Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

What are you reading this August?

Just finished my reread of The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter, which was just as fun as the first time I had read it. Now I have to mull over which book I'm going to read next...

The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean by David Abulafia

As much Jack Vance as possible.

Completed:
text:

Audible:
and once again:
==========================================
Authors:
P. Djèlí Clark, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon SandersonAdrian Tchaikovsky, Tade Thompson, José Luis Zárate
Narrators:
Nick Podehl
Translators:
David Bowles

It was the release date of Katherine Vick's new book, The Merry Band yesterday (the second in her Plot Bandits trilogy).

I took the day off work and just devoured it fuelled by tea and cake - a day of perfect indulgence that non-readers would never understand!

Of course, now I have to wait for Book 3 to be published *headdesk*...

That series looks interesting, Chriss! In the pile it goes.

Michelle wrote: "That series looks interesting, Chriss! In the pile it goes."

Hi Michelle. I would really recommend the Plot Bandits series - it's funny, anarchic and unlike anything else I've ever read. A great addition to the 'to-read' list of any fantasy fan.

If you have any book recommendations, please do share - I'm always looking for fantasy reads that are a bit out of the ordinary.

Chriss

Sure thing!

Chriss, I wasn't able to view your library to see what types of books you like for recommendation purposes, but you're more than welcome to look through my library. I'll warn you, though, that my genres can be quite varied!

I have been rotating three different series, Michael Sullivan's excellent Riyria fantasy, one light romantic fantasy trilogy which just ended with "Ember" by S.G. Prince, and Douglas Jackson's historical fiction. So now that it's his turn, I just began Scourge of Rome: (Gaius Valerius Verrens 6).

Michelle wrote: "I have been rotating three different series, Michael Sullivan's excellent Riyria fantasy, one light romantic fantasy trilogy which just ended with "Ember" by S.G. Prince, and Doug..."

Hi Michelle. Not sure why you can't see my library (must look at my settings), but I will definitely be checking yours out. Thank you for the recommendations - the Riyria books and Hero of Rome have already been added to my 'to read' list and I'm sure I will find some more gems in your library. Thank you! :)

You're welcome!

Finished Binu and the Great Wall. That was an unusual tale, about a woman whose husband was taken to work on the Great Wall of China and she wants to bring him some winter clothes. That's adventure is straightfoward enough but the I guess the legendary part comes in due to the fact that when she cries, she cries rivers and floods, it comes out her toes and her hair. There was a lot of crying :) But as I know very few Asian myths, folklore or fairy tales, this was nice.

Continuing the Fallen YA series with Passion by Lauren Kate

Monster Hunter Bloodlines by Larry Correia

Stand Against the Light: Eclipse Must Win! or Die! by George Phillies

Finished Passion. While I was at the library just poking around the kids section I found Secrets of Valhalla by Jasmine Richards. Now I didn't need more middle grade Norse books (I've got two series at home) but couldn't resist and it's only two books long. If I don't get around to those other series (the year is really starting to run out, my to read pile is still huge!) then at least I'll cover my BINGO slot with these.

Still making (slow) progress on Great North Road, but I am enjoying it. I read Me & Joe Priest - a graphic novel set in a dystopian future where humanity has become sterile. The artwork was good, and the story had some good ideas, but too often descended into reading like a script to a bad 80s sci-fi movie, mixing Mad Max and a bunch of other genres.

My review of Double Threat by F. Paul Wilson

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Already finished Secrets of Valhalla, was a bit of a mismash between Roman and Norse gods, but given Saturday is for Saturn, while all the rest of the days of the week are for Norse gods, it actually made some sense to deal with Roman gods in a Norse god story.

Now reading The Fire Gospel by Michel Faber. This is in a series of myth retellings, but this is not a retelling at all, it is more a Da Vinci Code type tale, but it's quick, it's light, and I'm finding I'm actually enjoying it.

Fire Gospel turned out to be a really fast read. How would the world react if someone found another gospel, written by the contemporary of Jesus, not centuries later, who shows that ultimately Jesus was just a man, no miracles, no magic, with the same human failings as the rest of us (but still a spiritual leader and all that)

I had another light read lined up after it since I thought Gospel would take me more brain power - Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs - a school for greek demi gods, kind of a Percy Jackson / Harry Potter mashup with a female lead character

I read the graphic novel Hell on Earth. It's a nice adaptation of the Robert Bloch story. I'm not usually a fan of Keith Giffen's artwork, but it works very well here.

Fate of the Free Lands by Jack Campbell

I finished The King's Trial. It was a likeable, clean YA book. It has some religious overtones, so it's not for everyone.

I'm onto the next in Douglas Jackson's Gaius Valerius Verens series, (I think it's the 7th?) Saviour of Rome:.

When I get time on the computer, I'm starting on the RivetedLit.com freebie Wither by Lauren DeStefano

I'm really blazing through books this summer (past few days too hot to go out, and with COVID, no air conditioned places I want to go)

Finished Oh. My. Gods. It was actually fun, nothing unique, the same girl falls for the bad boy when a good boy was available story (only bad boy turns out to be misunderstood so it was ok he was a jerk) but it wasn't done in a serious romance novel angsty way, this book was all about the humour, so it worked. I'll have to track down the sequel now, my library didn't have it.

Next up is a library book, the sequel to Secrets of Valhalla - Keeper of Myths by Jasmine Richards, which should be even more lighthearted silliness, just a younger age group.

I finished The Quantum Magician, and I am now embarking on Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

I read the graphic novel Nightwings, an adaptation of the Robert Silverberg novel. A 48-page graphic novel is far too short to do justice to a 256-page novel, but the artwork is gorgeous.

Although I haven't read it in a long time, I can remember being very impressed by the novel... If I can find it I might re-read it. LOL. I can certainly imagine it lending itself to a graphic novel interpretation.

Finished Keeper of Myth. Now finally on to something more serious - Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis - which will fill my non-human protagonist slot.

Another graphic novel adaptation of a classic sci-fi story, this one was Frost and Fire. Again, I don't think it does justice to Bradbury's story, but the artwork is lovely.

My review of Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished another volume in the excellent reprint series The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume 13, and have started a reread of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I am continuing to make progress in Great North Road

you guys are making my to-read list so long lol so much great books being mentioned here.

When I finished the excellent Saviour of Rome:, I was so upset with something that happened at the end that I had to read comedies post-haste. The first was my favorite short story by Michael J. Sullivan, The Jester; now I'm knee-deep into The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, which has given me the serious giggles multiple times!

Fifteen Dogs was actually pretty interesting, not that I know that much about dogs (I've always had cats) but I think the author did a good job of keeping them dog-like while still providing them human intelligence (via in the interference of a few greek gods)

Next up continuing the Fallen series with Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate which is just a collection of a few short stories and is very short overall.

Spacefarers: How Humans Will Settle the Moon, Mars, and Beyond is a really interesting nonfiction book & is written from a practical perspective. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm in the middle of Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky

As a coda to 'Spacefarers' I watched Disney's "Man in Space" (1955). This was one of their Sunday shows which came on at 7pm on channel 11 when I was a kid & was a time the whole family watched TV together. The show aired 2 years before Sputnik, so I was surprised by how well the basics were explained including the first quarter being a history of rockets. The explanations were enhanced by quirky cartoons, too. Werner Von Braun & other notable rocket pioneers were not only mentioned, but spoke at some length on their parts of the space program. Von Braun describes a 4 stage rocket that boosted a space shuttle nose cone carrying 1o people into orbit which then glided back down. The 1300 degree hull temp they projected was less than half that of the space shuttle (3000F) but I was still impressed by how much they got right. It's well worth watching.

As I get towards the end of the Fallen series I just want to get it wrapped up, so after finishing Fallen in Love (which was super short) I'm starting on Rapture by Lauren Kate

If you're looking for a good book, you might find it in this NPR list, We Asked, You Answered: Your 50 Favorite Sci-Fi And Fantasy Books Of The Past Decade
August 18, 20215:00 AM ET
Petra Mayer at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 21, 2019.
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/18/102715...

It's interesting to see that most of the books are (relatively) recently published works.

The title says it's for the past decade. I don't know about you, but I often find myself thinking something 30 years old is fairly new. My kids are all in their 30s & they catch me at it all the time, especially with the arts. Old bands & movies to them seem relatively new to me.

Jim wrote: "The title says it's for the past decade. I don't know about you, but I often find myself thinking something 30 years old is fairly new. My kids are all in their 30s & they catch me at it all the ti..."

This is true!

Yes indeed. I find myself looking around me know, judging the age range of the people around me before opening my mouth and uttering a pop culture references no one will understand

And how about the way our physicians seem like they just graduated high school?! I swear they look younger every year.

Robin, one time I made a reference to Deborah Harry from Blondie to a young co-worker, and she thought I was talking about the comic strip.

Michelle wrote: "Robin, one time I made a reference to Deborah Harry from Blondie to a young co-worker, and she thought I was talking about the comic strip."

I would have thought the comic strip was much more obscure, but I just checked, and it's still in publication.

Michelle wrote: "And how about the way our physicians seem like they just graduated high school?! I swear they look younger every year."

Yes, it's a bit unnerving. Many of my coworkers & vendors are my kids' age or younger. I agree with Robin about the references. I get a lot of the newer ones simply because of my kids.

Catch phrases from once popular comedy shows and once famous pop stars and actors are the worst, 'sorry? What did you mean?' Generators...☺