Fantasy Book Club discussion

Another month has come and gone. So its now May. What is on your reading list for the new month? Right now I am doing a reread of Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan.

I need to finish Winter's Heart right away. Then onto Crossroads of Twilight. I'm hoping I get to read A Game of Thrones this month. But me and a friend are reading it together so I may have to wait. Other then those three I'm not quite sure yet what I'll read this month.

April marked a particularly prolific Urban Fantasy binge. I quite enjoyed it!

So, for May, I'm going to try Spring Cleaning as a theme. I'm going to tie up what series I can, get to a few books I always mean to get to, and generally prepare for all of the summer releases on the way!

So, here is my wish list...











And anything else that tickles my fancy!

April was a little slow for me, I anticipate May being the same way as it is the end of the school year and I get pretty busy during this time. Just about to finish with , then moving on to and . That should just about wrap up the month for me.

Hmm... I've finished a lot of books in the last few weeks that I was in the middle of. So at this point I think May holds:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

And maybe a quick run back through The Name of the Wind for this month's group read.

@Laurel - Hope you enjoy that Honor Harrington book. It's a little different than the previous entries, but I liked it. Which reminds me, I still need to pick up the latest one...

Still Kraken at the moment. After that, well, there are many, many options.

Thanks Lindsey, I'm looking forward to getting back into the Honorverse :)

Jeez Laurel I'm jealous, I don't have nearly that much time to read :(

I'll be reading The Name of the Wind with the group. I just finished a quick read of Death Masks and will be chipping away at The Science Fiction Hall of Fame 1 when I find time. Whenever I finish The Name of the Wind I will pick up The Wise Man's Fear and start that up. I can't wait to dig into it!

Still got books I wanted to read last month. But I plan on reading A Feast for Crows and Assassin's Quest. Hopefully Gardens of the Moon, I think I'm a little afraid of this book. And yesterday while searching online I found a book I loved in school but didn't remember the name or author, The Lark And The Wren. Will read it when it comes in the mail.

Sorry Ben,

I'm off work until September, (vision disability), so I'm making the most of it! Trust me, next year I won't even get close to matching this year's numbers. It also helps that I really don't enjoy much on TV anymore. There are only 3 or 4 things that keep me watching. Ironically, none of them are on the same package...

Hope you enjoy The Wise Man's Fear!

I finished When True Night Falls and, just like the first in the series, I wasn't very impressed. It has nice world building and some complex characters but I just can't bring myself to care most of the time. There was a lot of potential for this trilogy to be better and I'm hoping the third book will live up to it.

For now, I'm going to read Corvus (The Macht #2).

Laurel wrote: "April marked a particularly prolific Urban Fantasy binge. I quite enjoyed it!

So, for May, I'm going to try Spring Cleaning as a theme. I'm going to tie up what series I can, get to a few books ..."

Laurel, I think a Spring Cleaning month is a brilliant idea. I think might have to steal it from you for June or July if you don't mind.

I'm reading Peril's Gate, which is a long way from being a short read. I also want to read Snow Crash for a book club and The Thief for a dare. I'm told the latter is a fast read, but given the size of the other two, I ssuspect there won't be much of May left for anything else.

I started The Laurentine Spy recently. I'm not sure what I feel about it yet. The pacing is a little slow, I'm not entirely fond of the characters yet and the writing isn't as good as Thief With No Shadow. I should also try and start Mistborn: The Final Empire again. I keep having it on my currently reading list but I haven't touched it in a while because I'm trying to read books from challenges or that I owe to people from swaps first.

I just finished a young adult novel, Murkmere by Patricia Elliot, and I plan to read Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip

my TBR for May...it's subject to Change and growth
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ...i'm enjpying it so far...but still about 100 pages through

Barrayar by L. M. Bujold
The Dragons of Kesthairon by Jonah Hawthorne ...he's a debut Auther..i might be one of the first readers of his book
Inside Out By Marya V. Snyder
The Well of Ascensionby Brandon Sanderson

I recently finished A Kingdom Besieged, in fact I read it in one day! I really like Feist's books! Today, I finished The Gathering Storm and so I will be starting on Towers of Midnight very soon. I'm also currently reading Mistborn: The Final Empire. I'm about halfway through it and haven't decided if I will continue the series yet. I'll have to see how this one ends first I guess.

I'm also reading Quick Silver, which is fiction, but not fantasy. I'd previously read Icefire which I enjoyed and found fast paced, so I thought I'd try another by the same authors.

I'm also planning to read The Name of the Wind once it is available at my local library. Finally, I am thinking about reading one of Tom Clancy's novels this month also.

I just finished Traitor's Knot by Janny Wurts and started Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany for a group read.

I just finished Dragon Raiders a new book by Margaret Weis that was just released today (May 3). It is a great book, keeps you on your toes and every time I just knew what was going to happen--I was wrong almost everytime. It has a new take (one I haven't seen yet) on magic and how thing work using magic. I really enjoyed it and it will be one of those books that I will keep and re-read.

I finished Corvus (The Macht #2) last night and it was awesome. Next I'll try The Left Hand of Darkness.

I am reading Shadows of a Dark Queen by Raymond E. Feist right. I am trying to pick up where I left off and hopeful continue by finishing this and the other three books up along with the next trilogy. I am surprised at how well written this book is, even though I feel like I can predict the overall plot of the book.

I finished The Spirit Lens. Am hoping I'll like it better after reading The Soul Mirror. Read Dead Reckoning which was fun. Am listening to Dragonfly in Amber which is interminable! It's 38 hours long. Eeeps. Started Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #1) in a little break from fantasy and scifi. Good so far. Still have Hellburner on my plate, too. Love Cherryh!

I just finished reading the 4th book in the Fablehaven series, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, and now I've started The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Started Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #1) in a little break from fantasy and scifi. Good so far. Still have Hellburner on my plate, too. Love Cherryh! "

I've read the first two or three Sonchai books and I enjoyed them. [Series of detective novels set in Bangkok, Thailand] For me, they scratch some of the same itch as certain types of fantasy -- a glimpse inside a culture very different than my own.

Cherryh is also wonderful, although I confess that I haven't read any of the Foreigner series or her other more recent works. Have you read any of her fantasy?
The Paladin is a little gem of a standalone novel.

Joseph wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Started Bangkok 8 (Sonchai Jitpleecheep, #1) in a little break from fantasy and scifi. Good so far. Still have Hellburner on my plate, too. Love Cherryh! "

I've read the fi..."

Well stop whatever you're doing and read the Foreigner series! It's fantastic. And I was just thinking that Bangkok 8 is like fantasy because it's such a different world.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "...Well stop whatever you're doing and read the Foreigner series! It's fantastic..."

I love Foreigner (and Cherryh, my favorite female SF author). Bren Cameron is a hero. I wish she could put out a book a month. I hope the series never ends, but wish it would so I could read all the books back to back.

Kernos wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "...Well stop whatever you're doing and read the Foreigner series! It's fantastic..."

I love Foreigner (and Cherryh, my favorite female SF author). Bren Cameron is a hero. I..."

I know! Me, too. I gobbled up Betrayer and now have to wait for the next.

The Left Hand of Darkness was an unusual experience for me. I feel like it was a good book but I didn't really enjoy reading it. I found it to be thought provoking but not entirely my cup of tea.

I'm going to finish up the coldfire trilogy with Crown of Shadows.

Finished Crown of Shadows. I won't ever call this series a favorite of mine but it was an entertaining enough read. I also read Ted Chiang's The Lifecycle of Software Objects which was released for free online. It was very interesting stuff and I ended up reading it in one sitting.

Next up will be The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon.

Well, so far in May I've finished David Gemmell's White Wolf (Drenai Tales, #10) andThe Swords of Night and Day (Drenai Tales, #11). I am nearing the end of The Warded Man and will start The Desert Spear soon after. I have tons of books on my "to read" shelf and will probaly hit Allison Goodman's Eon: Dragoneye Reborn afterward or Janny Wurts Light and Shadow series. Any suggestions?

I just finished The Iron King, which was a fun, quick read but not particularly challenging. I'll probably read the next one in the series, some day, but I don't feel any sense of urgency about getting my hands on it.

I'm also in the middle of The Jennifer Morgue and (straying outside the fantasy genre) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I just finished Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi and Warcry by Elizabeth Vaughan. Ship Breaker was really good, and very different from anything else I have ever read. I Love Vaughan's Chronicles of the Warlands series and can't wait for the next to come out. If anyone knows of any similar series, please let me know. I am now moving on to The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I have heard great things about this book.

Rachel- I also just read the Iron King Series. Like you said, it is very good, but not overly challenging. However, good enought that I will read the next one!!

@Kathleen Ship Breaker sounds interesting - same author as The Windup Girl? (which I read a couple of months back)

Rachel- how did you like Windup Girl?

Kathleen wrote: "Rachel- how did you like Windup Girl?"

I mostly enjoyed it... I like books where there aren't any whiter-than-white characters, and it was definitely a shades-of-grey kind of book! I felt a bit let down by the ending, but that might just be me.

Rachel wrote: "(straying outside the fantasy genre) "

A little straying (literary or otherwise) is good for the soul.

Joseph wrote: "A little straying (literary or otherwise) is good for the soul."

I usually read a fairly even split of fantasy, sci-fi, and crime/thriller - but it depends on my mood. And cross-overs (like Kraken with its magic detective) make me happy :)

I have been on a CJ Cherryh fest - first Betrayer, which was excellent, then catching up with the last in the Chanur series, that I'd missed.

Also read Lee and Miller's Fledgling (Theo Waitley, #1) to relax.

On the nonfiction side, I've been through Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before and lately, Hesitation Kills: A Female Marine Officer's Combat Experience in Iraq, both for our local book club.

Mainstream fiction - The Salt Road.

I'm also on a Cherryh kick, finishing Hellburner and starting Cyteen while I wait for the Chanur series omnibuses (or is that omnibii?) and an omnibus of The Faded Sun Trilogy.

Am listening to I, Claudius which I first read in high school or maybe later in college. Am enjoying it a lot but am rather dismayed that humanity hasn't progressed further in bloodthirstiness!

I recently finished two books I really LOVED
The Warded Man and Monster Hunter International. Now Im on to House of Chainsfor the re-read and 2 sci-fis: Consider Phlebas and In the Garden of Iden. I recently picked up Dreams Underfoot and hope to get to that too!

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "I'm also on a Cherryh kick, finishing Hellburner and starting Cyteen while I wait for the Chanur series omnibuses (or is that omnibii?) and an omnibus of The Faded Sun Tr..."

I wanted the whole I Claudius miniseries that PBS did back in the late 70s in high school, that was some strange stuff.

Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "I'm also on a Cherryh kick, finishing Hellburner and starting Cyteen while I wait for the Chanur series omnibuses (or is that omnibii?) and an omnibus of The Faded Sun Tr..."

I'd vote for omnibii. The Chanur collections are odd ducks, just in terms of how they combine things. (I'm sure it was done for page count reasons.) The structure of the series is almost Middle-Earth like -- Pride of Chanur is a standalone, then you have what is essentially a single long story chopped into three books, followed by a standalone sequel. When they did the collections, they put Pride and the first two volumes of the trilogy into a single omnibus. The second omnibus (with trilogy v.3 and the follow-up) didn't even come out for several years, meaning if you just picked up the first collection, you were in for a bit of a surprise . . . Love, love, love those books, though -- also something I need to reread one of these years.

And I just finished Kraken. Next up: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (best. title. ever.) by Catherynne M. Valente.

Joseph wrote: "And I just finished Kraken. Next up: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (best. title. ever.) by Catherynne M. Valente."

That is an awesome title!

What did you make of Kraken? I read it last year and really enjoyed it.

I just posted my -- I don't know if "review" is really the right word -- of Kraken. I also really enjoyed it. One thing you have to say about China Mieville -- he never writes the same book twice.

I am also on a Catherynne M. Valente run. I just finished Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams, now I am reading The Grass-Cutting Sword, after this is The Labyrinth then onto Jay Lakes Madness of Flowers,then Tomato Rhapsody
another Jay lake..The Sky That Wraps
then some bed-time reading - She Nailed a Stake Through His Head: Tales of Biblical Terror
after that, we'll see.

Maggie wrote: "I recently finished two books I really LOVED
The Warded Man and Monster Hunter International. Now Im on to House of Chainsfor the re-read and 2 sci-fi..."

Maggie, I couldn't agree with you more on The Warded Man, this book will is absolutely great! I will finish The Desert Spear today and excitedly wait for the release of the next in the series.

Joseph wrote: "Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "I'm also on a Cherryh kick, finishing Hellburner and starting Cyteen while I wait for the Chanur series omnibuses (or is that omnibii?) and an omn..."

Thanks for the tip on reading order. Everyone says they love the books. I finished Hellburner and loved it. And am loving Cyteen! It's really a suspense/thriller and I can hardly put it down.

I have just finished reading this wonderful book by a new author Dissolution by KL Clark. The characters are well formed and the story is complex and innovative. If you like the Amber books you will love this book. It is a fantasy novel with a difference. It combines different lands, some of which live with horse, sword and magic but they are connected to lands that are modern with motorcars and tv etc. The way Karen Clark brings these seemingly conflicting notions together and turns it all into a story that makes you think while enjoying a great read is wonderful and exciting. It is available on Amazon and Lulu and I would recommend it to anyone who loves books which take you somewhere where you can believe that something very different can and does exist.

I finished The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente -- it was wonderful! And I started Fatal Alliance, a Star Wars book, which should at least have spaceships and lightsabers and the Force.