SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Our theme is: Sci-Fi by a woman from 1997-2007.

So here's how it works. We are going for ten nominations. You may make one nomination yourself, but you may second as many as three. A nomination is official once it has been seconded, and so long as it fits the theme and is not disqualified for some reason, it will be added to the official list for our final poll. The list will continue to be updated in this posting throughout the discussion.

Your nominations should appear as follows: Algebraist by Iain Banks (this is just an example, in case it's unclear), and I second The Mount.

The Mount, by Carol Emshwiller
The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon
Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson
City of Pearl, by Karen Traviss
Oryx Crake, by Margaret Atwood
Spin State, by Chris Moriarty
A Thousand Words for Stranger, by Julie E. Czerneda
Passage, by Connie Willis
Mission Child, by Maureen F. McHugh

I'd like to nominate The Mount by Carol Emshwiller.

It won the Philip K. Dick Award in 2002. I've seen it on a couple best of the decade lists, so I thought it might be a good nomination.

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon.

It won a Nebula Award in 2003 and seems to be very well regarded.

I second The Speed of Dark.

I nominate Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson. It won the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel and resulted in Hopkinson winning the 1999 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

I second Brown Girl in the Ring - I already have it and I'm really looking forward to reading it. (It's a YA novel, btw - this could be our first YA nomination?!)

I nominate Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge It was nominated for a Nebula in 2002

Shannon wrote: "I second Brown Girl in the Ring - I already have it and I'm really looking forward to reading it. (It's a YA novel, btw - this could be our first YA nomination?!)"

I've never seen this book referred to as YA before.

I nominate Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, cos I've got it and would like to read it. She also seems to elicit lively debate.
Being a multiple award nominee and winner should help as well.

I would like to nominate a book I've had on my shelf for a few months: City of Pearl by Karen Traviss.

I haven't read it, but it has a better than four star rating here at GoodReads. The synopsis reads as follows:

Three separate alien societies have claims on Cavanagh's Star. But the new arrivals -- the gethes from Earth -- now threaten the tenuous balance of a coveted world.

Environmental Hazard Enforcement officer Shan Frankland agreed to lead a mission to Cavanagh's Star, knowing that 150 years would elapse before she could finally return home. But her landing, with a small group of scientists and Marines, has not gone unnoticed by Aras, the planet's designated guardian. An eternally evolving world himself, this sad, powerful being has already obliterated millions of alien interlopers and their great cities to protect the fragile native population. Now Shan and her party -- plus the small colony of fundamentalist humans who preceded them -- could face a similar annihilation . . . or a fate far worse. Because Aras possesses a secret of the blood that would be disastrous if it fell into human hands -- if the gethes survive the impending war their coming has inadvertently hastened.

Jon wrote: "I would like to nominate a book I've had on my shelf for a few months: City of Pearl by Karen Traviss.

I haven't read it, but it has a better than four star rating h..."

Ooooo. I like that. I second. better be careful, eh? ONly one second left for me.

I have to second Oryx & Crake. I've been meaning to do a re-read since reading Year of the Flood earlier this year.

Done, Cindy!

Greyweather wrote: "Shannon wrote: "I second Brown Girl in the Ring - I already have it and I'm really looking forward to reading it. (It's a YA novel, btw - this could be our first YA nomination?!)"

I've never seen ..."

I've seen it shelved only as Sci-fi/Fantasy. I've read it, and would definitely not recommend it for young teens. I definitely do support its nomination as a group read here, though - fascinating book!

Thanks, Brad. And thanks for seconding The Mount. It looks like a freaky story (subjugated humans!), but I am so intrigued by this cover: !

i definitely second City of Pearl. another one i've been meaning to start, though the whole debacle with her Star Wars books kind of put me off a bit.

i'd also like to put forward A Thousand Words for Stranger by Julie E. Czerneda.

Zen wrote: "I nominate In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman"

Sorry, that won't work, since it was first published in 1986.

But it needs to be from 1997-2007, Zen.

Ack. Delete. delete. delete.

I second A Thousand Words for Stranger, by Julie E. Czerneda.

Third time's the charm, right?

I nominate Spin State by Chris Moriarty

female author, pub'ed in 2003 AND apparently a hard sci-fi! ;) The description reminds me of McCaffrey's ships....

I second Spin State by Chris Moriarty

Paul wrote: "I second Spin State by Chris Moriarty"

Awesome. This was the other book I had considered nominating myself. I'm glad someone else thought of it.

I'm glad someone nomintated (and seconded) City of Pearl, because I was just about to!

Greyweather, I'm not sure where I got the idea Brown Girl in the Ring was YA - now that you've mentioned it, maybe I was just making an assumption based on something I heard. Or it could be because I found it in the YA section when I bought it - I just can't remember.

I'll nominate Passage by Connie Willis.

Passage was good, I'll second that.

Okay. I'm going to nominate Mission Child, by Maureen F. McHugh. I know it won't win, but I'd like to read it, so in the off chance of a victory...there it is.

Probably no harm in featuring sci-fi written by women as a theme, but because I see the writing as all important and consider that women writers are totally equal in any genre, I don't feel that it is a particularly relevent theme.

I would have to disagree, Dennis. Hands down I prefer to read a woman author, probably because I, myself, am a woman. Only one male author comes to mind who can actually write female characters well and realistically, and that's Brandon Sanderson. Otherwise, only the women authors seem to be able to write characters I can relate to.

Probably just my own quirkiness, but I'm really looking forward to this month's selection, whatever it may be.

Brad, I'll second your nomination of Mission Child.

Dennis wrote: "Probably no harm in featuring sci-fi written by women as a theme, but because I see the writing as all important and consider that women writers are totally equal in any genre, I don't feel that i..."

Dennis, I'm not sure if you're aware, but we had a vote for this theme. There were 10 themes nominated (all were very good, imo), and this theme won hands down.

To add to what Jon said, I think having a theme that can showcase SF from a traditionally underrepresented point of view can spark a lot of interesting discussion.

Dennis wrote: "Probably no harm in featuring sci-fi written by women as a theme, but because I see the writing as all important and consider that women writers are totally equal in any genre, I don't feel that i..."

Qualitatively equal yes, but not quantitatively. In the sci-fi genre women are, simply put, outnumbered.

Just look at the December sci-fi poll. One woman against nine men. The equally random November fantasy pool was 6 women to 4 men.

Thanks Cindy, you have clarified it for me and I bow to the democracy. Having been in the NZ Police at a time when the women members had to be twice as good as the men to be considered 'equal', from a male perspective, I often wince at some of the patronising of women's contributions, which is still found in some enviroments.
I also hope that if Jon ever gets to read 'The Understanding' she will enjoy the strong female characters and their equality.

Looks like there is another slot open. I'd like to nominate The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson.

It is an odd book and probably has no chance of winning but it deserves a bit of attention.

I'll second The Stone Gods.

i totally love this group. just the nomination process has me adding yet another handful of compltely intriguing books to my to-read shelf that i otherwise would never have heard of.

i heartily second (third?) 'the mount' - that one looks great, and like Cindy, it was that other cover that fascinated me. more second/thirding for 'speed of dark' and 'stone gods'. apparently, Ben, there's a whole cult of Winterson-ites, and that kind of crazy devotion means that there's got to be something interesting in this.

Michelle wrote: "i totally love this group. just the nomination process has me adding yet another handful of compltely intriguing books to my to-read shelf that i otherwise would never have heard of...."


Ack! Same here! .... and I still have to read a bunch of great-sounding nominations from last month!

Michelle wrote: "i totally love this group. just the nomination process has me adding yet another handful of compltely intriguing books to my to-read shelf that i otherwise would never have heard of."

Yes! The discussion of gender-bending sci-fi in the theme nominations added a ton of books to my list. This group is so clued-in to interesting authors and books!