SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Welcome Mj. Try Arcadia by Iain Pears. I thought it was a great read. Couldn't put it down. It's a mix of real life, Sci fi and fantasy.

John, Thanks for the recommendations, R. A. Salvatore is an author I am definitely interested in checking out.

Norton, Thanks, I have read a lot of Iain Pears, including An Instance of the Fingerpost, but Arcadia is new to me.

Mjmahoney wrote: "John, Thanks for the recommendations, R. A. Salvatore is an author I am definitely interested in checking out.

Norton, Thanks, I have read a lot of Iain Pears, including An Instance of the Finger..."

When you do Read R.A. Salvatore do yourself a favor and start with Homeland. This is the first book in the Series and sets things for the rest of the series.

Logan wrote: "Hi my name is Logan Brookfield and I've just joined the group and would like to say hello. I'm an author and live in Birmingham, England. I've written a short story and a full length novel so far, ..."

Hi Logan and welcome to the group. Always glad to chat with new folks especially since I've not been on to long myself. Not much of a Sci-fi fan myself I'm more into the Fantasy fiction aspect of reading. Hope to hear more from you.

Hi all! I've been a lurker here for a little bit, and I've decided to start being more active since the new year is starting!

I enjoy all sorts of sci-fi and fantasy, both classic and contemporary. I've been reading the genres since I was a kid. I have fond memories of Robert Aspirin's Myth Adventures series. I love the speculative nature and wonder the genres embody. Some of my favorites include Tolkien, Dick, Gaiman, Bradbury, and many others. I'm currently reading Dune.

I've made it a personal challenge next year to read sci-fi and fantasy works that I've missed.

Welcome, Angie! You've come to the right place :) If you'd like some extra help picking books for your challenge, we have some fun ones right now.

Group Re-read Calendar
TBR Clean Up
Owned Book Challenge

And then of course our annual "Read All the Books" challenge, which focuses on reading as many books as possible from our shelves, which contain a whole bunch of classics and award winners as well as big names and some surprisingly good cult classics.

However you decide to do it, I can't wait to hear about what you're reading!

Hello, everyone.

I'm Eric. I enjoy a wide range of sci-fi and fantasy, though the Physicist in me cringes a wee bit when sci-fi isn't consistent with reality.

LOTR inspired my love of fantasy when I was a kid, and Star Trek TOS sparked a love of sci-fi in film and literature.

I've been catching up on sci-fi must-reads over the past few weeks after a busy half year. If anyone has a recommendation that otherwise flies under the radar, I'd love to hear it.

Howdy! Ninefox Gambit is our scifi book next month. I'm excited to read it because I've heard a lot about it over the past year and, well, you're not the only one trying to catch up on all the cool stuff that came out ;-)

We're also reading AAALL the dystopias it seems in our re-read--real classic ones like Fahrenheit 451, and are nominating books right this very second on our February read--you should check it out! Sarah's closing the nominations soonish so if you want to boost an option, now's your chance! Otherwise, we'll be voting from among the top contenders next month!

Hello, I'm Noah and new to this group just in time for 2018! I don't read bucket loads of science fiction and fantasy, hence my reason for joining this group for great recommendations. I've read the Harry Potter series (obviously) and am working through 'His Dark Materials.' I look forward to seeing recommendations (and hopefully recommending) in the new year. Merry Christmas to you all.

Noah wrote: "Hello, I'm Noah and new to this group just in time for 2018! I don't read bucket loads of science fiction and fantasy, hence my reason for joining this group for great recommendations. I've read th..."

Welcome! Merry Christmas! I hope you find some new books to love with us. We've got a lot of great books in our future, so you came at a good time!

Welcome Noah. I'm new to Sci fi as well. I've been with the group a few months, and have had some excellent reads. I started with Arcadia by Pears which was excellent. A combination of Sci fi and fantasy.

Hello, all.

I have been on Goodreads since 2011 and did not realize until the last year, how much I love Science Fiction and Fantasy. I have been reading it for years, but did not realize just how much I read it.

I decided to join because 17 of my GR Friends are in this group. 17!!

I also joined for exposure to more Sci-Fi.

I do have Nevil Shute, Robin Hobb, Neil Gaiman and Brandon Sanderson on my 2018 reading lists. So, I am getting more.

Recommendations are always welcome. :)

Hi all, my name is Veronica :) I've been a Goodreads user for a year or two but, being occupied as a college student, I haven't been as active within the communities here or had the time to read as much as I'd like. I love Fantasy (Raymond E. Feist and Joe Abercrombie being my favorites) and I'd like to start reading more Sci-Fi.

I'm just starting to read "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss :)

I can't wait to start sharing recommendations with ya'll. Happy holidays and a great New Year's to everybody!

Welcome Alondra and Veronica! You've come to the right place--we're looking at an exciting year of books. Good luck with school and your general exploration of speculative fiction!

Hello! I am glad to have found this group. I am just getting active on Goodreads again, and look forward to meeting you all. My favorite Sci Fi books are those with a touch(at least) of the fantastical.
This Immortal by Roger Zelazny is my favorite book to read and re-read, followed closely by Destiny's Road and the Heorot series by Niven and Pournelle.
I am also an author, and I write what I would like to read.

Hi! I've read a lot of urban fantasy like Richard Kadrey, Kat Richardson, and Ben Aaronovitch in the last few years, but lately I'm rediscovering my love of high fantasy and science fiction. It's Daniel Polansky's fault. I read his Low Town trilogy and I was hooked all over again. Some other long time favorites are C.J. Cherryh, Tad Williams, and Neil Gaiman.

I tend to read very erratically. A lot or almost not at all. Reading challenges, recommendations, and getting to talk about the books I love all help keep me motivated to make the time to read so I'm looking forward to finding all that here.

Hello everyone, introduced to the group thanks to my mother, who takes the credit for helping me to be the avid reader I am today!

As a child with ADD I used to hate reading in school with required books, until my mother gave me her original set of LOTR, and something just clicked back then, which explains the large pile of books taking over my room. I do have a kindle, but I prefer hardcover over anything, nothing compares to the feel of a book.

A short overview: I am a culinary trained chef, turned teaching assistant for special needs children. (Decided working to help kids is more rewarding than working in a restaurant doing the same recipes over and over.)

I read pretty much anything, but my favorite genre would definitely be Steampunk Fantasy. Some of the more recent books I've read:

Hot Lead, Cold Iron
Hallow Point
Dead to Rites(All three by Ari Marmell)
*A quirky set of short books about a 1920's PI who was once a high ranking member of the Fae court, descended from THE Oberon.*

Shadow and Bone
Ruin and Rising
Siege and Storm
Six of Crows
Crooked Kingdom (All by Leigh Bardugo)
*A fantastic series about magic mixed with thieves instinct and Urban cities. Funny story about these is I read the last two first, then realized the original trilogy, but the entire series was a gripping thrill ride.*

There are too many to list, but this should solidify my book hunger! Hope I get to chat with everyone about these and many other books.

Ach! Sorry everyone it's been busy! WELCOME! Happy New Year, Cedric, Liz and Drizzt! I hope you find lots to your taste with us! We just started Ninefox Gambit and Touch which both (so far) seem to be sort of genre benders. And we're voting on next month's books! Head to the polls and take a gander! Sarah did a great job picking interesting-looking fantasy books and I'm sure Artemis will be fun ;)

So many new things for the new year! I highly encourage you to join in to any discussions that seem neat to you, and if nothing seems neat, start something! Buddy reads tend to be easy to pull together, and we're fairly chatty folk.

As evidenced by my 3 paragraph welcome essay, I suppose.

Hi everyone, I was looking for some type of book club to force me to read something I might not have gotten around to on my own. I liked the idea of this group because I have been a science fiction and fantasy fan since I was a kid.

I read a pretty wide range from light YA to intense epic sagas. I love so many books, but some of my favorite series are the Wheel of Time, Mistborn, Reckoners, and Red Rising.

Lately I have been jumping around a lot, and have done a little delving into some classics like Ender's Game and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The most recent book I read was We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson. It wasn't my favorite for reasons I can't really say without spoilers, but I can see why a lot of people liked it.

I've also been into a lot of super hero fiction, which kind of toes the line between sci fi and fantasy. It has been a growing genre with bigger name authors starting to get their feet wet. Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners was amazing, and really shows that super powers can be handled with no pictures needed.

I know I kind of rambled a little, but I'm really excited about this group and I've already started Touch. I can't wait to start in on some of the shelved books that I've either put off or never heard of.

Thanks, Allison. I was already planning to read Ninefox Gambit this year so I'm really looking for to joining in that discussion.

Welcome Bobby! I think you'll find many here on a wavelength with you. 😁 Liz, hope you like it when you get to it!

Hello! I joined the group in November but was busy with other things and didn't really get to join in, but I'm excited to participate more in the new year.

I was a voracious reader as a kid, my dad used to take me to bookstores and let me pick out a book to buy as a treat, and my mom would have to check on me at night to make sure I was sleeping and not hiding under the covers with a flashlight. As I've gotten older I've gotten out of the habit though, and I have to work at it to fit reading into my schedule. I'm hoping this group will encourage me to keep at it and I've already signed up for the TBR Cleanup and the Read All the Books challenges. :)

Hello everyone. My name is Drew and I am from SW Michigan. I am disabled due to Diabetes. I have always loved reading. My first series was the Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony. I was 13 years old. It came out in 1984, I think. I remember sitting in my room on the floor right next to my bookcase and reading each book until either I was done with it or I had to go somewhere. I would be up all night if need be. I stayed with the fantasy genre for many years.
My TBR list here on FB is incomplete. I am still working on keeping it updated.

Well, that is it for now. If anyone has any ?;s, please feel free to ask. As they say, "My life is an open book" to all.

--Drew

Howdy! Welcome Aster and Drew. I love your preference to reading over sleeping! Hope to see you in the discussion threads and that you find lots of good things to read :-)

Well, My name is Arik, and while I've always liked science fiction and fantasy, I've only just started really developing a serious interest in delving into these genres. I've read a few things such as Brave New World, Solaris, most of the Narnia books, The Hobbit (which I should probably re-read anyway), but my recent "to read" list on here has been populated by everything ranging from Ringworld and Warhammer 40,000 to The Mists of Avalon and The Black Company.

I did just read the first two Dune novels and I'm looking forward to getting more into those (although I've heard, um, mixed things about Brian Herbert's expansion of the Dune universe). So yeah, that's my sci-fi/fantasy history roughly, looking forward to getting into more of it!

Welcome, Arik!

We're just about to finish voting on next month's books, and we've just started two really stellar (in my very humble, not at all biased opinion) books for January. I hope you find things that catch your interest to read and discuss!

Arik wrote: "Well, My name is Arik, and while I've always liked science fiction and fantasy, I've only just started really developing a serious interest in delving into these genres. I've read a few things such..."

You want a good fantasy fiction author I would recommend R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt series. Starting with "Homeland". Salvatore does an excellent job of not only fleshing out the character but making you want more.

Hi everyone!
I'm Karima and have always loved these genres. I started with Tolkien in the 80's when I was young and loved reading Robert Jordan, Roger Zelazny, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Ursula K. Le Guin, and so many others.

When I was in college I desperately wanted to write Sci Fi/Fantasy but was talked out of it by a Literary Fiction Prof. Grrr. I subsequently spent 25 years pursuing other ridiculous careers and reading and studying for work. Now I'm in a place I can read for fun again and I joined this group to see discussions about old books I'm reading as well as to get recommendations on new authors.

Karima wrote: "Hi everyone!
I'm Karima and have always loved these genres. I started with Tolkien in the 80's when I was young and loved reading Robert Jordan, Roger Zelazny, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Mario..."

Howdy and welcome to the group always good to see new folks join. As for Fantasy fiction, there my comment to Arik in regards to R.A. Salvatore and there is Terry Brooks, Jeff Wheeler, just to name a few. of the ones I enjoyed. I read Tolkien in the late 70s the first time and fell in love with the genre. Before that, it was Everything and anything that had to do with mystery books.

Welcome, Karima :) Glad you've made your way back to books!

My name is Marie. My books are usually in audiobook format. My tastes have been evolving, and I now definitely favor scifi/fantasy. I am currently reading The Stone Sky, A Gathering of Shadows, and Artemis. One of my goals is to read more books by authors/characters that are non-white, male, straight, etc.

Marie wrote: "My name is Marie. My books are usually in audiobook format. My tastes have been evolving, and I now definitely favor scifi/fantasy. I am currently reading The Stone Sky, A Gathering of Shadows, and..."

Welcome Marie! Great book selection :) You've come at a good time for a goal like that! We're doing an Inclusive Book Bingo that we're hoping will introduce us to some new authors. Maybe that will be of interest to you :)

Allison wrote: "Marie wrote: "My name is Marie. My books are usually in audiobook format. My tastes have been evolving, and I now definitely favor scifi/fantasy. I am currently reading The Stone Sky, A Gathering o..."

Allison,
Great idea. Thank you for the link! I was going to be do the Read Harder Challenge, but I really don't want to read three comic books. I will start January's subject right away.

Good Evening!

My name is Jennifer and I am in Ontario, Canada! I have sort of been on a self rediscovery path and of my love of SciFi/Fantasy was one area I wanted to revisit. Growing up it wasn't a popular subject to admit you enjoy and heaven forbid you should be different am I right? So I have been searching through the endless shelves of Chapters Science Fiction and Fantasy section trying to find some good reads! I love this website for the reviews and the synopsis of the novels. I have found some amazing reads and I now have a list of books that I am slowly making my way through.

I am so glad to find this online group (and its an app for my phone!). I am a flight attendant so it'll be easy for me to check the site! I can't wait to read about all the books you're all reading and find another title to add to my list!

I recently finished the Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Star Wars: Kenobi, and The Name of the Wind. I am currently reading The Wise Mans Fear and Blood Song (which is on my kobo and easier to have in my suitcase).

I am still learning the site so any help or tips you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Reading!

Jen

Jennifer wrote: "Good Evening!

My name is Jennifer and I am in Ontario, Canada! I have sort of been on a self rediscovery path and of my love of SciFi/Fantasy was one area I wanted to revisit. Growing up it wasn't..."

Welcome, Jennifer! Glad to have you! We're just about to start nominating books for our next month's read, which is a great way to get some new book suggestions, expand your horizons (sorry, that's a little close to a flying pun) and get some books off your TBR! I hope you find many great books and discussions with us!

Hello! My name is Alex and I'm from Ontario, Canada! As a kid I read a lot of animal related books (I thought I wanted to be a vet), but as I got older I became more interested in witches, vampires, monsters, etc. I remember reading a particularly scary book about witches, that I would have called horror, in grade 6. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called but I loved it none the less.

Now I still love fantasy, not so much SciFi as I haven't really found anything that has really caught me. I love The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and pretty much any kind of dark or morbid urban fantasy. I recently just finished The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch (which I absolutely loved). Scott Lynch's series is one of my favourites at the moment.

I'm excited to meet some more SciFi/Fantasy lovers and learn about all the good books out there!

Hey, Alex! Glad to have you! I hope you find some great books and discussions to hop into! We're selecting which books will be on our March poll now, and have just started re-reading The Handmaid's Tale and Armada. We're also still discussing our books of the month Touch, which is a really cool blend of supernatural thriller and poetic philosophy, and Ninefox Gambit which is full of what I lovingly call space magic. Maybe one of those sounds cool, and if not, definitely go help us nominate a steampunk book for March!

Alex wrote: "Hello! My name is Alex and I'm from Ontario, Canada! As a kid I read a lot of animal related books (I thought I wanted to be a vet), but as I got older I became more interested in witches, vampires..."

I read a lot of books about witches as a kid too, but most of them I remember were friendly witches. One I can think of that had pretty scary witches though (or at l thought so at the time) was The Witches by Roald Dahl.

Hi, I'm Kitty-Lydia, I'm 23 and I'm from Norfolk in the UK :)
I'm an avid writer, reader, and video gamer -- if it has a story, I'm there. My favourite types of stories are steampunk and shapeshifting, the Victorian period is my favourite era.

I hope I can meet lots of great people here who enjoy fantasy and sci-fi. I have a masssssive pile of books from those genres that I'm hoping to finally get through this year. It would be great to discuss them with everyone.
Particularly and the series.

Kitty-Lydia wrote: "Hi, I'm Kitty-Lydia, [...]
My favourite types of stories are steampunk and shapeshift..."
Shapeshift? Not normally my sort of thing, but take a look here - this guy writes well (in my opinion) and deserves some publicity. However, that is the second in the series - I suggest you start with the first.

Hi! This is my first goodreads group! And I'm uber excited to get some tips on your fave sci-fi and fantasy reads. I also really love middle grade because they're super magical so if you got one that ticks all those boxes, recommend it to me.

I live in DC but was born and raised in great state of KY. Oh and I somehow learned Russian... so I am all over the map! Happy to connect with y'all!

Alan wrote: "Kitty-Lydia wrote: "Hi, I'm Kitty-Lydia, [...]
My favourite types of stories are steampunk and shapeshift..."
Shapeshift? Not normally my sort of thing, but take a look here - this guy writes well..."

Hi, thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to check out the series :) I'm normally into animal-shifting, not necessarily werewolves, but when a human character shares a mind with an animal, such as in where the children characters 'leap' into the heads of an owl, dog and fox, and experience their lives.

Welcome Kitty-Lydia and Lauren!

Kitty-Lydia, we're selecting our voting pool for our March Steampunk read! Chime in!!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Lauren, hi! We're doing a buddy read right this second of the Tortall world by Tamora Pierce. We just started Wild Magic. Actually, you both might like it! Magical, high quality YA with a person with a strong animal connection :D

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Kitty-Lydia wrote: "The Steps Up the Chimney (The Magician's House Quartet, #1) by William Corlett where the children characters 'leap' into the heads of an owl, dog and fox, and experience their lives. ..."
Ah. Very different from what I recommended earlier. Still, each to his/her own. Good luck.

Hi everyone!
I'm Gwen, I'm 25 and I'm from Italy.
I'm a reader of all books, but fantasy in all its declinations has always been my favourite genre. Plus, since I read Bradbury and Asimov I've been eager to explore sci-fi a bit more (but found myself a bit scared by all the "must read" in the genre).
I've always loved the idea of having a book club, of discussing books. So I can't wait to start reading with you all! :D

Woot! Glad to have you, Gwen! hope you find good books!

Hi everyone,
I'm Hari from Toronto, Canada. Just joined this group. I've been on Goodreads for almost 5 years now. My taste in books ranges from literature to science fiction (not too much into fantasy, though). I also love non-fiction works especially on scientific topics.
My favorite sci-fi authors are Philip K. Dick, Carl Sagan, Asimov etc.
I'm also an author. Recently published my first hard science fiction novel, Intersection Man.

Welcome, Hari! Please make sure you check out our rules for authors. Linking your book is something we generally would delete, if you would be kind enough to remove the link. I think you'll find lots of people to discuss scifi with though!

Allison wrote: "Welcome, Hari! Please make sure you check out our rules for authors. Linking your book is something we generally would delete, if you would be kind enough to remove the link. I think you'll find lo..."

So sorry. I have removed the link.

:D No worries. I do wish you luck in your endeavors and in finding great reads!