SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I started patient zero by Jonathan Maberry today


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Atl wrote: "I started patient zero by Jonathan Maberry today


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..."

Joe Ledger series is one of my favs. It's a mix of tech & myth. Love the characters & most of the action. =)

So, yeah I’m loving it already :) it’s snarky too

Atl wrote: "I started patient zero by Jonathan Maberry today


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..."

I recall enjoying that book. I also liked the fact he mentioned the Marvel comics character as an aside, underscoring Maberry’s nerd cred.

Just finished Signs Preceding the End of the World, a remarkable novella about the dangers faced by undocumented from Mexico, both during their crossing and after they arrive in the US. Haunting situations and beautiful prose. So many themes touched upon in such a small book. I need to seek out more of Yuri Herrera’s work.

On to Nevernight by Jay Kristoff now.

Patient Zero: I enjoy all sorts of books but the cover for the story was a turn off for me. It's not appealing at all and not a good representation for what you'll find inside. Joe Ledger is a action heavy, covert ops series that has some great characters and interesting events. I've read a bunch of Maberry's work by this point and this series is my favorite.

Other series that I've enjoyed with fun twists:
- Charlie Parker by John Connolly
- Pendergast by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
- Nathaniel Cade by Christopher Farnsworth

Soo, I liked relic, every dead thing has been on my want to read list for quite some time.

Atl wrote: "Soo, I liked relic, every dead thing has been on my want to read list for quite some time."

If you like Patient Zero, I highly recommend XOM-B by Jeremy Robinson.

You should bump up Charlie Parker on your TBR. All of the books were 4/5 star reads for me. Latest book for the series comes out this summer and I'll be in line to read it.

Ditto on XOM-B! That book was great.

I prob will bump it up this spring .

Finished A Train of Powder yesterday. Quite a long haul for a book that's a little over 300 pages long. With excellent and clear, but rather difficult (for this dim bulb) prose, author Rebecca West covers a handful of trials in the late '40s and early '50s. West is not well known today, and it was worthwhile introducing myself to her. I'd like to read one of her novels someday. (review)

Next: taking it easy 'til the end of the month. (I feel like I did a month's worth of reading with this one book.) Finishing off the YA I've been chipping away at, maybe reading a novella or something. Then on to Uprooted for an upcoming BR.

I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January but I'll leave comments for the discussion threads.

Also finished Elantris which was very cozy, and Bystanders by our own Phil, which was quite unique, I thought.

Now reading The Rosewater Insurrection which is having ups and downs (omg these infodumps!) but I think overall I'll like it. And just starting Circe

Brick Marlin, you're in for a treat Sanderson is quite good and prolific, I recommend "The Mistborn trilogy". There are more books in the series but the first three are my favorite

Decided to dnf Priory of the Orange Tree. I felt like it was starting to pick up for a minute, but I'm back to having no motivation to read it.

Starting Tehanu instead.

finished Northanger Abbey and I loved it but I thought the ending was a bit rushed. Now into Persuasion which has an older main character.

also am well into Jhegaala by Steven Brust which is quite good.

I read and I think that this is a hidden gem, and seriously under hyped. Perhaps because the style is a bit different than most YA out there, but I could not put it down and will be following the series.

Leticia wrote: "I read and I think that this is a hidden gem, and seriously under hyped. Perhaps because the style is a bit different than most YA out there, but I could..."

Gonna check it out. ^_^

Finished This Alien Shore and loved it. The characters weren't the best but I really loved the world and all the intrigue in it.

Currently listening to The Great Hunt as a reread. It's interesting what I do and don't remember from this series.

Just starting on The Ten Thousand Doors of January. I read the first chapter last night and really like the style so far. I'm definitely intrigued.

Carolyn wrote: "On to Nevernight by Jay Kristoff now."

I've been enjoying (and am all but done with) the YA SF trilogy Kristoff wrote with Amie Kaufmann, "The Illuminae Files." I'll keep an eye out to see what you think of his solo book!

I finished Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, the second in the Nevermoor trilogy.

Really like this world and the characters. The first book was a solid 3, but the second book was closer to a 4. Unfortunately I now have to wait several months for the third book to be released.

Gabi wrote: "Made Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky: this was further down my TBR list, but after I've read the prequel short story Precious Little Things in the tor.com fall collection and was enchanted by it, I had to bump it up. It turned out to be one of his comfort reads, utterly likeable characters, cute story and as always a well considered world-building (here puppets made from wood, metal, paper, cloth, candle and bones come to life and are the small big heroes)"

I really enjoyed both of these too.

And because of Gabi, I moved Spiderlight to the top of the pile and I'm glad I did. This was super good. Tchaikovsky did an awesome job subverting all the traditional fantasy tropes. It was often really funny, but also took a very serious look at things too.

Leticia wrote: "I read and I think that this is a hidden gem, and seriously under hyped. Perhaps because the style is a bit different than most YA out there, but I could not put it down and will be following the series."

Interesting how people have different reactions to a book. I had almost the exact opposite reaction and bounced off it pretty hard.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

I really liked Nevernight Chronicles. In some ways, I thought it was better than the co-authored Illuminae Files. He definitely likes to write for atmosphere. It's darker/gritty side of YA. I need to read Darkdawn. =)

The latest book for Threshold series by Clines is coming out soon. The books are loosely connected and are not required to read in any particular order to make sense. All of them can be read as standalones. I'm re-reading the books to see what parts are linked. They're just as fun on the re-read & I'm appreciating how well written they are in comparison to some of the unpolished books I've read.

Cast in Wisdom & Into the Fire came out today! Woo! Totally going to jump into those books.

I finished reading The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher today. I didn't realise that it was meant to be a Horror. It really isn't and I'm happy about that. I prefer good natured jokes rather than needless terror. Always.

Now I have to decide if I've got enough time to read The Court of Broken Knives and it's sequel before rereading Rosewater. Rosewater was chosen for my offline bookclub and I'm going to try to talk intelligently about it on Monday. :s

The City in the Middle of the Night almost ruined my reading schedule with its wholly uninteresting protagonists, setting, and plot. I had hoped to sit and read it all on Sunday, but it convinced me to leave the house instead. Twice. If I didn't give up trying to read it I may have started clearing out the loft or tending my garden. Anything to get away from actually reading it. I may give it another chance when I'm not committed to so many club, group, and buddy reads.

I'm up to 27 books read this month (10 for this groups reading challenge), but I feel like a cheat as five of them were short stories. Rosewater will count as book 11, but it's a reread and my actual target is to read 150 of the books on the groups bookshelf. I'm currently at 75 and rereads won't bring me any closer to the coveted 150.

Ryan wrote: "The City in the Middle of the Night almost ruined my reading schedule with its wholly uninteresting protagonists, setting, and plot.."

Glad to hear from someone who felt the same way I did about this book. I was so disappointed with it and gave up pretty quickly but I left it on my Kindle to try again another day.

I picked up The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday from the library and thought it hit my kind of sarcastic humor just right. It was a great blend of tech and magic with a city controlled by an AI and a Djinn who has awakened from a four thousand year slumber.

I binged the Corwin Cycle of The Chronicles of Amber and enjoyed them despite the fact that all of the main characters were dicks.

I finished The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in audio and think I loved it more than the first in the series due to character growth and the idea that there is not just one right way to be a strong female character.

Now I'm continuing on with A Crown of Swords, the seventh book in The Wheel of Time, after a year's break from the series. Also I will be attempting to read The Ten Thousand Doors of January with the group this month.

I've recently finished Elton John's autobiography Me, a really funny and fascinating read! My review is here.

I started listening to Uprooted and was initially put off by the narrator's accent but eventually my ear became attuned to it. I'm really enjoying the story so far although I'm waiting for a little more depth to come into the storyline.

My review of Highfire by Eoin Colfer

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

Today I read a lot of road signs. They ended predictably.

Yeah that’s supposed to be my reading for today too Ryan. I’m supposed to be going up to the Farm for a few days and then I’m off to the Outback for a few weeks. Haven’t been home to Hubby since maybe September. But Granpa is sick in the nursing home and I’m not sure I can leave yet for the Outback. I’ll still go to the farm for a few days though.

Sorry to hear your Grandpa is unwell. There's a saying involving farms that I hope you're not referring to.

Which one would that be? I’m going to my actual Farm so I can look after my daughters dog while she goes to Brisbane for a baby shower that I’m supposed to be going to as well. I don’t feel up to it at the moment. She was going to get a friend to feed the dogs but I decided that I’d go up there anyway and have a few days to myself to relax. Hopefully get some reading done.

Our daughter lives on our farm (Armidale NSW). My husband works way out in the Outback of NSW and I live at the Beach (north coast of NSW) looking after his Father 9 1/2 hours away from Hubby. The farm is about a third of the way to Hubby. Hopefully I can keep going to the Outback for a couple of weeks. Last time I tried that though just before Christmas Granpa had another setback and I had to come back.

And there’s also a house in the Blue Mountains near Sydney that I inherited from my parents that I need to get to at some point soon. I lost most of my garden in the recent bushfire that went through. My neighbours saved my house and garage but I need to assess the damage myself. A house 4 doors down was lost. They weren’t expecting it to come up our street and it did it very quickly and caught them off guard. I, of course, was up here at the Beach with fires all around me. They’re still all going. Just not as ferociously as they were before. But still creeping along.

Jacqueline wrote: "Which one would that be? I’m going to my actual Farm so I can look after my daughters dog while she goes to Brisbane for a baby shower that I’m supposed to be going to as well. I don’t feel up to i..."
That's terrible. Words of condolence seem inadequate considering the amount of loss you and others are facing.

I was thinking of 'Bought the farm', which for those that may not know is a euphemism for dying. :(

I’m one of the lucky ones. So many have lost everything.

Yeah that’s the one I thought you meant. That and when you say you sent the dog to a farm when it actually died. Well I’m taking my dog to an actual farm for the weekend. I’m going tomorrow now. It’s hot and humid and I’ve got a headache and I cut my finger on a bat’leth. A very sharp bat’leth. It hurts. Honestly it was supposed to be blunt when the boys imported it for me for Christmas about 11 or so years ago but it isn’t. Far from it.

Jacqueline wrote: "I’m one of the lucky ones. So many have lost everything.

Yeah that’s the one I thought you meant. That and when you say you sent the dog to a farm when it actually died. Well I’m taking my dog to..."

Would you dishonor your family with a blunt bat'leth?! Your sons have cut your finger, but saved your family from excommunication!

(But I do hope you catch a break soon, Jacqueline! All of us outside Oz are worried about our friends down under.)

LOL! The perfect response, Allison.

Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam

Australia is definitely on the verge of something bad. What we’ve had is only the start methinks.

And yeah the bits that aren’t burning or have been burnt are so dead it’s not funny. The fires will stop when they get there because there’s nothing to burn. One good thing...after no rain and nearly empty water tanks at the Farm we got a day of heavy rain out of nowhere and at least now my tanks are full. There are still cracks in the earth many inches wide and a lot of my trees are dying and I’ve lost most of my roses and camellias (from no water as opposed to losing the roses in my Mountains home to fire) and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon but at least we have water to drink and bathe in. And then you’ve got my son who lives in far North Queensland and they are experiencing flooding at the moment. Not as bad as last year but still.... It’s definitely a diverse place.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I finished Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend, the second in the Nevermoor trilogy.

Really like this world and the characters. The fir..."

Colleen, I didn't have time to respond yesterday and then I forgot, but perfect gif usage. I am presently in a battle with someone. They want me watch Predator, I want them to watch Princess Bride. Eventually we'll figure it out.

To get this back on track, I'm meh idk, stalling a bit in both the books I'm reading right now. They're certainly not *bad* by any stretch, but the annoying things are ultra annoying me and the good things are just...fine. It's fine. Perfectly cromulent. But I want so much to be swept up or thrown full throttle into something and instead I am not. Maybe I'm reading too much. Maybe I need a break?

Yeah, that doesn't sound right to me, either.

I love the Nevermoor books and I too am hating the wait for the third one.

Still reading Dispel Illusion by Mark Lawrence and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers. I’m determined to finish them on the weekend. With any luck I can finish Dispel Illusion tonight.

I have to work out which books I’m going to pack for my trip out west. I’m not sure I can smuggle my whole TBR trolley ( https://www.kmart.com.au/product/3-ti... ) into the car. I don’t know what I’m going to feel like reading. I probably should just take all the ones I’m halfway through and actually get around to finishing them eh. I think I’m up to 18 on my Currently reading shelf on GR.

I will be going to a couple of bookshops on the way and hopefully I can pick up a copy of Record of a Spaceborn Few in one of them. Also wanted to see if I can get Eoin Colfer’s new Dragon book, Highfire.

Jacqueline wrote: "I have to work out which books I’m going to pack for my trip out west. I’m not sure I can smuggle my whole TBR trolley."

Ah, the beauty of Kindles or Nooks or Reading apps on Phones and/or Android/IOS Devices. I can hold all 400+ of my TBR pile in one hand....

So can I actually Chessie. I have an iPad and everything I have is on there too (plus an extra 1900 maybe) but I prefer to read a paper book. Reading off a screen doesn’t agree with me and it makes me really tired. I can only read one and then have to have a break for a few days. If I read an old school book I can just keep reading until the cows come home. I love the idea of being able to read off the iPad (that’s why I have it) but when it came down to it my eyes and brain revolted.

A Kindle is much easier on the eyes than an iPad, Android device or any other kind of tablet. They aren't backlit and you can turn the front lighting all the way down and read by ambient lighting (sunlight or a lamp).

I have a touch of arthritis now and paperbooks are often too heavy and a strain to hold up for me.

Yeah so I’ve heard. Can’t justify buying one though. The iPad mini used to belong to my daughter who gave it to me when she bought a normal sized one.

Remember that break you wanted me to catch Allison? Yeah not happening. Granpa got put into hospital after I was last on here and now I’m not going anywhere until at least Tuesday. If then. Currently sitting in the emergency department waiting for him to be admitted. The great thing is that with the Australian health system it’s all free from the ambulance to the ER to the tests to the hospital admittance for no matter how long he’s in here.

Jacqueline wrote: "Yeah so I’ve heard. Can’t justify buying one though. The iPad mini used to belong to my daughter who gave it to me when she bought a normal sized one..."

An iPad mini is what I use to and what I prefer. I don't really get the attraction of the Kindle - even though I've seen three generations of it in this house now.

I'm sorry to hear about the bad turn. You deserve a huge award for this when it's all over (and I'm sad that you're unlikely to ever see it).

I had no idea that there were Klingon to English translators online.

Yeah all I wanted was a couple of weeks with my husband but that was snatched away. Again. And I really need to go to my doctor out there. I had scans done last week and I really need to see what’s happening with them.

No reward for doing it. Just the knowledge that my father in law is getting the best care he can get. And a lot of grief from my in laws. I suppose my reward will be that I never have to talk to those people ever again when he goes.

It’s 6.15pm and we’re still waiting for them to take us up to the ward.

I don’t think I’m going to get any reading done tonight the way things are going. Might get a little bit of Dispel Illusion in if I’m lucky. I do have my iPad with me but he’s awake and I can’t read while he’s awake. Also got some good stuff on my phone. All of the Tor short stories from the last year as well as all of the Tor free monthly ebook downloads. I am a little way into the second Wayward Children Book by Seanan McGuire. It was a freebie a few months ago.

I've decided to read as many fantasy series as I can this year. Started with The Long War series by A J Smith (currently on book 4), then moving onto A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (already read her Throne of Glass series). After that I'll move onto the amazing Joe Abercrombie, but not sure after that, so any suggestions would be welcome.

Allison wrote: "Colleen, I didn't have time to respond yesterday and then I forgot, but perfect gif usage. I am presently in a battle with someone. They want me watch Predator, I want them to watch Princess Bride. Eventually we'll figure it out. "


Thanks. And it should obviously be Princess Bride. Duh.


Jacqueline wrote: "I love the Nevermoor books and I too am hating the wait for the third one. "

I may have heard of the book via your recs in other threads. ^_^

***

Currently reading Siege and Sacrifice to round off the Numina trilogy.

After over a month of reading it off and on, I've finally finished Obsidio, the final book in the YA SF series The Illuminae Files. I sincerely enjoyed the first couple of these. Unfortunately, the last one was more of a mixed bag, and the slow going was largely due to its being too easy to put down in favor of more interesting things. (review)