Our Reads in May

So many books,so little time.

Dusty's TBR for May

SF/F
Charlie Jane Anders - All the Birds in the Sky ✔
Greg Bear - Darwin's Radio ✔
Emma Bull - Bone Dance ✔
Harry Harrison - Planet of No Return ✔
Robert A Heinlein - Methuselah's Children ✔
John Scalzi - The End of All Things ✔
John Scalzi - Head On ✔

from other genres
Keri Arthur - Winter Halo ✔
Jayne Castle - Illusion Town ✔
David Cooper Wall - One Cried Murder ✔
Tove Jansson - The Summer Book ✔
Ann Granger - Say it with Poison ✔
Dolores Redondo - The Legacy of the Bones ✔
T H White - Mistress Masham's Repose ✔

Starting the month well into Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler. So far, so good. One of the most unusual viewpoint characters I've encountered in fiction.

Still in fantasy land Chasing Embers with James Bennett.

Started Rosewater by Tade Thompson, the 2017 NOMMO winner.

Hi all, I've been watching these threads quite a while but never got around to posting. Figured I might as well do it now.

Currently reading:
The Rift by Nina Allan

Finished in April:
The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard
Provenance by Ann Leckie
Acadie by Dave Hutchinson
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

All of which I liked, although the Leckie and the Hutchinson perhaps suffered under high expectations, I did expect more. The Solomon might be my April favorite, and definitely the one I'll remember best in a year or so.

Planned for May:
Austral by Paul McAuley
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

Yes, I am on a quest to catch up with recent award nominees, and yes, I have realized I'm never getting there.

ETA: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells is due out on Tuesday, I'll sneak that in somewhere.

...ain't that the truth!

Much of this month's reading is going to depend on how "hold-list roulette" works out for me.

>6 pan0ramix: How did you like the de Bodard book? Have you read anything else of hers? I have only recently heard of her, and have a copy of Servant of the Underworld in my TBR stack that I hope to get to soon.

I liked it. It was a bit short, but the AI perspective is interesting and she writes well. I'm definitely going to read more of her, but I need to figure out which of her books are SF and not pure fantasy (I've had enough of that.)

>8 Darth-Heather: & >9 pan0ramix: - She's written some really interesting short stories too. I don't know if they're collected in book form but you can find a lot of them online. I like her work very much.

>6 pan0ramix: Welcome aboard!

>2 dustydigger: I have Mistress Masham's Repose on my TBR, might give that a try this month.

I'm currently reading Lord of Thunder.

Read Robert A Heinlein's first novel Methuselah's Children(1941) which introduced Lazarus Long. Quite short and snappy really,a lot less of the tedious long-winded and cheesy would be trendy stuff in Time Enough for Love(1973),with fun first contact with two alien races.OK,but I am not really a fan of Lazarus Long.
Now reading John Scalzi's The End of All Thingsbut unfortunately someone else has reserved Charlie Jane Anders' All the Birds of the Sky and Emma Bull's Bone Dance,got to return them by 11th,so I need to concentrate on them.Hate being pushed into reading books for such reasons,I like to go by the mood I'm in when picking reads.

>13 dustydigger: I just noticed that if you spell "Methusaleh's" with an "A" Methusalah's Children you get a better link. I remember reading those novels years ago but just a vague idea of the plot is all I retain - I did enjoy them.

Spelt it wrong Dug,but did spell it right in my TBR,and it was very late at night 10.30 pm and I was yawning.And I am yawning my head offnow too. That dawn chorus of birds is waking me at 5.30 am,and by this time at night I am shattered.
Well that's my excuse for poor spelling! :0)

I started reading Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway this morning. I am also planning to work through some of Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish short stories as well. The short stories are the ones collected in Hainish Novels & Stories, Vol. II which was published by the Library of America.

I just started A Far Sunset by Edmund Cooper.

Currently reading City of the Chasch by Jack Vance - I missed out on these Planet of Adventure novels on first publication - they're obviously an ERB homage....

Looking for some books that would help me forget that I'll never know how ASOIAF end, picked up Hyperion and Name of the Wind (not sure why touchstones doesn't have Hyperion...) so justr picked these up at my local used. Also picked up Fool because I read Serpent of Venice and just had to read the one before it. Not sci fi but hilarious!

>18 johnnyapollo:
"I missed out on these Planet of Adventure novels on first publication..."
Ha! Dating yourself. I did read them -- Ace paperbacks, as I remember -- and enjoyed them. Not great literature, but fun.

I am reading Inferno (Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Millennium Book 3 of 3)

Its the 3rd in the trilogy.

Made a start on Ken Macleod's The Sky Road.

Finished The Dream Detective, started Ancillary Sword.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells was patiently waiting for me on my ereader this morning. Looking forward to digging in later this morning.

Finished Artificial Condition. Liked it muchly.

>25 seitherin: How do you think it compares with All Systems Red? I liked the first 'murderbot' book quite a bit and am looking forward to reading the sequels soon-ish...

Finished The RIft and while I really really liked it, I'm struggling to call it science fiction (and going too much into why might be kind of spoiler-y.) Excellent story, great characters, lots of things to think about between reading sessions, great read.

Blackfish City popped up on my e-reader and jumps to top of the queue.

Took a break from Vance and read "61 Hours" by Lee Child, now back on Servants of the Wankh...

I've begun my travels in Islandia. Not entirely sure this counts as science fiction, but 501 Must-Read Books says it does.

>26 ScoLgo: Artificial Condition is a continuation of All Systems Red. It deals with what happens when 'muderbot' goes looking for answers to questions she has. I expect all the books to be like that until the question is answered. I liked it.

>29 Cecrow: Islandia piqued my interest after looking it up on wiki. Quite a unique origin! Let us know how the reading goes.

>30 seitherin: Thank you. I will move those sequels up on my list.

Currently reading The Massacre of Mankind and not very impressed so far.

All the birds in the sky, by Charlie Jane Anders (Book 18 of 2018) is a little weird, but in a good way. It was short listed for the 2017 Hugo Best Novel. Haven't quite worked out whether it's YA or not. It struck me when I was most of the way through it that the plot is pretty much the same as Electric dreams and Short circuit, both 1980's films in which a nerdy young man and a gorgeous arty young woman get together with the assistance of Tech. There are a few more complications than that. 4.25 stars. I'm taking fractional points off because I couldn't understand some of the slang.

>2 dustydigger: Just finished All the birds in the sky. Well worth making time for.

Currently reading The time traveller's wife, which is a bit of a chore after the first 200 pages, and The fifth season, which I'm finding extremely promising, and may get rather more serious reading time.

I'm starting Gnomon by Nick Harkaway.

I'm reading Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon. This series keeps getting better and better.

Time Traveller's Wife was so wonderful - I burst into tears at the end, then started the book all over again. There are major holes with the plot, but I loved the characters so much I didn't mind jumping over them (the holes)

Also enjoyed All The Birds in the Sky; yes its been done before but the language was great and cared very much for the characters.

>39 cindydavid4: I'm finding The time traveller's wife a bit repetitive - it's taking a long time to get anywhere. I like the concept, and yes, the characters are engaging. I should probably withhold judgement till I finish it. The fact that I've seen the film might be a factor. I find it interesting that though it's clearly science fiction, it wasn't published as such, and didn't even make it to the Hugo long list (probably because sf fans didn't notice it...)

Just now finished Lavie Tidhar's 'Central Station', very good, nothing here we haven't seen before except that the cultural underpinnings are uniquely Middle Eastern, and that's refreshing. Next off the shelf, I shall be catching up with Howard Waldrop's Them Bones.

>36 dajashby: I can see how you could find The Time Traveller's Wife a chore if you started reading it with the expectation of a Science Fiction novel and then discovered a love story. I really enjoyed the book. It took some feats of mental gymnastics to keep track of the different time slots and their sequencing.

>39 cindydavid4: I didn't quite burst into tears at the end but I could have done. I thought it was a great book.

>42 pgmcc: I've only seen the film, but I found it all abit stalker-y

>44 iansales: I have not seen the film but heard the SF elements were reduced in the translation from the book. It did strike me when reading the earlier parts of the book that there were elements that would have had the main character in trouble if the authorities knew about them.

Four of my library holds have just come in - 3 of which are SF:
Persepolis Rising, the next in The Expanse series by James S S Corey; Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer; and Sweet Dreams by Tricia Sullivan. I'm hoping for rain so I've got an excuse to sit indooors!

I'm reading Counter-Clock World by Philip K. Dick.

Really enjoyed Emma Bull's Bone Dance and John Scalzi's Head On
Now reading Greg Bear's Darwin's Radioand am being made woefully aware how ignorant I am about biology and genetics. Bear can be very dry,but the protagonists are engaging and the premise of evolutionary triggers lurking in our chromosomes is intriguing,so I am plodding on,very slowly.
For light relief I am reading Robert Heinlein's Planet of No Return and,not SF,Tove Jansson's charming little storyThe Summer Book

>42 pgmcc: I have no problem with a love story & don't see any reason why a book can't be both sf and romance, and having seen the film I certainly knew what to expect. I just think the author needed a good editor. Regarding your remarks to iansales I don't think the book is any more SF than the film. The film is less challenging, in that they left out some of the more explicit content (like when Henry is masturbating with himself...)

Just started The Dirdir book 3 of Vance's Planet of Adventure novels - book 2, Servants of the Wankh was better than book 1 City of the Chasch so I'm hopeful that the books get better as they progress towards the conclusion (book 1 was fairly weak, getting better in the second half). There is a rather indiscriminitory lack of regard for characters that are close to the protagonist - foreshadows George Martin to some extent. The protagonist Adam Reith is quite likeable - his two locally-sourced companions less so (probably by intent as they provide contrast). Vance's writing style is as I remember it - short exposition in the beginning of the paragraph with dialog and conclusion towards the end - sort of like mini scenes that wrap up in the same paragraph.

Finished up Raven Stratagem (A) this evening and I don't know what I can say about it that won't give away the big turnaround Yoon Ha Lee unleashes in the process. Still, if you like the first book of the trilogy you'll also enjoy this novel. Not sure as to the next genre book that I'm going to read but it looks like The Artificial Condition is about to fall into my grubby little hands.

I've started Robots of Gotham by Todd Mcaulty and I'm really enjoying it so far. Machine intelligences taking over much of the world's government, often though democratic processes. Intriguing concept and very good mystery and action so far.

Tried to re-start my previous interest in the Heechee Saga with Heechee Rendezvous. I'd forgotten how whiney and self-obsessed the central character was. The narrative was overly digressive and badly paced. I couldn't be bothered enough to finish it.

Currently reading City at the end of Time by Greg Bear. Only 88 pages in, but so far so good.

Reading a book from this year's Clarke Award shortlist, Gather the Daughters. Not very impressed.

I'm re-reading Stranger in a Strange Land after thirty years, as part of a scholarly project. I was worried I might not enjoy it: not only is the "suck fairy" known to strike novels of such a vintage, but I've seen a lot of unfriendly reviews of it in recent years. So far (only a few chapters in), I'm relieved.

I also suspect, however, that some of the dislike I've read has actually been pointed at a different book: the so-called "original and uncut" edition, which has been the only version in print since 1991, as far as I can tell. Accusations of rambling, preachiness, and lack of focus seem to imply problems with that more recent edition, posthumously conformed to the original manuscript, and abandoning the labored edits of the book originally published in 1961.

I see that these two books are not differentiated in the LT database; they constitute a single "work," although one of them is nearly twice the length of the other. I'd like to undertake some separation there, but it would be a lot of effort on my part, and I'm curious about the reactions of other users in this group. I certainly don't want to bother with separation if it will all be erased by someone else merrily combining away.

I really enjoyed New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson. This was a relief, as I found his Aurora so dry that I DNFed it at what should have been one of the most exciting moments in the book. New York 2140 followed a disparate group of people who all live in the same building in a flooded future NYC. I found it interesting that the book looks at not only the social, political and environmental effects of climate change but the relationship with the economy and stock markets too. Sharing the narrative between 8 or so different characters kept the story moving and varied the narrative tone nicely.

Just got my hands on Artificial Condition.

I finished Lord of Thunder and went on to The Year of the Unicorn. Both were good reads.

Just finished Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway, as part of my slow trot through Mr. Harkaway's fiction. I read The Gone-Away World about a month ago. Both are big, digressive books, which probably annoys some readers, but I really enjoyed his writing. I also felt like Angelmaker held together a bit better than Gone-Away did. Looking forward to reading Tigerman and Gnomon sometime in the near future.

>56 paradoxosalpha: Don't remember which edition of Stranger in a Strange Land I read but I enjoyed it then.

Took a break from Vance and read Worth Dying For by Lee Child (trying to get caught up on the Jack Reacher books), now back on The Pnume by Jack Vance...

Reading an uncorrected proof of A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White.

>63 seitherin: Is this the same Alex White that wrote Every mountain made low? I am assuming so ?

>64 davisfamily: Yes, it is.

Polished off 'Them Bones' fairly quickly. Waldrop's first novel, and it sort of felt as though he really wasn't completely comfortable in the format. At one point, his protagonist goes on foot to another settlement and has to escape back home, pursued by an angry (and armed) mob. This became quite an extended episode, and it struck me perhaps that he'd carefully planned the setting of the novel in some detail, only to find that he had more territory to cover with his protagonist than he was really comfortable with on his return journey.

Waldrop's trademark inventiveness was there, though; and he had a secondary character who from the outset I immediately cast as Chief Dan George, as seen in the films 'Little Big Man' and 'The Outlaw Josey Wales' because of the character's laconic and quietly, dryly funny outlook on things. A good try.

Next up: back to Area X with Authority.

Well, Gather the Daughters wasn't very good. Now reading Sea of Rust and it''s not looking good either. I had thought this year's Clarke Award shortlist was an interesting one, but it's not panning out that way...

Finished Blackfish City and found it a decent read. The story was perhaps a bit thin here and there, but the characters were good and the world-building excellent. For me probably the best sf release so far this year.

Was going to start Austral, but a bunch of library holds came in and demanded priority. Started Nullingen av Paul Abel by Bjørn Vatne, a norwegian-language near-future climate fiction story that seems excellent so far. A totalitarian environmental political party topples the Norwegian government and takes direct control of the population through their "Sjalks", a highly advanced communications device. Can't wait to see where this goes.

Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio was an OK read,anthropology and genetics this time,with the premise that hidden in our ''junk genes'' are certain genes waiting to be triggered for a new stage of evolution.It shows a lot of the infighting in the science community over new ideas,and the resulting panic and fear of the new strain of humans. The end tailed off a bit,obviously to prepare for a sequel.I did enjoy this more than I did Eon,once again with brilliant ideas but rather pedantic heavy handed execution that I associate with Bear,but since the characters of Radio were much more sympathetic I was happy enough to follow along on their adventures,unlike Eon,which was dry as dust!
That makes 46/53 Nebulas completed,with about 80 pages left of All the Birds in the Sky,so I am getting there in my plan to finish them of this year.
Next up will be Paladin of Souls. Never knew it was so big,almost 600 pps!!!!

Well,I finished All the Birds in the Sky,and unfortunately unlike a lot of you on this thread, I didnt like it very much! I know people rave that is a groundbreaking meld of science fiction and fantasy,but I couldnt see that very well. It seemed to fall between two stools,weak and vague technology on one side,not very convincing eco terrorist witches on the other. Since I read a lot from both genres,and YA,it didnt seem too good at any of them.OK,some humour and irony,but I groaned when we had reams and reams of school bullying of the two young people,such a common overused trope in YA.
Then I felt the last part of the book,though all about world destruction was curiously dull and not really dramatic.,and found the end unconvincing and a bit silly.
Only bit that charmed me was the little love scene when the two young people got together at lastIt had some warmth and humour,I found it touching and sweet.. Most of the time I was irritated by those characters though.
Did people vote for this because Anders was a Tor editor,known and popular with a lot of people in the business?I'm probably being a bit unfair to the book,but I was so disappointed with it.
That makes 47/53 Nebulas completed

I much preferred reading V E Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic series,which got many rave reviews from readers,but no awards.lol.

>70 dustydigger: That lack of awards surprised me as well. The author invented a new world, a new kind of time travel, and gave us characters to care about. One of my favorite series of all time.

sorry wrong post..

Just started reading Aftermath by Charles Sheffield. It is a story about Earth suffering from an EMP strike from a supernova from Alpha Centauri . I am 80 pages in and this looks like a great "hard" science fiction story. Four some reason it only has a rating of 3.34 stars which puzzles me as I am thoroughly enjoying this book so far. It is the first book of a series it seems and is quite detailed... that may be the reason.

>70 dustydigger: I'm with you on All the birds in the sky. The premise had potential but I never warmed to the characters and couldn't see what was so groundbreaking about it.

>70 dustydigger:, >74 Sakerfalcon:: Yes, that book was a disappointment. It felt like it was mechanically ticking boxes to appear cool and pleasing.

I read The Three-Body Problem after the e-edition came in over the weekend. I really enjoyed the novel. I finished the book but kept swiping pages not realizing it was over and then realizing it must be continued found that the other two sequels were not available in the library. Have they been translated yet?

The Dark Forest and Death's End, enjoy!

Finished Ancillary Sword and All Systems Red, started Perdido Street Station.

>73 Lynxear: Ah,dear old Charles Sheffield,I loved his Heritage series back in the 90s.I think my library got 2 of the series,then no more,but I remember them as fun,full of derring-do as a disparate group go in search of Big Dumb Objects and artifacts left behind by ancient aliens.And I have always meant to locate his Campbell winning Brother to Dragons
Might be a good fun author to revisit next year......yeah,already thinking about next year's books,I cant resist my lists :0)

Finished John Scalzi's The End of All Things,presumably the final book in the Old Man's War series. I thought the first section,more of a horror story than SF a,bout a pilot whose brain has been removed and melded to a spaceship, was very gripping,but the rest of the sections,written like short stories,were much more subdued and rather unexciting.A bit of a disappointment when I usually enjoy his books.
Oh well,I did enjoy his Head On a lot this month,and as a rule he is a fun and enjoyable author.
a lot of his fans have become very irate with his publishing short stories which are then gathered together as a book,and fans are annoyed at paying twice for the same material!
I think thats 4 books I have finished this week,all in a rush,after a rather sparse month.
Better get down to reading more,I have a Pick n' Mix challenge over on Worlds Without End to read 80 books this year,and I am only on 32 so far, with some really huge tomes down the line!
Oh-oh, I feel a list coming on! Here are the remaining Hugos and Nebulas I want to finish this year if possible;

Vernor Vinge - A Deepness in the Sky
Robert J Sawyer - Hominids
Lois McMaster Bujold - Paladin of Souls
Susanna Clarke -Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Vernor Vinge ; Rainbow's End
Michael Chabon - The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Ursula K LeGuin - Powers
Paul Bacigalupi - Windup Girl
Connie Willis - Blackout
Kim Stanley Robinson : 2312
NK Jemisin - The Obelisk Gate

I started on The Naked God, the final part in the Night's Dawn trilogy. I am so ambiguous about this book. On the one hand I want to read it because I am so curious how all the story lines are resolved and I am very interested in the aliens and the history of the aliens. On the other hand the horror aspects of the story are a bit too much for me at the moment, and I am still apprehensive about that doorstopper size (so many other books that now have to wait...). However, I know, if I don't read this now, soon after reading the other two I know I never will (Blue Mars, I am looking at you...)

>73 Lynxear: Sheffield was husband to one of my cousins (and my mom kept sending me his books for me to read, wasn't' interested at the time). When I met my future husband I noticed that he had several of those books on his shelf, so I read some; I appreciated his non fiction science, but just couldn't get into his hard sci fi.

I've read three great sf novels so far in May and I'm in the middle of another one. Turning out to be a good month for my sf reading.

What I've read:
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich - Erdrich isn't really known as an sf writer but this book definitely falls in the genre. Something has caused all the creatures on earth to revert biologically to their ancestors' body type. A young American Indian woman is pregnant and all pregnant women are being rounded up so she is in hiding. Spookily realistic; think The Handmaid's Tale.
Cat Pictures Please by Naomi Kritzer - superb collection of short stories
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - the second of her Oxford time travel series. Hard to believe it has taken me this long to read it.

What I am currently reading:
The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson - post-apocalyptic story set in the Yukon

Looking forward to hearing what you think of The Wolves of Winter, I've heard wildly different opinions of it.

Nancy Kress I presume?

>86 Shrike58: Nancy Kress was his third wife.

Just finished The Fifth season, which I really enjoyed. Jemisin has succeeded in finding some really original elements for her story. Worthy winner of the Hugo Best Novel in 2016, and also short listed for the Nebula in 2015. Looking forward to The obelisk gate, which I have reserved at the library. Currently still wading through The time traveller's wife, which is still too long. I've started Every heart a doorway, which won the Hugo Best Novella in 2017. So far fairly promising.

Finished A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White. Space opera with magic. Kind of grew on me toward the end.

Next up is Reamde by Neal Stephenson.

So I finished Counter-Clock World. Judging by the other reviews on this site I enjoyed it more than most. But that might be due in large part to my enjoyment of the obvious link of the novel to the 1960s when it was written, and the equally obvious fact that it was inspired by the assassination of Rev Martin Luther King. It's easy to imagine the author digesting the news and thinking "If only we could turn back time and bring him back to life again..."

And this of course is why I love reading old SF. We can revisit the past via the future. Next up I'm reading Soldier, Ask Not by Gordon R. Dickson.

>80 dustydigger: >83 cindydavid4: well I just finished Aftermath and I can see why the rating on this book is relatively low. The pluses for the book are that he has a very good premise for an EMP apocalypse and he communicates it very well. His writing is a nice easy style and quite readable.

The minuses as I see them is that this book is more on the political/religious level than on survival of such an event. It seems the USA comes though relatively unscathed while the rest of the earth is devastated. Some weaponry is stored in deep earth storage or in the case of submarines in deep water (no mention of other countries' subs) and vehicles with chips are easily "jumpered" to work it seems which I find hard to believe. Plus the USA has amassed and stored a bumper load of chips which I find amusing thinking that the US government would have the foresight to store masses amounts of microchips and they were generic could be universally used.

The premise is also good for a continuation of a series since in 50 years the followup to the initial damage to Earth from radiation in the form of heavier particles that move slower will be more devastating and wipe out all life on earth unless they can stop or divert them.

So this is a setup book for those that follow. You are introduced to all the characters and left wanting at the end. Don't get me wrong... this books has many decent chapters but there is nothing special with the political aspects for me. Also American planned domination of the world in later books is not a subject that appeals to me in general.

So I won't actively search for the following books of the series. I do like his style of writing though.

About half-way into The Affair by Lee Child while I await the The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin...

Gave up on Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer. I wanted to like this book - it sounded complex, with some interesting ideas, but I got over 100 pages in and still didn't have a clue as to what was meant to be going on. The world-building was shambolic, the characterisation lacking, and the breaking-the 4th-wall asides to "dear reader" teeth-grindingly arch. It's going back to the library tomorrow.
It's with relief I return to imaginative, unselfconscious, literate genre fiction with a re-read of China Miéville's The City & the City for a book group. I thought the BBC made a reasonable attempt at bringing it to television recently but I don't think it got brilliant viewing figures (sigh).

>94 SChant: I couldn't finish Too Like the Lightning either for the same reasons you listed. It was completely unreadable.

>85 pan0ramix: I liked The Wolves of Winter mostly due to the setting and the strong female lead character. I thought there were several plot holes but for a first novel that is almost to be expected. Plus I think there must be a sequel and I'm hoping some things will be filled in. I gave it 3.5 stars.

>70 dustydigger:, >74 Sakerfalcon:, >75 anglemark: I too thought that book did not live up to its hype. This is what I said in my review: "Despite all her talk about avoiding the tropes of fantasy and science fiction I thought they were all still there, just not very well integrated or explained."

Finished Harry Harrison's Planet of No Return,and am now thoroughly enjoying Becky Chamber's The Long Way to a Small,Angry Planet.Great fun.
Also reading Robert J Sawyer's Hominids Wish the print was darker and larger,its tiring struggling to make it out. No wonder I am (somewhat reluctantly) reading more books in e-format,where I can adjust the size of the print! lol.
old age creeping up.....(sigh).......

Added The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers to my reading rotation.

I've just started The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet myself but what I knocked off this evening was Martha Wells' Artificial Condition, a worthy continuation in the series. Before I get back to Chambers I'm going to read Space Opera first.

Now reading The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore while I await the The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin...

A true legend in science fiction, editor and writer Gardner Dozois passed away yesterday. He had more influence over the decades on me as a reader of science fiction than anyone else I can imagine. I've been nibbling away at one of his Year's Best collections - it often takes me months to get through them they are so massive.

I'm sorry to see you go, Gardner.

>102 RBeffa: Me too... I collect his Year's best, and let them influence me a lot. :(

I'll miss Gardner Dozois terribly. His annuals with their wonderful summing up of the year made me think of him as the keeper of SF history. His own work's main flaw was its scarcity, but I understood that like John Campbell before him, he was sacrificing for the greater good of the field.

I met him once, we were both just signing in at the Nebula Awards in Washington, D.C. I was so excited to see him that I was perhaps in his way at the check in and he was slightly grumpy, but although I was a little taken aback, I couldn't let that disappointing encounter change my feelings toward a man who's writing made me feel that we had a friendly relationship based on our mutual love of SF.

>102 RBeffa:, >103 divinenanny:, >104 lansingsexton: There's a separate obituary thread for Gardner.

Moved to the official obituary thread....

>98 dustydigger: To be sure, old age is not for the faint of heart. (Looks in the mirror and sighs...) However, I'm told it beats the alternative.

>107 ThomasWatson: lol! It sure does,Thomas.
Glad to be able to tell you I just completed your The Plight of the Eli'ahtna, and once again I loved your book. I like the way you fit in some heartwarming family stuff(not at all common in SF in general!),lots of aliens,and in particular that uplifting thought that in general aliens will be ethical,likeable and friendly. Much in the Star Trek ethos I'm thinking.
I am enjoying the somewhat teasing slow reveal of more and more aspects of the mystery of the DNA commonalities,very intriguing!
And in Plight we got a pretty scary enemy,the Faceless.Wow,they are truly frightening.Certainly NOT ethical,likable or friendly! lol
Cant wait to see what happens next. I have obtained the final two books in the Iteration series,and am looking forward to them.
btw,good to see our Robert playing the Northumbrian pipes. I live in the next county to Northumberland,in County Durham,we have similar traditional pipes,though not given a special name.
A pleasing conceit that hundreds of years in the future our dear old caterwauling(as my husband calls it) will still be around:0)

On a lighter note I finished Space Opera (A) this evening and whatever else it is it's certainly rock'n'roll!

Here's what I think of the Clarke Award shortlisted books: https://iansales.com/2018/05/29/reading-diary-2018-clarke-award-special/

Just finished Borne by Jeff Vandermeer. I enjoyed it.

Finished City of Bones by Martha Wells. Enjoyed it. Next into the rotation is Cold Welcome by Elizabeth Moon.

>108 dustydigger: It pleases me no end that you continue to enjoy my books. That someone who knows the genre as well as you surely do can get into them is certainly encouraging! I may be on the right track after all.

I was just starting to write the first of the series when my wife and I attended an event in Tucson that included a local pipe band. I'd always been fond of the pipes, but never heard them live before. To call that experience mind blowing would be an understatement. (It came close to blowing my eardrums, come to think of it.) It had already been decided that Robert was a musician. By the time I got home that night, he was a piper. People wonder where authors get their ideas. The answer is, of course, from life itself, every bit of it. And sometimes life includes bagpipes - if you are very lucky. ;-)

I have just started At the mouth of the river of bees and Ghod how I love it! It's wonderful!

Thanks for the commentary and I'll shortly be nuking Sea of Rust off the TBR list.

>115 Shrike58: Yeah, I was distinctly not impressed.

I am currently reading some of Ursula K. Le Guin's short stories...namely those stories included in the Library of America's 2nd Hainish volume. I just read The Shobies' Story, Dancing to Ganam, Another Story or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea, and Unchosen Love. The Shobies Story legitimately made me uncomfortable with how it plays with reality and perception, in a good way. I felt a little disoriented reading it, which is probably a sign that it did what it was supposed to do. Also, I have to say that I think Another Story, or A Fisherman of the Inland Sea is among the finest short stories I have ever read.

>102 RBeffa: I’m currently reading the 2017 volume. I’ve had one or another of his “Year’s best” books on my phone for the last 3 or 4 years. Didn’t always agree with his selections, but it’s been a good way of getting back into the genre. Sorry to see he’s gone.

For May I the sci-fi I read was
Marooned on Eden
Inferno (Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Millennium Book 3 of 3)

Not a big sci-fi month

>118 dajashby: I read a bit of the 2017 collection. Not enough to form an opinion on it, but I know that in some of the years I certainly did not agree on some of his selections. What I recall from his comments in the 2017 collection was that he was lamenting the decline and near absence of the science fiction novella (In SF, not Fantasy). He thought it was the ideal length for science fiction stories. I would agree with him that it is an excellent length. He thought it might be because of the rise of online fiction markets that use shorter length science fiction. I'm reading the 2001 collection currently.