SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

just finished book 2 of Remembrance of Earth's Past, The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin

really enjoyed it 5 star

might just have been primed to it, but think there was a stylistic difference to book 1 due to new translator, preferred in book 1

'Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are?' - Frans de Waal. Excellent so far.

My review of Invincible by David Makinson

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

Gully wrote: "I just finished reading The Last Unicorn, which I absolutely loved! I would highly recommend it. :-)"

Love that book -- have you seen the wonderful animated adaption?

Beagle's short story collection The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances is also a delight.

Thanks Michele. Just added that to my want to read shelf. Sounds intriguing.

I just finished a not SFF book Running With The Fox which was excellent and can be read both as light entertainment and as a serious study.

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

Since my last post, I’ve finished:
1. The City & the City by China Miéville. I enjoyed it, and it was a creative setting. My biggest complaint is that I was less interested in the murder mystery and more interested in the details and history behind the cities’ current state, and I didn’t get much of that. My review.

2. Making Money by Terry Pratchett, the 2nd book in the Moist von Lipwig subseries of Discworld. I’m enjoying this subseries quite a bit and I’m sorry it’s so short. My review.

3. Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett. This one was ok, but nothing special for me. I had the incorrect impression that this would be a Rincewind book, but he hardly showed up in it at all. He’s not a favorite of mine, exactly, but he’s a fun character and I was a little disappointed not to have one last Rincewind book as I’m approaching the end of the series. My review.

4. A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices by Terry Pratchett. This was just a microscopic story (6 pages) focusing on the wizards at Unseen University. It was cute, but nothing special. And Rincewind didn’t even make an appearance in this one. :p My review.

I recently started The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’ve only read about 30 pages, because I’m finishing up my on-call rotation week for work and I keep getting interrupted by pesky work stuff. But I’ve read enough that I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy it, and I was quite exasperated the last time I got interrupted because I really wanted to know what was about to happen next. :)

In April I read The Name of the Wind (★★★★★), Throne of Jade (★★★), Minority Report and Other Stories (★★★), The Year of the Flood (★★★★★), and All the Birds in the Sky (★★★).



I am currently reading Grass.

In April I read Martian Time-Slip, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, Dr. Bloodmoney, I finally finished A Gathering of Shadows, and A Closed and Common Orbit, in addition to our club books.

Chris wrote: "In April I read The Name of the Wind (★★★★★), Throne of Jade (★★★), Minority Report and Other Stories (★★★), The Year of the Flood (★★★★★), a..."

I loved The Year of the Flood. It was so much better than Oryx and Crake.

YouKneeK wrote: "I recently started The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’ve only read about 30 pages, because I’m finishing up my on-call rotation week for work and I keep getting interrupted by pesky work stuff. But I’ve read enough that I’m pretty sure I’m going to enjoy it..."

Kay is a favorite author of mine. His stories are so rich, and the worlds he creates are so believable. Are you a doctor? The main character in the book is a physician, if I remember correctly.

Finished The Great God Pan -- not at all what I expected, but very good. I will seek out more books by him.

Now working on Darconville’s Cat (a lot of fun, but very intellectually demanding -- I've never had to work quite so hard for a laugh!) and Grass for a group read.

Sarah Anne wrote: "I loved The Year of the Flood. It was so much better than Oryx and Crake."

I agree. I know that you liked the audiobook, and I also highly recommend it to everyone. It has a multi-voice cast, and the songs are put to music and performed by professional musicians.

Michele wrote: "Kay is a favorite author of mine. His stories are so rich, and the worlds he creates are so believable. Are you a doctor? The main character in the book is a physician, if I remember correctly."

Nope, I’m a programmer, but I do really like Jehane, the physician.

This is only my second Kay book, the first being Tigana which I also enjoyed a lot. I think The Lions of Al-Rassan is holding my attention a little more consistently. I expect I’ll be trying to fit Kay into my reading a little more frequently in the future.

I am keeping with my Alien life theme and am reading The Pride of Chanur. I like how the human is Alien.

SEVENEVES, Neal Stephenson
Seveneves

It is not an easy read because it has a lot of technical details.
But it is a very nice book (so far: 45%).

Update (May 09):
Starting Part III: "5000 years later...". (so far: 66%).

YouKneeK wrote: "Nope, I’m a programmer, but I do really like Jehane, the physician.

Ah, you mentioned being "on call" so I automatically thought "doctor" :)

I expect I’ll be trying to fit Kay into my reading a little more frequently in the future."

I highly recommend his Fionavar trilogy, starting with The Summer Tree. Celtic myth, high fantasy, and just plain great storytelling.

After reading some high praise, decided today to start the summer tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm already hooked and will definitely carve out reading time for the rest of the Fionavar trilogy.

Simon wrote: "After reading some high praise, decided today to start the summer tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. I'm already hooked and will definitely carve out reading time for the rest of the Fionavar trilogy."

Yay!! Come back and let us know what you think :)

Interesting bit of trivia: Guy Gavriel Kay worked with Christopher Tolkien on editing The Silmarillion.

Michele wrote: "I highly recommend his Fionavar trilogy, starting with The Summer Tree. Celtic myth, high fantasy, and just plain great storytelling."

Thanks! That one will definitely be a top contender when I decide to cycle back around to him.

Simon wrote: "After reading some high praise, decided today to start the summer tree by Guy Gavriel Kay."

I hope you enjoy your Guy Gavriel Kay read as much as I’m enjoying mine. :)

Kat wrote: "I'm about to begin reading Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Somebody recommended it to be a while back, and seeing what it entails – science-fiction & four women – looks like it might be quite a go..."

I think there were four women for about a minute and it's definitely not Science Fiction, so I'm afraid it will probably be far different than you're expecting.

I'm currently reading Journey to the Center of the Earth and listening to Into the Water.

Kat wrote: "I'm about to begin reading Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Somebody recommended it to be a while back, and seeing what it entails – science-fiction & four women – looks like it might be quite a go..."

It was good.

Going to start reading the Wandering Fire today, after finishing the Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. I really was not expecting such a gripping writing style. It was slow to start and you get an initial glimpse at the vast world it's based in, then as the story unfolds your taken on a tour of discovery. Really enjoying the world building and character interactions and the depth of backstories which again unfold slowly.

So thanks to Michele and YouKneeK, without your praise I may have passed this author by and what a mistake that would have been. Thanks

Simon wrote: "Going to start reading the Wandering Fire today, after finishing the Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. I really was not expecting such a gripping writing style."

I’m glad you enjoyed it so much! I look forward to getting to that one myself even more now. :)

I'm about to start reading a YA book called Lydia, hope to post a review post on my Instagram/Bookstagram if anyone is interested in following :)

It's great to see the love for Guy Gavriel Kay. Last year our Bookshelf readers read Under Heaven and The Lions of Al-Rassan. This year none of GGK's books on our shelf made the cut. :( I was hoping that Tigana would make the list.

I finished Supernova by C.A. Higgins. I liked it more than the first book of the trilogy. My review:

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

Simon wrote: "Going to start reading the Wandering Fire today, after finishing the Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay. I really was not expecting such a gripping writing style..."

Simon, I'm so glad to hear that it's seduced you into continuing. The trilogy is very close to my heart, and I'm always thrilled when someone else discovers it :)

My review of The End of the Day by Claire North

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

Phrynne wrote: "My review of The End of the Day by Claire North

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

I love her but I was hideously disappointed in this one. Partially because of the lack of plot and partially because we Americans don't all belong to the KKK and own guns. You can tell she got our culture from the headlines, which is pretty annoying. I did like Charlie though :)

I read Good Morning, Midnight and Dead Witch Walking, and have started Fated.

Good morning, Midnight was pretty but nothing happened, resolved, grew, or was explained. So if you are curious what it's like to be a bitter old man likely on the spectrum in the North Pole or a regretful communications officer aboard a space ship, this is a very well written diary of those people. If you want a story, I'd look elsewhere.

Dead Witch Watching had all the makings of a very fun urban fantasy series, with its stereotypically beautiful, powerful people in way over their heads and a large variety of the supernatural. But it really left a sour taste in my mouth with some of the writing choices and I am struggling to decide whether or not I want to trust the author for another book.

Fated I've only just started but I think I'm gonna like it, barring any questionable writing choices like in Dead Witch Watching, which seems unlikely. I am very curious to learn what else is so different about this world as to avoid a lawsuit from the Dresden IP.

I'm a pretty big fan of Alex Verus. The main difference is that Verus has is a big re-occurring antagonist and he basically makes the entire series work. It also has no dated/soon to be dated pop culture references.

It bottoms out on the 2nd book and the series hits it's stride on book 4.

While at the time I liked some of the Dresden books better, Alex Verus books have stuck in my mind more.

Aaron wrote: "I'm a pretty big fan of Alex Verus. The main difference is that Verus has is a big re-occurring antagonist and he basically makes the entire series work. It also has no dated/soon to be dated pop c..."

Cool, thanks for your thoughts! I like the style already, and I'm happy to think it's similar to/possibly better than Dresden. I was just surprised when he actually nodded to Butcher's works with the urban legend about the Wizard in Chicago. That's a pretty brazen nudge that the author thinks these worlds intersect. I'm not sure that's bad, just unusual.

I'm currently reading The Bones of the Past by Craig A Munro. It's a nice bit of epic fantasy.

I was lucky enough to get an early review copy of the audiobook for Assassin's Fate a few weeks back. I only just finished today. It's 40 hours long.

I find myself emotionally drained and for that I gave it ★★★★★ - My Review

Somehow I have gotten sidetracked into a re-read of The Godfather. Forgot how great it is :)

I just wanted to pile on with the Guy Gavriel Kay love that is circulating the thread. Kay puts out Bona Fide Literature. The Sarantine Mosaic is one of my all time favorites but many of his other works are also excellent.

Nice to see all the praise for GGK's story telling and world building prowess; I am going to start the Fionavar Trilogy after I place my next book order.

Currently reading High Couch of Silistra.

I finished Armada and The Hike.

Now I am rereading American Gods.

Jen wrote: "In April I read Martian Time-Slip, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life, Dr. Bloodmoney ..."

I recently finished Ubik, my first PKD. I'm trying to decide which one to read next.

Susan wrote: "I recently finished Ubik, my first PKD. I'm trying to decide which one to read next."

In my opinion, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a good early choice, and also one of PKD's best. It happens that our Bookshelf readers will read Do Androids Dream... in July.

Hoping to finish The Cosmic Computer. It's very...1960s. Not sure if I'll try another H. Beam Piper not related to Little Fuzzy which I mostly enjoyed.

Chris wrote: "In my opinion, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a good early choice..."

I'm thinking of getting the Library of America three-volume set which includes Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I bought the paperback Ubik because I didn't know if I would like PKD, but I liked it so much I think I'm going to spring for the LOA set.

I'm looking forward to the group discussion.

Susan wrote: "I'm thinking of getting the Library of America three-volume set..."

I am slowly reading my way through the Library of America PKD volumes. They are great collections.

So far this month, I’ve finished:

1. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I really enjoyed it, and I look forward to circling back around to Kay’s work in the future. My review.

2. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett, the 4th book in the Tiffany Aching subseries of Discworld. I enjoyed it well enough, but didn’t think the story was very memorable. I actually had to glance at my review just now to remember what it was even about, and I finished it just last Sunday. I'm not sure if that says more about my memory or the book. :) My review.

3. Snuff by Terry Pratchett, the 8th and final book in the Watch subseries of Discworld. I enjoyed this one also, although I was hoping for more of an ensemble story so I could see all my favorite characters one last time. My review.

4. The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett, a children’s story with pictures that is referenced quite a bit in Snuff. A bit odd, but cute. My review.

Now I’m just getting started with Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic. After that, I plan to finish up the very last two Discworld books.

I finished listening to Fight and Flight. It was fun, but not as good as some of the past volumes: ★★★½☆ - (My Review)

I am new reading I See You by Clare Mackintosh, really good so far as I have just finished prince of thorns this afternoon

Just finished rereading The Painted Man. I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind, and listening to Night Shift. Both are good so far.

Gully wrote: "Just finished rereading The Painted Man. I am currently reading The Shadow of the Wind, and listening to Night Shift. Both are good so far."

Shadow of the Wind is fantastic

I just started The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A Lee Martinez. I'm a fan of most of his stuff and this seems to be along the same humor lines as the rest.