SF/F Read Alongs discussion

Here we go! :D

OK, a quick note about the section/chapter divisions: Unlike with Small Angry Planet there are no easy chapter headings to guide stopping points - the chapters switch between two different POVs and each switch/chapter is just named for the character whose POV it's coming from, so for Parts 1 and 2 I've had to go by page numbers. The sentence fragments I've quoted are to help clarify where we should stop for that section.

If anyone's still not sure (I know we may not all be reading the hardcover), please let me know!

Here's the schedule:

Week 1: Friday 2nd December - Start of Part 1 up to Page 94 ("...yellow, silver, white..."), hosted by Over the Effing Rainbow
Week 2: Friday 9th December - Page 95 (Jane, Age 10 "Jane was still tired...") to End of Part 1, hosted by imyril at There's Always Room For One More
Week 3: Friday 16th December - all of Part 2, hosted by Lynn at Lynn's Book Blog
Week 4: Friday 23rd December - Part 3 to End, hosted by Mogsy at The BiblioSanctum

I'm nominally in, but I'm hesitating to put my hand up to host for now - I'm away until the 8th and it looks like I will be submerged in work from then until January. Should know more in a week or so!

No worries!

Sadly it's looking a lot like November will be overwhelming (quite likely to have to travel for work as soon as I get back from holiday) so I think I am now 'nominally out' :(

I wanted to join this, but I don't want to buy the hardback (I hate hbacks!). So I'm waiting for the pback which comes out in April...

I'm actually sort of having second thoughts about committing to this so soon myself - I'm lining up quite a lot of potential reviews for November already and without a full host lineup for this it'd probably be too much to keep on top of on my own. If that doesn't change by the end of this week, I'll write up a full review for the book and either cancel or postpone this.

(Absolutely no pressure or guilt on anybody here! It is meant to be fun, and if it's not fun I don't want to try plowing ahead anyway. That way lies unpleasantness in general.)

Ugh, stupid Goodreads isn't always good with sending me alerts to new messages in this group. Missed a few posts but I'm here now and would like to volunteer for one of the weeks if this is still going on. I am a newbie at this, so maybe the last week?

Also, a post in the suggestions thread pointing others to this one might help, not everyone might have seen this either if the GR notifications system is flakey.

Mogsy (MMOGC) wrote: "Ugh, stupid Goodreads isn't always good with sending me alerts to new messages in this group. Missed a few posts but I'm here now and would like to volunteer for one of the weeks if this is still g..."

Argh! Thanks, and thanks! I'll put you down for the last week.

I've decided to do nanowrimo so I can't commit to the read along but would in December, no pressure either way ;)

Yeah, no pressure. If we need to push this back to December I am game too. No matter what I would really love to read this book!

I could do December if it's better for everybody - in fact it might actually be easier on me...

I can do December and host a week!

Hooray! One more and I'll rejig the schedule... ;-)

EDIT: Did it anyway.

I'm on board with the readalong.
If you need a host = happy to join in but couldn't do the 9th December.

Sorted! How does that work for everybody?

Looks good to me!

Perfect! HOORAY.

Excellent :D

Hello all! So here are my questions for Week 1 - sorry they're so late, this week's been a bit hectic for me. Anyway! Here we are. :D

(view spoiler)[
1. So this story picks up more or less where The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet left off, but rather than having an ensemble cast on an adventure, it seems this story is much more intimately focused on Lovelace (later named Sidra) and 'Jane 23'. What's your initial response to this shift in the narrative style between books? Is it one you appreciate or do you think you'll miss the ensemble aspect (assuming you've read Small Angry Planet)?

2. Sidra's first experiences of living confined to a body mean that readers get to see her new home, and her new world, through the eyes of someone who's never experienced it in such a way before. What aspects of Sidra's first days 'on the ground' on Coriol stand out to you, and why?

3. The POV switches regularly between Sidra in the present and Jane 23, a clone raised in some form of slave labour with many others of her kind, when she was a 10-year old girl. What do you make of Jane and her upbringing at this point, and where do you think her story might be going from here? Does her story interest you as much as Sidra's (or vice versa)?

4. In general, what's stood out the most to you about these chapters so far, and why? Has anything raised questions or curiosity, or particularly turned you off? Discuss your favourite bits!
(hide spoiler)]

Here's my Week 1 post: http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

My week 1 https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/12/02/...

I, uh, have a problem. It's enough weeks since I read Common Orbit that I can't just answer the questions and

a) it's amazing enough in how it handles its themes from page 1 and b) I'm tired enough that

I can't read it without floods of tears.

My beloved is outright laughing at me now. Especially as I keep telling him it's just because IT'S SO GOOD. Please send hankies.

Will try to get on top of it in time to post week one answers and week two questions by Wednesday latest!

No problem, and I'm totally not laughing at you too, I promise.

:D

Because I believe you, feel free to take advantage of this super-simple banner

(Working with the figures proved too awkward and I ran out of time, so super simple wins).

1. I loved the larger cast of the first book and I missed that in this one. Jane and Sidra's stories were interesting but I missed the worldbuilding of the first book.

2. I found it interesting that she does better inside walls because she can't turn off her scanning. That would be horrible.

Sorry all, forgot to post my link:
https://lynns-books.com/2016/12/03/a-...

Better late than never: https://onemore.org/2016/12/05/a-clos...

Week 2 questions will be up later today!

Heather wrote: "2. I found it interesting that she does better inside walls because she can't turn off her scanning. That would be horrible."

This really hit home for me too. I was glad she quickly hit on coping mechanisms (and thought it was clever to make the point that even her physical perspective on the world felt wrong to her - her instant relief at being high up in a corner). All the sympathy.

Imyril wrote: "Because I believe you, feel free to take advantage of this super-simple banner

(Working with the figures proved too awkward and I ran out of time, so super simple wins)."

Hooray! Thanks. :D

Week 2 questions!

(view spoiler)[1. Sidra has quite the range of emotional (and physical!) crises this week. What do you make of the ways she tries to cope/adjust? Do you think she can come to terms with herself?

2. How would you choose what memories to delete to save new ones? Is Pepper being sensible or is it an impossible thing to ask?

3. What are your first impressions of Owl?

4. There are lots of big big themes being unpacked as we get to the end of the first part. Which one(s) stand out for you? (How) Is it explored through each timeline?
(hide spoiler)]

My week 2 post https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/12/09/...

And me: https://onemore.org/2016/12/09/a-clos...

Here's mine! http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

Hi everyone. Sorry, I meant to post my questions last night but just got caught up with all sorts of other dramas. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this week’s chapters and here are my questions - although they’re more like thoughts to provoke discussion than outright queries:

(view spoiler)[

So, the opening chapters brought us an apology from Tak to Sidra following the tattoo debacle. What were your thoughts on that particular scene?

The stories between Jane and Sidra have a certain symmetry and this week’s was no exception as we watched the pair of them almost go through a period akin to puberty. Did any of their particular experiences bring back fond, or not so fond, memories for you?

I love the two separate storylines going on here and though Jane and Sidra share some common ground I think their stories both have something different to say. What are your thoughts on that?

I’m curious about the Enhanced. We haven’t really spent a lot of time with them but I still think we can draw some conclusions. Is there any aspect of the Enhanced and the planet on which they live that really caught your attention?

At the end of the chapters we have a couple of new developments. Sidra has managed to alter the protocols that compel her to speak the truth and the spaceship that Jane escaped in has been uncovered. Do you have any predictions how either of these might affect what is yet to come?
(hide spoiler)]

And, here is my week 2 post. Better late than never eh!
https://lynns-books.com/2016/12/09/a-...

My Week 3 https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/12/16/...

My week 3 post will (I hope) go up at some point tomorrow, after my shift. Today's been non-stop and I never got the chance to finish it. This may call for pizza and some form of alcoholic beverage...

I will get my post up this weekend - running late after week juggling jobs!

And here we go! http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...

And mine (finally!): http://onemore.org/2016/12/18/a-close...

I finished the book this weekend so I decided to put up the questions for Week 4 early - in case anyone else also wants to get a head start before the holiday madness!

(view spoiler)[
1. At the end of the last segment, we got to meet Laurian but this week we got to know him better in Jane’s sections and learn how he factors into these flashbacks. What do you think of his and Jane’s relationship and how has it impacted your understanding of the bond between Pepper and Blue?

2. In this section, we saw how Jane finally made it to the GC. Sidra, in her storyline, also makes headway in freeing herself from her programming and has developed a new kind of relationship with the kit. In a way, both of them managed to accomplish what they set out to do, but what do you think they each made of their results?

3. When the seeds of Sidra’s plan started to form, what were your thoughts? Did you have any concerns about what she might do and how things might end?

4. What did you make of Sidra’s comments on the nature of “Purpose”? How well do you think her views match with the examples we’ve seen so far in the story?

5. What did you think of the ending, and/or any closing thoughts?

(hide spoiler)]

It may actually be Saturday before I get mine posted this week, because I finish work on Friday but will probably have a busy day beforehand as well. If I don't get another chance to say so, I hope you all enjoy the holidays! :D

Hooray, I'm all caught up: https://onemore.org/2016/12/24/a-clos...

I'm a bit pushed for time this week (bet I'm not the only one ;) so I haven't enthused quite as much as I'd like, but I ended the book as I started it: in tears. Happy, happy tears.

Oops, forgot my link! https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/12/23/...

Finally! Here's my link: http://overtheeffingrainbow.co.uk/201...