SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

@Anna: oh that's new! Last time we were talking about it it wasn't available here. I have to have a closer look tomorrow, but my first scroll through the English SFF titles showed very little that would be of interest for me :(.

@Beth: it's such a fun! So far I managed to put all the books I've read at least into two different challenges.

The past week I finished a few books.

I finished my first book for the Australian Author 2020 Challenge - Time Future. I really liked it. So much that I'm considering not donating it. lol.

I finished the first book and side story in The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson - it's not good IMO. Like reading a Michael Bay film? The hot girl is even named Megan.

I finished The Hobbit and Rendezvous with Rama from my 2019 reads. Not particularly impressed by The Hobbit - it is a classic and I guess they had their writing style back then. Rendezvous with Rama was funny - big dumb object trope.

I reread Penric's Demon, which was really lighthearted and fun - not what I was looking for when I asked for Demonic possession stories, but I liked it.

And I finished The City and The City on NY Day. It was great.

I finished:


Fire Watch by Connie Willis
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2019 Edition edited by Rich Horton

I finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January tonight and absolutely loved everything about it. I’m going to miss January. Definitely going to be 1 of my five nominees for Hugo award for best novel.

Starting Beneath the Sugar Sky, the third book in the Wayward Children series. Seanan McGuire is a must read author for me and her Wayward Children books are some of my favorites.

Recently finished A Feast For Crows, the 4th in the asoiaf series, weakest of the first 4 books in my opinion, lots more additions to the story, still a good read overall though, here is a link to my review, though A Storm Of Swords is still my favourite.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just started Ninth House today and am super hyped for it. Leigh Bardugo is one of my favourite authors ^-^

Coraline, I feel like starting the year with City and the City means you'll have a year of mind-bending haha

RJ, I'll be curious how the 2019 holds up!

Carolyn, I've just started 10k Doors and so far think it's lovely.

Don, are you re-reading for fun or do you know something we don't?

Sarina, let us know how it goes!!

I just finished Isadora from the chronicles of Kaya (which broke my heart) and just started reading Children of Virtue and Vengeance. I'm also looking forward to emeber Queen and a whole list of books that are being released this year. Yep it's gonna be a great year, I think.

I went out of my usual reading habit and read The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen by Elizabeth von Arnim. I found it on my late mother's book shelf, I love Ruegen and I wanted to start reading more classics anyway. So I went for it.
Such a cute and lovely travelogue! It is set at the beginning of the last century and the author is caught between emancipation and appreciation of the established patriarchal system in her musings. She comments sometimes naive, sometimes sharp eyed on society and her own doings. I had so much fun with this little book and I had to laugh so often about the way she portrayed her mishaps that it is a perfect entry for the "LOL IRL" prompt of our TBR challenge.

I already bought more of her books for quiet evening reads.

@Gabi, just added Adventures of Elizabeth to my TBR list as it sounds enchanting. Just beginning The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders. Some of the reviewers mention that it has notes of Ursula Le Guin and/or Philip Pullman. Definitely has me drawn in with the first 39 pages. Hoping it might be Hugo-nomination worthy. I adored her book All the Birds in the Sky so I have high hopes for this one!

Taking this out of the 2020 TBR challenge, I've decided that i will continue on with The Complete works of Jane Austen. I had finished Pride and Prejudice as part of the 2020 TBR Challenge and loved it, then I started on Sense and Sensibility and bogged down and wondered if it was worth continuing on with this huge volume. I'm happy to report that I'm now enjoying the second book.

Also reading The Book of Taltos and am almost done with the first book in the two book compilation: Taltos. I'm loving this series. Loiosh is hilarious. BTW, I'm reading them in publication order, not timeline order.

I've been slacking off on my reviews for the last 2 months and had 19 to do (albeit that nearly half of those were volumes 1-8 of The Boys), but as I was doing my review of 2019, I figured it was time for me to catch up them before I could no longer remember what I thought about them.

Rather than inundating you with a huge list and a bunch of links, I figured I'd highlight some of the best reads out of the bunch. If people really want to read all my reviews that's easy enough to do.

The top read had to be The Burning White. After an up and down series, I feel like Mr. Weeks really stuck the landing with this book. Unlike my opinion on his Night Angel series. - ★★★★★ - (My Review)

I also really enjoyed Starsight, but not quite as much as Skyward. After how much I didn't enjoy the Reckoners I've been pleasantly surprised to see I can still enjoy some of Brandon Sanderson's non-cosmere stuff. It continues to be a fun series and I'm looking forward to the next book. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

And more recently and my first book of 2020, I read The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies. I've been trying to read more non-fiction and I love the history of computers and related subjects like this (cryptography). This is one of those books that proves the life can be more unbelievable than fiction. - ★★★★☆ - (My Review)

There were others than I enjoyed but after writing 19 reviews today, I'm kind of tired of writing about books.

Dang Rob! Tsk tsk lol

I keep meaning to try Lightbringer. Maybe this is the year!

Rob wrote: "The top read had to be The Burning White. After an up and down series, I feel like Mr. Weeks really stuck the landing with this book. Unlike my opinion on his Night Angel series."

I had the opposite reaction to the two series. I enjoyed the Night Angel series, but had problems making it through the Lightbringer series. I read two of them and totally gave up on the rest of the series.

I liked the first book in Night Angel, but got angrier and angrier with the series as it went on. I thought Lightbringer got better as it went on, though sometimes it would revert back to the stuff that annoyed me in his other books.

Rob wrote: "I liked the first book in Night Angel, but got angrier and angrier with the series as it went on. I thought Lightbringer got better as it went on, though sometimes it would revert back to the stuff..."

If the Night Angel books become *worse* then I would... I don’t even know what I would do. It seems unfathomable to me. That first book was so bad I almost couldn’t believe it wasn’t a parody.

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

Quoting myself:

“Durzo Blint” doesn’t inspire fear, it sounds like a failed pastry on the Great British Baking Show. “The assignment was to make a French Apple Tart, but I burned one side while the center was cold. It came out a right durzo blint, it did.”

I try not to spam, but I gotta say, we have roughly 3 days left of the polls and things are pretty wacky. The scifi book with the lead is less than 10 votes ahead, and the fantasy book in the lead is 11 ahead with a dead tie for the runner up book, which as you'll remember, informs our poll for December every year.

So y'all can still play kingmaker on all fronts, whether that's voting or changing your vote.

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...

With so few SF books by women on the shelf I hope a late surge earns Annalee Newitz her first entry.

#Queenmaker

love it! :D

I finished reading The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. I am reading Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey. I plan to read East of Eden by John Steinbeck next.

Rob wrote: "I liked the first book in Night Angel, but got angrier and angrier with the series as it went on. I thought Lightbringer got better as it went on, though sometimes it would revert back to the stuff..."

I gave the first Night Angel book two stars and vowed not to bother with the rest of the series. I never got past him calling a band of assassins Wetboys. I did enjoy the Lightbringer series though especially The Burning White. How did the same guy write both of those books?

I started two series:

His Majesty's Dragon was kind of cute, but felt so simplistic in writing and characters that I will end this series with book 1.

Shards of Honor felt a lot more mature and dealt with uncomfortable topics while simultaneously presenting an authentic flawed and still strong mc. Even though a promising beginning of exploration SF soon turned into the usual political one I want to try some other books from this series.

I'm still reading His Dark Materials with my boys, but I seem to be the odd one out here. I have no use for Pullman's often overly melodramatic prose (especially the dialogues). Hanging in there for my boys (or better boy, cause the younger one would like to stop listening due to some graphic brutal scenes)

I am currently reading the first book of Lightbringer The Black Prism, but I'm not yet sure what to make of it. General opinions seem to be quite divided...

I did enjoy Night Angel when I read it, but it was at a time where I was just glad if I got my hands on a fantasy novel. I remember nothing at all about it.

Phrynne wrote: "I never got past him calling a band of assassins Wetboys"

you'd better be mad at the US government too then:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wet_boy

this musical group:

https://thewetboys.bandcamp.com/

unless both of them stole the term from Week's Night Ange series

I mean, I kind of am mad at all three of them personally lol

I haven't heard wet boys. I've heard wet work, and I could imagine someone saying 'get some wet boys on it,' but not anyone choosing that as a group name, unless they're *listens* a frog throated Southern rock-indie band lol

sorry

:-(

CBRetriever wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "I never got past him calling a band of assassins Wetboys"

you'd better be mad at the US government too then:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wet_boy

.."

I’d never heard the term before that book and that’s something I *definitely* would’ve run across. A black ops killing is frequently called wetwork, but no one is douchey enough to call them “wetboys”.

Gabi wrote: "I started two series:

His Majesty's Dragon was kind of cute, but felt so simplistic in writing and characters that I will end this series with book 1.

Shards of Honor felt a lot more mature..."

I liked that book but thought it was weaker than others in the Vorkosigan series, earning just 3 stars when most of the rest were 4s and 5s. So I would recommend continuing on. I listened to all of the audiobooks last spring, so I basically binged the entire series over just a couple months.

Gabi wrote: "I'm still reading His Dark Materials with my boys, but I seem to be the odd one out here. I have no use for Pullman's often overly melodramatic prose (especially the dialogues). Hanging in there for my boys (or better boy, cause the younger one would like to stop listening due to some graphic brutal scenes)"

I don't think you are the odd one out. I've been reading/listening to the series at a rate of a book a year (will finish the series this year). Though interesting, I confess I don't understand the overall appeal...especially as a children's book. YMMV

Haha not mad at you, Chessie! I am going to sit them all down and have a serious talk about the importance of branding is all.

I didn't like His Dark Materials or Temeraire either. Halfway through The Night Circus (audiobook) currently and it's looking like a fairly solid 4 star read.

I'm currently reading Unfettered with another group.

2 of the stories so far have been decent. Otherwise I'm reminded why short story anthologies are not my bag...

I finally read The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard. What I liked most was the characterization of the protagonists.

See my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finally read The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard. The characterization of the protagonists was what I liked most.

See my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Allison wrote: "I mean, I kind of am mad at all three of them personally lol

I haven't heard wet boys. I've heard wet work, and I could imagine someone saying 'get some wet boys on it,' but not anyone choosing th..."

Maybe they are like the guy in the Dies the Fire series. He wanted everyone to know he was evil so he chose a banner that had a single red eye? Nothing like making a statement from time to time.

Ha!

Monica wrote: "Gabi wrote: "I'm still reading His Dark Materials with my boys, but I seem to be the odd one out here. I have no use for Pullman's often overly melodramatic prose (especially the dialogues). Hangin..."

I found that each progressive book lost more and more of my interest. I haven't gone out and looked for anything else that he might have written since reading the trilogy.

Dj wrote: "I found that each progressive book lost more and more of my interest. I haven't gone out and looked for anything else that he might have written since reading the trilogy. "

I really wanted to read his Philip Pullman's Grimm Tales but the format of the kindle book was jagged right edge and I just couldn't do it. That format gives me the jitters.

I just started Hell Divers, I am almost two hours in and it's really promising. I like it.

Dj wrote: "I found that each progressive book lost more and more of my interest. I haven't gone out and looked for anything else that he might have written since reading the trilogy. "

I was not entirely enthralled by Pullman's His Dark Materials but I loved La Belle Sauvage which is about Lyra as a baby. It is beautifully atmospheric. I have the next book The Secret Commonwealth waiting and I am hoping it will be as good.

reading "The Mountain Man" by Keith Blackmon. the author's work is DARK, gory horror, they main character gives off a Robinson Crusoe vibe while battling the zombies.

Finished The Institute. It definitely gave me an old-school, late seventies Stephen King vibe. Really liked it. Amazing that he survived his drug binge in the 80's, being hit by a truck later, and is still prolifically cranking out such quality material so many decades later.

Started Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence. Loved The Broken Empire trilogy. Thought the series got stronger as it progressed, so I've been looking forward to more Lawrence, especially since this is set in a different part of the same world as the earlier trilogy.

CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "I found that each progressive book lost more and more of my interest. I haven't gone out and looked for anything else that he might have written since reading the trilogy. "

I really wa..."

Is it a reimagining of the original Grimm's or did he open it up and create something new?

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version is more of a cleaned up version with commentary

CBRetriever wrote: "Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version is more of a cleaned up version with commentary"

Hmm, I tend to shy away from such things, although after reading Gaiman's Norse Gods I might have to change my thinking on that for a bit.

Winterfella wrote: "Finished The Institute. It definitely gave me an old-school, late seventies Stephen King vibe. Really liked it. Amazing that he survived his drug binge in the 80's, being hit by a t..."

The Institute was my first book of this year, I absolutely loved it and am now keen to read Firestarter, as I believe this was one of the inspirations behind the TV series Stranger Things, which The Institute put me in mind of. That was a long-winded way around saying that I am planning a Stephen King binge for this year!

Have just finished Duma Key which I also really enjoyed, and have moved on to Elevation next. I have quite a few more on my TBR pile, and I'm wondering what would happen if I just read Stephen King all year? Would there be any adverse effects?!

I'm reading Von Bek by Michael Moorcock. I finished the first story but have taken a break to read Horus Rising by Dan Abnett because I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review. The Warhammer 40K universe the most grim dark of grim dark universes. It's my first Warhammer 40K book so lets see how it works out. After that I'll finish the other book.

Lizzie wrote: Have just finished Duma Key which I also really enjoyed, and have moved on to Elevation next. I have quite a few more on my TBR pile, and I'm wondering what would happen if I just read Stephen King all year? Would there be any adverse effects?!

Firestarter is great, probably the most similar of his work to The Institute. I also really liked Duma Key. Elevation was alright, short and not much substance. Hmm, a year of Stephen King. I think that would be cool. I've been burned out on authors before though just reading 2 or 3 in a row, but King just has this friendly authorial voice that makes you feel like he's just an old friend telling you a story. Would be interesting to try, and King has so much back catalog that it's doable, even for me who's read a lot of King over the years. Favorites would be The Talisman, The Stand and The Shining.

Winterfella wrote: "Would be interesting to try, and King has so much back catalog that it's doable, even for me who's read a lot of King over the years. Favorites would be The Talisman, The Stand and The Shining.."

I will keep you updated with how long I last! The Talisman is also on my TBR, and The Stand I read in my late teens so feel due a re-read.