Beyond Reality discussion

Hi everyone,

It’s time to open nominations for our October 2011 Books of the Month. Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination in this thread. If you would like to make a nomination, please reply to this post with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration.

Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. You can also check the group bookshelves for previous Books of the Month to see if your nomination has already been read by the group. (Being chosen as a past BotM does not necessarily disqualify a book from current consideration, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.)

• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• Seconding isn't necessary in this group, but feel free to assert your enthusiasm for any nomination all the same.
• Friendly discussion/debate is strongly encouraged, but let's please keep things civil.

Nominations will remain open through Tuesday, July 19th, and the first round of polls will go up on Wednesday, July 20th.

Thanks!


NOMINATIONS SO FAR:


FANTASY:
The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (Chris)
The Doomfarers of Coramonde by Brian Daley (Kevin)
The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (Marty)
Taliesin by Stephen R. Lawhead (Maggie)
Darkborn by Alison Sinclair (Deedee)
Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht (Kerry)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Ken)
Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory (Candiss)

SCIENCE FICTION:
Footfall by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle (Kevin)
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi (Marty)
Spin State by Chris Moriarty (Sarah Pi)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (Maggie)
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (Deedee)
Bellwether by Connie Willis (Kerry)
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks (Richard)
The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma (Chris)
Feed by Mira Grant (Stefan)

For fantasy, I would like to nominate

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines.

Nominations for October, wow this year is racing through.

For fantasy, I would like to nominate a old one: The Doomfarers of Coramonde by Brian Daley.

For Science Fiction I would like to nominate: Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

Helen wrote: "Nominations for October, wow this year is racing through."

I know! I had to check myself when I posted the initial message, because it didn't seem like October could possibly be right!

For science fiction I would like to nominate Agent to the Stars
For fantasy The Dragon Keeper
Because I already have them but have not yet read either.

SF: Spin State by Chris Moriarty.

I have a couple of classics in mind:

Fantasy: Taliesin
Sci-fi: Fahrenheit 451

For fantasy, I'd like to nominate:

Darkborn by Alison Sinclair
It's the first book of a trilogy. The entire trilogy is in print; #2 is Lightborn (which was nominated for the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel) and #3 is Shadowborn, which, according to goodreads, was printed in May 2011.
It might make a good compare-and-contrast with this month's BOTM Shades of Grey; and it's a good fantasy read as well.

Back later with a SF nominee.

Back. :0)
For Science Fiction, I'd like to nominate:

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. It was nominated for the 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel. As far as I can tell, it is a stand-alone novel.

Deedee wrote: "Back. :0)
For Science Fiction, I'd like to nominate:

House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. It was nominated for the 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel. As far as I can tell, it is a stand-alone novel."

Depending on the author's plans, it may well have a sequel. And there is a prequel in the form of his novella, Thousandth Night. However, for all intents and purposes, this is definitely a stand-alone. And I think it's a very good choice.

For fantasy: Of Blood and Honey by Stina Leicht

For SF: Bellwether by Connie Willis

I have question - is steampunk fantasy or sf? I'm asking because The Map of Time looks interesting, but I don't want to change my fantasy nomination.

mmm
Not sure if it was a book here before but since HBO is planning on making a TV series. For Fantasy
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Chris wrote: "I have question - is steampunk fantasy or sf? I'm asking because The Map of Time looks interesting, but I don't want to change my fantasy nomination."

I say it's sci-fi, though there are some that have fantasy elements. Judging by the blurb for Map I would vote it as sci-fi.

I second American Gods by Neil Gaiman! I've been wanting to read Neil Gaiman forever!

Chris wrote: "I have question - is steampunk fantasy or sf? I'm asking because The Map of Time looks interesting, but I don't want to change my fantasy nomination."

I think steampunk can be either science fiction or fantasy, or a bit of both. In the case of this particular book, I'd say it's sf, due to the time travel genre shelving, the blurb, some of the reviews, and the fact that a lot more people have shelved it as sf, sf-steampunk, and sf-time travel than have shelved it as fantasy.

Let us know if you want to nominate it for science fiction. :)

Ken wrote: "mmm
Not sure if it was a book here before but since HBO is planning on making a TV series. For Fantasy
American Gods by Neil Gaiman"

Ken: You can see which books the group has read before by scrolling to the bottom section of the group's frontpage and looking at the "Previous Books of the Month" threads. There are 2, which I believe Stefan has separated based on when the group moved to Goodreads from another forum host. (Yahoo Groups? This was before my time with the group.) You can also check the group's bookshelf and put the title or author in the search box there.

In the case of American Gods, it looks like the group read it back in 2006. That's long enough ago that there might be a number of members who either haven't read it or who would like to re-read it before the television series. :)

Quick note - I just had to separate the "Previous Books of the Month" into 2 posts because GoodReads has a size limit for individual posts, and the list didn't fit into one post.

And - we were on Yahoo Groups until March 2009.

Ah! And here I thought you were being clever and organized. ;)

(By the way, I can't update that post, so it's a couple of months behind.)

Argh, I keep forgetting to update it. I'll take care of it soon (as soon as I'm done with this excellent novel, which I haven't been able to put down...)

Stefan wrote: "Argh, I keep forgetting to update it. I'll take care of it soon (as soon as I'm done with this excellent novel, which I haven't been able to put down...)"

Oh? Which one? Your page says you're currently reading Feed, but I don't want to simply assume. If it's that good, nosy readers need to know!

Yep, Feed it is. It's excellent, one of the most captivating and entertaining books I've read in a long time. I just haven't been able to put it down. The last time I experienced this was when I read The Name of the Wind for the first time.

Can I nominate :

Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

for SF.

Banks' latest 'Culture' novel appears to be getting good reviews, back to his old form it seems.
All the 'Culture' novels are stand alone works, so no previous knowledge required.

For Science Fiction, I would like to nominate

The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

Richard wrote: "Can I nominate :

Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks

for SF.

Banks' latest 'Culture' novel appears to be getting good reviews, back to his old form it seems.
All the 'Cu..."

Richard: As far as I can tell, you're right about this book being a standalone, so I've added it to the nom list. If other members of the group have input as to the serial/standalone nature of this book, please let us know.

While Banks' Culture novels share similarities re the main theme, each has its own set of characters and circumstances. One has never been a sequel of another. So I'd call it a stand alone. But I have yet to read my copy of Surface Detail.

There are a couple of books in the Culture series that have connections to others, some more overt than others. Consider Phlebas and Look to Windward are the most obvious ones. Surface Detail is 99% standalone, so I think we can let the nomination stand. (The 1% that doesn't make it a complete standalone doesn't affect understanding of the book, especially because it comes at the very end of the book, revealing the identity of one character that's appeared in the series before.)

But, short version: yep, let's accept the nomination. Also because it's a stunning book.

Feed is such a good book. I read it under duress for another group - "Do I have to read a £%$^* zombie book?" Then couldn't put it down, I just finished Deadline, the next volume.

Decided not to make any nominations as it is looking quite tough already.

Ooh, I didn't realize there's a sequel already. That's going on the list.

And Candiss, I'll add Feed by Mira Grant as a nomination for SF.

Sadly, Stefan, the final part isn't out until next year.

So Stefan, is Feed compelling enough to unseat The Dervish House in your Hugo voting? ;)

I'm actually trying to decide that now. They're such different books. The Dervish House is intricate and cerebral and filled with gorgeous, stylish prose. Feed is straightforward and emotional and written in a no-nonsense style. Both are excellent, but for very different reasons. I haven't made up my mind yet, basically :)

I'm not going to make a nom for SF, but for Fantasy I'll nominate Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory.

To simplify the plot greatly, Pandemonium is a story of possession by what are referred to as "demons" but which might be better labeled "archetypes" or "primal forces." It takes place in a modern, urban Earth setting but probably doesn't qualify as what most people mean when they say "urban fantasy." There is a good deal of exploration of psychological themes, and it should appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, among others.

In addition to print, the book is available in Kindle and Nook formats. It has been a frequent awards "bridesmaid" and occasional winner:
- Winner: IAFA William L Crawford Fantasy Award, Crawford Award
- Nominated for: World Fantasy Award (finalist), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Lit., Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel

Just a reminder that today is the last day to make nominations, so if you would like to nominate something, please do! I'll put up the first round of polls sometime tomorrow, Wednesday the 20th.

Nominations are now closed, and the first round of polls are going up.