SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Mike (the Paladin)
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Oct 14, 2013 04:51PM

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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.

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)

Hi Electra, welcome and good luck.

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


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!


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!

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. ;-)

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.
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.


Born in '55? Just a kid, yet...
Never use "being old", either. Prefer, "being older"
Welcome to the group.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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!

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

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


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

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...

Sorry about the card. ouch.

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.

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

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!


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 :-).

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

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. :-)



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
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