SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi! I'm Sandi and I'm a Science Fiction addict. Okay, I admit that I read some fantasy too, but I prefer more urban fantasy like Charles de Lint. Anyhow, I've only got two more books on my to-read list. I've just started the "His Dark Materials" omnibus that my 25 year old daughter lent me and I'm not really into it so far. I'm going to need some new books soon.

Of the books I've read recently, I really enjoyed the Hyperion series, all four books. As I mentioned, I like Charles de Lint. China Meiville's "Perdido Street Station" blew me away. "Good Omens" was wonderful. I read anything I can lay my hands on by Connie Willis or Ian McDonald.

I'm looking forward to participating in the May discussion. I've never read anything by Card, so I need it to round my reading out.

If you enjoyed "Perdido Street Station" you might like Iron Council, it's set in the same world as "Perdido...", I thought it was it was in the OK to good range, but I've heard others who thought it was superior to "Perdido..."
Also from Mieville is King Rat which I really enjoyed.

If you'd like some lighter reading in the urban fantasy genre I'd recommend "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcher, it's up to book nine by now, but they are stand-alone novels. The first book is Storm Front. A TV series was based on the series that only lasted one season, but if you've seen the series, you will notice a lot of differences.

I was in Borders yesterday. They had Jim Butcher books on a buy one, get one half off deal. I didn't get any of those, but I got "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman, "Enders Game" by Orson Scott Card, "Sky Coyote" by Kage Baker and "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin.

Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is a must read. It's gritty, realistic fantasy in that many of the characters, if not all, are motivated by self-interest, enlightened or otherwise.

Actually, it's more medieval than fantasy, although the world Martin has built, with it's decades-long seasons, dragons, and The Others, is very much fantasy. Magic is present too, but it's a thin veneer of magic rather than heaping piles of it.

The books are very much character-driven, very little deux ex machina going on at all. I can't wait for the next book.

I look forward to reading Martin then. I like my science fiction and fantasy to be more character driven than science/magic driven.

I have read the first two Ice and Fire books and they were outstanding!

Oh it only gets better.

I also enjoyed the Ice and Fire books, though I have never enjoyed Martin's reply's to his fans. One time I went to his website and had something written like "don't bother me about the books, I have another life". Entertainment weekly later asked him about that and he said he didn't mean it. So I don't really like him but LOVE his books. Here is a link to that article:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20161...

I actually enjoyed The Scar more than Mieville's other books (which aren't bad). I realize that many will not agree. Still, give it a shot sometime.

Thomas,

I was blown away by Perdido Street Station but I found The Scar a much subtler, better crafted story than his other books. The political play and the multi-level sense of mystery made it a thoroughly enjoyable read.

"The Scar" was part of my most recent Amazon order. Right now, I'm reading "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" and will move on to "From Seed to Harvest" by Octavia Butler. "From Seed to Harvest" is all the novels from the Patternist series. I read "Wild Seed" in March and I just need to read more.

i liked perdido street station as much, but i didn't like looking for jake at all.