Beyond Reality discussion

Let's cast our votes for our May 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 Monday, Feb. 19th.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Tuesday, Feb. 20th and will run through Saturday, Feb. 24th.
• The final run-off polls go up Sunday, Feb. 25th, and will be open through Thursday, Feb. 29th.

Nominations so far
SF:
The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E. van Vogt
Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
Solar Express by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour

Fantasy:
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Madrenga by Alan Dean Foster
Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

I would like to nominate A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger for Fantasy. I loved Elatsoe and this one promises to be just s good. Little Badger utilizes Lions Apache storytelling, history and mythology in her stories, being native Lipan herself.

And for SF, I’ll nominate The Voyage of the Space Beagle by AE van Vogt. Space Adventure. Short book from 1950.

My nomination in Fantasy is Madrenga by Alan Dean Foster.
The blurb on Amazon reads:
He is plainly too young and too inexperienced for the mission, but on the advice of her aged adviser Natoum, and with her husband off at war, the Queen reluctantly assigns the task of delivery to…
Madrenga.
Accompanied only by a runt of a pony and a scrap of a pup, he sets off to transport the royal message to its destination. No matter what it might take.
But things are not always what they seem. Heroes are sometimes made of the strangest stuff, and love is to be found in the most unexpected places.
If one doesn’t die while treading the lethal path…

My nomination for Science Fiction is the 1967 Nebula Award winner Michael Moorcock's Behold the Man
The blurb on Amazon reads:
Meet Karl Glogauer, time traveller and unlikely Messiah. When he finds himself in Palestine in the year 29AD he is shocked to meet the man known as Jesus Christ - a drooling idiot, hiding in the shadows of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. But if he is not capable of fulfilling his historical role, then who will take his place?

Expanded from the Nebula-winning 1967 novella, BEHOLD THE MAN is one of the greatest books of Moorcock's long and varied career. Intense, delicate and brutal, it explores the psyche of one man as he faces his ultimate fate. One he knows he cannot avoid.

I would like to nominate Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara for fantasy. I have read quite a few of this authors works and she is awesome at world building. This series looks like a medieval fantasy police whodunit, with dragons and magic. What's not to love?

And Solar Express by L.E. Modesitt Jr. for science fiction. Future Earth, alien artifacts, and potential war, all written by a stellar author.

I'd like to nominate Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour. It has space travel and aliens, which I really enjoy. I'm hoping it's an underrated read.

Natalie wrote: "I'd like to nominate Those Left Behind by N.C. Scrimgeour. It has space travel and aliens, which I really enjoy. I'm hoping it's an underrated read."

Got it - would you like to make a fantasy nomination as well?

How about The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah for fantasy

Last day for nominations! Polls go up tomorrow.

How about A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab for fantasy? It’s the 2nd book in the Shades of Magic trilogy and the group read book 1 (A Darker Shade of Magic) in 2016.

Preliminary polls have been posted: please vote!

May SF preliminary poll

May fantasy preliminary poll

Final polls are up for May! Cast your votes here:

Final SF poll

Final fantasy poll