Dragons & Jetpacks discussion

That time has come around again, apologies for the delay in getting this up - nominations are open for May 2020!

– Nominations will be open for 24-48 hours and during that time we will take in as many nominations as possible.
– After 24-48 hours (or once a mod feels we have enough nominations), 8 books from each genre will be chosen at random from the selection, using a random generator online.
– Only ONE nomination per person (EITHER sci-fi OR fantasy).
– If books are part of a series, they must be the first, unless the group has already read the previous book(s). (you can see our previous group reads here and a series list here)
– No authors nominating their own works.
– No self-published or ebook-only books — we want our BotM to be accessible to as many members as possible!

**Change in Rule from March 2020**
– No Seconding Nominations
(We've struggled to get many / a good variety of nominations the last few months due to a high proportion of seconding, so we're trying this for a bit)

SCIENCE-FICTION
1. The Stand
2. Semiosis
3. Waste Tide
4. The Lost Puzzler
5. Starship Troopers
6. A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy
7. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
8. Partials
9. Revenger
10. The Last Policeman
11. The Fated Sky
12. To Be Taught, If Fortunate

FANTASY
1. The Fellowship of the Ring
2. An Echo of Things to Come
3. Rebel of the Sands
4. Holy Sister
5. Dragons of Autumn Twilight
6. Ninth House
7. Gilded Cage
8. Lud-in-the-Mist
9. The Paper Magician

The Stand - Stephen King. It counts a fantasy book right?

I'd like to nominate Semiosis for science fiction please.

Foundryside for fantasy Its great and it's sequel Shorefall just came out

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

fantasy

Alex wrote: "Foundryside for fantasy Its great and it's sequel Shorefall just came out"

Oh, I didn't realise the sequel had been released, thanks for the heads up.

Pretty sure Foundryside was a group read last year though, sorry...

I'd like to nominate Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan for Science Fiction.

Second The Fellowship of the Ring.

Can I nominate An Echo of Things to Come for fantasy please

Exile by R.A. Salvatore for fantasy

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton for fantasy. It’s like this Old West/Middle Eastern crossover fantasy with guns.

I know we've only just read grey sister, but I'd like to nominate Holy Sister for fantasy please. See if we can't get this series finished :)

Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman

I will nominate Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (fantasy)

I'd like to nominate The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless for science fiction, please.

I'd like to nominate Starship Troopers for sci-fi please.

A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy for SF, please.

Gilded Cage by Vic James (fantasy)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for sci fi please.

I second the Ninth House and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Partials for sci fi

Folks - please see the change in rules above from March. We are no longer seconding books, thanks

I nominate Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees for fantasy.

I will nominate Revenger by Alastair Reynolds for Sci-Fi!

The Last Policeman for sci-fi please. It sounds really interesting and is on sale on kindle at the moment for those of us unable to get to libraries etc.

Dawn wrote: "The Last Policeman for sci-fi please. It sounds really interesting and is on sale on kindle at the moment for those of us unable to get to libraries etc."

Is anyone able to get to the library? Genuinely curious. I know all the ones I am able to use are shut down, at least for actual books, which I prefer to ebooks.

In Denmark here. All libraries are closed since March 12th, and so far at least till May 10th. The libraries I use (including the one I work at, currently from home as much as is possible) have increased their ebook loans, but English language books are a limited selection, so I've been recommending quite a bit to my colleagues in ebook acquisition :)

Some libraries are doing curbside pick ups. Call your library and see if they are offering that service.

Wayland, it's a good point that not everyone might be able to get hold of the BotMs at the moment due to lockdowns or lack of funds.

It is something I thought about when opening nominations for May (particularly as the UK has just extended our lockdown), but decided I would anyway as people who might be able to get hold of the book in some way might enjoy the distraction :)

Johanne wrote: "In Denmark here. All libraries are closed since March 12th, and so far at least till May 10th. The libraries I use (including the one I work at, currently from home as much as is possible) have inc..."

It's pretty much the same in Germany, with many libraries making their digital services available for everyone regardless of membership.

I would like to nominate The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg for Fantasy.

amazon seem to be doing extended free trials of kindle unlimited if that helps anyone get hold of books to read. not as good as paper books but better than nothing!

The Fated Sky for SF please (sequel to Calculating Stars) - sorry for no link. on mobile.

@Sam: Libraries in Germany are opening again on Monday (tomorrow), along with small stores etc. One is just supposed to maintain distance from each other, and some hygiene measures are added, but otherwise we'll be able to use libraries normally and to go to bookstores again. (Bookstores are allowed to open even if they are large.)

I can get ebooks and eaudiobooks only at this time.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate for sci fi please.

Alan, I've counted The Stand as SF - looks like it has been categorised as both, and won awards for both, but I'm classing post-apocalyptic as SF today :)

N.E.C.C. I've not included Exile, as it looks like Homeland is the first Drizzt book, and I don't think we've read it yet.

Ok, I'm going to close this thread and make a random selection for the polls :)