Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

It's time to send in your nominations for our March 2010 Books of the Month. As always, every member may nominate one SF and/or one fantasy novel, by posting a reply to this message with the title and author of the novel(s). Please also let us know why you're nominating the novel - it may help motivate people to vote for it! Almost any SFF novel is eligible: an old favorite, something you've just read and would like to discuss, something on your to-read shelf. You can also re-nominate any book that that was nominate before but didn't win. We'll take nominations until Dec. 20th.

Stefan

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:

FANTASY:

Forest of Hours, by Kerstin Ekman (mawgojzeta)
Song for the Basilisk, by Patricia A. McKillip (shel)
Flesh and Spirit, by Carol Berg (chris)
Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop (kerry)
Finch, by Jeff Vandermeer (cliff)
In the Night Garden, by Catherynne M. Valente (nick)
The Etched City, by K.J. Bishop (candiss)
The Stone Mage and the Sea, by Sean Williams (anomander)
The Silent Gondoliers, by William Goldman (richard)

SF:

Clade, by Mark Budz (carolyn)
Becoming Alien, by Rebecca Ore (mawgojzeta)
The Birthday of the World And Other Stories, by Ursula K. LeGuin (shel)
Diving into the Wreck, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (chris)
This Alien Shore, by C.S. Friedman (kerry)
The Risen Empire, by Scott Westerfeld (cliff)
Stations of the Tide, by Michael Swanwick (candiss)
The Blue World, by Jack Vance (anomander)
The Iron Dream, by Norman Spinrad (richard)
The Merro Tree, by Katie Waitman (janny)

Hi! I've definitely got some ideas, but as a new member I don't want to repeat a recommendation that you've already done - is there a master list somewhere of the books that have already been discussed? :) I looked but couldn't find one (of course, it's probably right under my nose...)

Hi Shel,

Check the first 2 posts here:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...

Stefan

I knew it had to be somewhere. Thanks! I'll take a look and come back with nominations :)

Shel, scroll way down on the front page and you'll find the group's bookshelf. There are almost 200 books on it, good idea to check it out before making a nomination. = )

I'll nominate Clade by Mark Budz. It looks like a good 'hard' science fiction book that you can sink your teeth into.

Here's a description:
"This unique high-tech thriller set in the ecologically ravaged Earth of the future, in which social and ethnic hierarchies are rigorously enforced by nano and bio-technology, creates a startlingly realistic vision of the possible future.

and this is from the book's description page on GR:

IT’S A POST-ECOCAUST WORLD.
WELCOME TO IT.

In the San Jose of tomorrow, all of nature is gengineered—from the warm-blooded plants to the designer people. But even in a rigidly controlled biosystem, with its pheromone-induced social order, the American dream is still the American dream. Caught between these new-old worlds, Rigo is on his way up—he’s going to be part of tomorrow, even if it means he has to leave today behind.

Written off as a sellout on the streets of his old ’hood, Rigo’s got his own ap in an aplex, a 9-to-5er, and a girl. He’s got opportunity. If he works hard, his job with a heavyweight politicorp could give him a chance to move up in the clades. But when he’s chosen as part of a team to construct a new colony on a nearby comet, Rigo smells a setup. And when disaster strikes, he learns that if there’s a way to bend the rules, there’s also a way to break them…

Fantasy nomination: Forest of Hours by Kerstin Ekman. I have wanted to read this for quite awhile and think (from the description) it will be a book I want to talk about at length. It is about a magical being that lives for 500 years in the area of Sweden.

Sci-Fi nomination: Becoming Alien by Rebecca Ore. I have read this twice and thoroughly enjoyed it (as well as the sequels, although this book ends in a way where you don't feel like you have to read the sequels if you don't care to). The main character is a teenage orphan being raised by his drug dealing older brother on a farm when an alien ship crash lands on the property.

You guys have read some awesome books - I'll have to dig through the archives when I have time to see what you've had to say about them!

My nominations:
For fantasy, Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip. I haven't read all of her books yet, but out of the ones I have read, this is my favorite. It's a revenge fantasy - mostly - but so much more than that, with memorable characters and music woven throughout the whole book. Her prose is absolutely gorgeous.

For science fiction, The Birthday of the World And Other Stories by Ursula K. LeGuin. It's an anthology of short stories that examine various types of societal structures - gender roles, different types of marriage structure, etc., and there's a lot to talk about. I've read these twice and upon finishing, both times, found myself yearning for someone else to talk them over with.

Oh, and I should mention that in a few stories in the LeGuin book, there are some slightly odd societal sexual practices (e.g. in a society where there are 16 women to each one man, the men live and work in a "f**kery", which is exactly what you think it is) so if that bugs you, don't vote for it.

For SF Diving into the Wreck, a very good SF book.

For fantasy, I'm editing this because I thought of something. Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg.

I'm going to nominate Daughter of the Blood again for fantasy.

For SF, This Alien Shore which has been hanging around the TBR for way too long and still sounds interesting to me. (It's been read by the group before, but in 2003 before I joined, so I figured I'll toss it out for other newer members.)

If its eligible I'd like to nominate Finch by Jeff VanderMeer for fantasy. Its the third book set in the Ambergris universe. We've already read the first one City of Saints and Madmen. From what I understand the books are not linear and so I believe the third book is eligible even though we haven't read the second book, but I could be wrong. If it's ineligble I'd like to nominate In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente.

For Sci-Fi I'd like to nominate The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld.

Even if "Finch" is nominated by Cliff, I would like to nominate for fantasy In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente. She's too good to not get selected sooner or later.

Fantasy: I'd like to nominate The Etched City by K.J. Bishop. I started this several months ago and loved the atmosphere and characters...then I got sidetracked with "real life". I'd love to start this again and discuss it with others.

Science Fiction: I'll nominate Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick. I really appreciate Swanwick's storytelling, and I've been wanting to read this Hugo and Nebula winner for several years. It looks like it would be ripe for discussion, as well.

For fantasy i'd like to nominate By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey. You should only look at the description of the books to see that it looks quite interesting.
Nomination cancelled!

I have no nomiantion for Sci-fi yet...might come up with something soon though.

One thing about By the Sword - it looks like a standalone but it's actually part of Lackey's overarching series of Valdemar books and there are quite a few bits that won't make sense without having read the others...

Shel wrote: "One thing about By the Sword - it looks like a standalone but it's actually part of Lackey's overarching series of Valdemar books and there are quite a few bits that won't make sense w..."

Really? I was under the impression that these books were part of a series though also good as standalones...
What do you mean by "quite a few bits that won't make sense"?
Does it deal with main charaacters from previous books?

The main character is new, but she encounters a lot of the characters from earlier books and their backstory is helpful to understanding the events of this one. You could probably figure it out on your own, but it would make more sense if you knew the history. Also you'd get more out of the book if you were already familiar with Valdemar and its Heralds. That's just my opinion, though. I have only ever read them in order so I couldn't tell you what this one is like on its own!

My nominations:

For SF:
The Blue World by Jack Vance

For Fantasy:
The Stone Mage and the Sea by Sean Williams

Shel wrote: "The main character is new, but she encounters a lot of the characters from earlier books and their backstory is helpful to understanding the events of this one. You could probably figure it out on..."

I guess in that case there's no point in reading something you can't fully enjoy. I'll edit my previous post the, and cance the nomination.
Thanks for letting me know, Shel!

You're welcome :) FWIW, I *do* recommend the series - it's one of my favorites, even though the earlier books are pretty clearly her first published works. If you want, I can send you (or post here, if others are interested) my recommended reading order for the series.

Shel wrote: "You're welcome :) FWIW, I *do* recommend the series - it's one of my favorites, even though the earlier books are pretty clearly her first published works. If you want, I can send you (or post he..."

I'd like that very much! Thanks!

I'd like to nominate:

SF The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad. An SF book by an Alternate History Hitler, what's not to like about that. Sure to divide opinion and get people going.

Fantasy The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman. A short novel by the wonderful author of The Princess Bride.

Richard wrote: "I'd like to nominate:

SF The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad. An SF book by an Alternate History Hitler, what's not to like about that. Sure to divide opinion and get peo..."

I never heard of The Silent Gondoliers. Is it anything like the Princess Bride?

I allowed Finch, because the resident Vandermeer expert at FanLit told me it can be read without having read Shriek. However, I'm glad someone else threw in the Catherynne M. Valente novel, because she's insanely talented and deserves a wider readership. Also, great to see a Jack Vance nomination!

I've just updated the list in the first post - let me know if I missed anything.

Vance is interesting, but it's even cooler to see a Norman Spinrad book nominated. And not an alternate history novel, but a novel from within an alternate history -- how funky an idea is that!

I'm reading In The Night Garden right now and it's absolutely amazing.

I saw The Stone Mage and the Sea at Fictionwise yesterday and thought it looked interesting. Maybe I'll pop in in my cart after all.

For fantasy, I would strongly second Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg. This little series had everything I look for in a fantasy - great characters, a very original plot, a stunning presentation of a magical world in parallel with her fantasy setting, nothing at the start being as it first seems, and a gorgeous unfolding that delivered (in the second volume of this Lighthouse duology) an amazing ending. This numbers among my best reads, ever.

For SF, I'll put forward a little known title, The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman. This book came out and practically disappeared. It was extremely well done. I don't expect it to win over the rich list popularly recognized names, but it deserves to be looked at in its own right. The writing is beautiful, the story, unforgettable, and the theme of multi cultures and the value/peril of the impacts of entertainment unforgettably well done.

I wish we could have seen more of this excellent caliber from this author.

I second Flesh and Spirit as I just purchased that a couple of weeks ago. :)

Alrighty folks, nominations are closed (one day late, sorry). I'm going to set up the first round of polls now. They'll stay open until Christmas day, and the top 2 of each poll will move on to the run-off polls.