Introduction and welcome thread! Showing 1,901-1,950 of 4,412

[Andrei]

Hi there!

Just found this community/show through Geek and Sundry and already a big fan.

I'm a long time laser fan and got started with Russian sci-fi as a kid - "Picnic on the Side of the Road" that Tom mentioned in one of the recent shows is one of my favorite books (Tarkovsky's movie is excellent too).

I often cheat on lasers with swords though.

Keep up the great job!

P.S. Just got started on Leviathan Wakes and so far it's excellent.

[Leon]

Hello! My name is Leon and I am a literature, music & technology enthusiast. I stumbled upon the Sword and Laser audio podcast at the start of 2012 and have been an avid listener ever since. It is now time I jump in to the forum!

I do not read as often as I would like, as there are too many other forms of entertainments out there (ie. movies, TV, computer games …), so books always seen to get pushed to the bottom of the heap. My hope in joining is that it will encourage me to read more regularly. Fingers crossed.

Also, I have just signed up to Audible, and thank you for my free audiobook.

[Matthew]

Ahoy hoy. My name is Matt, and I live in Toronto. I haven't read many sf&f books outside of the classics, so by joining this group I hope to change that.
As a kid, I never really read for pleasure. The first book I read and enjoyed was Fahrenheit 451 in Grade 9 or 10...and I've been a reader ever since.

[Nanci]

Hi, I'm Nanci. I've been listening to the podcast for quite awhile but haven't gotten involved in the group yet. Hello!

I'm primarily a science fiction fan and read a lot of Star Wars novels. Some of my favorite authors include Timothy Zahn, Mike Stackpole, Aaron Allston, and Christopher Pike. Some of my favorite laser books (not counting Star Wars) include The Icarus Hunt, The Season of Passage, and the Mageworlds Trilogy (The Price of the Stars, Starpilot's Grave, and By Honor Betray'd).

I'm also a writer and working on my first sci-fi novel.

I'm very glad to be here! Hopefully once I get through all the books on my "to read" list, I can start reading books along with you fine folks.

[Hannah]

Hi everyone,

I'm Hannah. I have recently started reading sci-fi, but have always loved fantasy. I found Sword and Laser through Geek and Sundry. I'm an all around nerd. I love Dr. Who, video games and every geeky thing out there.

Currently I am reading A Game of Thrones, and am loving every bit of it. I just finished Ender's Game. I look forward to reading the Laser book this month, and finally getting into the discussions. I look forward to continuing to read and start contributing.

[Naveen]

Hi, I'm Naveen.
I'm only 15 years old and haven't read many books in the past, apart from the odd Harry Potter or young-teen books. I recently read the Hunger Games Trilogy and enjoyed the first one the most and the last one the least (and the middle one in the middle). So I'm looking to get into reading a lot and I thought this would be a good place to start.

I'm into the Sword part far more than the Laser part (from my experience with video games and a few films), but I'm looking to get into both.

I heard about this group as I saw Veronica on a few Rev3Games/DTOID videos with Anthony Carboni/Tara Long/Max Scoville and the show itself on Geekandsundry from watching Tabletop and The Flog and The Guild.

I'm currently reading A Game of Thrones, and am also going to read A Clash of Kings immediately after. I've watched the show and I'm not sure whether to read the third book or just wait for the show and then read it. Once I'm done with those two, I think I'll start reading the book that this group is reading at the time and join in to the discussions.

[J.J.]

Hi everyone I'm JJ! I'm a slow reader but I enjoy books and I will try to keep up. I am a huge Frogpants fan for a few years now.

I was always scared to try and keep up with S&L but I'm really going to try. I'm a huge fan of R.A. Salvatore and I'm love both the sword part of books. I also enjoy some laser books.

I'm looking forward to being a part of this group to hopefully keep me on track with reading good books!

My wife is a huge reader so maybe I'll get the "cliff notes" from her ;-) nah I'm really going to try and keep up!

So that's a little about myself! Hi!

[Tom]

Hello everyone, Tom here making my official mark into the world of Sword and Lasers.

With the end of college firmly in the horizon and a thirst for a new hobby I picked up reading, specifically the Song of Ice and Fire series. Since that plunge, I have read 5 books into the Dresden files, Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and about 20 others that firmly root into the fantasy/sci-fi categories.

I hope to become an outspoken, and to a lesser extent annoying, force in this forum and delve deeper into previously stated genres while joining a community that will actually talk to me about them; the people I associate with are less than optimistic at the prospect of theorycrafting and general association with most books, let alone fantasy.

Anyways, I am pleased to have stumbled/tripped into this devoted group of travelers, adventurers, warriors, space cadets... you get the metaphor. Don't be afraid to message me about recommendations and please, for the love of the Thor, send me some works that have moved you as much as this current genre as changed me, hopefully for the better.

[Derek]

Hey there goodreaders. Long time listener, first time poster, etc. My name is Derek and I've been both a sci-fi and fantasy reader for almost 35 years. I'd have a hard time saying whether sword or laser is my favourite genre. I love Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, JRR Tolkien and George RR Martin. But I am also a huge fan of William Gibson, Philip Dick, and Walter Tevis.

Recently my favourite reads have been scifi, in the forms of Ready Player One and a few Doctor Who novels.

I look forward to hanging out with people of the same ilk. Kudos to Tom and Veronica for creating this huge community dedicated to reading and to reading these genres in particular.

[Jill]

Hello all,

My name is Jill. I discovered this group after being linked to the GRRM interview. I enjoyed that, and intend to watch more. I've already subscribed to the S&L podcast.

I can't really choose a favorite--I love both fantasy and scifi. I do stray into other genres, but my favorites are often here. This looks like an entertaining group, and I'm looking forward to some great book suggestions. I'd love to add some more friends with similar tastes too, if anyone would like to add me.

[Caedy]

Hey Derek and Jill!

Welcome to the group!

[Brian]

Hello, everyone! I'm Brian, and after watching some of the YT shows and looking around this group, I've concluded you are My People.

My favorite authors include Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, David Gemmell, Guy Gavriel Kay, George R.R. Martin, and (if non-prose forms count) Brian Michael Bendis. I also love historical things and the idea of history, but I find it very hard to get through the entirety of a real history book without getting distracted by one of my fantasy novels... the shame!

My current read is The Vor Game, but as much as I'm enjoying it (and the few other Vorkosigan novels I've read), Leviathan Wakes definitely sounds interesting, so I might put Bujold aside to make sure I can participate in this month's read. Looking forward to being around here!

[H]

Hi! I'm Hedrigall (aka Tom) from Sydney, Australia.

I am into sci-fi more than fantasy. My favourite author of all time is China Miéville.

I love intelligent, space-set science fiction, especially if it has alien societies intermingling with our own. I'm a biologist, so the more realistic detail and research that goes into the creation of alien races, the happier I am. While I prefer optimistic, shiny, futuristic science fiction, I'm also fascinated with "space horror" as a subgenre, and am always on the lookout for more books in that category.

I read a lot of other kinds of books too. I especially enjoy books with queer themes, as well as non-fiction about science.

[Glaiza]

Hi, I'm Glaiza, I'm from Australia and I just came across this group via the v fantasy hangout youtube group.

I probably read a bit more fantasy than science fiction but I've wanted to balance it out which is partly why I've joined this group.

My favourite fantasy/sci-fi authors include Catherynne Valente, Philip Pullman, Garth Nix, Ursula Le Guin, Ray Bradbury and Isobelle Carmody.

I also recently read Grimspace by Ann Aguirre and really enjoyed it.

I read across different genres including contemporary and historical fiction, steampunk, post-apocalyptic & creative zombie novels and young adult fiction.

[Jeremie]

Hi, I am Toscos.
I am french but I read books in english.

I discovered Sword and Laser with the interview you did with George R Martin who is my favorite author.
I also love Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, Dan Simmons, Orson Scott Card and many more.

I am currently reading the Mistborn serie by Brandon Sanderson and I am enjoying it.

I look forward to discussing books with this community.

[Raelene]

Hiya, I am Raelene.

I am from Tucson, AZ, and was introduced to this group through the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel.

I am definitely a sword but I have a good background in laser. I am having fun going through previous book selections and seeing what I have and haven't read.

[[deleted user]]

Hello all! I'm John.
I am a fan of the show and the podcast. I am a strict Laser fan. I do not venture into fantasy very much. As a Gamer (board games, star craft, raquetball, war gaming) I am going to try to relate books to Gaming life whenever I review them. I have Leviathan wakes ready for July. This is my first book club. I hope its fun!

[Tony]

Hi, I'm Tony from NorCal (previously SoCal), and I came here from Geek and Sundry. Joined just before Hyperion. I've read far more fantasy than sci-fi, starting in 5th grade. I'll probably read one of the Sword selections eventually, but so far I've focused on the Laser selections, since I'm weaker in that area. I've enjoyed reading the threads here on Goodreads, despite a little bit of condescending, elitist, and ignorant opinions. (I wish there was an ignore feature...) I look forward to the discussions.

[Kel]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Kel. I'm an avid fan of the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre, but I'll read any genre that interest me.

I'm actually a huge fan of the Sword and Laser YouTube show, and they're constantly talking about their group on Goodreads so I thought I'd stop by and join!

[Caedy]

Welcome to the group everyone!

[Learnl]

Hello, my name is Learnl. I'm from Rochester NY. I more of a "Lasers" person, but I'm starting to get into "Swords" more since I just finished "Game of Thrones". I hope to one day create something people on here will discuss. Maybe...............

[Heather]

Hi, my name is Heather. I found the forum through the S&L podcast.

I've been a long-time fantasy reader, starting when I was in my early teens with Terry Brooks Shannara series and then falling for The Wheel of Time (which I'm currently re-reading in anticipation of the final book). I've been a sucker for fantasy ever since.

I also love Sci-Fi - Dune, Robert Heinlein, Douglas Adams, Dan Simmons. I'm admittedly weaker here, but I am a fan.

I love forward to jumping into Leviathan Wakes.

[Jacob]

Hi, I'm Jake. I'm not a huge fantasy or sci-fi reader, but in high-school I was introduced to Ender's Game and I was instantly hooked. I thought this group would be a great way to get back into and gain some experience with the genre.

[Learnl]

Hey, is Ender's Game as good as people say it is? I just picked it up today.

[Alan]

Learnl, Ender's Game is well worth the read. I first experienced it as an audiobook... it's about an eight hour book, as I recall, and I listened to the whole thing in one day, despite the fact that I had a ~5 hour work shift and at least three hour-long college classes on my schedule for that day—I couldn't hit the pause button!

[Cory]

Hi there, I"m Cory.
In high school you wouldn't catch me without some form of library book or my very own. I was often joked about with for much I read, but I still do read a lot to this day and I love it.

Favorite genres of mine would have to be sci-fi/fantasy, romance, and paranormal. Some favorite authors of mine are Brent Weeks, J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, and many others.

[Joshua]

Hello everyone! My name is Joshua Belcher.
I just recently graduated high-school, I am into fantasy books such as Inkheart, Harry Potter, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Eragon. I used to be teased a lot in high school due to my weight, but a good book or game "as I am a rpg fanatic" would take me away to a super awesome land filled with everything I wanted, in every single way I wanted it.

[Anat]

Hi,
I'm Anat, new to the group, so probably will lurk a while before commenting.

My first book was a collection of Greek Mythology stories at the age of three (turns out it actually *was* a good parenting choice).

I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy, but do enjoy the occasional funny fiction.

Some of my fave writers are Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein.

I joined this group to discover great books I've missed.

Have a good read, everyone :)

[Phillip]

Hello, My name is Phill, I've been reading Sci-Fi/Fantasy for over 20 years now ever since I discovered it as a child when my aunt introduced me to one David Eddings, and from there Tolkien, Star Wars novels, and then many more, and have been in love with reading ever since. Just discovered Sword and Laser and Goodreads and love what I've seen so far, and look forward to being apart of the book club. Favorite authors include, but not limited to, Jim Butcher, Robert Jordan, George R R Martin, David Eddings, Tad Williams, Patrick Rothfuss, and on and on.

[J.A.]

Hi there, I'm Jim, and I'm almost exclusively a fantasy reader. I love good books of any genre, but fantasy is what does it for me best. :) I'm also putting out some work of my own these days, hopefully of the "not horrible" variety. Nice to meet you!

[PJ]

Veronica wrote: "Hey everyone! A new member pointed out to me that we don't have an introduction thread, where users can say hello, speak about what they hope to get out of this group, and mention what authors and ..."

Hi Veronica and everyone else..

My wife and I are fairly new to TSAL.
We live in Fareham in the UK with our two year old son Liam and are pretty big fans of Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series and are currrently reading Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind.

I'm also a writer and have recently published my first book on Amazon entitled Ashen (Black Dawn, Book One). My links are below if anyone would like to check it out.

Rgds
Pete

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007Z3QZ5O
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007Z3QZ5O

[Art]

Hi there. My name is Eleanor. I've been reading fantasy pretty much all my life and have just graduated university with a degree in Fine Art. Because of this I spent most of this year making artwork biased on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. If anyone's curious what that involved, I ran around the English country side a lot with a boat and a spent of my own making. I also drew a lot of maps.

There are some picture on my blog
http://eleanorhollindrake.wordpress.com/

Anyways I discovered the podcast last week while redecorating my room and so have now listed to about 20 hours of it. My to-read list has grown very long! I hope to jump on board with one of the sword book picks in the coming months (though I am a slow reader), possibly even venture into the laser territory for a change.

[David]

Hi everyone! Happy to contribute to this absolutely enormous thread. My name is David, and I'm a physics graduate student from California, currently living and working at CERN. I'm about 80% sword and 20% laser, with Steven Erikson and Patrick Rothfuss sitting atop my bookshelf at the moment. I've also been engaged in a two-year battle with Infinite Jest, which I am losing quite badly (too many distractions on the S&L list!).

Great to "meet" all of you, and see you on the boards!

[Dan]

Hi all, I'm Dan.

I've been reading sci-fi and fantasy since I was a kid in the '80s. God that makes me sound old. Anyway, I love Isaac Asimov, David Eddings' Belgariad books, The Dresden Files, The Wardstone Chronicles, Harry Potter, Douglas Adams and of course Ender's Game.

I'm also working on the finishing edit for my own urban fantasy young adult novel that will hopefully be on Amazon's Kindle store sometime before I die.

[Libby]

Kia Ora! I am Libby and I hail from New Zealand, Aotearoa, The Land of the Long White Cloud. :)

My father got me interested in Fantasy/ Science fiction When I was a young teen and it has stuck! (thank goodness) I also have read a lot of paranormal romance :P

I found this group trough YouTube and thought to give it a whirl! Currently I am reading A Storm of Swords: Steel and Snow and am thoroughly enjoying it as I have the past 2 books. Can't wait to really get my teeth into this group. :)

[Daniel]

Hi! I'm Daniel, originally from Sweden, and I'm a long time fan of the podcast and a more recent one of the youtube show. So after a long while of lurking I decided to join this group. As a big fan of fantasy in all of its forms I tend to read almost only books from that particular genre, although I try to fit in some "real life" literature and scifi into the mix from time to time. I absolutely worship literature and I've kept a record of the books I've read in a little notebook since I was eleven. It's safe to say that my life would be incomplete in the extreme without literature.
I'm also an aspiring writer (well, who isn't :)), although for the time being I'm content with writing reviews and general ponderings on my blogs.
I'm looking forward to spending time with you guys as this seems to be a great community. Well met!

[Anne]

Hi! I'm Anne!
I graduated college recently, and realized that the college schedule and lifestyle had kept me from reading for fun like I used to, so when I discovered the Sword and Laser through Geek and Sundry, I thought this would be a good way to get back into the swing of reading.

I love the science fiction classics (I finally just read Ender's Game, it's definitely going on my list of favorites), and I can't get enough of Neil Gaiman. And, of course, I read the HItchhiker's Guide series over and over again.

[Beth]

Hello everyone. My name is Beth and I've been reading sword and laser books for as long as I can remember. The earliest I can think of was John Christopher's Tripod series when I was about 10 yrs old. I've devoured many a series over the years and have spent far too many years waiting for some to end (The Wheel of Time!).

I found this group via Geek and Sundry. I am looking forward to finding new authors, new books, and the incentive to re-read some of the awesome books that I have had on my shelves for years.

[Brian]

Hi my name is Brian.

I've been reading fantasy and sci-fi since I got a copy of Lord of the Rings for my eight birthday and haven't stopped since. I live in Toronto, Ontario where I work as a youth pastor.

My wife and I share a two bedroom apartment where we compete with who can take up more space with our hobbies. Currently my bookcases still take up more space than her spinning wheels and looms and various forms of fiber...including 2 cats...but if I am going to keep it that way I need to buy more books. Mind you then I would need another room.

I tend more to the swords side, but I enjoy lasers too, and joined up here in hopes of connecting with more good books on both sides. I am off to a good start having read Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion this weekend, and enjoyed both tremendously. Now on to Leviathan Wakes!

Favorite Authors are Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordon, George RR Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Orson Scott Card, Guy Gavriel Kay, SM Stirling, and LE Moddesitt Jr, If I could chose one book to read here it would be the Sparrow by Mary Dorian Rusell.

Authors I consistently Lem include Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams and China Mieville.

[Dwayne]

Hi. I'm Dwayne.

Tigana's my first Sword and Laser book. I love your show Veronica and I'm looking forward to reading and discussing books in the future with all you fine people. :)

Some of my favorite authors include Lyndon Hardy (though he's only written three novels and I wish he'd write more), Edward D. Hoch (wonderful short stories), Terry Pratchett, Arthur C. Clarke, Orson Scott Card, and the list could go on and on.

[Katiarai]

Hello, I'm Katiarai, nice to meet y'all. I can happily blame my parents for my sci-fi/fantasy addiction. They were after all the ones that gave me access to folks like Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey and Larry Niven while growing up.

Current author favorites include Patrick Rothfuss, Neil Gaiman, C. S. Friedman. And I'm always looking for new books to read, so this group sounded perfect.

[Mike]

Hello! My name is Mike and I am a biology student at Indiana University and I have been in interested in fantasy every since I started reading LOTR in sixth grade after watching the first movie. I also, of course, grew up with Harry Potter and went to all the midnight releases.

I heard about Sword and Laser from the Game of Owns podcast's discussion of the George R. R. Martin interview and really loved the video show. I will be checking out the audio podcast very soon!

[Phil]

Hi, My name is Phil. I'm a nuclear medicine tech. in Vancouver.
I've been reading sf&f for over 40 years now. I lean more towards science fiction but I love fantasy too. I'm also into gaming.
What really got me hooked was reading Rocketship Galileo by Robert Heinlein when I was 11. From that point forward I have read almost exclusivly genre fiction. My favorites have been Time Enough for Love (Heinlein), Ender's Game(Card), the Hyperion books(Simmons) and of course The Lord of the Rings.
My most recently read books have been Bios(Robert Wilson), The Last Unicorn(Peter Beagle), and The Magicians(Lev Grossman). That last one was because of the bookclub. Thanks!

[Katie]

Hi i come via the youtube show and am currently catching up on the podcasts. I'm a longtime reader of all sword&laser books. I tend to stick to sword type books when picking them myself so I'm looking forward to reading more laser books along with you guys

[Paul]

Hi there,

My name is Paul, and I've been a huge science fiction fan since I started reading. Fantasy has been in there too, but I find myself liking the *pew pew* more than the *clang clang* (that's supposed to be swords).

I just finished Clash of Kings a few days ago, and I recently started SeconWorld by Jeremy Robinson and I hope I finish it soon because Leviathan Wakes is next on my list anyway.

[Ben]

Hi,
Ben Green here: I am a long time lover of Science Fiction. I am looking for other people who may have read the novel The Unwritten Book: Xellex by Carlos Dwa. Or have opinions about the use of Science Fiction in the manner that Huxley and Orwell, and now Dwa used it.
A friend told me that there was some discussion of Xellex on this blog, but I can't find any.
I would be very interested in discussing this novel with anyone who has read it.

[Ria]

Hi all. I've been a fan of Veronica for a long time, but only recently decided to follow Sword and Laser (the size of the community intimidated me for the longest while).
I read fantasy mostly and am working on my own trilogy (powerful mage, disaffected people, world on the brink of disaster, and portals). I've been into fantasy my whole life and my first adult fantasy book (i.e. not found in the children's section) was Aurian by Maggie Furey. Then Eddings, Feist, Tolkien. These days my favourites are Sanderson, Weeks and Rothfuss.
I'd like to read something that's sci-fi and fantasy combined - like space travel with magic and swords. That would be cool.
Anyway - pleased to meet you all.

[Victoria]

Hello! I'm Victoria, and I love pretty much every kind and subgenre of science fiction and fantasy. I have far too many favourites to list! Just discovered The Sword and Laser and have been catching up on some past episodes. Looking forward to some interesting discussions in this group :)

Ria - for sci-fi and fantasy combined in one story, you could try books by Jack Vance, such as the Dying Earth series (technically more magic and fantasy than sci-fi, and no spaceships, but with sci-fi ideas and setting). A lot of his other books combine more 'magicky' ideas with space too. But in terms of actual magic combined with more techy sci-fi, I can't think of much. I'd love to read that too!

[David]

Hi, I'm David.
I have been reading Sci-Fi and Fantasy most my life, but over the past few years being an "adult" had made me start to read less and less. A few months ago I watched the first episode of S&L on G&S and was sucked back in. Going back through past reads, I locked in on Ready Player One and did not stop did it was done. I'm now working on Leviathan Wakes (so far so good; Miller chapters seem better IMHO) and look forward to next month's pick. Thanks for bringing me back to reading.

[Jo]

Hello! I'm Joanna,
I admit, I've been lurking here for a while and listening to the podcast but up until now my schedule and my budget haven't allowed new books. This is the first month I'll actually be reading along instead of just joining in later. I love sci-fi and fantasy but I haven't read much lately and I'm hoping to get back into it. I've seen some good (and some bad) reviews of this month's book and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll be starting it in the morning (and enjoying my day off with too much tea and lots of reading in the park). I hope you're all enjoying the book so far and I hope to get very involved in discussion in the next week or so. Happy reading!!