SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I wouldn't mind going ahead with adding another book into our reading. I must admit that I have zero interest in reading Color of Magic or Dune (again). Is there any interest in adding a second book to these months?

I'm interested, but I think the plan was to start that in October. I don't think Nick would have a problem if the membership were able to come down around an additional book. Do you think one of us should set up a poll for August with the contents of the SF master list?
Personally, I'm looking forward to Dune. I've always wondered why it's a great novel. Maybe I will find out in September. If not, well, discussing books you don't like is a lot of fun.

I don't foresee myself participating too much in the Color of Magic discussion. August would have been a great month for a second book. I think Dune is going to provide us with more than enough material for September discussion.

For me, it isn't really about having enough discussion for a month. It is about giving a bit more choice for the users and getting more participation. We have over 500 members with probably less than 5% participation.

As I said before, I feel we've not delved into the genre in this group...we've just skimmed the surface by picking some of the best known/most widely read books. I don't really have a problem with that cause obviously this is what a lot of people want. I'd just like some choice, and I'm thinking probably (??) there are others in the same position.

Let me know if I'm off base. I still enjoy the group...I just hate sitting out a month when I can't get myself psyched up to read the book selection.

I think there's definitely an argument for trying to cover both the "classics of the genre" and hidden gems or newer books too.

I'm not likely to get very involved in a conversation on The Color of Magic either. I read it a few years ago and it was amusing but it just doesn't inspire me to say very much.

Which could be a potential issue for any discussion of Pratchett. He's good, but I wonder if once we get past the "what part did you find funny" where will the discussion go.

It's the same issue I find when it comes to discussing Douglas Adams books. His books are great, but they don't always generate the type of discussion you want for a book discussion group.

Eoghann and Michael, I expressed the same thoughts when the nominations for August were announced, and I was sort of surprised it still ended up being voted in. I'm guessing a lot of people thought it would be their chance to finally dive into Discworld?

Plus, it's a really short novel, I think picking a 2nd book for August right now would be a great idea.

I've taken the liberty of copying all the books in the Master SF books thread and making a survey. I purged the more famous entries from the list and posted the survey here:
Click Here to take survey

I plan to do a runoff between the top entries after July 14th, so vote your first choice and vote soon. We need to get a bunch of votes to give the bonus book some legitimacy (as well as pick a winner), so please vote and tell your friends. Of course, if no one votes or Nick complains, I'll have to cancel the runoff.

I further suggest that all politicking go on in this thread.

P.S. I've set it up so that you can change your mind until the poll closes.

Thanks for taking the initiative. I voted.

I purged the more famous entries from the list

I don't think Dan Brown's Angels & Demons counts as "obscure". ;)

I'm gonna have to examine this list carefully, since I only recognize Stephenson's Quicksilver...which is parts 1-3 of his 8-part epic opus that killed my brain 2/3 of the way through and I haven't yet had the energy to finish.

Will vote soon.

I would love to read Pratchett but by all indications the August book isn't his best Discworld. So I may go ahead and read one of his better recommended ones by people who know him, or another book. I've already read many from that list, but there's plenty others to choose from that I want to "research" before voting.

While I loved Quicksilver, I don't think we should start another series.

The good thing with Pratchett is, for the most part, you can jump in at any point and, for the most part, enjoy the novels. I'd recommend any of the novels that center on Death (the character) as a good starting point. Hogfather is definitely great.

So many good choices of things I want to read....

How to narrow it down to just one?!?

So I may go ahead and read one of his better recommended ones by people who know him, or another book.

The first discworld novel is a good place to start because a) it's short, and b) you can see where it all began (something I always prefer). However, it also ends on a cliffhanger and is pretty much part of a duology. Again, why I think it's an odd choice for our August book.

I do recommend starting with a different Terry Pratchett book than Color of Magic. It's good, just not representative of most of his work.

I read a couple of the newer ones first, then I started at Color of Magic and read them all in order.

I've heard that Guards, Guards is a good place to start. Or my personal favorites are Wyrd Sisters and Hogfather. Like Michael, I loved all the books with the character Death in them.

Re: Angels and Demons
Well, from a SciFi standpoint Angels and Demons is obscure because it's not science fiction. ?-)

Re: Color of Magic
I really couldn't get into this, but I recently read The Light Fantastic which I thought was much better and the two books are really just one story split into two halves, except the second half is a bit more cohesive than the first. I can't comment on the rest, other than I have generally heard that they get quite a bit better than these early ones.

Re: Quicksilver
Jumping into a series like that would be cruel and unusual punishment for a book group :-) I just finished The System of the World and while I generally enjoyed the series, I wouldn't recommend it to the faint-hearted and I think in many ways Quicksilver is the worst of the three.

I'm certainly supportive of an alternate set of books to read since I've already read every book this group has chosen from February through as far as a choice has been made, and while I've enjoyed a lot of them, there are two many new things I want to read instead of rereading all of these again.

Here are some of the more interesting books in this list (for me):

River of Gods - I've read this, but it was great. It is pretty recent, and I doubt a lot of people have read it.

Crystal Rain - Buckell seems to be gaining popularity, and this is supposed to be pretty good.

Consider Phlebus - Not ready anything by Banks. Not sure why. This would be a good chance.

Demolished Man - Old, but maybe not one that everyone's already read. I've read it but think it would be a great discussion.

Atrocity Archives - Pretty recent book, and Stross is good. Supposed to be one of his better.

The Sparrow - Though I didn't care for it a great deal, it would probably be the book with the best discussions.

More than Human - This would probably be my choice, mainly cause I haven't read it, and would probably result in some interesting dicussions. Less than 200 pages, too.

It would be inappropriate for the pollster to express an opinion about which book We should read, so I won't. It's too late to cut Angels and Demons from the list, so vote for something else if you don't want to read it.

Beth, Guards, Guards is funny and a good introduction to the series. However, it won't be so funny for someone who hasn't read any fantasy novels, as it's mostly a spoof of the genre.

I loved the Color of Magic, but it actually is a bit different than the others. My favorite through-lines are with the witches and the Guards, so for me Wyrd Sisters or Guards, Guards would both be great places to start.

I've read them all in order, though, and have enjoyed most of them thoroughly.

My introduction to Pratchett was with Good Omens... which is wonderful. It's co-written by Gaiman, but the writing is really all Pratchett.

Well, from a SciFi standpoint Angels and Demons is obscure because it's not science fiction. ?-)

I gave its inclusion on the list the benefit of the doubt and figured since it was all about tracing the secret path of early scientists, and the running theme of religion vs. science, it qualified somehow. :D

Thanks for the suggestions, Ben, it's hard for me to narrow down that list at all when I haven't heard of most.

Equal Rite is a good early DiscWorld novel that I think is a good jumping in point. Also, I've heard The Truth is a good one to jump in with as well.

For the discussion in August, will we be allowed to bring up the Color of Magic miniseries that was shown in the UK last year?

Ben--I recommend Ian Banks to you. Use of Weapons is a personal favorite, but you can't really go wrong with any of the Culture novels (and they're all set in the same universe but it's not a "series" where you have to read one or the other first to get it).

Ben,

I'd strongly recommend reading some of Iain M. Banks work, and Consider Phlebas is a good starting point.

Bunny Watson Since we've got such a consensus on The Color of Magic being neither the best place to start nor one of the better novels in the Discworld canon, could we not choose another Pratchett as the alternate for August?

I like this option :)

So two Discworld books for August? I'd rather not.

Has anyone contacted Nick with the suggestion to change the Pratchett book? I'd be happy to do it...

Also, Banks keeps coming up. Perhaps he could be our 2nd choice. I've read all his Culture books except Consider Plebas and Look to Windward, would love to catch up.

I'm all for reading another book for August....I have no idea which book to vote for since the only one I've read is The Sparrow, and they all sound like something I'd like to read. I'll read whichever is chosen :)

As for Pratchett's Discworld, The first book I read was Sourcery and I loved it (that was 10 years ago). Then I picked up Jingo and I tried several times to read it....I just couldn't get into it. I guess that put me off reading any of his other books, but all of this discussion makes me want to try again :)

Like Ben, I would rather have a real alternative book to Pratchett.
I don't think Lori is suggesting doing away with Pratchett altogether, but I would urge against it if she is. The Color of Magic was nominated and elected, fair and square. I'm sure that it has fans who are looking forward to discussing it, and its removal would probably be bad for group dynamics. Like most posting here, I think it is not his best, but I view it as a spur to reconsider the nomination/voting process, rather than a reason for ditching this specific novel. I love thinking about the merits of voting systems. Neither mine nor Nick's is ideal, so perhaps this will be gradually developed.

P.S. I will be on vacation after the fourth, but I will make it to a public terminal on the fourteenth, to start the runoff.

No I'm not suggesting doing away with Pratchett at all! I'd love to read him, would just prefer to start with a book that most people agree is a more enjoyable intro to him.

Thomas, I think that this was the only Pratchett on the list and that's why I voted for it. It may be why many others voted for it as well. But you raise a good point about this being a good reason to reconsider that voting process.

Maybe a way to handle the Pratchett issue is to add a few discussion threads connected to his other books. This was done to some degree in the Enderverse and the program could be expanded.

I'm all for replacing it with another Pratchett book, or with something else completely. I would also like to point out that I'd rather the group not pick books so far in advance. I wonder how many people that voted for Color of Magic several months ago are even around here anymore.

And no matter what, I'd really like the group to have both a sci-fi and a fantasy book each month.

I'm going to forward this thread to Nick.

After reading "Color of Magic," I really have no desire to ready any other Terry Pratchett books. I loved "Good Omens," but that was a collaboration.

I have to admit that I have avoided Pratchett for years. I recently read Good Omens and liked it, so I'm willing to give Color of Magic a try. However, I'll undoubtedly devote my time to the yet-to-be-named, second selection.

The original plan was to start this in October, but I'm flexible. I'll pick two themes (sci-fi in August, Fantasy in September) to save time. I'll take suggestions for one week for both then the next week we will vote. Stay tuned!

Since Nick's taken the initiative, I've shut down my poll. For the curious, The Warrior's Apprentice was in the lead.

As others have said, its really quite hard to tell that Omens is a collaboration at all.

Indeed; I love Gaiman but have a hard time seeing his influences in G.O.

Well, I guess Color of Money is still a go. But it's nice we'll have another August choice. I still plan on reading Pratchett, just not that one, and thanks for all the suggestions.

Interestingly I went to our huge used book store yesterday, Half Priced Books, and they had NO PRATCHETT! At all! I even checked the 9 boxes of scifi boxes that weren't shelved yet. Either they go really fast, or people don't give them up.

The only other author they didn't have one book of was Murakami. Well, I too plan on keeping all the books I already own by him.