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Achaean Book Club May: The Last Unicorn
Welcome to the third month of the Achaean Book Club! We had a tie for what book to read this month, so obviously my vote was the tiebreaker because I'm running this, dwi.
The book for this month is The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. As usual, Goodreads has a variety of places to buy it from in both physical and ebook form.
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
Ombria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillip
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
The book for this month is The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. As usual, Goodreads has a variety of places to buy it from in both physical and ebook form.
Thread Rules:
- Book club #2 will run from May 1st to May 31st.
- Discuss
as much as you want a soon as you want, but use spoiler tags for
anything that contains, well, spoilers! If spoilers are specific to a
chapter/location in the book, note that outside the spoiler itself.
- While
this thread is active, we'll be voting on next month's book. Feel free
to discuss that, too. The books this time are mostly the same as last
time + 1
to replace the winner.
Starting questions for discussion (but feel free to discuss whatever comes to mind, or post quotes you like, or ask questions if you're lost).
- One of the major themes of the book is the question of what is real and what isn't. How is reality defined and perceived in the novel?
- The story is set up in a classical fairy tale structure, but how closely does it model fairy tales? How does it deviate?
- How does the fantasy of the story serve to comment on our actual real world?
- What themes do unicorns usually portray, and how many of those apply to this story? In what way? Does the unicorn in this story differ in any way from the classical myth?
- What are the basic themes of the book you're picking up on, and how do you feel about them?
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill.
Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!
Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
Offred is a Handmaid in
the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his
wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures
instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must
lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her
pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other
Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can
remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her
husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she
had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that
is gone now...
Ombria in Shadow, Patricia A. McKillip
Ombria is a place heaped
with history -- and secrets. There is a buried city beneath it
inhabited by ghosts, accessible only through magical passages and
long-forgotten doorways. When the Prince of Ombria dies suddenly, his
wicked great-aunt Domina Pearl seizes power by becoming regent to the
prince's young son, Kyel. Minutes after the prince's death, Domina kicks
Lydea, the prince's longtime mistress, out into the streets to die. But
she is saved by a strange girl named Mag, a supposed waxling created by
a powerful sorceress who lives underneath the city. With the help of
Mag and the prince's bastard nephew, a strange, silver-eyed man obsessed
with drawing, Lydea tries to save Kyel and somehow defeat Domina.
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness
tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world
whose inhabitants can choose -and change - their gender. His goal is to
facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization.
But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of
the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo IshiguroEmbracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
As a child, Kathy – now
thirty-one years old – lived at Hailsham, a private school in the
scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the
outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that
their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society
they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past
behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her
life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.
And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.
A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.
And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.
A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.
Parable of the Sower, Octavia E. Butler
In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.
When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.
When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is fraught with danger. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.
A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
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Comments
Some years later, I spent $200 on a deluxe copy that was a replication of the original script which is incredibly different to what got published. I’m so excited to be reading through this again.
I've got some suggestions for this that I'll throw out sometime tomorrow, when I have the time to write a few sentences about them.
Lord of Light and/or Eye of Cat by Roger Zelazny (you could also potentially do Nine Princes in Amber to start the chronicles of amber but the other two are standalone and in my opinion better)
One I haven't read, but have heard raves about is The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu translated by Ken Liu
Dunn tells you, "I hate you."
(Party): You say, "Bad plan coming right up."
Another one is The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi. It's about a near-future America where prolonged drought has essentially destroyed American civilization in the west/midwest. The continual water worries down here in Texas always make me think of this book.
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajuniemi is another I'd consider. Weird, but good.
[ SnB PvP Guide | Link ]
The Quantum Thief was interesting. Some areas of weak writing but interesting story.
Not sure if anyone is into to science non-fiction writing but Mary Roach is hilarious. Her writing is anecdotal and research based and I am about to start reading this one (a bit morbid maybe) but i think it will be good. Just finished her book, "Packing for Mars"
Would suggest 100% if you haven't read it.