SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I've just finished Never Let Me Go, set in dystopian Britain it was thought-provoking and I really enjoyed it. I'm starting a steampunk novel, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

Yesterday I finished Bruno, Chief of Police. I decided to pass for now on Maddigan's Fantasia, a YA post-apocalyptic novel, but I think there are some people here who might enjoy it, especially if you like fantasy.

At the moment I'm re-reading Paladin of Souls. I'm looking forward to reading Heroes Return when it comes out.

About to start on The Terror

Ala wrote: "About to start on The Terror"

You'll need a jacket reading that one. I felt cold in the middle of summer reading that one.

Just finished:
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas, which I rather disliked.
Bone and Jewel Creatures, by Elizabeth Bear, which I loved.
A Civil Contract, by Georgette Heyer, which was a comfort reread.

In the middle of:
Wild Seed, by Octavia E. Butler
Light, by M. John Harrison

Up next:
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
Absolution Gap, by Alastair Reynolds
Pebble in the Sky, by Isaac Asimov
Tales of Nevèrÿon, by Samuel R. Delany
The Bird of the River, by Kage Baker
Auralia's Colors: The Red Strand, by Jeffrey Overstreet
The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

I will be finished with Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge sometime today. This book is amazing!! Next on the old list is A Game of Thronesby George R R Martin. I am about 1/4 of the way finished and I am loving it so far.

July is when I'm on summer holidays, so I read like a fiend! I just finished:

Beggars in Spain
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella
The Seven Whistlers
The Cost to Be Wise and
We Have Always Lived in the Castle

I think that Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle will forever rank as one of the best stories I have ever read! If anyone can recommend more books like this one, PLEASE let me know!

I'm currently reading The Last Unicorn and am hoping to get to:

The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Under Heaven
The Long Walk
and am waiting for a couple of Janny Wurts to arrive in the mail.

Sigh -I love reading!

I'm halfway through 'Vlad' by C.C Humphreys.

Yesterday morning I finished
I guess it was......... an interesting story.
Although, I have nothing else to add. It didn't feel like a fantasy. Just fiction with a few mystical elements.

Same day evening I started in/famous :)
I liked the film and looking forward to reading it.

Just finished Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, which was engrossing, and I'm now about to start Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, another steampunk novel.

Arthur wrote: "Yesterday morning I finished
I guess it was......... an interesting story.
Although, I have nothing else to add. It didn't feel like a fantasy. Just fiction with a ..."

I also felt that there weren't enough fantasy elements in Under Heaven to qualify as fantasy. Even more importantly, it needed a great deal more editing. Kay could have cut a hundred pages and have had a much better book.

I finished The Desert Spear (my review) yesterday. A quick weekend read, even at nearly six hundred pages.

I'll continue on with Fugitive Prince while I wait for Furies of Calderon to arrive.

books i just finished:
Smoke and Shadows, Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Ashes, by Tanya Huff
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
The Ethos Effect, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

currently reading:
The Infinities, by John Banville
The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt
A Secret Atlas, by Michael A. Stackpole

considering to start on Fool's Errand, first book of Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. oh well, maybe i should just try to concentrate more on finishing those 3 books.

I just started Hidden Empire by Kevin Anderson. I wanted to start House of Reeds by Thomas Harlan, BUT, I couldn't find it anywhere around here so I had to buy it from Ebay!!
I'm still reading The Inferno by Dante but that is more of a "when I'm in the mood" kinda read...

Bellady -- I rather enjoyed A Secret Atlas. . . until a plot twist near the end that I totally hated and could find absolutely no real reason for. . . will be interested to hear what you think!

Bellady wrote: "books i just finished:
Smoke and Shadows, Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Ashes, by Tanya Huff
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
The Ethos Effect, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr."

What do you think about them? What is your opinion?

Phoenixfalls -- The first of Stackpole’s book I read was Talion: RevenantTalion: Revenant and I just loved it. It's the reason I read his other books.

Anyway, I’ve started reading A Secret Atlas on March. I think the world Stackpole created quite interesting, but I don’t know why, I just can’t get myself immerse into the story. Not to mention I feel like he put too much half- told backgrounds in the beginning, which make me have to remember many details, just because I’m afraid i won’t be able keep the story straight for the next books. Oh, also the flow’s a bit slow. To tell the truth, I get bored. And now, already july, and after many books later I’m still stuck. But, hey.. I have hope for it, yet.

Phoenixfalls wrote: "Bellady -- I rather enjoyed A Secret Atlas. . . until a plot twist near the end that I totally hated and could find absolutely no real reason for. . . will be interested to hear what you think!"

Arthur -- Those Tanya huff books obviously are trilogy. I read them nonstop on July’s 1st weekends. Totally engrossed I was, spent days and nights just to finish them. Full of non stop actions, sarcastic humors, not to mention wizards, vampires, ghosts and demons from another worlds, mashing with handsome egoistic actors in a Canadian’s TV industry. So, it’s all about show biz. :D

What can I say about Sedaris' books? Well, simply that I laughed my way off the pages.

Modesitt’s one of my favorite writers. I have and read all his fantasy works. The Ethos Effect was my first into the scifi world with him, and he still wrote true to his style. I enjoyed reading it, although maybe his kind of writing not to everyone’s taste. I can say this, coz a friend of mine said she didn’t really like his books after I raved about them :D.


Arthur wrote: "Bellady wrote: "books i just finished:
Smoke and Shadows, Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Ashes, by Tanya Huff
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris
The Ethos Effec..."

Bellady
Thanks!

I'm close to finishing:
Dread: How Fear and Fantasy have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to the Avian Flu.

Then I'll be rereading
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Little Women

I've got some interest in reading:
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter

Working my way through Elric: The Stealer of Souls and wrapping up Miles, Mystery & Mayhem.

I re-read The Queen of Attolia, and now I'm reading Hardcourt Confidential: Tales from Twenty Years in the Pro Tennis Trenches. I'm feeling some tennis withdrawal now that Wimbledon is over with.

I read The Edge on the Sword which was OK at best.

Just started Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko which was recommended by a friend who shares the same likes and dislikes in reading material as me. I am thrilled to say, Night Watch grabbed me immediately and I'm enjoying it immensely.

I finished reading Feed a day or two ago. If you care at all for zombie stories or new media, you must read it. :)

Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris looks neat, but I probably won't be able to read it this month.

I found an inexpensively priced copy of Life On The Border, which just arrived in the mail, so I'm going to be re-reading that.

I just finished Kraken by China Miéville. It was quite good, though I think I like his Bas-Lag stuff better.

I also finished Leviathan Wept and Other Stories, a collection of short stories by Daniel Abraham.

I was asked to recommend a few really good fantasy series that dealt with someone coming into power (royally or magically). I read the Cheysuli chronicles somewhere around 1993 when it first came out. That was 17 years ago. In describing the series I began to remember how much I loved this series and decided that it was time to revisit Homana and the magical warriors "The Cheysuli". If you like epic fantasy involving the struggle of good versus evil, shape shifters, magical warriors and ancient prophecies, you will love The Chronicles of the Cheysuli. The books are listed as follows:
1. Shapechangers
2. The Song of Homana
Omnibus 1 Shapechangers Song
3. Legacy of the Sword
4. Track of the White Wolf
Omnibus 2 Legacy of the Wolf
5. A Pride of Princes
6. Daughter of the Lion
Omnibus 3 Children of the Lion
7. Flight of the Raven
8. A Tapestry of Lions
Omnibus 4 The Lion Throne

You can buy the books individually of as Omnibus collections. I have listed both for you. I should also let you know that the authors name is Jennifer Roberson. Enjoy and good reading!

I just finished Kitty Goes to War by Carrie Vaughn. Another solid entry in the Kitty series.

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. Seems like it would most certainly be worth the time. Just finished Prodigal Son today!

Yesterday I finished re-reading The King of Attolia and today I finished re-reading A Conspiracy of Kings. I think some of Turner's dialogue is brilliant, but sometimes the religious theme bothers me. This is not because I hate religion; I don't. But when you're writing about someone who the gods have a special interest in and seem to have allocated a heroic destiny to, you sometimes have to go out of your way not to make things seem too easy or boring because destiny and the gods are involved. There are other storylines in the series I don't necessarily find to be convincing but ... I guess I won't really be able to have a firm opinion until the series is finished.

The mystery reading continues. I read Ruth Downie's Medicus, and tried to read its sequels. But the setting is more compelling than the characters and the story so ... I guess my search for a mystery set in the Roman Empire that I find to be compelling continues. I may try Steven Saylor and/or Rosemary Rowe's books next.

Still Life was decent. Not perfect, but I think the author shows promise. And she's been racking up the mystery genre awards over the past few years with the sequels, apparently. So I will probably read those, or at least the next one, and see how I feel after that.

On the non-fiction front, I've just started reading For All the Tea in China: Espionage, Empire and the Secret Formula of the World's Favourite Drink.

I'm reading Who Fears Deathby Nnedi Okorafor, a post-apocalyptic African fantasy that is shaping up to be a strong candidate for my best read of 2010.

Shomeret wrote: "I'm reading Who Fears Deathby Nnedi Okorafor, a post-apocalyptic African fantasy that is shaping up to be a strong candidate for my best read of 2010."

That book sounds really interesting. I heard her interviewed on the now-defunct Geek's Guide to the Galaxy and she sounds like someone who would write really well.

I'm reading Kraken and His Majesty's Dragon on my Nook and I finally started reading the latest Dresden Files novel, Changes.

My audiobook du jour is The Sacrifice by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. It was free on Audible, so I downloaded it.

The Left Hand of God - Paul Hoffman

A FirstReads book.

Finished
1/3 into
:)

About 2/3rd through The Passage - Justin Cronin. I forgot who it was that recommended The Passage to me last month after I finished The Windup Girl, but I have some serious thanks to give. It is absurdly good, and I never would've bought this book, impulsively or not (okay, all my books are impulse-buys), if it weren't for the timing of that rec. I just love it when authors make me put a book down and go, "I can' believe he just did that," you know, in a good way.

Also reading Sherlock Holmes stories when I don't feel like carrying the giant hardcover of The Passage around.

Coming up: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Dispossessed (I'm playing catch-up with the monthly reading ^_^), possibly Under The Dome.

I finished The Furies of Calderon (my review) yesterday and will continue absorbing the second half of The Fugitive Prince.

I am reading The Third Claw of God by Adam-Troy Castro

I was on a short vacation the last few days and blazed through a couple of books. The first was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This YA novel was recommended to me by a couple of friends and was surprisingly good. The second I read was The Unnatural Inquirer by Simon R. Green.

Not sure what I'm going to read next.

I am about halfway through .

These two books aren't really SFF, but this is really the only group I post in.

I read All the Names by José Saramago and The Adventure of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle by Patrick Rothfuss.

I was a bit underwhelmed by All the Names. The Rothfuss book...well, when the author said this children's book isn't for kids, he really meant it.

I wouldn't worry about whether all the titles you read in a month are Sci-Fi/Fantasy related. It's interesting to me to see what other people read besides SF/F. It gives you little hints into their personality and I might find a non-SF/F book that looks interesting to me.

Hi Mallie! What Georgette Heyer are you considering? (I've actually only ever read A Civil Contract and have been getting everyone around me's opinion on which to read next. . .) :)

I picked up The Gaslight Dogs from the hold shelf at the library yesterday. And I must read The Rainbow over the weekend as I have a real life book club meeting Tuesday night to discuss it.

I should finished Fugitive Prince today or tomorrow and I'll continue my in-depth re-read of Curse of the Mistwraith.

Re: SF Romances
I can think of several that I've read and several authors that I know by reputation as "Romantic SF authors." They ones I've read (and recommend) are:

Archangel, by Sharon Shinn (and its sequels)
Shards of Honour, Komarr, and A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold (but Shards of Honor is where you should start, as the other two have ten novels worth of character-building going into the romance)
The World Wreckers, by Marion Zimmer Bradley (though this is decidedly non-standard; it's a human-alien romance and the alien half is a hermaphrodite so it does a fair amount of gender-bending)(a couple other Darkover novels have romance elements, but I don't consider them strong enough to warrant inclusion in this list)

And the authors who have that reputation are:
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (their Liaden universe, at least)
Catherine Asaro
Ann Aguirre
S.L. Viehl (at least the Stardoc stuff)

And I could have sworn there were more, but I'm blanking at the moment. :)

This month I finished Midnight tides by Steven Erikson. Now, I am reading Bonehunters by Steven Erikson and pretty close to finishing it.

Finished & .
Started :)

I am reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

I gave Discord's Apple a read. Some of the ideas were interesting, but the story fell somewhat flat, to me.

Of Sugar and Snow: A History of Ice Cream Making was a fun read. (Though the last two or three chapters were not as interesting as the rest of the book.)

The Female Brain was interesting and potentially useful.

I re-read The Last Hot Time and thought it had very interesting characters, an interesting setting, and a somewhat flawed ending. If you like old-style urban fantasy and/or have a liking for Capone-era Chicago, I'd give it a read.

Thanks Lara Amber. :) And welcome, Mallie!

I just finished Oath of Gold by Elizabeth Moon. This is the last book in the Deeds of Paksenarrion trilogy and it was a good finale to the series.

Laurel wrote: "July is when I'm on summer holidays, so I read like a fiend! I just finished:

Beggars in Spain
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella
The Seven..."</i>

I am also an enormous fan of [book:We Have Always Lived in the Castle. You might like Caitlin R. Kiernan. Have you heard of her? Dark fantasy. Try Threshold and then Low Red Moon. I can't describe what a great writer she is.

I am reading If I Stay almost done yay