A very tentative schedule for Fridays in 2018

[james_davis_nicoll]

Actual planning: it's what's for breakfast

Comments

[cgbookcat1]

For the Bujold, it's important to read Cryoburn before Gentleman Jole.

[james_davis_nicoll]

I could drop Diplomatic Immunity.

[alexxkay]

I disagree. The one follows the other in the continuity, yes, but in no way *depends* upon it.

IMO, Cryoburn is the most miss-able book of the sequence. Cromulent adventure, but no actual character development. (Unless you count the last 500 or so words, which I don't. That's a completely separate short story.)

[elsue]

Agreed. Did NOT like Cryoburn, except for the last page plus the drabbles, which were wonderful. No loss if you skip it. I liked Diplomatic Immunity quite a bit.

[kjn]

You are making the assumption that a review is most valuable when it's of a really good book. To me, a review is most valuable when it's of an interesting book, and flaws is one of the things that can make a book interesting from a literary and critical standpoint.

I also think that Borders of Infinity (the anthology) belong on the list. Perhaps drop the two starting Cordelia books instead?

(Nothing to say about Diana Wynne Jones, sorry.)

[alexxkay]

Borders of Infiniy is a very good book, but so (IMAO) are the Cordelia ones.

[iayork]

As a side note, thanks for your Waterloo Region series. It introduced me to some authors I'd not heard of, some of which I really enjoyed. Tolmie's Stone Boatmen in particular is excellent, and there were several other good pieces in there.

[sartorias]

Glad to see you get Adrian Tchaikovsky in there--I think he's way overlooked in the USA. (And great female choices)

[dsrtao]

Perhaps start with Children of Time, rather than the Apt series?

[james_davis_nicoll]

Here you are.

[dsrtao]

Thank you.

[elusis]

For Jones: Howl's Moving Castle, certainly (with or without its sequels?) Archer's Goon, Tough Guide to Fantasyland, A Tale of Time City, and what's the one basically set at a Con?

[alexxkay]

Deep Secret is the one at a con.

[sethsellis]

More Jones: Cart and Cwdder, The Spellcoats (two out of the Dalemark Quartet). The Time of the Ghost. I like Dogsbody more than other people, apparently—you can be the referee!

Of the Chrestomanci books, Witch Week is the most often referred to, for being kind of proto-Harry Potter (set at a magic school) but I prefer the Magicians of Caprona.

[cyphomandra]

For Jones, I think Homeward Bounders (for a different use of gaming in fantasy), Eight Days of Luke (for Norse mythology and toxic families) and Fire and Hemlock (which is just amazing), but it's very hard to pick. Archer's Goon, Witch Week, Power of Three and Time of the Ghost would be my next ones, but I'm aware that this leaves out Howl and really just touches on Chrestomanci.

[bolindbergh]

I was unable to finish Fire and Hemlock because of the searing pain inflicted by those misspelled letters.

Diana Wynne Jones

[kathmandu]

For the Jones books, I regard The Lives of Christopher Chance as essential to the Chrestomanci novels.

I liked The Magicians of Caprona a lot. It is a neatly-resolved story with a happy ending; I appreciate that kind of thing, although a lot of her fans seem to be in it for the wandering, nonlinear plotting which is opposite to my taste. It also strikes me as a repudiation of "Romeo and Juliet".