SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

P.I. - If someone here doesn't come up with a title for you, there's a group on GR just for that. It's called What's the Name of That Book???.

Ah, thank you! Will check it out!
Carolyn wrote: "P.I. - If someone here doesn't come up with a title for you, there's a group on GR just for that. It's called What's the Name of That Book???.
"

I read your introduction Carmen and all I can say is I hope that you do manage to 'read until your eyeballs dry out'. I have a feeling that somehow this would be a good thing for us all. Good Luck to you wherever you are!

-Mark

I saw another post Carmen where a guy had a teaching assignment in Europe at a facility like that I think:

"Hi my name is CoolGuy and I live and work here in Germany, but I am from a country called America. I work here in Germany because I got a job from the government as part of the new Stimulated Program in American to get people more jobs so that things will better. So I work at a school here in Germany called the English School for Juvinile Delacates, and I teach French. I don’t speak Germany or French either, but we have books and taps for the students to see. The kids here are very smart and they are all Parolees, which I guess is a pretty high honor! The teachers here are all Stimulated like me, but they come and go pretty fast. The history teacher left last week after she fe;ll down the stairs and broke her legs.

Anyway Germany is very nice but nobody much speaks any English here, but some do. Girls don’t ever learn any English here, and many has been the time that I have said something in English to a pretty German girl always they just looked at me and walked off. So this can be lonely."

Sounds like a great job! lol

I've been commenting left and right so I guess I should make an introduction. My name is Libby and I'm a book junkie. I was a literature major in college and love Goodreads because it’s like being in a GIANT lit class. I simply love being able to discuss so many books and see other reader’s thoughts.

Fantasy is my favorite genre followed by Mystery & Suspense, then SciFi . I generally lean towards satire and also enjoy Young Adult literature. My #1 favorite author is Terry Pratchett who I don't believe has been mentioned yet in this thread. Terry Pratchett I think the man is simply genius. His wit is unmatched.

I also love Neil Gaiman and Jasper Fforde. I've read the works of Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind, and while I love Fantasy some of the sword play adventure novels are a bit too graphic for me. Of course, I adore the classics - Lewis and Tolkien. I'm a sucker for Arthurian tales and loved Marion Bradley's work in the Mists of Avalon books - superb female characters there. Finally, I also enjoy urban fantasy such as Charles deLint.

Best thing so far about Goodreads is finding new authors and new books! I have already found many great books I otherwise would not be aware of and/or purchase. I especially like that GR is a platform for authors who are not as well known to showcase their work. A prime example is The Crown Conspiracy. I would have completely missed this book if not for GR and I loved it. Can’t wait for the rest of the series and now I’m sharing my copy with others.

I'm really enjoying the chats since most of those commenting really know their books and truly share the love of literature.

Hi everyone, my name is Cara. I'm a Florida transplant living in Northern Michigan (seriously). I write fiction and I blog, mostly on SF/Fantasy/Horror topics. http://caraobrien.blogspot.com/

Goodreads is amazing, I've been trying to lure my friends into creating accounts for a while now. I love that I have so many people to discuss just about every book under the sun with. And I'm always looking for new book recommendations. Add me as a friend so I can follow what you're reading. :-)

Hi,

I am a first time author, that started dreaming about a story where the main character went on leaf collecting expeditions.

That's how it all started. And here I am bringing to you my first fiction novel: The Leaf.

I was born in Orocovis, Puerto Rico. Orocovis is a town in the central mountains of the island of Puerto Rico. I went to college in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where I completed my bachelor's in Computer Science.

Writing has become an interesting area of my life. I never expected to enjoy it so much. Most of my ideas come from dreams or are inspired by nature.

My greatest achievement is my family. I am a dreamer, a happy wife, and a proud mother. I currently live in Virginia with my husband and two children.

Warmly,

Jo-Ann M Rodriguez
http://www.joannmrodriguez.net

Hello all. Just got going on this site in the last couple of weeks.

I'm Greg from Ann Arbor, Michigan. I work for the well-known University here in town. My current work is in the area of copyright investigations.

My profile tells you how I got started reading fantasy and science fiction so I won't repeat it. But I've been a stronger reader since my late teens (short stories, novels, magazines) and few things in life give me greater pleasure than reading a well written piece of fiction.

This love of reading lead me to a Bachelor's degree in Literature and Language and thoughts of teaching that never got fully explored. I worked in the bookselling industry for awhile (Borders) before coming to the University to work.

Some of my favorite science fiction and fantasy writers would include: R. A. Salvatore, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury; Frank M. Robinson, Frederick Pohl, Stephen King, Joe Haldeman, Greg Bear, Allen Steele, and Neil Gaiman.

Cara wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Cara. I'm a Florida transplant living in Northern Michigan (seriously)."

Let me guess...you got sick of the nice weather and sandy beaches? :)

Hi! I'm Margaret,
I like to read and discuss and even debate a bit. I enjoy being the nay say-er and devils advocate. I'll read just about anything including the mad Russians. But I never feel obligated to like them. I like to write stories. I like to express myself. I like to try new things and try to perfect old things. I like precision. I like clever and brave. I like to rant and ramble. I also enjoy reading other peoples stories, poetry, ramblings and rants. I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with you all.

Hello I'm new to this group and to goodreads too. Joined awhile ago but never really used it much til now.

Not sure I want to say when I was born and where I grew up (and "all that david copperfield kind of crap") but I just wanted to say hi to everyone.

Always been a big reader, though nowadays I'm mostly I'm a "commuter reader". As a teenager I grew up on stephen king and horror but then got too scared so moved onto sci-fi, fantasy and cyber fiction (as well as other stuff). Went through asimov, neal stephenson and robert silverberg phases too.

I still like a bit of sci-fi fantasy but I find it very hard to find good stuff. I've made a lot of mistakes in this genre so am now looking for some good recommendations for books I can get my teeth stuck into. Hopefully I'll find some here!

39, born and raised in New Jersey- currently living in New Orleans. I teach History and Spanish for a local High School. Working on editing my novel (aren't we all?) and simply got tired of reading alone. Goodreads has been an amazing discovery, I will never read alone again. The site edges me on to continue reading more and more.

Hello, I'm new to this group, but I've enjoyed science fiction for a long time. I grew up with the original Star Trek and Star Wars and still consider Isaac Asimov's Foundation series some of the best I've read.
I am also a Goodreads author, haveing recently released a novel, ITP: Future Hope, a futuristic story which speculates onwhere science and technology may be taking us. Check it out at www.itpfuturehope.com David GelberITP Future Hope

I am new to Goodreads.
I absoletely adore to-read list feature and I just started to explore groups.
I love fantasy.
Tolkien, Hobb, Cook are my favourites.
I read Sci-fi occasionally and am planning to read a bit more very soon. (Altered Carbon, Takeshi Kovacs and Old Man's War)

Hi, I've been on Goodreads for a few months but just joined this group. Unlike many other people in this group I'm not a writer, I just read a lot...always have...in fact my Mom tells people that when I was born I was already reading a book. I used to read a lot of sf when I was younger and am just getting back into it now. I have always really liked Harlan Ellison, I think the 2 Dangerous Visions anthologies that he edited are the best sf anthologies ever. If you haven't read them you should check them out. I also liked the alternate term he came up with for sf...instead of science fiction he called it speculative fiction. Anyway, right now I'm reading The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner and think Goodreads is such a great site...I'm so glad I found it.

Jensownzoo wrote: "Cara wrote: "Hi everyone, my name is Cara. I'm a Florida transplant living in Northern Michigan (seriously)."

Let me guess...you got sick of the nice weather and sandy beaches? :)

"

Haha, more like I got sick of the insane amounts of crime and living through hurricanes (3 in 3 months will do that to you). But I definitely miss the sandy beaches and (mostly) nice weather. Especially after 5 solid months of snow here.

Erm - genius that I am, I realized that I posted in some of the Crown Conspiracy threads without ever introducing myself (mostly because I got confused and thought I was posting in the Fantasy group where I had introduced myself... )

So, um, hi!

I'm mostly a fantasy reader. I like some sci-fo movies and shows and things, but never really got around to reading a lot of it. I do like the sort of cross-overs, tho - science fantasy and Steampunk, which has some sci-fi elements to it, sort of... I guess I'm hoping to expand my horizons a little and, hopefully, come across some book-of-the-month suggestions in the sci-fi vein which catch my interest...

Um, other than that... I'm 30 years old, have a crappy desk job (where I am the resident 'freak and geek'), but, really I'm an actress, philosopher, occasional poet and minor movie buff... when I'm not busy being a lazy couch potato, anyway...

Hi, my name's Richard. I've been a member of this group for a few weeks now. I have made a suggestion or two, but as writing goes I am very much a consumer rather than a producer, and have so far failed to introduce myself. Sorry.

I'm from the UK and have been reading SF since I got hooked on Arthur C. Clarke's stories at the tender age of 11. I have read SF voraciously since then and my tastes have moved around a little, leaning more towards literary SF nowadays, but still love books stuffed full of ideas and a sense of wonder.
I haven't read much Fantasy but rate The Lord of the Rings as an all time classic. I've been previously disappointed by some rather derivative formulaic Sword and Sorcery, and I'm hoping that this group can set me straight and get me reading some quality Fantasy.

As a married man with two children under the age of three, I don't get an awful amount of time to read at home. That said, I am fortunate enough to be a pilot for a British Airline, which gives me time down route, wide awake struggling with the time differences in various cities around the world, to catch up on some reading. My work means that I can often be found in places like 'The Tattered Cover' bookstore in Denver, gently dozing over a new book.

I'm looking forward to discovering new books and authors, and sharing others different opinions and perspectives, through this erudite and interesting group.

Hi Richard -

Hard to know where your tastes fall, it's a pretty wide range between Arthur C. Clark and Lord of the Rings, but here's a general list of authors known for nonformulaic, excellent, accomplished fantasy:

Guy Gavriel Kay, mythic with a historic flavor, my favorite being The Lions of al-Rassan which was a cross cultural political intrigue.

Two series by C J Cherryh, mythic with a faery element, The Tree of Swords and Jewels, or with interesting magic and political intrigue, Fortress in the Eye of Time

If you like action that argues the philosophy of war, anything by David Gemmel

If you like hard, cutting edges, medieval like setting, and the brunt of self-serving corruption, try the series by George R R Martin.

If you like complexity, wildly unpredictable imagination that leans toward the grim and the desperate, and don't mind a bit of chaos till you find your footing, try Steven Erikson.

If you like victorian era styled fantasy, with great characterization, try
Martha Wells book, The Death of the Necromancer.

If you like victorian era literary style, try Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

If you like historical setting vampire hunts, the very best in my opinion is Barbara Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night.

For hard action and a Lot of testosterone and blood, as a SF/Fantasy crossover, try Matthew Stover.

For British fantasy, try Robert HoldstockRobert Holdstock, Mythago Wood.

None of these are going to mirror Tolkein.
If you define your taste more closely, perhaps I could refine the list, which is by no means as full as it might be.

My name is Kenjii and my reading is varied. I am more of a romance reader. What I have read of sci-fi/fantasy I have enjoyed very much. Esp Octavia Butler.

Born and raised in So. California has given me the chance to be around many different types of people, cultures and atmospheres. I will welcome any and all suggestions and recommendations. It seems my mind likes to come up with sci-fi and fantasy based characters to fill a world only I know exist (for now).

Janny wrote: "Hi Richard -

Hard to know where your tastes fall, it's a pretty wide range between Arthur C. Clark and Lord of the Rings, but here's a general list of authors..."

Janny,

Thank you for the reply, I was a bit sketchy about my tastes as I tend towards verbosity if I'm not careful.

To be a bit more forthcoming my SF all-time favourites at the moment include Cordwainer Smith's entire canon, Engine Summer by John Cowley, Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith, Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks and Bug Jack Barron amongst others by Norman Spinrad.
When I was younger I liked my SF to be of the hard variety, but as I've aged (mellowed?) I've been rather taken with the New Wave of the 70's onwards and some of the more sociological and psychological based stories, but the very cutting edge CyberPunk stuff can sometimes leave me feeling a little dazed and confused (just turned 40, too old maybe?).

As for Fantasy, I loved Patricia A. McKillip's Hed trilogy, and Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun series. I don't know if they count as Fantasy but Perdido Street Station by China Miéville left me awe-struck and everything I've read by Jeff Noon took my breath away.
Other books which I guess could be considered Fantasy that I count amongst my favourites are Pavane by Keith Roberts and On Wings of Song by Thomas M. Disch, both of which I found beautiful, lyrical and haunting.

I am truly grateful for your advice, especially from such an esteemed source. It looks like we might get the opportunity to read Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay next month, which would be an entirely new direction for me. I read Wave Without a Shore by C.J. Cherryh, which I'm afraid to say didn't leave much of an impression, but I gather this is not altogether representative of her work, so I shall not be discouraged and try your interesting recommendations. Steven Erikson sounds very intriguing and I can be patriotic and try out Robert Holdstock.

Thank you once again for all your time and effort, any recommendations and advice will always be sincerely taken to heart and immensely appreciated.

Pavane - ah, yes, beautiful and haunting book.

Dragon's Egg, by Robert L Forward - hard SF but with almost totally believable aliens. Very well written, as well. Try it. Even at the advanced age of 40 (I think I can remember what 40 was like) I'm sure you would enjoy that.

Richard wrote: "Janny wrote: "Hi Richard -

Hard to know where your tastes fall, it's a pretty wide range between Arthur C. Clark and Lord of the Rings, but here's a general list of authors..."

Janny,

Thank you..."

Patricia McKillip only gets better since that first trilogy.

I would strongly second what you've heard, that of everything C J Cherryh has written, Wave Without a Shore is not typical. She may not be to your taste, anyway - nonetheless, her work might be worth another look.

For caricature with cynical edges, you may try a look at Joe Abercrombie's series, starting with The Blade Itself.

In view of your very literate take, (I like Iain Banks, too) did you ever look at Clive Barker?

I like SF, too, by the way, and once painted a cover for a book club edition of Bug Jack Barron.

Paul wrote: "Dragon's Egg, by Robert L Forward - hard SF but with almost totally believable aliens. Very well written, as well. Try it...."

Paul,

Thank you for the spot on recommendation. I read Dragon's Egg a fair few years ago, and as a Physics with Astrophysics graduate (by the skin of my teeth), I found it fascinating and very enjoyable.

Glad that you liked Pavane, I've got The Furies and Kiteworld also by Keith Roberts on my much too long to-be-read list. Have you read either, and if so are they up to Pavane's high standard.

Cheers.

The Furies was good, as I recall (it has been a few decades). It was very good, and bits were very emotive, but it wasn't up to the standard of Pavane (but then, few books are). Don't know about Kiteworld.

Janny wrote: "Richard wrote: "Janny wrote: "Hi Richard - ..."

I have a very dog eared old copy of Weaveworld given to me years ago which I must dig out and read.

If you know of any link to your art work for Bug Jack Barron, I'd be very interested in a look.

All your help much appreciated, I think you might be responsible for opening up a whole new genre for me. Oh how my Wife will be pleased. I'll have to try to go to work more often so I can read even more.

Paul wrote: "The Furies was good, as I recall (it has been a few decades). It was very good, and bits were very emotive..."

Thanks Paul, I'll move The Furies up my to-be-read list.

By the way, I used to live in Bromsgrove and think Malvern is a beautiful place, lucky man.

Nice to meetcha... my name is Patrick Kilgallon and I am a Deaf author of a dystopia novel, gather the weeds, and if you want to know more about me, check my profile if you wish to.

Thank you for the time and oppournity to present my novel. Will occasionally dip into this now and then. I read most of Isaac Asimov robot novels and have a bit of a grudge against Will Smith for turning I Robot into action adventure. Patrick Kilgallon

Hi Richard, yes, Malvern is nice. But even after 30 odd years here, I still go home to Wales which is even nicer - bigger hills for a start. And the sea.

Hi all,

Just to introduce myself, i'm into fantasy and historical fiction and have been for about 15 years, fav authors include - DAVID GEMMELL, STEVEN ERIKSON, RAYMOND FIEST, BERNARD CORNWELL, CAROL BERG, JOE ABERCROMBIE amoung others.

@ Paul - I'm from Wales, in the Rhondda to be exact. You can't beat the sceanery!!!

Hi Nathan,

I'll forgive you for being a South Walian (just this once). Merioneth myself.

Iachi da!

Don't worry Paul the best thing about being from the south is that it's always a tiny bit warmer down here and we have two decent football teams, lol.

cheers

Ha! You got me there! Nothing much in Merioneth apart from hills, rivers, the sea and sheep ;)

Richard wrote: "Janny wrote: "Richard wrote: "Janny wrote: "Hi Richard - ..."

I have a very dog eared old copy of [b:Weaveworld|52640|Weaveworld (Voyager Classics)|Clive Barker|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/11..."

Cover painting for Bug Jack Barron -
My gosh, no, I never scanned it!
I can send you the image on a trading card if you want to provide a contact. It made a pretty strange painting! The book was not one for images - but the ideas crackled.

A wave to all the rest of you from that exotic countryside in Wales, Malvern, Merioneth, etc - quit that! I'm surely not the only one getting a dose of wanderlust. Some of those sites with the rivers, the hills, the sea, and the sheep are light sockets, for inspiration.

Yes. The sun setting beyond acres of forlorn estuarine mud; only the desolate piping of a late oyster-catcher to break the silence.

Must admit, I do love estuaries.

Richard wrote: "Hi, my name's Richard. I've been a member of this group for a few weeks now. I have made a suggestion or two, but as writing goes I am very much a consumer rather than a producer, and have so far f..."

Richard, I hope you will excuse a bit of self promotion if I suggest it might be worth you taking a look at my fantasy series, Shaihen Heritage. Not a quick or light read, but given your tastes it may appeal. You can download some sample chapters free from my website http://www.shehaios.co.uk and there are a number of reviews here on Good Reads and on Amazon (if you do want a copy, note that I am a UK author, so go to Amazon.co.uk not .com!)

Good Reads Fantasy Book CLub are reading Book 1 Cloak of Magic for discussion in May. Book 2 Staff of Power was published in January of this year and I'm currently working on Book 3.

Cara wrote: Haha, more like I got sick of the insane amounts of crime and living through hurricanes (3 in 3 months will do that to you). But I definitely miss the sandy beaches and (mostly) nice weather. Especially after 5 solid months of snow here.


Well, we've got insane amounts of crime and tornadoes here. I must say I'd rather have tornadoes than hurricanes...the swath of destruction isn't quite so wide. I like living in the middle of the country, though, despite the distinct lack of sandy beaches...we have four very distinct seasons here which I would miss terribly if I had to move north or south.

Richard wrote: "Thank you once again for all your time and effort, any recommendations and advice will always be sincerely taken to heart and immensely appreciated.
"

Richard, one thing I hope you'll do is try out the new authors of fantasy, many of whom, including me, are to be found here on GoodReads. I see so many people ask for lists and all the lists they get in reply read like Top 20 and have most of the same names. Janny's list has the most variety I can remember seeing in quite a while. Every time I see The Lightning Thief, I think of Holder of Lightning and wonder if anyone else has ever heard of it, much less read it.

My own work is not easy to categorize, Tanya Huff invented the label 'Epic Fable'. My main rule when writing it was 'If you've seen it done before, don't do it again.' While I am a big believer in self-promotion, I try to avoid the 'blatant' part.

Hi, A. Jarrell Hayes here. Hope everyone is well. I'm an '80s kid ('82 to be exact). I write fantasy fiction, mostly sword-and-sorcery. I have published the first two books of the "Good King Trilogy." Easiest way to describe the books is "Lord of the Rings with Black people." So, if you're looking for something new to read, something different and thought provoking, visit my website at http://www.ajhayes.com

My favorite fantasy authors are Terry Brooks and Fred Saberhagan. Lian Hearn is good, too. Oh, and I like Ed Greenwood and Sean Russell and ... (the list goes on).

That sounds absolute great! I'll have to check it out if I ever finish my WIP!
P.I.
A. Jarrell wrote: "Hi, A. Jarrell Hayes here. Hope everyone is well. I'm an '80s kid ('82 to be exact). I write fantasy fiction, mostly sword-and-sorcery. I have published the first two books of the "Good King Trilog..."

Marc wrote: "Richard wrote: "Thank you once again for all your time and effort, any recommendations and advice will always be sincerely taken to heart and immensely appreciated.
"

Richard, one thing I hope you..."

Jensownzoo wrote: "Cara wrote: Haha, more like I got sick of the insane amounts of crime and living through hurricanes (3 in 3 months will do that to you). But I definitely miss the sandy beaches and (mostly) nice we..."

Hi to everyone, and Cara--are you NUTS????? I lives in SW Michigan for 10 years and now live in Madison, WI area, and I wouldn't live any farther north than I have due to the snow factor... Man, there is nothing in the UP except for trees, deer, fishing, and the occasional Yooper. It's beautiful up there, yes, but I couldn't live there. More power to you. ;)

We have 4 seasons farther north than middle of the country, it's just that the winters are a bit longer than the rest of the seasons...

S.A. wrote: "Richard wrote: "Hi..."

Marc wrote: "Richard wrote: "Thank you..."

Thanks for the help and suggestions guys. I have been amazed by the time and thought that everyone has put into my request for some quality Fantasy.
Cheers everyone.

Hi all,

My name is Colin, and I've had a look around the site and decided to join up and say hello. I'm more a history and epic fantasy reader, with a good dash of popular science thrown in. Some good reads of late have been George Martin's series, Collapse by Jared Diamond, and a host of Viking histories.

Not unlike some others here, I've also got a book coming out (well, actually, it's available on Amazon.com in the US now), with a general retail release in Australia and New Zealand in July.

"The Fall of Ossard" has been getting some great feedback, with an industry columnist calling it; "A recommend for readers of contemporary fantasy - and an insist for readers of Robin Hobb, Fiona McIntosh, and Sara Douglass." The same reviewer (for Australian Bookseller & Publisher) has called it, "Bold, innovative and brave." In all, a great chunk of stuff for the book to live up to (gulp)!

Anyway, that's enough about that.

Right now I'm reading some Robin Hobb (I've not tried her before) and also starting Erikson's series, with Week's Shadow trilogy and Name of the Wind waiting in the wings. There's been a great buzz about Name of the Wind, so I look forward to trying it.

Hi everyone! I am new here. I love science fiction and fantasy so looks like I have found the right place. I have mostly been reading a lot of teen stuff {thanks to my Stephenie Meyer obsession!} but do love all kinds of books. Some of my favorites are:

Twilight Saga
Harry Potter Series
Chronicals Of Narnia
Sookie Stackhouse series {Can't wait for the new one coming out next month!!!}

I am getting ready to start the George RR Martin series once I finish my current read, Old Magic. The 1st 2 books of the series were given to me by my friend Kambri for my birthday. So I am excited to get into it!
I am starting to get into Laurell K Hamilton and some others. But I have been slow to start reading anything out of my normal comfort zone. Hopefully you guys can help with that! :)

Welcome Leana - this is a good resource to expand your reading list. Take a look at the group bookshelf to see what the group has already done. I've found some good recommends there.

Hi I'm Paul from the UK and although I used to be a voracious reader most of my reading in recent years has been in the form of blogs, forums and other internet thingys. I'm trying to get back into reading novels and trying to push my boundaries a bit.

Used to read almost exclusively SciFi and Fantasy but have read different things as I got older. Looking forward to To Say Nothing of the Dog which I've got lined up after my current book which is The Great Gatsby

What else? I work in IT. I have tried my hand at writing but never been published and it's on hold at the moment as it turned out to be work (who knew?) and I already have a full-time job ;) Seriously though, I'll probably go back to it when time and inspiration allow.

Hi, I'm Nick H. I cut my teeth on sci-fi in the '70's with Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Harlan Ellison, R.A. Lafferty, James Tiptree, Jr., and Philip K. Dick. They remain my favorites, the philosophical/societal sci-fi of the early seventies is still foremost in my thinking even as I read more current things. Currently I am reading:

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand.

Nick,

Welcome to the Group!

I see you are reading Elaine Pagels. How do you like her so far? A while back I read The Origin of Satan; and have still not forgotten it.

Nick wrote: "Hi, I'm Nick H. I cut my teeth on sci-fi in the '70's with Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Harlan Ellison, R.A. Lafferty, James Tiptree, Jr., and Philip K. Dick. They remain my favorites, the philosophical/..."

I liked reading Vonnegut. He's very creative and keeps you guessing. "The Gnostic Gospels" opened my eyes to a new perspective of the New Testament. It was also a fascinating episode on "The History Channel." Pagels is also an expert on The Templars.

hi folks,
My name is James. I live in Sioux City, Iowa and I am an aspiring author who is planning on self publishing a sci-fi book late this summer. I read a lot of random books in high school including the Dragon's of Pern books and Enders game, but the last few years has seen me concentrating all my reading efforts on Star Wars books. I post my updates on my upcoming book Rogue Savior: an Order of Rayne novel on my Facebook page just look up James Byron Clark