SF Signal posted these questions yesterday, and I’m amazingly on the ball here, giving my answers just one day later. Go me.
The last sf/f/h book I read and liked was:
Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. I don’t read a lot of Fantasy, but since I’ve already exhausted all of Bujold’s SF, I figured I’d try out some of her Fantasy books rather than suffer through withdrawal pains. It turns out that these Chalion books are really good, too. This is the second in the series, but it’s only loosely connected to the first, and the main character here was a bit player in the first book (but she’s an excellent protagonist). It’s an interesting book, because it’s mostly talking and religion, with light action interspersed throughout. Anywho, I really loved it, and will probably be reading the third book in the near future…
The last sf/f/h book I read and wasn’t crazy about was:
The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey. A book about a sentient spaceship that wasn’t all that bad, but which never really connected with me. Something about the episodic nature of the plot bothered me as well.
The sf/f/h book I am reading now is:
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu. I only just started this one this morning, one of a few 2013 books I planned on reading in support of my Hugo run this year… So far, so good!
The sf/f/h book(s) I most want to read next is/are:
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. I’ve put off reading Banks’ Culture series long enough, I think.
An underrated sf/f/h book is:
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I have no real sense of what is underrated or overrated out there, but this is a book that seems to consistently be left out of “best of” lists and such (for example: the NPR list)
An overrated sf/f/h book is:
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. It’s a fine book, to be sure, and I get why everyone loves it, but I never really got into it.
The last sf/f/h book that was recommended to me was:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I’m usually turned off by dystopian futures, but a friend recommended this and yes, she was right. It’s a fun book.
A sf/f/h book I recommended to someone else was:
Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy came up in a discussion about the new movies (incidentally, wouldn’t it be awesome if they made movies out of Zahn’s books? Alas, I think the most we could expect would be a Thrawn cameo or somesuch.)
A sf/f/h book I have re-read is:
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I’ve probably only reread about 4 or 5 books in my life, but I’ve read Cryptonomicon three times, which is impressive since it’s a 900 page face melter. Or something.
A sf/f/h book I want to re-read is:
Almost anything by Lois McMaster Bujold (I’m curious to reread the beginning of the Vorkosigan series again) and Neal Stephenson (in particular, I’d like to dip into The Baroque Cycle again, though that’s obviously a daunting task considering the 2700 page length!)
I’ve read Consider Phlebas, and liked it, but felt that Banks has better books out there. Matter and The Algebraist were two by him I loved.
I loved The Sparrow, read on your recommendation years ago. I consider it a top five novel. I’m conflicted about the sequel, as it offers closure to the story, but in doing so, detracts from the stark central spiritual conflict in The Sparrow. Children of God also doesn’t feel truly vital to the Sparrow story arc.
I’ve tried to reread Cryptonomicon, but never been able to recapture the magic of my first reading. Same with the Baroque Cycle.
I’ve definitely heard about better Banks books, but wanted to start at the beginning of the series…
Each time I read Cryptonomicon, I found myself mostly identifying with a different main character (Lawrence, then Bobby, then Randy) But I’m a total sucker for that book!