SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I'm still reading The Ships of Merior which I started on Christmas day. I started the omnibus Miles Errant last night to test my new LightWedge (a Christmas gift from my hubby which arrived "late" yesterday via UPS).

Further reading for January includes:

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Right now I'm reading Debatable Space by Philip Palmer. If I end up liking it, I'll read his other book, Red Claw. Beyond that, I have no idea yet what I'll end up reading.

Edit: Finished Debatable Space, and I suppose it was good enough that I will move onto Red Claw. In truth, it wasn't really that Debatable Space was good, just that I'd heard such terrible things about it that my expectations were very low, and the book managed to surpass those low expectations.

There was a lot of potential there, so I'm hoping that more of it's realized in Red Claw.

I'm currently reading 'Guns of Avalon' - Book Two of the Amber series by Roger Zelazny. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to finish all 10 books, since I have the omnibus version, or if I'm just going to finish up the current arc for now.

I really want to get to Heresy by S.J. Parris because I won an ARC through first-reads and I'd really like to review it some time this month.

After that, I'm not sure.

My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com

Lady wrote: "My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com"

I didn't like The Magicians at all, actually. I'd been expecting at least some originality, but as I got further on the book only got worse, and really disappointed me.

Sarah wrote: "Lady wrote: "My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com"

I didn't like The Magicians at all..."

Interesting..but I have to say that I've looked at reviews since starting..and they are exactly split like this...some really liking the book and some hating it. Don't know why..maybe it's about what one expected from it? But the split is very distinct.

LE

Rough Music by Patrick Gale

I just finished Black Sun Rising, Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Liked it. I would give it 8/10.
I almost started When True Night Falls, the second book of the trilogy but then thought better of it and started a thriller? me? thriller? the last one I read maybe some 20 years ago? Anyway, I started The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. A friend of mine says it is very good.

"An Evil Guest" by Gene Wolfe.

blackrose wrote: "I'm currently reading 'Guns of Avalon' - Book Two of the Amber series by Roger Zelazny. I haven't decided if I'm going to try to finish all 10 books"

When I read the series, I remember that book one was not the strongest, I was even somewhat disappointed. However, starting with book 2, I could not put the series down. Read all of it in one go.

Lady wrote: "My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com"

I just started THE MAGICIANS as well. I've been looking forward to it for awhile. Seems like people either love it or hate it.

(Side note, and I know this is completely shallow: but I absolutely love the hardcover illustration!)

Its been a great reading month for me so far. I've already read The Warrior's Apprentice, Assassin's Apprentice, and Old Man's War. I have a HUGE to read pile, but I'm hoping to get to The Vor Game, The Ghost Brigades, Under the Dome, Royal Assassin, Midnight Tides and Legends.

As always, I most likely won't get to it all, and I'll probably pick up something new, but that's just the way I am. Have a great January, everybody!

I finished The Ships of Merior by Janny Wurts (my review) last night. A very enjoyable continuation in the saga of the Light/Shadow War.

Over my morning cup of Irish Blend tea, I started To Reign in Hell by Brust, a novel I've been looking forward to for a month or two.

I'm struggling to finish Sinister Barrier by Eric Frank Russell. I don't enjoy reading it, but I'm almost finished now.

After that, I start rereading The Lord of the Rings, it's been a long time (since before the movies) and it will keep me occupied for the month I think.

Mike wrote: "Right now I'm reading Debatable Space by Philip Palmer. If I end up liking it, I'll read his other book, Red Claw. Beyond that, I have no idea yet what I'll end up rea..."

I saw good reviews for Debateable Space but the first 50 pages turned me off. Does it get better?

Lady wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Lady wrote: "My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com"

I didn't like The Ma..."

I liked the Magicians. I think people who have a problem with it regard it as overhyped because its "supposed to be a more realistic Potter book" but read on its own terms it was fine with me.

Arthur wrote: "I just finished Black Sun Rising, Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Liked it. I would give it 8/10.
I almost started When True Night Falls, the second book of the trilogy but then thought better o..."

I thought Black Sun Rising was superb, but its not hard to see transitioning from there to a thriller because of its darkness.

I saw good reviews for Debateable Space but the first 50 pages turned me off. Does it get better?

It has its moments. It still doesn't help that none of the characters are really likable. There are too many "out of nowhere" moments towards the end, and far too much of the book is devoted to the main character's "thought diary" (aka, the story of her life), a rambling mess of self-importance (which could very well be the author's, disguised as the main character's) that often stalls the story completely.

Honestly, if the first 50 pages turned you off, there probably isn't much there for you, since most of the rest of the book is just like the first 50 pages. There are some interesting ideas that just aren't given enough time to develop, but most of the book is just the main character being, alternately, a whiny jerk and an insufferable braggart, to the other characters and to the reader.

But as I said, I saw potential there, which is why I'm still moving on to Red Claw.

I in the middle of an UF called Vamped: A Novel. An odd story where all of humanity has become vampires living on factory grown blood. It goes into detail of how boring immortal life in the dark could be and those few humans that are left are controlled like cattle and sold at a costly price.

Sounds similar to the movie coming out called Darkness? Well, this isn't gore and monsters at all, much more thoughtful/philosophical, about what would disappear and be missed if everyone lived forever shunning the sun.

The protagonist, who is on the verge of committing suicide from the boredom, takes in a 6 year old mortal and hides her from his neighbors (saving her to eat later, so he tells himself.) He of course rediscovers the innocents of childhood and finds a reason to "live" again but is faced with many hurdles of keeping her alive (no grocery stores or gardens, no medicines, no TOILETS, and so on.)

Sword of Avalon, a continuation of marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series by Diana Paxson

Finished To Reign in Hell (my review) yesterday and Brothers in Arms (my reivew) this morning.

Moving on to Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was and hoping the cold medicine doesn't interfere with comprehension and absorption.

Jon wrote: "Moving on to Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was"

I loved The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox which I read years ago. Thanks for reminding me of a series that I forgot about.

So far this month I've read:
The Unincorporated Man by Eytan Kollin and Dani Kollin - good soft sci-fi
Star Wars: Republic Commando Book 1: Hard Contact by Karen Traviss - excellent military sci-fi, much to my surprise
Scenting the Dark and Other Stories by Mary Robinette Kowal - fantasy short story collection that didn't match my high expectations
Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier - very good romantic historical fantasy

Next I'm reading In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield, a fantasy novel I've wanted to read for some time, but for reasons I have completely forgotten.

Currently reading "7th Son: Descent" by J.C. Hutchins.

Christopher wrote: "Currently reading "7th Son: Descent" by J.C. Hutchins."

Oooh, I read that last month. I'll be curious to hear what you think! Are you reading the newly-released book or the podcasts? I heard they are slightly different, but I don't know how.

Cindy wrote: "Christopher wrote: "Currently reading "7th Son: Descent" by J.C. Hutchins."

Oooh, I read that last month. I'll be curious to hear what you think! Are you reading the newly-released book or the pod..."

I haven't listened to the podcast. I learned of his book from on Twitter. So far I'm liking it. It's starting to really pick up!

I make a break after the 1st book of Eisenhorn Omnibus by Dan Abnett. I am reading the first novel of A Kiss of Shadows (Meredith Gentry, #1) by Laurell K. Hamilton and started the first chapter of Kokoda by Peter FitzSimons.
Today I will go to the bookshop filling my TBR list ;-)

"Pirate Freedom" by Gene Wolfe, "Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick", "The Divine Invasion" by Philip K. Dick, "Gnarl!" (stories) by Rudy Rucker, and "The Glass Hammer" by K.W. Jeter. Would welcome feedback on any of these books or authors. Thanks.

Sarah wrote: "Lady wrote: "My kids bought me 'The Magicians' by Lev Grossman for Christmas so I'm reading that...I LOVE it...very well written.

Lady Ellen
www.lady-ellen.com"

I didn't like The Magicians at all..."

I didn't really like it either. It was just a grown up Harry Potter and not nearly as original or good.

Jeffrey wrote: "Arthur wrote: "I just finished Black Sun Rising, Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman. Liked it. I would give it 8/10.
I almost started When True Night Falls, the second book of the trilogy but then t..."

I read all three of those book and liked them all.

So I finally started When Everything Changed: The Amazing Journey of American Women from 1960 to the Present. It's a very uplifting book and startling to see just how much we take for granted now wasn't possible even 50 years ago for women. I'd recommend to anyone who read The Handmaid's Tale just to add some perspective to that book.

Next up is:
The Great Gatsby
A Tale of Two Cities

I'm trying to read one non-fiction and one classic literature book a month in addition to my regular reading. Not sure how well that will go when the baby gets here.

I also loved the Coldfire Trilogy. I've read it twice.

Christopher wrote: "Currently reading "7th Son: Descent" by J.C. Hutchins."

Read it last year and really liked it. I hope you enjoy it.

I'm currently reading Northanger Abbey Vintage Classics.

So far this month I've also finished Women in Medieval Japan Motherhood Household Management And Sexuality and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Just started Wake, the newest book by Robert J Sawyer. It's a pretty interesting intersection of neuroscience, censorship and the web. I don't think I've ever read a book that is so "now" - filled with references to LiveJournal, iPods and other pop culture goodies.

Heh. I've started reading H. Beam Piper. I've finished Space Viking and Little Fuzzy is next!

This month I've read the first five books of The Great Book of Amber, by Roger Zelazny, and now I'm a little more than halfway through an ARC of Heresy by S.J. Parris.

Next up I'm thinking something of the pseudo-Victorian - either The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber or The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen M. Beckett.

I have just started By Heresies Distressed by David Weber. I really enjoyed the first two books of the series. The main premise is the human society has been nearly destroyed by an alien race that found us by homing in our technology. A remnant of humanity escapes and founds a technology free society. Some millenia later, that society is trying to rebuild its technological base. In addition to being nicely written, Mr. Weber takes us through the process of technological advancement which is interesting from an historical perspective.

Christopher wrote: "Currently reading "7th Son: Descent" by J.C. Hutchins."

The 7th Son series is amazing! I listened to them on the podcast, and he instantly became one of my favorite authors. He has a new book out too, Personal Effects: Dark Arts, that I need to read.

I am currently reading 'Off Armageddon's Reef' by David Weber and 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman. So far both are amazing :)

Finished The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver.
Our dependency and blind faith in strings of 0s and 1s is a little bit scary, but what can we do? Could you imagine our life without computers, the Internet, etc.? What if someone abuses the system? Better not to think about it.
Otherwise the thriller is unremarkable.

Back to escapist world.
Fantasy.
Started When True Night Falls (Coldfire 2) by C.S. Friedman

I just started In Fury Born by David Weber. It is the greatly expanded (856 pages) re-do of Path of the Fury which I loved. So far I am liking the deeper look at Alicia DeVries, the very pissed off super soldier that carries the book.

Well, the book I was going to start hasn't arrived yet, so I started On Stranger Tides instead.

I finished Miles Errant (my review) last Friday and immediately started reading Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt Jr., which I've had checked out from the library since last November. The first hundred pages have been a bit of a disappointment (almost boring) but I keep reading on because it's Modesitt. :)

Jon wrote: "I finished Miles Errant (my review) last Friday and immediately started reading Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt Jr., which I've had checked out from the library ..."

Thank you for mentioning Modesitt. I've meant to read it, but haven't gotten to it yet.

Jackie wrote: "Sword of Avalon, a continuation of marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series by Diana Paxson"

Sword of Avalon was my first read of 2010. I got it signed by Diana Paxson. I liked it, though not as much as The Ravens of Avalon.

In January 2010 I also read the following books that are relevant to this group:
1) Best Short Novels 2006 and was impressed by "The Little Goddess" by Ian McDonald and enjoyed Harry Turtledove's "Audubon in Atlantis"

2)Heart of the Ronin, a samurai historical fantasy

3)A "graphic novel" based on the TV show Fringe

4)Prospero Lost: Prospero's Daughter, Book I, a fantasy in which Shakespeare's Prospero and his daughter Miranda are immortal and alive in the 21st century.

Since my last post I've read:
In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield - alternate history centered around mermaids interbreeding with the royal families of Europe. Slow start but an interesting political struggle spices up the narrative.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - steampunk, zombies, a secret underground society, and a mad inventor all bundled up in a glorious adventure.
The Other City by Michal Ajvaz - imagine if Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll wrote a book together.

Next I'm going to take a crack at Acacia: The War with the Mein by David Anthony Durham.

I just finished Dreamer, Silent Empire #1 by Steven Harper, and enjoyed it very much.

I finally got Mistborn from the Library. I can't wait to start, I have heard so many good things about it.

Yesterday, I finally finished Imager's Challenge (my review) which was a library book I've had checked out since before Thanksgiving.

I also read, yesterday, an ebook version of The Murders in the Rue Morgue as part of another reading challenge put forth by my local library, appropriately entitled Readers in the Rue Morgue since it's focus is mysteries.

I started reading The Master of Whitestorm and A Study in Scarlet (another ebook) yesterday as well.