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#classiclsfbc
review
RamsFan1963
The Zero Stone | Andre Norton
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Bailedbailed

Sadly, my first DNF for 2025 is also #ClassicLSFBC selection for February. I tried to get into it, but it just wasn't for me. I've read and enjoyed several of Andre Norton's novels & short stories, but this one I'll have to bail on.

Aims42 You did amazing for making it to the end of February before bailing on a book 👏👏👏 #HailtheBail 🚀 2d
49 likes1 comment
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Ruthiella
The Zero Stone | Andre Norton
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A couple of questions for any who have finished this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick.

If anyone would like to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know.

🐈‍⬛ Eet had more personality than the humans (“just so”) in the book. What did you think of Eet as a character and his relationship with Murdoc?

CatLass007 I have gone as far as buying a paperback copy of the book. This is the cover. But since I find it very difficult to focus on print books and reading print causes eye strain, I haven‘t even started it yet. I must say the cat on the cover is a winner. 4d
Ruthiella @CatLass007 Yes, the cat on the cover is adorable. 😻 Does your library have access to Hoopla? That‘s how I listened to it. Also, Eet as described isn‘t as cute physically as a cat, but it definitely has a cat like personality…arrogance! 😹 (edited) 4d
CatLass007 My library offers both LIBBY and HOOPLA. But just as every library has different content inside the building, every library offers different content through the apps. I‘ve never considered my cat to be arrogant. They‘re just my little love bugs. They do have some issues with one another, but arrogance isn‘t one of them, it‘s all about who‘s the top cat. A hierarchy is very cat like. 4d
swynn I like Eet. Norton loves her cats and her cat-creatures, and I think that affection shines through. 2d
Ruthiella @swynn I didn‘t know but I suspected the author was a cat lover based on Eet‘s portrayal. 😸 I liked also how Murdoc begrudgingly trusted Eet and recognized Eet‘s superior instincts. (edited) 2d
52 likes5 comments
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Ruthiella
The Zero Stone | Andre Norton
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A couple of questions for any who have finished this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick.

If anyone would like to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know.

🐈‍⬛ This was full-on adventure SciFi with little to no underlying meaning or hidden agenda. I could totally see it published in a pulp serial of the past. Did you enjoy the plot?

The_Literary_Jedi This story lost me and I was really thinking I‘d love it. For me, it wasn‘t engaging enough and that is from my own need to be fully immersed. Norton had some good description but the pacing felt off for me. I ended up DNFing the book after 25% 5d
Ruthiella @The_Literary_Jedi I listened to part of it on audio which I think helped me tackle it. I agree about the pacing. It‘s actually only half the story. We don‘t get any resolution about where the stone comes from and how it can be used. Presumably this is all in the second book, which I might read just to find out. 5d
kwmg40 Sorry, couldn't fit this one into my month's reading! 4d
See All 6 Comments
Ruthiella @kwmg40 No worries! Life happens! 😉 3d
swynn I did like it, and I'll read the next book, “Uncharted Stars“, in March. One thing that struck me this time is how much deception there is among the characters. Almost everyone is something other than what they seem, or has motivations other than their overt ones. It felt more paranoid than on previous readings, which I found interesting. 2d
Ruthiella @swynn Interesting about the paranoia. I see what you mean. It‘s hard to know who to trust, if anyone. I‘ll probably also read the second book since it‘s readily available at my library. 2d
45 likes6 comments
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RamsFan1963
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Here are the choices for March's #ClassicLSFBC selection:
A Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke
The Weapon Shops of Isher - A.E. van Vogt
The Eyes of Heisenberg - Frank Herbert
It's a very unusual and wide ranging selection. Voting is open from today until Sunday, to give people more time to chose. I'll announce the choice on Monday 03/03. As always, the book with the second most votes will be April's choice

45 likes7 comments
review
swynn
The Zero Stone | Andre Norton
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Pickpick

(1968) This is one of my favorite Nortons, so I was happy to read it again for #classiclsfbc . For me, this hits a sweet spot of straightforward adventure with some of Norton's favorite tropes but without her sometimes-excessively mannered prose style. Others in the group were underwhelmed, which is (sigh) but also fine: I've bounced off more than a few Nortons too, and what's a sweet spot for me won't be for others. Looking forward to next month!

review
rwmg
The Zero Stone | Andre Norton
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Panpan

Apprentice gemmologist Murdoc Jern's master is killed as a sacrifice. Can Murdoc escape from Koonga and find out why?

A strange mixture of fantasy faux-mediaeval tropes (apprentices, arcane rituals, quests, rings of power) set in a science fiction world of spaceships, rockets, spacesuits, interstellar travel, and aliens. There were too many threads left hanging and unexplained. They may be explained later, but I'm not sure I will bother.

30 likes2 comments
review
RamsFan1963
The Martian Chronicles | Ray Bradbury
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Pickpick

12/100 Its been a long time since I read this, back in high school, but I'd forgotten how sad this book is, how melancholy the whole world was, even in the lighter moments. Sometimes Bradbury leans too much into the poetic for my tastes, but his vision of a Mars that will never be, definitely stays with the reader when its finished. 3 ⭐⭐⭐💫 #ClassicLSFBC #Jumpstart2025 #Read2025

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rwmg
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When one January choice nods to another

@PuddleJumper
@RamsFan1963

#classiclsfbc
#queerbc

Ruthiella I love it when that happens! 1mo
20 likes1 comment
review
swynn
Martian Chronicles | Ray D Bradbury
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Pickpick

(1950) I read this repeatedly in Junior high and high school, but it's been maybe thirty years since my last visit. The stories have lost some charm: Bradbury's fondness for small-town life is a faith I no longer share. And the idea of colonists recreating mid-twentieth-century Midwestern life on Mars now feels more disturbing than nostalgic. But several stories still effectively evoke a mood for me, not bad for a book pushing 75. #classiclsfbc

RamsFan1963 I'm glad my copy contain Usher II, it was my favorite story. 1mo
swynn @RamsFan1963 Yes, that's a good one. “The Fire Balloons“ struck a chord with me this time, and I don't remember reading it before. Wikipedia says that is not in all editions, and some that have it don't have “Usher II“, so that may explain why I didn't remember it. Anyway, the copy I read this time has both stories, which is best. 1mo
26 likes2 comments
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Larkken
The Martian Chronicles | Ray Bradbury
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That moment when you realize you were not-so-patiently waiting for a hold on a book you already own🤪🤦‍♀️
At least this hold was only a couple weeks - last time, I had waited on hold for MONTHS. Lol anyway, am only now starting my reread for #classicLSFBC obviously...

Ruthiella Oopsie Whoopsie! 😂 1mo
dabbe Guilty of this as well! 🤩😂🤩 1mo
34 likes2 comments