July 2022 SFF Kit - Family, born or found

Here are some suggestions for this month's theme of family. Please feel free to add your own.

Dark Eden by Chris Beckett
Xenogenisis trilogy by Octavia Butler (begins with Dawn)
Long way to a small angry planet, the by Becky Chambers
Archive of alternate endings, the by Lindsey Drager
Unconquerable sun by Kate Elliott
Sister mine by Nalo Hopkinson
Vanished birds, the by Simon Jimenez
Bear, the by Andrew Krivak
Tiger flu, the by Larissa Lai
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Game of thrones by George R. R. Martin
After the flood by Kassandra Montag
Diary in the age of water, a by Nina Munteanu
Velocity weapon by Megan O'Keefe
Blue book of Nebo, the by Manon Steffan Ros
Light from other stars by Erika Swyler
Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
Watershed by Doreen Vanderstoop
Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

Post in the wiki here.

Have fun!

I am planning on reading The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis and The Rains by Gregg Hurwitz.

I am considering either geek love by katherine dunn or the rules of magic by alice Hoffman as this months challenge.

I think I'll continue the Foreigner series with Explorer, which has several family units as protagonists.

After some research, I settled on The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.

I'll be reading The Family Trade.

Sounds like we're off to a good start.

>5 ChrisG1: Ooh this one does fit the theme in a nice way and I adored it. I hope you enjoy it!

I'm excited to read Mike Chen's Light Years from Home. I absolutely LOVED his novel We Could Be Heroes and have been anxious to try his other work ever since.

>6 majkia: I'm also reading this series and have started The Hidden Family, the second book.

I guess my book is a bit of a stretch as it's classified as horror rather than SFF and the family part doesn't seem to be very extended (for now it's a father, his son, and the half sister of the decesed boy's mother).
I've chosen Nuestra parte de Noche by Mariana Enriquez and I'm reading it in the original Spanish which is quite ambitious as my Spanish level is not that good and the book is 600 pages long.
Anyway so far (30 pages in) I find it very engaging.

I just finished Sweep With Me by Ilona Andrews, which included themes of found family, born family, and family strife.

I picked up Bard's Blade to read while in the car waiting area over the weekend, and it starts with strong themes of family: uncle/nephew, fiance/es, parents, and the inevitable "where did I come from" on the bard's journey.

>11 chlorine: You're ambitious! Glad it is keeping you interested.

>12 susanna.fraser: I enjoy this series. I'm reading the latest one online - she publishes about a chapter a week.

COMPLETED The rules of magic, Alice Hoffmans prequel to Practical magic. Very strong theme of family - siblings, hereditary witches. But not as well-formed and well-written as Practical magic.

I've read Descendants of the First by Reni K. Amayo. This is book 2 of a series featuring twin sisters separated at birth drawn together to help save the kingdom with powers they never knew they possessed.

I've competed The Rains by Gregg Hurwitz about two brothers who are out to save the world from aliens.

>17 DeltaQueen50: LOL, I read your post too fast and thought it said, "about two brothers who are out to save the world from satire." I was like, how is that SF?! :woman-facepalming:

ETA: Though now that I think on it, sounds like it would be a Terry Pratchett novel :-D

18 LOL! Now that would be a book that I would love to read. :)

>14 markon: I'll have to have a look at that!

I just finished Becky Chambers's newest novella, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, which I think fits this theme.

The August thread is posted. https://www.librarything.com/topic/342908#unread

I finished The Bard's Blade and found its themes of family to be both biological family and families-made-from-journeys.

I'm counting Vagabonds by Jingfang Hao towards this challenge. The mc has spent 5 years on Earth as an adolescent, & returns to Mars with her cohort at the beginning of the novel. She struggles to reconnect with her brother & grandfather, and her cohort struggles with expectations placed on them as they become adults. Interesting perspectives on what is important in each culture, and different perspectives on freedom & creativity.

I'm still reading and enjoying Explorer. I liken reading a CJ Cherryh book to riding a rollercoaster...slow start but then, woo!

The rollercoaster has crested the first hill and is heading downwards with increasing speed. I couldn't put it down, read past my bedtime last night...

>24 fuzzi: Jealous you have so much to go in this series. I'm all caught up and hope we'll get one or two more from Cherryh. I'm curious about whether she has any plans to hand over the reins to someone younger. (But I suppose then it wouldn't be Cherryh. But there are so many ways this could go!

>25 markon: I got behind about the time my life got upended and I moved to another state. I meant to go back but life kept me busy. I'm still busy but determined to finish up the series by the time Alliance Unbound is published, ha!

Jane Fancher is helping her with the latest books, she's ten years younger than CJ.

I’m about to start Nettle and Bone (by T. Kingfisher)— a fantasy tale about a third-born daughter who sets out to save another sister from the hands of a cruel prince-husband. Incidentally, this is the first fantasy book I’ve seen in ages that is not only a standalone; but also, at less than 250 pages, can’t double as a doorstop!

I almost finished Explorer last night, but couldn't keep my eyes open for the last 40 pages. I should be able to get that finished tonight!

Finished Mike Chen's Light Years From Home, and it was fantastic. I'm not sure I can say it lived up to his We Could Be Heroes, which I fell in love with last year, but that's really not saying much considering that both books were unquestionably 5-star reads for me! He has a way of blending genres that I just adore, and I think this cements me being a fan of his for life. I can't wait to get to his other books.

After I finished Explorer I felt as if I wanted to revisit Chanur, so I picked up my old favorite The Pride of Chanur.

I can't tell how many times I've reread this one, but the review below is from 2013, and I have a comment on the main page that I reread it in 2018.


The Pride of Chanur by CJ Cherryh (reread, review from 2013 reread)

After a recent reread, I still hold to my opinion of this book: an excellent blend of scifi, technology, politics, and culture, from a different universe...yet the characters remain likeable, and believable, despite non-human appearance. The author and this series is superb!