Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

It's time to start taking nominations for our October Books of the Month! As always, you can add 1 SF and/or 1 fantasy nomination, by posting a reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s). Adding a note about why you're nominating the book will help people decide whether they want to read it.

I'll take nominations until July 19th and set up the first round of polls on July 20th.

Stefan

NOMINATIONS SO FAR:


FANTASY:

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip (sandi)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (laurel)
Little, Big by John Crowley (richard)
Transformation by Carol Berg (sandra)
Resurrection Man by Sean Stewart (phoenixfalls)
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (candiss)

SF:

Anathem by Neal Stephenson (charles)
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt (sandi)
Archangel by Sharon Shinn (kerry)
Slow River by Nicola Griffith (nick)
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (chris)
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper (jeff)
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany (richard)
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward (random)

I would like to nominate the following

Fantasy - Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Science Fiction - Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

I'm a big fan of Neal Stephenson and loved Anathem, but I think calling it fantasy might be a bit of a stretch... Would you like to pick one of the 2 books you listed as the SF nomination, and something else for fantasy?

I would like to nominate The Bell at Sealey Head for fantasy. It just sounds interesting.

I can't think of anything for science fiction.

I would like to nominate The Last Unicorn. I think it's a classic of the fantasy genre, and one of the finest reads I've ever had.

Okay, I have a science fiction nomination: Time Travelers Never Die. It's on sale at Audible for $5.95 until the 20th.

I'd like to nominate Archangel by Sharon Shinn. From what I've heard - I haven't read it - I'm not sure if it should be nominated in SF or Fantasy, so I leave it open to the wisdom of the group where to put it.

That's a tough one to place, I think. I remember someone that at first thought it was fantasy posing as SF, but then decided that it's really romance posing as both of those. Or something to that effect. So - I don't know. Fantasy?

I think Fantasy

The world is definitely science fiction, but that doesn't really become clear until book #2; in Archangel the SF elements are just hinted at. (It's one of those worlds where humans have forgotten their technological past.) However, from reviews I've read, if it gets chosen readers should keep in mind that it *is* a SF world -- it seems like the ones that read it as fantasy based on Christian mythology had a tendency to get offended by the behavior of the angels. . .

I'd like to second Sharon Shinn's Archangel. I read over 5 years ago. And...I'm with Phoenixfalls WRT genre - SF.

Last month's runner up for SF was Slow River by Nicola Griffith -- I'd like to renominate it for SF this month. A story of lost identity in a hard sci-fi world, it won the Nebula Award for best novel and the Lambda Literary Award.

I'll second The Bell at Sealey Head is an excellent suggestion. One of Patricia A. McKillip's best.

I'll second Slow River, because I think I nominated it last month -- and if I didn't, it was one I wanted to, because it's been staring at me from my bookshelf for far too long. ;)

(Though I'll be happy with either Archangel or The Bell at Sealey Head -- I enjoyed them both.)

For Sci-Fi, I'll like to suggest The Sparrow. It sounds intersting and I liked the other book I read by Mary Doria Russell.

For SF, I nominate Grass by Sheri S. Tepper.

Jeff wrote: "For SF, I nominate Grass by Sheri S. Tepper."

I have that on my to read list. Is it good?

Sandra, it is quite good. As a kid I read Tepper's True Game books which at the time seemed like light reads and I had wandered away from her for a while. I was in the bookstore when Sideshow came out, saw it, looked it over and was intrigued with the idea that the main character was a conjoined twin. So I bought it and loved it and went on a 'find Tepper books' crusade. I found Grass and Raising the Stones which are books one and two of a loose trilogy (note: first two books do not have the conjoined twins as characters). Tepper deals with issues of religion and truth.

I just bought it on Kindle to reread as it's been a few years ::smile::

Jeff wrote: "Sandra, it is quite good. As a kid I read Tepper's True Game books which at the time seemed like light reads and I had wandered away from her for a while. I was in the bookstore when [book:Sideshow..."

Sounds interesting.

Fantasy: Little, Big by John Crowley. He wrote one of my all time favourite SF books, but I've never read any of his Fantasy. I gather this one is rather well regarded by the Fantasy fraternity, and it's on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

SF:Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany. An epic social ideas book, by a fantastic author.

There are so many great nominations up, already, I am going to hold mine for another round...I've already seen several of my favorites, and several more I want to read on this list.

Hard vote coming - this group does that more than any other, it seems!

Janny wrote: "Hard vote coming - this group does that more than any other, it seems! "

One of the reasons I like it here. We rarely seem to rehash the books that every other group is reading. It makes for a much fresher experience. :)

I managed to remind myself of this in another thread so I'll give it another go. :)

SF
Dragon's Egg by Robery L. Forward

Good book, definitely hard Sci-Fi. The main character is an evolving species. I found it a fascinating read.

There are already several books nominated that I am interested in reading, so I will opt out of nominating anything this time.

Richard wrote: "SF:Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany. An epic social ideas book, by a fantastic author. "
One of the most amazing titles for a book

Monday's the last day to add your nominations, so if anyone would like to nominate a title for October, please do so soon! I've added all the nominations so far to the first post in this thread. For once, we have many more SF nominations than fantasy, so we could use a few more fantasy titles to even things out...

I have Sarah Zettel's A Sorcerer's Treason in my TBR pile. How about that? (That's thanks to the evil Jon! lol)

Or Carol Berg's Transformation.

Either one works - let me know which one you want to nominate.

Well I've been dying to read more Berg, so how about that one?

Well, since you say we need more fantasy, I'll nominate Resurrection Man, by Sean Stewart. It was the New York Times' Science Fiction Book of the Year (back in 1995) and Publisher's Weekly said of it:

Dante Ratkay has always tried to deny his special powers. . . until he is confronted with his own dead body. Reading this as a sign that his death is imminent, Dante finally feels compelled to tap his psychic "angel" abilities, if only to aid his shadowy, mysterious foster brother, Jet. Dante's unpredictable psychic journey delves simultaneously into the hidden evils of his family's past and the strange possibilities of the future. The trip is quite marvelous, as Stewart (Nobody's Son) slowly and surely reveals his alternate America. This present-day world is much like ours, but it was profoundly altered by WWII and the increasingly monstrous magic it unleashed. Minotaurs spring from the darkness of ghettos; cops wear "walk-aways," charms crafted from the remains of near brushes with death. It's not only the magic that fascinates in this novel. Stewart's descriptive details are finely chosen, making settings palpable; his characterizations are rich and imaginative (Where else would you meet a character who keeps rust as a pet?). The end is a bit disappointing because, although the Ratkay family secrets have been fully probed, not enough has been said of Dante's future or of the consequences of the rising magic. But Stewart shows a true talent for inventive and intelligent fantasy.

I wasn't going to nominate anything this month, but as the fantasy pool is so low, I will go ahead and nominate a fantasy selection.

I'd love to discuss The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers with the group. It has stellar reviews, and it seems truly unlike most fantasy currently on the shelves. I've heard many say the book is a celebration of reading and book-love, and that's why we're all here, right?

Random wrote: I managed to remind myself of this in another thread so I'll give it another go. :)
Dragon's Egg by Robery L. Forward

Outstanding choice! I lent my copy out 10 years ago and never found its way back. So I’m ready to go get a new copy. The sequel, Starquake is just as much fun

Chris wrote: "For Sci-Fi, I'll like to suggest The Sparrow. It sounds intersting and I liked the other book I read by Mary Doria Russell."

Great book, and one sure to spark a lot of conversation.

I've just set up the first round of polls. The top 2 from each poll will move on to the run-off polls on July 25th. Thanks everyone for your nominations!

It's a great list. Im not going to be disappointed by any of these winning.

Great list - that's an understatement. I have never ever been so confounded and conflicted about what to vote for - still trying to decide.

The run-off polls are up - please go vote. We have some really great books in the running this time... October is looking good!