Fantasy Book Club discussion

I didn't quite get to as much as I wanted to in February, but at least I did manage to finish Mistborn. Great book!

I just started Wizard's First Rule, so that will probably carry over well into March. I also hope to finish the rest of the Mistborn series. Not sure if I'll get through it this month, but we'll see.

I also had a less productive reading month - but I'm moved into my new home now, and can finally settle into my easy chair and get to some books! I'm hoping to finish the Mistborn series as well. The others include:

- The Crown Conspiracy
- Brokedown Palace by Steven Brust
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

plus, anything else the group may recommend!

This is my short list, subject to additions:

Hearts in Atlantis & Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Mistborn The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn
Busted Flush edited by George R.R. Martin
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

might toss in a GR author here or there...

I'm going to start on SM Stirling's [Book: Snow Brother] in the near future, and later I'm finally going to read Heinlein's [Book: Red Planet]. I'm also hoping to fit in [Book: Path of Fate], but we'll see if time permits...

I'm currently reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and will be reading The Princess Bride later on this month...

I'm reading quite a lot in the next few months for a challenge in another group, but these are really the only fantasy books that I've got going.

Not sure what all of these I'll get done but...

Neverwhere A Novel
Enchantment
The Lightning Thief
Harbinger of Doom
The Crown Conspiracy
Avempartha
I, Robot
Cloak of Magic
The Well of Ascension


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Not sure what all of these I'll get done but...

Neverwhere A Novel

I'll be curious what you think of Neverwhere, Robin. I thought it was a great book, but opinions on it seems to vary GREATLY.

John wrote: "I'll be curious what you think of Neverwhere, Robin. I thought it was a great book, but opinions on it seems to vary GREAT..."

I will certainly let you know. From what I hear Gaiman is really 'varied' in his writing. I personally did not like StarDust but really enjoyed GoodOmens (though I don't know how much of that was Prachett) so this will be interesting.

Not 100% sure what all I'm going to be reading, but these are definites:

The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

I'll also read at least the second in the Mistborn series and probably some other of the new books I've recently picked up at the used bookstore. I have a huge pile waiting for me, but I have to make it through library books as they get to me as well, so we'll see what happens! I'm hoping for the second Kushiel book to get to me at some point from the library and I'm relatively sure I'll drop everything when it does get here. :)


Non-fantasy I'm reading:
Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
Time and Chance by my fav historical fiction author, Sharon Kay Penman

I'll be interested to hear about Neverwhere at all. I was disappointed, but maybe just because there had been SO MUCH hype about it. Also, I'm not really a gritty undercity fantasy kind of reader. I prefer my sprawling epics.

March is set up with The Crown Conspiracy and The Princess Bride. I'll be happy if I get them both done this month. If there is any time left after those two, I'm gonna take another shot at The Lightning Thief.

I also started Alphabet of Thorn - BTW love seeing all the Crown Conspiracy support - I'm so excited to talk to people about it!

I am struggling to finish Cloak of Magic. I constantly fall asleep reading this book and/or find myself reading and re-reading the same paragraphs on the same page over and over again. I hope to finish this today just so I can move on to something, anything else.

I will also be reading Alphabet of Thorn.

Beyond that, I can't think. I've been out all week with the flu so I'm way behind on my reading schedule and my brain is still foggy and by body is still lethargic.

Well, here's my plans

I'm still at the beginning of A Game of Thrones by GRRM. If I'm still enjoying it later on, I may just move right onto A Clash of Kings. But if I feel like reading something else I'll probably pick something random to read.

I'm also still trying to finish The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling. Reading it slowly right now, just a chapter a night, more or less.

Last night I just started The Crown Conspiracy. I'm putting all the other books on hold to read it right now.

So many books at once! I don't normally like doing that. :P

Since my reading plans never match my reading realities, I'm taking a somewhat different tack from now on - the below is what I managed to read in February, and I'll tack on what's immediately on the stove for March:

Fictionwise, it was a disappointing month for the most part:

The Worm Ouroboros - The best book I read (reread, actually) last month.
Disco for the Departed - The third book in Collin Cotterill's series about a Laotian coroner/reincarnated shaman. Enjoyable read; second-best book of the bunch.
The House on the Borderland - Meh. The author has a knack for cosmic imagery but otherwise lacking in "soul."
Dracula (audiobook) - An adaptation of the novel, not a direct reading but good enough. I didn't like the guy who voiced the Count but Brian Cox as van Helsing was quite good.
Regenesis - Cherryh's latest Union/Alliance novel. The biggest disappointment of the month; too long (among other problems).
The Engines of God - As my just posted review says "reasonably enjoyable mind candy."

In nonfiction:

Nothing to Be Frightened Of - Julian Barnes' ruminations on death. Interesting; definitely worth a look by similarly obsessed people.
Storm of Steel - Ernst Junger's memoir of his experiences in WW1.
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue - Very enjoyable look at English and some of its more peculiar characteristics.
The Journal of Jules Renard - Too-short translation of Renard's Journal; leaves out too much without providing context.
The Early Chinese Empires: Qin & Han - Very readable account about the first imperial dynasties. Lots of interesting info for those only glancingly familiar with the period (like me); good bibliography.

Moving into March, I'd like to eliminate some of the fiction on my To-Read shelf so I can reread Bakker's Prince of Nothing series in anticipation of starting his The Judging Eye. To that end, at the moment, I'm enjoying Cabell's Figures of Earth, and will move on (in no particular order) to:

The Born Queen
Three Bags Full
The Master and Margarita
Manservant and Maidservant
King Jesus
The Third Man
Strange Cargo

And I began listening to Dune on Audio CD in February. It's a verbatim reading of the novel, which is fine, but sometimes the reader reads all the parts, sometimes a cast reads the characters and I can't figure out why...

Nonfiction:

I'll be starting Rome and the Barbarians, 100 B.C.-A.D. 400 Monday, and I'll be reading What the Koran Really Says: Language, Text, and Commentary. Beyond that, you're guess is as good as mine. My recent experience with China above has made me hanker after some more Chinese, so I may check out what my libraries have in that vein.

I'm reading The Crown Conspiracy and still trying to get through The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein.

A new Anne Bishop book, The Shadow Queen, comes out on the third(I already have it pre-ordered for download to my Kindle), so the very first thing I'm reading, well other than the three books I read in the past 2 days, is the entire Realms of the Blood series and the new book. After that, I'll read(re-read?) through Princess Bride. Then, the last two Firekeeper books by Jane Lindskold. And some books by Kim Harrison...not sure after that...too far in advance to plan.

I am still working on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the Ultimate version). It's funny, but I am not able to bring it to work with me to read over lunch...it's too big to fit in my purse!

I am also going to start reading Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia C. Wrede this month.

Non-fiction: Irresistable Invitation.

I finished Cloak of Magic yesterday and I'm more than half done with Alphabet of Thorn. I'm also reading The Book Thief during my daily commute.

For March I will probably try:

A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Blade Itself The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

I really enjoyed Book Thief - I've only barely cracked Cloak of Magic.

I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just can't get into The Blade Itself. Everyone else I know loves it! I hate it when that happens!

I'm reading Drood A Novel by Dan Simmons. Although Simmons has written fantasy, this really isn't one, it's more a historical mystery/thriller that takes place in the time of Charles Dickens (mid 1800's). It's most fascinating! I attended a book reading/signing by Simmons last week when I was in San Diego and he read the first chapter so I have his voice in my head when I read.

I just started reading Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. I just finished Lud-In-The-Mist today, so I guess that counts as a March book. I'm also reading The Faith What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters because the sermon series for Lent at my church is based on this book.

In my drawer, I have:

Hammered by Elizabeth Bear
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
The Stand by Stephen King
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I have more, but I think those will be my goal books this month.

If you're also in the SciFi/Fantasy group, I apologize for copying my post here. ;)

Sandi - the Stand is a great read - I read it probably 25+ years ago and it is still one of my favorites. Enjoy!

Right now I'm reading Kingdom Keepers. It's kind of fun and childish in a way, but very much a simple and short read. Sometimes I need a break from fantasies wit a about a encyclopedia of baskstory behind it.

P.S. check out my book website at http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Currently reading Neverwhere A Novel and struggling through The Adventures of Augie March.

Try to get atleast one or two of these done..
The Princess Bride
East of Eden
American Gods
Alphabet of Thorn

And hopefully The Crown Conspiracy if I can find a copy of it.

I have down to read the Serpeant Gate by Sarah Ash and then when it comes out I plan to read The Twilight Herald by Tom Lloyd

I read it and thought it was pretty good but it did take be a while to get into it. hang in there

Emily wrote: "I don't know what's wrong with me, but I just can't get into The Blade Itself. Everyone else I know loves it! I hate it when that happens!"

Right now I am reading Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente. It's a great book, in a dense prose-poem sort of way.

I want to read The Crown Conspiracy this month as well.

Later in March, we see the release of Butcher's Turn Coat . I will probably be getting that one right away.

On top of those three, I am reading a lot of art books as I try to get back into drawing and painting again. If I somehow manage more than that, His Majesty's Dragon is next on the list.

Well, right now I am struggling through Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which I have mixed feelings about. I think its beautifully written, but as of yet, nothing seems to have happened. I recently finished the Codex Alera series by jim butcher in the first few days of the month. I am not sure what else to read, seeing as how I am on spring break I should have quite a bit of time to get some SERIOUS reading done. If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them. I also intend to pick up Last Argument Of Kings at some point.

H

Doing a "Harry Potter" marathon :)

I'm still working my way through the Dark Tower series. Currently reading Song of Susannah. For the rest of March it looks like the following:

The Dark Tower and
Wizard's First Rule
That should get me through March. I guess I will have to put Mistborn The Final Empire on my TBR pile as I have heard so much about it.

Robin wrote: "I really enjoyed Book Thief - I've only barely cracked Cloak of Magic."

Oh, I loved The Book Thief, was a break from fantasy but a great book. I thought Death as the narrator was awesome. Speaking of Death makes me think of Mort, totally in the other direction of Book Thief, just popped into my head.

Harrison wrote: "Well, right now I am struggling through Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell|14201|Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell..."

I know exactly what you mean - I had the same struggle. Very beautiful written (Very similar to Dicken's) But slow moving. I finally did get through it and thought it was good. But it was a chore. If it wasn't for the fact that it was a bookclub read I might not have made it through it.

I just finished Harbinger of Doom and am now reading the second in the Lemmony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events. It's for a challenge and I had to read a book with "rhyming" titles so "Doom" "Room"

;-)

I read the first Lemony Snicket ages ago but I might read all of them now ;-)

I was at the SC Book Festival on March 1 and came back with a bunch of new books from my publisher. So far I've read DFF Dead Friends Forever, a great Buffy-esque YA horror/fantasy, about a young girl with tremendous psychic abilities. She takes a dare to go into a haunted house and the desperate ghost inside awakens her powers. She accepts the task of defending the dead from the powers of Evil, despite the cost to herself. A bit darker than Buffy.
I followed that with Zamora's Ultimate Challenge, a much lighter YA book, about two young brothers who have to go into their favorite video game to save their baby sister from the evil queen. A new reader, especially of fantasy, would enjoy this one.
I followed that with Carved in Stone, a very adult romance by Sarah Storme. She's a young socialite whose husband tried to kill her. He's a young sculptor looking for the perfect form for his perfect stone. I've always liked Storme's romances. This one is more explicit than her usual but not grotesquely so.
I'm in the middle of Witch's Pawn, a horror novel about a TV soap with a supernatural storyline that starts filming in the house of 17th century witch Estelle De La Bordeaux. Then people start dying...I'm not a big horror fan so it's slower going for me with this one.
Waiting in the wings is Murder Takes the Cake, sequel to Murder Off the Books, one of the best mysteries I've got.
After that I don't know, I've got an author appearance in mid-March and Lunacon after that, with ICon in early April, and I have to polish my Dark Glass story as well.

I'm hoping to get to A Clash of Kings this month, in addition to my other non-fantasy books.

I'm hoping to get some of the books read that other authors have sent me. I just finished 'Briggen' by Ann B Keller, great book that I would recommend. Onto the next book.

I'm reading The Lightning Thief and The Well of Ascension Mistborn, Book 2. Lightning thief is good though a bit too much on the YA side and well - is well great as expected.

Just finished The Crown Conspiracy. Thought it was pretty good.

Last week I also read The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable which may very well have been the first Terry Pratchett book I actually enjoyed.

I just started on [Book: Snow Brother] today, and while I'm only about twenty pages in, I am NOT encouraged. Anyone ever read this? I certainly hope it gets better...

John wrote: "I just started on [Book: Snow Brother] today, and while I'm only about twenty pages in, I am NOT encouraged. Anyone ever read this? I certainly hope it gets better..."

You link took me to a search results screen. Are you talking about the one by Stirling? I haven't read it, I've never heard of it, there aren't any reviews of it, and none of my GoodReads friends have rated it. In other words, I can't tell you if it's worth reading. If you finish, please post a review.

I just picked up The Alchemyst: The Secrets of Immortal Nicholas Flamel and am now going back and forth between that and Crown Conspiracy. I'm loving both of them so far. I think I'll be able to get them both done this week.

I read Crown Conspiracy in two sittings - I just couldn't put it down. Hope you enjoy it!

Sandi wrote: You link took me to a search results screen. Are you talking about the one by Stirling? I haven't read it, I've never heard of it, there aren't any reviews of it, and none of my GoodReads friends have rated it. In other words, I can't tell you if it's worth reading. If you finish, please post a review.

Yeah, Sandi, that's the one. Looks like I'm heading into uncharted waters. I'll post a review when/if I finish ;-).

I'm reading way too many books right now, even for me. I'm balancing:
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Aaahh! I hardly ever read only one book at a time, but it's usually about three. Never this much. I wish I was a monogamous book reader...

Kelsey wrote: "I'm reading way too many books right now, even for me. I'm balancing:


That has to be especially tough with books like [Book: A Storm of Swords" alt="Kushiel's Dart (Kushiel's Legacy, Book 1) by Jacqueline Carey"/> in there... that's a lot of characters to keep track of ON ITS OWN, much less with five other books!

Oh, true that. At least it's the third book, so I know most of the characters already.

Reading The Blood Knight right now and hope to finish the series this month.

After that I'll be moving on to The Judging Eye and then into the Mistborn series. And in between I'll be finishing books 7-10 of the Y: The Last Man graphic novels which are excellent.

Kelsey wrote: "Oh, true that. At least it's the third book, so I know most of the characters already."

Just keeping up with all the Freys was quite the task for me....