Beyond Reality discussion

Sorry I'm a few days late with this one! I think one of my kids dismissed my reminder and I never saw it - oops :)

It's time to cast our votes for our April reads.

Each group member can make 1 science fiction and/or 1 fantasy nomination. If you would like to make a nomination, please post in this thread with the title and author of the book(s) you would like to put forward for the group’s consideration. A couple of suggestions to keep in mind:

1. Telling us a little about the book and why you think it would be a good group read can help get other members interested in reading (and voting for) your nomination. If possible, please use a link to the book and author in your nomination post. Click on “add book/author" for an easy way to do that.

2. To see if your nomination has already been read by the group, you can check:

a. The Beyond Reality Google spreadsheet of Previous Books of the Month, which you can find here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Or you can use our previous methods:

b. the group's bookshelf for Previous Books of the Month
and/or
c. these threads:
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2018 - Present
Master list of Previous Books of the Month (Apr-Dec 2017)
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2012 - 2017
Master list of Previous Books of the Month 2006 - 2011

Books the group has read in the past 2 years are not eligible for current consideration. Being chosen as a past BotM prior to that time is not an automatic disqualification, but be aware that it may hinder your nomination’s chances at the polls.

General guidelines:
• Feel free to re-nominate a book that didn’t win in the polls in previous months!
• For questions regarding specifics such as book formats, books in series, self-nomination and various rules for nominations, please see the group FAQ.
• Seconding is NOT necessary in this group.
• Friendly discussion & debate is strongly encouraged, but please keep things civil.

Schedule:
• Nominations will remain open through Saturday, Jan. 20th.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Sunday, Jan. 21st and will run through Friday, Jan. 26th.
• The final run-off polls go up Saturday, Jan. 25th, and will be open through Wednesday, Jan. 31st.

Nominations so far
SF:
The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad
A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt
The Future by Naomi Alderman

Fantasy:
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
Talonsister by Jen Williams
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

I'd like to nominate Norman Spinrads The Iron Dream in the category SF.

The Iron Dream (1972) is a satire both on Nazism and on the SF genre, Hugo Awards and SF and Fantasy literature's uncomfortable relationship with fascist ideologies.

"This volume contains his greatest work, Lord of the Swastika: an epic post-apocalyptic tale of genetic 'trueman' Feric Jagger ."

I will try City of Bohane by Kevin Barry again but this time for fantasy. I honestly don't know why I own this book but I do and I'd like to finally get around to reading it. It is a dystopian set in Ireland.

A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda for science fiction. Aliens, space travel, telepathy, and someone mentioned a shopping mall planet?

I'd like to nominate Talonsister by Jen Williams for fantasy because the it has magical creatures, including griffins so I think that would be pretty interesting. (She's the author of Ninth Rain)

Since it made it to the finals last time, I’ll nominate Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt for SF.

I don’t have a fantasy nomination yet.

For SF, I'll propose The Future by Naomi Alderman. I've been seeing it turn up on a number of "favorites" lists.

For SF, I'll propose To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. It's a alternative history fantasy from an indigenous point of view, in a world where the Americas were settled by the Norse. I think it would give us some interesting discussion.

Polls have been posted - vote here:

Preliminary fantasy poll

Preliminary SF poll

Final polls for April 2024 are posted! Click to vote:

Final fantasy poll

Final SF poll