Beyond Reality discussion

Please let us know what other SF&F books you're reading! It's a fun way to pick up recommendations and discover new authors and titles.

I just finished The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (sequel to last month's fantasy Book of the Month). Thought it was okay - more or less the same strengths and same weaknesses as the first book, but (thankfully) a much better ending.

Now I'm re-reading The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold for the series discussion (that book's discussion will start in exactly 2 weeks).

I'm so excited, I found This Is Not a Game A Novel by Walter Jon Williams at the library today. Everything else will be put on hold while I rip through this one.

Finished Close Her Eyes this morning: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Starting The Dark Is Rising.

After that ... perhaps Heroes Die

I just started Pandora's Star yesterday. My husband has been trying to get me to read some of his work for years now so I finally gave in. Given its size, I'll probably be working on it for a while. :)

I've also been trying to start Simulacron 3. Been wanting to read it for years but I might hold off a little longer until after I reread The Vor Game.

Finishing Cabal today. Never read it before because I had liked the movie "Night Breed" so much I was afraid to. Well, the book is wonderful. And, having read over 1/2 of it so far, I must give even more credit to "Night Breed" staying so true to the story.

I'm currently reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I'm about a quarter of the way through and enjoying it a lot.

I wish what I was reading was Sci Fi Lol I am reading the Gates of Heaven a non fiction about radical mormons. It could almost be a sequel to Heinliens Stranger in a Strange land

Still reading Consider Phlebas. I'm enjoying it, but finding it a bit long-winded. Waiting to participate in the discussion until I'm finished.

Though I am enjoying it immensely, I am having to put on hold James Tiptree, Jr. The Double Life of Alice B. SheldonbyJulie Phillips. I am starting The Monster of Florence byDouglas Preston and Mario Spezi, for a face-to-face-with-humanoids book club. Though I enjoy reading several books at once, reading two biographies simoultaneously is a bit much for my brain. "Monster...," an investigation by a well-known thriller (some of which I understand have gothic-fantasy elements) writer of a series of murders in Italy, is still on the NYTimes bestseller list. I really want to plow through it because I am anxiously awaiting getting back to Tiptree.

I'm almost finished with Power & Light, the second of the 6 book collection of Roger Zelazny's work. It's fantastic. A lot of new work & some wonderful background on his other stuff.

I finished Tea With the Black Dragon on Monday (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...) and Close Her Eyes on Tuesday (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...). I started The Dark Is Rising and The Winds of Marble Arch yesterday. This morning I started and half-finished before breakfast Smith of Wootton Major.

I'm playing it by ear this month as far as a reading plan. Decided to knock off quite a few short novels this week and next. I'll tackle something longer after the Labor Day weekend.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/21431

Finished The Sword and the Flame by Stephen R. Lawhead and gave it 2 stars. Predictable, clichéd, and not very well-written (although I realize it's one of Lawhead's earlier books).

Then dove into The Mountains of Mourning and now starting The Vor Game.

Quiet here --- maybe because of the holiday weekend?

I'm still slogging my way through The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson. I think I should have taken a longer break between books 2 and 3 in this series, because I am just not motivated to read.

About to read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

Started Neuromancer this weekend.

Just finished Memory and Dream (Newford Book 5) by Charles de Lint. I liked it a lot, although I found the villain exceedingly creepy. I'm still not sure what I thought about the ending.

I haven't decided what's next. I may start trying to catch up with the Lois McMaster Bujold read by starting Barrayar. I'm not sure.

I finished This Is Not a Game and liked it *very* much. I started Royal Assassin and so far I'm quite enjoying it. Hobb does a good job of picking up where she left off and reminding you of what happened in the previous book without making it tedious.

Just started The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Other than the Miles series and Brokedown Palace by Steven Brust, I will not be reading our BOTMs for a while, so I plan to finish the Mistborn series and then, who knows?

Just starting City of Tiny Lights by Patrick Neate, a hard-boiled detective novel (not sf/f) very much in the Hammett-Chandler tradition. Set in London, it follows Tommy Akhtar, "London's best Ugandan-Indian private eye...and mujahideen veteran" as he tries to trace the whereabouts of a young Russian escort for her roommate. Great fun so far.

I'm about sixty pages into Scar Night. It's interesting but the pace is on the slow side.

I just started reading ”Drood” by Dan Simmons. I'm only 30 pages into it but I'm finding it fascinating.

Has anyone else read this book? I'd be interested in learning how much information about Charles Dickens is accurate.


Regards,
Allan

I finished The Hero of Ages last night. I would have given it two stars, but the ending (the last 20 pages or so) was so stunning that I ended up giving it 3 stars after all.

Normally I'd read SF next, but I have so much fantasy lined up that I think I'll jump right into a quick re-read of Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr., to refresh my memory for Imager's Challenge. I've also started reading the online serial of Makers by Cory Doctorow on tor.com to get a quick SF fix once in a while.

Stefan wrote: "a quick re-read of Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr., to refresh my memory"

You just reminded me that I bought this hardcover new earlier this year. I really need to squeeze it in as I love Modesitt's work.

It's a good solid example of Modesitt's fantasy, so typically his style and his characters that it's almost predictable. Still very good. Book 2 is coming out next month.

I just started Air by G Ryman--so far so good. I feel a little guilty because I've been ignoring this group... but I just have to get through a chunk of my TBR pile so I can get them out of the apartment! they're taking too much space so I've been spending the last few months just trying to read through some of them. I'll get back to the BOTMs at some point though!

I'm currently reading The Blade Itself. It's different, but enjoyable.

Next for me will be All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear, and also, Treason's Shore Book Four of Inda by Sherwood Smith - I have a road trip coming this weekend, and the Bear is a paperback, which means the beautiful big hardbound by Smith will be read at home.

Just started The Elves of Cintra

I just finished Jaran and will be returning to Heroes Die at lunch. I'm also interspersing my novel reading with a Connie Willis anthology The Winds of Marble Arch.

I finished Imager's Challenge by L.E. Modesitt Jr. yesterday. Great second book in what is shaping up to be a good series. Now I'm about 80 pages into Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, which is a lot of fun so far.

Modesitt has come out with a lot of new books this year! I can't wait to get them. I started reading him in "The Fires of Paratime" almost 30 years ago. Very engaging. I think I have all of his books until through 2008. He's getting ahead of me this year, though.

Still have never read anything by Modesitt... might have to pick something up next time I'm browsing at the used book store.

I'm starting the third book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. Since I'll be spending some time over the next several days in airports and on airplanes, I'm packing The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott in case I finish The Hero of Ages.

Kathi, Modesitt can be hit or miss, but if you get any of his standalone SF, you can't miss. And I'm starting to think that this current Imager series may be some of his best fantasy - I'm definitely liking it better than the Corean books and the few Recluce books I've read.

I read the Sanderson trilogy and thought it was merely okay. I thought book 2 was a drag, and book 3 was decent - but the end of that third book was simply amazing. It was a long slog to get to the pay-off though. I still think Elantris is his best book.

Stefan, I agree somewhat about the Mistborn books (haven't read Elantris). I really liked Book 1 a LOT but Book 2 felt like a lot of going in circles, raising questions to be answered (I hope) in Book 3. I still gave it 4 stars, but a "7" would maybe have been more accurate.
My review of book 2 is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68...

I am avoiding the discussion topic about books 2 & 3 in the Mistborn series until I've finished book 3.

Now I'm about 80 pages into [book:Agent ..."

I loved Agent of Change and the whole story arc of that series. In fact I just reread it last month. The whole highly stylized and mannered Liaden universe appeals to me. I found Agent of Change itself to be entertaining.

I've just finished Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs and started To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.

Kathi wrote: "Still have never read anything by Modesitt... might have to pick something up next time I'm browsing at the used book store.

I'm starting the third book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistb..."

Kathi, I truly loved Jennifer Roberson's contribution to The Golden Key! What a gem of a story - wish there were more of it.

Janny wrote: "Kathi, I truly loved Jennifer Roberson's contribution to The Golden Key! What a gem of a story - wish there were more of it."

As you probably know, there originally were apparently plans for 3 related novels, one by each author. Those plans seem to have died, so I'm reading _The Golden Key_ as a stand-alone when I finish the last Mistborn book.

I started "Smoke and Mirrors" by Neil Gaiman. Actually I'm not so much a fan of short stories, but Gaimans stories have a quality that intrigue me.

Kathi wrote: "Janny wrote: "Kathi, I truly loved Jennifer Roberson's contribution to The Golden Key! What a gem of a story - wish there were more of it."

As you probably know, there originally were apparently..."

The Golden Key does stand alone very well.

The sigh of wonder comes after - I really REALLY wish we could have seen that posited novel sequel by Roberson. That portion stood out prominently, for me. she does not work quickly....I'd heard of her proposal for Karavans way back in the mid nineties, and when it did not appear, had given up on seeing it...but then she finally came out with two books - and the wait proved to be well worth it.

If anyone is not familiar with her work - her Tiger and Del books are fantastic fun, and the point where she truly hit her stride as a writer. She's done a few historicals - I truly enjoyed Lady of the Glen (a retelling of the massacre at Glencoe, done with historic accuracy) and Lady of the Forest (a retelling of Marion/Robinhood with some lovely themes sewn in, where in fact, Robin is post traumatic shock from his war experience, on return from Crusade...a very different perspective on an old folk legend).

The Golden Key and Karavans rank among the best works of fantasy available.

Janny,

There is a sequel to Lady of the Forest, Lady of Sherwood.

I actually think Lady of the Glen is the better of the historicals.

I'm still plugging away at Consider Phlebas. And reading a lot of books to do with Child Birth and rearing, etc. Ugh. Interesting, but just not that much fun! I'm chomping at the bit to read Janny's book which is up in October, but I don't know if I'll be able to participate in discussion.

Oh, forgot to mention that I started reading the most recent Robin Hobb, Dragon Keeper aloud to my husband. So far it's great! Nice to be back in the Six Duchies.

Chris wrote: "Janny,

There is a sequel to Lady of the Forest, Lady of Sherwood.

I actually think Lady of the Glen is the better of the historicals."

Chris, I would agree with you there, the Glencoe retelling was better. She based her research on Prebble's nonfiction book, which is extremely well done with regard to accuracy.
And yes, I did read the sequel to the Robinhood tale, thanks for reminding me the book ran to two parts.

Sisimka wrote: "Please let us know what other SF&F books you're reading! It's a fun way to pick up recommendations and discover new authors and titles."

I'm right now about halfway through Making Money by Terry Pratchett, and The Child Thief by Brom, and the odd thing is I'm liking the former a lot LESS and the latter a lot MORE than I thought I would. (This is my first Brom experience as I generally don't do horror, unless tricked.)

Can't wait for the Brom to arrive. A signed copy is winging its way across the Atlantic. It's a Peter Pan re-telling isn't it?

Bill wrote: "Can't wait for the Brom to arrive. A signed copy is winging its way across the Atlantic. It's a Peter Pan re-telling isn't it? "

It is, it is! It's pretty dark, more than I'd usually choose for myself, but stories like this make me glad "Peter Pan" is in the public domain. :-D

I'm also looking forward The Child Thief and would love to hear some opinions on it.

Ah, I wish it wasn't in the public domain and think the law needs to change but that's a whole other thread ;-)
(think there's a slight difference between the US and here in the UK on it)
I just saw a page count and I think I'm getting much more text than I expected. It says 496pp! That can't be right can it?