The Sword and Laser discussion

New month!

I've just finished my third re-read of A Game of Thrones and have moved on to my third re-read of A Clash of Kings in preparation for A Dance with Dragons. I'm reading those mostly on my Kindle.

In my limited audibook time (is it weird that sometimes I wish my commute was longer than 10 minutes?), I'm listening to Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing "Hoax". It's an entertaining read.

I think next in the queue will be American Gods and/or the next S&L pick The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I'm torn, actually. I might wait on American Gods until the new voice cast recording is released.

I finished Specials and The Help yesterday.

I'm starting Soulless in paper book and The Time Traveler's Wife in audiobook.

This Perfect Day and Opening Atlantis are two that I'm currently reading.

May get to Grunts and Territory since those came in the other day.

Aside from that, no clue.

I'm up to part 5 of the 5-part download of Pandora's Star, so I'll hopefully finish that in the next couple of days. I'm re-reading AND listening to Blindsight, but I'm having a harder time with it than I did the first time I read it. I'm also reading the latest Free Friday selection for the B&N Nook, Soft Apocalypse by Will McIntosh. I'm about halfway through and it's really, really good. Heck, it's even worth paying money for.

I just finished In the Garden of Iden, a time travel book, for another book club. I'm about 200 pages into The Wise Man's Fear and loving it. I also finally got I Shall Wear Midnight (Tiffany Aching, #4), but will probably read I Curse the River of Time first to take a break between fantasy novels.

I'm also thinking of going up to Asheville for a reading/signing by Gary Shteyngart later this week, so I might skim through Super Sad True Love Story to refresh my memory.

I've had The Help on my to-read list. Is it worth to pick up?

I'm currently re-reading Pride and Prejudice. I had downloaded some free classics for the Kindle and thought I'd throw it in between Pattern Recognition and whatever I read next (probably some fantasy or sci-fi).

Anne wrote: "I've had The Help on my to-read list. Is it worth to pick up?"

This was one of those books that I expected not to like because it has had so much hype, but I thought it was really good.

I don't see a lot of others that read them, but I'm starting to read through the Fate of the Jedi series. I'm on Fate of the Jedi Omen right now, but am almost done with it.

Next book will probably be The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and then back to the third book in the series I am reading now..Fate of the Jedi Abyss. I really enjoy the Star Wars novels, though I haven't really read a lot of them.

I've read all the other Star Wars books except the 'Fate' series.

Good so far, Eric?

The Name of the Wind
Soldier of Arete
Soldier of Sidon

are on my list this month. I never did get around to finishing off or even restarting Gormengast. There is quite a large mental block in place that is turning out to be rather challenging to remove.

I just finished Midnight Riot and Moon Over Soho, both were great and fairly quick reads. I'm going to do The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms sometime soon. I may do a Dresden Files re-read in anticipation of Ghost Story coming out in June. It depends on how many of them I feel like re-buying as e-books.

In the non-SF/F department I'd like to get to The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution. I've heard good things and it only clocks in around 600 pages. That's not bad for a book this ambitious.

I enjoyed The Name of the Wind last month, I hope you find it as interesting Colin.

Other than The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (which I'm already really enjoying) I'm also still working on The Heroes and Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs. I had to put everything on hold while I finished Blindsight this weekend!

Veronica wrote: "I had to put everything on hold while I finished Blindsight this weekend!."

But that means you're finished, right?

Ala wrote: "I've read all the other Star Wars books except the 'Fate' series.

Good so far, Eric?"

So far yes I have really been enjoying the series. I still have problem picturing Leia, Han and Luke as being "older", but well that's just me I guess lol.

In the middle of reading The Name of the Wind but over the weekend I have got into From The Dead by Mark Billingham as I like to mix up my sci-fi/fantasy reading with other genres.

A book I have just finished, that I reccomend to everyone is 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake as it collects real life accounts/twitter messages of people who lived though the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. All the money raised from the book goes to the Japanese Red Cross Society to help the victims of the tragedy.

Currently reading Tooth and Claw and plan to start Mr. Monster next.

The rest of the month is completely up in the air depending on when the Hugo Voters package becomes available. Once it's up, I'll be diving into all those novels, novellas and novelettes, except for CryoBurn. As book 20 in a series I haven't read, I don't think I can manage that by the July 31st deadline.

Eric wrote: "So far yes I have really been enjoying the series. I still have problem picturing Leia, Han and ..."

They've gotta be pushing into their late 90's by now. At least, that the way it seems after everything they've been through in the EU :P

I may cave in and get the Fate books eventually, though...

For the month of May I am going to continue my quest to complete LE MORTE D'ARTHUR Volume 1 and 2: King Arthur and of his Noble Knights of the Round Table ($1 Uplifting Classics). I am also going to read The Name of the Wind, Mockingjay, and The Dark Frigate.

On Audible I am working on Winter's Heart.

In between books I am planning on tackling some of the Hugo nominated short stories and novella's that were announced last month.

Tom, you have some ambitious reading goals this year. Does that mean you've finished the Dark Tower or is that still ongoing?

I've been reading the Hugo short stories and novellas too, so maybe we should have a thread to discuss them.

Good idea, Jenny. Wow, you get up early. (I just got hungry.)

I'm giving a final exam this morning and couldn't sleep. ;)

I finished The Hunger Games very quickly, so I would assume that Mockingjay is a quick read as well. With my current reading speed I can do about four or five books a month, so while I second the ambitious given the nature of the books I know I'd say it's perfectly do-able.

Going to finish A Deepness in the Sky which I found on the book shelf and didn't remember a thing about so started that. Then A Fire Upon The Deep after that may go nonfiction though I am still deciding if I want to read our current selection....

Kris wrote: "Going to finish A Deepness in the Sky which I found on the book shelf and didn't remember a thing about so started that. Then A Fire Upon The Deep after that may go non..."
A Fire Upon the Deep has come up several times when we vote for a book pick. I hope to read it someday!!

Jenny wrote: "Kris wrote: "Going to finish A Deepness in the Sky which I found on the book shelf and didn't remember a thing about so started that. Then A Fire Upon The Deep after th..."

Deepness has been enjoyable...Vinge reminds me of the scifi I read early on that is more asimov in its feel...good stuff...

Jenny wrote: "A Fire Upon the Deep has come up several times when we vote for a book pick. I hope to read it someday!! "

Me too!

Jenny wrote: "Tom, you have some ambitious reading goals this year. Does that mean you've finished the Dark Tower or is that still ongoing?"

Lol... wrong Tom. I would do terribly boring podcast.

But I did complete the entire Dark Tower series a few years ago.

Tom wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Tom, you have some ambitious reading goals this year. Does that mean you've finished the Dark Tower or is that still ongoing?"

Lol... wrong Tom. I would do terribly boring podcast.

..."

Oh sorry. I just assumed, because he likes Arthurian stuff so much. Carry on! :)

Started Consider Phlebas after finishing Blindsight; not far into it yet but enjoying it. Will be going to see China Miéville this month as he tours Embassytown, so preordered it and will try to have it read before the 25th. Also preordered The Quantum Thief and thinking that'll be top of queue when Embassytown's done.

Though it's not due till next month, last night I won a copy of Jeff Somers final Avery Cates novel, The Final Evolution so have to give a shout out - thanks Jeff!

As a sometime Star Wars fan, I'm currently working my way through Omen of the 'Fate of the Jedi' series.

So, I did The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Very good read. Now I'm on to Storm Front for the umpteenth time because I already have it.

YooHoo! I finally finished listening to Pandora's Star. I was really disliking it until the end. Then, it finished with an almost literal cliffhanger (actually several). So, I downloaded Judas Unchained on my Nook. Let's just say that the sequel is working far better in text than the first book did in audio.

I'm now listening to Ill Wind, the first of an urban fantasy series.

I just started Incarceron Have heard great things about this book -- about a massive 'alive prison'. Sort of Gormenghast-ish.

Finished The Hunger Games and it's sequels, can't rave enough about that.

Lastly, my own book,The Pocket and the Pendant was released just a few days ago in hardcover by HarperCollins, so invite you all to check that out.

Sandi wrote: "YooHoo! I finally finished listening to Pandora's Star. I was really disliking it until the end. Then, it finished with an almost literal cliffhanger (actually several). So, I down..."

Glad to hear you stuck with it. I really enjoyed Judas Unchained and hope you do as well. I've started The Dreaming Void (set 1000 years after Judas Unchained) and am having a hard time wrapping my head around the first couple of chapters. I'll hang in there with it though.

Regards, Jim

I am having a much easier time with Judas Unchained. I don't know if it's because the beginning overlaps and picks up directly from Pandora's Star or if it's because I'm reading it rather than listening to John Lee's awful narration. I have The Dreaming Void on my iPod already. It and Pandora's Star were both on sale for $4.95 when I got them. Hopefully, I won't totally bog down when I get to it.

Sandi wrote: "I am having a much easier time with Judas Unchained. I don't know if it's because the beginning overlaps and picks up directly from Pandora's Star or if it's because I'm ..." I found that The Dreaming Void was slow to but I think Hamilton was being delibrately obtuse to build out the story line...I thought the pay off for struggling thru the beginning was well worth the effort.

Sandi wrote: "I am having a much easier time with Judas Unchained. I don't know if it's because the beginning overlaps and picks up directly from Pandora's Star or if it's because I'm ..."
Nothing made sense to me for the first 12% of the book. He throws a lot of stuff out there without any explanation until Chapter 3 (either that or I'm just slow on the pick up). A lot of strange names of people and places used in the first two chapters make it difficult to follow. I think I'm in the groove now.

I'm on vacation in the mountains. So, i wanted something fluffy and outdoorsy, so i read Hunger Games by susanne collins. It was significantly better than i thought it would be. I have a taste for distopian stories, and like near timeframe sci fi. I also love when the society has degenerated and old skills become essential again. Yes the book is teen fiction, but there was something awesome about having a couple of hours to finish it off in almost a single sitting. My only complaint is that now i have to go get the rest of the series.The Hunger Games

I'm taking a break from sci-fi/fantasy and reading Lost in Shangri-La, about a plane crash in WWII New Guinea. At least I'm trying to. Maybe I am just used to the tension a few evil vampires and aliens can bring to a story, but I am having a hard time with this real life so-called adventure story. It feels flat and the people feel 2 dimensional. I have enjoyed other non-fiction, so its probably just this book.

I am going back to sci-fi and starting the Hamilton Void trilogy.

Also listening to The Count of Monte Cristo and Bloodsucking Fiends. This one surprised me. Despite its title, its more of a funny cross between Interview with the Vampire and Bridget Jones Diary.

Finished The Wise Man's Fear, loved it and can't wait for the 3rd one. Working on my 1st read of A Game of Thrones trying to keep ahead of the show. Still working on The Heroes as well.

Reading through the Uplift series by David Brin. Finished Sundiver
and Startide Rising and currently working on The Uplift War.

I can safely report that I have finished Mists of Avalon (finally). I am gonna try and do Childhood's End today and tomorrow and start The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms tomorrow when I get my audible credits. I'm also reading Stardust.

Anne wrote: "I've had The Help on my to-read list. Is it worth to pick up?

For sure. The story is captivating and very well written. Also, the audiobook is really good :)

I've gone through Equal Rites in a couple of days, and I'm pondering what to read next. My copy of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms won't be available from the library until thursday, so I might have time to read something in between...

I've stalled on the two or three books I've started in the past several months. Taking four classes and working 20-25 hours of week will do that to a person. [Not having great reading habits doesn't help, either.]

The first one I'm going to get back to is the last one I started, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus by Tim Keller. Once I finish that, I'll return to Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Then I'm either going to get back to Daemons Are Forever or start on something else from my reading backlog.

My last book was The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe which I thought was phenomenal. I decided to read that one before Shadow and Claw due to some recommendations, and when I get through Blindsight and 100,000 Kingdoms I'll catch up on Shadow and Claw.

Beyond that, I'm listening to Revelation Space. Reynolds has me hook, line, and sinker into his universe. We should read this one as a group at some point.

I'm also taking small excursions back into graphic novels. I'm reading The Walking Dead (HC vol. 1) and After Dark, both very cool so far in different ways.

I have started on the The Redbreast and am now on the second book in the series. Good to read more Scandinavian thrillers.

Finished off The Magicians, listening to more audiobook of A Game of Thrones, as Roy Dotrice is one interesting way to experience the story, and getting back to The Name of the Wind for reals. Most important thing is being re-read on A Song of Ice and Fire for when that hits in TWO MONTHS.

I love Stardust - when I just want to tear throug an entire story in one day, but still want to feel like I read a BOOK, I go with that one.

Listening to Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. 14th Century German town has first contact with an alien race, what's not to like?

Still working my way through a re-re-read of A Song of Ice and Fire. :) I'm about a quarter through A Clash of Kings. Also, I finished up The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms today (disappointing) and grabbed Bossypants from Audible to start listening to that.

Once I'm done with Bossypants, I'm going to re-listen to The First Law trilogy so I can read Best Served Cold and The Heroes. Luckily, I've got some long (ish) drives in my near future (tomorrow and Saturday for sure) as well as an overseas trip (London next week), so I'm going to get some good listening time. :)

Just finished Wise Man's Fear. Starting John Dies at the End by David Wong. Listening to Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin by Hampton Sides.