SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Leslie, out of curiosity what generation of D&D and what world did you like the best? I admit that I was into that as well as Star Trek, Star Wars and all of the rest.
When the new Star Wars and LOTR movies came we would take a large group up to one of the larger theatres and camp out there for some time before the movies would start. My dad would joke that when the first LOTR movie came out someone should go to the theatre in a robe and with a staff, stand in the doorway, and bar the way yelling that You shall not pass!

Hello everybody, I'm Sarah and I'm from Singapore too (Hi Jessica!) I'm 28 this July and I'm working as a counsellor. I've been reading since I was about 6 (I think) and quite a voracious reader though I stick to authors I like and don't really explore much until I've exhausted all their books.

My personal library mostly consists of YA and Fantasy books :)

I used to read (and still do now) Christopher Pike books since I was 12 (tho I dont know if some of his books are fantasy or not?), discovered Magician (R E Feist)at 14 and to date, I read mostly Raymond E Feist (have all his books), Eddings (prefer his Mallorean and Belgariad), love Neil Gaiman, read LOTR about 10 times now, Piers Anthony, Trudi Canavan, Eoin Colfer, Simon R Green, Anthony Horowitz, DJ Machale, Stephanie Meyer, JK Rowling.

I'm really happy to be here so I can read about what people are reading/thinking about my favourite genre of books :) I am thinking of starting on George RR Martin after reading what ppl here say.

Hi Jessica & Sarah
My book SENTI, Book One of the Jackwill Chronicles was first released by a E publishing company StarDust Press ( located in Singapore). They went out of business and now my book has been picked up by Trytium Press and is avaliable in Paperback. I was planning to go to Singapore next year to meet my publisher. Now that they're out of business I don't have a reason to go.
Anyway, welcome to the group.
G W pickle

Steven,
I played Advanced D&D throughout the 80's. Not sure which generation that would be, but it must have been an early one. I then got into a group much later on, around 2001, but I'm not sure exactly what system, though it seemed like a refined version of AD&D.

I never played in any hard sci-fi worlds, with the one exception of a brief stint in Paranoia.

Hi, I am Derek and I am a financial planner for a large corporation. I am thirty one years old and I have two children. I graduated from The Ohio State University way back in 1999. I have always loved to read. The first book that I fell in love with was The Stand, to this day it is still my favorite book.

I love reading fantasy, not so much sci-fi. I have a rather ecclectic reading pattern, quality not quantity. With how busy my life is, I try to read a book or two per month.

Steven,

My sister and her husband played everything they could get their hands on with the RPGA. They played just about every game there was. They went to all of the RPGA conventions. They were always in the top five players in the RPGA. I didn't fare so well. I never did get the hang of it, so I quit it altogether. Maybe I should have kept going. Who knows, I might have surprised myself and gotten good.

Hello. My name is Michael and I'm a book-a-holic. I love to read and will read just about anything you put in front of me, provided I find it interesting.

I am looking forward to the discussion here.

Welcome Derek and Michael!

Derek, I, too, loved The Stand. I read it in my 20's, which was awhile ago, but I still remember so many details. One of the best books of the latter part of last century--dang, but that sure feels weird to write!

Hello. I'm Myles and I joined a few days ago. I am a Science Fiction and Fantasy junkie. I started reading as far back as I can remember and got sucked in by Tolkien, Asimov, Piers Anthony, Heinlein, and Jack Vance(to name a few). Lately I have started branching out into mystery and PI novels, but Science Fiction and Fantasy are still the biggest genres for me. I also watch a ton of SciFi(big surprise).

While I prefer to read in print, I have recently discovered the joy of audio books via ipod and audible.com. They are a lifesaver for the gym and commuting. No more listening to radio djs droning on about nonsense.

Greetings, my name is Jeremy and I feel a little uncomfortable introducing myself. I have only joined in the last 2 weeks and I don't have a handle on everything. I have yet to enter all the books I have read into Good Reads. I will be working on that.

Like so many of you I am a lover of books, specifically Science Fiction. When I was younger I gravitated towards Horror, because it was readily available (you can't throw a rock without hitting a Steven King novel at the shack we call a public library in Brownsville TN). When I moved away so did my taste in books. Beside Sci-fi, and a little fantasy I am an avid reader of history, particularly Civil War and ancient warfare texts. I have a degree in Journalism and Psychology so naturally I work at a University fixing computers! It is all a long story that is not particularly relevant here. I am also an aspiring writer ( you can not tell it from this rambling rant ) who hopes to get into a genre field some day.

I look forward to getting to know you through your ideas and hope I have a few that can inspire discussion as well.

Welcome Myles and Jeremy.

Myles: since you've discovered the joys of audio fiction, if I may put in a brief plug for a podcast I'm involved in--it's called Clonepod, and each week, one of our merry band reads a new sci-fi or fantasy short story and posts it for downloading off Itunes or direct from our site. We have a great Neil Gaiman tale coming up shortly. You can find us at www.clonepod.org.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know that I have changed my name from Andi to Catamorandi.

Hi Lynne!

Lynne is my middle name and I'm 47 years old too. Was that just a weird 1961 spelling?

My mom's name is Lynne and she was born in 1952. :) Anyway, welcome to the group!

Hi Lynne,
I recently spent 4 months job hunting (I'm 55). It does take a lot of time and work, especially at our experience level. Hang in there! I got my dream job so it is possible!

Greetings all,

I am one of your older members, being born in the late 1950's and live in Australia. Am also a editor for the Wikipedia Novels Project and work mainly on the Australia Fantasy author articles.

I started reading science fiction at around 12 years of age when i noticed a mate who has just arrived from Italy always reading Galaxy Magazine (Italy version), which did a science fiction novel in the italiano every month. Then i happen to watch 'Forbidden Planet' movie on TV and was hooked.

I did read many different authors, but especially enjoyed Issac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. Can't really state any novel as being my favorite but did love A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg and The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle back then. I liked the theme of Stranger in a Strange Land and also the ideas in Intanglibes Inc by Brian W. Aldiss. I did buy Galaxy every month for the short stories.

It was great reading science fiction in the seventies as it was a time of changes and Future Shock was something we could only wonder about. These days i enjoy Fantasy and whatever else grabs my interest. At the moment have been reading thru the series ' A Tale of the Three Worlds ' by Ian Irvine.

Am looking forward to joining the discussions on the monthly reads.

Welcome JJ! I was just in Australia in late March, visiting a dear friend in Melbourne. What a city! I had a blast.

I also started reading sci-fi/fantasy in middle school, as many of us here did. I look forward to reading your comments.

Hi my name is Emma... just found this site and this group! I love fantasy, I'm currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. He's got to be one of my favourite authors, along with Phillip Pullman, Jonathan Stroud and George RR Martin. And Robin Hobb, how could I forget her?!

I'm Christine - 38 years old. I teach English at Austin Community College, and my first novel (which I wrote with my husband Ethan) is being released this August. We're very excited!

I love vampires, especially, but I really enjoy fantasy/sci fi of all kinds... both written and viewed.

I'm currently gearing up for the promotional campaign this fall. We'll likely do some renaissance & celtic festivals, as well as fantasy conventions. We'll not only have our book "Rowan of the Wood" available at these places, but I've also started to undertake some artistic endeavors like woodcut printmaking, sculpting, and casting... maybe even wood carvings. You can see my progress at www.christineandethanrose.com, if you're interested.

Namaste.

Hi, I'm Jon. I'm in my mid-40s, working as an IT professional for a large law firm in the Kansas City area. My children are in college now, but life just isn't slowing down at all!

My favorite books to read are epic fantasy, fantasy, science fiction (if it's disguised as fantasy or starts out as fantasy but ends up being science fiction) and historical fiction.

I enjoy playing an old text-based role playing game online called Aardwolf. My character there is named Kerowyn, after my all-time favorite book - "By the Sword" by Mercedes Lackey.

Hi,

I am a new fantasy author. (I write what I like to read.) Try my books for free, online, instantly!

Google Books > JHHK

http://books.google.com/books?q=JHHK&...

Welcome Emma, Christine, Ethan, and Jon.

Christine & Ethan, congrats on your first novel and good luck with the promotions.

Thanks for the welcomes! :D

Yes, thanks for the welcome! I look forward to reading all your reviews and participating in stimulating discussions and debates.

Have a great day!

Jon

Hello, I'm Tera. I just stumbled on this group and thought this will help challenge me to read some more books in a genre that I enjoy, but don't often read from. I am 33 and was born, raised and still live in Washington State. I am married with two boys ages 12 (almost 13..argh) and 4 (yes, they have the same dad). I am a self-contained special education teacher meaning I have a classroom of 15 students with varying disabilities, they are with me all day and I am responsible for all their academic needs (a lot of people ask what self-contained means..).

At any rate, I have challenged myself to read 200 books this year (including any children's books that I remember to add to my list). So far my list looks like this:

January 2008
1.The Husband by Dean Koontz
2.The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
3.Who Moved My Cheese by Spence Johnson, M.D.
4.The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
5.Lasher by Anne Rice
6.Cross by James Patterson

February 2008
7.The Good Guy by Dean Koontz
8.Taltos by Anne Rice
9.Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
10.Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich
11.Plum Lovin’ by Janet Evanovich
12.Perfect Nightmare by Peter Straub
13.Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich
14.The Seeing Stone by Holly Black
15.Lucinda’s Secret by Holly Black
16.The Field Guide by Holly Black
17.The Ironwood Tree by Holly Black
18.The Wrath of Mulgarath by Holly Black

March 2008
19.30 Days of Night by Steve Niles
20.The Resort by Bentley Little
21.Ghost Story by Peter Straub
22.The Night Room by Peter Straub
23.A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons
24.The Dead Room by Heather Graham
25.The 5th Horseman by James Patterson

April 2008
26.The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich
27.Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich
28.Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich
29.Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
30.Hot Stuff by Janet Evanovich
31.The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
32.Arthur and the Crunch Cereal Contest: A Marc Brown Arthur Chapter Book 4 (Arthur Chapter Books) by Marc Brown
33.Arthur's Mystery Envelope: A Mark Brown Arthur Chapter Book #1 (Arthur Chapter Books) by Marc Brown
34.Arthur Accused: A Marc Brown Arthur Chapter Book 5 (Arthur Chapter Books) by Marc Brown
35.Locked in the Library!: A Marc Brown Arthur Chapter Book 6 (Arthur Chapter Books) by Marc Brown
36.Arthur and the Scare-Your-Pants-Off-Club: A Marc Brown Arthur Chapter Book #2 (Arthur Chapter Books) by Marc Brown

May 2008
37.The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
38.Captain Underpants And The Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants by Dav Pilkey
39.Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich
40.The Devil’s Labyrinth by John Saul
41.Christ the Lord Out of Egypt by Anne Rice
42.Christ the Lord The Road to Cana by Anne Rice
43.Familiar Stranger An Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth by Michael J. McClymond
44.The Handmaid and the Carpenter by Elizabeth Berg
45.Joey Pigza Swallows the Key by Jack Gantos
46.Beloved by Toni Morrison

June 2008

47.The Alchemist’s Daughter by Katharine McMahon
48.The House of the Cliff by Franklin Dixon

Welcome Tera,

I am mightily impressed by your reading list! I'm lucky if I can get through one book in 6 months(if it's a 500 or more pager). My problem is I have extremely limited free time in which to read for myself. I'm reading professional journals, newsmagazines, or I'm reviewing and editing stories for other writers and for my podcast. I also have to squeeze time in to work on my own writings, all while working full time as a veterinarian!

I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

Leslie: Thanks for the info on clonepod. I am looking for it on itunes right now. If that doesn't work I will get it direct from your website. I am interested in the Gaiman story. I recently finished my first Gaiman novel and enjoyed it.

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Welcome Tera: That is an respectable goal and impressive progress so far. Best of luck!!

I just found this thread and realized I haven't introduced myself. Instead, I jumped into the middle of things. Sigh. The story of my life in two sentences *lol*

I'm Debbie Mumford and I've been reading science fiction and fantasy all my life. I started with Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, and Tolkien and have continued through to George RR Martin and Jim Butcher. I count rising stars Devon Monk and Ken Scholes among my friends and have been mentored by Eric Witchey, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, and Kay Kenyon. I love this genre.

I write fantasy. Often it's fantasy romance, sometimes it's YA fantasy, occasionally it's a blend of fantasy and science fiction, and every now and then it borders on the paranormal, but at its core it's always fantasy.

I've tried to write a few contemporary romances, but if they make it past 1,000 words, some fantasy element appears. Why struggle to be something I'm not?

At any rate, I discovered this group last week and couldn't resist. After all, you're discussing one of my favorite series!

Looking forward to getting to know you.

---Debbie

Hi Debbie! Welcome to the group. You confused me a bit because I've already noticed your presence and thought you'd been here a long time. :-)

Thanks, Sandi. I can definitely be confusing *LOL*

The old saying about "fools rush in where angels fear to tread"...yeah, that definitely describes me *shakes head*

Hello,

I've just joined the group, having seen it on a Friends page.

I've been a fan of SF/Fantasy since getting dad to buy a copy of The Two Towers at the tender age of 8 and I haven't looked back since. You can take a look at my page if you're interested in my "authors of interest."

Most recently I've become a serious fan of Steven Erikson and R. Scott Bakker but I've got some classical faves like Ursula Le Guin, CJ Cherryh and Frank Herbert.

I've only sampled some of the threads but I'm looking forward to reading and (perhaps) participating in the future.

Welcome Terence!

Welcome Terence! Any fan of Erikson and Bakker is, by default, a good guy in my book.

Hi Terrence and welcome!
C.J. Cherryh has been a personal fave of mine for many years, as is Ursula Le Guin.

Hi Diane!

Hi, I'm Cinda Williams Chima. I'm a reader of fantasy (though I feel positively unread next to some of you folks!) and an author of a YA fantasy trilogy out from Hyperion (The Warrior Heir, The Wizard Heir, The Dragon Heir.) I'm under contract for a new fantasy series (The Demon King)which sold as YA in the US and mainstream fantasy overseas. I live in Ohio, and recently left my day job as a college professor to write full time.

I came in a little late for the discussion of George RR Martin's work, but I'm a fan. You can check out my read books on GoodReads, I guess. I read a variety of YA books as well as fantasy and mainstream to keep up with what's out there. Recently read and enjoyed Nancy Werlin's Impossible, which comes out in September.

Don't know if I'll be able to keep up with these intense discussions, but looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

Hello everyone, my name is Manuel.

Currently I am living in Monterey California, where its cold, beautiful and too expensive.

I have always loved Sci-fi and not so much fantasy.

I've been reading my of your entries and I hope to learn about some newer author's and themes.

Hello and welcome, Diane, Cinda, and Manuel.
Diane-- if I might ask...does your library have a copy of my novel 'Griffin's Daughter' on it's shelf? It just won an award. I'm doing my own little survey to get a feel for how widely distributed it is in various library systems.

Cinda--You've been able to achieve the dream I have, mainly quitting my 'day job' to write full time! I still have a ways to go, I'm afraid. My first novel was put out by a very small publisher, and it's been hard getting any attention for it. Hopefully, the recent award will boost sales AND attention.

Manuel--my sister lived in Monterey for several years. She hated the weather!!

Hi Leslie,
The title of your book sounds interesting, I was wondering where I can find it. Do you think it is in most library in the US?

Hi Michelle,
I really don't know how widely distributed it is in terms of libraries. You'll need to ask at your local branch. If they don't have it, then request that they get it. I really appreciate your interest.

Diane,
'Griffin's Daughter' is not technically a YA title, although I've had many teens, some as young as 12 and 13 e-mail me to tell me how much they enjoyed it. The book has some adult language and content, so I kinda wonder if these kids' parents are monitoring what they read. I wouldn't let any young relative of mine read it until he/she was at least 15.

Hello, I'm Seth, and I'm a fantasy (and to a lesser extent science fiction) addict.

I was bon in 1980 in Honolulu, Hawaii. My father was a rolling stone, so I moved several times in my life. When I was five, he finished his doctorate in Linguistics and moved us to Israel to teach at Tel Aviv University. It was during this time that he first read The Hobbit to me, and my love affair with fantasy began. We soon followed up with The Lord of the Rings to seal the deal, as well as The Chronicles of Narnia.

When I was eight we moved back to the US, to Washington DC where he worked at the State Department doing language training and research. He continued to read to me, and I also began playing video games to amuse myself. I was particularloy taken by the story-based role-playing games, particularly those published by Squaresoft--Final Fantasy and the like. While some of the stories of those early RPGs were simplistic, they only reinforced the fantasy archetypes that were already holding court inside my head.

When I was fifteen my dad retired and moved back to his hometown of Tyler, Texas, in the deep woods of Louisiana. We ended up living in one of the satellite towns around Tyler, a town called Arp, of some 800 souls and a stop light. Needless to say, for a high school city kid like me this was major culture shock. Not able to join in the cafeteria conversations about pickup trucks and football, I found solace in reading fantasy. By this time I was discovering books on my own, not merely digesting the classics that my family fed me. My first independent discovery was David Eddings's Belgariad series. While I now recognize the plot and style as somewhat bland and derivative, at the time I found the adventures of Garion to be a warm blanket to comfort me on lonely days. I still respect the humor that David Eddings brought to his books as well.

I started college at the University of Texas at Austin, where I studied Classics. It was my first time away from home, though, and I found the massive campus overwhelming. So I retreated to the smaller branch of UT in Tyler, where I declared as a History major. I focused on studying the medieval culture that was so influential on Tolkien and other early fantasy authors. The move to the smaller campus turned out to be the right decision. I had wonderful professors, and because they weren't swamped with thousands of students they were able to spend a great deal of individual time with me and answer my spate of questions.

After graduating, I sruck out West. I have family in the Los Angeles area, so I came to the city of angels to find my fortune. Through a series of coincidences, I found myself applying for and being accepted to a doctoral program in Medieval History at Oxford University. That's right, the home of the Inklings. I was blown away when I received the acceptance letter. I made the journey across the pond and dove again into study. I completed my Masters there, and was part-way through a Doctorate when I realized academia just wasn't for me. I didn't want simply to retread the creative work of generations past; I wanted to make my own creative footprints in the sand. So now I'm back in Los Angeles, tentatively beginning a life of writing and creativity.

I'm legally blind, so I get as many books as I can in audio, from Audible.com and other sources. I can read regular print if I must, but it's taxing.

Among my favorite fantasy authors are Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, Lloyd Alexander, Philip Pullman, Guy Gavriel Kay, George R. R. Martin, and probably a few others I'm forgetting.

Among authors I'd really like to read are Steven Erikson, Joe Abercrombie, and Kate Elliott.

Sorry for the lengthy post. I look forward to many great discussions here to come.

~Seth~

Greetings Seth and welcome!

You and I share many of the same author faves. Sadly, you missed our excellent discussion of G.R.R. Martin's 'A Game Of Thrones', our club pick for July's book.

Do read Kate Elliot's Crown of Stars series. She is probably my absolute favorite fantasy author, and the biggest influence on my own writing style.

"I started college at the University of Texas at Austin, where I studied Classics."

Lucky you. I am kind of considering doing classics at university as I have really enjoyed (and be successful at) studying latin and ancient greek at school.

Do give Joe Abercrombie a go. He sets up a traditional fantasy world giving you that warm and fuzzy feeling of familiraity. Then chucks in intresting characters and a few little orignal quirks. Although as a warning the first book is a setting up one so can seem directionless.

Hello All;

I'm 30, living in Montana. I'm a Biomedical Tech and enjoy the Big Sky state & being a new father. I come from a family of book lovers of all genres. My father is the Sci-Fi/Fantasy nut and it rubbed off on me. I've always got at least one book I'm reading and a list of books/authors that I'm going to read. Relativity new to enjoying Fantasy and look forward to finding good authors.

Welcome Jerrod!

I love the Big Sky state as well, although I don't live there. My mom's family homesteaded there in Daniels County.

Looking forward to seeing you around this site and this group!

Jon

I love Montana! It's so beautiful there. Of course, I've only visited during the summer. I don't think this Southern California native could handle a Montana winter.

Welcome, Jerrod!

Hello,

I'm 26 from London, England - overeducated and now underpaid! I work in customer services but very shy so I mostly read books all the time, and watch movies. Hobbies I had since I was 3-4, and hobbies I went on to study at University, along with creative writing. My main genres of interest haven't changed - fantasy/horror/sf are still my passions.
I tend never to catch onto the next hot thing to read as I'm so busy flitting between many different things - I hate being bored and having no choice!
At the moment I'm reading 12 Kingdoms, Magic for Beginners, Deerskin, Uglies, and re-reading A Feast for Crows. My fave authors are Haruki Murakami, George RR Martin, and Richard Laymon.
Always on the lookout for some genuinely scary horror and new fantasy!

Hello everyone. I joined this group a couple weeks ago and forgot to introduce myself. I am approximately 32 years old (when the new year rolls I start claiming the age I will be by year end so as to get use to it before it happens) and living in Utah. Prior to living in Utah, I was in Missouri for seven years and was part of an awesome SFF book club. Since moving to UT two years ago, I still haven't found an acceptable book club. When I saw this one, I squealed with delight (not really, but I joined immediately).

I have a gigantic TBR pile and am looking forward to whittling it down. To start, I will be reading The Color of Magic with you all and hope we pick Old Man's War for sometime in the near future. :)

Quick question...How does this club work? If the August book is Color of Magic, should we read it in July and be prepared for discussion August 1? Also, I noticed you are taking suggestions for August and September? Is there more than one book during one month? Just wondering. And if these questions are answered somewhere else, then ignore me. I haven't made it thru all the posts yet.

Can't wait to read with you all!

Hi. I'm Ethan. And am a Sci-fi fanatic. For several years I focused on Hist. books since the genre had little to offer through the late 80s early 90s. Since the UK writers have revived the genre I have been reading with a vengeance (Stross, Macleod, Banks, Morgan, Reynolds, Hamilton, etc.). I am also a book conservator/bookbinder in Salt Lake City, Utah.