Beyond Reality discussion

New month, new books? Let us know what you’re reading and what you think.

The Scar by China Mieville.

I'm about a third of the way into Artemis. So far, I like it but not as much as The Martian. It seems like Weir wanted to explore what life on a moon base would be like more than he had a story he wanted to tell - the story is secondary to the worldbuilding. I like the worldbuilding so far but I'm not in love with the character - we'll see if that changes!

I started A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and I'm already enamored with the really fascinating species design.

Gabi wrote: "I started A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and I'm already enamored with the really fascinating species design."

One of my favorite SF books!

Kathi wrote: "Gabi wrote: "I started A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge and I'm already enamored with the really fascinating species design."

One of my favorite SF books!"

I'm pretty sure I will love it, too, Kathi.

Not exactly for the month of November, but I finished The Twisted Ones last night and I LOVED it.

Characterization was well done. No moments of me wanting to yell "Are you a moron!" The story was entertaining, lots of spookiness, a lot of snarky humor that helped break the tension.

Started The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Liking it so far, but this is one you have to pay attention to. There is a LOT of jumping around not only in time but in lives, if that make any sense.

I also picked up Recursion that I will likely go for next if my mood permits. :)

I'm reading All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. I finished and ARC for My Beautiful Life by K.J. Parker. The same author behind one of our January 2020 reads.

Random wrote: "Not exactly for the month of November, but I finished The Twisted Ones last night and I LOVED it...."

Bongo FTW!

Gabi wrote: "Random wrote: "Not exactly for the month of November, but I finished The Twisted Ones last night and I LOVED it...."

Bongo FTW!"

Absolutely! And Foxy! :)

Yeah! Foxy! The horror story was average, but the team of unlikely heroes was the best!

A FIRE UPON THE DEEP is amazing...

I finished Hellburner by C.J. Cherryh, one of her Company Wars books and a close sequel to Heavy Time. 8/10, a bit hard to follow in places, with a (deliberate, I assume) choppy writing style to reflect the POVs of the various characters. But a solid story, with insights into the very early days of the Company Wars.

I am about 80% through Stalking Darkness, Book 2 in Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series. As the title suggests, this takes a darker turn. In some ways, this series (so far) reminds me a bit of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria books.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Gabi wrote: "Yeah! Foxy! The horror story was average, but the team of unlikely heroes was the best!"

One of my favorite lines came from Foxy. I can't remember it exactly but went along the lines of

(view spoiler)[We don't need you two getting into a dick waving contest with a deer skeleton (hide spoiler)]

While lines like that are great, they did keep breaking the tension.

Bad Dreams and Broken Hearts: The Case Files of Erik Rugar by Misha Burnett

Stalking Darkness by Lynn Flewelling was excellent, although the plot advanced more quickly and further than I anticipated. It will be interesting to see where the series goes next. 9/10

I just finished Dark is the Sun by Philip José Farmer. This is the first book I’ve read by this author, and the reviews indicate it may not be the best introduction to his writing. With its simple prose and episodic style, this book masks some deeper themes about what it is to be human, the difference between human and sentient, and how difficult it can be to change. The use of “foreign” (and untranslated) words was annoying and pointless and the characters, while interesting, never seem to really come alive. 5/10

Next up is The Dragon's Touchstone by Irene Radford, Book 1 the Dragon Nimbus History, the start of a prequel trilogy to the Dragon Nimbus books.

I'm so happy, that you like the Nightrunner books, Kathi. I love those characters so much!

I finished Winter Rose yesterday and will probably pick up Children of Ruin next. Then on to The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince for the series discussion - really looking forward to it!

I just finished Pines and have ordered the next book from my library. Now reading Tomorrow's Kin

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August was a really good book, but its certainly not casual. You have to really concentrate to keep everything straight. Not as important near the end, but certainly at the start.

Started Recursion a couple days ago. Work has been insane and frustrating so I haven't had as much time to read as I would like. But so far its really good and I am very intrigued by where this seems to be leading.

I finished off The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks today. I liked it, but not as much as the previous book. It felt like a lot of set-up, and not as much action as I'm used to from these books. But I am looking forward to finishing off the series soon!

I will be starting The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan to replace it.

I have RECURSION *and* THE BURNING WHITE waiting for me when I get home from this business trip.

MadProfessah wrote: "I have RECURSION *and* THE BURNING WHITE waiting for me when I get home from this business trip."

Recursion! You want to read Recursion first. Its been getting quite fascinating.

I had a hard time getting into Children of Ruin at first but once I got past the prologue I got hooked. Am about a quarter of the way through.

Been taking advantage of an idle three day weekend, put my audiobook on hold, and have been reading more ebooks.

I started the Forward Collection. For those who have Kindle Unlimited, you can get the 6 stories for free.

I just had to comment on Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin. That was a good story and as it goes on, perspective changes and I was literally almost laughing out loud as I realized where the conclusion was heading. Have to say I loved it and reminded me how much I enjoy her work. I really need to get to some of her stuff that I've been sitting on for ages.

To add to my previous post, The Last Conversation is probably one of the best stories I have ever read.

Finished Recursion and it is also quite excellent. I enjoyed it even more than Dark Matter. Blake Crouch is now officially on my read whatever he writes list.

Due to conversation elsewhere, I have been craving a reread of Blindsight, one of my all time favorite books. So its next.

With the upcoming premier of the new Witcher series on Netflix, I am finally motivated to finish that series. So it might be next once I'm done with Blindsight. I'll want to reread the books I have already read, since its been a while.

I just finished Tomorrow's Kin which I enjoyed but think the middle section could have been ditched or seriously edited. I am looking forward the the next book. In the maentime, I have started Shadow of Night

Random wrote: "With the upcoming premier of the new Witcher series on Netflix, I am finally motivated to finish that series. So it might be next once I'm done with Blindsight. I'll want to reread the books I have already read, since its been a while."

A different group of which I am a member is finishing the Witcher series as a group read. I confess I did not read it along with them, but I will be interested in your reaction.

Christine wrote: "In the maentime, I have started Shadow of Night "
I enjoyed that book—well, the whole trilogy. And now I think there is another book, focusing more on a different character.

Kathi wrote: "A different group of which I am a member is finishing the Witcher series as a group read. I confess I did not read it along with them, but I will be interested in your reaction."

I will warn, I am already a huge fan of the games and have already read The Last Wish and Blood of Elves, so I already know the world and the lore and know that I like many of the characters. I may be a little biased. :)

Random wrote: " I may be a little biased. :) "

Good to know. :-)

Leaves from the Garden of Eden: One Hundred Classic Jewish Tales by Howard Schwartz

I just finished Children of Ruin and it's giving me the chills in the very best way. Totally creepy! Next up is The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince.

Yesterday I started The Vine Witch, which was a freebie through the Kindle First program. I'm not super impressed by the writing, though it's a neat premise -- it takes place in a French vineyard, where the vines are kept healthy through a sort of hedge magic. I'm not very far into it yet, but I can already see the inevitable romance subplot building. Honestly, I'm kind of glad that I'm not finding it totally enthralling, because I have too much going on and can't afford to get sucked into a can't-put-it-down book right now, but I want something to read, and it was free, so it'll do ;)

Shel wrote: "Yesterday I started The Vine Witch, which was a freebie through the Kindle First program."

I chose that as a Kindle First book, too (although it’s not on my list to read soon), and now I think there is a sequel.

I finished The Dragon's Touchstone by Irene Radford, 8/10. A traditional fantasy, with magicians, witches, and lords, both good and evil (or misguided by self-delusions, guilt, and inadequacies), a touch of romance, and dragons! The first in a trilogy, prequel to the original Dragon Nimbus series, this story has a fairly satisfying conclusion and some major unresolved plot lines leading into the next book.

Then I had 10 days of no reading!! Yikes!

Followed by The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb, 8/10. This novella tells of the origins of the persecution of the Witted in the Six Duchies. It is the saga of Caution, the Willful Princess, and her son, Charger, the Piebald Prince, as told by Felicity, a trusted and trustworthy servant in the Buckkeep household. 4 stars rather than 5 because I didn’t care for the “I am just the scribe relating the facts” style of the story, although I understand why it was framed that way.

Then it was back to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series with Nothing to Lose, 6/10. The final quarter to third of this book saved it from a lower rating—the first two-thirds to three-quarters were repetitive and unnecessarily obtuse. Reacher’s own willfulness and stubbornness got him into a mess mess and he just kept digging in deeper, for no good reason other than to satisfy his curiosity and prove that no one could push him around. But the book finished with the unraveling of at least four plot lines and everything wrapped up with quite a bang!

Now I am starting Miles Cameron’s Traitor Son Cycle for another Goodreads group. First book is The Red Knight.

I finished reading Blood of Cayn (Book 3 of the Cayn Trilogy) by Jason McDonald and The Reckoning by John Grisham. I am reading The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi. I plan to read Artificial Condition by Martha Wells next.

Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes by Carla Hoch

The Vine Witch was just okay - I quite liked the premise, but the execution was meh. I'm taking a jaunt into nonfiction with The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny, which I've had sitting on my shelf for years. I also just downloaded Auberon: An Expanse Novella, so will probably pick that one up next. And I'm not sure if I'll manage to fit another book in before it's time to dive into Fool's Assassin for the series read.

Just back from week in San Diego where I read The Institute; I haven't read Stephen King for years. I tired of the horror. This book is different and more like SciFi...I really enjoyed it. I also finished Wayward the second book in the Wayward Pines trilogy. Now awaiting the third book

I never finished Blindsight. In fact I never actually started it. :D

Been through
The Last Wish
Sword of Destiny
Blood of Elves

And started The Time of Contempt today.