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JohnT
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Capitalist
Mar 1999
time: 00:29
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For having nominated August's book, The Man in the High Castle, Ajbera has selected the following theme for Septembers book:
Superhuman Abilities.
I.E., teleportation, psychic abilities, way above-average strength/intelligence, etc. For examples, he cited "The Demolished Man", "More than Human", and a George RR Martin novel whose name escapes me at this instance.
My nomination needs no introduction: Dune, by Frank Herbert.
Ajbera nominated Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human via email/PM.
He also asked if graphic novels were allowed. My inclination is to say "no", as part of my desire here is to keep the cost of these works to a minimum for all participants... meaning that I don't want anybody to shell out more than the cost of a new mass-market paperback as so to read the book. Since GN's can go above $20*, they kind of price themselves out of contention.
Discussion?
*Yes, I know you can buy them used. But the availability of a used book is quite uncertain, and used bookstores are dependent more upon the whims of the local market than new bookstores.
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loinburger
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Sweet Sauce Jones
Jul 1999
time: 00:29
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The Worthing Saga by Card. Deals with (extreme) telepathy, mind control, telekinetics, etc., and many of the societal benefits/problems that these could entail.
Edit: Here's a review from Amazon.com. Doesn't really contain any spoilers -- everything explicitly mentioned happens within the first chapter. Note that the review is not entirely accurate -- the book is kind of a collection of short stories, but not in the typical sense, since all of the stories use (approximately) the same characters and have the same central theme.
quote:
In the Worthing Saga, Card uses his gift of story-telling to weave a sort of exteneded fable, with a moral so distinctly and beautifully writ, that the reader cannot help but feel edified by it. In the beginning the character, Lared, and his family suffer what is called the "Day of Pain": on one day three people die and sorrow is felt the planetwide as never before. The next morning, Lared is milking his cows when he spots two people walking across the water to him: Jason and Justice.
My favorite part of Worthing Saga is Card's characters. He makes them very real, so that their suffering and their victories are palpable for me. Worthing Saga does not conform to any preplot of commercial fiction. In fact, many of the conflicts in the book that would in most books aspire to centrality instead fade to the side to allow room for the lofty moral, and the reader's own questioning. Like a Herman Hesse book, Card allows the reader to search for answers before they are given. [possible spoiler removed] Rather than creating some kind of Odyssean Hero, as most Science Fiction does, he pushes each hero aside one by one, till at the end the reader is left not with a kind of dear alter-ego he wishes he could be, but with a general feeling of affection towards the characters and a clear understanding of Card's message.
Card's greatest gift lends itself to meditative short-stories, and Worting Saga, a cluster of such stories, is one of his greatest works. |
Last edited by loinburger on 25-07-2003 at 20:17
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ajbera
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of the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium
Apr 1999
time: 05:29
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I brought up graphic novels because I would've happily nominated Alan Moore's Watchmen.
The George R. R. Martin book I mentioned was actually a shared-universe series of which he was the editor and contributor, the Wild Card series. It posits an alien meta-virus that is unleashed on NY in 1946 that kills most, horribly mutates others, and a small percentage acquire extraordinary abilities (all psionic based), including flight, teke, super-strength, invulnerability, etc. Basically, a shared universe with superheroes (and villains). A whole lotta fun.
However, both Watchmen and the Wild Card books are... excessive? I don't know if that's the appropriate term for what I'm trying to express. Perhaps it's the seriousness with which topics are examined that separates Watchmen and the Wild Card books from things like Dune or More Than Human, but I don't know if that's true, either. Watchmen is certainly serious...
So, in addition to book nominations, please give your opinions as to whether certain types of books are inappropriate for the purposes of these discussions, even though they may be SF and fit the given theme. For example, my theme (Superhuman Abilities) was strongly influenced by what I'm reading (Wild Cards) and playing (Freedom Force) currently. Given this theme, I would nominate More Than Human far more readily than Wild Cards, because the former seems like a more serious attempt to tackle the subject than the latter.. but am I wrong? Am I off-base here? Your opinions, please...
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TCO
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Richmond, VA
Jan 1970
time: 00:29
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WALDO AND MAGIC INCORPORATED - Heinlien
THE SANTAROGA BARRIER - Herbert
Last edited by TCO on 21-07-2003 at 03:22
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Cruddy
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Can't recall entering the Sci-Fi Discussion before - but "The Galactic Millieu" series by Julian May has to be up there for superhuman abilities.
So, if my nomination is allowed, I'd say The Many Colored Land by Julian May.
EDIT: Oh dear, a short review. Well, there's this tiny writeup from Amazon...
When a one-way time tunnel to Earth's distant past, specifically six million B.C., was discovered by folks on the Galactic Milieu, every misfit for light-years around hurried to pass through it. Each sought his own brand of happiness. But none could have guessed what awaited them. Not even in a million years....
And this more substantial chunk from SFReview.
As fresh and original as any book in the field, The Many-Colored Land, the deservedly acclaimed first novel in a series of series, takes readers on an amazing journey from the distant future to the distant past, using unexpected routes all along the way. In The Saga of Pliocene Exile, the human race has been discovered by benevolent aliens who have invited us to join a galaxy-spanning federation of sorts known as the Galactic Milieu, offering us interstellar travel, countless worlds for the colonizing, and the ability for certain gifted humans to discover and develop various "metapsychic" skills. The catch is, of course, that we must adhere to the strict, more or less socialist rules and agenda of the Milieu itself, which, while pretty much completely benevolent, still don't encourage anyone to be much of a free spirit.
Hopefully non-readers will have an idea what the book is about.
Last edited by Cruddy on 25-07-2003 at 02:20
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ajbera
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of the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium
Apr 1999
time: 05:29
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quote:
Originally posted by SlowwHand
If you've not read The Green Mile, I would highly recommend.
If you've seen the movie, or not, I'd highly recommend.
By Stephen King. |
Excellent book, and the movie sure did it justice. However, I think this may be considered fantasy rather than SF, as no scientific rationale is ever presented for Coffey's abilities (in fact they are (IIRC) attributed to God).
So, I don't think this would qualify for the SF book discussion, but it should be read by everyone anyway 'cause it's terrific.
BTW, are we limiting candidates to the (specifically) SF genre, or are fantasy books and loosely-SF books allowed?
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st_swithin
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10069
Nov 2002
time: 05:29
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J. Strazcinski's (sp.?) 'Rising Stars'
Sheesh, next thing you know you'll be a grammar and spelling nazi too.
:P
Last edited by st_swithin on 21-07-2003 at 12:21
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Mordoch
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Denver, Colorado
Jan 2002
time: 05:29
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I'm nominating Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. The book deals with a future in which telepaths are common and regulary employeed by corperations. One fairly unique aspect of the book is its focus on what telepathic communication would really be like. (Its not another book were telepathy is just like ordinary conversation.)
The premise of the book is that in a world where premediated murder is believed to be impossible since telepaths would detect that man's thought before he commits the crime, one man sets out to prove this wrong. Ben Reich is a ordinary non-telepathic human who attempts to carefully plan a murder and get away with it. The book features many aspects of a detective novel and some very creative methods employed by Ben Reich to commit his crime.
Fans of JMS and the TV Show Babylon 5 will find it interesting to note how heavily he borrows from the book in creating the PSI Corps and telepaths in the B5 universe, and just why he chose to name the prominent telepath in the show Alfred Bester. The book won the first Hugo award ever given in 1953 and remains a sci-fi classic today. The story remains a fast paced exciting read with inovative ways of exploring the possibilities presented by telepathy.
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JohnT
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Capitalist
Mar 1999
time: 00:29
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Ajbera asked: quote:
are we limiting candidates to the (specifically) SF genre, or are fantasy books and loosely-SF books allowed? |
I used to have a rather long introductory post that opened up each nomination thread, but I haven't put it up in a couple of months. Let me reintroduce it:
quote:
This club doesn't have many rules, but what there are pretty much involve nominations and voting:
1. You must have read the book you are nominating.
2. Please nominate only 1 book, as to allow others' selections to be listed. If you nominate more than one, the first one listed will be chosen as your nomination. To change nominations, edit your original post.
3. The books must be science fiction and must be properly "themed" (see the next rule).
4. The person who nominated the winning book gets to pick the "theme" of the next month's nominations.
It would also be appreciated if you could link to a good description (Amazon, sfsite.com, whatever) of the book. Try to make sure that your book is currently published or widely available.
On the 15th (or so)*, I will post a thread listing the nominations with a multiple-choice poll which will allow you to select up to three (3) books. The poll will be timed to end at the end of the month, and the winner will be the book we read for June. If there is a tie, I make the decision as to which book to read. |
We have discussed a number of books that are have been seriously challenged as to whether they are exactly "science fiction" (Handmaids Tale, Man in the High Castle (as well as the attendant "is alternate history 'science fiction?' " debate)), some I've allowed, some I haven't. If you could make a case for it being SF, it'll probably be allowed. This club considers alternate history to be SF, btw.
OTOH, I don't care much for fantasy and it, therefore, is not really within the purview of this group - but if someone decided on the theme "classic fantasy", I'll probably allow it just for variety's sake. (hint)
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molly bloom
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Lundenwic
Oct 2001
time: 15:29
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'Gypsies' by Robert Charles Wilson- what if you could dream a better reality- or better yet, dream of it and find it?
'As unfortunate as it may be, books by Robert Charles Wilson are hard to come by. However, keep your eyes peeled, they're more than worth the trouble. This is the story of a small number of people with the ability to move in directions other than the traditional up-down, left-right, foward-backword motif. They are able to slip right out of this world into another. Oddly enough, each of the characters has the gift to move into very different worlds. The question: why? Why to they have this power? Why is the world each one moves to so different? And, ultimately, why is their man in grey hunting them down?
This story goes far beyond it's plot to deal confront issues of far more importance than magic powers: family, love, creativity and, most of all, the power of the imagination.
A must read. '
Review courtesy of www.amazon.com
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St Leo
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Member of the Apolyton Social Democratic Party
Jul 2005
time: 00:29
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I'd like to nominate The Science of Discworld. The genre it's closest to is popular science non-fiction, but it has elements of science fiction, alternate history, fantasy all rolled into one.
When a wizardly experiment goes adrift, the wizards of Unseen University find themselves with a pocket universe on their hands: Roundworld, where neither magic nor common sense seems to stand a chance against logic. The Universe, of course, is our own. And Roundworld is Earth. As the wizards watch their accidental creation grow, we follow the story of our universe from the primal singularity of the Big Bang to the Internet and beyond. Through this original Terry Pratchett story (with intervening chapters from Cohen and Stewart) we discover how puny and insignificant individual lives are against a cosmic backdrop of creation and disaster. Yet, paradoxically, we see how the richness of a universe based on rules, has led to a complex world and at least one species that tried to get a grip of what was going on...
I don't know what else to nominate. I have Stranger in a Strange Land, but I don't really want to read that again right now.
How about Neverwhere?
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chegitz guevara
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL Communist Party of Apolyton
Jun 2000
time: 00:29
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Edgar Rice Buroughs, A Princess of Mars. 
quote:
Amazon.com
Although Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) is justifiably famous as the creator of Tarzan of the Apes, that uprooted Englishman was not his only popular hero. Burroughs's first sale (in 1912) was A Princess of Mars, opening the floodgates to one of the must successful--and prolific--literary careers in history. This is a wonderful scientific romance that perhaps can be best described as early science fiction melded with an epic dose of romantic adventure. A Princess of Mars is the first adventure of John Carter, a Civil War veteran who unexpectedly find himself transplanted to the planet Mars. Yet this red planet is far more than a dusty, barren place; it's a fantasy world populated with giant green barbarians, beautiful maidens in distress, and weird flora and monstrous fauna the likes of which could only exist in the author's boundless imagination. Sheer escapism of the tallest order, the Martian novels are perfect entertainment for those who find Tarzan's fantastic adventures aren't, well, fantastic enough. Although this novel can stand alone, there are a total of 11 volumes in this classic series of otherworldly, swashbuckling adventure. |
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Koyaanisqatsi
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of Maine paupers.
May 1999
time: 00:29
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Nancy Kress - Beggars in Spain (First of a three book series)
quote:
Many of us wish we could get by with less sleep. Beggars in Spain extrapolates that wish into a future where some people need no sleep at all. Nancy Kress, an award-winning author of novels, short stories, and columns on writing, has created another thoughtful but dramatic statement on social issues.
Leisha Camden was genetically modified at birth to require no sleep, and her normal twin Alice is the control. Problems and envy between the sisters mirror those in the larger world, as society struggles to adjust to a growing pool of people who not only have 30 percent more time to work and study than normal humans, but are also highly intelligent and in perfect health. The Sleepless gradually outgrow their welcome on Earth, and their children escape to an orbiting space station to set up their own society. But Leisha and a few others remain behind, preaching acceptance for all humans, Sleepless and Sleeper alike. With the conspiracy and revenge that unwinds, the world needs a little preaching on tolerance. |
One of my favorite books and series of all time...gets into a lot of technological, social, and psychological issues...and I think it's a pretty fun read.
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Lonestar
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AECCP Dark Lord of the Sith
Aug 2000
time: 00:29
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Shadow of the Hagemon
Orson Scott Card.
Orson Scott Card finally explores what happened on earth after the war with the Buggers in the sixth book of his Ender series, Shadow of the Hegemon. This novel is the continuation of the story of Bean, which began with Ender's Shadow, a parallel novel to Card's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game.
While Ender heads off to a faraway planet, Bean and the other brilliant children who helped Ender save the earth from alien invaders have become war heroes and have finally been sent home to live with their parents. While the children try to fit back in with the family and friends they haven't known for nearly a decade, someone's worried about their safety. Peter Wiggins, Ender's brother, has foreseen that the talented children are in danger of being killed or kidnapped. His fears are quickly realized, and only Bean manages to escape. Bean knows he must save the others and protect humanity from a new evil that has arisen, an evil from his past. But just as he played second to Ender during the Bugger war, Bean must again step into the shadow of another, the one who will be Hegemon.
In Shadow of the Hegemon, Card can't help but fall back into old patterns. But while the theme is the same as in previous books--brilliant, tragic children with the fate of the human race resting on their shoulders--Shadow of the Hegemon does a wonderful job of continuing Bean's tale against a backdrop of the politics and intrigue of a fragile earth. While the novel is accessible, new readers to the series would be wise to begin with Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. --Kathie Huddleston --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Mordoch
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Denver, Colorado
Jan 2002
time: 05:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonestar
Shadow of the Hagemon
Orson Scott Card.
....While the novel is accessible, new readers to the series would be wise to begin with Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. |
I really have to question the suitability of this novel for a sci-fi book club. I'd say that you would really need to have Ender's Shadow to get a good idea of what's really going on in the book, although you probably could get by with having just read Ender's game. (I've personally read both Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow, so I know what I'm talking about here. Having to read two book for the monthly book club would really impose a significant burden on some people and is something generally avoided with book clubs. While its probably possible to read Shadow of the Hagemon by itself, the reader would be a real disadvantage in the book club discussion where invariably references would be made to the other two books.
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Rex Little
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Does the book have to be a novel? If not, I'd like to nominate Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, by Spider Robinson. It's a connected series of short stories, all based in Callahan's Place, a fictional bar somewhere on Long Island. Virtually every story deals with a customer with some sort of special ability: a super-powerful alien android, a vampire, a talking dog. . .
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Jon Miller
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lord of light and amber are good (zelanzy), as is wave with shore (cherryh)
I will go with the cherryh one
wave without shore
Jon Miller
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ajbera
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of the Cookieville Minimum Security Orphanarium
Apr 1999
time: 05:29
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Although I nominated Ted Sturgeon's More Than Human, I didn't provide any info.
From the back cover:
quote:
There's Lone, the simpleton who can hear other people's thoughts and make a man blow his brains out just by looking at him. There's Janie, who moves things without touching them, and there are the teleporting twins, who can travel ten feet or ten miles. There's Baby, who invented an antigravity engine while still in the cradle, and Gerry, who has everything it takes to run the world except for a conscience. Separately, they are talented freaks. Together they compose a single organism that may represent the next step in evolution, and the final chapter in the history of the human race. |
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Jon Miller
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description of wave without shore
Description: Freedom is a planet rarely visited by commercial spacers. Outsiders claim the streets are crowded with aliens and mysterious characters in blue robes. Humans say it's not so--no blue robes; no aliens. Herrin the artist and Waden the autocrat face a crisis of planetary identity: the question of reality and the reality of the question.
Jon Miller
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Jon Miller
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reviews
An interesting depiction of personal philosophy realized, April 8, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Los Angeles, CA
In an unusual plot for a science fiction genre, Cherryh portrays two friends who combat their philosophies through their creativity. One through political manipulation and the other through artistic endeavor. The depth of character development centers around the artist and his genius. In his effort to create an ever-more transcending sculpture, he discovers that interpersonal relationships (through the device of a minority class race) are in an arena he has totally missed, as has the rest of his society. I enjoyed this book, and have become more interested in stories like it since reading it. My only problem with the book is that its too short - not much of any aspect of the story is explored outside of the artist and his progression. Also, his realizations are only quickly described, leaving the reader with a lot to imagine on their own.
A worthy work exploring humanity on an alligorical level., October 27, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from Florida, USA
This short novel was my first experience with the writing of C.J. Cherryh. It explores modern philosophy in a realm that allows readers to look at and consider how we feel, what we think, who we allow to lead. It's not your regular science fiction story, but considering that I have a library of Cherryh's works after reading this (and an Amazon associate page devoted to this author) you can tell that I was impressed. It is well worth reading
Jon Miller
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Mordoch
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Denver, Colorado
Jan 2002
time: 05:29
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quote:
Originally posted by Jon Miller
description of wave without shore
Description: Freedom is a planet rarely visited by commercial spacers. Outsiders claim the streets are crowded with aliens and mysterious characters in blue robes. Humans say it's not so--no blue robes; no aliens. Herrin the artist and Waden the autocrat face a crisis of planetary identity: the question of reality and the reality of the question.
Jon Miller |
I'd have to disagree with this selection as I've read the book and didn't like it, although I liked other books by her better.
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Jon Miller
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I think she rocks
and it is a bit different
Jon Miller
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JohnT
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Capitalist
Mar 1999
time: 00:29
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Had no idea so many replies! 
Current Nominations:
Dune by Frank Herbert, nominated by JohnT.
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon, nominated by Ajbera.
Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, nominated by Wraith*.
The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card, nominated by Loinburger.
The Green Mile** by Stephen King, nominated by Slowwhand.
Waldo and Magic Incorporated by Robert Heinlein, nominated by TCO***
The Many Colored Land by Julian May, nominated by Cruddy.
Rising Stars by James M. Straczynski, nominated by St Swithen.
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester, nominated by Mordoch.
Gypsies by Robert Charles Wilson, nominated by molly bloom.
The Science of Discworld by Terry Pratchett, nominated by St Leo.
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Buroughs, nominated by chegitz guevara.
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress, nominated by dv8ed.
Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson, nominated by Rex Little.
Wave with Shore, by Cherryh, nominated by jon miller.
  Great list of books, gentlemen!
Lonestar, I can't allow a novel that requires people to read two other books to fully comprehend. Thanks for your understanding.
[moderator hat on]
When nominating books from or about series', make sure that the books are self-contained, that one can read the book cold and have a good grasp of what is going on and feel like the story came to a conclusion. For example, I haven't read any of the Discworld series - will I be able to understand "The Science of Discworld" w/o having read the original novels?
[moderators hat off]
*Wraith, is this a novel, graphic novel, what?
**... and no, it technically isn't science fiction... but what the hell - it's a worthy series of novellas.
*** TCO, do you have a description? I also took the first book listed.
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20-07-2003 21:40
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