SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Don wrote: "Disney is going to make Megan Whalen Turner's "The Thief"
It should be awesome !"

Really?! That would be awesome! Well, as long as they stick to the actual books. Disney may have trouble with all of the twists, nuances and subtlety. I guess we'll see. Thanks for letting us know!

I have considered the Halo books more than once; I've just never gotten to any of them yet. Too many enticing books catch my eye! I've been continuing with my Bernard Cornwell jag. Originally I had started with number 7 in the series, so I had to read through to the end and then circle back around to the beginning! I'm currently on Sharpe's Enemy .

Finally finished The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan. Excellent book but complicated and thought provoking. Now I need a light break of some sort...

CBRetriever wrote: "Finally finished The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan. Excellent book but complicated and thought provoking. Now I need a light break of some sort..."

Thanks for adding to my audio TBR. Apparently, I had gotten the book at some point in 2018 and I can get the audio on Audible for $1.99. The narrator is kind of terrible but in a way that I can ignore at faster speed. =D

I just finished More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon and it was oddly satisfying. The beginning was so abrupt, in your face and out there that I wasn't sure what to think about the story. I'd say that Sturgeon has a deft hand in creating responses from the reader and stringing you along on a surreal ride. I think this is one of the stories that are best experienced by going in blind like I did. Book format is a series of short stories in different POV's that are linked together.

I found the book while looking at SF on Audible Plus. If you're in the mood for a thought provoking story that isn't that long, I recommend this one.

that one's already in my TBR pile

Ooh Anna interested to hear what you thought of Phoenix!

I've now finished The Lathe of Heaven, which was wonderful. I want to read more Le Guin next year. I wanted to read The Dispossessed this year, but I lent my copy to a friend, and I want to read the physical copy because I don't often get that chance.

I also just finished A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, which was an excellent collection of SFF short stories based on East Asian/Southeast Asian/South Asian mythology.

Stephanie wrote: "Ooh Anna interested to hear what you thought of Phoenix!"

I enjoyed it! It wasn't my favorite YHL, that'll always be the series starting with Ninefox Gambit, but it had enough of his signature weirdness to entertain me :) I liked the focus on art, knowing that he's been into art lately (at the time of writing the book perhaps?), and also the Korean inspired culture.

I finished The Color of Magic. My first Discworld book and my last. If not for the chest/luggage with legs I would have given it one star instead of two. Lame humor, pun ridden and innuendo. Nadda for me.

Taking a breather from Gideon the Ninth to read The Thief which I'm really enjoying, breezing through it, likely done sometime this week.

woohoo!

Anna wrote: "Yes, I have it on my shelf, I just haven't gotten to it, because sometimes I don't read the ones I expect I'll like. Very sensible, reading books you know you won't like first, and saving the desse..."

(this is from quite some time ago, as usual I'm a month and change behind the discussion)

If we're talking about the group bookshelf here, I am completely unapologetic about removing books that I don't think I will like from my version of the SFFBC book list spreadsheet. At a guess I've deleted at least 20, and as many as 30 lines from it. Forget the veggies, it's all dessert in this household. :D

Beth wrote: "Forget the veggies, it's all dessert in this household."

And that's how it should be! For everyone else except me, I still plan to suffer through some of the horrid ones, when I'm in a mood to hate something :D

does anyone know about "The amazing Son-in-law Charlie Wade"?

Eric wrote: "I finished The Color of Magic. My first Discworld book and my last. If not for the chest/luggage with legs I would have given it one star instead o..."

Nice to meet another person who didn’t care for Discworld, for the same reasons.

I just started Bard, the Odyssey of the Irish, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a DNF for me. Historical fiction + romance is really not my thing. It was recommended to me as a way to learn a bit about Irish pre-history, as I am doing a virtual walk around the Ring of Kerry, but I’m way past my Michener phase, and this is not nearly as good. I’ll give it another chapter, but so far it’s very meh.

The Fate of Earth by Jeramey Kraatz

I didn't appreciate book one but I did enjoy Hogfather... I think maybe some of the books are better than others

color of magic is not really indicative of Discworld! I usually tell people not to start there because it's very "first attempt" at what later becomes much tighter in terms of jokes and satire. i didn't much care for it either but I listen to one of the later books every night now

Kate wrote: "Reading Prophecy and Change. An anthology of Star Trek DS9.

I love that there are two stories about Garak. One by Andrew Robinson and the other by Una McCormack."

Are you versed with DS9 novels? I would give my left arm (I still need the right one) for a good story with Shakaar Edon, in a positive light. - But I guess there is none out there in the professional writers sector, is there?

Kate wrote: "Gabi,

I am slowly working my way through the DS9 books and haven’t read as many as I would like.

The only books with Shakaar that I am aware of are Night of the Wolves and [book:..."

Thanks Kate, these two are two of the few I've actually read. If you stumble over one, let me know :)

Allison wrote: "color of magic is not really indicative of Discworld! I usually tell people not to start there because it's very "first attempt" at what later becomes much tighter in terms of jokes and satire. i d..."

I scanned the reviews of one in this group who has read all the Discworld books. Average review is three stars. I may try another at some point. Right now I'm into a Victorian mystery set in London in the mid-1800s. The London slang alone is worth the read. The story teller is a chimney sweep. Tom Wasp and the Murdered Stunner

Eric wrote: "I scanned the reviews of one in this group who has read all the Discworld books. Average review is three stars...."

Mine is 4.2 over 30 books (I rate while I re-read them)

And just to clarify, it's totally fine if you don't like Terry's humor or the series, but Colour of Magic is just so different (for the worse IMO) from the rest of the books I've read that if there was any moment you were like "okay, that's kind of fun" then I'd not write the whole thing off yet! But the Sapient Pearwood Luggage is definitely the highlight of CoM for me, too ^^

Gabi wrote: "Mine is 4.2 over 30 books (I rate while I re-read them)"

Good to know. Thanks!

Kevin wrote: "I didn't appreciate book one but I did enjoy Hogfather... I think maybe some of the books are better than others"

I would suspect with a series that long it would be difficult for it to be any other way. I started with Small Gods and loved it. Haven't read Hogfather only watched it. I luv's Susan

Allison wrote: "color of magic is not really indicative of Discworld! I usually tell people not to start there because it's very "first attempt" at what later becomes much tighter in terms of jokes and satire. i d..."

Makes a really good movie though.

This would make a really good movie too.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow An easy five stars!

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

Just reading Talent by Lynne Goodwin

Sparrow Knight wrote: "I’m about 4/5ths of the way through Perdido Street Station. I think this is the most exhausting book I’ve ever read. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving it, but the language is so dense, so..."
Perdido is a tough one, but looking back it's one of my favourite books. It's also hard to go back to 'normal' prose after reading Miéville's!

Soo wrote: "A highlights update on my zany reading spree. =)

I'll start with a bummer. Between the library & Audible Plus, I've tried several books by Grady Hendrix. For me, he's the type of writer that dangl..."

I'm so conflicted about Neal Stephenson. He's highly recommended as soon as you read William Gibson, but I found reading his kindle samples such a chore.

I've just finished Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl. Very hard to get into, but wow, what a world he builds. A futuristic dystopia as inventive and well-visualised as any. It's a shame, and quite surprising, that the book didn't turn into a series set in the same world.

Jake, check out our group discussions!


Perdido Street Station >> First impressions (no spoilers) | Final thoughts (spoilers)

The Windup Girl >> First impressions (no spoilers) | Final thoughts (spoilers)

I'm now reading Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton. Cripes it's a long book (977 pages). So long, that it might end up not being finished until next year...

Jake - I’m reading Ship Breaker and I think it is actually set in the same world as Windup Girl? Maybe? Definitely some similarities

Jake, I enjoy Neal Stephenson's work (overall) more than William Gibson. I don't see NS being harder to read than Gibson, Mieville or Bacigalupi.

You may want to try Snow Crash, Zodiac or The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.. Of the books I've read by NS, I consider them to be the least convoluted.

I asked a friend which book he would recommend for me to start with for SN. At the time, his fav was Seveneves. Followed by Cryptonomicon & Snow Crash. He thought Anathem was one of the harder books to read. Turns out that one was my fav of the books I've read.

I enjoyed Reamde but could not make it through the Baroque Cycle

Soo wrote: "Jake, I enjoy Neal Stephenson's work (overall) more than William Gibson. I don't see NS being harder to read than Gibson, Mieville or Bacigalupi.

You may want to try Snow Crash, [..."

I'm aware Neal Stephenson should be in my wheelhouse, but I just can't get on board with his style. I'm not going to force it.

Jake wrote: "I'm aware Neal Stephenson should be in my wheelhouse, but I just can't get on board with his style. I'm not going to force it...."

Totally can understand that. I've read Seveneves and it was a tedious info-avalanche with poor character writing. I'm dreading the next book by him (but since I'm still stubborn I have to read some more cause they were on the award-nominees-lists)

The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer was a lot of fun.

The Baroque Cycle is one of the harder ones to get into from what I hear. I have the hardbacks for that one. So, should read it at some point.

I think Readme should be good. =)

Seveneves was fun but it had one of the weakest endings. Stephenson is great about establishing setting & core plot points, but I don't think he ever wants to end a story and that comes out in the writing.

Meredith the Guessing Queen wrote: "The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer was a lot of fun."

That's good to hear, cause that is my pick for the "gem, mineral or rock in the title" prompt for next years popsugar challenge.

Shows how different we all are as readers :)
I loved the Baroque cycle and Cryptonomicom but Reamde was a chore and I never finished Seveneves. I’d be scared to attempt another of his massive books now.

It seems like most years at the end of the year I just kind of fall into a mystery or crime novel mood. This year, I'm reading Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen, and it is making me laugh my ass off.

The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy & the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia & Han China by Raoul McLaughlin

Truel1f3 the last book in the trilogy by Jay Kristoff. It is YA although he does push the boundaries but he does it so well.
My review
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Canticle for Leibowitz


So I have been interested in reading this for a long time and find myself somewhat at odds over what I think of it. It isn't so much one book as a number of them. It is broken up into time periods of rebuilding after a civilization shatter event. It focuses on a group of religious monks who are interested in preserving technology from a previous time. The order is based on the Catholic faith and as such has a number of trappings that are deeply religious. The book also contains references to some of the stories and tales that grew up around the faith.

Sometimes the overt religious aspects of the book made it difficult for me to work through but the work does avoid many of the more troubling aspects of religions that have plagued history. I still find that I am less satisfied with the book than I had hoped I would be. So my travels in this author's vision start and stop with this work.

The Dragon and the George


So I remember reading this a long time ago and thinking that it was an amazing book. I decided I needed to read it again and see if it was still as good as I recalled. While not as good as I remembered it was still a very nice read. Some of the things that I didn't recall or had put out of my mind, was the long slow intro and some very self-indulgent whining in the middle of the book. All in all, it was a good read and unlike many newer books that are parts of a series, this one has an ending that while it makes it clear that life goes on doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger.

The Wizard's Butler by Nathan Lowell

Finished CHAOS VECTOR now starting THE SEARCHER!!

I have enjoyed Nathan Lowell’s stories in the past and am planning on finishing the series that starts with Quarter Share (can’t remember what the series js called). Did you like the Wizard’s Butler?

DivaDiane wrote: "I have enjoyed Nathan Lowell’s stories in the past and am planning on finishing the series that starts with Quarter Share (can’t remember what the series js called). Did you like the Wizard’s Butler?"

Yes, I quite liked it. I expect to review it later today if all goes well.