Fantasy Book Club – October 2013: The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan

Our theme for October was Dark Fantasy and our members voted to read The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan. I’ve heard good things about this one and am looking forward to lively discussions on it.

A dark lord will rise. Such is the prophecy that dogs Ringil Eskiath—Gil, for short—a washed-up mercenary and onetime war hero whose cynicism is surpassed only by the speed of his sword. Gil is estranged from his aristocratic family, but when his mother enlists his help in freeing a cousin sold into slavery, Gil sets out to track her down. But it soon becomes apparent that more is at stake than the fate of one young woman. Grim sorceries are awakening in the land. Some speak in whispers of the return of the Aldrain, a race of widely feared, cruel yet beautiful demons. Now Gil and two old comrades are all that stand in the way of a prophecy whose fulfillment will drown an entire world in blood. But with heroes like these, the cure is likely to be worse than the disease.

Buy on Amazon US
Buy on Amazon UK

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Discussion breakpoints:

Week 1: Chapters 1 – 8
Week 2: Chapters 9 – 17
Week 3: Chapters 18 – 25
Week 4: Finished

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WANT TO JOIN IN?

If you would like to join us you can visit our forums and add your name to the list here. Want to know how our Book Club works first? Read on!

CHOOSING A BOOK

All books are nominated and voted on by our members. Each month we will have a theme or subgenre for the nominations. Anyone can nominate a book and everyone can vote. In November we will be reading The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams. Check back soon to help pick a book for December when our theme will be 2013 Award Nominees.

SUGGESTING A THEME/SUBGENRE FOR UPCOMING MONTHS

We want to make sure to put out themes/genres that people are interested in and cover a wide selection of books. We are happy to get suggestions and ideas for upcoming months. If you have something you would like to see us do in the future, please share it here.

SPOILER FREE DISCUSSION

Fantasy Book Club begins on the 1st of every month. Once a book is started, we discuss it in a way that will not spoil the story. We limit how much you can discuss and when, and break it down by week.

Week 1 – You may only discuss the first 1/4 of the book
Week 2 – You may only discuss the first 1/2 of the book
Week 3 – You may only discuss the first 3/4 of the book
Week 4 – Anything goes

We are going to go based on page count. So for example, if a book has 500 pages then week one you can discuss up to page 125 and then week two 250 and so on. Each week will have a separate thread, so as not to spoil the story for people who fall behind or come in late.

WHAT IF YOU WANT TO READ FASTER THAN THAT?

Not a problem at all. You are more than welcome to read ahead, but when discussing things just remember to post in the appropriate thread. And if you’re not sure when something happened you can always use the spoiler tag to hide your post.

Should you not want any spoilers or discussion during the reading process, then just come after the end of week three and start discussing the book once you have finished. (This is how most book clubs operate anyway.)

We would love for you to join us! You can sign up for this month’s book club here or visit our book club section to see all our past selections here.

WANT REMINDERS?

Follow @FFBookClub on Twitter for reminders when book club starts nominations, voting and discussions.

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