Nominations (& poll links) for next SERIES read (SF) > Likes and Comments

I am starting this process earlier than normal because I’ll be traveling & may not have reliable internet access during the time I would normally do this.

Our current fantasy series group read & discussion (Echoes of the Fall) will end in mid-December, and then we usually take a month off from reading and discussing a series. I am opening nominations for a series to begin January 15, 2027. Since we alternate genres, this time we are accepting nominations for a SCIENCE FICTION series. Please read the guidelines before making your nomination.

GUIDELINES:
—Each member can nominate one series.
—The series should be complete, as far as you can tell. I realize authors sometimes revisit a series years later, but as much as possible, we are looking to read a completed series.
—The series should be one we have not read and discussed as a group. Click HERE for a list of the past series we have read together.
—Please give the name of the series, the author, and how many books are in the series. Feel free to add the titles of the individual books, if you want.
—The series must be SCIENCE FICTION.
—Nominations do NOT require a second.

Nominations will be open through Monday, October 26, 2026. We will have a preliminary round of polling to narrow the field starting Tuesday, October 27, 2026, and then a final poll starting Tuesday, November 3, 2026 to determine the winner. The series read itself will start January 15, 2027.

Let’s go!
Kathi, for the mods

Nominations:
Riverworld by Philip José Farmer, 5 books starting with To Your Scattered Bodies Go
Zones of Thought by Vernor Vinge, 3 books starting with A Fire Upon the Deep
Adventures of Pip & Flinx by Alan Dean Foster, 15 books starting with For Love of Mother-Not
Rampart by M.R. Carey, 3 books starting with The Book of Koli
Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh, 22 books starting with Foreigner

Nominated but disqualified:
Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor, starting with We Are Legion (We Are Bob): not a completed series

Somebody told me to put this back up because it wasn't fantasy, it was SF. I think it's a tossup between whether it is fantasy or whether it is SF, but here you go!

Riverworld (5 books) by Philip José Farmer

To Your Scattered Bodies Go
The Fabulous Riverboat
The Dark Design
The Magic Labyrinth
The Gods of Riverworld

I have made it through the first and second books at least twice twice, and I may have made it through the third book once. But I have not made it to the end.

A warning: I have to say, the ratings decrease as the books advance. Perhaps that is why I have bombed out twice.

I would like to nominate the 3 book Zones of Thought series by Vernor Vinge:

A Fire Upon the Deep
A Deepness in the Sky
The Children of the Sky

So I do know that A Fire Upon the Deep was a group read back in 2015, but I don’t know about the others. But if that eliminates this series as a candidate then I instead I will nominate the 3 book Linesman series by S.K. Dunstall:

Linesman
Alliance
Confluence

I’m fine with either of these; I would prefer to nominate something people will actually read for the discussions and so possibly Linesman would be better in that it isn’t as widely read as Zones of Thought.

So, I’ll let Kathy make the decision on that :)

Justine wrote: "So, I’ll let Kathy make the decision on that :)."

Nope, not my job! ;-)

The group has read A Fire Upon the Deep as BotM at least twice; however, the group has not read the other 2 books in the series.

So you will need to choose which nomination you’d like to go with. Either one meets the guidelines.

Ok well Zones of Thought it is then; I guess if people don’t want to read it they won’t vote for it!

I've already started reading the Pip & Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster, and would like to nominate that.

There are 15 books:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/5181...

I thought about the Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh, but 22 books looked a bit daunting to me so instead I'll propose the Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor, starting with We Are Legion (We Are Bob). It looks like a lot of fun.

I'm inclined to nominate the Rampart Trilogy by M.R. Carey. I've been curious for awhile.

The books are:

1. The Book of Koli
2. The Trials of Koli
3. The Fall of Koli

Shel wrote: "I thought about the Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh, but 22 books looked a bit daunting to me so instead I'll propose the Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor, st..."

There are currently 6 books in the Bobiverse series, with a 7th one planned. “Work has started on Bobiverse Book 7, which author Dennis E. Taylor has indicated will likely serve as the final main linear timeline book in the series.” Since it is not a completed series (yet), it’s not eligible.

Do you want to try the Foreigner series? Or make a different nomination?

Oops, I didn’t realize it wasn’t complete! Sure, let’s try Foreigner.