Beyond Reality discussion

Please post your nominations for our July Books of the Month here!

So far we have:

Fantasy:

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Hollow Earth by Rudy Rucker
Majestrum A Tale Of Henghis Hapthorn by Matthew Hughes
Gloriana, Or The Unfulfill'd Queen by Michael Moorcock
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan


Science Fiction:

Lives of the Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis
The Speed of Darkby Elizabeth Moon
The Dazzle of Day by Molly Gloss
Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Triplanetary A Tale of Cosmic Adventure by E.E. "Doc" Smith
Mainspring by Jay Lake

Graceling by Kristin Cashore. It is currently sat on my bedside table. I bought it because it had a really good review in SFX and it sounded up my street

Amazon review

If you had the power to kill with your bare hands, what would you do with it?

Graceling takes readers inside the world of Katsa, a warrior-girl in her late teens with one blue eye and one green eye. This gives her haunting beauty, but also marks her as a Graceling. Gracelings are beings with special talents—swimming, storytelling, dancing. Katsa's Grace is considered more useful: her ability to fight (and kill, if she wanted to) is unequaled in the seven kingdoms. Forced to act as a henchman for a manipulative king, Katsa channels her guilt by forming a secret council of like-minded citizens who carry out secret missions to promote justice over cruelty and abuses of power.

Combining elements of fantasy and romance, Cashore skillfully portrays the confusion, discovery, and angst that smart, strong-willed girls experience as they creep toward adulthood. Katsa wrestles with questions of freedom, truth, and knowing when to rely on a friend for help. This is no small task for an angry girl who had eschewed friendships (with the exception of one cousin that she trusts) for her more ready skills of self-reliance, hunting, and fighting. Katsa also comes to know the real power of her Grace and the nature of Graces in general: they are not always what they appear to be.

Graceling is the first book in a series, and Kristin Cashore’s first work of fiction. It sets up a vivid world with engaging characters that readers will certainly look forward to following beyond the last chapter of this book. (Ages 14 and up) --Heidi Broadhead

My nominations are from my to-read pile. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to classify either; to someone who has a very firm definition of science fiction, I'd guess they'd both be fantasy. I tend to like books that blend or blur fantasy with science, so it's all the same to me. :)

The Lives of Monster Dogs by Kirsten Bakis

From Amazon: "A postmodern Mary Shelley, taking the parable of Frankenstein's monster several giant steps farther, might have written this fable of a novel about a tragic race of monster dogs--in this case, genetically and biomechanically engineered dogs (of several major breeds). Created by a German mad scientist in the 19th century, the monster dogs possess human intelligence, speak human language, have prosthetic humanlike hands and walk upright on hind legs. The dogs' descendants arrive in New York City in the year 2008, still acting like Victorian-era aristocrats. Most important, the monster dogs suffer humanlike frailties and, ultimately, real suffering more serious and affecting than the subject matter might at first glance suggest."

The Hollow Earth by Rudy Rucker

From Amazon: "In 1836, Mason Algiers Reynolds leaves his family's Virginia farm with his father's slave, a dog, and a mule. Branded a murderer, he finds sanctuary with his hero, Edgar Allan Poe, and together they embark on an extraordinary expedition to the South Pole, and the entrance to the Hollow Earth. It is there, at the center of the world, where strange physics, strange people, and stranger creatures abound, that their bizarre adventures truly begin."

Since Betsy mentioned books that blur fantasy with science, I'm going to re-nominate a book I nominated a few months ago back in the Yahoo group: Majestrum A Tale Of Henghis Hapthorn by Matthew Hughes. It's an odd duck: a science fiction book set in the far far future (think Jack Vance Dying Earth far future), in which the cycle is swinging back from science to magic. The book is structured as a detective story in the Sherlock Holmes vein, with Henghis Hapthorn, the hero, dealing with some early manifestations of the cycle change, including the fact that his PDA/computer has morphed into a familiar. It's a funny, fast-paced fantasy-SF-detective blend I really enjoyed, by an author who is showing real promise for the future.

I'm nominating this one as fantasy (although you could argue for it being SF too). I'll keep my SF nomination in reserve for now, depending on what strikes my interest later.

For Fantasy, I'd like to nominate The Red Wyvern by Katharine Kerr.

For SF, I'd like to nominate The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon.

The Red Wyvern is part of a long (wonderful) series, not sure it's a standalone, since you'd miss some background info and character developments.

Oh. It says it's Dragon Mage, Book 1, so I assumed it was the first of a series. Is it a spinoff of another series or something?

Oh that's true, I can see how you'd think that! It's not a spin off, but part of a long series that begins with Daggerspell. The series is divided into different 3-book sequences, and while new characters and problems occur in each trilogy, many are part of the whole series.

I've read a few of the series that starts with Daggerspell. I was kind of hoping it was a new series, even though I really liked the other one. Oh well, strike that nomination, I guess.

I'd like to nominate two books from my TBR list:

Fantasy: Gloriana, Or The Unfulfill'd Queen,
Michael Moorcock

SF: The Dazzle of Day,Molly Gloss

I just noticed that The Dazzle of Day is not available new from Amazon.co.uk but is from Amazon.com. Is it still eligible?

Hi Diane,

We actually had a discussion about which books should be eligible in the Yahoo group right before we moved over. I'm going to post it here, in a different thread, so we can discuss it and make a decision.

Stefan

I just added my science fiction nomination to the list: Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg. It's a classic piece of SF that was just re-released by Tor in a nice trade paperback edition, so it should be easy to find both for book buyers and library goers :) I have never read it, but I've been told by many people it's one of the best SF novels they ever read, and one of those books SF fans recommend to people who usually don't like SF.

The completely list of nominations for July is at the top of this thread. We'll take nominations until the 20th and then set up the polls to start voting, so if you want to add your own nominations, please do so before the 20th.

What are the May & June books?
What were the runners up?

Jim wrote: "What are the May & June books?
What were the runners up?"

Jim,

The May books are The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks for fantasy, and Earth Abides by George R. Stewart for SF.

The June books are City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer for fantasy, and The Braided World by Kay Kenyon.

You can always find this information on the group home page: next to "currently reading" there's a box titled "Upcoming" where you can see the next few Books of the Month.

By the way, these books were nominated and voted on before we moved from Yahoo to GoodReads a few weeks ago, so the closed polls are on Yahoo. From now on, you'll be able to see the winners and runners-up in our polls here on GoodReads, and we'll always announce the winners in a separate message.

Stefan

Thanks. I did glance at the home page. Must have done so too fast. I was looking for a topic, for some reason.

I nominate for science fiction: "Consider Phlebas" (#1 of The Culture Series) by Iain M. Banks. I haven't read it yet and I've heard good things about it, so here it is. I checked (even though I don't have to anymore) and it is available new at amazon and amazon.uk.


For fantasy, I nominate "Assassin's Apprentice" by Robin Hobb. It's also currently in print at both amazons. "Assassin's Apprentice" is #1 of a completed trilogy of books (The Farseer trilogy).

Stefan wrote: "I just added my science fiction nomination to the list: Dying Inside by [a:Robert Silverbe..."

Oh awesome! I've been wanting to read that and I could never find a copy.

SF Nomination
I was reorganizing my library last week and I came across a great classic book that I have wanted to nominate before, but never did. I'd like to nominate Triplanetary by E.E. Doc Smith as the July SF selection

Amazon.com Review
This is the first of E. E. "Doc" Smith's six Lensman books, and although it isn't as fast-paced as later Lensman novels, it sets the stage for what is perhaps the greatest space-opera saga ever told. Through a series of vignettes spanning millions of years, readers will learn how the titanic struggle between the good Arisians and the evil Eddorians first came to pass, and about how humanity was chosen (and bred) to assume the awesome power of the lens. A short foreword by science fiction scholar John Clute puts the entire series into perspective.

For science fiction I would like to nominate Mainspring by Jay Lake. It's in print, in small paperback, and there is just one sequel. The blurb quotes Cory Doctorow: "This book blends the best of nostalgic adventure fiction with a genuinely fresh voice and ideas. An instant steampunk classic." Oh, and Lake won the 2004 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Fantasy Nomination
I just purchased up "Steel Remains" by Richard Morgan. I'm really looking forward to reading it! here's a bit about it.


"An epic tale of gods and magic, betrayal and survival ... The Steel Remains will not disappoint. Morgan writes with an immediacy and frankness often hard to come by in fantasy, and his themes have great relevance to today's society. His portrayals of sex and violence are not for the squeamish reader, and his language is down-to-earth, but for those who prefer to have the sugar coating removed , THE STEEL REMAINS is a fantastic example of the modern fantasy genre." WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY "After five science-fiction novels that explored the seamier side of corporate machinations in grittily realised futures, Morgan turns his hand to classic fantasy. What remains constant is his flair for setting, complex political feuding, and strong characters forever on the outskirts of society. Ringil's character and his complex relations with those around him lift this novel far above the average." -- Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN "Morgan has taken traditional sword and sorcery tropes and given them a hard, contemporary kick. The antithesis of the cosy fairytale, this is one for big boys." -- Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES "It compels you to read on with its gritty, visceral writing and intelligent plot. It's tense and fascinatingly people and given that the follow ups will doubtless be tremendous, you're encouraged to jump on from the start. Just, ahem, steel yourself." -- Dave Bradley SFX "Richard Morgan's first foray into fantasy territory is, without a doubt, a grand success. Great characters in a great story are what drives all good books, and you get that here, with acres of bloody space for your imagination to gambol and play in. This is far, far better than any other fantasy you'll pick up this year." -- Guy Haley DEATHRAY.

I've been wanting to read The Steel Remains for quite a while. Morgan is terrific.

Here's a helpful hint for GoodReads newbies (and those who have been around a while and didn't notice): If you click the link at the top of the comment box that says "add book/author", it's really easy to insert a link to the GoodReads page for the book you're talking about. It's really, really helpful in nomination threads so you don't have to summarize the synopsis. See Stefan's first post to see how it works.

I would love to re-read Steel Remains - one of my faves from the past year!

On STEEL REAMAINS: "His portrayals of sex and violence are not for the squeamish reader, and his language is down-to-earth, but for those who prefer to have the sugar coating removed , THE STEEL REMAINS is a fantastic example of the modern fantasy genre." I agree with this review of Morgan's works in general. And .... as a "squemish reader" I prefer the "sugar coating". George R. R. Martin has shown in his Fire and Ice series that a story can be adult without obsessively wallowing in the details of violence. I read ALTERED CARBON a few years ago. I couldn't get past the gruesomeness in ALTERED CARBON to enjoy the story, so Richard Morgan is on my do-not-read list ..... at least, until I read a review that states that Morgan is trying something "new and different" by backing away from the violence that has overwhelmed his stories in the past.

Last call for nominations! I will set up the polls around this time tomorrow. You can see the list of the nominations we received so far in the very first post of this thread.