The Sword and Laser discussion

I want to do a poll for June, and was thinking it might be fun to pick something new in fantasy to read.

Suggestions?

The Poppy War

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (d'oh, Brendan beat me)

Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick

Poppy War was going on the list for sure! We also have an extra copy in Lem's Library that's still available.

My first thought was “leap unseen into a debut book”... but then realized I’ve had bad luck with those lately. So I guess The Poppy War is as good as any.

Although I thought Jade City was great. It’s like The Godfather meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

My not-entirely-serious suggestion is Of Mice and MacKays. Vampire-staking fun set in a Santa Barbara winery.

But being more serious, The Woodcutter by the same author (Kate Danley)is some pretty good hero's-journey fantasy. Includes a great sequence with Odin and the Dogs of War.

I second Jade City!

Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon!

Sean wrote: "Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon!"

A middle-aged man with only one passion in his life meets a fitting end in a traffic accident. That's where most stories would end, but instead, this is when his story begins when he's reborn as what he admired the most in life...

Might be veering into familiar territory with this one! 😆

Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr please!

Circe is just recently published, has good reviews and is selling well. And it's a stand alone :)

Theft of Swords so the voters can be Lucy to Charlie ( Rob) again.

How about The Armored Saint by Myke Cole?

The Bear and the Nightingale sounds interesting. It's up for the Locus Award for First Novel.

The blurb name drops Uprooted, the Night Circus, and Gaiman.

I would definitely be up for reading Circe - I’ve just bought the hardback and it’s gorgeous (what do you mean I shouldn’t judge by the cover?!?)
I’d also be up for Jade City.

Stephen wrote: "Theft of Swords so the voters can be Lucy to Charlie ( Rob) again."

LOL. Thanks.

If we're limiting suggestions to new stuff, Jade City is a good option.

I liked Armored Saint, but it's a novella and super short. I'm not sure how much there is to discuss. I'd almost rather wait until all 3 novellas are released and read them all together.

Red Sister is pretty new (came out last year) and I loved that book. The second book just came out a month ago and the final book is due out next year.

Rob wrote: "I liked Armored Saint, but it's a novella and super short."

At 206 pages it's longer than this month's pick ;P

One of the reviews I read called it a "slim novel" that left the reviewer wanting more.

I'm a little confused with Tor's current publishing trend for novelas. I've enjoyed all that I've read, but I often don't realize that I'm buying a short book.

Fair Point. Although I think my copy of this month's pick says it's 240 pages.

But, yeah. I didn't know Armored Saint was a novella when I bought it.

SFF books seem to have gotten much longer since the days when this month's pick was first published. I guess I'm just used to books being 300+ pages (and often 500+ pages).

Michele wrote: "Circe is just recently published, has good reviews and is selling well. And it's a stand alone :)"

I read this a couple of weeks ago and it's great! Beautifully written and you don't need any greek mythology knowledge to enjoy it.

ISFDB lists "The Armored Saint" as a novel, and some of the reviews I see call it a "short novel."

A novella is typically defined as between 17,500 & 40,000 words, though awards may allow some wiggle room if you're within a margin (for example, Kai Ashante Wilson's "The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps" was the first book published by Tor.com, but it's technically like 43,000 words or something.)

My copy of "Wylding Hall" by Elizabeth Hand is also considered a short novel, and it's at like 46,000 words.

I would say that if you see a book being published by Tor.com (the .com is IMPORTANT), there's a good chance it's a novella--Tor itself does not published any novellas in print. That said, Tor.com has several books that aren't novellas or short books, such as Malka Older's Infomocracy series or Ruthanna Emrys's Innsmouth Legacy series--my hardcover copy of "Winter Tide" for instance is 350 pages with no funky formatting games.

How about Child of a Mad God by R. A. Salvatore?

Rob wrote: "Fair Point. Although I think my copy of this month's pick says it's 240 pages."

I'm reading a copy of the DAW paperback edition of Night's Master, which is 188 pages with a small font. Page counts are meaningless in the age of ebooks, I guess. We need a word count for every book to estimate reading time.

It has an OrcaMancer. A woman who rides an orca and has a pet polar bear. It's tagged as both fantasy and sci-fi.

I usually recommend a certain Jasper Fforde book but I'm going to recommend a different one of his books just for an excuse to read it again. This time I'm recommending Shades of Grey, not to be confused with an awful book series that has been turned into a likewise horrible movie series.

For those mentioning Circe, the same author's first book The Song of Achilles is on sale for $1.99 and is pretty good early on (I just started it).

Mark wrote: "I'm reading a copy of the DAW paperback edition of Night's Master, which is 188 pages with a small font. Page counts are meaningless in the age of ebooks, I guess. We need a word count for every book to estimate reading time.
t...."

FYI, Night's Master is a shade over 74k words according to my ereader app, Marvin.

Rick wrote: "For those mentioning Circe, the same author's first book The Song of Achilles is on sale for $1.99 and is pretty good early on (I just started it)."

Its damn good all the way through...

Rivers of London for something a little more grounded than this months book (and a lot more fun).

PS new is less than 10 years old :-)

Song of Achilles is currently leading this month's Vaginal Fantasy poll FWIW

OK, I think I've got some ideas now! Don't be mad at me if yours wasn't picked. I love all of you.