Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 359904 times)

PatH · « **Reply #960 on:** January 06, 2011, 07:32:57 PM »

Science Fiction / Fantasy

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Welcome to the whole universe! This is where we gather to share our experiences in science fiction and fantasy. We like everything, from Gregory Benford to Stephanie Meyer—hard science to magic and fantasy.

Come in, sit down with us, and tell us what you are reading or have read, what you like or dislike.

Links:
Fantastic Fiction, bibliographies of 15,000 authors

Discussion Leader: PatH

Steph · « **Reply #961 on:** January 07, 2011, 06:47:58 AM »

L ords and Ladies gives you a new slant on elves and fairies.. Made me laugh so hard at times.
I am now back to Miles..He is in a prisoner of war camp just now. No idea why yet.

joegreyfan · « **Reply #962 on:** January 07, 2011, 07:19:16 PM »

It's definitely best to read Terry Pratchett's four-book Tiffany Aching series in order, starting with The Wee Free Men.

Steph · « **Reply #963 on:** January 08, 2011, 06:35:22 AM »

I have read Wee Free Men.. One of the bellylaugh ones.. Pratchett has such a wild view of normal items.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #964 on:** January 14, 2011, 02:04:17 AM »

There's a series of stories, the haunted ballad mysteries, about a charming duo; he's a British folk musician and she's head of Tamburlaine Players repertory troupe. The author uses a folk song as theme for each book as the pair and their rellow performers struggle with hauntings.
I've read two and can't wait to get #3 from the library. The Weaver and the Factory Maid takes us back to the days when factory mills were replacing hand weavers. The title characters fall in love but tragedy strikes, think Romeo and Juliet.
The torment of the two lovers infests the cottage trouabador and architectual restorer Ringlan accepts in part payment from his latest the owner of his latest restoration project. When he arrives at his new home he is subject to the desperate agonies of the lovers. Penny, his significant other, feels the turmoil as well whe3n she visits. To bring release to the tormented souls they must discover the true story of the lovers and invent an appropriate ceremony for their relief. The dialogue is witty and intelligent, the characters are crisply drawn and the story is compelling. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/deborah-grabien/weaver-and-factory-maid.htm *****

Steph · « **Reply #965 on:** January 14, 2011, 06:14:02 AM »

Sounds interesting. Will put it on my list, but am staggering through Miles and his adventures.

Babi · « **Reply #966 on:** January 14, 2011, 08:58:43 AM »

JACKIE!!! You're back!!! We've missed you! Where have you been?
Oh, never mind that...just WELCOME! I'll check out Grabien. The
name is new to me. If she's very new, my library may not have her
yet.

roshanarose · « **Reply #967 on:** January 14, 2011, 09:32:36 AM »

Jackie aka Mrs Sherlock - I join with Babi's joy at seeing you back. You have been gone too long and we have missed you so much.

marcie · « **Reply #968 on:** January 14, 2011, 11:08:37 AM »

Jackie, it's great to see you back! Thanks for the good information about the Haunted Ballad Mystery series.

PatH · « **Reply #969 on:** January 14, 2011, 11:36:41 AM »

It's good to have you back, Jackie. I never heard of that series. It sounds good.

Steph · « **Reply #970 on:** January 15, 2011, 06:20:11 AM »

Jackie,, I realize now that you are back.. Sorry you went away and am glad to see you back. You always have such interesting selections.

Babi · « **Reply #971 on:** January 15, 2011, 09:18:02 AM »

I'm interested, too, but my library has no listings under the name Grabien. I'll see what I can find at the paperback swap site.

mrssherlock · « **Reply #972 on:** January 15, 2011, 04:09:39 PM »

Thanks for the hearty welcomes. There have been some health issues, minor but the first soul-deep touch of the awareness of my mortality. I have developed disequilibrium, that is, my sense of balance is faulty. So I lurch from place to place, holding on to walls and chairs, thinking it was a temporary aberration Wrong!. If you start falling, falling often, have your MD check it out. There are so many common daily actions which require balance. If you drop something, forget it. Aggravating in the extreme. Without books I don't know how I would have fared. I now use a cane, the one with four feet. and I'm getting a walker. Now I'll catch up on past posts. Stay tuned.

marcie · « **Reply #973 on:** January 16, 2011, 01:22:57 AM »

I'm so sorry for the balance problems, Jackie. More than a nuisance! I'm glad you can still read and that you're back with us.

Steph · « **Reply #974 on:** January 16, 2011, 06:38:27 AM »

Iwent through a short siege when young of no balance and it is no fun.. Hope you can overcome to some extent.. I believe that we on SeniorLearn and before that Seniornet are brave and strong humans who overcome many obstacles.

Babi · « **Reply #975 on:** January 16, 2011, 09:59:57 AM »

I can empathize with the poor balance, JACKIE. Mine varies, but there
have been many times I would have fallen at home if there were not
always something nearby to grab. I have a cane to use when I'm
feeling tottery, but I probably don't use it as often as good sense would
dictate. Kind of stubborn that way; I think I got it from my Dad.

Steph · « **Reply #976 on:** January 17, 2011, 06:04:05 AM »

Any way Jackie, I am so glad to see your postings. You always read a lot of the same thing that I do and so I love it when you find a new author since I always feel I should try them as well.

Babi · « **Reply #977 on:** January 20, 2011, 09:19:43 AM »

I am reading Douglas Preston's "Impact". It was slow at the start, as
we followed three different lines of development, but once they merged
things really began to move. It's wholly improbable, but good sci/fi/
action.

marcie · « **Reply #978 on:** January 20, 2011, 08:13:59 PM »

Babi, I enjoyed IMPACT. I like the character of Wyman Ford.

Steph · « **Reply #979 on:** January 21, 2011, 06:34:03 AM »

I always think of Preston and his partner as Horror..

Babi · « **Reply #980 on:** January 21, 2011, 08:39:14 AM »

Preston and Childs together do turn out some horrific 'science' fantasy.
"Impact", though, is closer to the action genre. Abbey Straw is simply
incredible. She is a character that you really expect to see again...and
again. As is Wyman Ford, for that matter.

Steph · « **Reply #981 on:** January 22, 2011, 06:38:22 AM »

This last book with Miles, he found he had a clone. The rules governing them sound interesting.. Miles seems to feel responsibility to the clone. No idea why..But I know we will run into the clone again.

JoanK · « **Reply #982 on:** January 29, 2011, 09:06:25 PM »

PatH is computerless. She has been snowed in for the last couple of days, which delayed her planned purchase of a Mac. Hopefully, she'll be back next week.

great to see you back, Jackie. I think you'll like the walker when you get it. I know how much more secure I felt when I got mine.

At Pat's suggestion,I'm reading "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis, and loving it. First I read the Victorian novel it's based on, "Three Men in a Boat" (available for pennies on kindle).

Steph · « **Reply #983 on:** January 30, 2011, 06:44:32 AM »

I loved To say Nothing of the Dog, but could not read The Doomsday Book by Connie. Just too hard and violent at this point in my life.

joegreyfan · « **Reply #984 on:** January 31, 2011, 07:42:19 PM »

Last week I read a new YA fantasy by Cornelia Funke titled Reckless. It's a twisty, hard-to-stop-reading story in which Jacob, Will and Clara, all in their early 20s, go through a mirror and find themselves in Mirrorworld, a perilous land of fairy tales, with emphasis on the darker side. The translation is so good that I'd never have guessed it was originally written in German. There are some loose ends at the conclusion, and I understand that there will be sequels (yay!).

Jackie, welcome back! I've really missed your posts.

PatH · « **Reply #985 on:** February 08, 2011, 10:59:57 PM »

My current read is Blackout by Connie Willis, this month's selection for my f2f sci-fi book club. It's been on my TBR list for a while, but I'm glad I didn't read it too soon, because it's the first half of the story, second half being All Clear, which is now out. We are left with the time traveling historians stuck in London during the WWII blitz, with no understanding of why they can't get back. It's like The Perils of Pauline, leaving her stuck at the bottom of the well. It's a good job, well worth reading.

Steph · « **Reply #986 on:** February 09, 2011, 06:13:35 AM »

I will have t o put her back on my tbr list. I loved To say Nothing of the Dog, but the Domesday book was too violent for me.

PatH · « **Reply #987 on:** February 09, 2011, 08:05:11 AM »

If you want Willis in her cheerful mood, try Bellwether. Anyone who has ever worked in a toxic office finds it pretty funny.

Babi · « **Reply #988 on:** February 09, 2011, 09:06:01 AM »

I'm currently reading, avidly, "The Lions of Al-Rasoon". I'm thoroughly
enjoying it, but I'm puzzled as to why it's classified sci/fi. There's no
'science' to it and no 'fantasy', either. It's fiction, of course, but nothing
'fantastic' about it. Unless you consider a son with some psychic
ability to qualify.

Steph · « **Reply #989 on:** February 10, 2011, 06:14:14 AM »

I think that sometimes when editors are not quite sure about a book, they put it in fantasy.

Babi · « **Reply #990 on:** February 10, 2011, 08:52:04 AM »

And sometimes it's the librarians who make that choice, perhaps not
having actually read the book. A 'blurb' can be misleading.

PatH · « **Reply #991 on:** February 11, 2011, 09:36:22 PM »

Quote from: Babi on February 10, 2011, 08:52:04 AM

A 'blurb' can be misleading.

Yes, Babi, and sometimes a terrific book can be marginalized by being misclassified. (Grumble)

PatH · « **Reply #992 on:** February 11, 2011, 10:11:17 PM »

Last night's f2f discussion of Blackout was quite vigorous. Unfortunately, a small contingent who had read the second, concluding, book couldn't grasp the idea of "no spoilers" and eventually started talking about it. I was saved by the person next to me, who pointed out that if we talked to each other, we wouldn't hear the others, so we had a good conversation about "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency", and the only spoiler I heard was one you could guess from already read clues. We won't discuss the second book, but I put it on reserve at the library.

Babi · « **Reply #993 on:** February 12, 2011, 08:41:57 AM »

Oh, dear, PAT. I hope that part of your group doesn't make a habit of
spoiling books for others. That would really put me off...IF I
was a 'joiner' to begin with and could still hear.

PatH · « **Reply #994 on:** February 12, 2011, 07:10:00 PM »

Babi, they're not usually going to have the chance to spoil things, since we mostly read complete books. I'm not a joiner either, and was timid about starting in this group, but they are totally friendly and accepting, varied enough that even us oddballs don't stand out and I'm quite comfortable with them, even though I'm the oldest by 1-2 decades. Hearing is starting to be a problem, but isn't too unworkable yet.

Babi · « **Reply #995 on:** February 13, 2011, 08:12:36 AM »

I'm glad you're enjoying your group, PAT, and I do hope your hearing
will stay with you for a good while yet.

Steph · « **Reply #996 on:** February 18, 2011, 09:13:17 AM »

Found a series by Mercy Lackey, that I love. Elemental Masters. I read the fourth one just now and have been trying to pick up the first three.. Excellent division of magic, psychic, masters,,, Interesting, but then she writes very well indeed.

Babi · « **Reply #997 on:** February 19, 2011, 08:43:59 AM »

Is this an old series, STEPH? I don't even know for sure if Lackey is still writing. Or still alive,
for that matter. It seems to me I started reading her books a very long time ago.

Steph · « **Reply #998 on:** February 19, 2011, 09:40:32 AM »

Hmm. you are right about Mercy, but I honestly dont know. I think that some of the books are quite new. Science fiction and fantasy writers tend to write for a long long time.

PatH · « **Reply #999 on:** February 19, 2011, 06:49:26 PM »

According to the Fantastic Fiction website, Mercedes Lackey (born 1950, a mere youth) is alive and well, and book 7 of Elemental Masters, Unnatural Issue, is due to come out in June. Good. We need all the good writers we can get.

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Author Topic: Science Fiction / Fantasy (Read 359904 times)