Chris’s Comments (group member since Feb 25, 2011)

Chris’s comments from the Beyond Reality group.

Our final polls are tight this month! Please take the opportunity to vote before polls close on August 31.

Final polls are now open! What would you like to read in November 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Sunday August 31 2025.

Final Fantasy Poll

Final SF Poll

Preliminary polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in November 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Sunday August 24 2025.

Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Preliminary SF Poll

Kateblue wrote: "For Fantasy, Katabasis. I loved Babel, so I have high hopes for this

For SF Shroud. Adrian Tchaikovsky is finally beginning to get the recognitio..."
We have already selected Shroud as a BOTM for October. Would you like to make another suggestion for scifi?

Hello everyone!
It's time to open nominations for our November 2025 Books of the Month. What do you want to be reading late this year?

Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

and/or

b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Sunday August 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Monday August 18 and will run through Sunday August 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Monday August 25 and will be open through Sunday August 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
Neuromancer
Camp Zero
Those Beyond the Wall
Empire of Silence
Esperance
The Disappeared

FANTASY:
Comfort Me with Apples
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Katabasis
Red Sister
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Devils

Final polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in October 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Thursday July 31 2025.

Final Fantasy Poll

Final SF Poll

Preliminary polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in October 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Thursday July 24 2025.

Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Preliminary SF Poll

I'll add a couple by two dependable authors

The Waking of Angantyr by Marie Brennan for Fantasy

Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky for SciFi

Hello everyone!
Can you believe it? It's time to open nominations for our October 2025 Books of the Month. What do you want to be reading this fall?

Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

and/or

b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Thursday July 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Friday July 18 and will run through Thursday July 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Friday July 25 and will be open through Thursday July 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
Brightness Falls from the Air
Version Control
Faller
Shroud
The Stars Undying

FANTASY:
The Witchstone
The Amalfi Curse
The Waking of Angantyr
The Raven Tower
The Hurricane Wars

Final polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in September 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Monday June 30 2025.

Final Fantasy Poll

Final SF Poll

Preliminary polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in September 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Monday June 23 2025.

Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Preliminary SF Poll

Random wrote: "Would anyone object if I change my SF nomination from Faller to Foe by Iain Reid?

I just finished it yesterday morning and I really want to talk about it with others. I think this ..."

You are absolutely allowed to change your nomination. Done!

I'll propose a couple!

For fantasy, The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. I've just started this, but I'm already drawn in by the worldbuilding and clever writing.

For scifi, The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton. I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them.

Hello everyone!
It's time to open nominations for our September 2025 Books of the Month. What do you want to be reading when the new school year starts?

Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

and/or

b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Monday June 16.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Tuesday June 17 and will run through Monday June 23.
• The final run-off polls go up Tuesday June 24 and will be open through Monday June 30.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
The Imago Stage
The Measure
The Abyss Beyond Dreams
Foe
Change Agent
New York 2140

FANTASY:
Empire of Wild
Written on the Dark
The Raven Scholar
Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome
The Folk of the Air

Final polls are now open! What would you like to read in August 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Saturday May 31 2025.

Final Fantasy Poll

Final SciFi Poll

Preliminary polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in August 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Saturday May 24 2025.

Hello everyone!
It's time to open nominations for our August 2025 Books of the Month. What do you want to be reading in those hot final days of summer?

Each group member may make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month

and/or

b. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Poll schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Saturday May 17.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Sunday May 18 and will run through Saturday May 24.
• The final run-off polls go up Sunday May 25 and will be open through Saturday May 31.

Thanks!
Chris, Moderator

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:
SCIENCE FICTION:
The Corridors of Time
Terrestrial History
Here and Now and Then
The Ministry of Time

FANTASY:
Sour Cherry
The Folk of the Air
The Stone Witch of Florence
Baking Bad

Reminder: polls are open through April 30!

Final polls are now open! What would you like to read in July 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Wednesday April 30 2025.

Final Fantasy Poll

Final SF Poll

Preliminary polls are now open! We have lots of interesting choices this month. What would you like to read in July 2025?

Please vote! Polls close Wednesday April 23 2025.

Preliminary Fantasy Poll

Preliminary SF Poll