SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Usually when I read, they let a breath go they didn't know they were holding, I also read a lot of 'He swallowed hard.'

I wasn't aware you could swallow at different strengths.

Andres wrote: "I wasn't aware you could swallow at different strengths."

You didn't have a sore throat for a while, had you?

swallowed hard = gulp?

Another fun discussion! 😂🤗

Can we make, 'for fans of Tolkien'/ 'Tolkien-esque' and variants written on the back of a book one of these tropes? It's on all the books! And they're never like Tolkien. I guess it's a cliché, not a trope... but it feels like it!

I see the 'hearing a strange sound (like screaming) and then realising it was them' one a lot. It's always weird.

Tamara wrote: "Can we make, 'for fans of Tolkien'/ 'Tolkien-esque' and variants written on the back of a book one of these tropes? It's on all the books! And they're never like Tolkien. I guess it's a cliché, not a trope... but it feels like it!."

unless they're The Sword of Shannara which is patterned on LotR

There's a risk that I'm pinging on anything that mentions someone holding their breath. Either way, here's one from Starfarers:

"When she finished reading the display, she gasped. She had been holding her breath with disbelief."

She almost certainly didn't realize she'd been holding her breath, whether the actual text mentions that or not...

Beth wrote: "There's a risk that I'm pinging on anything that mentions someone holding their breath."

My blood pressure goes up when anyone breathes normally. Breathing has been ruined for me :(

Beautiful but doesn't know it! - Across the Nightingale Floor, chapter 2.

Also, there are a lot of cicadas in this book.

Something I just realized... quite often in dragonrider books, the dragons who are willing to get ridden are female, while males are wild and avoid humans/bonding...

Tomas wrote: "Something I just realized... quite often in dragonrider books, the dragons who are willing to get ridden are female, while males are wild and avoid humans/bonding..."

I'm not familiar with the series where that is the case - which ones? The first dragonriders that come to mind for me are from McCaffrey's classic Pern series, where both male and female dragons bond with riders, but with some colors more rare than others. As another exception, in Temeraire, female Iskierka is the wild one I'd say (although she has a rider), and Lung-Tien is independent even as she creates tactical alliances with humans.

Anna wrote: "I've been thinking about that teacup thing, and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't my imagination? Maybe it was just something about holding a teacup, and my brain filled in the rest?"

I found it! It’s in Hither, Page, and the exact quote is:

”He took a sip of the tea he found he was now holding”

Not exactly what I remembered, but it made me laugh on reread, too, and I can’t help thinking this is on purpose! 😄

From Moon Called, this month's "Dozen Roses" selection. Our main character, in her animal form, is tracking down someone she knew in the past:

"[x] was out there somewhere, and [y] was even nearer. I could smell the earth-and-spice musk that belonged to him alone...

Tamara wrote: "Another fun discussion! 😂🤗

Can we make, 'for fans of Tolkien'/ 'Tolkien-esque' and variants written on the back of a book one of these tropes? It's on all the books! And they're never like Tolkien..."

Or the "Perfect for fans of..." line. These are everywhere these days.

Beth wrote: "From Moon Called, this month's "Dozen Roses" selection. Our main character, in her animal form, is tracking down someone she knew in the past:
"[x] was out there somewhere, and [y] w..."

One of the other characters has a "musk-and-mint scent."

Michelle wrote: "Are the authors in this group and reading this thread?!"

Yes, and nervously scribbling notes...

Someone mentioned TLOTR. I absolutely loved the book (have read it about 80 times) but so much of it irritates me as an adult reader. The endemic stupidity of the non-genteel hobbits... The heroic banter of hobbits irrespective of the peril... The fact that everything good is white and everything bad is black... The deus ex machina of Gwaihir the Windlord...

Guh!

A trope that hasn't been mentioned is the incredibly unlikely coincidence as plot device (unless it's been called by another name).

Done badly it irritates the crap out of me, but done well it can remind you that unlikely coincidences do occasionally happen and that's what makes some stories (including true ones) interesting.

GAH!! Page 128 of Blood and Whispers, the Dread Trope just reared its head:

"I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding."

Once again, from Moon Called:"...you smell of woodsmoke and popcorn." Delicious!

Beth wrote: "Once again, from Moon Called:"...you smell of woodsmoke and popcorn." Delicious!"

that is a real smell - I remember it from popping Jiffypop over campfires (a touch of char was also included)

When bile/vomit/something else equally unpleasant rises in the back of a character's throat. I read this all the time, but does that actually ever happen to people? I mean when it's triggered by emotion and not because you're actually about to be sick.

Natasha wrote: "When bile/vomit/something else equally unpleasant rises in the back of a character's throat. I read this all the time, but does that actually ever happen to people? I mean when it's triggered by em..."

Happens to me… but it is overused.

Natasha wrote: "When bile/vomit/something else equally unpleasant rises in the back of a character's throat. I read this all the time, but does that actually ever happen to people? I mean when it's triggered by em..."

happens to me when I realize something has gone wrong

Natasha wrote: "When bile/vomit/something else equally unpleasant rises in the back of a character's throat. I read this all the time, but does that actually ever happen to people? I mean when it's triggered by em..."

Yep- it had happened to me once when I was extremely upset. We'll have to cut the author some slack, I guess :)

Before mentioning the rising bile, did the character express any doubts about some raw chicken or canned fish they were eating?

Adrian wrote: "Before mentioning the rising bile, did the character express any doubts about some raw chicken or canned fish they were eating?"

🤣

My wife and noticed a few years back that every movie we watched had a “technicolor yawn” scene. Always onscreen. Blech. Slightly off-topic but it’s certainly cliché.

and the lines: with all due respect

Michelle wrote: "Are the authors in this group and reading this thread?!"

And to my everlasting shame, during some proofreading today...I found an unconscious holding of breath...

I feel as if I should be huddled on the ground begging so many peoples' forgiveness right now.

That's so funny, Leonie!!

Michelle wrote: "That's so funny, Leonie!!"

🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" someone blurted.

Oh. It was me.

A cute variant on "someone was screaming." From Borderline

News anchor: "As of 2011, the contagion had already made its way to Japan."

"Cautiously, Henrietta let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding."

from light novel Log Horizon, Vol. 2: The Knights of Camelot

Beth wrote: "News anchor: "As of 2011, the contagion had already made its way to Japan."

"Cautiously, Henrietta let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding."
from light novel [book:Log Horizon, Vo..."

Oh no :)

I've come across a few 'let go of the breath I/she/etc. didn't know I was holding'-type sentences since reading this discussion! I even found one in a non-fiction book I read very recently.

Also how people smell... is a man's B.O. ever pleasant? As in, a guy apparently smelt like a couple of nice things, plus this. Obviously, there's the pheromone thing, but you're not consciously aware of that.

Becky wrote: "Jasmine and rose are not compatible scents and WHY would I want a man to smell like pine?? I grew up around pine trees. There was one right outside the front door of the house I grew up in, and nev..."

Allegedly it is supposed to make them smell rugged and outdoorsy. I usually think it smells cloying, but that might just be me.

Anna wrote: "(I just got a shipment of essential oils, my house is about to smell like pine and juniper XD And eucalyptus, also a tree. I should just move into a tree with squirrels.)"

I would vote for the Eucalyptus if you are moving into a tree. At least then you would have Kola's

Dj wrote: "Becky wrote: "Jasmine and rose are not compatible scents and WHY would I want a man to smell like pine?? I grew up around pine trees. " Allegedly it is supposed to make them smell rugged and outdoorsy. I usually think it smells cloying, but that might just be me.

I think of Pinesol (the cleaner) that we used on outhouses when i was in Girl Scouts

Tomas wrote: "Eva wrote: "yes, please save the cute animal"

Do you consider a dragon hatchling a cute animal?
----
EDIT: By the way, maybe we should start a 'sister topic' in the author section and see what peo..."

Dragons are always cute. Much like Baba Yaga. To call them anything else could be detrimental to your health.

Raucous wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "what about the Lavender Old Spice for men? In my days (yes, I'm old) lavender was reserved for old ladies (usually spinsters or grandmothers)"

I live near a town that builds it..."

That wouldn't be in Oregon, would it? There is a huge Lavander field they are always using as a foreground for pictures of Mt. Hood. Never been there, but it does look good in the pictures.

Eva wrote: "This books smells like... paper and book glue! The other one smells like... the same!

Oh wow, I've just realized that just Addie LaRue alone allowed me to fill in at least 12 of those squares! (No..."

LOL. my books tend to add a little of dust into the mix, to get that lived-in Library smell down pat.

I love that smell! They should bottle it and sell it!

CBRetriever wrote: "[spoilers removed] has a lot of the tropes; so much so that i was rolling my eyes throughout the whole book. It includes God, Satan, what seem to be some sort of Asian guy, an enemy who from one pa..."

sounds like a recipe for everything stew. Usually, that sort of thing never turns out well.

Dj wrote: "... That wouldn't be in Oregon, would it? There is a huge Lavander field they are always using as a foreground for pictures of Mt. Hood." ...

This particular lavender-obsessed town, Sequim, is in NW Washington. They use the title "The Lavender Capital of North America®." I don't think there's anything visible from Sequim that stands out as a background quite the way Mt. Hood would, though, so they fall a bit short there.

Gah!!! I'm reading Chains of Command and on Page 74: "I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.". And things had been going so well...

Raucous wrote: "Dj wrote: "... That wouldn't be in Oregon, would it? There is a huge Lavander field they are always using as a foreground for pictures of Mt. Hood." ...

This particular lavender-obsessed town, Seq..."

They have a Mammoth in their museum and a great campground. So it isn't all bad. LOL.

Michelle wrote: "Gah!!! I'm reading Chains of Command and on Page 74: "I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.". And things had been going so well..."

LOL. oh noes, those moments of suspense were ruined by a trope.

Dj wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Gah!!! I'm reading Chains of Command and on Page 74: "I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.". And things had been going so well..."

LOL. oh noes, th..."

They were indeed.

Having just one instance of one of our tropes in four books isn't bad at all. In my experience over 50% of books have at least one of those, and one or two callused hands depending on if the calluses are detected by sight or with a handshake.

Beth wrote: "Having just one instance of one of our tropes in four books isn't bad at all. In my experience over 50% of books have at least one of those, and one or two callused hands depending on if the callus..."

I think tropes become more annoying when you are actually paying more attention in regards to their presence. Which I generally don't. The one that usually pulls me up short is a word that is used out of place. Makes my mind go, I don't think that word means what you think it means. It is one thing to have a character do that as part of their personality, but when it isn't part of the dialog it is somewhat jarring. Makes me step back and try and figure out what it was that was the intention.

I got a smell!

"pine needles and smoked trout"

This time it's a father rather than a crush so maybe going for comforting?

Also are people really still writing death scenes like this? (Character names and potential giveaway locations replaced to avoid spoilers but I'll hide it too just in case)

(view spoiler)["No!" X wailed as Y held her. "Z, please!" The mists had swallowed them completely. "I need you!" X cried.
Y tugged her towards [location redacted]. "We have to move. It isn't safe."
...
"We can't just leave her."
"She's gone," Y said. "I'm sorry, X."
"But if she's alive..." X trailed off... (hide spoiler)]

Like, an AI could turn that out with hardly any input. And probably do it better.

Beth, is that (view spoiler)[ Catching Fire? (hide spoiler)] :D

edit: Hmm, on second thought, probably not.