SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hot Dogs, Hot Cats: A MUTTS Treasury by Patrick McDonnell

I’ve finished Doors of Eden and now aimlessly wandering again. Feel like I need a reset after Recursion and Doors of Eden back to back. Don’t wanna burn out on the similarities of theme. Maybe go off my usual genre, something easy short light. A snack! I need a snack read.

Currently reading Skyward, and while it is definitely YA, it’s really good YA. The character development of Spensa is completely on point, and this book feels so heart-filled. I love it so far (about 380 pages in)

@Xavaqenia: agreed! Skyward is fantastic!

Hooray I finally have Before Mars from the library! It's already super creepy and intriguing.

Chomping through more recs for epic fantasy that will sweep me away.

Lion of Senet I had high hopes for but so far almost all of the characters are terrible people who are cool doing terrible things to others in a way that makes me concerned about the tone of the story. Pbbbt

The Queen's Poisoner was like if Wheel of Time and the Farseer books had an 8 year old. Not bad, not great, pretty easy to read but didn't transport me either.

I have The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper between books, as it's a series of connected short stories. Muriel the menopausal phoenix made me laugh out loud.

Allison wrote: "Muriel the menopausal phoenix"

Muriel is great! ^_^

Allison wrote: "Muriel the menopausal phoenix"

That's awesome! :-D Wait, except that phoenixes are birds and birds don't get their periods and also don't get menopause... I think I'm overthinking this! Let's just go with it.

In terms of not finding good epic fantasy: Cage of Souls maybe? Too scifi? Tad Williams also writes gorgeous, sweeping books, so if you have the time for a chunkster I'd recommend him, especially Shadowmarch. Or if you want a story about a farmer getting kidnapped and his wife and children setting out on a big quest to save him, try the Raven's Shadow duology. But it's always hard to reliably predict what someone will love.

I'm almost done reading The Poppy War and I think it'll be a 3 star - some cool stuff such as their version of Azkaban and smart talking about strategy, but no actual implementation of any smart strategy in the actual war. The anti-hero/villain protagonist was well done: I still really cared about Rin despite of disagreeing with all of her decisions.

Also buddy-reading The Engines of God which so far is just good sci-fi fun with alien ruins, brainy people, and lots of last-minute rescues etc. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not on the edge of my seat so far.

Next up I'd like to re-read the first half of Oathbringer and then finally finish it so that I can join all the Rhythm of War BRs going on - really looking forward to it despite of the length. :-)

Just finished "The Thief" by Megan Whalen Turner. It was very good 5 stars. I plucked the title off of this thread, !score! Someone compared it to Guy Gavriel Kay and I blew out some air and though we'll see about that personally, I did and it's a legitimate comparison in my opinion. The prose isn't as elegant as Kay but the story telling element is comparable. I most certainly will continue the series.

Just picked up "Mystery Walk" by Robert McCammon, it's very good so far as one could expect from McCammon.

Recently finished "The Black Prism" by Brent Weeks and found that I wasn't for me. There was promise, there was creativity but there was some weak execution on some of the POV characters that caused some head scratching and eye rolling. I'd heard comparisons to Brandon Sanderson being made and to that I say: a creative magic system, yes. BUT Brandon Sanderson never, ever screws up POV characters, the reader is never confused about why a character did what they did.

My review of Instinct by Jason M. Hough

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

Don wrote: "Recently finished "The Black Prism" by Brent Weeks and found that I wasn't for me. There was promise, there was creativity but there was some weak execution on some of the POV characters that cause..."

Not for me either. I almost didn't finish it. Gave The Black Prism two stars.

Phoenix's are supernatural beasts, I'm not sure standard bird rules would apply.

They make jokes in the book, it's quite funny. I keep hearing Tad Williams. He's on my list but I've heard such contradictory starting points I've been sort of paralyzed. Also his author profile here isn't really encouraging me.

Allison wrote: "They make jokes in the book, it's quite funny. I keep hearing Tad Williams. He's on my list but I've heard such contradictory starting points I've been sort of paralyzed. Also his author profile he..."

Tad Williams, like Adrian Tchaikovsky writes in different genres both with and w/o humor.

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series = epic fantasy
Shadowmarch series = ditto
Osten Ard (series but not yet complete) = ditto
Bobby Dollar = humor and devils and angels and lawyers and a bit noir
Tail Chaser's Song (standalone) = fantasy with cat characters
OTherland = SciFi with the internet and virtual worlds and as two of the main characters a Bushman and a South African teacher

I started with Memory, Sorrow and Thorn

@Allison: what is it about Tad Williams ' profile that's discouraging you? The exaggerated praise?
I wish I could say more about him. I've read his "Shadowmarch" series and liked it more than ASoIaF (but that could very well be cause Williams managed to finish his series. There are some similarities of content in those two) and I was utterly fascinated by "Otherland", cause it was the first time that I've read such a complex and epic SF series. BUT both reads were decades ago and I have no idea how I would perceive them nowadays or if I would them recommend to you.

Yeah, I get a bit hipster when I'm overhyped--especially if the person doing the hyping is the creator. I go from "openminded" to "prove it" and tend to be in the wrong headspace for embarking on an epic and magical journey. But I do keep hearing his name so I ought to allow him to prove it, I think.

I'd recommend starting with The Dragonbone Chair for Tad Williams

Don wrote: "Phoenix's are supernatural beasts, I'm not sure standard bird rules would apply."

Maybe the Phoenix is like the platypus of the bird world?

CBRetriever wrote: "I'd recommend starting with The Dragonbone Chair for Tad Williams"

I have read that series and really enjoyed it. Haven't read anything else by the author though so can't say anything in regards to his other work.

Dj wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "I'd recommend starting with The Dragonbone Chair for Tad Williams"

I have read that series and really enjoyed it. Haven't read anything else by the author though s..."

Shadowmarch is good and in the same genre. The Bobby Dollar ones, I enjoyed but were quite different

Finished reading The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie. I am reading Provenance by Ann Leckie. I plan to read No One's Home by D.M. Pulley next.

A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 1 by Mochinchi

Just finished Harrow the Ninth. What did I just read? I enjoyed it. I really did. For more than 2/3 of it I was wondering WTF was going on though. Anyhoo bring on Alecto the Ninth. 4 very confused ⭐️

Allison wrote: "Yeah, I get a bit hipster when I'm overhyped--especially if the person doing the hyping is the creator. I go from "openminded" to "prove it" and tend to be in the wrong headspace for embarking on a..."

Lol, yeah, that must have been a marketing person who wrote that, not the author himself. When he introduces himself he does it very differently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loGKy...

Most of his books are serious, not humorous. Dragonbone Chair's pacing at the start was a little too slow for teenage me, so I unfortunately haven't read that series - it's the most traditional, with creatures similar to elves etc. Shadowmarch has siblings as protagonists and creepy fae, and is a bit dark, gothic in tone and atmosphere - I loved this series and would like to reread it to see if I still love it as much now. Otherland: if you read Ready Player One and wished it had more worldbuilding, substance and diversity (in terms of race, culture, nationality, disability, world-view, etc.), and less pop culture references, then this would be a good series I think (if you want SF/Fantasy).

Starting Deeplight - I hope this one is a quick read!

Thanks Eva!

Silvana, can't wait to hear your thoughts--I loved Deeplight!

No Dj, not platypuses at all.

I've just started and so excited to finally read the conclusion to this trilogy, but I've definitely forgotten a lot of what happened in the last book haha. I feel like books released so far apart should include recaps. Save me having to do so many re-reads haha

Other than that, though, it still picks up traction fast enough and I'm already enjoying being back in this world.

Finished the 10 book Malazan series. Wow, What an ending and like real life it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and there were, like in real life, open endings for some characters. I started reading the series in April and read it alongside other books. it was totally worth reading.

A Witch's Printing Office, Vol. 2 by Mochinchi

Runner-Up polls are up! They open on November 1st, but since there are ten books instead of five, maybe you need some extra time to ponder which one to vote for?

CBRetriever wrote: "Dj wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "I'd recommend starting with The Dragonbone Chair for Tad Williams"

I have read that series and really enjoyed it. Haven't read anything else by the auth..."

Thanks, I will give them a look.

I wasn't planning on it but ended up reading both The Philosopher's Flight and The Philosopher's War. Interesting magic system with a gender dynamic.

I don't think you should ask that question unless you're passing a joint

Just started The Dead Zone. It’s my first Stephen King.

The above is a quote by Lisa Feldman-Barrett, a scientist who received a question that was too metaphysical for her taste.

Diane, The Dead Zone is dark and a bit sad but excellent. I hope you enjoy it.

I’m about 20% through SEMIOSIS by Sue Burke and it’s interesting, structurally and dramatically. Very ecological, sociological sci-fi.

Started The Return of the Incredible Exploding Man by Dave Hutchinson. Various reviews have suggested it's good, old-fashioned pulp, which sounds just right for me at the moment! Have enjoyed his "Europe" books and am looking forward to getting into this one.

So while this book isn't really in the scope of the group I did enjoy it. Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

Here is my review:

I know I have said this before and I will most likely say it again. I am not a big fan of first-person memories of the war. With that said I was happily surprised that this was such a fine read. Colonel Luck starts before the war and discusses his training, but as with most of the book, he doesn't detail what he is doing involving the Army as much as what he is doing and who he is meeting outside of the basics of what is going on. All through the book he generally gives shortness of scope of the military actions he is involved in. It isn't until you get to Normandy that he gives much attention to the actual battles, but even then he talks quite a bit about what is going on with others than with himself and he is still talking about others, ranging from other Army Officers, Friends both French and German. So it is much more a look at the psychology of the people at the time and less a description of military battles.

His outlook is very interesting, he generally has nothing bad to say about most individuals and doesn't really have anything bad to say about them. There are exceptions, but they are a rarity. Even then it doesn't sound as if he is trying to cover anything up. He comes off as a generally decent human being.

He also touches on Rommel's change of heart with Hitler. He never states that Rommel would have or was involved in the plot to bring Hitler down, but it is clear from what Luck writes that Rommel felt that the war was lost and it was Hitler's fault.

He doesn't just stop with the war itself. He continues on through his experiences as a Prisoner of War in Russia and about his run to life when he returns to Germany 13 years later.

All in all, it is one of the very good self-written books about the author's experience during the war. I highly recommend it.

Started Goldilocks about 30% in and really liking it.

I've started listening to The Girl in the Tower and have been pulled right back into the story started in The Bear and the Nightingale. Excellent narration.

I'm 1/3 of the way through The Man in the High Castle and very little has happened so far. I've already thrown out the idea that the show is going to be anything like the book other than a basic concept with a loose outline.

I just finished Fatemarked. It's like Game of Thrones with kingdoms similarly attacking each other and racing to the top, but with an added variable to the story - individuals that are branded or marked with skin art that defines a special, unique power they are granted form the gods. Several characters in the book have these markings and their stories develop in hopes of connecting at the end to bring the land of constant warring to peace.

The world is well developed along with the story. The main characters have strong stories, but start with emptiness that is later filled in with postludes of certain characters and adds tremendous value to the story. The only issue is the story doesn't really end and this could be that it is the first story of five and instead of an ending it is really a cliffhanger, although weak, for the next story.

I finished The Dawnhounds last night, which makes one more for "Read All the Books"!

The spoiler thread seems to be in agreement about it, so I'm interested in seeing if others in the zoom chat have different opinions.

Double post to say whee, both of my votes for book of the month ended up being winners! I've already got the fantasy on order so that'll come first.

bought the latest from John Conroe, it was a set of short stories that add into the main story line, reminded me of several scenes from the main books.

so you may have guessed this , i have had to go back and re read the series . oh well i do so enjoy the way they are written and i can skim the descriptive parts

Starting Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

A couple of nights ago I started Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor. I really like Rick Riordan’s books and this is yet another rollicking adventure through the world of Gods and Demigods. I read the first one, Sword of Summer, ages ago and picked up Hammer of Thor in a second hand bookshop for a few dollars recently and when stumped about what to read next after finishing Harrow the Ninth the other day picked it randomly out of the bookcase. Not only is the action fun but Rick puts in some great one liners.

I’ve read all of the Percy Jackson ones over the years and now I’m onto Magnus Chase. Just got to read the Apollo ones eventually I suppose.

I suppose they would be classed as MG books but I tend to think of them as “all age” books. They’re appropriate for kids but adults can really enjoy them too. And should read them if you ask me. They’re not kids books even though they are written for kids to be able to read.

who's got the Cargo and why?