Beyond Reality discussion

Wow, June feels awfully far away to this tired teacher. Help me decide what I'll be reading to get me through those chaotic last few weeks of school!

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 Tuesday, March 19th.
• The first (preliminary) round of polls will open Wednesday, March 20th and will run through Sunday, March 24th.
• The final run-off polls go up Monday, March 25th, and will be open through Sunday, March 31st.

Nominations so far
SF:
Jack Glass by Adam Roberts
Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia by Samuel R. Delany
Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes
Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer

Fantasy:
Madrenga by Alan Dean Foster
Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith

For Science Fiction I'd like to nominate Jack Glass by Adam Roberts
The book was the British Science Fiction Award winner for best novel in 2012. "Riffing on the tropes of crime fiction (the country house murder, the locked room mystery) and imbued with the feel of golden age SF, this is another bravura performance from Roberts."

Trude wrote: "For Science Fiction I'd like to nominate Jack Glass by Adam Roberts
The book was the British Science Fiction Award winner for best novel in 2012. "Riffing on the trop..."

Got it! Would you like to submit a fantasy nomination as well?

Thanks Shel!

Sure, for fantasy I'd like to nominate Madrenga by Alan Dean Foster

This novel from 2020 sounds like fun and I have heard good reviews of it.

"A vital message. A desperate queen. A hero in the making.

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…"

I'm going with Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham for fantasy. I have it on my TBR because I liked the authors previous books, looks like classic fantasy, with slums, murder and intrigue.

And Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith for science fiction. Post apocalyptic world after WWIII and humanity lives on airships. The hell divers are scavengers looking for parts on the surface to keep those airships running.

(view spoiler)[Since I am going to read Babel-17 with another group in June, and before that Le Guin's The Dispossessed, to which my nomination is a response, (hide spoiler)] My nomination for science fiction is Trouble on Triton: An Ambiguous Heterotopia by Samuel R. Delany.

I'm not sure I have a nomination for fantasy. When do nominations close?

Nominations close at midnight on 3/19, so you have some time to think of one!

I'm going to toss in some suggestions this month, both of which were on Tor.com's reviewers best of 2023 list.

For fantasy, Godkiller by Hannah Kaner. It's a debut novel (with a sequel that was just published yesterday) that looks excellent and gets good reviews.

For SF, Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes, because I love a good space opera.

I just finished Bea Wolf and would love to have an excuse to read it again, for fantasy. My adult son and I agree; it's not just for middle graders!

For SF, we could try/get caught up on Robert J. Sawyer with Illegal Alien, a book that I actually bought because I've enjoyed so much of his other work.

Preliminary polls are up! Vote here:

Preliminary SF poll

Preliminary fantasy poll

Final polls have been posted! Vote here:

Final June 2024 SF poll

Final June 2024 fantasy poll