SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Yet another horror BR :) Or is this SF?

Starts on June 5th. Would be my second Joe Hill work, and his first novel.

Let's start the roll call!

I'll be reading along. The description totally drew me in.

I started it yesterday. I remember hearing a lot of buzz about it, and good things about Joe Hill's books in general.

It’s on my list but it’s soooo long and I’ve got sooo many......

I'm in

Great group so far! I am excited for this one. Anyone who wants to read earlier go ahead, as long as you put spoiler tags in your spoilery updates. I'll be responding when I get there.

I will join in.

I am a little past the halfway mark. Enjoying it a lot.

It definitely has some sf elements.

Glad you're liking it. Always happy to see some encouraging comment before I read it.

I just got the e-book from my library, so I'm ready to go. I might end up starting early, but I'm in the middle of a couple other things too.

I started early... I'm already at 71%... This book!
Ok, don't you just hate (love) when there is that twist. That unexpected THING. And all of a sudden you are doubting everything you thought you knew?

I'm one of those people who can (and on more than one occasion has) pick out the bad guy in the first 5 minutes of a movie. I sit and listen to people explain why he can't be the bad guy, and then ask how I could know when that twist comes and they see I was right. I tend to do it with books, too. Not every book, but enough. It honestly makes books less exciting, and that makes me sad. But this book! Fuck! I did not see that coming! And I'm not even close to done!

Will start today. I might be going slightly faster since I have another BR on the 9th.

Just realized this is 768 pages. No way I could finish in four days. Well, I will just try reading three books at the same time 😂

Who else starting today?

I'll be finishing up a short book, then I should be starting later tonight.

Just finished. FYI, do not skip the Credits/Afterword. There is "extra content," kind of like a Marvel movie.

Thanks, Chris.

I am past 10% and really enjoying the world building (or in this case, destroying). Felt bad for the MC (view spoiler)[her husband was a jerk. (hide spoiler)]

The narrative is easy to read, I hope the plot remains engaging.

Chris wrote: "Just finished. FYI, do not skip the Credits/Afterword. There is "extra content," kind of like a Marvel movie."

Oh, yay! Thank you. I totally would have skipped it.

I couldn't resist, so I started it, and I am really liking it. I had some unexpected time on my hands, so I'm already at page 142 of 737 on my Kindle. Spoilers are up through chapter 5 of book 2.

(view spoiler)[ I think the world building was/is really good. I love Harper already, and I think she is an extremely strong person even if she doesn't see it. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a little bit of anxiety with every page. I'm just waiting for the next terrible thing to happen to her.

Now I'm at the point where she wakes up in the camp, and I don't trust any of these people besides Renee. Carol just creeps me out, and I'm waiting for something truly crazy to happen. It is obviously some kind of cult, and I'm hoping Harper is strong enough to resist. Maybe the Firefighter will get her away? (hide spoiler)]

74% It's actually getting difficult to read. Not because I've lost interest. Not because it's hard to follow, or because the story got lost or because of any negative reason... It's hard to read because some part of me is actually scared for the people. I'm afraid for Harper. I'm afraid for John. I'm afraid for... so much. I keep forgetting to breathe, lol

Now I'm at 39%, which means I just finished Book 3 and I'm on to Book 4.

This is a long novel, but I'm reading it pretty fast, because it is really good. I don't know if I would call it Horror, but it is definitely a thriller.

(view spoiler)[For a while things calmed down a bit, but there was still an underlying tension. Then they went to pick up the prisoners, and of course things went wrong. I'm just waiting for something really messed up to happen with the cult. Like maybe Harper will be blamed for the thefts. I was so disappointed when Harper joined in with everyone in the "Bright." I have a feeling there is something sinister about that. Just like earlier, Carol really creeps me out, and now there is foreshadowing that she and Harper don't get along. (hide spoiler)]

I could go any of several ways with the genre labels for this book. The Fireman received awards in the Horror category from Locus and Goodreads Choice, and Goodreads readers' #1 shelf was Horror, so I went with that. I don't have a Speculative Fiction shelf, but The Fireman is clearly drawing from all the speculative genres.

Bobby wrote: "Now I'm at 39%, which means I just finished Book 3 and I'm on to Book 4.

This is a long novel, but I'm reading it pretty fast, because it is really good. I don't know if I would call it Horror, bu..."

Hi Bobby, I like Harper as well. She is genuinely nice person, looks really vanilla but has hidden strength. Her husband was just so despicable. Poor thing. (view spoiler)[I think she and him will have a final showdown. (hide spoiler)]

As for Harper joining (view spoiler)[the Bright, it is explained in later chapters. Something about the spore and oxytocin and communal feeling. (hide spoiler)]

I am at 47% now. Why do I have a feeling that the community
(view spoiler)[will be destroyed soon? It happens in every apocalyptic novels I read.I think Harper will go with Nick and Allie to find this Martha but now with The Fireman's firebending abiilty (hide spoiler)]

Also a question, why Florida was mentioned as God's waiting room? It was in chapter 12 when talking about Harper's parents.

Silvana, (view spoiler)[Harper joining the bright didn't turn out as bad as I thought. I was thinking she would get brainwashed. Just goes to show how well the author pulls you in. I was and am still really concerned for Harper, and there is still plenty of danger ahead. (hide spoiler)]

Florida being God's waiting room is a reference to so many retirees moving there. Basically saying old people go there before they die.

Well I'm finished. This was an absolutely amazing book. I was drawn in from the very beginning, and it never let me go. There were long stretches where I was constantly anxious in a good way. Either the ending was predictable or I had just gotten used to the writing style, because I pretty much knew what was going to happen. (view spoiler)[ Naming the boat the Maggie Atwood was a nice touch. At that point I had already guessed they would be betrayed by the people taking them to the island, but if I hadn't, that would have been a huge red flag (hide spoiler)].

I will probably think of more to say about it later when everything has time to sink in, but I was very satisfied. It was a long book, but I still managed to read it in two days because I couldn't put it down. I look forward to hearing what everyone else thought of it.

I'm only at 62%. I liked that we got more and more details about the Dragonscale. Also, it never gets tired to see what authors think would happen in an apocalypse. How society would fall (they always did) and in what ways. The Google thing was funny and sad at the same time.

Sprintreading here. I am at 87%.

The revelation of (view spoiler)[Michael was not unexpected at least since 'JR' was mentioned as an accomplice of Harold. He would not help a perv who assaulted his lover's daughter so it had to be someone else.

I did not expect Nick though, probably I should have. I thought we'd never find the Thief, which is fine by me.

And my prediction of the Camp was correct. Of course they will all burn. And our main cast got to ride away to safety. (hide spoiler)]

And how did the radio and internet still work anyway?

Finished!

@Bobby: I agree, the suspense is constant and the pacing is really good you don't really feel the 760 pages.

As for the big reveal (view spoiler)[it is probably the least surprising for me since the first time I read about this Martha thing I knew it was fake, cemented of course when Harper opened their website. So fishy, considering the general government and people reaction toward Dragonscale.

The trope subversion of safe haven has been used many times and indeed once you get used to the author's style you know that he's not going to give the characters a big happy ending.

Pretty convenient appearance of Don, though. He's one of my fave minor characters. (hide spoiler)]

And I liked that there was some funny stuff in here too, especially the election scene. That cracked me up.

Silvana wrote: "Finished!

@Bobby: I agree, the suspense is constant and the pacing is really good you don't really feel the 760 pages.

As for the big reveal it is probably the least surprising for me since the f..."

(view spoiler)[ You are right on the author not writing an easy happy ending. All through the book bad things happened every time the situation started looking up. I was actually expecting everyone to die, and I was a little surprised they survived. Even when the Fireman's Phoenix led the sailboat to them, I was ready for it to be someone trying to kill them. (hide spoiler)]

Since everyone here seems to like the book, any interest to buddy read NOS4A2 in early October? Or we could make it a Christmas read due to the theme of the book.