The Sword and Laser discussion

Our September pick will be How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu.

Tom chose this one with the aid of some of our discord members.

Let us know what you think about the pick.

I'm assuming this is an anthology of shorts stories set in a shared universe.

I've heard it is dark in parts.

From the description and some reviews I skimmed it looks a little like Cloud Atlas in that it takes place over an extended period of time and it's listed as a novel, not short stories.

Jenny gave it 5 stars.

I loved Cloud Atlas! The film was gorgeous & the audiobook was incredible! I hope I like this too.

I really liked the film version of Cloud Atlas, so I'll give this book a shot.

I just read it and it was too depressing. Not really like Cloud Atlas at all. Trigger warning if you’re having a hard time with depression, death or the pandemic

has anyone listened to the audio? Any good

Tina wrote: "I just read it and it was too depressing. Not really like Cloud Atlas at all. Trigger warning if you’re having a hard time with depression, death or the pandemic"

Several other reviews mentioned that and, sorry, but skipping this. Honestly, its selection is a little tone deaf given the last 2 years.

Tina wrote: "I just read it and it was too depressing. Not really like Cloud Atlas at all. Trigger warning if you’re having a hard time with depression, death or the pandemic"

Thanks for the heads up. I think I’ll skip this. Dealing with at least 2 of those. I was already wary after reading the book description from Tom but this kind of puts it over the edge. Next month! I hope!

Sounds like it's heavy going, but then we had a super lightweight SF pick last time, so I guess we're due something heavier. Don't know yet if I'll participate in this read or not. The ebook is off-puttingly expensive (£7.97 for 300 pages) and the only copy at my library is on loan and overdue, so I may struggle to get hold of it on time. If I'm at a bookshop in the next few days I'll see if I can take a look at a physical copy.

Iain wrote: "has anyone listened to the audio? Any good"

My hold for the audiobook on Libby came in today, so I'll be listening to it soon & I'll report back my first reactions.

Ian (RebelGeek) wrote: "Iain wrote: "has anyone listened to the audio? Any good"

My hold for the audiobook on Libby came in today, so I'll be listening to it soon & I'll report back my first reactions."

Thanks for the reminder to check Libby - I’ve now borrowed the ebook so I can definitely join in with the read!

Yay, it's readily available in my library system. Shipped as of today. I'm excited to check this one out.

Library had lots of copies so I picked up a dead tree edition.

Read the free sample from kindle and I’m hooked. So count me in!

I've read the first chapter and I'm hooked too.

I'm about half way through and wouldn't say hooked, it's a bit depressing, but I haven't given up yet.

I’m on the wait list for the ebook from my library, but it’s probably going to be October before I get it.

I considered getting a physical copy, but I’m on the fence about the book, so I’m not sure it’s something I will want to own, let alone read, especially since my depression has been pretty bad lately. On the other hand, sometime a heavy book can help when I’m feeling like this and it does sound interesting to me - hard to know without reading it.

First chapter is excellent. But this going to very dark

Welp, halfway through the first chapter and I’ve decided this book isn’t for me. Contrary to my expectations, it’s not the subject matter that’s the problem, it’s the writing. I was expecting something capital-L Literary but good Lord this is some of the worst exposition-speak dialogue I’ve ever seen. It’s like a master class in how not to write dialogue. Oh well. An early return of the ebook to the library and on to the next read!

Yeah...it's not going to come in until October for me and I'm iffy on the book. I know Tom and Veronica have to try to meet the desires of the whole club so not everyone will be on board every time. Depressing AND nose-up lit'rary, two down markers for me. (Literary style can be fine, gimme Canticle for Leibowitz or the Hyperion Cantos. It can also be stifling.)

I've got some great Adrian Tchaikovsky coming in, and I just picked up Eon and it's decent. Eversion by Alastair Reynolds a few weeks out. That looks like a solid month of reading.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Yeah...it's not going to come in until October for me and I'm iffy on the book. I know Tom and Veronica have to try to meet the desires of the whole club so not everyone will be on board every time..."

If it helps I found the supposed literary style entirely lacking!

I started this earlier than I usually would since I have a lot of pre-ordered books coming out this month and given we have two current pandemics going on I think a warning should be issued this involves a deadly pandemic initially affecting only children. I'm going to also mention other content warnings in spoiler tags since they happen much later in the book so it can be skipped if you don't want to be spoiled/don't feel you need warnings.

(view spoiler)[ There is a suicide/killing of a mother and her disabled child who is a survivor of the plague after a cure has been found. (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[ As a disabled person, I found this section very upsetting since it focused on the Mother's pain and the pain of the man who wanted to be her boyfriend and not the fact she killed her killed daughter. (hide spoiler)]

I'm mostly done with the book so I'm planning on finishing it but if I'd really understood what I was getting myself into I think I'd have passed.

Ruth wrote: "Welp, halfway through the first chapter and I’ve decided this book isn’t for me. Contrary to my expectations, it’s not the subject matter that’s the problem, it’s the writing. I was expecting somet..."

Really, that first chapter is what got me into it. I kept waiting for it to go back to the global warming and science stuff.

First chapter got me hooked. Second chapter was tough to get through (subject matter, not writing style). I’m on chapter 5 now and do like the book and writing style. So far, I’d give it 4 stars. Keep in mind this is a little different than what I usually read. For comparison recently I’ve read Shards of Earth and Upgrade (Crouch) and I also really enjoyed Sea of Tranquility and Station Eleven. Happy Reading!

Martha wrote: "First chapter got me hooked. Second chapter was tough to get through (subject matter, not writing style). I’m on chapter 5 now and do like the book and writing style. So far, I’d give it 4 stars. K..."

I could have very much used a content warning about this book. I know Tom and Veronica want to avoid spoilers but given how I think almost everyone's mental health is in the toilet right now and I could have used CW: pandemic at the top of the book briefing as a warning.

I finished this book yesterday. I count it among a list of books I admired in many ways but that I also found quite lacking in others. The dialogue in particular is quite on the nose and wooden in some of the stories. I also wanted it to move me and it never quite got there in the way that a book that deals with loss and grief could (or should). Still, the author is clearly talented and ambitious and I would like to see where he goes from here.

The audio has a slew of narrators working on the tale. I do not know if that is a good sign or a bad sign. 6 weeks wait on the e-book in Los Angeles Public Library, which is good because I too have a ton of pre-orders coming in September. Hope it comes sometime after September 20th.

Ruth wrote: "Welp, halfway through the first chapter and I’ve decided this book isn’t for me. Contrary to my expectations, it’s not the subject matter that’s the problem, it’s the writing. I was expecting somet..."

This, and the fish-out-of-water crap that always annoys me, is why I lemmed this back in February. Reading past the first chapter this time, I'm hooked. I'm enjoying it, even, if you can enjoy such a heavy book.

The month has begun. go forth and discuss!