Former Introduction Thread Showing 1,451-1,500 of 6,846

[Jackie]

Hi group :) My name is Jackie. I'm a long time user of GR. I read just about any genre I can get my hands on, but I consider myself fairly new to the fantasy genre. When it comes to fantasy I usually stick to the more popular stuff. I'm hoping to expand through recommendations in this group.

[Eric]

Hi Jackie. Great profile pic. ;)

[[deleted user]]

Hiyas new peoples. :)

[Jackie]

Thanks Eric.

[Al "Tank"]

Janny wrote: "Al wrote: "...I mildly like hard science fiction but these got too technical for my taste in a lot of places. However hard sci/fi folks real..."

The characters are involved to enact it, and the suspense will not (generally) be as character-driven."

Almost any story that tries to hinge itself onto a piece of technology and gives short shrift to character development will usually fail. The only exception would be if the equipment is sentient and develops a personality of its own.

Really good stories revolve around people and the science/magic/whatever defines the world in which the "people" (could be intelligent bugs) act. Think of science as a stage setting.

For instance, Star Wars was really a Western-type plot set in a scientifically advanced civilization. The hero rides a ti-fighter rather than a horse and gets his "power" from "the Force" rather than a visit to some Oriental combat school. His "six gun" is a light saber. But Star Wars is about PEOPLE first and science was just the background (or "stage") for the drama.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Most "hard science fiction" folks think of Star Wars as fantasy or possibly "science fantasy". Star Trek generally makes the cut as Science fiction. Hard science fiction comes in may flavors just as fantasy. I'm "sort of" getting through the 4th Looking Glass book now. And I find that the details tend to "almost" overcome the plot often, but the very thing that almost bores me to the point of leaving the book is what draws some other readers to it. Tastes vary.

[Shane]

Hello All!!

New here to the Fantasy genre, but can't seem to get enough of it. Love the escapist value of good fantasy books. Nothing like being carried away to another place and time. Loving the magical, epic stories.

Notable books Ive read lately and really enjoyed:

The Hunger Games Trilogy. Excellent.

Songs of Albinon Trilogy ( The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, The Endless Knot) REALLY EXCELLENT.

The Name of the Wind: Kingkiller Chronicles, Day One. Best by far. Maybe the best book Ive ever read. You should investigate this one on your own and atleast consider picking it up.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome to the group :)

I'll have to look up that Albinon series, sounds interesting

[Stephen]

Hi all,

I'm Stephen Goldin. I've been writing professionally for over 40 years; I've got dozens of published books to my credit (I don't have an exact count; I ran out of fingers and toes), but most of you probably haven't heard of me because: a) I never had a bestseller; and b) I haven't published anything new commercially for a decade or so. I got rather fed up with the commercial publishing industry, and these days I'm doing a lot of self-publishing, including re-issuing my old titles.

I'll be doing the usual author self-promotion (hopefully in the socially-approved discussion groups), and I hope some of you who are interested in old-school sf and fantasy may give my work a try. If anyone wants some perspective on the field, I may be able to give some insights. (No, I'm not really old enough to have known Verne personally, though sometimes I feel that way.)

I look forward to talking with you.

[Bill]

Hi Stephen, nice to meet you. I was looking at your Wikipedia page (it needs a picture) and discovered your 1st novel was done "with E. E. "Doc" Smith". That must have been an amazing experience. I'm sure many of us would like to know what Doc was really like. I will read this series (Family D'Alembert) for starters.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome Stephen. I have just one novel published and am working on my next two, one a sci-fi thriller set on present day Earth.

[Doc]

Hi Stephen,
It is welcoming back an old friend as I have read and enjoyed your stuff from early on.What's new??

[Stephen]

@Kernos,

I've been told that Dr. Smith was a very gracious gentleman, but I'm afraid I never had the honor of meeting him. The way the "Family d'Alembert" series came about was as follows:

Smith published a novelette called "Imperial Stars" in the May (I believe) 1963 issue of If Magazine. He'd been thinking of writing a series, but unfortunately he died before anything further could come of it. (Very coincidentally, Fred Pohl's obituary for Smith appeared in the December 1965 issue, the same issue with my very first published story, "The Girls on USSF 193.")

Nine years passed. I had sold several novels to editor Roger Elwood at Laser Books. Roger was also a consulting editor for Pyramid Books, and was arranging a deal between them and Smith's estate to make a series out of that novelette. Pyramid contracted with me to novelize the novelette and then write 9 more books in the series.

All that Smith had left behind was: a) the original novelette; b) a letter to his friend, Lloyd Eschbach, with some offhand comments about the characters; and c) a written history of the royal dynasty in the universe. No sense of direction, no further story ideas, no characters beyond those in the novelette. I ended up writing that 10-book series entirely on my own except for that starter material. (I worked hard, of course, to maintain the sense of adventure that was Smith's hallmark.) Smith's daughter, Verna Smith Trestrail, oversaw my work to make sure I didn't deviate from her father's spirit, but she contributed nothing original to the work. I corresponded with her, but only met her once, briefly. She died some years ago.

Strong friction eventually arose between me and the Estate after I completed the project. I won't bore you with details. Suffice it to say I didn't believe the Estate (now Smith's grandchildren and great-grandchildren) wanted to treat me fairly regarding further printings of the books, and I didn't want the hard work I'd done to be buried forever. So what I've done is rework and re-invent the series to make it my own.

The result is a brand new series called the "Agents of ISIS" series. (See the separate topic I started about them.) I completely threw out the original novelette. I created a brand new universe, with a new history and new characters. I devised a brand new plot and wrote an entirely new first book called Tsar Wars. Then I took the other 9 books (whose stories were entirely my own to start with) and totally rewrote them to conform to my new universe and new characters. The new series is 100% Goldin, with none of Smith's original elements remaining--although I hope I've managed to retain the excitement and adventure his stories always engendered.

Used copies of the Family d'Alembert books are still floating around. I know there are people who like reading older versions for the sense of historical perspective--and if that's what you want to do, please enjoy them in that context. But I must say, however immodestly, that I think the newer versions are better. The older books are very outdated. (For instance, spies in the field have to use pay phones to make phone calls.) The technology and social mores in the newer books are more in touch with modern standards. If you want to read the stories for the excitement and adventure rather than historical perspective, I honestly think you'll get a lot more enjoyment out of the newer versions. But the choice is certainly yours.

Whichever versions you choose to read, I hopoe you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of them. That's why I wrote them, after all. Oh, and as further enticement, the first book of the new series, Tsar Wars, is available as a free ebook download to introduce you to the series.

[Stephen]

Docd wrote: "Hi Stephen,
It is welcoming back an old friend as I have read and enjoyed your stuff from early on.What's new??"

Thanks for the welcome back. Well, in addition to the saga of the Agents of ISIS series, as described above, my newest book is , which I'm extraordinarily proud of. I've also got a brand new updated version of . I'll be promoting those elsewhere, since I'm told it's bad form to do it in this topic.

[Bill]

Thanks for the historical perspective, Stephen. I found a copy of Imperial Stars and have download Tzar Wars. I think I will probably read both.

I noticed too you did a Star Trek novel away back when: Trek to Madworld. I have all of the Trek books which I've been collecting and saving for retirement escapism.

[Stephen]

Kernos wrote: "Thanks for the historical perspective, Stephen. I found a copy of Imperial Stars and have download Tzar Wars. I think I will probably read both.

I noticed too you did a Star Trek novel away back ..."

Enjoy your orgy of space opera! A compare-and-contrast analysis might be quite interesting.

A bit of perspective on Trek to Madworld as well. Fred Pohl, who was editor of Bantam at the time, gave me that assignment because he knew I was also doing the d'Alembert series. It was one of the earlier Trek novels, and up till then they'd all been deadly serious. I looked at people's favorite episodes and realized they were usually the funny ones--Tribbles, Shore Leave, I Mudd. So I did the first of the funny Trek books. I'm glad others have followed my lead.

[Kelly (Maybedog)]

I loved Jade Darcy and the Affair of Honor and the sequel. Just got the Polly and Tzar Wars and found an old copy of .Assault on the Gods. As soon as I get my scanner working I'll put in a pic of the covers of the three paperbacks.

[Stephen]

Thanks, Kelly! That will be a wonderful service. BTW, for anyone interested, as soon as I can get a new cover done, I'll be issuing a new edition of Assault on the Gods.

[[deleted user]]

Hiya :)
I'm a 23 yr old mommy and wife in NC! Hubby and I run a business. He's on the field, I'm in the home office. Gonna start college this year but until then -- and after -- I'll keep on writing fantasy!

I just finished The Lancaster Rule by T.K. Toppin and I'm starting on Soul Born by Kevin James Breaux. I have a tendency to pick up YA novels -- I mean, age 10-13 -- like the Ranger's Apprentice Series. Why? I have no idea! Other favorites include Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush and Crescendo. Phew, okay. I told you everything that DIDN'T matter. Here's the important stuff: I like green. I eat Skittles until I fall into a sugar coma...almost. I'm a Narnia lover along with my two little girls. I love Asian food. I am a spaz.

Nice to meet you all xD

Diana

[[deleted user]]

Welp, welcome to the group :)

[Beth A.]

Hi Diana, nice to meet you! I love your introduction.

[Bill]

Stephen wrote: " I looked at people's favorite episodes and realized they were usually the funny ones--Tribbles, Shore Leave, I Mudd. So I did the first of the funny Trek books. I'm glad others have followed my lead. "

Ah! Good. Tribbles and the DS9 version are brilliant, IMO. I have been reading Gerrold's novels which may not be the greatest SF, but are a lot of FUN.

[Stephen]

Kernos wrote: "Stephen wrote: " I looked at people's favorite episodes and realized they were usually the funny ones--Tribbles, Shore Leave, I Mudd. So I did the first of the funny Trek books. I'm glad others hav..."

Dave has a great sense of fun--as befits a writer whose first published work was "The Trouble With Tribbles."

[Stuart]

Hi All, joined last month and only got my act together today to say hello. I am a Graphic Designer living in Perth, Western Australia an avid scifi reader with a large collection of pre-moon landing literature and also a substantial collection of Philip K Dick 1st editions. When PKD is on form he is a master although I admit when not it can be a real trial to read. I also read contemporary writers such as Iain Banks (M and no M), Alastair Reynolds and, whilst not strictly scifi, Haruki Murakami who has a few books that certainly fall into the field of general weirdness!!! Just finished Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Love scifi film/TV and have a large collection of all that is good and bad in the genre. Currently watching Fringe and Misfits on TV and waiting for Source Code on the big screen, Moon was my favourite scifi of recent years.

Looking forward to being here.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome, Stuart. I'm on the fence with Source Code. The groundhogs day idea of it is interesting, but could go wrong so badly.

[Stuart]

Ala wrote: "Welcome, Stuart. I'm on the fence with Source Code. The groundhogs day idea of it is interesting, but could go wrong so badly."

I agree but hold out hope with Duncan Jones at the helm.

[Bill]

Janny wrote: "Al wrote: "...Hard SF defines the story by the hardware of the IDEA/scientific and speculative - and evolves that as the central core of the plot. The characters are involved to enact it, and the suspense will not (generally) be as character-driven...."

I define Hard SF a bit differently. Hard SF is speculative fiction in which the science is compatible with our current state of scientific knowledge or theories. Hal Clement is an example of this sort of SF.

I am not a fundamentalist in this regard though. I do not automatically condemn FTL and time travel to the soft side like so many of the HSF purists. But, I think any scientific speculation must be internally consistent, and the best would be deductively complete.

OTOH, I love a good old space opera and find much SF is somewhere between the 2 extremes.

[James]

Hi all my name is jim and I am from New Zealand. I have been a member of this group for a while but have just been watching the posts, and it is fantastic. It has really helped me to find new books. I started my reading off with fantasy but as the years have passed I have been more and more interested in SciFi. My favourite authors are

Frank Herbert (Dune is unsurpassed as the greatest book of all time)
Arthur C Clark
Michael Crighton
Larry Niven
Dan Simmons
Orson Scott Card

any recommendations would be greatly appreciated

[[deleted user]]

Hiyas James!

I'd give you some recs, but I'm still a noob when it comes to the sci-fi side

[Stephen]

James wrote: "Hi all my name is jim and I am from New Zealand. I have been a member of this group for a while but have just been watching the posts, and it is fantastic. It has really helped me to find new books..."

James, let me rec some old-timers:
Robert Heinlein
Clifford Simak
James White
Murray Leinster
Fritz Leiber
Harry Harrison
Frederik Pohl

There are plenty more wonderful writers, but any of those will give you a fantastic time.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome Nicholas, glad you weren't washed away :)

[[deleted user]]

Yeah, seen some of the videos, it's crazy stuff.

[Kara]

Hey All! =)

Found Goodreads in the summer of 2010, and have been slowly integrating myself into some of the groups.

I'm an avid fantasy reader, with occasional jaunts into YA-fantasy and Sci-Fi to (lol) shake it up a bit.

I typically have one novel in my bag, and a separate audiobook in my pocket. I tend to get antsy without a story to listen to on my 20 min. drive to work.

I live in Alaska and love it. I'm a career physical scientist, who likes to hike, read, and craft (knitting & stained glass) in my spare time... oh, and occasionally waste a few hours on WoW.

Nice group you have here, and nice to meet you all!

[[deleted user]]

Hi Kara and welcome :)

[Richard]

Stephen wrote: "James wrote: "Hi all my name is jim and I am from New Zealand. I have been a member of this group for a while but have just been watching the posts, and it is fantastic. It has really helped me to ..."

Leiber, Simak, and Harrison are some of my old favorites!

[Mike]

James wrote: "Hi all my name is jim and I am from New Zealand. I have been a member of this group for a while but have just been watching the posts, and it is fantastic. It has really helped me to find new books..."

Hi Jim and welcome. I agree with you on Dune, it has no equal. You might also enjoy Peter Hamilton and Walter Jon Williams, in addition to the classic authors already recommended.

[Richard]

Kara wrote: "Hey All! =)

Found Goodreads in the summer of 2010, and have been slowly integrating myself into some of the groups.

I'm an avid fantasy reader, with occasional jaunts into YA-fantasy and Sci-F..."

Hmm. WoW. Never heard of it. :)

Welcome, Kara!


LEGENDS OF THE DRAGONREALM VOL. II --- Now out from Pocket Books/ Gallery Books

[Sara]

Hi, I'm Sara and I'm from Manchester in the UK.

I've been reading fantasy for over 10 years now. I saw 'The Lord of the Rings' when I was 11 and realised I didn't want to wait a year for the second one so decided to read the books.

I've been hooked on the fantasy genre ever since. My favourite authors are Tolkien, Martin, Rothfuss, Gaiman and Pratchett.

I've been meaning to branch out into sci fi for a while now - as I already enjoy the genre on television. Hopefully this group will help me start with the books while giving me some new fantasy to read.

[Paul]

Hi everyone

I'm Paul and have always lived in Sheffield in the UK, on the edge of the glorious Peak District National Park, in which I spend quite a lot of time cycling, hiking and used to rock climb. I've loved books as long as I can remember, and one of the earliest book memories is listening to The Hobbit which is probably what got me hooked on fantasy. In my teens I moved more to SF, and now read broadly - especially SF, crime fiction, science, history. Off the top of of my head my favourite writers include: Iain Banks, Charles Stross, Ken MacLeod, Sheri S. Tepper, Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Neal Stephenson, Dashiell Hammett, Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles de Lint, Rupert Thomson, David Sedaris, Annie Proulx, Kate Grenville.

Hope to find and share some good recommendations and get into some good discussions.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome new peoples. This some sort of Brit invasion? :P

[Tim]

I have just finished 'The Evolutionary Void' What an amazing conclusion to the series, this has to be Peter Hamiltons best work yet. It gripped me through all six books.

[Sue]

Hi, Kara, nice to see a fellow Alaskan on here. I'm retired from the Geophysical Institute (atmospheric science) and now writing science fiction in Fairbanks. Homecoming's out, and I'm editing Tourist Trap. http://www.forewordreviews.com/review... .

[Richard]

Martyn wrote: "Hi All,
I'm Martyn, (yet another) brit, I work as a psychologist, and go back a loong way. First got into Asimov and still like the positronic brain ideas - play around with AI sometimes. Love Gib..."

Welcome to everyone! The more the merrier!

I continue to recommend Roger Zelazny and Glen Cook for any of you fellow fantasy readers. The first author is an influence and the second I just enjoy immensely. The Amber Chronicles for Zelazny and the Black Company for Cook.


LEGENDS OF THE DRAGONREALM VOL. II --- Now out from Pocket Books/ Gallery Books

[[deleted user]]

Hi all. I'm from Sheffied, UK and have been reading SF&F since I was 8 or 9 – over 40 years. My cousin was the librarian and let me into the Adult library after I’d demolished the entire Children’s.

Likes:

Read everything in fiction by China Mieville - except his first novel King Rat - and a few of his non-fiction essays too. My favourite is The Scar but really like them all, though Kraken is a bit uneven. Love his wild imagination down to the tiniest throw-away details.
Kelly Link – haunting short stories
Michael Chabon – love all his novel-length stuff – his essays and short stories aren’t so appealing. Yiddish Policeman’s Union I guess is relevant to this group, and Summerland.
Pat Cadigan – Synners is my favourite of hers – the most humane cyberpunk I’ve ever read.
Charlie Stross – didn’t like his Merchant Princes series enough to read more than the first 2 books but have enjoyed most of his other stuff – especially Accelerando, Glasshouse and the Laundry stories.
Ian M Banks, Ian McDonald, Ken McLeod, Lois McMaster Bujold, C J Cherryh, Greg Egan, earlier Le Guin – her new stuff is just tedious, Tiptree, GRRM, K J Parker, some Connie Willis (a bit too romantic in large doses), Mike Carey’s Felix Castor series – and lots more!

Dislikes:

So-called Dark Fantasy – basically Romances with vampires, werewolves, elves and the like. I just don’t like Romance at all – can’t read Catherine Asaro for that reason.
MilSF – tried some David Weber – not for me.
Anything supposedly “spiritual” like Starhawk’s anti-technology rants, Mary Doria Russell’s suffering space-Jesuit in The Sparrow, Tepper’s one-dimensional eco-feminism.
Anything with “Elven”, “Mage” or “Bane” in the title – yes, a prejudice, but it makes me think of bad Sword&Sorcery.
C S Lewis, Nancy Kress’s recent novels – such a disappointment after her earlier brilliant works, though her recent short stories are still good, Jeff Vandermeer – just doesn’t come up to China Mieville or even Jay Lake for bizarre imagination.

Currently reading:

Matt Ruff – Sewer, Gas and Electric
Lauren Beukes – Maverick: Extraordinary Women from South Africa's Past

What I hope from this group - to get new recommendatons, though my To Be Read pile is over 50 books and growing, and to discuss some of my favourites.

[Paul]

Sc wrote: "Hi all. I'm from Sheffied, UK and have been reading SF&F since I was 8 or 9 – over 40 years. My cousin was the librarian and let me into the Adult library after I’d demolished the entire Children’s..."

eh up, Sc. i do recommend King Rat - very different setting, but still good. i've not got around to Mieville's two latest yet.

I remember going to Sheffield library as a kid and asking if they had The Silmarillion, to be snottily told "that will be in the children's library..."

[Kara]

Sc wrote: "Dislikes:

So-called Dark Fantasy – basically Romances with vampires, werewolves, elves and the like. ..."

Youch! I DO hope that's not how everyone thinks of dark fantasy. I know it's not a well-defined genre, but I was hoping what you are describing had it's own genre... like paranormal romance, or at least dark fantasy romance. If you just don't like the romance part, there's plenty of dark fantasy out there without it.

(See, I'm already trying to turn you...)

Welcome Sc. =)

[William]

I'm a Scottish writer with ten novels published in the genre press and over 200 short story credits in thirteen countries, the author of the ongoing Midnight Eye series among others. My work has appeared in a number of professional anthologies, and my ebooks are currently doing pretty well, with THE INVASION getting as high as #2 in the Kindle SF chart and THE VALLEY hitting #1 in Historical Fantasy

[Katie.R]

wow! That`s impressive !

[[deleted user]]

Paul wrote: "Sc wrote: "Hi all. I'm from Sheffied, UK and have been reading SF&F since I was 8 or 9 – over 40 years. My cousin was the librarian and let me into the Adult library after I’d demolished the entire..."

I've heard commentsthat Kraken is a bit similar to King Rat - wierdness on the streets of London. I like Mieville enough to search out KR anyway.

[[deleted user]]

Kara wrote: "Sc wrote: "Dislikes:

So-called Dark Fantasy – basically Romances with vampires, werewolves, elves and the like. ..."

Youch! I DO hope that's not how everyone thinks of dark fantasy. I know it's ..."

I'm not very genre-savvy in this - is it Paranormal Romance, then? Stuff I've looked at is a Kitty Norville, the first Charlaine Harris True Blood book, "Bitten" I think, the early Anita Blake before they drifted into soft-core, Justina Robson's "Keeping it Real" I love her science-fition stuff but couldn't finish this. Read a couple of Tanya Huff "Smoke and xxx ", they were OK. The dark or urban fantasy I really liked was Mike Carey's Felix Castor series.