Beyond Reality discussion

Let us know what you're reading, or planning to read, this month! All genres are welcome here.

I've just started The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley, which is feeling New Weird-y in the vein of Jeff VanderMeer or China Miéville. I'm enjoying it so far.

I've also got Rat Queens, Vol. 4: High Fantasies on deck. I adore this series.

Currently reading:
Foundation's Triumph and Reality in the Shadows (Or) What the Heck's the Higgs?

The authors of Reality in the Shadows (Or) What the Heck's the Higgs? are joining in with the discussion this month in the Science Book Club. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Since I didn't make much progress on my plan last month, I will repeat the plan this month and see if I can get the The Foundation Trilogy read.

Still stuck on Persepholis Rising. I'm going through one of those stints where I can barely concentrate on anything for more than 5 minutes before I get interrupted. By the time I get into my car, I can't even stand the idea of putting on the audiobook. Too much input, too much noise.

Starting the Tales of Dying Earth and trying to finish The Korean War by Max Hastings

Just finished The Queens of Innis Lear, which I really liked. I thought a few bits here and there could have beem edited down slightly, but nothing thay affected my overall enjoyment of the book.

Started A Wizard of Earthsea; it's my first time reading it!

Right now I'm reading:


Old Man's War by John Scalzi - my favorite Scalzi book so far (of course that's not saying much...)


Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance - #3 in the Dying Earth series


To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - very lighthearted SF time travel homage to the Victorian Age classic Three Men in a Boat

non-genre books:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
March Violets by the recently deceased Philip Kerr
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall

I am reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. I have never read the Sword of Truth series and am leading a discussion of the main books in the series for another group here at Goodreads. I also plan to read at least one of the novellas in The Expanse series. The rest will be decided later.

Kathi wrote: "I am reading Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. I have never read the Sword of Truth series and am leading a discussion of the main books in the series for another group here at Goodreads."

Good luck with that, Kathi.

Jim wrote: "Goos luck with that, Kathi."

Thanks! I know the series has passionate defenders and others who strongly dislike it, so it will be interesting. I have to say I am enjoying this first book so far.

Kathi wrote: "Jim wrote: "Goos luck with that, Kathi."

Thanks! I know the series has passionate defenders and others who strongly dislike it, so it will be interesting. I have to say I am enjoying this first bo..."

I liked it the first time I read it when it first came out & it stands alone well. I didn't care much for it on reread, but mostly due to his handling of horses. There's a pretty good prequel story about Zed. The first few books are good, but it got old after a while. I don't remember how far along I got in the series, but I think my wife read most of them.

Kathi wrote: "Thanks! I know the series has passionate defenders and others who strongly dislike it, so it will be interesting. I have to say I am enjoying this first bo..."

The first few books are generic fantasy, not bad not great but then they got tedious for me, and I think he goes down a strange path.
I never made it that far.

The World of Poo by Terry Pratchett was kind of interesting & amusing. I gave it 3 stars in my review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished Wizard's First Rule and, other than (view spoiler)[the too long, too drawn out, too detailed, too repetitive torture of Richard at Denna's hands (hide spoiler)], I found it to be quite good. I even understand how important the part I hid by spoiler tags was to Richard's development of his talents and his understanding, but still...

Then I read The Machine's Child by Kage Baker. While I didn't like the changes in Mendoza's or Joseph's character, I was glad to have the overall plot moving forward (and backward) again.

Out of genre next with Time of the Wolf by J. Sydney Jones, but also going to read The Butcher of Anderson Station as I fill in the short fiction of The Expanse.

Kathi wrote: "Then I read The Machine's Child by Kage Baker. While I didn't like the changes in Mendoza's or Joseph's character, I was glad to have the overall plot moving forward (and backward) again."

Be prepared for lots of twists and turns as you get further into this amazing set of tales. A real shame that the author was taken from us in a less than timely fashion. I think of her as something of a literary genius.

Jim wrote: "Kathi wrote: "Then I read The Machine's Child by Kage Baker. While I didn't like the changes in Mendoza's or Joseph's character, I was glad to have the overall plot moving forward (and backward) ag..."

I have really gotten into these books. Yes, she is gone too soon. Damn cancer.

Out of genre

Started Failure Is an Option: An Attempted Memoir by H Jon Benjamin last night.

Lots of giggling mixed with some horror (that these things actually happened) and then more giggling.

I finished The High Council (Royal Institute of Magic #6) by Victor Kloss and started now on The Secret, Book and Scone Society (Miracle Springs, North Carolina #1)

Finished my book about Rome, from the Fall of Carthage to the end of Sula, this sets up Caesar in about 20 years.
It was called The Storm before the Storm. It's interesting how it parallels whats happening in the US now.
It was a pretty good read. It actually lead me the the Authors podcast called the History of Rome.

Started on The Illearth War
Working through on a reread so I can read the third Chronicles this winter.

Finished with Provenance, did not enjoy it.
Starting The Price of Spring which would be my last Daniel Abraham fix before the next Expanse book comes out.

Randy wrote: "Right now I'm reading:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - very lighthearted SF time travel homage to the Victorian Age classic Three Men in a Boat


Do you like it? I read the Doomsday book and liked it. I'm just a little wary because the original Three Men in a Boat is my all time favourite book.

Leserling wrote: "Do you like it? I read the Doomsday book and liked it. I'm just a little wary because the original Three Men in a Boat is my all time favourite book."

To Say Nothing of the Dog is an excellent homage to Three Men in a Boat. If you love the latter, you will really enjoy the former. It's much more lighthearted than Doomsday Book, even though it's set in the same "universe".

Silvana wrote: "Starting The Price of Spring which would be my last Daniel Abraham fix before the next Expanse book comes out."

Silvana have you read Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover? That is also by Daniel Abraham. It is an urban fantasy series, and I haven't read it, but it is supposed to be good if you like UF.

This past week I finished Sky in the Deep and the audio of The Demon King with my kids. I also finished Song of Blood & Stone and am almost done with Winter. Next up I think will be The Poppy War and Artificial Condition.

I am still working on a hard copy of To Green Angel Tower, Part 2.
On my iPhone Kindle app, I'm reading Trial of Intentions
On my iPad Kindle app, I'm reading the IDW TMNT comics.

I've just finished Tess of the Road which I greatly enjoyed (more thn the first book) and look forward to the next book. Next up is Gemina

Shel wrote: "Leserling wrote: "Do you like it? I read the Doomsday book and liked it. I'm just a little wary because the original Three Men in a Boat is my all time favourite book."

[book:To Say Nothing of the..."

Thanks. I'll put it on my wishlist. :)

My schedule has been surprisingly empty, so I’ve gotten a few books read:
Time of the Wolf by J. Sydney Jones: 6/10, a very quick read, with interesting characters, mixed motivations, a bit too much unpleasant sex, and a horrifying reality woven throughout the pages
Starless Night by R.A. Salvatore: 7/10, quite entertaining and less introspective than some of the other Drizzt books
While Angels Sleep by Judith Kelman: 3/10, really a bit absurd—characters are over the top, the conclusion is rushed with too many questions left unanswered, and only one of the characters is particularly likable (the visiting retired police chief)
The Butcher of Anderson Station by James S.A. Corey, short story from The Expanse series with a bit of Fred Johnson’s backstory.
I am now back to The Company series, having just started The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker. My understanding is this book wraps up the actual series, but there are a couple other books that are related to the main series that I also plan to read relatively soon.

Hi Justine, no I have not read Abraham's UF series. I don't think I will read it since I am not really a fan of UF. I still have Hunter's Run (his collaborative work with GRRM and Dozois) to read this year. Still hope he writes more epic fantasy though.

Christine, I'm so glad you liked Tess of the Road - I loved that book:)

Silvana, same here. The Long Price Quartet is probably my favourite of his and one of my favourite fantasy series overall.

Leserling wrote: "Do you like it? I read the Doomsday book and liked it. I'm just a little wary because the original Three Men in a Boat is my all time favourite book. "

To Say Nothing is much more lighthearted than Doomsday Book (at least so far - I'm not quite halfway through it). I'm not talking about Dunworthy's bumbling antics looking for a phone, but more of a Victorian-era frolic on the Thames. The book is an homage to Three Men in a Boat and those who have read Three Men will be rewarded by lots of little references. I'd say if you liked Doomsday Book and Three Men in a Boat, then To Say Nothing is right up your alley.

I finished both Gods and Pawns and The Sons of Heaven by Kage Baker. I decided to read the book of short stories before the last novel in the series because I read somewhere (here?) that one of the short stories in Gods and Pawns really helps with understanding what happens in the last novel.

Short stories are really not my thing because I usually get into the setting and characters and then--bang!--it's over. But since all of these stories are like episodes from the larger series of novels of The Company, it was OK. And I am glad I read Gods and Pawns before The Sons of Heaven.

As for The Sons of Heaven--wow! I absolutely could not see how Baker was going to bring the series to a satisfying conclusion--the characters and the plot were both kind of mess at the end of the previous novel, The Machine's Child. But she did it! I do still have another book of short stories and the "side story novel" The Empress of Mars to read, but I have finished the main series of The Company and I loved it! Some books more than others, as always happens in a series, but I highly recommend it!

The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher

Thanks, Randy. :)

I just finished 'The Third man'. I knew the film but had never read the book before. Before that I finished An Inconvenient Companion, which was so lala. I'm currently reading
In The Market For Murder (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #2) and Das Geheimnis der Königin. Next up: Pines

Recursion by Marion G. Harmon

I just finished reading Gemina which I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. Now starting on The Collapsing Empire

Since I last posted, I’ve read:
The Star Treasure by Keith Laumer, a short SF novel that seemed more like a long short story. Give the author credit for taking on a big philosophical issue: the nature of power and what happens when it is unlimited. Clearly the main character has extraordinary luck and survival skills. The story starts as an adventurous mystery but veers off course and, in my opinion, does not find its way back. 4/10
Siege of Darkness by R.A. Salvatore, another installment in the story of Drizzt the Dark Elf. This one rated a 7/10.
Gods of Risk and Drive, both novellas by James S.A. Corey set in the world of The Expanse, both very good.
by Roderick MacLeish. I put the cover on this one because apparently later editions have been edited and many reviews here in Goodreads and elsewhere find quite a difference between them, with the earlier edition getting far more positive reviews than the reworked edition (apparently make it more YA). With that said, I still did not find it all that compelling, 6/10. I thought this book held a lot of promise and certainly had some interesting ideas, but it never quite came together for me. Some central questions never got answered and Bentley’s final battle with Ombra, while personally quite a challenge, didn’t quite seem epic enough, given the premise of the entire book. Dr. Kreistein and Willybill were the most interesting characters—Willybill was especially painted to be menacingly mysterious, but I always though he was mostly observing and maybe even protecting Bentley. Many of the individual scenes were very effective but, as I said, the whole book just didn’t seem to come together convincingly.
I am going to try to squeeze in The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker and The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffrey before I start on the group reads I need to do for June.

I ceased Pines to read No Stone Unturned which is about the evolution of forensics to solve cold cases. An intriguing listen.
Since I'm so many books behind in this year's challenge, I decided to sort of 'cheat' in reading a few shorter ones (i.e. 10 to 14h). Maybe I'll do Snobs by Julian Fellowes next.

Starting Artemis by Andy Weir today. Also been fiddling around with more short stories over the week as I had time.

I foresee a bunch of overtime in my future for the next 6 months which is going to put a crimp into my already microscopic leisure time.

I've just finished The Collapsing Empire which I recommend; next up is Six Wakes

In the middle of Embassytown. It's typical Mieville, weird and lush worldbuilding.

I'm also starting my read of the Hugo nominees for short stories.

Kathi wrote: "I am going to try to squeeze in The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker and The Ship Who Won by Anne McCaffrey before I start on the group reads I need to do for June."

So I did that--The Empress of Mars scored 8/10 and The Ship Who Won scored 6/10.

Starting my June reads (but I may sneak in another Expanse short fiction...): Stone of Tears and The Bone Doll's Twin for a different group and Semiosis for this group.