The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

Hi everyone! My name is Dan and I am relatively new to the sci-fi field of fiction. Traditionally I have been more into horror and fantasy stories, but felt the need to explore something new, and thus created this group.

Feel free to introduce yourselves and list some of your favourite sci-fi books.

Hi, I'm Lit Bug, about to start my Ph.D. in feminist cyberpunk (written post 1990s) and am immensely interested in SF.

Loved Asimov's short stories and his novels like Nemesis, recent works like The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Gibson's Neuromancer and Well's The Time Machine...

Embassytown, though, is my favorite.

kXnPunk here. :D

HYPERION by Simmons. The best Sci-Fi I ever read. Time traveling, Monster Metal Spiked creature that's also a god of some kind of sect/religion, a few pilgrisms, a war, a priest with an ever reviving crucifix on his chest, a soldier and ships. Wild. Very.

War Of The World by Welles a true classic.
Farenheit 451 by Bradbury
Instrumentality Of Mankind by Smith
Dune by Herbert
Any Asimov really.
Same with Heinlein
And let's not forget Gibson.

Hey I love sci-fi. Books, films, games..Massive Alastair Reynolds, Greg bear, Iain banks ... Space opera is what I search out, a book that can let you travel across light years meeting all kinds of life and experiencing mind blowing technology..

This is a great idea for a group - I had to join up!

My name is Kelly, and I love cyberpunk, or any sci-fi that caters to the darker or philosophical side. Gibson, Asimov, Bradbury, and Wells are my favourites, but I will give almost any sci-fi a shot (space opera would be the subgenre I read the least, though). I like my sci-fi mostly near-future (100 or so years), and usually pretty cynical.

Greetings everyone I'm glad to see so many people have signed up already.

Christian wrote: "kXnPunk here. :D

HYPERION by Simmons. The best Sci-Fi I ever read. Time traveling, Monster Metal Spiked creature that's also a god of some kind of sect/religion, a few pilgrisms, a war, a priest w..."

Hey Punk! I'm happy to see someone I know join up!

Hey, my name is Adrian. I love sci-fi, both new and old. I'm a bit of a technology geek so I'm a sucker for robots.

Hi folks, azzy here. I'll toss out Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy (Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God).

Welcome to the club, enjoy the stay!

Hey peeps. Cool indeed to see faces we know.

Damn, we forget one of the best things ever Douglas Adams and the Hitchicker's series. He rules and thanks for all the fish. lol
http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=...

Yes indeed, he was an excellent author!

Hi,

I'm Michael. I'm really excited to read some more Sci-fi. Most of my sic-fi intake comes through comics so it'll be nice to read some of the classics.

Hi, I'm Katie.

Most of my reading is in fantasy, so a lot of my sci-fi reading is from authors who write both, like Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, and Mercedes Lackey. I've also enjoyed Richard Adams, James H. Schmitz, and Jules Verne. My preference is space opera and aliens.:D

I've a side passion for history, so I'm pretty excited about reading through the timeline of sci-fi.

Welcome aboard! I look forward to hearing everyone's unique opinions on the books we read as we move along through the years.

Hi everyone, I'm Derek.

I'm a long time friend of Dan's and I can't wait to get into the sci-fi. I love the sci-fi setting but have only read a few sci-fi books, loved them all:

H.G. Wells - The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon
Frank Herbert's Dune
George Orwell's 1984

Hey Derek! Thanks for signing up!

Hi all, I am Afshaan. I thoroughly enjoy reading sci-fi and non-fiction science.

I have read some amazing authors along the way such as Douglas Adams (LOVE him!), Philip K Dick, Asimov, Verne (Love him too!) and a bit of Cory Doctorow.

This group is just serendipitous because I was planning on reading The Time Machine (after finishing my current book, Sunstorm) because I recently read somewhere that a major part of the book's beginning explains what a time machine is, not how it works but what it is supposed to do because the concept of time travel didn't exist or wasn't so commonplace back then.

And that made me want to know how various sci-fi concepts originated and with whom. It would be fascinating! For example, the first possible mention of an FTL jump (a la BSG) was in a Philip K Dick short story - The Variable Man (edit)!

So yeah, that's a somewhat long intro so thank you for bearing with me. I look forward to some good book recommendations and enlightening discussions.

Afshaan wrote: " not how it works but what it is supposed to do because the concept of time travel didn't exist or wasn't so commonplace back then. "

Hi Afshaan! It actually didn't exist, HG Wells was the one to dream up the idea of the time machine. He also dreamt up the idea of aliens invading Earth, as well as the idea of an invisible man.

Wow, that man's a genius! I am not into autographs but would certainly ask Him for one. Hope the next group read book is one of HG Wells.

^Ha! I'd LOVE his autograph, probably be worth a fortune though. I'm sure we will read an H.G Wells book, we'll just have to figure out which.

Hi my name is Alex and I'm also relatively new to science fiction. It's only this year that I started to read sf and it's become a favorite genre of mine just behind fantasy.

My favorite books are Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.

Hi, well, I am currently working on my Doctorate in IT, I thought this was a good idea after almost 25 years working on RADAR and the Harrier. Currently working in healthcare (at least for 4 years now).

I normally read as an escape from the reality which I have put myself through for a while now. I will go with Science Fiction and Horror being my genre's of choice. I will read about anything that is well written and has a good story though. I will agree with most above when it comes to the authors like Clarke and Asimov with the Rama Series and the Foundation books being among my favorite from those authors.

Hi,
My name is Tollan Ian Wade, and I hope you might look at my series for your current-day, "to-day" sci-fi section.
AMERICA ONE-Hard Core Science Fiction series on Amazon.
Enjoy!

Welcome everyone! Enjoy the stay.

I hope to read at least one Arthur C. Clarke book, as well as Asimov. I picked up Rendevouz with Rama recently and was really looking forward to checking out the Foundation series as well.

T.I. I just did a quick look on Amazon, sounds pretty cool, it will be considered for sure.

Dan wrote: "Welcome everyone! Enjoy the stay.

I hope to read at least one Arthur C. Clarke book, as well as Asimov. I picked up Rendevouz with Rama recently and was really looking forward to checking out the ..."
Thanks so much Dan.

Hi. I'm Buck

I'm old enough to have been reading science fiction during what our moderator has defined as The Golden Era. I was a great Isaac Asimov fan, back when he was turning them out as fast as I could read them. Other favorites of that time are Robert A Heinlein and Philip K Dick. I devoured science fiction and then took a years-long hiatus.

I began reading avidly again a couple of years ago and have reread some of those great old sci-fi books. And I have discovered some great ones from The Modern Era, such as Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos.

In science fiction I like authentic rather than ersatz pseudo-science, and I like space operas. Not so big on fantasy and I wish science fiction and fantasy weren't so often glommed together as one genre. I tend to avoid series, although I read 13 of Card's after reading Ender's Game last year.

I enjoy good books, but there's so much mediocre science fiction out there. I'm looking forward to discovering good science fiction from the sci-fi fans in this group. And when the time comes, I have a question I've been scratching my head about, regarding Asimov's Foundation trilogy, which I reread recently.

Welcome aboard Buck! It's good to see someone who has some experience in the field of sci-fi join us here. I am really looking forward to reading your posts.

All the authors you named I want to read and discuss. I have read some Orson Scott Card before, but it was his Seventh Son series. Eventually I lost interest in reading the series. Though I do want to read Ender's Game.

Hello!
I set a goal back in June that I would slowly work my way through all the Hugo award winners. I've read a few and am currently working on the Foundation series. I am loving it and also love the idea of reading key novels as the genre evolved. No one I know reads sci fi so hopefully I can get some much needed discussion on here!

Hi All,

I'm Marc. I've been reading scifi forever it seems like. But just in reading through this thread, I realize how much I haven't read! Some of my favorites:

-The Foundation Trilogy (I know there are others, but the original trilogy was what got me into the genre in the first place)
-Dune, and some of it's sequels (not all)
-Neuromancer
-Red Mars (all three of Robinson's Mars books are great, but the first one is a classic if you are into books with just as much science as fiction in them)
-Snow Crash
-Hyperion

I'm currently reading "Abaddon's Gate", the third book in the "Expanse" series by James SA Corey. While not as groundbreaking as the books above, I have to say, this series is pretty good so far.

Welcome aboard guys!

Hello, I'm Australian author P.J. Parker. What a great group! Awesome to see that you are reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Hi,
I'm Jo I read a lot of Sci-fi. I like a lot of the books that have already been mentioned and I'm currently reading Roadside Picnic. Generally I like books about space travel but I do like my Sci-fi to be slightly plausible!

Dan wrote:
All the authors you named I want to read and discuss. I have read some Orson Scott Card before, but it was his Seventh Son series. Eventually I lost interest in reading the series. Though I do want to read Ender's Game. "

I read one seventh son story. Meh.

Ender's Game was first published as a short story in 1977 and was expanded to a novel a decade later. It's been around for a while and is definitely a sci-fi must-read. Most of its sequels are okay.

Jo wrote: "Hi,
I'm Jo I read a lot of Sci-fi. I like a lot of the books that have already been mentioned and I'm currently reading Roadside Picnic. Generally I like books about space travel but I do like my S..."

Welcome I read Roadside Picnic this year and greatly enjoyed it. There's a Russian film adaptation I've been meaning to see titles Stalker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM_GOp...

Welcome aboard everyone!

Lori: I too love the good Doctor, but haven't read any books based on it. I wouldn't be touching any romance novels with a ten foot poll, medieval romances on the other hand, I love.

P.J.: I just checked out your profile, you must be quite the Frankenstein fan, I see you have a novel inspired by it. I hope to benefit from you knowledge on the subject!

Hello! I am Brianna!
My dad first introduced me to Asimov about 10 years ago and I devoured the Sun Shines Bright in about a day. Lately I've been reading mostly dystopian fantasies(fantasy is my comfy couch when it comes down to it). I have recently decided I need to expand my horizons, and have begun to dip my toes in with Brave New World and I've just begun 2001: A Space Oddysey. I am very excited to taste some new flavors!

Hi there! What an excellent idea, this group.

I read my first scifi at about 6, when I discovered a copy of Welles' "War of the Worlds."

Fast forward three years later I had already read a bunch of Asimov short stories. I guess the mixture of the futuristic atmosphere with Asimov's witty punch lines was what hooked me: that feeling at the end of "How it happened, " or "Buy Jupiter"

But fortunately there is much more to acidity than just Welles, Verne and Asimov, and I cannot wait to discover many more jewels of this genre thanks to this group!

Thanks y'all!

Hi all!
I've been reading sci-fi since I started reading. I love the classics, but I also have a soft spot for the pulps. I have read most of the authors mentioned in your posts and enjoyed most of them. For my Heinlein is the grand master and for pure guilty pleasure it has to be ERB and the Barsoom series. I know cheesey, but I can't help myself.
I'm looking forward to some new works and great discussions!

Hi there, Jeff

I too enjoy Heinlein, but I haven't read any Burroughs. I don't remember his name coming up in the topics in the Old Sci-Fi category. Don't forget to nominate his work when the next opportunity arises. Check out the poll to choose among books by Jules Verne for the September group read.

Hi im Stuart from Glasgow.

I adore sci-fi and generally only read this (and its many sub genres) and fantasy. My favourite authors are Philip K Dick and Arthur C. Clarke.

Francisco wrote: "
Fast forward three years later I had already read a bunch of Asimov short stories. I guess the mixture of the futuristic atmosphere with Asimov's witty punch lines was what hooked me: that feeling at the end of "How it happened, " or "Buy Jupiter"

But fortunately there is much more to acidity than just Welles, Verne and Asimov, and I cannot wait to discover many more jewels of this genre thanks to this group! "

Francisco -

Isaac Asimov was a truly great writer of SF short stories. His novels are good. His short stories are better.

Interesting that you group Verne, Wells, and Asimov together. Verne and Wells were 19th century writers. Makes me feel old. I was reading Asimov when he was still pumping them out. :)

I read recently that Asimov wrote more books than anybody else ever, on just about every subject.

Hey there! My name is Whit and I am a librarian in Connecticut. I am super excited about this group! I am just getting into science fiction and I think this group is a great way to explore the genre and meet new people. So far my favorite scifi book has been The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. Looking forward to delving into the classics!

Hello everyone my name is Greg and I am relatively new SF fan. I am a product of the Star Wars generation which began a lifelong love of the genre, but stopped reading for many years. This was until a friend recommended John Scalzi's Old Man's War and now I am switching out the TV remote for a Kindle. I am very excited to go through the history of SF and look forward to great discussions!

Hi Gregory

Gregory wrote: "Hello everyone my name is Greg and I am relatively new SF fan. I am a product of the Star Wars generation which began a lifelong love of the genre, but stopped reading for many years. This was until a friend recommended John Scalzi's Old Man's War and now I am switching out the TV remote for a Kindle. I am very excited to go through the history of SF and look forward to great discussions!"

John Scalzi's Old Man's War is on my to-read list. Unfortunately my library doesn't have a copy, not an ebook, audiobook, nor printed book.

Welcome Greg, Whit and Stuart!

Hi Everyone -

My name is Zac; I'm a sci-fi addict.

Pretty late life sci-fi convert, only the last 5 or 6 years. Like ClassicMatt, I've been intermittently working through a goal of all the Hugo award winning novels, but I'm trying to read the Nebulas too.

I was very excited to find this group because it seems like it'll mesh will as I'm prone to picking up a lot of older books that fewer peers are picking up these days. I've also got a soft spot for Frankenstein since taking a specifically focused Frankenstein class back in college.

My all time favorite has always been Vonnegut, but these days I find myself a huge fan of Peter F Hamilton, Dan Simmons, Greg Bear, and am a big fan of the work Niven and Pournelle did together.

Cheers! Looking forward to some group reads!
-Zac

Welcome Zac! Welcome Nicholas!

Hi Folks

I'm Theresa.

My all time favorite book of science fiction (or any fiction) is Tales From Planet Earth by Arthur C Clarke.

Hoping to discover some interesting works and opinions here.

Welcome aboard, I'm sure you'll enjoy the stay.