What We Are Reading - Fantasy/SF

I hope none of the people who read only fantasy or only SF mind that I lumped the two together. :)

If we happen on especially notable f/sf through-out the year, maybe we could post about it here, as well as in our personal threads, to make sure nobody misses anything?

Also, if the avid fantasy and sf lovers could post checking-in messages here, I think it will help us all get to know whose books-read threads to keep a close eye on. (I'd like to think I could follow everyone's thread... but there are sure a lot of us, I don't think I can.)

As for myself, I'm Shelby. I read a wide variety of stuff, but I have a special interest in f/sf, which I also write. My focus for the year is to find some new favorite authors, and especially to keep my eye out for debut novels. Any help I can get with that will be much appreciated.

My reading tastes tend toward the light end of the spectrum, I like optimistic outlooks and triumphant endings... also romantic subplots, witty dialog, and worlds that feel like they expand well beyond the edges of the story (in both time and space). Elves, dragons and galactic empires NOT a stumbling point - but unsatisfied peasants destined for greatness, children persecuted by their own families, and people who can't hold a relationship together -- those I'm getting tired of.

I read/have read a fair amount of both genres.

Well, I was one of the readers of "speculative" fiction in the '08 group. It'll be fun to compare notes this year!

Yup...I'm a big speculative fiction reader - mostly fantasy...not much of a sci-fi girl. I like quality too (which is always subjective, I admit) although I do read some stuff that isn't brilliant, but just fun. I'll check in to this thread for sure. :)

I like some fantasy and SF too.

Fantasy:
Like Tolkien and recently The Chonicles of Prydian, I found thanks to the 75 group!

SF
I liked the books by Julian May the Saga of the Exiles and the two series following.

Are the books from Jean Auel and the The first North Americans in this category too?
If not, how do you call them?

They're not fantasy. Well, for want of a better term, I'd call the Pre-Historical Fiction.

I love both fantasy and science fiction. I have both categories in my 999 Challenge, and have included mainly Mt. TBR books in that challenge.
Looks like I'll grow the mountain again when I check in here... and that's OK!

I plan on reading:

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

The Book of ATrix Wolfe by Patricia A. Mckillip

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

I've heard very good things about these books, especially The Sparrow. Can't wait to get started!

McKillip is marvellous, Lorie...everything I've read of her has been gold. Sparrow looks good too, and I've added that to my wishlist. :)

Oooh, I *loved* The Sparrow - I hope you enjoy it!

The Sparrow is on my list of the top books I read last year. Nothing else of hers quite measures up, IMHO, although they are still very good.

I'm reading The Naked God by Peter F Hamilton, it's the final book in the Nights Dawn trilogy and part of my 'next in series' category of 999 challenge. I loved The Sparrow. War for the Oaks was good, if you like it you should try Holly Black's Tithe or Wicked Lovely. I just finished The Player of Games by Iain M Banks yesterday so it doesn't count for this challenge - my first Culture novel and I'll be reading more.

Both Princep's Fury and This Day All Gods Die have been burning a hole in my pocket...err, shelf. Since the %$#@&! dogs have me up at 3:00 a.m., perhaps I'll get a start on one of these.

#13 Tad: I wondered why you were up so early posting on LT. Oh, well, stick your nose in a book and you probably will not even hear the dogs any more.

i just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows, and absolutely loved it. though i am a bit late in finishing the last of the Harry Potter series, i enjoyed it thoroughly.

Hello, mamachunk here..I too love sci-fi and fantasy fiction....I haven't read as much as some of the "gang" here on LT, but I'll come along eventually...I plan to re-read the "Sword of Truth" series by Terry Goodkind...(I haven't read some of the lastest books, like the last 4), Robin Hobb's "Assassins Apprentice" series, the "Culture" series by Iain Banks, and any others I come across in my collection...

We'll see how I get along with that...

mamachunk

Hi Mamachunk,

I don't plan to read Goodkind's series all over again, but I am planning to read the the wrap-up trilogy in 2009. Although the series has caused many mixed reviews, I found it a very enjoyable read up until the final three.

Now, if I could just say the same about the TV show...ugh. What a heap of junk.

I'm reading Doomsday Book by Connie Willis as my first read for my 999 scifi/fantasy category. So far it is really compelling!

mamachunk: I just read the whole Sword of Truth series for the first time this past year and really enjoyed it. Sure, it's not the best fantasy series out there, but the characters are good and the story is nice. I'll be interested to see what you think of how it all ends...

#18 MusicMom41

I thoroughly enjoyed Doomsday Book, it lived up to all my expectations!! I hope it does for you as well.

lunacat, that's good to hear. Doomsday Book is one of my wishlist books.

Well, I just started Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card. I hadn't intended to read it because I felt that the last Ender book was pretty bad, but I saw it at the library and thought, what the hell. If it's bad, then I'll get to rant.

Just read Ender's Game, which was one of two Secret Santa books I received. It was fun fantasy with one more serious twist at the end. Not too heavy on any one topic and I'd recommend it to a new-to-the-genre reader. Otherwise, I tend to have "oldies but goodies" on my list.

I loved Ender's Game, thought Speaker for the Dead was OK, absolutely loathed Xenocide and decided I was done with that series no matter how many more he wrote. For me, it was a classic example of what I've come to call the Dune Syndrome.

Tad - I agree with you on the Ender series. I have read Ender's Game several times and Speaker for the Dead twice. I read the rest of the series, but it was all I could do to get through it. I did recently purchase Ender in Exile, but I haven't read it yet. It's in my never ending, ever growing TBR pile.

I've had Doomsday Book on my TBR list forever, and this year I am determined to read it! I also have Assassin's Quest coming up next on my list, I will finally finish the trilogy, I've been reading one book a year!

#26 ktleyed

Assassin's Quest is also well worth a read :)

#27 thanks, good to know! I felt the 2nd book was kind of a slog, so I wasn't overly eager to read the next one right away, but lately I've been thinking about it and I want to find out what happens with those scary people that steal people's souls!

My first Fantasy read for the year was considerably... er... lighter? than most of the stuff mentioned her so far. (I don't mean that in a comedic sense, although I like funny too). My husband just picked up Moonlight, by Susan Dexter. Susan writes standard fantasy that's not particularly grim in the first place, and this one is a slim little volume that appears to be rather deliberately aimed at youngsters.

(I feel like I'm the only one here who doesn't have much of a TBR pile. We just straightened the fantasy/sf shelves and I found maybe five or six books that somehow slipped past me and got shelved unread. That's it.)

I'm about 100 pages into Danny Birt's Ending an Ending. So far it's good, but as others have commented elsewhere, less action-packed than some fantasies. I really like Danny's world concept for the book and some of the ideas he's exploring with that world.

Got 18 pages of Princep's Fury by Jim Butcher done before breaking for dinner. I'll probably read this obsessively tomorrow. :-)

I think at least 25% of my reading is fantasy, especially of the YA variety. My 999 challenge this year has a few categories (Fantasy, Fairies/Fairy Tales, Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic) that could fall under "speculative fiction", so I'll probably be visiting this thread a lot.

I am reading Doomsday Book along with MusicMom41.

#19--thanks scaifea---Goodkind was my first foray into fantasy (maybe that's why I'm biased)---I absolutely love his SOT series...the TV series is ok...the books are a hell of a lot better of course...a friend of mine convinced me to read Robert Jordan's series, and I did---I liked him too...I prefer Goodkind (I guess you always remember your *first* ----ok that's dramatic, I know-) I liked Jordan though...I in turn introduced him to Goodkind....I also got another friend at work into Goodkind and in turn he introduced me to Robin Hobb (which I have yet to read)...this year I plan to read all of the SOT (once I can locate all of the paperbacks--they are presently scattered throughout the house in all the nooks and crannies--its amazing what can be stuffed in there!!!--)As for other SF/Fantasy--I also plan to try some of Neal Stephenson's stuff---I have his Cryptonomicron, and his new one Anathem and his Baroque Cycle triology....OK---I've had enough coffee for this morning....happy reading in 2009!!!!

mamachunk

34: I think my first fantasy books were an easy reader fairy tale series I read when I was four. I remember very clearly deciding that as long as I knew that the letters RAPUNZEL formed the name of the princess, I didn't need to actually figure out how to say that. :)

I just finished Martha Wells's The Death of the Necromancer which I enjoyed very much, but I think I would have liked it even better if I had not read the follow up series first. ::sigh::

I have several books that fall into the f/sf categories on my TBR list, including a few already mentioned here.

GeorgiaDawn, Ender in Exile is far more like Ender's Game (and Ender's Shadow, if you read that one) than like the later books in either series: far more motivated by the characters than by the science or the politics. I really enjoyed it; I hope you do, too - whenever you get to it!

I just started Doomsday Book and have put Enders Game on my wish list. All because of the threads in this group. I certainly was wrong to think that my TBR pile would shrink due to this challenge!

I just reread Mort today, because it had been a long while and with a head cold, I needed something light!

#37 lorie

I just finished Doomsday Book yesterday. I will be interested in your opinion. Sometime this week I will post my comments on my 75 challenge thread.

@34 -Whatever your first foray is into a series it tends to stay with you fondly. Mine was the Daughter of the Empire series by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. I love those characters so much, even though now I think the writing itself pales in comparison to many others. I read them every year up until my to-read pile shelves grew beyond 100.

Right now I'm reading The Hallowed Hunt by Bujold. She slowly builds up her story in this one, and 3/4 of the way in I'm completely engrossed. Will review in my thread when done...

I just finished up Ending an Ending by our very own Danny Birt, also known as buchleser on The Green Dragon group. My review's posted on my thread, but in short, I liked it.

I'm Marcia and I'm a big fantasy reader (especially YA), with the occasional foray into sci-fi. I just read A Scanner Darkly for my book club, and can't say I liked it very much. I started Hinterland by James Clemens last year and will hopefully finish it sometime in the next few weeks. Amongst the titles currently on my TBR pile are Chalice by Robin McKinley and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.

I definitely think you'll enjoy both Chalice and The graveyard book! Good reading!

re: p42 and p15
It is interesting how different perceptions are. I read A Scanner Darkly a few times as teenager, and enjoyed it very much, while I dislike The Deathly Hallows.

Not sure whether to put this in fantasy or classics! I just started The Tain, a new translation of the Irish pre-Christian epic Tain Bo Cuailnge, or The Cattle Raid of Cooley. It's the story of the war between the kingdoms of Ulster and Connacht with lots of epic hero type stuff, trickery in the bedroom, and a bit of magic. I'm only a little way in, but so far it's pretty good!

#45: Hey, doc, why not put it in both? Sounds like a terrific read and I cannot wait to see your review.

Finished Foundling last night; a great start to the series. Review is on my reading thread; I wasn't sure if people wanted reviews here, or just listings? At any rate, here's a teaser, plus a link if you're interested in more:


2. Foundling by D.M. Cornish
4/5 stars

If the entire series is as engaging as this first novel, it will be one I happily follow. Rossamund is a likable enough main character, but it is in the supporting cast and the creation of the Half-Continent that D.M. Cornish truly shines.
Without too heavy a hand, the author weaves definitions, customs, and facts from this new world into the story, giving readers the opportunity to absorb the information rather than expecting us to recall slews of terms from the moment of their introduction. (read more...)

Am looking forward to book 2 in the Monster Blood Tattoo series, Lamplighter. The third book is scheduled for release in May of 2010...

#47 aglaia: Since this is your thread, you can do reviews here, listings here, or both, however you would like to do it!

Strange question - Am I the only one who finds themselves almost actively avoiding series of books that aren't finished yet, as they dislike the disappointment of having to wait 1.......2......3.........10 years for the next one to come!! The only exception to this was of course, Harry Potter, but I was only 11/12 when I read the first one, so fell exactly into the age bracket where getting hooked was very very very easy.

Am I missing out on a lot by avoiding these books?

luna, I absolutely LOVE discovering a new-to-me author who has loads of books already under his or her belt so I have plenty from which to choose after getting hooked, and I definitely know what you mean about hating to wait. However, I also have a penchant for picking up pretty much anything that appeals to me (ooh, shiny new boooooook...), and I know I won't be hurting for other books to read while I wait for later books to come out :)

>45 drneutron:. Hey Doc, is that the story that Morgan Llywelyn based Red Branch on? I read that one a long time ago, maybe I'll give The Tain a try after I hear what you think.

For instance, I got turned on to Sharon Shinn's work last year by a referral on my thread....

>49 lunacat:: If the author has a track record of regular and quick releases, I go ahead and read them. With enough series going, I don't notice the wait. With those who have a bad track record (*cough* George R. R. Martin *cough*), I just stockpile the books and will read them when (if!) he finishes them. After all, look at Robert Jordan—died before he could finish the History of Every Single Person In the World Since The Year One, a.k.a. The Wheel of Time.

>49 lunacat:: lunacat

No you are not the only one,

I try to avoid unfinished series since I started The Clan of the Cave Bear and read the two next books, waited for book #4, waited even longer for book #5 and will wait again for the next books.

I really, really prefer finished series ;-)

I'll chime in on the "stockpiling an author's works until the series is finished and then read them" situation. *waves hand around wildly* Me, me, me! I've done that with Robert Jordan, the most recent Eddings series, Cornelia Funke, Margaret Weis... and more... but that's all I can think of at the immediate moment.

Hmm... what have I been reading lately... I read a lot of YA/Children's (mostly 9-12s) fantasy, going to try Fablehaven sometime in the next few weeks. I've also got Brandon Sanderson's Elantris to finish up (just found it on the shelf with a bookmark inside... clearly it needs me!), and someone's recommended Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionvar Tapestry. OH! And I am dying to finish up Sarah Zettel's Isavalta series... I absolutely adore those, and I have the final book at hand, just waiting for me.

I just went through the entire list of Amazon's "What's New" in SF/Fantasy.

Where the heck are all the non-derivative, not-a-book-made-from-a-movie, not-a-follow-on-to-another-author's-work books?!?

Talk about your dry spells!

*sigh* if you find anything new , let me know...

>55 dk_phoenix: and previous: the only series I can think of that I got into before the last books were written are the Eddings Elenium and the Ubiquitous Boy Wizard... I'll admit to a midnight Deathly Hallows bookshop encounter (my excuse is I was taking my son...), but although I enjoyed them all, I did find them all so easily forgettable that every time a new one came out I had to re-read the whole lot to remember what was going on.

I don't read so much fantasy nowadays, so am enjoying following these threads.

What the hell - it's not even remotely "new", but it may not have reached you as I read it when I was living in NZ: if you're reading YA fantasy, it's definitely worth looking out for Maurice Gee's The Halfmen of O and the rest of the trilogy. One of those fantastic series where the protagonists mature realistically over the course of the narrative, and some really genuinely inventive ideas. I keep meaning to read more Gee.

The ones who are still producing that I know, are following in their own footsteps. I don't know who the brand new ones are, but here are my classics in the field of fantasy:

Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Tim Powers
Steven Brust
P. C. Hodgell
Guy Gavriel Kay
Jane Lindskold (try Changer, Legends Walking, and Child of a Rainless Year--the wolf series didn't do as much for me)
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Jasper Fforde
Garth Nix
Lois McMaster Bujold
Patricia Wrede
Patricia McKillip
Robin McKinley
Susan Dexter
Diana Wynne Jones
Diane Duane (Door Into series and Young Wizards)
Suzette Haden Elgin (both the Ozark series and her Native Tongue sf)
Barbara Hambly (Dragonsbane is my favorite dragon story ever, the Unschooled Wizard books)
Susan Cooper
Peter Dickinson

and then those who are no longer writing:
Barry Hughart (only the three, alas)
Lloyd Alexander (The Prydain Chronicles in particular)

I'm sure more will pop into my head as soon as I push the "submit" button, but these will comprise the main body of work.

>57 aquascum:: aquascum, I'm despairing of new. I did start the Jack Campbell books last year and enjoy them; read the first Tobias Buckell book, which was not bad. I also tried Jeff Somers' first book (The Electric Church)—can't decide whether I'll try the second or not...sometimes I think definitely, sometimes I think it won't be any good.

>58 FlossieT:: FlossieT, maybe I'll give that a look-see.

>59 ronincats:: Roni, I can't figure out who you're speaking to, so I'll assume it's not me.

@TadAD yes, exactly. I find myself wandering around in the bookshop, picking up some sf books, reading the blurb (checks dictionary again. that's a word?) and putting everything back in the shelf...
And I am weary of series by now.

I'm more into sci-fi than fantasy. I love dense, technical Hard SF in the Arthur C. Clarke/Stephen Baxter mold.

However, for my 75 challenge I decided that I'm going to take a crack at some of the old, thin sci-fi/fantasy books that I've had forever.

In no particular order, I'm hoping to read Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny, Make Room! Make Room! (the basis for Soylent Green) by Harry Harrison, Star Guard by Andre Norton, Have Spacesuit-Will Travel by Robert Heinlein (an SF master that I have just never been too fond of), The Magic Goes Away by Larry Niven and Old Man's War by John Scalzi.

I started the year with Logan's Run by William F. Nolan. What a disappointment that was.

(Hmm, lots of touchstones that work in edit mode drop when I post the message...)

>60 TadAD:: Tad, they are definitely worth a look (I've just downgraded that from "really very good" as I realised I haven't read them in over 10 years... maybe if I read them this weekend I may change my mind!! Will post back here if so). The trope is "previously unaware person from this world is Significant Prophesied Character in that world" - but the person in question is a girl who's a little bit more complex (aloof) than the average fantasy heroine. Actually, it's only just occurred to me that the author pulls off a neat trick in having the books related from the perspective of the heroine's cousin, which further boosts the depiction of her as slightly 'other', as he is slightly in awe of her, and constantly trying to second-guess what she might be thinking.

I am currently reading Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

I'm also reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury--the 1997 "updated and revised" version.

Tad, message 59 was a response of sorts to your question "Where the heck are..." in #56, but acknowledging it was indirect as most of these authors are not new and so their current work is derivative of their earlier work at least. I thought maybe some others reading the thread who are not as familiar with the genre might like some recommendations, although I've made many of these before in threads last year. We have so many new readers, however.

Who would be your nominees for outstanding fantasy authors over the last quarter century? Everyone, feel free to chime in.

I read a lot of science fiction as well--proportion used to be more sf than fantasy, but that has reversed in recent years as I have more difficulty finding authors I love. So I wouldn't mind the same thing in sf as well.

I'm on hold for the weekend with Assassin's Quest, it's taking me forever to read! It's over 700 pages, and I've averaged 10 pages a night this past week since I've been so busy and eternal headaches! I'm reading some quickies over the weekend, and then it's back to Fitz and Nighteyes for the week. Sheesh, at this rate it will take me all winter!

Fantasy: Bernhard Hennen has finished his Elfen-Saga, so I'm going to read that... soon. Sorry, no english translation for you guys.

I am currently working on Martian Chronicles, First Lensman, and just about finished with Lost Fleet: Dauntless.

>69 alcottacre:: I'll be interested to see your reactions.

I really enjoy the Lensmen series and the Geary books...pure escapist science fiction. I'm not so much fan of The Martian Chronicles...but...it's such a big name book in the field and so many people other than me love it, that I always recommend people try it to see for themselves. If they love it...then they're welcome to all the other Bradbury out there. If they don't, I know to mention Bradbury-like-ness in other books they may ask about.

>66 ronincats:: Roni, outstanding fantasy over the last 25 years...hmmm.

Part of the difficulty is that, for most authors, I like some books but not others. Well, I'm not going to bother to check copyright dates for last 25 years, but:

Charles de Lint - most of his stuff
Emma Bull - spotty but a couple good ones in there
Garth Nix - notably Sabriel and the other Abhorsen books
George R. R. Martin - but he's soooo slow to publish
Glen Cook - the newer series, I'm less enamoured of all the Black Company follow-ons
Guy Gavriel Kay - almost everything
Jacqueline Carey - only for adults, but excellently written
Jasper Fforde - very inventive
Jim Butcher - both the Dresden and the Alera Codex series
Neil Gaiman - particularly Neverwhere
Patricia McKillip - notably Forgotten Beasts of Eld, Riddlemaster of Hed but she's consistently good
Robin Hobb - the Assassin books, not so much the Liveship books
Robin McKinley - though I haven't seen anything I enjoyed recently
Steven Brust - early books, the Taltos series died in the middle
Terry Pratchett - about 2/3 of it...not Rincewind, not several of the standalone ones
Tim Powers - only read a few, but liked them
Ursula K. LeGuin - particularly the first Earthsea trilogy (that's pre-25, I know)

I probably forgot someone in there, but that's a sample.

hello, i'm a big fan of sci-fi books and i'm looking to try and fill up some of the last spaces in my categories on the 999 challenge, i have a sci-fi category and also a modern prize winners category so i've been thinking of trying to find some crossovers ... sci-fi award winning books.
i've been reading about a book called the calcutta chromosome, an arthur c clarke award winner and was wondering if anyone had read it / could recommend it ... i'm trying the challenge to try and find some books for 2009 by authors i've not heard of or wouldn't normally read

yosarian, If you've not read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, it's a Nebula and Hugo award winner and probably my favorite book of all time. It's the first in a series, as well as the basis for a parallel series that starts with Ender's Shadow.

#70 TadAD

I'm finishing The Martian Chronicles (probably today) and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. This is my first Ray Bradburybook and I had expected more. I have no problem with the writing--his prose is lovely and his descriptions are excellent. However, I'm not enthralled with his plots or characters (most of them are pretty "flat"--a couple of exceptions). I still have a few more "stories" to go, but of the about 10 I've read I felt one was incredible and there were 2 or 3 others that I enjoyed in spite of the above mentioned shortcomings; the rest of the were--as richard would say--meh. And some of them were very predictable after you read a few. I still have Dandelion Wine to read (different category, I know) so I won't give up on Bradbury yet, but he's on "probation!" :-)

>73 kgriffith:, thanks a lot for the recommendation aglaia, i'd neer heard of the series at all but it sounds like just the thing i'm after!

#70 & 74: I'll chime in on The Martian Chronicles too. Having read in the past 2 years Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes and Dandelion Wine, I had really come to expect more from Bradbury. I would not recommend TMC to anyone. To me it felt like a bunch of old Twilight Zone episodes. I know that a lot of the 'Chronicles' were published as magazine articles and it seemed as if someone had a brainstorm one day and said "Hey, let's make a book out of these!" without regard to how well the stories would stand side by side. There were a couple that I really liked, but no way would I buy the book for just those.

Hey, Tad, thanks for your input. I've read all of yours except the Jacqueline Carey. Of the ones that don't overlap between us:

Jim Butcher--I read the first Dresden book and was so-so with it. I have the first of the Alera Codex series on my TBR pile--have heard a lot of good things about it.

Robin Hobb--I adored her early books as Megan Lindholm, considering her Ki and Vandien quartet as some of my favorite fantasy. I bogged down halfway through Royal Assassin along with the body count. I do have the first Mad Ship book which I will give a try one of these days.

Charles de Lint--have read him spottily, have Greenmantle and the Riddle of the Wren in my library and have read a couple of others. Definitely good but not one of my favorites.

Glen Cook--I think I tried one of his once upon a time a long time ago. Given your recommendations, I think I should try his PI books.

George R. R. Martin--started the first book and bogged down. So far there wasn't really anyone I cared about and it looked like the body count was going to be high. Game of Thrones is still sitting here on a TBR shelf, and I will probably give it another try one of these days.

My bad, to have left Ursula Le Guin off my list. I love her Earthsea books as well.

Steven Brust--the early books are my favorites as well, but I thought he cranked up the volume again in Issola and Dzur and am curious to see where we go next.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share some of your favorites. Anyone else?

YA fantasy writers I love include Isobelle Carmody and her Obernewtyn series - the last book is due out later this year. Alison Croggon is worth a look, I've only read the first book in the Pellinor series but loved it. Elizabeth Knox's Dreamhunter and Dreamquake are good too.
YA scifi/fantasy - my favourite series in the past few years has to be Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines, there are 4 books.
I really liked Peter F Hamilton's Mindstar Rising trilogy but found his Night's Dawn books a bit too much - I finished the last book as part of my 999 challenge earlier this month.

>74 MusicMom41: & 76: Well, it sounds like your reactions are somewhat similar to mine, though I also was vastly underwhelmed by Fahrenheit 451, Stasia...great idea, I hated the writing. As I said to MM privately, I think Something Wicked This Way Comes was good, Dandelion Wine and The Illustrated Man were fair, I have a negative reaction to pretty much everything else he's written.

There are a couple of other SF "icons" out there where I don't march in step with Conventional Wisdom. I don't venerate Childhood's End, etc.

Of course, the question is, when someone new to the field asks you for a "survey" reading list, what do you say? I don't feel I have to promote those books, but I also feel I have to not tear them down too much because so many other people find them seriously wonderful. I mean, look at the case in point here—someone recommended that book highly enough that you and MM put it on your list. So, I generally just say, "Well, you should try it and decide for yourself."

>77 ronincats:: Roni, your reactions to Hobb's Assassin books strikes me as fairly consistent with your reactions to Martin's books. In my mind, they belong to a similar sort of sub-genre and, not liking one, you probably wouldn't like the other. Given that, I wouldn't try any of Cook's Dread Empire, Black Company or Tyranny of the Night series. The Garrett series is another kettle of fish and I'll wait to see if you like that...if you do, there are some other things I think are similar.

Re Carey: If you aren't seriously turned off by the plot premise, they are wonderfully written books. I avoided them for years and years because S&M isn't my thing and I thought I'd find them horrible. Once I needed a book and tried one (travelling, no other books), I read right through them. This seems to be a very common pattern (for both male and female readers) with these books: turned off by the blurb, finally try them, really enjoy them.

Re Brust: He's still on probation with me. I agree he's cranked up the plots again. However, the last few have been a bit short and he needs to fix the Cawti thing! (avoiding spoilers)

re: 66
Tad Williams and Susanna Clarke

Hu? Why aren't there links?

I just want to chime in, though I think I briefly mentioned this author before.

Sarah Zettel has a series called Isavalta that is excellent.

#1 - A Sorcerer's Treason
#2 - Usurper's Crown
#3 - The Firebird's Vengeance
#4 - Sword of the Deceiver

I really enjoyed these because Zettel drew very heavily on Russian mythology and folklore to create her fantasy world, and it inspired me to go out and read more about Russian folklore on my own. Fascinating stuff. (Orson Scott Card also has a book that draws from Russian folklore called Enchantment.)

Anywho, Zettel's series is worth reading. Book #2 is a prologue, so you can go ahead and read it first if you don't want to break between the present-day storyline. It won't spoil the story - in fact, I was glad I read #2 first!

#72 Yosarian - You might try In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan. It's a sci fi/alternate history that won last year's (2008) Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. I haven't read the whole thing yet, only bits of it, but have enjoyed her other books. In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit she's a good friend - but I think you'll find the book speaks for itself.

thanks for the reviews, I'm not much into fantasy, but really like some forms of sci-fi, so I'm adding Sparrow, and The Calcutta Chromosome to my TBR list

@82 - I'm rereading this series now (it's one of my favourites) but I'd forgotten that the first time I'd read I'd said to myself 'next time, read book 2 first!'...so I've read book 1, and now I'm going to read book 3 and THEN book 2 hehe. Maybe I'll remember for next time. Can't wait to read number 4. Zettel's writing, and story-telling, is fantastic...

Along the lines of people listing their favorite fantasy authors of the last 25 years, here's a different "challenge"...only this one has Rules!

Assume that someone asks you for recommendations for next year's 101010 Challenge. Their category is Science Fiction. Assume they have not been a science fiction reader and they'd like to try a variety of stuff in the field.

The Rules

I - There must be exactly 10 books in the list
No "I can't decide between these two so I'll just provide 11." It's the 101010 Challenge.

II - Each book must be a book, not an omnibus
Collections of short stories are OK. Collections of novels are not, even if it has its own title (e.g. Herris Serrano or Cordelia's Honor are out).

III - Each book must be science fiction
The gray areas are left to your judgment, but you're on your honor about slipping fantasy into this list.

Feel free to note why you chose a particular book, but no using your notes to violate Rule #1.

*smile*

Here's what my first cut might be...in no particular order other than what occurred to me:

1) Dune by Frank Herbert - Arguably the best single science fiction book written.

2) The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson - I like several of his books very much, but this one is the most accessible, I think.

3) Science Fiction Hall of Fame edited by Robert Silverberg - This is the best collection of science fiction short stories I ever seen. From "Nightfall" to "The Star" to "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" you get the classic works of the genre.

4) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin - One of the best of the "soft" or social science fiction novels.

5) Neuromancer by William Gibson - The cyberpunk entry, and still one of the best of the genre.

6) Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert Heinlein - The Young Adult entry. He was at his best with YA stuff, imo.

7) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - Covers the humor category for me. The other contenders by her are more historical fiction.

8) Startide Rising by David Brin - More "hard" science fiction with the unique twist that the main characters are not human.

9) Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh - I agonized over which work to choose from the author I consider one of the best at the space opera game. However, I decided that it's her portrayal of alien mindsets that wins out over some of her more political books that are all about humans.

10) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny - This is as close as I come to treading into the fantasy turf...however, the book is still clearly science-based. Zelazny's mythic brand of science fiction is unique and, for me, dazzling.

Tad, why not make this a new thread? I think it's a terrific idea, but would have an easier time following a single thread devoted to your game.

I don't know. This is our science fiction thread and, goodness knows, we have enough threads going here this year. Last year, I considered it a busy day if I had to peruse 20 threads. Now I feel lucky if it doesn't go to page 2.

re: 88 I second that *goes back to typing list*

I just finished

The Riddle-master of Hed and am now reading Heir of Sea and Fire. Fantastic.

# 87 TadAD

Unfortunately I can't play because I haven't read 10 scifi books. (Moat of what I've read fits in the fantasy category.) Three that I will be reading this year because I own them and you recommended them are on that list and I'm going to check out the Heinlein and the Cherryh--is she as much fun as the Jack Campbell series? I'm making this the year I really explore this category--beyond the 9 for 999, so I am excited out reading the lists the other "experts" submit, also. Next year I will be able to find 10 more to read! I am having fun with this, but the rest of my categories are suffering!

@ TadAD
Can you explain 101010 again? I could not find a group with that name. You want a list of 10 books in the science fiction category. What are the two other 10s?

>92 MusicMom41:: MM, Cherryh is not like Jack Campbell. Campbell is just "fun"...there's not a whole lot of depth to those stories, you just rollick along having a good time. The closest to Campbell is probably the E. E. "Doc" Smith Lensmen books.

Cherryh is more serious science fiction. Don't get me wrong...I buy every Cherryh book about 10 milliseconds after it hits the bookshelves because I enjoy them immensely, but they're not trying to hit that same "mind candy" target.

Basically, Cherryh does two types of science fiction (she also does some decent fantasy, though SF is her forte). The first is "humans meet aliens." These books are characterized by aliens that actually feel different, rather than just humans dressed up with a lot of latex. The one I added in my list is of this type. Her Chanur books are others.

The second type are her space opera—these are galaxy-spanning clashes of civilizations, wars, etc. such as her Union/Alliance novels. If forced to choose, I would probably argue that her best works are in this category, but they're less distinct from works of other authors in their themes.

She also has a (too short!) series which is technically science fiction but reads like fantasy that is excellent, her Morgaine novels.

>93 aquascum:: 101010 is like the 888 Challenge of 2008 and the 999 Challenge of 2009. In this case: Read 10 books in 10 Different Categories with no more than 10 occupying two categories.

For my question, one of those 10 categories would be Science Fiction.

Ah. So here goes:

1. Snow Crash, Neal Stevenson my most favourite book evah
2. Neuromancer, William Gibson
3. Voice of the Whirlwind, Walter Jon Williams
4. Eclipse, John Shirley
5. Solaris, Stanislav Lem
6. Time Scout, Robert Asprin
7. Sheep look up, John Brunner
8. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
9. Chez Max, Jakob Arjouni in german, no translation
10. and something by Asimov, about the tree laws of robotics, bit I can't decide...

not as wide a variety as Tad's list...

(edit because I forgot some important books. And fixed touchstone)

#94 TadAD

Thanks for the great explanation of the Cherryh ouvre. I can see that I will have to explore her. I will be adding that message to my TadAD recommendations list in my reading journal--the list is now three pages long! I really appreciate the help to find things I will enjoy and not "waste my time" reading stuff that isn't worth it. I'm still a newbie in being able to catch the tone and nuances of the genre when I begin a book so the help I'm getting from LTers who know the genre is wonderful.

I feel like that LT member who is trying to learn to like mysteries. However, I think I am having more fun! I'm really enjoying most of what I reading in scifi and fantasy. And I've discovered some "mind candy" in the genre as well--which I consider a good thing. I can't be "serious" all the time. Some year I may join you , ronincats, and lunacat as a scifi/fantasy guru! :-)

>96 aquascum:: aquascum, I debated Snow Crash, but decided the other by him might be easier for people new to SF. Hitchhiker's is, of course, hysterical. However, I usually don't classify it as SF...it's more in a special category called "Whacky Insane Things Everyone Should At Least Try."

I'm debating starting Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn. I have a copy someone gave me and everyone says I should try some Shinn. The trouble is that the blurb writers can never think of something original to say about these things, so I'm sitting here, reading he back cover, saying, "Oh, another one of those..."

Mystic and Rider is pure fantasy and the first of her most recent series. While it is okay-decent plot and writing-it does not for me stand out all that much from the general run of fantasy. I much prefer her Samaria books, and my favorite is her stand-alone Wrapt in Crystal.

>99 TadAD:, TadAD--- I read Mystic and Rider and thought it was sub-par fantasy, very bland and unmemorable. Everyone tells me her other books, especially her scifi ones, are better.

#89 - Tad,

You're right. I forgot what group this thread was in! For some reason, I thought I was in the Sci-fi Fans group. Okay, I'll have to dig up ten books...

>100 ronincats: & 101: Hmmm, maybe this book hits the circular file.

Other than Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter Books, I don't think I had actually read fantasy until last year. I just finished Book 3 in The Fionavar Tapestry--The Darkest Road-- and want to recommend the trilogy and the author, Guy Gavriel Kay especially to those who, like me, are not avid fantasy readers.

I have also read Sailing to Sarantium and Ysabel, and have enjoyed every one of his books immensely.

The Fionavar Tapestry includes the usual dwarves, elves and orc-like creatures. I am not a very good reviewer, so let me just say that I found the story and the development of the characters to go far beyond what many authors do with those beings. (Except the orc-like creatures. Really, what can one do with an orc-like creature?)

I am sure others with more fantasy experience can make more erudite comments, but I wanted to put in my two cents for Kay.

@ LisaCurcio
Oh, you can do a lot with orcs! *points to Stan Nicholls Orcs*

>104 LisaCurcio:: Lisa, I'm glad you liked it...it's one of my favorite fantasy works. Too bad about reading Ysabel first; I loved seeing "old friends" when I picked it up years after reading the Fionavar Tapestry.

Most of Kay's works don't have the "usual dwarves, elves and orc-like creatures"; they're more like Sailing to Sarantium. BTW, did you know that there's a sequel to the latter? Lord of Emperors It ties up the story nicely.

Try Tigana if you're of a mind for some more Kay.

>106 TadAD:: Tad, thanks. I did read Lord of the Emperors and I agree. I just forgot to include it. Tigana is on my wishlist.

Fantasy lovers, what other authors are like Kay?

>107 LisaCurcio:: I don't think there's anyone who is really like Kay...he's rather refreshingly different. Probably the closest in feel to him that I can think of offhand is Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave. We've been having a discussion about that work and its sequels on someone else's thread...can't remember who, but you can search for it. Same sort of well done blend of fantasy and alternate history that Kay did in most of his books. Mixed feelings about the sequels, but most people seem to really enjoy the first one.

You might try Sabriel by Garth Nix or The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip...very similar quality level (imo). You also might try The Wood Wife by Terri Windling—contemporary fantasy, but good.

I don't know if you read YA titles, but Alan Garner (start with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and ignore the cheesy title) and Susan Cooper (start with The Dark is Rising) sort of sit in the same "area" in my mind as Kay.

I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze a re-read of Cyteen into the six or seven books I've got going. Regenesis is burning a hole in my pocket but, as is usual with Cherryh's works, I've heard it's extremely dense with characters and plots. Since I read Cyteen when it came out 20 years ago, I feel I need a refresher.

Twenty years is just too long to wait for a sequel.

>108 TadAD:: Thanks for the suggestions. I actually did read the Crystal Cave years ago, but had forgotten about it. I will look into the others. I have one Patricia McKillip on my TBR pile, but not the one you suggested. I do read YA, so appreciate those suggestions, too. Just adding to the ever expanding mountain!

BTW, why won't author touchstones work?

>110 LisaCurcio:: I don't know. I've been having a lot of trouble with them for the last week or so.

LOL--Okay, Tad, I'm going to post my list, but I have to check out what I have at home and be very selective to fit ONLY 10 into your categories. But being a sometime editor, I guess it's just part of the process--name them all and then cut the list. I'll write my favorites tomorrow.

Okay, here's my list of favorites, mostly authors I've read and continue to read:

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
Dune by Frank Herbert
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Otherness by David Brin
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

And, by the rules, I can't even tell you who I left out!

H. Beam Piper...his suicide was a real shame. I really enjoy his books; they're just simple, uncomplicated fun.

Yep. I loved his stuff, along with Clifford Simak, for similar reasons. Aliens can be sentient and can be humanish in their stories. I also love Bradbury and have read about all of his, Asimov, and Heinlein works over the years. Also Zelazny and some Greg Bear. My alltime favorite Herbert is The Santaroga Barrier--possibly because of the locale, but possibly just because of the Jaspers.

#113: I have one of the 'Fuzzy' books home from the library right now, Prop. I am anxious to see how I like it! Thanks for the list, more books for me to try and fit in over the coming year.

>115 Prop2gether:: I read a lot of Simak when I was younger; my favorite was probably Way Station.

I never got the Bradbury bug—I liked Something Wicked This Way Comes, thought Dandelion Wine was OK, really didn't care for the rest of his stuff.

I think I've read all of Asimov's fiction with the exception of a couple of his Lucky Starr books for kids—before he started his Grand Unification of the Foundation and Robots novels, I loved his stuff.

Heinlein I have mixed feelings on. I think most of his YA stuff is good, particularly Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. His adult stuff was find when he wasn't obsessed with sex. I loved The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, Double Star, The Door Into the Summer. Things like Time Enough for Love, however, had a really good story embedded into just a little too much incest and...well, what do you call sex with a clone?...for me. I also never really caught the Stranger in a Strange Land bug; it was OK, but not his best, imo.

Zelazny is one of my favorites. I think I've read everything by him, not sure.

I have only limited Bear, maybe seven or eight. I really enjoyed The Infinity Concerto / The Serpent Mage duo, but things like Slant or Strength of Stones were just average SF for my tastes.

I'm nearly half way through Harpist in the Wind and I don't want this trilogy to end :(

Okay Tad, I'm going for the third attempt to write this note responding to yours of #117 (somehow I've managed to whiff the others away):

My choices were all my perception of science fiction, not fantasy, writers--and that's a whole other topic.

I really love Bear's Darwin's Radio and Darwin's Children, but haven't been able to get through anything else by him.

My first recollection of a science fiction themed story was reading The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet and its sequels in elementary school. I loved them, but they are not the ones I list that I read and reread for pleasure.

I've read almost all of Asimov (that's a lifetime right there!), Heinlein, Herbert, and I love Bradbury's stories. I got started on the Lazarus Long stories in Heinlein's books and followed the links. I like Stranger in a Strange Land a lot, but The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a better story and book.

As for Bradbury, both he and David Brin are graduates of my high school, and David introduced me to Dune very shortly after it came out. I enjoy David's short stories and the non-physics til you die novels, which explains Otherness.

This was a tough ten to decide on--and I didn't name my fantasy favorites!

>119 Prop2gether:: Now that I think about it, my favorite Bear are fantasy (the Infinito Concerto stuff). I haven't read either Darwin's Radio or Darwin's Children. I'll give them a try some day.

I also loved the Cameron books as a kid, but I haven't reread them in decades. If I remember correctly, the first few were quite fun; the last couple were pretty dark.

Yes, it was tough to decide on 10...I had about 20 in my starting list. I just figured, if someone was new to the genre, they wouldn't want to hear, "Well, here are the 50 books you have to read." If you don't get tough (*grin*), people won't self-edit their lists.

Fantasy top 10...if you want to make up the challenge, I'll play.

@91. 118 - Lunacat, I adore McKillip. She's remarkable. You know it's possible you might like In the Night Garden and The Cities of Coin and Spice by Valente. They share the same ethereal, poetic writing style; and both authors have the element of fairytale.

On the subject of Guy Gavriel Kay - I always thought it was as if two different authors wrote The Fionavar Trilogy and the rest of his books. The others, like Tigana and The Lions of Al Rassan are miles ahead, in my opinion, in terms of writing style and quality. Although I have heard dire things about Ysabel and am steering clear - especially after a flick through at the bookstore. I should edit to add that he, with the exception of Fionavar, has written some of my most beloved books. They're masterpieces of narrative and character.

>121 Severn:: Interesting. I love The Fionavar Tapestry. It, Tigana and Last Light of the Sun are my three favorite Kays. I agree they are very different; the former more pure fantasy while the latter feel almost like alternate history, but still I enjoy them.

McKillip is one of my favorite fantasy authors...though I really don't need any new books on my list, maybe I'll see what the Valente books are about.

Tad, they're like Arabian Nights - tales within tales. Enchanting, beautiful. I really recommend them.

So Tad, here (following the same rules for the Science Fiction List) are my favorite fantasy tales--in no particular order:

Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* by J. K. Rowling
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Eregon by Christopher Paolini
Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint

*A small cheat--this is for Molly Weasley! Some of the other books I thought were better, but nothing can beat Molly in her battle scene.

Fantasy for me means an envisioned world which comes to life in the story. There can be fairy folk or not, dragons or beasts, what I want is something out of the ordinary--and probably not in space! Many of my choices are the beginning or part of a series, and that indicates another world pretty well described for readers.

I am currently reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and will be beginning The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson tomorrow.

Ok, Prop2gether, here's a shot, in no order...

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
Sabriel by Garth Nix
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Jack the Giant Killer by Charles de Lint

That was quite hard. I hit a wall at 12 books and had a tough time getting beyond it!

Edit: I realized that I had picked a middle book in a series...which is fine if I'm just picking my favorite fantasy. However, the rules are about recommending reading to someone else and this series needs to be read in order, so I changed it.

I have not read a lot of Fantasy (nor SF), so a small list here:

The many-colored land by Julian May
The Lord of the rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson

I'm starting The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson today--I think that one is scifi because I got it off TadAd's scifi list of "Best."

With any luck by the end of 2009 I will have read enough scifi and fantasy to make a list of my top ten favorites. I probably won't be far enough along yet to claim that they are the "best" however. I will be saving the lists the rest of you post to give me more suggestions to try. So far I haven't read a "clunker" yet from the suggestions I've been getting. Thanks!

Icarus at the Edge of Time by Brian Greene, a physicist and author of The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, is a very quick read and absolutely delightful. It's a retelling of the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun on wings made with wax. This time it's told in an outer-spacey sort of way, illustrating Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

I suppose it's considered a short story, done in a boardbook format and illustrated throughout with stunning images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Do yourself a favor and find this book!

No Pratchett, no Gaiman, no Williams in the Fantasy category? *shakes head*

I debated Pratchett a lot, but decided that the goal of a "fantasy survey" is better served by books that are primarily fantasy rather than primary humor. It's why Hitchhiker's didn't appear in science fiction. Economic choices.

I'm reading Red Mars at the minute, nearly finished it, and am enjoying it so much I bought Green Mars (the second in the trilogy) before the end so I won't have to wait for it to arrive before continuing the story. They're individually very long books covering a wide scope of characetsr and ideas so the three of them together makes the series look quite daunting but I have found it so easy to pick up and get into, it has such a fast pace that I'm starting to wish they'd been even longer!

Msg 8 & 9 (okay -- it took me a while to get over here). I really, really liked Sparrow. 'liked' such an inadequate word, but can't find another atm Maybe later in this thread there's more about your impressions -- or maybe you haven't gotten to it yet.

btw, my first genres of choice are fantasy & sci-fi. And I, for one, as just as glad that these two are on the same thread because on occassion the genres bleed into one another and the choice is not so easy to make IMO.

>59 ronincats: Child of a Rainless Year completely took me by surprise. I didn't realize she'd written more, but I'm glad to hear it :)

NOTE: Some folks left fantastic lists on my thread which I'll be posting here for all of you.

So Tad, here is my 101010 for fantasy. Scifi is still in the works. Yes, I had more than 10, but I just pulled out the ones other folks had mentioned and ... voila! My goal in submitting this list to our friend in need of suggestions would be to give a broad-spectrum taste of some offerings within the genre. In no particular order,

1. Magic Kingdom For Sale--Sold! by Terry Brooks
2. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
3. Six of Swords by Carole Nelson Douglas
4. Curse of the Mistrwraith by Janny Wurts
5. The Unwilling Warlord by Lawrence Watt-Evans
6. Rhapsody: Child of Blood by Elizabeth Haydon
7. D'Shai by Joel Rosenberg
8. Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove
9. The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson
10. The Green Rider by Kristen Britain

Edit-- nope, clicked the wrong button!

And my 101010 SciFi, again with the goal of broad-spectrum intro and not duplicating previous suggestions (unless I messed up which is likely)

1. Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
2. Deadman Switch by Timothy Zahn
3. Restoree by Anne McCaffrey
4. Cuckoo's Egg by C. J. Cherryh
5. Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh (to show how varied one author's works can be even within the same genre)
6. Caves of Steel by Asimov
7. Slow Lightning by Jack McDevitt
8. The Excalibur Alternative by David Weber
9. Gravity Dreams by L E Modesitt
10. The Mote in God's Eye by Niven & Pournelle

Copying messages with sf/fantasy lists from my threads... Roni is responding to my thank you for recommending Dexter's works as I had just finished The Sword of Calandra.

Jan 24, 2009, 6:43pm Message 150: ronincats
And as soon as you finish The Mountains of Channadran, you very much need to pick up The Wizard's Shadow, which won't be at ALL what is sounds like and has a dozen twists of its own, including the connection to the trilogy.

You are welcome--this is one of my favorite trilogies! (Right along with LOTR, Riddlemaster, The door into series by Diane Duane, Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds series, Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion trilogy, Patricia Wrightson's Australian trilogy, and Tanya Huff's Summon the Keeper trilogy.

Don't ask me about my favorite 2-book, 4-book and 5-books series, and this is just in fantasy, not including sf! ;-D

ETA: some touchstones not working

Another sf/fantasy list from my thread:

Message 157: ronincats Yesterday, 4:23pm
I got tired. And I should be writing reports. But this is what I managed.

Duologies
The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Flameweaver and Changeweaver by Margaret Ball
Chalion and Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
Dark Lord of Derkholm and Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Changer and Legends Walking by Jane Lindskold
Knee Deep in Thunder and Hunt Down the Prize by Sheila Moon
Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce
Flora Segunda and Flora’s Dare by Ysabeau Wilce

(cont in next msg for better chance on the touchstones)

> 137 Continuation of Roni's list originally posted on my thread
Message 157: ronincats Yesterday, 4:23pm

Trilogies
The Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, and Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
Pursuit of the Screamer, Circle, Crescent, Star, and Summer Fair by Ansen Dibell
The Ladies of Mandrigyn, The Witches of Wenshaar, and The Dark Hand of Magic by Barbara Hambly
The Thread that Binds the Bones, The Silent Strength of Stones, and Spirits that Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix

(cont. in next msg for better chance on the touchstones)

> 137, 138 Continuation of Roni's list originally posted on my thread
Message 157: ronincats Yesterday, 4:23pm

4-book series
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede
Too Many Magicians, Murder and Magic, Lord Darcy Investigates and Ten Little Wizards by Randall Garrett
Godstalk, Dark of the Moon, Seeker’s Mask, To Ride a Rathorn by P. C. Hodgell
Ursula Leguin’s Earthsea books
Harpy’s Flight, The Windsingers, The Limbreth Gate, and Luck of the Wheels by Megan Lindholm ( written before she changed her name to Robin Hobb and vastly better IMHO)
Magyk, Flyte, Physik, and Queste by Angie Sage

(cont. in next msg for better chance on the touchstones)

> Msgs 137-9 Continuation of Roni's list originally posted on my thread
Message 157: ronincats Yesterday, 4:23pm

5-book series
The Prydain Chronicles (Book of Three, Black Cauldron, Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King)
The Dark Is Rising series (Over Sea, Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King and Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
The Belgariad by David Eddings. Yes, I really still love the first five books. Everything after that has been retelling the same story, and I don’t like his style in them, but the first five, I really, really like!
The Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde
The Chrestomanci books by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lyra books by Patricia Wrede

(cont. in next msg for better chance on the touchstones)

> Msgs 137ff Continuation of Roni's list originally posted on my thread
Message 157: ronincats Yesterday, 4:23pm

More
Jhereg, Yendi, Taltos by Steven Brust, and when you fall in love, you can read the other 13 related books

Sf
Needle, Through the Eye of a Needle by Hal Clement
Sundiver, Startide Rising, The Uplift War by David Brin
Catspaw, Psion, Dreamfall by Joan Vinge
Judgments of Dragons, The Kingdom of the Cats, Emperor, Swords and Pentacles by Phyllis Gotlieb
Gate of Ivory, Guilt of Ivory, Two-Bit Heroes by Doris Egan
Native Tongue, The Judas Rose, Earthsong by Suzette Haden Elgin
The Pride of Chanur, Chanur’s Venture, The Kif Strike Back, Chanur’s Homecoming, Chanur’s Legacy by C. J. Cherryh
Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, I Dare by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee

Some of the touchstones aren't correct--I think I overloaded the system--but most of them are.
--------

Our thanks to Roni for this heroic -- and helpful! -- effort. *din of roaring applause*

More cool lists are coming from contributors to my thread, but now I'm tired ;->
Edited to fix typos

Here's my list of some favorite series copied from Susan's thread. :)

Duologies:
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Time and The Magical Cupboard by Jane Louise Curry
Mairelon the Magician and Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede
The Ruins of Ambrai and The Mageborn Traitor by Melanie Rawn

Trilogies:
The Darkangel, A Gathering of Gargoyles, and The Pearl of the Soul of The World by Meredith Ann Pierce
Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall by Mercedes Lackey (I don't really care for her later books, but these are great)

Quartets:
Alanna: The First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like A Man, and Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce
Cart and Cwidder, Drowned Ammet, The Spellcoats, and The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones

Longer series:
Chronicles of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson

Also did you guys see The Graveyard Book won the Newbery? Yay!

Yay, and if you want to read Gaiman's reaction, go here:

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/01/insert-amazed-and-delighted-swearing.html

I got a chance to see Neil Gaiman read from The Graveyard book ---- amazing. Absolutely. Amazing.

I've been lucky enough to go to his readings/signings/appearances before --- I swear the man never ages.

#145

thanks, roni! That was such fun to read! Now I have to get the book--it will be my first Neil Gaiman--unless I break down and read the one my son gave me 5 years ago--Neverwhere--before I get this one.

Or you can listen to him read it at

http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx?VideoID=1

>136 suslyn:-141 Roni's list

TadAD (Yesterday, 8:14pm, Msg 164 on my thread)

There are some other great series that I think are at least the equal of some of those:

Duology
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen & The Moon of Gomrath by Alan Garner
The Gammage Cup & The Whisper of Glocken by Carol Kendall
Jack the Giant Killer & Drink Down the Moon by Charles de Lint

Triologies
The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire & The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay
Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate & High Deryni by Katherine Kurtz (but not the ones after those three)
King's Blood Four, Necromancer Nine & Wizard's Eleven by Sheri Tepper

Many
The Children of Green Knowe, Treasure of Green Knowe, The River at Green Knowe, A Stranger at Green Knowe, An Enemy at Green Knowe, The Stones of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston (haven't read the last)

>151 suslyn: Roni's response to Tad's list

From my thread, Message 168: ronincats
>Tad, I won't disagree with any of your additions, except for the Kurtz. For some reason, I never got into her books. I debated adding the Garners, and the Kendalls are in the attic and not yet catalogued but absolutely delightful. I also hesitated over the Fionavar trilogy by Kay, but I know a number of people feel these early books are his weakest work, and I haven't read them for many years, so waffled. Definitely the best of de Lint belongs in the list. If you are going to add the Bostons, I have to add E. Nesbit's books as well. Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, The story of the Amulet and many more! And Wiki tells me there are free audiobooks and etexts available of her work!

Oh my gracious, how did I miss this thread all this time? I love sff -- all forms of the abbreviation -- and here I am just now joining in. I hang my head in shame. :)

And I am so happy that Gaiman got the Newbery. A little while ago I had read an article about questionable choices from the ALA on the Newbery in recent years (I think the link was posted by someone here on LT, but I can't for the life of me remember the details now), but I'm delighted to see that the choice for this year was right on track -- what a great book!

And I hope I'm not to late to suggest a 101010 list for those who might read science fiction next year. I just taught a science fiction class last semester, and of course read a lot in preparation for it, so I think my list is okay, but I haven't read as much science fiction as fantasy (that list will come later).

Here we go:

1. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (technically pre-science-fiction, but hey, at least you can't say it's derivative!)
2. The Sparrow by Maria Russell (this is remarkable and, truly, unusual amid the fray of the "same old thing")
3. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (who doesn't love nano with a dash of steampunk?)
4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin (whoever said this was one of the best social-sf books ever -- ditto!)
5. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (science fiction almost-but-not-quite-fantasy weird-and-wonderful goodness)
6. The Giver by Lois Lowry (it's YA, but it really sticks with you)
7. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow (you have to be a certain breed of weird Disney-phile to love it)
8. Feed by M. T. Anderson (trust me -- a painful kind of "wow!")
9. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (yes, I do consider this sf, even though Atwood never would)
10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (regardless of the talk above, I love Bradbury's lush, melancholy writing style and love this book -- plus his is the only author touchstone that worked)

I notice that quite a few of mine are dystopias. Hmmm. Maybe I should read happier books?

Okay, so fantasy is more my thing, and keeping this at ten is, well, hard, but you all already know that.

1. Deerskin by Robin McKinley (I just was talking about this on another thread -- it's brutal, but remarkable)
2. The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle (a favorite since I was in single digits)
3. Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (this whole trilogy was good, but #1 was great and #3 awesome)
4. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (hilarious)
5. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (so hilarious you might actually pee yourself)
6. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (almost anything by Gaiman is marvelous)
7. The Charwoman's Shadow by Lord Dunsany (a sometimes-forgotten classic)
8. A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman (contemporary magic, but really about people, from someone who understands people)
9. The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers (I fell in love with Tim Powers after reading this book -- but don't tell him!)
10. In the Forests of Serre by Patricia McKillip (I think I've read every fantasy she's written, at least in the last 25 years, and every one is excellent -- some are magnificent -- this is superlative, in my opinion -- and it uses Russian folklore, so there's a bonus)

>147 MusicMom41:
Carolyn,

Read Neverwhere! It was the first Gaiman I read, and I really liked it. Definitely whet my appetite for more.

Lisa

I've just finished fragile things and I loved it, I'd previously only read stardust and some of his comics but I'm definitely gonig to be on the look out for more of his books now.

158 # If you haven't already I would also try Smoke and Mirrors another of Gaimans short story collections.

thanks clfisha, I'd read elsewhere on LT that neverwhere was good too so I have that on order but I'll definately keep an eye out for smoke and mirrors

OK, I'm going to chime in with my top 10 fantasy (predominantly)/Sci-fi books, in no particular order:

1) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
2) Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman (I swing between this as my favourite Gaiman and American Gods
3) The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart
4) The Princess Bride - William Goldman
5) The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
6) A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula Le Guin
7) Monkey Planet - Pierre Boulle
8) The Lives of Christopher Chant - Diana Wynne Jones (although torn between this, Archer's Goon, Howl's Moving Castle, The Magicians of Caprona and Deep Secret. I love Diana Wynne Jones
9) Pyramids - Terry Pratchett (again, torn between this and Dark Side of the Sun)
10) I am Legend - Richard Matheson

Good Omens should also be on that list really... As should Spares by Michael Marshall Smith and The Day of the Triffids... And everything Neil Gaiman and Diana Wynne Jones have written!

#160 yosarian, I definitely also recommend Neverwhere - and American Gods (although fewer people seem to enjoy the latter I've noticed). Gaiman also has another couple of short story books; M is for Magic and Angels and Visitations both of these overlap with Smoke and Mirrors though, so probably only for die hards like me!

I am reading a science fiction/fantasy anthology called Firebirds Rising. I am hoping to discover some new authors whose work I like.

I have read the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and The Earth Series, good reads both of them, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in particular which is absolutely hilarious. Have read my fair share of Fantasy books, in the process of finding good Sci-Fi books and authors.

Re #162: alcottacre, those Firebird anthologies are great fun and a good place to encounter both the well-known and not-so-well known authors. Nina Kiriki Hoffman is in that one, and she does great stuff, and Emma Bull, who got a lot of buzz last year, is also there (I don't know her stuff quite as well as Hoffman's, but I've heard her speak and she's sharp, so she's on my tbr-sooner-rather-than-later list).

#164: Thanks for the info, beserene. One of the reasons I like anthologies of all genres is to be introduced to authors I might not have otherwise tried. I look forward to meeting some new authors in this one.

I'm reading The Golden Ass, which is, I suppose, super 'old school' fantasy - LOL! It's from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List.

Hmmm didn't realize there was a Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List. Guess I'll have to check it out. :)

Where can one find the GD 1001 Fantasy list? I went to the group and ran a search, but only came up with this conversation!

It's stored in the library of 1001Fantasy here in LT.

ETA 2 things:

1) You can see the voting here.

Remainder removed because, apparently, my not-favorable opinion of this list is a problem.

Help on Terry Pratchett,

Although I am a sci fi/fantasy fan, I have never read Pratchett. The only thing I own by him is Rincewind the Wizard.
(Funny doing a search on this thread and I see that TadAD says this about Pratchett:

Terry Pratchett - about 2/3 of it...not Rincewind, not several of the standalone ones)

Don't know why I picked that title up, but there it is anyway.

So, I'm wondering where to start with Pratchett - maybe some of you have some opinions, or can direct me to a similar thread. Thanks in advance!

#169 TadAD: Yes, it is whacky. It *is* a Green Dragon list, after all. However, precisely because it's a list of books nominated, voted on, and compiled specifically by Green Dragoners (and I think that was part of the point), the population sample was just as it was intended.

If you like the early Xanth and the Asprin books in your library, you might be okay starting with Rincewind. The thing is those are some of his earliest books, where he is basically parodying fantasy tropes, and his books get much more "real' later on. I started with Guards! Guards!, the first of the city guard books, and was totally hooked. For an example of some of his latest writing that's not dependent on earlier books for context, you might try his YA series starting with The Wee Free Men. For an overview of the books and suggested order within the threads, see
http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-order-guides/the-discworld-reading-order-gui...
Whatever you do, enjoy!

Loads of people say don't start with The Colour of Magic but it remains one of my absolute favourites. I think as long as you start at the beginning of one of his 'mini-series' such as the City Watch books: Guards! Guards! is the first.

Other 'beginnings' of series within the Discworld world are:

Mort which is the first book focusing on Death (who features heavily in 5 books)

Equal Rites which first features The Witches (who are in 7 books)

Small Gods which first features The History Monks (who are in 3 books)

and Going Postal which features Moist von Lipwig who is so far in 2 books.

Hope that helps you out some!!

And now I've had the sense to look at ronincats guide which she linked to first.............and which says everything that I did but in pretty colours and easy to understand diagrams!!!

Ignore me, follow the link instead :)

>170 LisaMorr:: Lisa, I think that chart is fairly accurate though I would agree with ronincats that you can also start with Wee Free Men.

Picking one of the "starter" books is really the only thing that helps. Which one you choose will be subject to a lot of debate: I dislike Rincewind; lunacat loves him. Someone here (maybe also lunacat?) posted they disliked the Witches; I love them.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that the Guards are the most universally liked.

About the only advice I'd give you is, if you hate the first one you read, try at least one more in a different series. The series are very different from each other.

#176 TadAD: "A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men." Sage advice.

>177 scaifea:: scaifea

Well, I guess you've put me in my place!

I wasn't aware I minded a little nonsense; I just didn't care for the volume of it enough to stay participating in that group.

Apparently, that's a character flaw.

TadAD: I seemed to have inadvertently touched a nerve. I should have put a little ;) after the quote, I guess. Your comment wasn't a problem, at least for me. I'm very much a supporter of the 'to each his own' attitude, so of course it's OK that you don't cotton to the GD vibe. I guess what I'd also add is that you may want to extend the same courtesy to those who *do* relish nonsense, in little or small amounts. You don't have to participate in the group, but perhaps it would be nice not to complain about them in other groups. ;) :) et cetera.

ETA: I am being silly here. Really. And I humbly apologize. :)

(OK, I'll stop now. Really.)

>179 scaifea:: You certainly did...and there was nothing of "complaint" in what I posted. There was merely opinion that races to get 1247 meaningless posts is too inane for me to participate in and that their 1001 list is, in my opinion, seriously strange as a list of Best Fantasy. If that's complaining, then I don't understand the meaning of the word. That latter is entirely possible.

But, life's short, so I removed the not nice posts and withdraw from the thread.

ronincats, lunacat and TadAD - thanks so much for your opinions and also the Reading Order Guide. I will definitely dig into Pratchett this year.

>175 TadAD:: I'm one of the weird people that doesn't like the Guards. Could never get into them. But I love Death and the Witches.

I've started collecting books published by DAW this year, but haven't counted any yet since they are collections of short stories and I've been skipping around and haven't finished any one of them.

Some I've sampled are:

Imaginary Friends
Time Twisters
Furry Fantastic
Hags, Sirens, and Other Bad Girls of Fantasy
Fantasy Gone Wrong
The Dimension Next Door
Alien Pets

I've also read Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Superpowers which is a YA book.

>1 lshelby:

I'm glad that threads like this are being included in the challenge. It does make it easier to find recommendations for the next book to read.

#184 furdog - agreed!

I've always thought of myself as someone who doesn't really read much fantasy and then some time a couple of years ago realised that it is actually a huge part of what I read and I really enjoy it - but, I'm very limited in my knowledge of fantasy authors, so it's good to come here to root out potential new authors - I've got loads lined up for this year that I'm really looking forward to!

Re Pratchett, I started from the beginning when I was at school, very swiftly caught up with what was published and have continued from there. While I agree with the majority that some of the earlier books aren't his best and sequential order is less important than it is for some other authors, personally, I liked the way everything Discworld slowly developed and the picture became clearer through time (although it always annoyed me that Esk from Equal Rites never appears again after that first book!). I may have been imagining that of course...

I would also add that some of my favourite Terry Pratchett novels are the stand alone ones like Pyramids, The Dark Side of the Sun, The Carpet People and the co-written Good Omens, so don't forget these! ;)

#184 & 185

Add me to the list of big fans of this thread! I put a SciFi/Fantasy category in my 999 challenge because I feel woefully uninformed in this area. I've read Tolkien and C.S. Lewis multiple times but don't even recognize the names of the writers today. This site, with a lot of help from my friends on LT, is helping me not only to get to know many new authors in these two genres but is turning me into a big fan. I'm also learning to figure out which ones I will probably like and which ones I can skip. So far I have enjoyed everything I've read this year, even when I found it difficult to understand some of the technical stuff.

I haven't tried Terry Pratchett yet. I'll have to save him for next year! However, I have read Good Omens--one of the few I read a couple of years ago at the urging of my sons. I loved that book.

#185 flissp

Pyramids is one of my absolute favourite Terry Pratchett's, if not my favourite. I've never come across anyone who has liked it nearly as much as me though!

I"m reading The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller right....just stock standard fare, but it's fun and what I'm in the mood for.

My top 10 fantasy list, in no particular order - books that transported me elsewhere, continue to haunt me (which is not an aspect many consider exists within fantasy writing I think), and are so well written I could cry:

Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle - this is brutal, huge and enthralling. Alternate history set in Carthage. A long read, and worth every minute.

The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn et al - I found this quite haunting. Jennifer Roberson and Kate Elliot wrote this with Rawn, and while I don't think either of those two writers are particularly strong on their own, together the three of them created something magical.

The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Cat Valente - this is an Arabian Nights flavoured book - tales within tales, and is again quite magical. I was lost in the stories, in the flow of them, the poetic, rich writing. It has a sequel which I'm greatly anticipating.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip - McKillip is a genius, there is no doubt, and this is a supreme example. It has the feel of a classic.

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay - in my opinion the best of his brilliant works. Rich, melodic, haunting, strong. I could throw many adjectives its way...

The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (and it's two sequels, although there are three trilogies all connected, I'm thinking of the first one) - Hobb's world is bleak, and her main character is a walking tragedy. Yet there is something there that I am drawn to. The last line of the last book is one of my favourites (pointless to copy here, out of context). These books enrich me.

A Sorcerer's Treason by Sarah Zettel - a sadly overlooked series of four books, which I shall rave on and on about until I'm satisfied that more people are reading them heh. Beautiful, myth-filled novels.

Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson - Erikson is an anthropologist and has created an extremely detailed, confusing world in a long (and as yet incomplete) series of books. Deadhouse is number two in the series and is compares to Ash for its stark, brutal portrayal of suffering and war, and redemption that might be found therein.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (6 books comprising two trilogies, and I'm mainly thinking of the first trilogy) - these books are richly evocative, with a heroine Phedre who is my favourite female lead character - she's strong, yet vulnerable, selfish and self-sacrificing. A joy to read. Gorgeous writing.

The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee - a young adult book that just really gripped me. I describe it as 'A not quite so classic love-story that shows the power of love can have over difference and prejudice.'

I just added A Sorcerer's Treason to my TBR pile. I had to place an order for it at my library.

>188 Severn: I feel the same way about my fantasy reading... can be very uplifting and encouraging. Tigana and Hobbs' Assassin/Fool trilogies are some of my favs too (for some reason I really can't abide the ships series). Do you read David Coe? or Sara Douglass?

I'm currently reading

Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson which is fantastic!

Having a bit of a Neil Gaiman spell at the moment... The Graveyard Book and Coraline over the weekend (not sure the former counts as fantasy, but anyway), and now onto American Gods.

Edit for touchstone

Just finished Tinker by Wen Spencer. Review on my thread.

I finally finished The Book of Lost Things this weekend. My review is on both my 999 challenge and my 75 challenge if you want to see what i liked about it and why i was disappointed in it.

That's called a teaser! ;-)

Next up will be Tigana which I will start on Thursday so I can have a good book on our trip north over the 3 day weekend.

Took my son & his friends to the movies last night to see Inkheart. We all enjoyed it very much. I guess that puts the book right on top of my pile, since I haven't read it yet.

I just finished The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks, and enjoyed it thoroughly. The suspense and tension in the story began in the first few pages and was maintained to the end. Does this qualify as fantasy or science fiction? It seems to me a combination.

I started Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay today, the first of his books I have ever read.

#196 I, too, finished The Traveler and The Eyre Affair, both of which are fantasy for my take on the question. I enjoyed The Traveler much more than The Eyre Affair, although Fforde's premise was fun.

#197 alcottacre

I really really want to read Tigana but can't find a copy, will be interested to see what you think of it. I'm currently reading The Last Light of the Sun by him and totally enjoying it.

>198 Prop2gether: IMO, The Eyre Affair was just entertaining, albeit a good read. I found The Traveler to be more engrossing.

It's funny how people's taste varies. I found The Traveler to be a not-very-original wannabe thriller along the lines of The DaVinci Code, while I really enjoyed The Eyre Affair both for its plot and for its characters. I respect both of your tastes, having read your reviews, but in this case, my mileage does differ.

199: lunacat: That might be my favorite of his. I haven't read Tigana since it was published, so I should probably re-read it to make sure...but, The Last Light of the Sun was just about perfect.

@197 - my hubby is reading Tigana right now (at my behest heh). It's one of my most favourite, beloved books. If you like it, I also highly recommend The Lions of Al Rassan, The Sarantine Mosaic (a duology) and The Last Light of the Sun. A Song for Arbonne is good too, but not as good (in my opinion at least) as the others I listed...

Can't wait to reread GGK!

I started Tigana today and so far am loving it! The writing flows and the description of the performance at the funeral (in chapter 3) was so well done that I not only "saw" it but I even felt that I could almost hear the music! That was incredible for me.

I also found the Prologue very moving. I just hope that somehow the rest of the story refers back to that. I'm so glad I have a 3 day weekend--and at our "get-away-house"--so no responsibilities AND LOTS OF TIME TO READ!

For those folks who are reading Tigana, please feel free to peruse and post in our very old, (though some are still active) Tigana discussion threads, over on the Green Dragon.

I will warn you though, don't read threads that cover portions of the book you have not read yet. There are SPOILERS!

Links to all five threads can be found in the the first post here:
http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=21943

(We no longer break our group reads into sections, but have one spoiler-free thread, and one spoiler-full thread, but as I said, the Tigana discussion is OLD.)

Nice to see good stuff about Tigana -- it is a fav of mine and a book I use to introduce non-fantasy readers to the genre.

I'm currently reading one of Modesitt's Corean Chronicles. I don't have the whole series. I did notice that the books I'm reading now is set before the first books. I think if I ever have them all I'd like to try 4,5, & 6, and then go on to 1, 2, & 3. Anyone read #7? wondering where it is in the chronology...

I started Rincewind the Wizzard last week, and finished The Colour of Magic. For my first Terry Pratchett, it was OK. I've started The Light Fantastic. I will certainly finish off the 4 books in this omnibus, and probably try another Pratchett series.

Finished The Dark River, sequel to The Traveler and feel very much like I'm back dealing with the end of the second Matrix movie--I really want that last book in hand! Going to Earth next and this time plan to finish it. It's one of David's that I just never seem to start at the right time.

finished The War of the Worlds yesterday, just finished writing the review today - I liked it better than I expected to, considering I didn't care for it at all in the first chapters...

just about to start Wickedby Gregory Maguire.

I finished Apuleius' The Golden Ass today and am off to start Beowulf.

Started The Domino Men, Barnes' follow-on to The Somnambulist. It's pretty good so far, reminds me somewhat of The Atrocity Archives - part James Bond, part H. P. Lovecraft.

just started The Left Hand of Darkness and I'm really enjoying it so far!

>213 girlunderglass: I haven't read that one yet.

Left Hand of Darkness is on my list for 2009--I plan to get to it around May. My older son has been trying to get me to read it for several years. Since this is the year I'm concentrating on SciFi/Fantasy (it's beginning to look like that category will end up a double category!) it seemed like a good time to try it. I'll be anxious to hear what you say about it, g-u-g!

I read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman--finished last night. I do recommend it. I'll post a review on my 75 thread later this week.

>216 MusicMom41: hmm..had no idea The Graveyard Book was fantasy / sci-fi...will also be looking forward to your review :)

>216 MusicMom41: I wouldn't call it that, but I guess I can see why some might. Same reason Alice in Wonderland and Gulliver's Travels made it in... or Skellig...

#217 gug & 218 susan

I'm rather new to the fantasy and SciFi reading (excluding the classics like H.G. Wells and Tolkien, etc.) so I may use the terms incorrectly. How would you label The Graveyard Book if it isn't fantasy? A live boy living in a graveyard being raised by ghosts and some "other" type of being and learning how to do things only ghosts can do in addition to having to learn how humans live certainly isn't an ordinary "coming of age" story! :-)

However, I really am serious in asking how you would label this book. It doesn't see like a "ghost story" either.

I also just finished The Graveyard Book, and I think it would usually just be classified as YA, but it does have elements of fantasy in it. Aside from the ghosts, there is also a part in the book where an entirely new world is described, with made-up creatures (night-gaunts and ghouls) living in it. Granted, Bod only stays in this world briefly, but it sounds enough like fantasy to me!

>219 MusicMom41: YA might work. Fiction? Most good fiction has elements of fantasy, mystery etc in it. For me fantasies are set in another world.

I'm am seriously enjoying my current reread of Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch, the best alternative history I've read. (pg 186 out of 402) It was recommended to me by a non-Scifi/fantasy-reading librarian in Colorado Springs who had had the book thrust on her as a 'must read.' She agreed, and now so do I.

typo city

This is why I hate classifications!

A book can land in many categories at the same time - I'd say The Graveyard Book was both YA fiction and fantasy.

Beyond helping librarians and bookshop owners, I think categorizing books (and music) is a bad idea - it puts people off trying new things - eg, I always say I'm not much of a crime fiction reader, so if something is labeled as such, I tend not to pick it up - in reality, I've read some very good crime novels and should challenge my boundaries more! ;)

See #2 in the 22 Immutable Laws of Publishing :)

>223 FlossieT: LOL
>222 flissp: et al My original comment was an observation and not a 'no its not' -- just for clarification, if needed.

I don't labeling as a rule, no matter the object the label. I am glad, no matter how erroneous I find them, that there are these book labels. I might never find my new fantasy authors et al if they were just all lumped together :)

Been thinking about my calling Pastwatch 'alternative history.' I'm not sure that's the best or it's what others would call it. However, other appellations really get into spoiler territory for me, so I'll leave it alone. Fun discussion! (editing for typos)

#223 chortle

#224 sorry suslyn, didn't mean to imply you were classifying it wrongly - was just trying to show how differently people will classify things :) ...and you gave me an opening to vent about one of my bug-bears! a lot of the books/music i like are cross-genre, so the labels don't help me much - half the time, i end up going through several different sections of a book/music shop before finding the correct one... which, i suppose, is why buying things online is that much easier, if not quite so satisfying!

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. While I quite like some of her books, this one reads like Anita Blake fanfic. Just change the names of the characters and voila! Blakeverse Mary Sue fiction. I think I will not read any others of this series.

Currently reading The Fuzzy Papers by H. Beam Piper.

1633 online at the baen free library.

I just finished Jim Hines' The Stepsister Scheme. Hines is a local author, but his books are quite funny and entertaining reads -- this one is no exception. It may not change your life, but it can certainly lift your mood. :)

I recently read Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

>230 thekoolaidmom: I like the Freedom series and love the overall plot of the series. I felt, though, that the writing (or something -- LOL) suffered a lot as she added more and more characters. I'll be interested in your take on 2 & 3!

#231 suslyn: I really found McCaffrey's writing to be annoying in the first place, but loved the characters and story. The sarge is my favorite character so far.

I've added Dune to my Books on Deck, but it's almost at the bottom of that stack, so it'll be a while before I get to it.

I just finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox which is interesting YA sci fi/ speculative fiction that raises some interesting questions about bio ethics.

Reading Atlantis by Greg Donegan which is labeled 'fiction' but could be categorized scifi just as easily. I'm not done yet but am enjoying it. It appears to be developing somewhat along the lines of Stargate but with a more global (earthwise) outlook and fingers reaching back into Earth's ancient past.

Speaking of bio-ethics, atdb, I just read The House of the Scorpion, a science fiction YA centered on cloning for transplants, and found the book and its perspectives fascinating. Recommended if you want to continue on that track.

>235 beserene:, I read The House of the Scorpion when it first came out, but it would be interesting to read it again now when I am more mature.

#227--Alcottacre, Little Fuzzy and the sequels are some of my favorite "gentle" alien fiction. Plus a little ecology thrown in--who knew? Hope you are enjoying them.

Just finished Earth by David Brin, which I have started at least five or six times over the years and dropped out when the physics started overwhelming me. This time, I just persevered and found myself really caught up in the various storylines. It's long, and involves at least six subplots (which eventually wind together), so managing the characters and stories was a bit of a problem at first, but very satisfied by the finish.

#237: Laurie, I got the last book in the Fuzzy series from the library the other night. Not sure when I will get a chance to read it, but I definitely want to finish out the series because I have enjoyed the books.

Read Territory by Emma Bull yesterday. She's a favorite author, but I had waited for the book to come out in paperback before buying it. Very interesting--Western meets fantasy, subtle fantasy. Good reading!

I am reading Ozma of Oz. I never read any of Baum's Oz series except the Wizard of Oz. Picked this one because of the talking chicken, of course. I am working on After Worlds Collide and Janny Wurts' Curse of the Mistwrath is next up on my fantasy stack.

#233 & 235 allthesedarnbooks & beserene - also on the same topic, can I recommend Michael Marshall Smith's Spares? It's been a long time since I read it (and it was the first along these lines I read, so made me think about the topic for the first time), but I greatly enjoyed it...

> 239 ronincats, your touchstone links to Uncharted Territory by Connie Willis (another western fantasy/sf). Is this the same author as Emma Bull? I am unfamiliar with either of these books, but the idea sounds great.

Just found this thread and thought I'd hop on. For fantasy, I'm rereading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and also reading (for the first time) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I'm enjoying it so far, but I'm surprised I found it shelved in the children's literature section of my library. It seems very adult to me.

For science fiction, I'm working on Ursula K. LeGuin's Hainish Cycle and will soon begin Orson Scott Card's Ender series.

Oh my, I'm reading a lot of series. I hadn't even really noticed that before...

Re-reading Cyteen (the full book despite the stupid touchstone) because the sequel just came out and it's been 21 years since the first volume was published and read. I think it's Cherryh's densest novel, so I'm pretty sure I don't remember everything.

Unfortunately, I'm also in the middle of four other books, so nothing seems to be moving that quickly. I keep picking up different volumes depending upon where I am in the house. I need to focus!

Edit: I simply get so irritated with touchstones that I'm starting to just use HTML links.

>242 jadebird: No, Ren, Willis is a whole different author. Let's see if I can get the correct touchstone to work for Territory by Emma Bull. Try that.

I finally finished Tigana last night--I just refused to go to bed until it was done! I will be reviewing it soon, but I'm not sure how to do it. When I started the book I knew nothing about it except that TadAD had put it on his top ten all time fantasy list. I didn't even know the significance of the title. So everything was fresh and new to me as I read and I relished every moment I was able to spend reading it--even during a very busy stressful time it became a refuge for me. I was frustrated when I had to put it aside and couldn't wait to get back to it and now I feel a sense of loss because it's done. I don't want to give too much information in a review because I think that was the perfect way to enjoy this story--letting it unfold on its own with no prior knowledge of anything. I'm already planning my reread for next summer, which I think will just as rewarding in a different way--I will notice things I may have missed the first time because now I do know the story and can enjoy its richness on another level.

And I think I just wrote my review!

Up next is The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, another author that is new to me. I think I will wait a couple of days though--I need to be a little further from Tigana before I read another fantasy.

>245 ronincats:
Thanks, ronincats!

>246 MusicMom41: So glad you enjoyed it :)

>Jadebird -- I adore Curse of the Mistwraiths -- hope it's as good for you :)

Oh, good, suslyn, I'm looking forward to it!

Currently reading The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.

me, too. :-)

Started The Horse and His Boy, the 3rd in the Narnia series, which I haven't read before, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which I haven't read before. I seem to be in a YA grove, though I've got Turtledove's End of the Beginning staring at me as I write.

#248 The Curse of the Mistwraiths didn't work for me, suslyn. Oh, well, that's why there is chocolate & vanilla...

Just started Virtual Light by William Gibson. Second book of his in a row I'm reading after Idoru. They're both set in the same world, so it'll be interested to see how they compare.

>252 jadebird: bummer! How'd you like The Horse and His Boy? If my previous 'adore' was any indication, you'd hate it because it's my fav ;->

Just finished books 2 & 4 (what I have) of Robersons Novels of Tiger and Del -- and I really liked them. My first Robersons. I have a few others from another incomplete series I hope to try soon.

>254 suslyn: I really enjoyed A Horse and His Boy. It had an exotic mood and C.S. Lewis sets a fast pace without making you feel like you are missing anything.

I just finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is my first read-through of Rowling's series. The books are a lot of fun, and very compulsive-addictive (like potato chips?).

I finally found a moment to read through this thread and add my spare change. I enjoyed seeing the lists with various authors new to me. I will have to think about my own recommendations (if it is not too late).

I am currently reading The War of the Worlds in a 2-story printing included with The Time Machine. I've never read any H. G. Wells before, so it's nice to finally dip into some classic early stuff.

I finally reached my goal of reading all of the Hugo winners for best novel, finishing Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell earlier this month. I haven't written the review yet, hopefully this weekend. I very much enjoyed it after a very slow start.

I started the Hugo list in 2004 or 2005, so it's taken me a few years. It has been an interesting exercise. Many of the books were breathtaking, but some--I just have to think it must have been a slow year. And many I can see why they earned the award, but they weren't really my cuppa.

Recently finished Genesis by Bernard Beckett.

Review on my thread - Message 247 - if anyone is interested...
http://www.librarything.com/topic/53442

Just finished my yearly re-read of the Crystal Singer series. Love the first and the third, still think the middle book was the weakest.

Gee it's been a g'zillion years since I read that mccaffrey series... Seems like I might have enjoyed it back when. I have some Pern, the Doonas, Freedoms, a few Acorna (no great joy for me there) and PTBs here with me in Romania.

I liked Killashandra too. Still have the books among my McCaffreys. I just left Ayortha, where Aza has found her own sense of self in Fairest.

#259: That's interesting, because that's almost opposite of what I have! I have the Crystal Singer, the Dragonsingers, the Brainships, the Rowans, and most of the Pern. I've never tried the Doonas, Freedom, Acorna and I have the first PTB but stopped there. The most obscure thing I've read from her was The Coelura.

Hmmm. I think my favourite Anne McCaffrey book by a long margin is the satirical Restoree, although I also enjoyed Dragonsong, The Ship who Sang and Damia. Most of the others I've read I enjoyed, but I'll probably never read them again - they got a little repetitive after a while for me - but I've never read the Crystal Singer series, or The Coelura - Cauterize, would you recommend this?

I'm currently reading The Universe Against Her by James H Schmitz who wrote The Witches of Karres, which I loved. To be honest, so far, I'm a little disappointed...

#262: Actually, I wouldn't recommend The Coelura... it's about a new-found fabric that changes colours uniquely on the mood and personality of the wearer. There's something mysterious about where it comes from, and the story is about finding the secret of it while all of the society trying to get a hold of it. Does that sound a bit boring to you, because it does to me :). It's just not a very strong novel, but I thought I would mention it in #261 since I've never heard of anyone else who has read it.

But I definitely would recommend the Crystal Singer series, in order. My fave. Looks like I should pick up Restoree.

My favorites were the first few Dragon books and the Doona books. The Ship and CrystalSinger books were OK. I never really warmed to her later stuff.

I also enjoy the first 5 Pern books, the Doona books, and the early Pegasus books, and I love Restoree. I think the Crystal Singer books were stronger than the Ship books or the PTB books, but weaker than those above. I stopped buying after the first three of the Petaybee books and of the Rowan books, the first Acorna, and the first of her son's Pern books, but I still have 42 of her books on my shelves, including Coelura. So, Cauterize, you've found someone else who has read it, and I agree with your review. I do enjoy two juveniles McCaffrey wrote for her preteen granddaughter, No One Noticed the Cat and Black Horses for the King. I've actually only read the the first of the Freedom series, but mean to someday complete that.

ET correct spelling and ambiguous pronouns.

I love Restoree, my top McCaffrey read. I like the ship books okay. The 2nd PTBs are yuck (IMO). I like Coelura. I adore No One Noticed the Cat but have yet to find Black Horses.

IMO the Freedom series gets weaker as it goes on, kind of like Pern, although I did like the dolphin book that popped up later.

I also like the Planet Pirates and almost picked up Generation Warriors for a re-read today, but chose a Robt Parker (my first) instead. Actually wish I had the whole series on that one (planet pirates)

BTW caution if you go looking to buy the doona books, the second comes out with more than one title -- I was thrilled to find a '3rd' book and got home with it only to find it was the 2nd. Happily WH Smith in Paris let me swap it out for another book!

I am starting In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker, an author new to me.

>267 alcottacre: I'll be watching for your report -- That would be a new author for me too :)

ETA And she's pretty prolific too...

I decided, almost on a whim, to go ahead and start Dune, even though I'm not finished with my current main read, Marked (which is kind of a fantasy/alternate reality book). I was surprised at how quickly I've gotten sucked up into the story, and I really like Herbert's writing style. I'm trying to hurry up and finish Marked, so I can focus on Paul and Arrakis :-D

*sigh* touchstones can be annoying sometimes. Why isn't Dune linking above?

>267 alcottacre:: Let me know how you like the Baker. I really enjoyed the first part of the series...don't think she ended it with quite the same competence. The related short stories are quite good.

#270: I am almost finished with the book, Tad, and have already ordered the second one in the series since I have enjoyed the first.

>269 thekoolaidmom: Hey koolaid -- glad you're enjoying Dune. Seems a lot of folks don't like the son's prequels but I found them compelling. Really enjoyed them -- and surprised myself in the process :)

I just started Foundation by Asimov. I've heard bad things about it and the while the prose isn't sparkling, it's not bad. But then again, I am only 50 pages into it ;-)

On to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince...

>273 RebeccaAnn: -- gets better too :) Enjoy

I just started Knight's Wyrd by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald and just finished Holy Smokes by Katie MacAlister.

>275 suslyn:, Yay! That's always a good thing to hear about a book you're reading!

All these readers for Foundation and Dune--all I can say is to enjoy the ride! I love the first three books in each set, written by Asimov and Herbert, respectively, of course, and have reread them both several times. I just finished all three in His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) and loved them. About one-third through Cryptonomicon and loving those cyphers.

I am currently reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds and after that, I will be reading Fuzzies and Other People by H. Beam Piper.

I am just starting The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima.

Another witch world for me. The cover says it's the new novel in the series, but it was released in 1981 :)

Witch one, Susan? I love YEar of the Unicorn and the Gryphon series, after the first three.

LOL Horn Crown :)

Just finished Aventine by Lee Killough--short stories set on the planet of Aventine, catering to the arts. Interesting happenings.

Will be starting Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman either tomorrow or Thursday. It's an alternate reality/parallel world.

#285 oooh, one of my favourite books - I hope you enjoy it!

Halfway through the little book, Night of Light, my first Farmer. It's been a wild and enjoyable ride so far.

I am reading Book 2 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Searching for Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede.

I'm about to read Robert J Sawyer's Mindscan,finished his WWW:Wake a couple of weeks ago which was excellent.

I am currently reading The Postman by David Brin.

Just finished Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, and I really liked it. One of the best books I've read so far this year.

I'm enjoying a Modesitt SF kick

Just finished The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn. Meh. It was a fast read, kind of like a cozy mystery. I guessed the big secret long before it was revealed, and most of the story was very, very slow. But I liked the premise, so maybe the pace picks up in the sequel.

I just finished a H. Beam Piper fest and am going to start on some Andre Norton, I think, tomorrow.

I'm rereading the Harry Potter series in preparation for the sixth movie being released and still working on Asimov's Foundation trilogy (about halfway through the second one - I got distracted by another book and need to get back to Asimov before I forget what I read!)

I am currently reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.

>296 alcottacre:: Well, it's about time...

#297: (Abashed) - Yes, Tad, I know.

I am halfway through the third book of C. S. Lewis's science fiction series (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength). I thought the first one was okay, and an interesting and typical representative of 1940's speculation about Mars. I didn't care so much for the second, particularly the pages-long sermon at the end, and the third one is moderately engaging so far.

I'm currently reading Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, which I've looked forward to for ages, but am finding a little disappointing, sadly.

I finished Anansi Boys last week (good fun), and am most of the way through Nick Harkaway's Gone-Away World, which I think counts as SF of sorts - dystopian/apocalyptic fiction. Completely mad but very enjoyable. One of the most audacious twists I've read in a long time which he doesn't quite bring off, to my mind, but am awed that he tried.

oo I have Gone-Away World on my wishlist, glad to see another positive review.

I have just finished The City and the City by China Melville. I highly recommend it to crime/fantasy lovers, its not as fantastical as his previous works but I think its his best so far.

#299 justchris--and I thought it was me--in reacting to the Lewis trilogy. I was so irritated by the second book that even picking up the third has been difficult!

Currently reading a lot of favorite authors, some old (Direct Descent by Frank Herbert) and some new (Sharon Shinn--several works), all because I have a new library to roam with a new card.

#303: I have a new library to roam with a new card.

Lucky you!

Yeah, except now it means there is a possibility of having nearly 180 books out at any one time from the three libraries--and one of them is a "coordinated" card with another local city, so that library system is available. And they're changing my bus routes on Sunday, so I have to find a new way to get to Glendale from downtown LA! Up til now it was just catch the express to get there and then the local (after rush hour) of another line. Have to figure this one out this weekend!

I am jealous! I can only have 99 out at any given time - 180 is a dream :)

I hope you get the transport problem resolved!

I am currently reading and adoring the humour in Lonely Werewolf Girl, a fantasy by Martin Millar.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

A nice Fantasy novel, I like it a lot. It's not the 'Quest' or 'Magic' type of story, be perpared for intrigue, power play and matters of honour. It brought both the 'Sanctuary' series and 'Alatriste' series to my mind, but it's not going to be everybodies cup of tea.

The Priviledge of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
Set in the same universe as 'Swordspoint' but about 20 years later. As this is written from a 16-year-old girls POV and is about the meat marriage market and forced marriage, it was not much fun for me. Too Mary-Sue-ish. Did I mention the girl becomes an accomplished swordswoman in 6 months? Not my cuppa...

Currently into Eye of Cat by Roger Zelazny, my RL book club selection this month. Zelazny dedicates his book to Joe Leaphorn, Jimmy Chee and Tony Hillerman.

Just started Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay.

I just finished Kindred by Octavia Butler. Amazing book. My first Butler.

Robert Jordan- Wheel of time
Man it's HUGE!

I finally located my copy of Over Sea, Under Stone today for the group read.

This week I've read the first two Fablehaven books, which were okay but nothing special IMO, and The Hunger Games, which IS quite good!

Ronin, I can't wait to read Hunger Games -- everyone is raving about it and my good friend just read it and says I absolutely MUST. Glad to know that everyone is on board for that one. :)

I agree that Fablehaven was cute, but not really amazing -- I've only read the first though. Was the second better or worse?

Myself, I am currently reading Airman by Eoin Colfer and am hoping to finish it tonight. This is the same author who did the Artemis Fowl series, of course, and I've read a lot of his stuff, which tends to be solid at the base, but fluctuates wildly by theme and, occasionally, level of engagement. Still, I was really surprised at how engaging -- even compelling -- this one is. I stayed up until my eyes were dragging last night, because I just really wanted to know what was going to happen. Parts of it are startlingly brutal (especially in comparison to some of his other books, which put a lighter touch to violence) but I'm enjoying it thus far.

edited for the &*%&@-ing touchstones.

>313 lornemarr: re: WOT -- yes, long, and in my opinion pretty good (okay it does start to lag... but I still like it), but the worst is: It's not done! Enjoy

My nephew, an avid sf/fantasy consumer too has me reading his HALO series (based on the game of the same name) -- not bad.

I gave him Weber's In Fury Born and am thinking of sending Tanya Huff or Elizabeth Moon. Since we just visited Amsterdam and will be touring more of Europe I'm thinking of mandating Flint's 1632 :)

Susan... what, what, what??? The Halo books aren't bad?!?!? *faints* ... *smells coffee* ... *gets back up* I'm shocked and surprised! I just assumed they were all terribly cliche and poorly written. I stand humbly corrected... maybe I'll have to stop verbally abusing them every time I walk by in the bookstore...

>318 dk_phoenix: LOL There are a few points where you want to kick the editor, but mainly they're okay -- not great, mind you, but really not bad imo.

Edited to fix message number... oops

*coughs* slightly belated...

The Big U by Neal Stephenson

It's an early Stephenson and it has a look at the ugly underbelly of U. S. American higher learning institutions...

a) this is scary... so very realistic, b) am very glad I studied in a place where there is no compulsory housing or eating, c) I know nerds like this, d) I really don't want to know average students like this

Quote:

“Well, I sort of lost some plutonium down an elevator shaft in the Big Flush.”

I finished The Truth by Terry Pratchett early this morning after I got home and have now picked up Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer.

I didn't like much fantasy...but Arthur C Clarke's first book BLEW my mind. Now, I am reading any book I can get hold of written by him; and they all keep blowing my mind. He's truly and awesome writer.

I'm reading The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillop. So far very enjoyable and not taxing. Thiss is my first book by her. I have waiting The Riddle Master of Hed trilogy.

I am currently reading The Forgotten Beasts of Eld along with Carolyn and have picked up David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas as well.

Arthur C. Clarke was one of the first science fiction authors I encountered in my teens. My high school had The Deep Range in the library as well as Tales from the White Hart, and I fell in love.

Can't wait to hear Stasia and Carolyn comment on The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. The prose is so lyrical it is practically like reading a poem--a Welsh poem at that!

I am currently in the middle of The Companions by Sheri Tepper, as usual for her books, a fascinating read!

I just started Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

#325: Roni, I really enjoyed FBoE, more than I thought I would when I started it as a matter of fact.

Ah, Stasia, another good one! I'm prejudiced, though. I like to start with Agent of Change and the mainline series, in order to build a hunger to know about Aelliana and Er Thom (their son is a main character). However, Lee and Miller are master storytellers, and I love Aelliana's story in itself. Hmm, mind if I join you?

#327: The more the merrier! I hope I do not have to read Agent of Change before this one, though, because my local library does not have it.

No, you don't. And it's Daav, not Er Thom, in this book. Er Thom's book is Local Custom--my error.

#329: Well, that is good news for me then, Roni. Thanks.

Just finished a rush of Ringo (posleen universe) and am off to grab some Norton sf.

Halting State by Charles Stross

Good, fast paced sf, cyberpunk roots, draws on LARP, MMORG, traditional RPG and re-enactment as well as recent soft- and hardware developments. Very much up my alley, I'll look for more books by this author.

#332 Sounds really interesting! Thanks.

Just finished The Tale of the Unknown Island by Jose Saramago at lunch. This very small (50 pp) volume about a man who asks his king for boat to sail to the unknown island (when all islands are known) and the king's cleaning woman who follows him was absolutely charming.

Big warning, however, that Saramago tends to write in long paragraphs where the narrator tells the story, the characters talk and think about what's happening, and there is rarely any punctuation to tell you who is speaking. You have to follow the story and the characters on your own.

If you have had trouble with Saramago, on the other hand, this might be a good introduction to some of his style in other works.

Did we move to a new thread? Because I just started reading Darwinia this morning (only just into the second chapter) and I'm wondering if anyone else thinks that Robert Charles Wilson and Peter Jackson must have discussed the archetypal 'forest primeval' before they each published/premiered. This jungle is so "King Kong"! :)

hmmm ... dunno Serene... maybe everybody was just busy with end of summer/start of school and didn't post. I haven't read Darwinia...

I'm wondering, too? This thread is pretty long. Maybe someone started and new one and those of us who have been "behind" in thread reading just missed it?

I checked and found nothing, at least nothing that starts with "what we're reading"...

I've started The Dagger and the Cross by Judith Tarr, and I'm going to try really hard to pace myself rather than gobbling it in an all-night reading frenzy...

Hmm... well, hopefully there isn't a party going on elsewhere without us. Darwinia, by the way, is shaping up to be an interesting book, though a little Neo-Victorian in its pacing.

I finised Shards of Honor last weekend and am planning to start Wood Wife this weekend. I''m really looking forward to that one--I hope I haven't set my expectations too high!

>341 MusicMom41:: Never get your hopes up! You need to max out at "pleasant expectations" so that you're either thrilled when it's great or not too bummed if it doesn't please you.

Having said that, I'm starting a re-read of it either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how things go.

>339 justchris: Oooh that's a Tarr I haven't read. I've really enjoyed her stuff.

>341 MusicMom41: MM I'm gonna have to scoot over and see how you felt about Barrayar & Cordelia :)

ETA FInished Weber's In Fury Born today, a reread. I loved it. again. Wishing I had a standalone Bradley or Norton to read, but I don't. I'm reading some lackluster books in the meantime...

@343: I'm coming to the end of The Dagger and the Cross. I like it a great deal. This one is very much an exploration of how gender and religion shape people and the expectations wrapped around those differences in terms of personal relationships and social roles. All happening via the defeat of the Crusaders in the Kingdom of Antioch by Saladin and his armies. Plus there are two Rhiyanan kids who are learning to use their powers, a view that isn't provided much in the other books in this vein by Judith Tarr.

hmmm... wonder if Faith (DKPhoenix) would enjoy that one...

Just starting The Wood Wife in a read along with Carolyn and Tad.

>344 justchris: I knew something seemed familiar about that. I recently read Tarr's The Golden Horn (The Hound and the Falcon Trilogy, Vol 2) set in the same period. I wonder how different the two series are...

>343 suslyn:/344 -- The Dagger and the Cross sounds utterly fascinating! Thanks Susan for directing me over here, and thanks justchris for telling us about it! It's going on the TBR list :)

@347: suslyn, the two series are related. I just finished The Dagger and the Cross, and I conclude that it foreshadows Alf and the events in the Hound and Falcon trilogy. In Alamut and The Dagger and the Cross, Prince Aidan is the central character, with his twin brother King Gwydion playing a supporting role in the latter. Both Aidan and Gwydion play supporting roles in the Hound and Falcon trilogy, which takes place maybe 30-50 years later, around the Fourth Crusade, I believe, rather than the First or Second, I forget which. The series are very similar, since both explore gender and religion and magic in a medieval setting, but the romantic couple is Aidan and Morgiana in the duology and Alf and Thea in the trilogy.

@348: You're welcome! These are definitely my favorite Tarr books, though I am also very fond of A Wind in Cairo. Household Gods is okay, but the heroine is a real twit for much of the story.

LOL diff strokes... I really love HG -- and she is a twit!
Gonna have to get more Tarr!

Hmmm. I don't think I have ever read Tarr, and now I see that I am seriously missing something. Where should one begin?

Finished Darwinia this morning. Turned out to be way more epic and philosophical than expected. I have a review on my 75 Book Challenge thread, but I don't know how to do links on this thing, other than touchstones. Sorry -- I fail. :(

beserene

Post the review on the Main Page of the book and then the touchstone will take us to the review! :-)

LOL I just figured out what your name "says! ' It's advice I can use this week!

@351: beserene--Household Gods is a stand-alone novel. A modern day divorced lawyer gets transported back in time psychically to an outpost of the Roman empire. Great presentation of daily life in the last days of the empire. A Wind in Cairo is a sweet stand-alone story with no magic beyond the hero being turned into a stallion for his transgression against the daughter of a wise and devout Magus. The others are all connected. In chronological order: Alamut, The Dagger and the Cross, The Isle of Glass, The Golden Horn, and The Hounds of God.

This thread is getting a bit long. Part 2 is here.