A few of us decided to start a book club for genre fiction (science fiction/fantasy). And while we were discussing, we thought we'd record it. The podcast is called The Book Club on the Edge of Forever. This month was Neuromancer: https://bookclubontheedgeofforever.podbean.com/e/neuromancer/
This months selections?
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (9 points) - Her name is Binti, and she
is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza
University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But
to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to
travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or
respect her customs.
Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is
willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks
to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become
the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and
Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.
If
Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will
need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the
University, itself ― but first she has to make it there, alive. 96
pages. 2.5 hour audiobook
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (13 points) - Considered by some to be quintessential epic fantasy, Robert Jordan took the fantasy genre that was created by Tolkien and elevated it even further.
In this first book of a 16 part series, a group of villagers must identify who is the Dragon Reborn, a hero that will come to save and destroy the world. It is 782 pages long and I will eat a copy of it if this gets chosen, one page at a time. It has also been subjected to a dramatization by Amazon and is currently being watched by millions.
The First Nova I See Tonight by Jason Kilgore (13 points) - Space jockey Dirken Nova and his cyborg companion, Yiorgos, are hired for an "easy money" job transporting a mysterious safebox between planets. It would be enough for them to finally afford their own starship again. But the gig goes sideways when galactic pirates attack. A merciless pirate captain, a tentacled mafioso, an enigmatic cult, and a femme fatale alien lover all want the package for themselves. Who's a smuggler to trust?
This space opera is a return to the beloved "zap gun" stories of the past -- a fun, exciting, and sometimes erotic romp across the galaxy! 249 pages.
Neuromancer by William Gibson's (23 points) - Gibson's 1984 novel that really kicked cyberpunk into the mainstream. It's a story about a hacker, stripped of his abilities, who agrees to take on a new job for the chance to cure the damage that keeps him out of cyberspace. It won the Nebula and the Hugo the year it came out, and I loved it when I read it, but with NFTs and the Metaverse in the news I'm curious about how it holds up and what it's like to read it almost 40 years later. 270 pages. I don't remember there being anything especially objectionable in it.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (17 points) - 208 pages. Two agents in a time war start a correspondence. Big Piranesi vibes. I picked it up in my quest for substantive stories about time wars. It was disappointing on that front, but a good read.
As always, the points are the end result of ranked voting from all 5 of our members.
I wasn't sure why I wasn't compelled by Bindi. I don't remember who I voted for this one. It seems pretty stock. It clearly pitches me the idea--maybe just an idea--in the blurb; culture and education. I mean, yeah, IDIC. It seemed to confidently tell me what it was about and it wasn't novel enough. If I realized how short it was, it got a solid bump up the ranks.
Oh wow, the first book in an epic fantasy series. I get that following series and authors are a way of guaranteeing quality in the face of Sturgeon's Law. On the other hand fuck epic fantasy series. If you're going to write one hundred thousand books about your fantasy world without sexy elf twinks, you could at least make each book more digestible than a dictionary.
If was writing an epic fantasy series, I wouldn't use the Encyclopedia Britannica as a template.
This is How You Lose the Time War was my suggestion. I realize my description is short, but it came in second. All I have to say about it is that it's short and good.
Our final runner-up (last loser?) is First Nova I See Tonight, a high adventure sci-fi adventure that styles itself a callback like Captain Proton, but played straight. However simple Binti's idea was, it had an idea. First Nova doesn't seem like it's got that, even. I guess there's nothing wrong with a wiz-bang adventure. It's better than another bloody epic fantasy series.
Another Bloody Epic Fantasy Series? ABEFS? I'll workshop it.
Finally Neuromancer.
Yes.
Yes, I would like to read a science-fiction classic.
This isn't even close, guys.
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