SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club discussion

The voting is over for the August Science Fiction theme and it's clearly Interstellar Travel.

We can leave this pretty wide open, I think since there's pretty much everything from generational ships to stasis travel to good old FTL and I want to see what all goodies everyone comes up with ....

Remember our few rules:
1. They must be available as an ebook
2. One nomination and one seconding per person
3. No nominating your own book and
4. Mods can veto a nomination if they decide the book doesn't fit ... :-)

And, as always, authors selected in the past 12 months may not be nominated. For a list, you may check here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...


Nominated and Seconded
NASTRAGULL by Erik Martin Willén
Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell
Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille by Steven Brust
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Dauntless by Jack Campbell


Nominated
Five-Twelfths of Heaven by Melissa Scott
Beginning Operations by James White
Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue by Hugh Howey

Please may I nominate Five Twelths of Heaven by Melissa Scott. This is book one of The Roads of Heaven trilogy.

I have read this many times over the years and I think it has an interesting take on interstellar travel. It has been out of print but is now available in ebook format from different retailers. Part fantasy but mainly sci fi with a female lead character. Plus it is quite cheap to buy at present. Thanks
Plus it won the John W Campbell award in 1986 I think.
Five-Twelfths of Heaven

I am going to nominate Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell. This is the first book in The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series and it's an enjoyable mashup of interstellar travel and the Golden Age of Sail ...

LOVE space travel!! and there's an awful lot of it around :)

May I nominate NASTRAGULL by Erik Martin Willén? I read this earlier this year and was completely blown away!

Lots of interstellar stuff; great high-tech info; many, many aliens (good and bad!) - and a fair amount of blood, gore and (sometimes extreme) sexual situations!

I suppose I ought to give fair warning; but it's one of the best space opera books I've ever read! (50+ years experience, and all that!!) :)

I second Nastragull.

Tau Zero

This is among the books I recall with travel as a central theme. It's an oldie, but a goodie, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is available in ebook

I would like to nominate Hospital Station. It is another old but very good. The ebook is available as a part of omnibus Beginning Operations.

I second Quarter Share.

This isn't a nomination, but a question to those who may have read any of Jack Campbell's "Lost Fleet" novels: Are they any good? They sell incredibly well, and I get the impression that they're Military SF's gold standard. But do they really get you thinking, or is it reminiscent of a Jerry Bruckheimer film (or both, I suppose)? Anyhow, "The Lost Fleet: Dauntless" seems to be the place to start, and it's publisher description makes interstellar travel sound like a key theme.

The Lost Fleet series is worthy of a read. It's far more nautical than you'd expect though; as is the Solar Clipper series. Both excellent, but less hard SciFi interstellar travel than naval tales set in interstellar space.

I'll second Tau Zero.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

Byron wrote: "The Lost Fleet series is worthy of a read. It's far more nautical than you'd expect though; as is the Solar Clipper series. Both excellent, but less hard SciFi interstellar travel than naval tales ..."

I'll second the first book in the Lost Fleet series.

It wasn't actually nominated, so you can nominate it, but not second

Byron wrote: "It wasn't actually nominated, so you can nominate it, but not second"

So please nominate it so my second can stand.

I already nominated another book

And now for something completely different ... I'll nominate Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille, by Steven Brust.

I would like to nominate by Hugh Howey.

I soooo second Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille! I'm due to re-read this book.

I would like to nominate The Forever War.

I'll second The Forever War

So, is The Lost Fleet: Dauntless nominated? I'm assuming so but i want to check.

And I'm going to Second Tau Zero

I'll second The Forever War, even though I'm not sure I'm really up for a re-read of it.

How do I stand on nominating a double? The Sparrow and its sequel Children of God (Mary Doria Russel) should have been one volume anyway . . .
The interstellar travel method is near-future and credible - and the aliens are also good, nicely balanced between alien and credible/comprehensible.
Any comments?

The Sparrow does have travel between star systems and aliens, so I guess it can qualify, and I second it. I doubt it will win though. It 's one of those books science fiction books not shelved with science fiction.

I nominate Douglas Adams's Starship Titanic. I would say this certainly fits the bill for Interstellar Travel (as I interpret it, e.g, traveling for luxury, vice exploration and adventure). The addition of Terry Jones filling out Douglas Adams' story can only be a plus; he's a good writer, though I haven't actually read this book and can't say one way or t'other.

I'll second Dauntless by Jack Campbell

I did a search for books I have not yet read that I would actually consider buying if I saw them on the shelf. Something, perhaps, that is not more than a few years old. Couldn't find too much. SO....

I hope this is legal :) I am changing my nomination. I had nominated Starship: Mutiny by Mike Resnick...but got to thinking that this might fall more under interstellar war (military SF) rather than Interstellar Travel.

I noticed that there are a few military SF books already nominated, several that are real good, but I am trying to do something different this time. I am trying to find a book that I have not yet read and that focuses more on the actual theme...ie Interstellar travel (which I read more as exploration rather than military) So....I withdraw my nomination until I find something more suitable.

I would like to nominate "House of Suns" by Alastair Reynolds ... interstellar travel on a grand scale.

I'm looking forward to reading 'House of Suns' myself! However, I believe the voting has already proceeded, with 'Tau Zero' the winner:

http://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/84...

ah, that's what I get for being late to the party! :-)

I'll check out Tau Zero.

Where can I find a list of books already read so that I would make sure not to nominate any?

Probably the easiest way is to click the "Bookshelf" link near the top right of this page.

I will second Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue by Hugh Howey and voe on it in the poll.