning the Night - 3


Comics
Fables, Vol. 3: Storybook Love - 4
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why - 5
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 3: Crushed - 5
S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1: Perfect Bullets - 3


Current Books in Progress
Three Parts Dead - Audio
Fables, Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers - Comic

I read Collective Mind
Truly I'm impressed! It's my first sci-fi. Before that I read novels only. So it's my first try.

Anna wrote: "I read Collective Mind
Truly I'm impressed! It's my first sci-fi. Before that I read novels only. So it's my first try."

That looks good, let us know how you like it.

Hank wrote: "Anna wrote: "I read Collective Mind
Truly I'm impressed! It's my first sci-fi. Before that I read novels only. So it's my first try."

That looks good, let us know how you like it."

The book has several storylines, but my favourite one is an idea that people can give away their intelligence to the global PC device. This device can generate ideas how to overcome incurable disease including carcinoma. To my mind this idea is very noble and author deserves attention.

Anna wrote: "The book has several storylines, but my favourite one is an idea that people can give away their intelligence to the global PC device. This device can generate ideas how to overcome incurable disease including carcinoma. To my mind this idea is very noble and author deserves attention."

That reminds me of Folding@Home.

Chris wrote: "Anna wrote: "The book has several storylines, but my favourite one is an idea that people can give away their intelligence to the global PC device. This device can generate ideas how to overcome in..."

Never never heard about it. Strange thing, what is it?

My favorite March books:
1. The Scorpio Races This is definitely YA, but it was such an interesting tale--carnivorous horses with a horse whisperer, secluded island, high stakes racing, orphans, and a twinge of romance (but not the annoying-my life revolves around my partner kind).

2. Limbus, Inc. This is one of those short story collections where a group of author all write on the same theme, or in this case-setting. Limbus Inc. is a shady, time-traveling, dimension-hopping employment agency. Unlike other books written by multiple authors, the through line of this one held and all of the stories were good in their own way.

3. Thirteenth Night. It is not a SF-F text. It is a spin off of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Twelfth Nigh is one of my least favorite Shakespeare plays, but I chose this book to complete a reading challenge and ended up loving it (like lots and lots). For those who have never read Twelfth night, it ends with a character vowing to get revenge. 20 years later he does just that. The main character is a member of the Jester's guild which is written as a competitor to the Catholic church. The book is complete with medieval politics and intrigue. The wit and dialog of the Jester characters was exceptionally done.

In April I hope to tackle Dark Star and Prince of Thorns as well as group reads/re-reads with The Golem and the Jinni and Three Parts Dead.

First I must finish the books I've already started: A Darker Shade of Magic (parallel universes with only 1 city, London, as a common ground) and Off to Be the Wizard (a lighter more humorous read because too much serious literature can be a drag).

Melanie wrote: "My favorite March books:
1. The Scorpio Races This is definitely YA, but it was such an interesting tale--carnivorous horses with a horse whisperer, secluded island, high stakes rac..."

I really loved Off to Be the Wizard. It was a very fun read.
I also really liked The Golem and the Jinni it was a fantastic book and I still think about it often even though I read it over a year ago.

I finished reading The Black Lung Captain and really enjoyed it. (My Review)

I also listened to both NPCs (My Review) and Split the Party (My Review) and loved them. I really hope there are more books coming soon, and that the audiobook release isn't so far behind the text.

I'm listening to Thicker Than Water. This is about my fourth read but first time audio. I just love this series. I'm also hoping to finish The Summer Queen this week.