SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Heir of Scars I: Parts 1-8

Forging Divinity

Thoroughly enjoying both.

I loved Doomsday Book, very excited to discuss with the re-read group. I read The Man in the High Castle and fell in love with PKD. Started The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and I'm really enjoying it.

Jen wrote: "Started The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and I'm really enjoying it. "

That was a weird book. Very hallucinogenic. Will be interested to see what you think.

I finished Robot Dreams by Isaac Asimov. My review:

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

I'm making my way through a bunch of mysteries by Karin Slaughter and others right now. I recently started Arkwright by Allen Steele but I am very close to bailing on it pretty early on. I hate wasting my time on things I am probably going to give 3 stars to, but I am running out of good SF to read and this was sitting there when I went to the library.

I have a fantasy book I'm saving and savoring: The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks. ALso greatly looking forward to Skullsworn by Brian Staveley inthe VERY near future.

Aleksandra_G wrote: "I'm absolute fan of Fantasy genre, but I find it very annoying when series are not finished :) so, I'm very determined to read this year only completed series and I've already finished "The Witcher..."

i so agree, at one point one of my fav authors started a new series , I decided I would buy the whole series before reading it, she never did the last book. AAAAHHHHH

I no have two unread books that look tempting. I have waited a few years for the 3rd book, and yes it does say on the cover a trilogy, so do I wait , or do I read.

saying that I have lots of TBR books sitting on shelves so there is no desperation.

Here is my review of Night Watch

Mike wrote: "Sanderson, although a pretty good writer, managed to turn the last book into three..."

I didn't mind, I would read even if he wrote more than three :) when series are good, I always feel kind of sad when I finish reading because I know that there is no sequel, and in this case it's definite... "The Wheel of Time" was the first fantasy series that I read so I still have strong feelings for these books :)

Kateb wrote: "i so agree, at one point one of my fav authors started a new series , I decided I would buy the whole series before reading it, she never did the last book. AAAAHHHHH

I no have two unread books that look tempting. I have waited a few years for the 3rd book, and yes it does say on the cover a trilogy, so do I wait , or do I read..."

Sometimes I wonder whether we are the one with the problem or authors :)

Aleksandra_G wrote: "Mike wrote: "Sanderson, although a pretty good writer, managed to turn the last book into three..."

I didn't mind, I would read even if he wrote more than three :) when series are good, I always f..."

It was my first fantasy book as well :) I did grow out of it eventually but at the time I was very much into it.

Ironically I liked Sanderson's 3 books and it was his writing that encouraged me to finish what felt like an overdue series.

Anirudh wrote: "Aleksandra_G wrote: "Mike wrote: "Sanderson, although a pretty good writer, managed to turn the last book into three..."

I didn't mind, I would read even if he wrote more than three :) when series..."

I really liked those last three books by Brandon Sanderson. And he did it in only three! Robert Jordan might have needed another six.

Kateb wrote: "Aleksandra_G wrote: "I'm absolute fan of Fantasy genre, but I find it very annoying when series are not finished :) so, I'm very determined to read this year only completed series and I've already ..."

As an indie author, or as an author in general, one thing I strive for is to make every book I write stand alone. I have a six part series, but many of my readers have been surprised to find out that it is, in fact, a series, because they find one of the books in the middle. In my personal opinion, books should be more like the original Star Trek episodes, that can be viewed in any order, but can refer to others from time to time. They should NOT be like starting a story in the middle and not knowing what the heck is going on without catching up with the beginning.

So, I would think that the answer to your question is that it depends on the series. Some books can't be taken individually, and some series won't come to a conclusion until the last book. A good series could be considered complete after each book in the series. The next will start a new conflict, but they all may have some kind of overall context as well.

oh Paul I wish every series was like yours. I have decided to take the plunge and read my two books.

At the same time I must say I love series, and yes I like them when each book stands alone but a fav character or two continues from one book to the next.

in that case I still keep an eye on the net for the next book in the "series"

I like series or books that are related more than stand alone not connected to any other book types. Must work out some names for those different types of book series!!!!

Paul wrote: "In my personal opinion, books should be more like the original Star Trek episodes, that can be viewed in any order, but can refer to others from time to time. They should NOT be like starting a story in the middle and not knowing what the heck is going on without catching up with the beginning. "

Oh how I wish all authors felt that way!! I am sick to death of the way everything these days seems to be a series. It's gotten to bas that if a book has "Book 1 of whatever" I won't even pick it up.

I blame it all on Tolkien's publishers, who forced him to publish LOTR as a trilogy lol

Kateb wrote: "I like series or books that are related more than stand alone not connected to any other book types. Must work out some names for those different types of book series!!!!."

I think those are called "related books" or "shared world" books. Charles de Lint is great at that -- the main character in one book is a minor character in another book, for example. Terry Pratchett, too.

David Mitchell does it too.

Most of Michael J. Sullivan's Riyria books can be read as stand alone. But they do build on each other, so I wouldn't go so far as to say they could be read in any order.

The prequel series is more a collection of stories revolving around the same characters than the original, but I'd say only Wintertide (first half of Heir of Novron) made me feel compelled to read the next one immediately.

I feel like he's struck a good balance that way.

My review of A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers So good!

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

I'm reading Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker and really loving this sequel to one of my favorites from last year, .

I'm reading Back to the Moon: A Novel by Homer Hickam. It's okay but just want it to be over.

I'm currently listening to The Turn on audiobook.

Ellen wrote: "It's okay but just want it to be over."

That captures my mood for most of my reading this month.

Still working on Seveneves. I let Britt-Marie Was Here take precedence over all of my other books. I'm also reading Ancillary Mercy and How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back.

Ellen wrote: "It's okay but just want it to be over."

Mike wrote: "That captures my mood for most of my reading this month."

lol That also captures my mood w/respect to the weather -- 20+ inches of snow and another foot on the way. Thanks, Stella.

Michele wrote: "Ellen wrote: "It's okay but just want it to be over."

Mike wrote: "That captures my mood for most of my reading this month."

lol That also captures my mood w/respect to the weather -- 20+ inches ..."

lol! Being from Georgia where 2 inches of snow is classified as a disaster I can just imagine!

I'm reading The Jewish War by Josephus. Herod sounds like he was a pretty good king, apart from the tyrannical taxation and child-murdering.

Also reading Explorations: First Contact. A nice collection of short stories (I'm halfway in, and a few of them have been very good indeed, others more ok).

Michele wrote: "That was a weird book. Very hallucinogenic. Will be interested to see what you think."

Finished The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Yep, weird one for sure. I loved the ideas he brings up here, especially the spin on colonization being a draft, rather than sending people who want to go. I really enjoyed the writing. The story itself was so weird. I did like how he played with reality and the reading experience of not being sure what was real. Very psychedelic.

Finished The Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers. Still working on The Turn of the Screw for a group read, and discovered a charming little book at the library: No Fear Or Favour. The book I wanted was checked out and this one was next to it. Veddy veddy British, and great fun.

I'm listening to Hell's Heart by John Jackson Miller and narrated by Robert Petkoff. Story is really getting interesting and the narration is wonderful.

Jen wrote: "Finished The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Yep, weird one for sure. I loved the ideas he brings up here, especially the spin on colonization being a draft, rather than sending people who want to go. I really enjoyed the writing. The story itself was so weird. I did like how he played with reality and the reading experience of not being sure what was real. Very psychedelic."

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on that one. I really enjoy PKD and have read a few of his novels but haven't yet read Three Stigmata. I did just read the short story "The Days of Perky Pat" which is in the collection The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4: The Minority Report and in the notes section PKD mentions that he used some of Perky Pat in Three Stigmata.

Yes, Perky Pat is a part of The Three Stigmata. The universe of PKD is a strange place indeed.

I'm reading Four Novels of the 1960s, which is a really great collection. I've read PKD before but didn't get it. I realized that I've kinda mixed up Vonnegut & PKD in my mind... I always thought Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was a Vonnegut novel for some reason. Reading these novels together gives an idea of the context in which they were written. Good stuff. I'm having a hard time reading anything else.

My motivation for beginning Three Stigmata was because John Lennon told PKD that he & Yoko enjoyed it (as stated in the chronology in the back of this collection).

The updated Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, read by Eddie Redmayne.

I've almost finished reading "The eyes of Heisenberg". It reminds me a lot of the Dune books. I'm a little sorry that I settled for the translated version. Still it's very entertaining and I like the themes. I plan to read Frankenstein when I'm finished.

After a bunch of book club reads, I read Mira's Last Dance (★★★★☆) by Lois McMaster Bujold, the new novella in her "Penric & Desdemona" sub-series. It was very silly but good fun.

My reading time has been pretty light lately, but thankfully my audiobook time hasn't. It doesn't hurt that my last 3 books were all really good too.

Fields of Fire - Fronlines continues to be excellent, though I didn't quite enjoy this one as much as the last one. ★★★★☆ - My Review

Going Rogue - The Spells, Swords & Stealth series is a ton of fun, and this is my favorite book yet. ★★★★☆ - My Review

Sins of Empire - An excellent start to a new trilogy in the Powder Mage series. ★★★★★ - My Review

starting on The Man in the High Castle and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Jen wrote: "Yes, Perky Pat is a part of The Three Stigmata. The universe of PKD is a strange place indeed.

I'm reading Four Novels of the 1960s, which is a really great collection. I've read PKD before but didn't get it. I realized that I've kinda mixed up Vonnegut & PKD in my mind... I always thought Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was a Vonnegut novel for some reason. Reading these novels together gives an idea of the context in which they were written. Good stuff. I'm having a hard time reading anything else.

My motivation for beginning Three Stigmata was because John Lennon told PKD that he & Yoko enjoyed it (as stated in the chronology in the back of this collection)."

I love those Library of America volumes. I've read three of the four novels in that collection (everything but Three Stigmata) and they are all terrific but in completely different ways. Ubik was my most recent read. I think I'll try to re-read Do Androids Dream... before the Blade Runner sequel hits theaters later this year. I'm stoked they got Denis Villenueve to direct it - I've really enjoyed all of his films so far.

I haven't read any Vonnegut but if his stuff is anything like PKD I'll have to move him up in the TBR pile. And I didn't know anything about the John and Yoko connection to Three Stigmata either. Thanks Jen!

Randy wrote: "I think I'll try to re-read Do Androids Dream... before the Blade Runner sequel hits theaters later this year...."

I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? a couple of months ago and saw Blade Runner last week. They are both great but except for the names of the characters and the central conflict concerning android mortality there seems to be little similarity between the two. The film is so 1980s electro-punk dystopia!
I am looking forward to the sequel.

I just finished Night and The Color of Magic, and I'm a few chapters into The Golem and the Jinni. I'm also about to start The Three-Body Problem after a super long wait, so hopefully I can finish it before it expires!

collected the three-body problem from library last weekend - must get it started soon

Wow, Stephanie, those are four well-respected books in very different genres! Good luck and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on them. Especially on how it went reading them all together!

I finished Kushiel's Dart which I've been told I needed to read since it came out fourteen years ago and...meh. It was pretty, but the author ran out of steam about halfway through, so the really cool war parts of the book were just a yawn for me. For my money, Juliet Marillier still writes better historical romance, and Sharon Shinn writes cooler weird-culture-fantasy-with-romance-subplot books.

And for most of my money, I just don't love books about sex and romantic feelings! So, you can imagine my exaggerated sigh when I flipped over the second book on my list, Legend, and one of the reviewers calls it a "romantic thriller YA novel."

Ah well. It is much shorter, and the set up so far is familiar, so it's kind of a nice break, even if I can't seem to catch one on romantic plots.

My review of Three Slices by Kevin Hearne and others.

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

Andy wrote: "starting on The Man in the High Castle and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Ooh, interesting combination. First time for both?

Allison wrote: "...Sharon Shinn writes cooler weird-culture-fantasy-with-romance-subplot books..."

I love Sharon Shinn's Samaria series. Very original and creative.

Finished The Turn of the Screw (weirder than I remembered) and No Fear Or Favour (a "cozy" British version of a police procedural, perhaps? Very enjoyable).

Then returned to John Farris' Scare Tactics, which i have to say was disappointing if one is expecting horror, but fine if one is expecting suspense with the occasional soupcon of supernatural.

Then zipped through Talking About Detective Fiction, which was light but great fun and gave me eight or ten new authors to check out.

Next up: hm, I'm really not sure...

Allison wrote: "Wow, Stephanie, those are four well-respected books in very different genres! Good luck and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on them. Especially on how it went reading them all together!

I finis..."

Thanks Allison! Haha, yes they are. I'm kind of at the mercy of whenever my ebooks come in from being on hold, so I do the best I can with whatever I have at the time. The Golem and the Jinni I actually found in print at the library here, so I'm excited to have a break from the ebooks, too.

Night has been my favorite that I've read so far this year, though of course it is quite grim. I've been meaning to read it for years so I'm glad I finally finished it. The Color of Magic was a complete 180 in tone and is less my style, but I still enjoyed it.

Oh, I love Marillier! I really like Shinn, too, but I haven't read as many of her works. I'll have to get back to some of those.

I can relate to the YA romantic thrillers getting tiresome. I remember Legend being a quick read for me but I wasn't interested enough to finish the series.

Michele wrote: "Andy wrote: "starting on The Man in the High Castle and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Ooh, interesting combination. First time for both?"

yes, one for myself, and one parallel reading with eldest

Stephanie wrote: "Allison wrote: "Wow, Stephanie, those are four well-respected books in very different genres! Good luck and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on them. Especially on how it went reading them all to..."

We read Night in school and it still stays with me. Wonderful, haunting book.

Marillier may write the only books I read for the relationship, but I just adore her writing style! Shinn I haven't read in years, but the two or three worlds of her I delved into were each very enjoyable. I agree with Michele--Samaria was really interesting.

Not normally a YA reader, I was intrigued enough (because there aren't many fantasy novels set in Australia) to pick up Songlines by Aussie author Carolyn Denman.

Ryan wrote: "Not normally a YA reader, I was intrigued enough (because there aren't many fantasy novels set in Australia) to pick up Songlines by Aussie author Carolyn Denman."

I enjoyed that one Ryan