SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I tried to read Kushiel's Dart and I found it to be a rather awful book. I had to stop before finishing it. I t was really dull and the characters uninteresting. Can we please pick a different book for May 2010?

Kushiel's Dart was voted in with a clear majority, so I don't see it getting changed.

I missed the May vote because it was run too early. Why was it run a month too early?

While I enjoyed reading Kushiel's Dart, I never continued with the series because the subject matter was just too over-the-top for me. I won't be re-reading it, but I might visit the discussion.

JSWolf wrote: "I missed the May vote because it was run too early. Why was it run a month too early?"

I believe polls are run a couple of months ahead of the month that we read the book so members have time to get a copy and read it.

And see, I loved Kushiel's Dartand the series --two of them so far-- that have followed it. It's not like these are required readings or that you have to participate in every book discussion...

lol yeah, nobody will force you to read it. And they do send out notices of the nominations and polls when they become available.

I found the series fascinating and meat-y. I will definitely be in on the discussion.

Sometimes the best discussions are on books that aren't as good. It certainly leads to lots of debate when some love it and some hate it.

I ordered it, but estimated arrival date is May 17. I'll sit in, but probably won't have much to say until I get the book. Getting books to Alaska can be a problem. (Part of the reason I went with iUniverse--Homecoming is available from Amazon.com and BarnesandNobble.com.) Just had to explain--again--that Priority Mail (USPS) is about a third the price of UPS second day air and doesn't take much longer.

Sue wrote: "I ordered it, but estimated arrival date is May 17. I'll sit in, but probably won't have much to say until I get the book. Getting books to Alaska can be a problem. (Part of the reason I went with ..."
Have you thought about an e-reader? If you have internet, you have access to e-books. Or you can
download an ap on your computer and read the ebooks onscreen. (If, of course, they're available in that form.)

Another suggestion is to check with your local library.

I have read it, liked it and I am prepared to discuss it.

Chris wrote: "Sometimes the best discussions are on books that aren't as good. It certainly leads to lots of debate when some love it and some hate it."

I agree w/ Chris - some of the better discussions are generated by the books I didn't like. I still found the discussion to be very interesting.

Looking at the reviews of Kushiel's Dart it seems a book people either love or hate. I usually am too busy with my own reading list to read along with this group. But I've been meaning to read this one for quite some time. Friends have recommended it to me. Just ordered it in Inter Library Loan from Minneapolis- the copies in St Paul went missing!

I didn't care for Kushiel's Dart at all, much to the dismay of the otherwise dear, dear friend who recommended it to me. I may forgive her yet, though. :P

I just had to stop in and comment on this thread, because I thought it was hilarious that someone else disliked it enough to stage a protest! LOL

Becky wrote: "I didn't care for Kushiel's Dart at all, much to the dismay of the otherwise dear, dear friend who recommended it to me. I may forgive her yet, though. :P

I just had to stop in and comment on th..."

I just hope I won't have to say "I told you so" too often. 8-}

Libby wrote: "I agree w/ Chris - some of the better discussions are generated by the books I didn't like. I still found the discussion to be very interesting. ..."

The Road comes to mind...

Becky wrote: "I didn't care for Kushiel's Dart at all, much to the dismay of the otherwise dear, dear friend who recommended it to me. I may forgive her yet, though. :P

I just had to stop in and comment on th..."

I love that you found this so funny.....

Chris wrote: "Libby wrote: "I agree w/ Chris - some of the better discussions are generated by the books I didn't like. I still found the discussion to be very interesting. ..."

The Road comes to mind..."
And The Reader...

I find this thread funny because when I read that Kushiel's Dart was May's book, I was surprised. I started reading it a few days ago and am about 300 pages in and while it's definitely in the fantasy genre, it also has an acquired taste -- one that I'm not sure I've acquired yet.

I'm not against this book enough to protest it as being the pick, but I can see how some members may feel more strongly.

I'll probably finish reading it just because I'm so far into it already, but I doubt I'll get to the next books.

I got as far as chapter 15 and had to stop.

Although I read both Kushiel trilogies and loved them, I can also understand why readers would loathe them. I look forward to discussing Kushiel's Dart!

I tried reading Kushiel's Dart almost a year ago. I didn't get very far into the book before I had to stop and I usually never stop reading a book before the end. It was a bit too much for me (Maybe I'm too sensitive, I can't watch scary movies either). However, I still own the book so I'll give it another chance. It will be interesting to see what other people think of it.

It wasn't the err... proclivities of the main character that got me, it was the writing. It was just not good.

I can't even see the word "somewhat" without twitching thanks to that book.

Don't forget.

One-sentence paragraphs.

To build suspense.

I enjoyed the series, but Carey definitely has some bad writing habits.

Chalk me up as another who has really enjoyed KD, and to varying degrees the rest of the books in the series as well.

Looking forward to the discussion!

I own the first KD trilogy and did enjoy the political intrigue, behind-the-scenes secrets and many of the characters. What I tended to do is skim past parts that I'm not interested in reading.

What's fun is to read Dune at the same time as Kushiel's Dart! That's what got me into this series. There was a Dune online game that was expanding on House Moritani. The game wizard took inspiration from the Kushiel's Dart series (buildigns, politics, etc)

@Tanja - Wow, reading Dune led to reading Kushiel's Dart? The wonders of free association. I had a similar road to Joseph Conrad - I wanted to find out why the ship in "Alien" was called the Nostromo.

What's always attracted me to these books more than characters or story is the setting - Terre d'Ange - and the playing out of the plot against Elua's commandment to "love as thou wilt."

I haven't started any of the Naamah books yet but I've got #2 coming in June and #1 is sitting on the shelf so I'll probably get to them this summer.

Terence wrote: "I haven't started any of the Naamah books yet but I've got #2 coming in June and #1 is sitting on the shelf so I'll probably get to them this summer. "

I just read Naamah #1 and was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't say that Moirin, the protagonist, is as complex as Phèdre, but I found the story to be pretty engaging. I would also say that the love scenes in this book are less likely to make readers squeamish than those in the first two trilogies.

I read Naamah #1 at the beginning of this month and loved it, loved how it expanded on what we know already about that world. I'm thrilled to read here that #2 is coming out so soon!

I'm looking forward to rereading Kushiel's Dart and a spirited discussion here. "Love as thou wilt" and what that means for relegion in Terre d'Ange and politics is something I hope we explore.

When I recommend Kushiel's dart to people, I warn them that the first part of the book reads a lot like birth certificate or a history test but you can blow by that and then it gets better.

I haven't read the Naamah series yet either, but I'm looking forward to it. = )

Like Terence, I've really enjoyed the background of the 'world' she created - the politics and the kingdoms, and the interplay of the religion/culture with them. "Love as thou wilt" is such a fascinating philosophy.

I am glad the book is available on Kindle so I can read a sample and decide. It has very high overall rating here in GR.

I wasn't interested in reading these books at all, until now. My curiosity is piqued.

I'd love to see what you think of them, Brad. :P

if you don't like books with hardly any action or anything going on, this book is not for you.

Oh I've read Dune long ago. Just that time around a friend recommended Kushiel's so I read Dune with it back to back -- my mind was more focused on politics and espionage than the other parts.

I read the first three books in this series a long time ago and I thought they were amazing, but all those long difficult names were hard for me to remember. I had to keep looking back at the list of characters over and over again until I caught on. Those books take a lot of concentration.