Beyond Reality discussion

Hi! This is a thread idea from another group I follow.

This gives us all a chance to share our reading choices; and thoughts about the books we're reading and those others are reading. We get to know each others' perspectives. And we get to discover new books.

I'll start: Now I am about 40% through Anathem by Neal Stephenson. This is my second book by him. So far I really like it. It establishes a world not unlike what our's could be in a few thousand years. Using Stephenson's inclination for his own vocabularies, complex questions are becomming clear that seem eternal. Really liking how he rewards the reader for the efforts we make to understand his premises.

I may well be becoming another Stephenson fan.


Your turn.

Good idea, Mosca! I just moved the thread over to "General SF&F discussion" because we're trying to keep the "General" folder for group business like nominations and our FAQ and so on.

I'm reading The Best of Gene Wolfe A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction. I've only had the chance to read the first 3 stories, but so far they're all stunningly good --- maybe the best short SF I've ever read.

I read Anathem a while back and really liked it, although I struggled with the first 50 pages or so. I'm a big fan of Neal Stephenson and have read almost everything he's written.

I'm trying something new for myself this month - a reminder personal event to keep me on track:

http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/3...

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny- finished 4/4/2009
A Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel Kay - in progress
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
Blaggard's Moon by George Bryan Polivka
Armor by John Steakley
Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

and possibly Avempartha if I can squeeze it in.

I liked _A Song for Arbonne_ but it probably is my least favorite by GG Kay. Since I love his books, being "least favorite" is still very good.

_Lord of Light_, which I read for this group, I didn't care for. Found it very hard to follow and kept feeling like I was missing a lot because I didn't have the background info--just felt like I was missing the references.

I'm currently reading a non-genre mystery.

I usually have three titles going concurrently:

Reading: His Majesty's Dragon
ebook: Sorrow, John Lawson
Audio book: Friends, Lovers and Chocolate, Alexander McCall Smith

My first post at the new place. I'm looking forward to Anathem, when it comes out in paperback or gets remaindered. Right now I'm reading A.A. Attanasio's Radix from 1981, an interesting take on the post-apocalypse theme.

Ron

Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt.

C. wrote: "Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt."

I couldn't get through that one.


I'm just finishing up City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer

I'm about 1/2 way through The Flame in the Bowl Unbinding the Stone by Marc Vun Kannon

I'm still slowly working through Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (How long ago was that BOTM? I started it before that month.)

Next up is Vanish A Novel by Tess Gerritsen and a re-read of The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks.

Sandi wrote: "C. wrote: "Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt."

I couldn't get through that one.



I couldn't get through it either, and I found the movie just as tedious. :(

Ron wrote: "My first post at the new place. I'm looking forward to Anathem, when it comes out in paperback ..."

Yet another title to add to my wishlist, looks really interesting, thanks Ron!

Sisimka wrote: "Sandi wrote: "C. wrote: "Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt."
I couldn't get through that one.
I couldn't get through it either... :("

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I read this years ago and thought it was a beautiful book. Not the standard SFF, but really wonderful. I may have to read this again at some point...

Just finished
Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
This book takes place 5000 years after the events of Dune and deals with the repurcutions of Leto II forcing humanity on a Golden Path.
Very good.

Dzur by Steven Brust
Excellent book in the series. Vlad returns to the city with a price on his head as he attempts to help out his ex wife.

Just started Chapterhouse Dune. Been meaning to read this for 20 or so years.

I finished Hammered this morning, and I'm now reading Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong.

Bjtriton wrote: "Sisimka wrote: "Sandi wrote: "C. wrote: "Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt."
I couldn't get through that one.
I couldn't get through it either... :("

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I read this years a..."

The movie was absolutely horrible!!!

The book, however, I love.

Personally, I can't stand any of the Dune novels after Dune.

Sisimka wrote: "Sandi wrote: "C. wrote: "Reading Possession by A.S. Byatt."

I couldn't get through that one.



I couldn't get through it either, and I found the movie just as tedious. :("

Really? I thought it was lovely. The book, that is, I haven't seen the movie.

Having just finished Hammered, I'm back to reading Lud-in-the-Mist, which I interrupted so at least I'd finish Hammered in the month it's actually up!

After that, it'll be "die Apothekerin" (the Pharmacist), by Ingrid Noll for my German book group.

I'm taking a break from The Best of Gene Wolfe A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction (which is so excellent I want to stretch it out a bit) and starting next month's SF Book of the Month, The Traveler.

I went for a walk at lunch and went to my local bookstore and lo and behold they had Wake by Robert J. Sawyer. So I have started in on that one.
Will put Chapterhouse to the side for now

Just finished WWW Wake Robert J. Sawyer latest and it was excellent. Much better then his last 2 books. (IMHO Mindscan and Rollback were very good)
I really enjoyed the pacing of the book and finally while it is the first in a trilogy, it didnt end on a horrible cliffhanger

Restarted Chapterhouse Dune after bumping it for Wake

This morning I finished Watchmen by Alan Moore. I had already seen the movie, so to some extent I already knew what was going to happen. It was very interesting reading, though.

Not sure what I'm going to pick up next.

Kathi wrote: "I liked _A Song for Arbonne_ but it probably is my least favorite by GG Kay. Since I love his books, being "least favorite" is still very good.


I didn't think it was his best (not as good as Tigana or the Sarantine Mosaic or Lions of Al-Rassan), but I did enjoy it a lot, and I would rank it above Fionovar, Ysable or Last Light of the Sun.

At the moment I'm just about finished reading Adrian Tchaikovsky's Dragonfly Falling, the second book in the Shadows of the Apt trilogy. I've enjoyed it a lot, it's a very inventive piece of world-design. It's set in a fantasy world where rather than the standard fantasy races there are various human races that take particular traits from various types of insect, for example the Beetle-kinden are industrious, the Wasp-kinden are aggressive warriors, the Spider-kinden are devious manipulators, Ant-kinden have a telepathic link to other members of their city etc. It sounds quite weird, but it is well thought-through and portrayed in the book. There's some pretty good characterisation, some good battle scenes (with a lot of thought being paid to the impact of the different kinden's world-views and technology on how wars would be waged) and an entertaining plot with the expansionist Wasp Empire threatening to conquer the world.

I'm also reading the non-fiction Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, a well-written attack on some of the corrupt and/or ignorant misuses of Science, particularly in the health industry. It's a very angry book, but also entertainingly written.

Finished reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson. Second book I've read of his. So far, he is consistently excellent.

Now I'm reading Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. This is the second part of the science fiction duette she started withThe Sparrow. The unlikely premise she establishes--a Jesuit space project--leads to a remarkable experience thru a pretty significant personal hell. I'm only half-way done with this second book; but she's keeping me guessing and very enthralled.

Mosca, "The Sparrow" is one of my favorite novels of any kind. It absolutely transcends genre. "Children of God" is good, but just doesn't quite have as much power as the first book. However, I do tell everyone who's read "The Sparrow" to also read "Children of God". It's absolutely necessary.

I loved The Sparrow too, but I can't remember if I read Children of God or not. I'm going to have to check my reading list and see.

I'm re-reading The House With a Clock in It's Walls by John Bellairs and On Basilisk Station by David Weber. I've read both of them before but I haven't had a chance to get to the library or a book store in a little while.

Mosca wrote: "Now I'm reading Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. This is the second part of the science fiction duette she started withThe Sparrow."

I, too, found _The Sparrow_ to be the stronger of the books, but _Children of God_ was also excellent and does answer a lot of questions. The books are different from most anything else I've read, and unlike a lot of books that I enjoy and then they fade away in my memory, these books stuck.

I just finished reading Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey, this was a good conclusion to the series. Now, I'm starting The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks for next month's discussion. I've had this book on my shelf for a while now and am glad to finally get started on it.

I just finished The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett. Lots of laugh out loud moments in this book.

I'm reading Celtika by Robert Holdstock. It'sk one of the Merlin Codex. At 100 pages in I'm not sure where it's going, but it has merlin and Jason (from Argonaut fame) getting ready to search for Jason's son.
Also reading The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and Tales to Astonish by Ronin Ro. The second is a comic book history sentered around Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

Got quite a lot of reading done on my Easter holiday: Finished Lud-In-The-Mist (finally) - loved it. Also read Die Apothekerin Roman, which was an interesting psycho/intrigue novel. And started (and almost finished) Ringworld by Larry Niven. This one is great hard SF, he goes into a bit of tech-babble, but it's not too bad. His style of writing is pretty funny too. I'm really enjoying it.

Right now I'm reading The Hunger Games and really enjoying this YA novel so far. It reminds me a little of Stephen King's The Long Walk.

Read 50 pages of Infected and going to bring it back to the library. It reminds me too much of those Robin Cook medical thrillers I loved in my teens and 20's. Mediocre writing, cardboard characters, and very short chapters that jump from one character to another failed to draw me in.

I read The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Eighth Grade Bites over the weekend, a YA novel. It was pretty good. I'm looking forward to the next one. Surprisingly good, actually.

Frankt wrote: "I'm reading Celtika by Robert Holdstock. It'sk one of the Merlin Codex."

Anyone know how many books there are going to be in the Merlin Codex?

I finished Blaggard's Moon yesterday but didn't get a chance to start my next adventure to Grimspace because my daughter bought a piano and found a small army of young men to move it home for her. :)

I'm reading the latest Elantra novel by Michelle West Sagara Cast in Fury

Have finished Graceling and The Grave Thief Book Three of the Twilight Reign.
Enjoyed them both.
Graceling is a debut novel by Kristen Cashore and I was pleasantly surprised. I bought it based on a good review in SFX, (which in the past had worked out for me but the last one I bought on their recommendation was by Scott Barker which I hated). So I was taking a chance with my pennies. I think that I will be getting her next one.
It isn't a particularly deep book, some of the characters are a little two dimensional, but I found the style of writing drew me in very quickly and I enjoyed her idea of people who are graceling - basically they have special abilities such mind reading, musical talent, fighting ability or even talking backwards.

Grave Thief was a book that I had been waiting for about a year and it didn't disappoint. Tom Lloyd is a great fantasy writer. I started reading this series last year and reread the first two before starting GraveThief. He manages to keep a number of threads to his story going, keeping me interested in all the characters. Unusally when a books is written like this across a number of characters i always have a favourate that I wish the author would get back to. Though I did have favourate characters I didn't find myself wishing that the author would get back to anyone in particular.
The ending was a big surprise and I can't wait till the next book to see how he takes the story on.

Now I'm reading Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. It's been a very long while since I've read anything by him.

Kathi wrote: "Frankt wrote: "I'm reading Celtika by Robert Holdstock. It'sk one of the Merlin Codex."

Anyone know how many books there are going to be in the Merlin Codex?"

I checked his site and it doesn't say. It just lists the three that have been published so far:
Merlin Codex
1. Celtika (2001)
2. The Iron Grail (2002)
3. The Broken Kings (2006)
I ahve a bad feeling I'm going to be frustrated again.

Finished Grimspace last night and moving on to Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch today.

Frankt wrote: "Kathi wrote: "Frankt wrote: "I'm reading Celtika by Robert Holdstock. It'sk one of the Merlin Codex."

Anyone know how many books there are going to be in the Merlin Codex?"



I'm reading this one too. It took me about 80 pages to fully get into the swing of things (dangerously close to the 100 page toss mark) but now I'm finding the combination of characters mesmerizing.

I've been on another short story binge this month. I highly recommend the anthology from Baen, Transhuman, which I reviewed briefly yesterday. I just started a new anthology from Drollerie Press called Stereo-Opticon, Fairy Tales in split vision. I'm going to start listening to Madame Bovary today - its been tossed around my TBR shelf for several years and I finally found an audio copy of it, we'll see if it makes the household chores faster...or slower.

Speaking of audio books, I also just finished Blood and Chocolate, for which I 'manufactured' several convenient listening situations (my windows are now squeaky clean!). Very nicely written.

Frankt wrote: "I checked his site and it doesn't say. It just lists the three that have been published so far:
Merlin Codex
1. Celtika (2001)
2. The Iron Grail (2002)
3. The Broken Kings (2006)
I ahve a bad feeling I'm going to be frustrated again..."

You and me both... I generally don't start a series till it's done, even if I buy the books as they come out or as I find them in used book stores.

I am still dragging myself through Chapterhouse Dune. I have to say its not as good as the previous books. I am not sure if it has to do where Herbert was internally. It much the same as Heretics of Dune but its sllowww. I am 250 some odd pages and nothing has happened yet, sure there is a ton of stuff happening off the page but its just not connecting with me.

I just finished my re-read of The Traveler and The Terror A Novel. I'm now reading Fool Moon by Jim Butcher (the second Dresden Files book) and Griffin's Shadow by Goodreads author Leslie Ann Moore.

I just realize I never posted what I'm reading in this thread (which is sort of taking the place of the "Why I didn't read our BotM questionnaire", I guess). Here's what I've read this month:

- Fractions The First Half of The Fall Revolution by Ken MacLeod --- wasn't crazy about this one.
- The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks --- will reserve comment until next month
- His Majesty's Dragon --- enjoyed it enough to try the second book in the series.
- The Best of Gene Wolfe A Definitive Retrospective of His Finest Short Fiction --- the best SF short story collection I've ever read
- Earth Abides by George R. Stewart --- will reserve comment until next month

Right now I'm in the middle of the sequel to His Majesty's Dragon, and have started trying some stories in The Best of Michael Moorcock, which is forthcoming from Tachyon Publications next month. And I really need to get started on City of Saints and Madmen.

I just got done reading Stray by Rachel Vincent. It's a paranormal; very good, I was hooked the whole way through. I started Earth Abides, but it's slow going for me. I'm thinking I might have to read bits at a time between reading other books.

I have finished the Graceling, and sped through a chick lit book called Annie May's Black Bookbefore starting A Madness of Angels Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift, bought it Friday based on a positive review in SFX and interested first few pages read in Waterstones.
Only a few pages in so far as I have been taking advantage of the good weather today and was out cycling and yesterday spent most the day in the cinema watching "Outlander" (my new fave viking film) and "FAQ about time travel".

I'm reading Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. I've been meaning to read it for quite awhile now, so far it's great.

Ohhhhh, a virgin read of Assassin's Apprentice, I'm so jealous!

I just finished The Winter's Tale and now I'm back to the Malazens.

What did you think of Winter's Tale? Its been on my TBR pile for a while now.