Jun

21

A Princess of Mars

Posted by : atcampbell | On : June 21, 2011

Category: Uncategorized

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The North Reading Group met on June 21st to discuss A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Nine members attended and 8 had read it.  The story was serialized in All-Story magazine, starting in 1912, as “Under the Moons of Mars,” by “Norman Bean.”  The stories were collected and A Princess of Mars was published in 1917.  One member commented that she ”could see how it was pretty hot stuff in the old days,” and “Beats the hell out of Little Women and all that stuff!”  Another said that this was from the golden age of SF and he had “strong memories of reading the whole pile.”  He owned first editions.

Other comments were generally complimentary, qualified by the time since it was written- that the protagonist, John Carter, was a fun adventurer; Burroughs was a

Continue Reading

Apr

04

Leviathan

Posted by : atcampbell | On : April 4, 2011

Category: Uncategorized

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

The reading group met at the North Village Library on Steck on Monday, April 4, to discuss Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan. Fourteen people attended. Thirteen started the book, and nine finished reading it. Two people had read this author’s work before. Seven people intended to read the next book in the series. Many said that they would have enjoyed it in their adolescence also  (the targeted age group).

Everyone seemed to enjoy the book on some level. Many added the phrase

Continue Reading

Jan

18

Gulliver’s Travels

Posted by : atcampbell | On : January 18, 2011

Category: Uncategorized

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

The North Reading Group met at the Milwood Library on January 18th to discuss Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. This is his most famous work and has been published in myriad editions since its first release in 1726.  Eleven members attended the meeting, and six editions of the book were represented.  All had started the book, and all but one had finished it. Only nine had read Swift before, but those who had read him had invariably read some version of Gulliver’s Travels.

Opinions varied wildly, with one reader calling it one of her favorite books

Continue Reading

Nov

16

The Shadow Year

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 16, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford

This meeting at the Milwood Library drew seven attendees. Our topic was Jeffrey Ford’s The Shadow Year, a recent winner of the World Fantasy Award. This book follows a group of kids in 1960s Long Island growing up in a neighborhood where strange things are happening. Two of us had read Ford before. All of us started the book, and six finished it.

We liked the book’s strong narrative voice and evocative description of Long Island in the LBJ era. People in the group who remembered that time enjoyed Ford’s

Continue Reading

Nov

01

Implied Spaces

Posted by : atcampbell | On : November 1, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams

Twelve people attended this discussion at the North Village Library, and another submited comments by email. Our topic was Implied Spaces by Walter Jon Williams, one of our most frequently discussed authors. This story explores big ideas including immortality, the creation of pocket universes, and the search for the existence of higher intelligence. Nine of us had read Williams before. Nine of us started the book, and eight of us finished it.

The book is a series of episodes of the meanderings of a bored, rich, immortal guy. The book starts out with long passage that seems like something out of a

Continue Reading

Oct

19

The Long Run

Posted by : atcampbell | On : October 19, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

The Long Run by Daniel Keys Moran

Fourteen people met at the Milwood Library to discuss The Long Run by Daniel Keys Moran. This novel is a futuristic adventure story with elements of cyberpunk. It was published in 1989 and has long been out of print, but we were able to read it because the author recently released a free electronic version of the book. Four of us had read Moran before. Eleven of us started the book, and nine of us finished it. Five of us read the original 1989 paperback version of the book, four read it eletronically, and two printed it out and read the hardcopy.

Many of us enjoyed the book as a fast-paced adventure story. Trent, the cocky

Continue Reading

Oct

04

The Windup Girl

Posted by : atcampbell | On : October 4, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

Nine people attended this discussion at the North Village Library. Our topic was The Windup Girl, the first novel by Paolo Bacigalupi. This novel had recently won the Hugo and Nebula awards, and its author had just been announced as the Guest of Honor for ArmadilloCon in 2011. The book is a near-future story set in a world where fossil fuels are running out and calories are the new currency. Biotechnology has enabled the creation of entirely new species including artificial humanoids who are essentially slaves. Four of us had read the author’s short fiction before. All of us started The Windup Girl, and five finished it.

One reader felt that the author “knocked it out the the park” with this

Continue Reading

Sep

21

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Posted by : atcampbell | On : September 21, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin

The North Reading Group met at the Milwood Library on September 21st to discuss The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N. K. (Nora Keita) Jemisin (Orbit Books, 2010). This was her first novel, #1 of The Inheritance trilogy. The second, The Broken Kingdoms, is due out in November.  The three books are to be related, sequential, but separate stories. She has written several short stories, one of which, “Non-Zero Probabilities,” was nominated for the 2009 Nebula and Hugo awards.  Ten members attended the meeting, and one called in comments.  All had started the book, and all but one finished it.

Comments were mixed. There was some discussion of a “white room” feeling;

Continue Reading

Aug

02

Bitter Angels

Posted by : atcampbell | On : August 2, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

Bitter Angels by C. L. Anderson

On August 2nd, the North Reading Group met at the North Village Branch of the Austin Public Library, located at 2505 Steck Ave, to discuss Bitter Angels.   The author is Sarah Zettel, writing under the name C. L. Anderson.  It won the 2010 Phillip K. Dick award, given for a distinguished SF work issued originally in paperback form in the U.S.  Twelve members attended.  Nine had read Zettel before (this is her first book written as C. L. Anderson).  Eight started the book and six finished it.  Apparently the nom-de-plume was selected because the story was a departure from Zettel’s themes over the past several years and her recent books hadn’t sold well enough.

The central theme is how in a multi-planet colonial empire peace might be

Continue Reading

Jul

20

Anathem

Posted by : atcampbell | On : July 20, 2010

Category: Uncategorized

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

On July 20, the North Reading Group met at the Milwood branch of the Austin Public Library, 12500 Amherst Dr., Austin, TX 78727, to discuss Neal Stephenson’s Anathem. The book was published in 2008 (William Morrow) and a movie-like “trailer” is available on the web.  Eight people attended, and two who were unable to attend sent comments by email.  Nine had read Stephenson before.  All 10 started the 960-page book and 7 finished it.

This book exhibits a remarkable range of pacing.  At the beginning it moves at a glacial pace, in keeping with cloistered life in the “Math.”  Many Maths with various

Continue Reading