MobileRead May 2017 Book Club Nominations

[BenG]

Hmm. I've read everything nominated except for the two already thirded. I'll be back.

[WT Sharpe]

Kirinyaga sounds interesting. I'll give it a second.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Sigh. So far, nothing is exciting me in this list. And SF is one of my genres.

OK, I'll throw one up. A non-series book in the Liaden Universe. I nominate:

Balance of Trade by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

It's still part of the Liaden Universe and still has a place in it and that place is not at the front. So nominating a book in the middle of a series is not a good idea unless the book club has already read all the books that come before.

When someone says that a book in a series is standalone, it's not. It never is and never will be. I've fallen for that too many times. Never again. Sorry.

[BenG]

It's fine because the likelihood of me reading all 13 Liaden novels is virtually zero. I'd rather read the best.

[JSWolf]

I'll nominate The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi.

Our universe is ruled by physics. Faster than light travel is impossible—until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field available at certain points in space-time, which can take us to other planets around other stars.

Riding The Flow, humanity spreads to innumerable other worlds. Earth is forgotten. A new empire arises, the Interdependency, based on the doctrine that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war—and, for the empire’s rulers, a system of control.

The Flow is eternal—but it’s not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well. In rare cases, entire worlds have been cut off from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that the entire Flow is moving, possibly separating all human worlds from one another forever, three individuals—a scientist, a starship captain, and the emperox of the Interdependency—must race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.

334 pages

Overdrive: https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=t...lapsing+empire

[BenG]

Of course you mean The Corroding Empire by Johan Kalsi.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's still part of the Liaden Universe and still has a place in it and that place is not at the front. So nominating a book in the middle of a series is not a good idea unless the book club has already read all the books that come before.

When someone says that a book in a series is standalone, it's not. It never is and never will be. I've fallen for that too many times. Never again. Sorry.

Oh, Jon, Jon! Five years on and the memory is evergreen, at least for me.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm going to nominate Remember When By Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb. It is available as an eBook in the US, UK, AU and CA.

#17.6 in the In Death series! I've never fully recovered from the shock.

Kidding aside, there's no reason not to let the voting resolve any issues, if issues there be. Don't vote for it if you don't want to read it. I'm going to have a tough time this month since SF isn't my genre, to put it mildly. I'm more likely to read something with real people in a recognizable world than I am the type of book with little green men with antennae.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Kirinyaga sounds interesting. I'll give it a second.

It does sound interesting, but I'm suffering from sticker shock, unfortunately.

I will second Roadside Picnic. It's short and OverDrive has it.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by issybird

I will second Roadside Picnic. It's short and OverDrive has it.

And it's very good, I read it a few years ago when it was nominated previously.

I will third it.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Oh, Jon, Jon! Five years on and the memory is evergreen, at least for me.

Before I was paying attention, but I do appreciate the reference. And, for the record, The Liaden Universe(r) is NOT a series, but a universe in which many stories take place. This is a standalone story and requires no prior knowledge of anything else in the Universe. Really. Try it. You might like it.

Originally Posted by issybird

Kidding aside, there's no reason not to let the voting resolve any issues, if issues there be. Don't vote for it if you don't want to read it. I'm going to have a tough time this month since SF isn't my genre, to put it mildly. I'm more likely to read something with real people in a recognizable world than I am the type of book with little green men with antennae.

I promise - no little green men. Not even any Clutch Turtles in this one.

This book is about people dealing with the interface between clashing cultures and how those cultural differences lead to potentially serious misunderstandings and expectations. It explores the ways that one goes about bridging that gap, and has the expected bumps and challenges. Oh, and FWIW, it's a good read, or I certainly found it so.

Originally Posted by BenG

It's fine because the likelihood of me reading all 13 Liaden novels is virtually zero. I'd rather read the best.

Oh, dear, you ARE behind the times. Novel #20 will release in a couple of weeks. Is this the best in the Universe? Arguable ad nauseam. It is, however, an entry point and can certainly be read stand-alone, which is the primary reason I nominated it. A discussion of which books to read first, and/or in what order after, is probably best done in the Liaden Fans Help Me Out thread, so come on by and we'll chat about it.

[WT Sharpe]

Second The Collapsing Empire.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by BenG

Of course you mean The Corroding Empire by Johan Kalsi.

I would never read that book.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm going to have a tough time this month since SF isn't my genre, to put it mildly. I'm more likely to read something with real people in a recognizable world than I am the type of book with little green men with antennae.

In Times Like These has real people, in a familiar world, they just happen to time travel. I read it last year, it was fun, but nothing that would put it on my list of books worth a second read.

[Luffy]

I'm seconding Consider Phlebas.

[obs20]

I'll also second The Collapsing Empire.