Space Opera Fans discussion

Greetings Space Opera Fans!

It's that time of the month where we nominate what galactic-spanning Space Opera books we shall be reading as a group for the month of July. What's your sci-fi obsession for the dog days of summer (or if you live 'down under' the cold days of the rainy season?). This month, we need nominations in the following categories:

READER PICK: This category is for a mass-market available book that a reader can walk into any bookstore or library and have a good likelihood to obtain a paper copy.

INDIE PICK: This category is for an independently published book, with preference given to our Goodreads SOF authors.

SERIES PICK: We will be continuing with the second book in John Scalzi's Old Man's War series, The Ghost Brigade, so put it on hold at your local library or start hunting for a sale :-)

And to balance it all off, your Borg Queen will nominate a MOD PICK to balance things out. This title will always be whatever sparks my interest enough to rise to the top of my TBR list, books which got there in the first place because I take note of things you guys like to discuss in the threads.

Winners will be selected on July 1st using Random.org. As always, you are allowed to make ONE nomination per available category (i.e., one Reader Pick + one Indie Pick).

Leave your nominations in the thread below!

Be Epic!
Anna Erishkigal
SOF-MOD2

Reader Pick: Shards of Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold

Indie Pick: The Crown of Eldrete – Kavaliro Cousins, Book 1 by Shannon Haddock

READER PICK: The Wailing Asteroid by Murray Leinster

INDIE PICK: Scavenger Hunt by Stephen Goldin

The Martian by Andy Weir for the Indie Pick

Hyperion by Dan Simmons for the Reader Pick

Reader pick - by C.J. Cherryh

Indie pick - by Don Chase (free for the next three days http://tinyurl.com/k5qm2ng}

Thanks Shannon, Stephen, John and Conal! Got your nominations on the spreadsheet!

Reader pick - by Jack Williamson

Indie pick - by Paul B. Spence

Got them, Paul!

This is what I have so far:

READER PICK:



SERIES PICK: (we are continuing John Scalzi's Old Man's War series)



INDIE PICK:



MOD PICK: Whatever strikes your MOD's interest. Ward ... you gonna arm-wrestle me for a winner this month :-)

Indie: The Martian, Andy Weir
Reader: Pandora's Star, Peter F. Hamilton

Thanks Paul .. got them!

Thomas wrote: "Um... The Martian isn't really an indie book, is it?"

I'd say not. According to Amazon, it's published by Random House. That's about as far from indie as you can get!

Just checked and you're both right, Thomas and Shannon. The Martian has over 17,000 reviews and a big-name press.

Paul ... Indie Pick is meant for the little guys who don't have a big laser-gun behind them. Right now I have you down for Pandora's Star for your Reader Pick and nothing for your Indie Pick ... would you like to swap those out? Remember, you can always nominate The Martian for reader pick next month (or swap it now for Pandora's Star). And you still have an Indie Pick choice. We've got lots of Indie Authors who hang out here, so if you have absolutely no idea what would be Indie and want to make somebody very happy, you can go down into Self Promotion and see if anything catches your eye. :-)

Thomas ... you gonna nominate something? :-)

Thanks Thomas! Got them both!

Indie Pick: Extinction: The Warriors Return by Jay Korza

Thanks Jay! Got it!

READER PICK: Orphanage (Jason Wander #1) by Robert Buettner

INDIE PICK: An Invisible Thread: The War in the Orion Arm by Robert Lee Wolfe

Got 'em Robert! Thanks!

Update: This is what I have so far:

READER PICK:



SERIES PICK: (we are continuing John Scalzi's Old Man's War series)



INDIE PICK:



MOD PICK: Whatever strikes your MOD's interest. Ward ... you gonna arm-wrestle me for a winner this month :-)

Remember ... each unique nomination counts as a 'vote' in the Random.org randomizer, which is why you might see some book covers listed twice. Two different people can nominate the same book, but each unique person only has a vote in each category (Reader, Series or Indie pick).

Reader- A fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Indie- The Kinsmen: Between Gods and Mortals by Pete Cruickshank

Got them Pete! Thanks!

I'd love to join the club here!

READER PICK:
I've been needing to read this for some time.

INDIE PICK: Here's the sample from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CQZ9UJE#r...

I hope it's not out of line to pick my own book for Indie. I just released the second edition and will price it at $0.99 because of this thread. If anyone wants it free on kindle, send me your email and I'll gift it to you. I can also send it to anyone as an epub or PDF.

Hi, I'd like to nominate for the Reader Pick, the classic (but as yet unread):


For the Indie Pick, I think I'll do something different and not nominate one of my own. Instead, on the grounds that it's the sequel to a book I've recently read and thoroughly enjoyed, this one:

Thanks Vincent and Steph ... Got them!

Second Update: This is what I have so far:

READER PICK:



SERIES PICK: (we are continuing John Scalzi's Old Man's War series)



INDIE PICK:



MOD PICK: Whatever strikes your MOD's interest. Ward ... you gonna arm-wrestle me for a winner this month :-)

Okay ... tomorrow is the last day to nominate!