SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

The mods are already hard at work figuring out challenges, prompts and new fun things for 2023. And we want to hear from you! What subgenres (ex. dark academia, myth retellings, space opera, first contact) or themes (i.e. books about certain topics or including certain content/tropes) are most appealing to you?

Make sure to support each other's ideas if you agree it's interesting, ones with wide appeal are likely to get more attention from mods!

Here are a few places to look for inspiration:

Give us your themes!
former themes

I want:

Both genres - books from authors outside the US, Canada and UK
Fantasy - Ghost stories
Scifi - Social science

Allison wrote: "Both genres - books from authors outside the US, Canada and UK"

I also want this. In addition:

Both genres: Translated works

urban fantasy w/o it being paranormal romance
golden oldies in both genres
alternative history

I don’t know whether this would ever be possible, but I would love to have at least one month in which all of the nominees are short story collections (as opposed to anthologies, so the stories would all be written by the same author.)

Anthony wrote: "I would love to have at least one month in which all of the nominees are short story collections"

Last time we gave people the option to do this no one used it! :D

edit: I'm referring to the super old You Tell Us January mod theme, where people could have nominated/seconded short fiction.

I'm very much for the authors outside US/UK and translation as well.

and as always ^^' I'd love natural science themes in SF like

- ecological SF
- evolutionary SF
- terraforming SF
- SF concentrating on exo-botany or exo-zoology

for Fantasy: "literary" Fantasy (if this is a thing? I was thinking about Piranesi)

me gustarian libros de misterio o triller. también enemies to lovers

just saw Anthony's comment: yes, short story collection works be great.

Enemies to lovers mystery/thriller SFF added to the list! XD

Diana, in both genres or fantasy?

Echoing sentiments of authors outside the US/UK.

Gabi mentioned literary fantasy and I’d love to see that along with Literary SciFi (I’ll get McConaghy on the shelf someday 😂).

Seconding ghost fantasy also!

I’ll have to think on my own themes.

CBR, wouldn’t mind urban fantasy without the paranormal smut.

Military fantasy
Military sci-fi

Especially the kind that have character buddies.

Yes to books from authors outside the US, GB, and Canada for both genres. And to translated works. I also like Gabi’s list of SF themes.

I also think it would be neat to read graphic novels for both genres.

Sarah wrote: "Literary SciFi"

Yes please :)

Anthony wrote: "I don’t know whether this would ever be possible, but I would love to have at least one month in which all of the nominees are short story collections (as opposed to anthologies, so the stories wou..."

This could be refreshing.

Anna wrote: "....Both genres: Translated works"

Also, this.

I like the suggestion for golden oldies, esp. more Simak.
Also post-apocalyptic rebuilding - the optimism and stumbling blocks, more Station Eleven than Mad Max.
Also first contact.
Also generation ships.
Also warm, or hopepunk, or whatever AI. Like I, Robot, and Murderbot, and Today I Am Carey.

Btw, these are all SF. I can't think of anything Fantasy that I like except maybe very light? But nobody else wants Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms sort of stuff, so nevermind.

Also, I really want, in general, less intensity, less dark & heavy, less [I]mportant books, and fewer books that need content warnings.

And I would try to participate in short story single author collections for sure. Or even themed anthologies. But I'm not optimistic about how many active members really want them.

Cheryl wrote: "fewer books that need content warnings"

This can be difficult unless everyone has read the book they're nominating :/

Cheryl wrote: "post-apocalyptic rebuilding
first contact
generation ships
warm, or hopepunk"

+1 to all of these

Gabi wrote: "natural science themes in SF"

+ 10 (I can add ten, right?)

Are we allowed to throw in more than one suggestion?

I love the idea of ghost stories too.

Also Steam Punk!

And I love mysteries so some sort of sci-fi or fantasy mystery mash up would be great.

Michelle wrote: "Are we allowed to throw in more than one suggestion?"

Yep! :)

Oh good, because Cheryl's post made me wish for more cheerful books, too. So I thought I'd toss in comedic sci-fi and fantasy stories.

We want All The Ideas, all of them! ^_^

also if you can think of new ways to say "light" genre fiction... we usually have a comedy or optimistic book theme ever year and it's getting hard to find synonyms that are meaningful ^^'

Allison wrote: "also if you can think of new ways to say "light" genre fiction... we usually have a comedy or optimistic book theme ever year and it's getting hard to find synonyms that are meaningful ^^'"

Do you mean like fluff? Light, fun and doesn't take itself too seriously?

that's one to consider!

I'd like to read Sci-fi books containing aliens! Or just any other type of Sci-fi, I love them all. Alien sci-fi's are pretty cool though!

Allison wrote: "also if you can think of new ways to say "light" genre fiction... we usually have a comedy or optimistic book theme ever year and it's getting hard to find synonyms that are meaningful ^^'"

Ok, so, not too much bad stuff happens. There's a happy ending, or at least a reasonably happy one. It doesn't require a college education to understand the allusions, themes, touchpoints, or tech. The characters are mostly good people who try to make their 'world' a better place. There may be some humor. It won't give me nightmares. It's no more than about 400 pp.

It does have to be smart, of course. I just don't want it to be draining.

Allison wrote: ".. we usually have a comedy or optimistic book theme ever year '"

Hm. I'll have to check. I wonder if I missed some, not realizing that I might actually like something that looked too Grim to me.

I have one more: anthropological SF

i understand what light means, I'm just looking for things we can call it in polls

Gabi wrote: "anthropological SF"

+1

How about "the book actually makes me laugh out loud" as the theme. Some light SFF isn't hilarious per se.

I also recommend a science-fantasy month. All the mod books and nominated books are stories that aren't clearly of one genre or the other.

Melanie wrote: "I also recommend a science-fantasy month. All the mod books and nominated books are stories that aren't clearly of one genre or the other."

We did this a while ago, when Jo Walton won! I liked it, and I personally would like to see more benders, so:

+1

Allison wrote: "i understand what light means, I'm just looking for things we can call it in polls"

Blithe, cheery, bright, gentle, mild, easy-going, light-hearted, playful, carefree, sunny, buoyant, untroubled, breezy, loose...?

(Leppoisa)

Oh, linguistics as a theme.

Have any of the previous poll themes excited you? If so, which?

Jemppu wrote: "Oh, linguistics as a theme."

+1 (even tho we did it recently)

I tried organising my shelf with subgenres as tags and it kinda helped. The tags I went with were as follows:

(view spoiler)[
Advanced Intelligence
Aliens/First Contact
Alternate History
Alternative Earth
Apocalyptic
Aquatic
Artificial Intelligence
Climate Fiction
Clones
Colony World
Cyber punk
Dystopia
Far Future
Forgotten Past
Future History
Generation Ship
Historical SFF
Matriarchal
Meta SciFi
Military Scifi
Near Future
Other Person in my Brain
Pan Humanism
Pandemic
Parallel Worlds
Pocket Universe
Post Apocalyptic
Post Scarcity
Post Singularity
Pseudo Scifi
Rejuvenation
Retellings
Space Adventure (exploring the unknown)
Space Opera
Superhuman
Terraforming
Time loop
Time travel (non linear)
Uplift
Utopia
(hide spoiler)]

If you think I'm missing any please say what they are. And of course, tell me which ones you like the most!

I'm very bad with fantasy subgenres so some help there would be appreciated. Not by me because I don't like Fantasy but someone will xp

oh post scarcity is one I'd like too

The historical and military are my favorites from your list.

Allison wrote: "i understand what light means, I'm just looking for things we can call it in polls"

"beach reads"?

Michelle wrote: "The historical and military are my favorites from your list."

Just realised that I don't think enough about this subgenre when picking books for the mod polls. Sorry!

I'm going to shut up now as I'm worried about what my influence will have on people's contributions.

NOVELLAS!!!!!


Also plus one science fantasy

Oh yes, books written by authors who are neither American nor British, PLEASE.

I'm also in favour of books with a happier, more light-hearted tone.

So many good ideas! I am also in favor of translated books / books by non-British or American authors, as well as science-fantasy.

I also vote for hopepunk / more positive sci/fi, and also novellas (and/or collections of short stories by a single author).

My voice for novellas as well!