SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Phrynne wrote: "How would they deal with the dragon to human communication? I couldn't bear to see a CGI dragon talking out loud:)"

The communication was telepathic so hopefully this would not be something they need to worry about. Talking dragons would make this a pass for me if they went this direction.

I just finished The Collapsing Empire, review on my blog.

I finally started Stories of Your Life and Others and I'm loving it after two stories! Not only has it been on my TBR forever, but I'm also very happy to have picked something I actually enjoy. I feel like everything I read lately was meh.

Since my last post, I’ve read:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I enjoyed this a lot while I was reading it, but I did think it was light on the details. I wanted a little more meat. My review.

2. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. This is the first book in the Tiffany Aching subseries of Discworld. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I’m looking forward to the other books in the subseries. My review.

3. Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. This is the third book in the Industrial Revolution subseries of Discworld. I enjoyed this one pretty well also. My review.

Next, I plan to start The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick.

Anna wrote: "I finally started Stories of Your Life and Others and I'm loving it after two stories!"

Such a great book! I'm never able to decide which story is my favorite, they're all so different and so densely packed with good stuff.

I finished listening to Pilot X and enjoyed it. ★★★★☆ - My Review

i have delved into some light reading but fully enjoyed it. I have red all of Kelly Armstrong's otherworld series, Kresley Cole's Immortals after Dark series and J R Wards Brotherhood series.

A wonderful break from deep and meaningful, but still had interesting story lines

I am reading The Big Eye. It is an awful 1960s paperback which is crumbling to dust as I read it but the writing is good and story itself is enjoyable.
It is interesting to see what some one living in the aftermath of WWII thought would happen to the world by the 1960s.
Thankfully his predictions were nowhere close to the reality.

I just finished It Takes a Village Idiot: A Memoir of Life After the City by Jim Mullen. It was okay. I'm starting These Heroic, Happy Dead: Stories by Luke Mogelson, which I got as an ARC last year. Neither is sf/f.

I have finally, temporarily pared my reading list down to four items. (It's going back up again shortly -- can't seem to keep my hands off a good book!)

- I'm trying to do a daily Bible reading (I've never finished the whole thing!)
- For my TBR Clean-up Challenge, I'm reading Gardening When It Counts
- There's When the Tripods Came for fiction (another book checked off my "Series In Progress" shelf)
- and a "comic book": Justice League Dark, Volume 2: The Books of Magic

really enjoyed The Three-Body Problem, 5 stars

reading Childhood's End, some parallels, including a reference to unstable orbit of planet in a multiple sun system

I'm currently reading our fantasy BoTM, The Thousand Names, and listening to Snow Crash on audiobook.

Greenmantle, by John Buchan

Some years ago I read The 39 Steps. This is the second Richard Hannay novel and is set during the early part of WWI.

I finished The Three-Body Problem, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and I also did a quick reread of Dragons in the Waters (though it had been so long since my last read that I didn't remember how it went.)
I'm still working on The Golem and the Jinni (which I'm enjoying quite a bit) and next I'll be starting Archangel and The Left Hand of Darkness.

I'm reading Terms of Endearment and I just started Claire North's new book, The End of the Day. Loving both of them.

I'm 80% done with Fields of Fire, the fifth Frontlines book. It's like the rest of the series: nothing revolutionary or brilliant, but very solid, fun, exciting military sci-fi.

I read the first entry in the Marko Kloos FRONTLINES series and although I thought it was fine it just had nothing about it to make it memorable or distinctive enough for me to want to read ANY of the sequels.

MadProfessah wrote: "I read the first entry in the Marko Kloos FRONTLINES series and although I thought it was fine it just had nothing about it to make it memorable or distinctive enough for me to want to read ANY of ..."

I, myself, am a touch OCD on my mother's side, and often feel the need to finish a so-so series, just for completeness sake. I certainly empathize with @David

MadProfessah wrote: "I read the first entry in the Marko Kloos FRONTLINES series and although I thought it was fine it just had nothing about it to make it memorable or distinctive enough for me to want to read ANY of ..."

Each book is a little bit better than the last, and I thought the first was notably weaker than the rest. By the fifth book, he's got the formula down pat, and it's pretty action-packed. That said, if you're looking for something "special", I can't blame you for looking elsewhere. They're kind of "standard".

Mike wrote: "I, myself, am a touch OCD on my mother's side, and often feel the need to finish a so-so series, just for completeness sake. I certainly empathize with @David"

I will frequently finish a so-so book for that reason, but rarely a so-so series. I always have enough things queued up to read (book club picks, new releases of ongoing series) to distract me. I would hate to spend my life reading so-so books one after another :)

In this case, I picked up book two because book one ended just when things were starting to get interesting, and by the end of book two the series was solidly above "so-so" for me.

I enjoy the Frontlines books for fast and fun military sci-fi. I think I gave book 1 3 stars, and books 2-5 each got 4 stars. I agree with David that book 1 is much weaker than the others.

Finished with The Caves of Steel. Not as expected but I still give a four-star rating. Great to be back in Asimov's robot world. Daneel Olivaw is adorable.

Gonna be a busy month at work but hopefully I have time to finish Shadow & Claw (starting now), The Stars Are Legion, and if I have time in between, Chains of Command. I think there are two other next in series (Wolf Moon is one) but I have yet to procure them so maybe later.

Rob wrote: "I enjoy the Frontlines books for fast and fun military sci-fi."

But they are so dreary and depressing :(.

MadProfessah wrote: "I read the first entry in the Marko Kloos FRONTLINES series and although I thought it was fine it just had nothing about it to make it memorable or distinctive enough for me to want to read ANY of ..."

I kind of feel the same way and I'm current on the series, but I'm kind of out of other stuff. While I agree the first book is the weakest I certainly don't think it's gotten better with every book.

Speaking of quick fast and fun space opera I finished

The Xaros Reckoning the final Ember War book, now that's a series that really grew on me over time, and was what I would call fast and fun military sci-fi read.

Done with K.J. Parker's Mightier than the Sword. It is really great (review) but it comes with a harsh price tag.

Silvana wrote: "Gonna be a busy month at work but hopefully I have time to finish Shadow & Claw (starting now), The Stars Are Legion, and if I have time in between, Chains of Command. I think there are two other next in series (Wolf Moon is one) but I have yet to procure them so maybe later."

I'll be curious to hear what you think of Shadow and Claw. I read "Shadow" and about a third of "Claw", and I thought they were brilliant as art, but they didn't click for me at all and I eventually gave up. I can understand why others consider them masterpieces, though.

About 3/4's through Edward W. Roberrson's "Breakers Omnibus" it had good reviews but still surprised me with how good it's been. I am listening to the book on Audio and the narrator is a Scott Brick knockoff but definitely listenable. I am interested if anyone else has tried this series?

It's been a while since I last read something from Harlan Ellison - this time, I re-read "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman (review).

I have finished Dark Matter, The Boy Who Drew Monsters, and Kill Switch.

Now I am reading Armada.

Yesterday I've started reading a book, thinking how it was a while since I read something from Agatha Christie. So, I started reading it expecting a mystery to be resolved, but instead totally different plot was in front of me. I thought how strange of Agatha to write such a book. When I finished it I googled title and realized it was not Agatha but Ágota Kristóf! I've also discovered that I'm not the only one who confused these two authors :)
I've finished first novel out of three The Notebook, The Proof, The Third Lie: Three Novels, cannot wait to read other two.

Aleksandra_G wrote: "I thought how strange of Agatha to write such a book. When I finished it I googled title and realized it was not Agatha but Ágota Kristóf! "

Ha! Love it :) So what do you think of Ágota Kristóf?

Aleksandra_G wrote: "I thought how strange of Agatha to write such a book. When I finished it I googled title and realized it was not Agatha but Ágota Kristóf! I've also discovered that I'm not the only one who confused these two authors :) "

Ah, the perils of the polyglot. This is one instance where being barely fluent in a single language is an advantage. ;)

I finished All the Birds in the Sky yesterday. Enjoyable but not WOW like I had seen in some reviews. It always left me wanting just a little bit more....of something. I can't quite put my finger on it.

I also finished Seveneves. Not sure if I should have chosen a different book to be introduced to Neal Stephenson. But I survived and I will be back for more. I did find myself agreeing with other reviewers about the author's "info dumps". They slowed the story down. Otherwise, I like his style of writing and the plot was paced nicely.

I'm going to try to finish up How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back this week. I need something light and fun to cleanse my mental palate. (If you haven't read this series, I HIGHLY recommend it!

Haha true, I'm glad I made mistake :)
Agota is great, her writing is simple but effective. Novel Is kind of crueler than it should be because it's seen through the eyes of twin boys (war thematic).

Karen wrote: "I finished All the Birds in the Sky yesterday. Enjoyable but not WOW like I had seen in some reviews."

I started that, but the dying bird in the first few pages turned me right off :/ I was trying to decide whether to soldier on despite it, but maybe I won't bother.

Michele wrote: "Karen wrote: "I finished All the Birds in the Sky yesterday. Enjoyable but not WOW like I had seen in some reviews."

I started that, but the dying bird in the first few pages turned me right off :/ I was trying to decide whether to soldier on despite it, but maybe I won't bother."

I didn't care for it either. The Fantasy and Sci-fi aspects just did not gel for me.

I finished Ready Player One and Ancillary Justice. I found them both very interesting concepts, but meh stories.

RPO was a fun throwback and the parts of the contest itself were great but the stupid teen boy internet dweller was so well done that I got mad at him, and there were lots of casual, unexpected hits to my sense of kindness and justice. My review

Ancillary Justice was a breathtaking work in terms of the concepts it tackled. I loved the language parts (I personally enjoyed the pronoun structure) and the MC concept, but the story itself I think became quite tangled. Perhaps I would have needed to go back and re-read sections, but I feel like that's me doing too much of the work. My review

Next up is Memory and Dream for another book group and likely a collection of horror stories written by a friend.

I was interested in enough in first chapter included in Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection that I picked up White Sand Volume 1 from the library. I enjoyed it, although I think I'd prefer a full novel instead. ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

I was lucky enough to get an early review copy of the audiobook for Change Agent. I enjoyed it. It's probably my favorite book of his since Daemon - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

Allison wrote: "Next up is Memory and Dream for another book group and likely a collection of horror stories written by a friend."

Ooh! Which group? I love de Lint.

I just finished Doctor Who: The Legends of River Song which was nice, but I wish I bought it for about $2 from Kindle instead of $11 and change from a brick and mortar chain bookstore.

I'm currently reading the delightful Short by Holly Goldberg Sloan. It's a MG/ YA/ adult book about shy girl being in her first play. I've read just less than half of it and I love it!

Next up I have borrowed from the library:

Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin for a RL book club,

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan,

And Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh, which may be my first book by her.

Allison, which group is reading Memory and Dream? I, too, am always up to discuss Charles de Lint.

Michele and Julia:

This is the Urban Fantasy Aficionados group! Discussion here:

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

Hope to chat about it! I'm planning on picking up my copy tonight :-)

Finished Lolly Willowes (loved it!) and then stumbled on Wolf Hollow -- so glad I did, it's a real gem.

Now reading Lucifer's Hammer for a group read over on Apocalypse Whenever.

Allison wrote: "Michele and Julia: This is the Urban Fantasy Aficionados group!"

Thanks!

The Memory of Trees by F.G. Cottam

I'm currently reading Retribution Falls.

I'm listening to Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer and it is awesome so far.

I am continuing my binge read of Peter Grant/Rivers of London with Foxglove Summer.

I started Warm Bodies, Alif the Unseen, and The Body Reader. So far so good on each of these. Still reading How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back and Ruin and Rising but I keep getting distracted by new titles. Hopefully these'll be done in the next couple of weeks.

I am struggling with Foreigner. I've been reading The Once and Future King but I accidentally deleted my copy and only just put it back on.

Breaking away from SFF I've been reading The Lost .Order

oafk is my all time favorite!

I read Three Parts Dead for the TBR and Bookshelf challenges but now I'm slowly in a black hole devouring the rest of the books in the sequence. I just finished Two Serpents Rise and am about to start on Full Fathom Five