Virtual Speculation 2017 Picks
It's that time of year again, when I put out a list of 11 books to read and discuss over the upcoming months, and hopefully folks will join in. This year I have two Finnish authors (plus one Russian), a few SF/F classics, and two repeat authors from previous years.
On my own, I've previously read The Core of the Sun, Old Man's War, and Grass, though the last two I only vaguely remember. The vagueness of memory is honestly what prompts this re-read of Old Man's War, and I want to look at it this time with Starship Troopers in mind. I actually wanted to take a look at Sideshow by Tepper, but as it turns out to be the third book in the series started by Grass, and I barely remember anything about any of the three, I wanted to start in the beginning.
The other books were all chosen based on reviews specific to that book, or based on a desire to read something by that specific author. It would be a good year to reread The Handmaid's Tale, but with The Core of the Sun I decided to force myself to read something else by Atwood. Dead Boys by Squailia was a unique and enjoyable read, so I look forward to exploring his second book, Viscera.
I was going to include Dark Matter by Blake Crouch since all reviews of it sing praises (and I needed to read it for review anyway). But I started reading it and have been thoroughly unimpressed with it's supposed inventiveness. Not that Dark Matter is bad, but it doesn't hold much in the way of surprises for anyone familiar with your standard parallel/nested/alternative reality stories.
Reading List for 2017
February: Signal to Noise / Silvia Moreno-Garcia
March: This Alien Shore / C. S. Friedman
April: The Core of the Sun / Johanna Sinisalo
May: The Quantum Thief / Hannu Rajaniemi
June: The Blind Assassin / Margaret Atwood
July: Old Man's War / John Scalzi
August: A Canticle for Leibowitz / Walter M. Miller, Jr.
September: Dhalgren / Samuel R. Delany
October: Viscera / Gabriel Squailia
November: Grass / Sheri S. Tepper
December: We / Yevgeny Zamyatin
The master list for previous picks and their reviews can be found here.
On my own, I've previously read The Core of the Sun, Old Man's War, and Grass, though the last two I only vaguely remember. The vagueness of memory is honestly what prompts this re-read of Old Man's War, and I want to look at it this time with Starship Troopers in mind. I actually wanted to take a look at Sideshow by Tepper, but as it turns out to be the third book in the series started by Grass, and I barely remember anything about any of the three, I wanted to start in the beginning.
The other books were all chosen based on reviews specific to that book, or based on a desire to read something by that specific author. It would be a good year to reread The Handmaid's Tale, but with The Core of the Sun I decided to force myself to read something else by Atwood. Dead Boys by Squailia was a unique and enjoyable read, so I look forward to exploring his second book, Viscera.
I was going to include Dark Matter by Blake Crouch since all reviews of it sing praises (and I needed to read it for review anyway). But I started reading it and have been thoroughly unimpressed with it's supposed inventiveness. Not that Dark Matter is bad, but it doesn't hold much in the way of surprises for anyone familiar with your standard parallel/nested/alternative reality stories.
Reading List for 2017
February: Signal to Noise / Silvia Moreno-Garcia
March: This Alien Shore / C. S. Friedman
April: The Core of the Sun / Johanna Sinisalo
May: The Quantum Thief / Hannu Rajaniemi
June: The Blind Assassin / Margaret Atwood
July: Old Man's War / John Scalzi
August: A Canticle for Leibowitz / Walter M. Miller, Jr.
September: Dhalgren / Samuel R. Delany
October: Viscera / Gabriel Squailia
November: Grass / Sheri S. Tepper
December: We / Yevgeny Zamyatin
The master list for previous picks and their reviews can be found here.
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