Israel SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hello guys,

It's been a while since anything was posted here and 2016 is coming to its end, so it could be a good idea to sum it up here (and take your pulse if this group can get back to life :) ).

Unfortunately, I haven't read too much this year, and what I've read was mostly non-fiction. Hopefully, next year I'll read much more fiction. It looks like 2017 is going to be an interesting year, many series will come to their end, while many new series will be published.

As for debut-authors, It doesn't seem like there's a prodigy among them, at least among the fantasy authors (I'm not that familiar with what 2017 has to offer when it comes to scifi, as I do with fantasy) though I'm curious whether Isabelle Steiger's The Empire's Ghost, which is getting published by mcmilan, will deliver a really good epic fantasy, and if Anna Smith-spark's The Court of Broken Knives will live to the expectation of being a good grimdark fantasy. Adrian Tchaikovsky is praising her book. Plus, she's an aspiring Grimdark-Queen. Will she really become one? we'll found out about that.

Share your thoughts regarding 2016, your favourite books, new authors you've become fond of, expectations from 2017, 2017 releases that you're anticipating, interesting 2017 debut-authors, or whatever that comes to your mind.

Happy Hanuka !!! :)

I really liked Mistborn, although he is far from a debut author. Especially I enjoyed the second trilogy, which nicely deviates from epic fantasy into the 19th Century-esque world. I really like it when authors do something nonstandard with their settings. Sci-fi-wise, this year was okay, with odds and ends here and there, but during the upcoming 2017 I am planning a reread of Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld, and will read Scott Lynch's Locke Lamora series as well as the Witcher.

Brandon Sanderson is a genius author, no doubt of that, I really enjoy everything he writes. Mistborn trilogy is trully a masterpiece.
Mistborn's second series is supposed to be lighter in comparison to the first trilogy which was very epic. The second era is a 4-book sub-series that includes The Alloy of Law + another trilogy. You've read alloy +5&6, the last book of the trilogy is supposed to be written in 2018. It's interesting that you enjoyed more from the second series than the first trilogy. It was written just to entertain Mistborn fans until the next trilogy is out (Wax & Wayne books were originally planned as an intermidiate books between the first and second era, something like 1.5, though now it's called the second era).

I read The Alloy of Law and it's a great addition to the series, it's in a totally different tone and scope than the books in the first trilogy, but still very enjoyable. Shadows of Self is on the top of my list.

I haven't read Scott Lynch's series, though I've heard it should be great. The fourth book's release date is always pushed back while now there's not even a tentative release date. I'm wondering how he's going to finish this 7-book series in his condition, poor guy... I really hope his publication house go easy on him.

I have read a reasonable amount of scifi and fantasy this year but it was a mixed bag.
I read several that people had recommended but turned out to be disappointing: Consider Phlebas and The Knife of Never Letting Go
Then there was The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet I could have handled the limp story but the writing was just not good.

On the other hand The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was well written if a little too fond of torture, Station Eleven was a 5 star and Dan Abnett did not let me down with Horus Rising

In fantasy Cold Magic and the new Harry Potter were good while Charlene Harris was reliably fun with Living Dead in Dallas

But the star of 2016 was Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell one of my favourite books of the year.

Unfortunately I can't think of any particularly great books that I read in 2016. I keep hoping to stumble upon the next Sanderson or Rothfuss but it hasn't happened.
I was excited to start on the second book in Brent Weeks' Black Prism series but the story got a little too dark for me so I put it down a while ago and never picked it up again.
I was also excited to continue Michael J. Sullivan's Riyia Revelations series but for some reason it hasn't grabbed me.

I'm hoping 2017 will be a more successful readiing year for me.

Personally I less enjoyed the 1.5 Mistborn trilogy, don't get me wrong, it's nice and Sanderson is imo one of the best fantasy authors around but I'm currently just halfheartedly reading The Bands of Mourning, it just doesn't grab me as much as the first trilogy or Sandersons other books did.
The only 2016 book I really loved was We Are Legion (We Are Bob), which is original, funny and makes you think, but most of all it has a really interesting concept which was executed well.
Beside that, not a new book, but I've only just read The End of Eternity and it was amazing, more in the topics it makes you think about than the plot, but this is one of the main reasons I read SF.

I had a similar experiebce like Ester, I didnt enjoy The Handmaid's Tale, The Three-Body Problem, and The Bone Clocks. I realy realy liked Wool Omnibus, The Traitor Baru Cormorantand Morning Star. I also read good fantasy books, like The Black Prism, but good SF makes me happier :)

Efrat wrote: "I had a similar experiebce like Ester, I didnt enjoy The Handmaid's Tale, The Three-Body Problem, and The Bone Clocks. I realy realy liked Wool Om..."

I want to try The Three-Body Problem. What didn't work for you?
A couple of years ago I read Oryx and Crake which just didn't do anything for me. However so many people adore Margaret Atwood I feel I must give her another try so at some point I will probably read The Handmaid's Tale.

Wool I read in 2015 and liked it a lot. I must continue the series.

2016 finally brought as the translation of brandon sanderson's Words of radiance. Besides that there wasn't something really exceptional but there were some good books. Terry Pratchett's the shepherd's crown, Nexus of Ramez Naam and The girl with all the gifts were the best I think.

Esther wrote: "Efrat wrote: "I had a similar experiebce like Ester, I didnt enjoy The Handmaid's Tale, The Three-Body Problem, and The Bone Clocks. I realy realy liked..."

The Three body problem was intersting only because it's happen in comunist china. The charecters and the plot are boring, flat, unbeliveble.
The Handmaid's was better, but very slow. It took more then half the book before any action happend, and I mean any action.
Wool was so great I already read Shift, which was not so amazing but very intersting.