SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

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Members' Chat > Former Introduction Thread

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message 3751: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome.


message 3752: by Electra (new)

Electra Nanou (enanou) | 2 comments Hello everyone! My name is Electra and, as my name may hint, I am from Greece, but I am also half British, which has made my upbringing quite interesting.

I currently live in Northumberland and I am preparing to pursue a career as a fantasy author. Until that happens I am a humble RSPCA shop assistant, enjoying the British culture, to which I was introduced just over a year ago.

I have been an avid fan of fantasy and sci-fi from a young age, and have been honing my writing skills ever since.


message 3753: by Alan (new)

Alan Denham (alandenham) | 256 comments Electra wrote: "I currently live in Northumberland..."

Welcome to the home of civilisation.

(I live just outside Northumberland, and go there when I need to breathe fresh air - profile picture was taken at Howick Gardens)


message 3754: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments ...did you seriously just welcome a Greek to the home of civilization?????? Intentional irony I assume...right???? :)

Hi Electra, welcome and good luck.


message 3755: by Alan (new)

Alan Denham (alandenham) | 256 comments Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "...did you seriously just welcome a Greek to the home of civilization??"

Greece is rightly called the cradle of civilisation. I regard England as its present home :-)


message 3756: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments So....it moved west???? Okay. But I live in Nashville, the Athens of the South. :)


message 3757: by Electra (new)

Electra Nanou (enanou) | 2 comments I have to agree that Greece is not its former self, but there are still some Greeks, like me, that try to keep its spirit alive - or bring it back to life, one might say... Thank you ever so much for the warm welcome.


message 3758: by Tess (new)

Tess Hi! My name is Tess. Originally from Illinois, I've been living in Madison, WI for the past 11 years. I've always loved fantasy and science fiction, as well as romance novels, historical fiction, mysteries, and manga. My favorite series and authors change all the time, but ones I've loved forever are Francis Mary Hendry, Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, and Lloyd Alexander.
In general, I like science fiction short stories better than long novels. I love all sorts of fantasy, but am getting tired of the paranormal genre.
Thanks for all the great discussion topics - it is so much fun to read through!


message 3759: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome. I live near Madison TN, think there's some mystic connection????? Probably not, we live in the "mundane" world.


message 3760: by Jordan (last edited Oct 15, 2013 05:53PM) (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments I am Jordan MacLean of the Clan MacLean. I was born in 1518 in the village of Glenfinnan on the shores of Loch Shiel. And I am immortal.

Or, I was born on the 3rd day of the month of August, in an early year of a decade not too long before our own...

I live in a "historical house" (which means it needs LOTS of restoration) in North Carolina with my partner, Mike, and my cats, Attila, Dregs, Julius, Antigone, Abigail and Mercutio, though I am NOT a crazy cat lady, being several cats shy of an actual hoard/horde.

I've been a symphony cellist and an aikido student and instructor. I've also been a software engineer and engineering supervisor, and I've been a stay-at-home homeschooling mom. I've acted, directed and written for stage, and I've produced a film that reached international distribution (under my real name).

My son is now in the US Army, stationed in Germany. My partner serves with the 82nd airborne at Fort Bragg.

I am an epic fantasy author in the tradition of Frank Herbert and I suppose George R R Martin, and J R R Tolkien, (having entertained and discarded the idea of being Jordan R R MacLean to continue the tradition) and if you are interested in my books, please check out my page at www.jordanmaclean.com . I will post more info about my books in the Authors forum as well.

Nice you meet you folks!


message 3761: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome...and I choose to believe you're immortal. It's cooler.


message 3762: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Hi, welcome...and I choose to believe you're immortal. It's cooler."

Haha well, I like to believe I'm immortal, too, but I'm not willing to test that faith by trying to die just yet. ;-)


message 3763: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Well, I'm assuming "elf type immortal"....you can be killed, you just don't kick off on your own....at least not for a long time.....


message 3764: by [deleted user] (new)

Hello, guys and girls...and geezers. I was born in 1955, so I certainly qualify as one of the geezers on this forum. I live in Boucherville, on the South Shore of Montreal, Quebec (Canada), am married with two grown sons and am living modestly but happily as the years pile on. My hobbies are reading and writing and I have interests in history, military affairs, geopolitical affairs and technology in general.

One benefit of being no longer young (prefer that to 'being old') is that I have been able to read and watch a lot of sci-fi as it evolved through the decades. While the technology as shown in sci-fi movies/TV shows certainly advanced in huge bounds, the general themes mostly stayed the same. Good sci-fi is in my opinion treating those themes under new or different lights, in order to eventually learn new lessons or ways of thinking that could improve us. When I write sci-fi novels, I try my best to show what is good in Humanity and in what ways we could improve. Technology, even in sci-fi litterature, is after all only a means to realize the wishes/dreams/projects of human beings. That is what I believe in.


message 3765: by Penny (new)

Penny (penne) | 748 comments Mike is our welcome wagon but I do like to chime in every now and then, so welcome to all our new members! :)


message 3766: by Ron (new)

Ron (ronb626) | 156 comments Michel wrote: "Hello, guys and girls...and geezers. I was born in 1955, so I certainly qualify as one of the geezers on this forum. I live in Boucherville, on the South Shore of Montreal, Quebec (Canada), am ma..."

Born in '55? Just a kid, yet...

Never use "being old", either. Prefer, "being older"

Welcome to the group.


message 3767: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Michel wrote: "Hello, guys and girls...and geezers. I was born in 1955, so I certainly qualify as one of the geezers on this forum. I live in Boucherville, on the South Shore of Montreal, Quebec (Canada), am ma..."

In the words of the bard, "Geezer is as geezer does." Writing science fiction doesn't really earn you a lot of geezer points, unless you do it while standing outside in your bathrobe yelling at the kids to keep off the lawn. :-)

Your approach to science fiction looks well thought out, and with a background in history, military affairs, geopolitical affairs and technology, you are well grounded for that genre. I look forward to getting to read your work. Cheers!


message 3768: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Geezer????Geezer???? for being born in '55????

You'd be my younger brother and I don't consider myself a Geezer..... grumble, grumble, grumble

Well, welcome..really. I do like your name. It sounds familiar for some reason.


message 3769: by Kyra (new)

Kyra Halland (kyrahalland) | 137 comments Hi, I'm Kyra. I'm 50, almost 51, but age is just a number :-D I've loved reading fantasy since I was a kid, starting with the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and the Earthsea Trilogy. In high school I loved the Deryni books by Katherine Kurtz and the Riddlemaster trilogy (still one of my all-time favorites).

Right now my favorite authors are Carol Berg (I adore her characters and her writing style), Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erikson, Lindsay Buroker, Jonathan Moeller, and M. Edward McNally. I also have "Republic of Thieves" on my Kindle, which I've been eagerly looking forward to for years! I'm saving it for a treat when I finish my current round of group reads and read and reviews.

I like traditional fantasy (as opposed to urban fantasy or paranormal romance) with an innovative twist, with well-rounded, non-cliche characters and an emphasis on well-done family and romantic relationships. Not big on science fiction, though I did really enjoy Wool - mainly because of the characters and what it shows about humanity. I have very specific tastes, and I'm not really into a lot of the big names, past and present - I'm always looking for new and interesting authors, and I'm looking forward to comparing notes on books I like with other readers and discovering new books (to add to my ever-growing to-read list!)

I am also an author of what's been dubbed epic romantic fantasy.


message 3770: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi Kyra, welcome.


message 3771: by Ron (last edited Oct 16, 2013 11:11AM) (new)

Ron (ronb626) | 156 comments Kyra wrote: "Hi, I'm Kyra. I'm 50, almost 51, but age is just a number :-D I've loved reading fantasy since I was a kid, starting with the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, and the Earthsea Trilogy. In hig..."

Age is just a number. However, your number is lower than mine...

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? - Satchel Paige(I think)

Whatever, to coin a phrase used by those with even lower numbers than either of us, welcome to Goodreads. May you enjoy it as much as I do.


message 3772: by Neal (new)

Neal (infinispace) Hi everyone, just joined the group. Neal, 48 year old science fiction fan since, yep, 1977 when a certain movie had a huge influence on me. I also enjoy fantasy, but I read very little of it anymore for some reason. I'm a full time engineer by trade, and run a couple of websites in the evening. I'm also an avid computer game, sometime board gamer, and random writer (who here probably isn't?). This eats up a lot of reading time.

I tend to migrate to science fiction classics and books with big concepts. But I'm not a huge fan of authors who churn out endless series (unless the books are independent in the same universe), but I will tackle them over a span of time if they are compelling to me.

Currently reading: The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl (RIP)

Some of the books I've recently finished:
Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds
The Songs of Distant Earth - A.C. Clarke (great book BTW!)
Chasm City - Alastair Reynolds
Zodiac - Neal Stephenson
Brave New World - Huxley
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe - Charles Yu
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days - Alastair Reynolds

My wife also reads, but more YA, fantasy, and Shakespeare related books. We probably have around 1500 books (combined) in our home. She has somewhat converted to ebooks, but I will give up my printed books when they pry them from my cold, dead hands. =)

You can read random speculative fiction news, reviews, and the occassional short story on my blog. http://www.infinispace.net


message 3773: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome.


message 3774: by Jim (new)

Jim (gravelpit) | 14 comments Greetings everyone! I joined Goodreads recently and I am happy to find this group as I am an avid Science Fiction and Fantasy reader, and I also like Horror. I am currently reading 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss and really enjoying it. But while I love long and epic stories and grand arch's I am very enthralled with short stories. There is nothing like a concise and awesome story like 'Foet' by F.Paul Wilson, or "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison. 'The Real Story' by Stephen R. Donaldson is also great writing and a killer story.

I am looking forward to being apart of the group. Cheers to all.

Jim


message 3775: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi..we'll do our best to recommend more books that you can ever possibly read.

Really.


message 3776: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Jim wrote: "Greetings everyone! I joined Goodreads recently and I am happy to find this group as I am an avid Science Fiction and Fantasy reader, and I also like Horror. I am currently reading 'The Name of the..."

Donaldson and Ellison are two of my all time favorites. Have you read much Zelazny or Saberhagen? They, along with Donaldson, were the Northern NM Triumvirate of science fiction for the longest time. :-) Welcome to the group!


message 3777: by Jim (new)

Jim (gravelpit) | 14 comments Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Hi..we'll do our best to recommend more books that you can ever possibly read.

Really."


Hi Mike, somehow I think you are truly telling the truth about this. Hehe.


message 3778: by Jim (new)

Jim (gravelpit) | 14 comments Jordan wrote: "Jim wrote: "Greetings everyone! I joined Goodreads recently and I am happy to find this group as I am an avid Science Fiction and Fantasy reader, and I also like Horror. I am currently reading 'The..."

Hi Jordan and thank you for the welcome. Great recommendations. I think I have some old Analog's or Fantasy SF's with stories by these two. Not sure though, I need to look that up. Thanks!

We didn't make the world. All we have to do is live in it.”
― Stephen R. Donaldson, Lord Foul's Bane


message 3779: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments My dad subscribed me to Analog for my 14th birthday and (1966) and I had the subscription for years. The magazines "disappeared" while I was in the army, LOL. Wish I still had them.


message 3780: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Jim wrote: "Hi Jordan and thank you for the welcome. Great recommendations. I think I have some old Analog's or Fantasy SF's with stories by these two. Not sure though, I need to look that up. Thanks!"

:-) Zelazny's "Isle of the Dead" was the first book my little seven year old bad self stole from my older brother's science fiction collection, and it was my first exposure to science fiction outside Star Trek. I probably understood about half of it at the time, but I was hooked. So I have a bit of a soft spot for Zelazny.


message 3781: by [deleted user] (new)

Amber was my second fantasy book after LotR, so I have a soft spot for Zelazny as well :)


message 3782: by Ron (new)

Ron (ronb626) | 156 comments Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "... The magazines "disappeared" while I was in the army, LOL. Wish I still had them."

Same thing happened to my with my baseball cards. And, I had that $30,000 Mickey Mantle card.

Of course, it wasn't worth that much in 1958 when I went into the Navy, but, still...


message 3783: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments I was discharged in '75...a lot of books and such went away while I was gone. One large box of books was stored in an "out-building".

Sorry about the card. ouch.


message 3784: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Chip wrote: "I'm Chip Putnam and I live in Clemmons, NC. My current age is 42 which makes me the answer to "What is meaning of life, the universe, and everything!" I'm eclectic in my writings but for reading ..."

Hi, Chip. Since you're in NC, if you're anywhere near Southern Pines on November 23, I'm having a book signing for my fantasy series. If you're interested, the event is listed on my page. Hope to see you there.


message 3785: by L.G.A. (new)

L.G.A. McIntyre | 12 comments Hi All,

My name is Linda McIntyre, and I am a new author. I've been devoted to SciFi and Fantasy for most of my life. My bookcase overtook me, so now I am filling up a Kobo.

Born in 67, Canadian. I am an executive producer of television, film, web series, documentaries etc.
I live for discussing the best books out there, and am looking forward to chatting with you all about important topics such as is Dragon Riders of Pern a SciFi masquerading as a Fantasy? The Warlock Series by Christopher Stasheff certainly is. And when are they going to turn the Stainless Steel Rat into a movie?

Linda McIntyre
http://www.lgamcintyre.com
@lgamcintyre
@LOLG_theExile
Author: The Exile - Lies of Lesser Gods


message 3786: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Luís wrote: "Hi all.

I'm Luís and I live in Porto, the second largest city of Portugal. I'm 25 and an avid reader since learned how to read. Besides reading, I am also a poetry writer with a published book. Ne..."


Welcome to the group!


message 3787: by Jason (new)

Jason (jmharsh) | 3 comments Hello, name is Jason. Born and raised in the US. I started reading SF&F as a young teen and have carried my enjoyment of this genre into adulthood. Some of my favorite authors include Peter F. Hamilton, John Scalzi, Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, George R.R. Martin


message 3788: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi Luis, Jason welcome.


message 3789: by Susana789 (new)

Susana789 | 1 comments Hallo, my name is Susana789. I am from Slovakia, I was born here and I live here, too. I read a lot, once nicknamed me a book-worm (meaning: book-lover) - but that was a long time ago :-). The first scifi book I've read was a Russian translation of Ursula le Guin Rocannon's World. It was in 1986 and because my country was part of so-called East-Block and translations of Western sci-fi writers were rare because ideology (but there were S. Lem and the Strugatsky Brothers).
Well, le Guin was good start for reading sci-fi. Since then I've read a lot: books that I can remember word after word (Dune by F. Herbert, Witcher/ Wiedzmin by Sapkowsky or Neuromancer by Gibson). The books that I love now (Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, Patrick Ryan and Peter V. Brett are my "like" for today). And there are - of course - books, which I can not remember because they were dull and poorly written. But I will not talk about those :-).


message 3790: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Hi, Susana789, and welcome. :-)


message 3791: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi Susana789, welcome.


message 3792: by Dan (new)

Dan (twocentsplain) | 1 comments Hello all.

I am 46 and live near Chicago. I enjoy sci-fi and dystopian novels. Seeing the ads for Ender's Game - I think I'll go back and read that series. I read it in high school and don't really remember anything, but do remember enjoying the series. My current reading selection has been slim as I just completed writing my first novel, Leviticus (what else? dystopian/sci-fi). Looking forward to going through some of your folks' reading lists to put together a must read list for myself. Also always looking for good recommendations for the kids. They are not big readers, but anytime I find a really good book, I try to get one of them to read it. Looking forward to readings posts from this group
Dan


message 3793: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome.


message 3794: by Jordan (new)

Jordan MacLean (damerien) | 72 comments Dan wrote: "Hello all.

I am 46 and live near Chicago. I enjoy sci-fi and dystopian novels. Seeing the ads for Ender's Game - I think I'll go back and read that series. I read it in high school and don't rea..."


Welcome, Dan. :-)


message 3795: by Bill (new)

Bill Jajic (burnabybill) | 5 comments Hi my name is Bill. At the age of 57 I have read a ridiculus number of sci fi and fantasy novels. I really love oddball non linear type novels, like Tim Powers' Last Call. Not that I don't enjoy an exciting a ray guns and rocket ship or blood and swords type of read.


message 3796: by Ashley (new)

Ashley Hey I'm Ashley! I'm from Kentucky, soon to be hitting the dreaded 30. Born December 23rd of '83. I LOVE to read. I learned how to read when I was 2 and have been losing myself in fantasy worlds ever since. :3 I adore animals. I have 4 dogs, 9 cats, 4 ducks, and 20 some odd chickens. I'm not really new to goodreads but I am fairly new to the whole groups thing. :p


message 3797: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi Bill, Ashley, welcome.


message 3798: by Judy (new)

Judy (judygreeneyes) | 107 comments welcome!


message 3799: by Christopher (new)

Christopher Buckner (shaddix1980) | 2 comments Hello gang!

I'm fairly new to Goodread - been on it for a while but haven't really been too involved until recently. Starting to see the wonders of the site.

Anyways, my name is Christopher Lee Buckner. I've been writing for about seven years now. Most of my work comes from the video game industry where I worked as a writer and designer for a number of small game studios. I've also worked for a number of web sites as a gaming journalist - fun work but very hard. I've published a few novels by my self and through publisher. I'm looking for a interesting group that loves sci-fi, fantasy, historical and comics.

Cheers


message 3800: by Mike (the Paladin) (new)

Mike (the Paladin) (thepaladin) | 874 comments Hi, welcome.


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