Former Introduction Thread Showing 3,801-3,850 of 6,846

[Alex]

Hi all, my name is Alex Cord and I have just started to look at all this cool stuff online. I'm an actor by trade and now an author. Feel free to come over and say hi.

[Richard]

Greetings, all. I'm an old guy who started reading scifi when my dad brought home some of the 1950s pulps. I cut my teeth on Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury and the crew, later migrating a bit to fantasy. At first Tolkien, but lately Pratchett and GRRM and Gaiman and... you get the idea. Probably my favorite all-time cross genre is Walter M. Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz, of course, Dick's work is a close second. While I prefer a more thoughtful style with a message, I can appreciate Starship Trooper-esque stuff too. I read a lot and I write a bit as well.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi and welcome.

[Richard]

I forgot to add I'm lost somewhere inside the Stepping Worlds in Pratchett's Long Earth right now. So many scientific theories and questions floating in and out I can barely see straight... Oh. It's a series. OK. On to Gaiman.

[Lazlo]

Hi All
My named is Lazlo Ferran. I am a writer and I love history; I couldn't study history at school so perhaps that's one of the reasons I now have a passion for it. Early (High) Medieval is one of my specialities. I first started to learn a lot about this period when I researched my family tree. It took ten years but I eventually located my earliest known ancestor - a Knight (Chevalier) in Languedoc, France in 1240. From here I studied books about the Cathars and French nobility and monasteries so that I can now write with some authority on this place and time. I also offer my services as a copy editor and copy developer in this genre.
My other historic speciality is World War II and particular air-force history. I have always been passionate about old aircraft and have a great store of knowledge on the subject. I have just published Attack Hitler's Bunker! - a war thriller about a squadron of Short Stirlings and Hurricanes who attack Hitler using unusual techniques. Proceeds for the first two years will go to The Stirling Aircraft Society. (This ebook is free on Amazon from 6-10 Nov)

I do also write Sci-fi books which draw on the history of cultures and technical knowledge so there is a tie-in.
You could also loosely describe some of my historical novels as fantasies althoug the history in them is for the most part accurate: werewolves and vampires are my favourite topics. The Ordo Lupus series, beginning with Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate are suspense thrillers about werewolves and vampires but with a heavy dose of history much along the lines of Dan Brown stories. This book is free on Amazon From 1-5 Nov.
Currently I am engaged on some more exotic subjects - publishing an erotic mystery and a WWII/Sci-fi novel as well as developing a straight vampire story.
I would love to hear from any of you.
Yours
Lazlo

[Richard]

HI, Lazlo and Erica -- Erica, you could do much worse than Gaiman! He's a great guy to hang out with. Try American Gods, if you have a connection to the USA.

[Richard]

Alex wrote: "Hi all, my name is Alex Cord and I have just started to look at all this cool stuff online. I'm an actor by trade and now an author. Feel free to come over and say hi."

Welcome aboard, Alex. I was a huge Laramie fan and remember the Mountain Man! What genre are you writing in, or nonfiction?

[Rob]

Erica wrote: "I was convinced I did not read SF and fantasy, until my friend Penny cleared the wool from my eyes. Apparently I read a lot of it and am just misguided."

lol. Nice.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[gaverne]

Hi there,

I am Gaverne and I am 44 years old. I have pretty much been into sci fi since about the age of 15 or so. I lost interest in it for various reasons but with the death of Iain Banks have actively been searching for new writers or things I have missed. I have read almost all of the Science Fiction canon - Asimov, Herbert, Clarke. What I am hoping is that through this group I come across an entirely new writer or book.I would love to fins an Asimov or something as powerful Childhood's End through a suggestion that one of you guys put forward.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Al]

Gaverne wrote: "Hi there,

I am Gaverne and I am 44 years old. I have pretty much been into sci fi since about the age of 15 or so. I lost interest in it for various reasons but with the death of Iain Banks have a..."

If you haven't read Heinlein, your repertoire of the "giants" isn't complete yet. Mostly out of print, but check you used book stores and perhaps Amazon. I don't know if there are eBook versions available.

New writers? Most are available in eBook form. Some ONLY in eBook:
-Bruce Davis has a wide range (only a few books out so far). He has a short freebee available at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view.... It's 99 cents at Amazon, but Smashwords has a Kindle version as well.
-For military SF, try John Bowers (most of his stuff is "R" rated, so apply your own standards). The first book in his Fighter Queen saga is available for 99 cents: http://www.akwbooks.com/BookStore/pro...
-If you like short stories, I put together 34 from 10 authors in a large anthology: http://www.akwbooks.com/BookStore/pro...
-Duncan Long is a multi-talented fellow. A fine artist and a SF author. He's available on Amazon (not sure about Smashwords). I just finished his Lesser Gods, a dystopian work (haven't written my review yet).

I'm sure a number of our other members will chime in with suggestions (many for their own works, so be prepared). Of the above stuff, only 3 shorts in the anthology are mine, everyone else are authors I enjoy reading for fun. I purposefully left out my own novels.

Good luck!

[Thomas]

Gaverne wrote: "What I am hoping is that through this group I come across an entirely new writer or book..."

Brand spankin' new, or new to you? If the latter, be careful - we might bury you alive!

Off the top of my head I'd suggest looking into C.J. Cherryh, Peter F. Hamilton, Greg Bear, and David Brin.

[Amber]

Hi Everyone

I joined this site because I love reading fantasy/ mainstream fiction and wanted to connect with like minded people. My friends would describe me as shy hehehe but once i get going i can be a bit of a chatterbox :):)

What else....well... I like books by C.S Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Stephanie Meyer among others. At the moment I am reading a interesting book titled Emanuel Stone And The Phoenix Shadow by Isaac Solomon. It was recommended to me by a close friend and I must admit I wasn't expecting much. However to my surprise I've found it to be a very deep story about hope, following the journey of an ordinary young man who is coming to grips with his identity in a troubled world. So far it is the most entertaining book I've read this year as it mixes many themes and challenges certain stereotypes held of young people by addressing issues not usually attributed to youth.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Emanuel-Stone...

[Luke]

Hi, my name's Luke and I am a lifelong sci-fi fan, but new to Goodreads.

I am also an author with an incredible new sci fi adventure out, but I won't give you any links here (I've read the rules!).

I'm a massive Arthur C. Clarke fan, and just spent 10 minutes reading the Rendezvous with Rama thread - happy days! I am also massively into Asimov, Bradbury and Philip K Dick (needed to write his whole name, to avoid confusion). My next mission is to finally finish the Foundation series, which I'm about halfway through (I think? Still can't work out the definitive order of the damn things!)

I'm not so much into Fantasy, though I do love LoTR (the books, the film is also quite good), and Game of Thrones (the TV series, still haven't dabbled in the books yet).

I'm not into fan fiction at all really, so books of popular TV series really aren't my thing (Battlestar, Babylon 5, Star Wars, etc...).

Hope to make lots of new friends on the forum, and who knows, when the time is right I may even plug my novel, in the appropriate place!

Cheers
Luke

[Steven]

Hello,

I'm Steven Roy. The first movie I ever saw was Star Wars. That pretty much set my path.

Since then, I read tons of books, scifi, fantasy, horror. I'm somewhat of an expert on ghost stories.

Don't be shy. Say hello.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi folks...welcome to the asylum.

[Martin]

Hi, I'm Martin White, and I live in England.

I got into Sci Fi / Fantasy when I was a kid, and I've been a fan ever since.

My favourite authors include Charles Stross, China Mielville, Robert Heinlein, Robert J Sawyer, Vernor Vinge, Philip K. Dick, Neil Gaiman

I am on a mission to read every book ever nominated for "best novel" in the Hugos.

[Lyn]

Hello everyone, I'm Lyn Graves and live and work in middle Tennessee. I have enjoyed several of the threads thus far and hope to become active in some discussions. I like reading Philip K. Dick, Poul Anderson, Robert A. Heinlein, etc etc. I also am a member of a book club in Murfreesboro, we meet once a month and this month we are reading Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and will be looking at the thread on this page.

[Lyn]

I also write a lot of trivia questions and always enjoy comments about those.

[Luke]

Hi Martin and Lyn
Welcome to the club. I was told it was a bit of an asylum when I joined, but everyone seems perfectly sane to me. Which can only mean that I must be the lunatic!
Have fun :-)
Luke

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi Martin, think you'll enjoy our little band of crazies.

Lyn, welcome. Don't where in middle TN you are but I live in Nashville, so glad to see another Tennessean.

[Ron]

Rebekah wrote: "Hello :)

I'm Rebekah I live in sunny Scotland.... Well there is sun shining in between the clouds when it's not raining.... It counts. Positive thinking.

I am a wee book worm and if I listed the ..."

Hi, Rebekah. I live in Oregon, so I appreciate it also when the sun shines between the clouds and the rain.

I'm sure there are many here on this list, as most of us are book geeks. Goodreads in the equivalent of a town forum for book geeks. Any time you want to discuss a book, let me know. Or, just post something on 1 of the many lists on Goodreads.

Welcome to the geek list, Rebekah. You are not alone.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi Rebekah, welcome. Many of us have had the experience of being the only reader in a family, area or whatever. Feel free to vent, talk books or just hang out.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Feel free. Browse our profiles and check our book shelves.

[D.W.]

its been awhile so I thought I would re-introduce myself. I am dw Jackson. lover of all thing fantasy and sci-fi

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[Nande]

Hi all! My name is Nande, I'm 32 years old, was born in Haiti but came to Massachusetts at the tender age of 3 so I was pretty much raised here. There aren't too many people in my family who enjoy the pleasure of reading sci-fi and fantasy books as much as I do, I guess I'm sort of like the black sheep nerd among them lol! Anyways, I'm so happy to be here!!! I actually wish I discovered this site sooner. Nice to meet everyone :)

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome. I'd say a lot of us nave been the only one in the family to read that, "weird stuff". :)

[Nande]

Haha! Thank you!

[P.L.]

Hi, I'm Patsy, my pen name is P.L. Parker. I'm almost 62 - ick. I've written time travel in the Sci-Fi context (need a time machine sort of to get there) and two true Sci-Fis - The Chalice and Will o' the Wisp. I like adventure/romance stories so perfect venue for me. And of course, no Sci-Fi movie goes by me unseen. I am from Boise, Idaho. We had snow this morning!!! Love life and enjoy my family.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi P.L....I'm 61...till March. Not a big romance fan but agree on the other "stuff", :). Welcome.

[L.R.A.]

Keeping this short and sweet.
I'm Lucas, call me Luke: Author, amateur violinist, sporadic blogger, sporadic optimist, rehabilitated serial monogamist, reader.

Hullo!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[DP]

HI Everyone, I am a YA Sci-Fi author and reader. I like talking about and reading science fiction and dystopian books.

[L.G.]

Hi, I'm a reader and writer with an interest in fantasy. I enjoy a good fight scene, but I'm also a huge fan for political intrigue and espionage. I'm also a bit of a canon fiend - I like to understand everything about the world a novel portray, even down to the economic policies of the various kingdoms and the modes of dress people adopt. All the details helps me to piece together the fantasy and make it more real in my head.

I look forward to many an interesting discussion here.

[Roland]

Hello all! I was born on March 17, 1969 in New York, NY, lived in Massapequa Park, Long Island, until I was 10, then moved to the Garden State where I finished growing up in Matawan, NJ. I studied Environmental Engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, so naturally I work as an IT Systems Engineer. When I was younger, I was a voracious book reader, probably averaging sixty to a hundred new books a year. Now that I'm older and have a job, there doesn't seem to be enough time to read everything I'd like, and I find it harder to get back to a book once I've let it sit for a few weeks. Nevertheless, I'm still plugging away. I was hoping joining the book club would encourage me to read more, but it's tough to keep to the schedule with a few new books every month.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Anton]

Hi everyone, my name is Anton, and I'm a huge fan of science fiction, sci-fi/horror and hard science fiction. I am a die hard Trekkie, and I'm also a science fiction author myself, having recently published my debut novel this past summer.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome.

[Michael]

Wow, over 4,000 introductions! So sorry I'm late to this ... I'll never be able to read them all.

I grew up on science fiction and fantasy in the '70s and early '80s, but drifted away from all that when I went to college and became an English major and started reading classics and got all "literary." So I'm way out of date as to what's been happening in the genre since then. But I'm looking forward to catching up ...

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome...even if you haven't read all the intros....

[Judy]

Welcome! You'll enjoy this group.

[Alan]

Michael wrote: "So I'm way out of date as to what's been happening in the genre since then..."
Well, apart from being 10-15 years ahead of you, I have had similar problems - the answer is that one heck of a lot has happened in these genres over the last 25 years or so - some good, some bad, but either way you have a LOT of catching up to do! I suggest you read some Goodreads reviews - find someone you agree with - and follow their lead. Beware, though - a lot of new stuff manages to get hyped at first but doesn't really deserve it - and it has a great peak with everyone talking about it - but it doesn't last! Really good stuff will develop some history. Don't fall for initial hype!
Nice dog, by the way!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

The finding someone you agree with can help in the last thing you mentioned. More and more the problem isn't finding sci/fi and fantasy. it's finding good sci/fi and fantasy...but there's a lot out there buried in the "mass".

[Matthew]

Boy, a I late to THIS party! However, I still want to introduce myself and start making myself useful around here. My name is Matt Williams, I am a lifelong sci-fi, fantasy and speculative fiction, and since 2004, I've also been a writer thereof. I have several titles listed here on GRs.

But I didn't come to pimp my work. Mainly, I'm looking to chat with other people who appreciate classic examples of these genres as much as I do (or even more) and what makes it so relevant and enjoyable to us.

My favorite books so far include:

Accelerando, by Charles Stross
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Diamond Age, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Man in the High Castle and A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K Dick
Dune series, by Frank Herbert
Foundation and I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien
Neuromancer, Count Zero, Virtual Light, Idoru, Pattern Recognition, and Spook Country, by William Gibson
Revelation Space series, Century Rain, Galactic North, by Alastair Reynolds
The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein
The Space Odyssey series, Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
1984 and Animal Farm, by George Orwell
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin

[Lee]

Hello everyone. I've been a fantasy reader for most of my life. But I drifted away for awhile and now I am returning to the genre that made me fall in love with reading to begin with. I read almost anything. But a few of my favorite authors are Tolkien, Sanderson, and Hobb.

Even though I don't consider myself a science fiction reader I have read and enjoyed many. I haven't read any in a while but I like the older golden age era the best. And my favorite science fiction authors are Asimov and Clarke.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Hi, welcome.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Welcome. I think a lot of us do that.

[Jenna]

Hi, fellow readers! I'm 37, married, a mom of a combined family of six (4 are my bio offspring, 2 are my bonus offspring), and the guardian of a Chihuahua and a cat who thinks he's a dog. I've been an avid reader since I pieced together Dick and Jane waaaaaaay back in the day, and fantasy remains my favorite genre, with sci-fi a close second. I read as often as I am able, and re-read old favorites, and am lucky enough to have a vast personal library and a very understanding husband. I look forward to reading new authors and new books and talking about them!