Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

New members, Welcome to the SF&HF Group!

We are a group sharing an interest in science fiction and fantasy books, though we don't limit conversations to just books.

If you have the time, please use this topic to introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your tastes in fantasy and science fiction.

We have a number of General SF&F Topics under discussion.

Also, over the course of each month we select three works of science fiction or fantasy for more detailed discussion. (One classical science fiction or fantasy novel, one contemporary SF/F novel, and one short story, novella, or anthology of SF/F.) You'll find all our past discussions in our Book Discussions folder. Those are never closed, so feel free to add your opinions anytime!

The Recommendations Folder has member recommendations based on specific sub-genre topics, and our Award Folder has some information on award-nominated and award-winning sci-fi and fantasy for the last couple of years.

The SF/F Movie, TV & Video Game Chat provides a venue for discussing SciFi & Fantasy outside of books: TV, radio, the movies, VoD, Video Games and the like.

The Just for Fun folder is for discussing topics not specifically related to science fiction or fantasy.

If you're looking for a way to motivate yourself to read some SF/F books, we have a number of SF/F Group Challenges. You can find out more about them here.

Members who are also authors of science fiction and fantasy are invited to promote their work in our our Promotions folder. We ask that you limit your promotions to that folder and post at most one post a week.

And we have several other Folders which hopefully explain themselves!

So, welcome to the conversation!

Hi, my name is Lynne Stringer, and I'm the author of a YA sci-fi trilogy called The Verindon trilogy. I grew up watching things like Doctor Who and Star Wars and have enjoyed other sci-fi and fantasy offerings since then,
Nice too meet you. :-)

Hi. My name is Ken Chang. I am no stranger to the internet social media, but I feel pretty lost in here. I want to be able to use the Goodreads more this year, but it seems that it is really tied down to Amazon Kindle, and that is about it. At any rate, I consider myself a sci-fi fan, but I am by no means a pro. I am a dabbler. I want to read more good sci-fi books. So far, I have enjoyed Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series, and I am hoping to find something similar in style of writing, as well as the overall concept and story.

Thanks!

Ken.

Ken wrote: "Hi. My name is Ken Chang. I am no stranger to the internet social media, but I feel pretty lost in here. I want to be able to use the Goodreads more this year, but it seems that it is really tied d..."

There's a lot on this site & it does take some poking around & getting used to, but it isn't tied to the Amazon Kindle. The 'Get a book' buttons feature has 3 buttons & the first is to Amazon, but the other 2 can be customized in your profile. AbeBooks & Project Gutenberg come up on my buttons first.

This a great site for expanding your reading. Click on a commenter's profile picture & it will open their user profile. Some are private, but many of us don't do that. You'll see a 'Add as friend' button. To the right of that is a 'compare books' link. Click on it & GR will show you a list of all the books you have in common with the star ratings for both parties & links to the other person's review of the book, if they wrote one. This is a great way to find out who has tastes similar to your own. You can even look at their bookshelves. For instance, if you want ideas on SF, I have about 700 on my shelf here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

If you friend someone here, you have more access to their posts on the home page. I filter mine so I only see book reviews from Top Friends. I find a lot of good books that way.

Friend reviews are listed before all other reviews on specific books which helps a lot when I find a book & wonder if I might like it, but even if none of them have read a book, the community reviews are a huge help. I generally read a few in the order they're listed, then look at several of other star ratings. I find 1 star reviews very helpful in weeding out things I hate like stream-of-consciousness & bad punctuation.

Anyway, welcome to GR & the group. I hope you find your way around. PM me if you have further questions or just ask in the appropriate topic in most any group. A lot of people know this site better than I do, although I'm one of the early adopters.

I've stuck with it for 9+ years because my reading has never been better. I only read a couple of hundred books a year while a million are published. It's far too easy to waste time on books that aren't to my taste. With the help of my friends & the community here, that doesn't happen too often. My reading has never been better. In fact, I'm almost done with my review of the past year's reading here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Maybe it will give you some ideas.

Wow. Thanks! Yeah, I will definitely poke around here more. I do love my Kindle, but it irks me to no end that Kindle does not let me interact with GR on books other than the ones I purchased from Amazon. :)

Thanks!

Ken

I am still trying to get used to all the nuances of GR as well as Amazon, etc. I hope this year finds me more savvy in all of this, too.

sue
Winner of 2016 50 Great Writers You Should be Reading

Keith here. I'm new to the group. I read 60-80 books a year that are mostly science fiction and fantasy. I joined to be exposed to books and authors I may not be familiar with that come up in group discussions. I have been on Goodreads for a few years now but only recently joined groups.

Keith wrote: "Keith here. I'm new to the group. I read 60-80 books a year that are mostly science fiction and fantasy. I joined to be exposed to books and authors I may not be familiar with that come up in group discussions..."

Welcome to the group, Keith. You can check the group bookshelf for both past and upcoming group reads, or browse the Recommendations & Awards folders for some interesting lists of books you might enjoy.

So many books, so little time. :)

Hi, I'm Susan Kite. I have published 2 sci fi books and 1 historical books. I much prefer sci fi and fantasy although right now I am reading some mysteries by Judith White. I have been reading so many books lately, mostly young adult fantasy, that I haven't written as much as I'd like.

Hi, I'm RJ. I love science fiction books and movies. Oh, I do enjoy the Wizard of Oz, I mean really who does not like flying monkeys?

Hello all :) I'm Gilles. French man living in the UK.

Coder/Father by day, reader by night (and lunch time to be fair :p). I mostly read scifi, fantasy and horror books but quite enjoy crime/thriller stories as well.

Only got back into reading proper novel a year or so ago, started up again with the Mars trilogy and enjoyed it so much I kept on going and now having a huge list of books to go through in the future. GR doesn't really help me reduce the list!

Only been on here few weeks but love the concept and looking forward to discover more.

nihilisticmadman wrote: "Hello all :) I'm Gilles. French man living in the UK..."

Welcome to Goodreads & the group, Gilles.

You're right, Goodreads doesn't help reduce a to-read list; seems quite the opposite. :)

R.J. wrote: "...I mean really who does not like flying monkeys?"

My daughter doesn't, if diving under the couch cushions is any indication. But welcome to the group!

Hey, I'm Marc. I love sci-fi and love to hear what people have to say about it and what they recommend.

Some of my favorite sci-fi works include Snow Crash, Neptune's Brood and Rendezvous with Rama.

See you around.

Hello, my name is Aaron Martin and I have recently started reading more. I really enjoy sci-fi books. I would also like to get suggestions on what others liked so that I may read them too. I'd also like to learn how to use this site better.

Hello, my Name is Mike I am excited about being involved with a group that enjoys reading fantasy and sci- fi. I enjoy most authors and am looking to find new great reads and ideas. So I will thank you in advance for all your great comments and ideas. Cheers to new friends and ideas...

Hi, Mike. Welcome to the group. Glad you found your way in, and hope you'll be joining some of our conversations presently.

Hi guys! My name is Jackson and I'm really glad I found this group! Sci-fi/Fantasy is probably my favorite genre and I'm always looking for a good read. I love anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs and I'm always in used book stores searching for a good sci-fi read. I welcome any book suggestions!

Jackson wrote: "Hi guys! My name is Jackson and I'm really glad I found this group! Sci-fi/Fantasy is probably my favorite genre and I'm always looking for a good read. I love anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs and ..."

Welcome to the group, Jackson. I hope you'll find it useful.

I've already been commenting some in the group, but I figured that I might as well introduce myself. Daniel is indeed my name, and I'm mostly a fan of fantasy, but I also like sci-fi. I've read The Wheel of Time four times, and I follow everything Cosmere-related that Brandon Sanderson puts out.

Hi, my name is Jane. I read all types of genres but I always seem to come back to fantasy and sci-fi. I'm currently reading "The Shadow of What was Lost" and enjoying it. Some of my favourite authors are Tolkien, Hebert, Asimov, Martin, the list goes on but I fear that I may run out of space.
I'm always looking for something new to read, and I do like to hear/read what other people think about some of the books I've read or am reading.

Jane wrote: "Hi, my name is Jane. I read all types of genres but I always seem to come back to fantasy and sci-fi. I'm currently reading "The Shadow of What was Lost" and enjoying it. Some of my favourite autho..."

Welcome to the group, Jane. Please make yourself at home and join the conversation.

Jane wrote: "Hi, my name is Jane. I read all types of genres but I always seem to come back to fantasy and sci-fi. I'm currently reading "The Shadow of What was Lost" and enjoying it. Some of my favourite autho..."

I just read that book! I'm really looking forward to the sequel. There were a lot of intriguing concepts set up in it.

Hello my name is Hrvoje. I always liked scifi genre and my goal here is to get more book exposure. Currently I'm building my scifi-to-read shelf and hopefully through your reviews/current reading I will collect some of the finest :)

Hi everyone, I'm Doug. I'm an aspiring author, having just finished by first book in November last year and 3/4 of the way through book 2. Nothing published yet, but hoping to get an agent interested sometime this year (you gotta dream right!)

I'm mainly interested in Scifi, although I do enjoy well written fantasy as well. My favourite is the original Dune series, although I have also really enjoyed the Riverworld series as well as The Children of Time.

I don't know much about more recent works, but am definitely interesting in seeing what is popular. If anyone has any suggestions based on my above favourites, I would be very grateful. Looking forward to learning more about how to utilise the goodreads site and make the most of all the resources; hope I can contribute myself as well!

Hi, I'm Nick. I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy. Hard to nail down favorites. Really enjoying the Expanse. Randomly read the first book when it came out and yeah. Love Bradbury. Dandelion Wine is a favorite. Ender's Game also up there. Always Tolkein, knee jerk add but he's the great. Read the Wheel of Time series many times and getting ready to again. Neil Gaiman is also brilliant. Enjoy Warhammer 40k novels for mindless violent fun....

Currently reading Aasimov's Foundation Trilogy. Amazing how in all the ways that matter the books are still great. Looking forward to lively discussions.

nick wrote: "Hi, I'm Nick. I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy. Hard to nail down favorites. Really enjoying the Expanse. Randomly read the first book when it came out and yeah. Love Bradbury. Dandelion Wine is a ..."

Hi Nick, and welcome to the group. I'm a fellow Expanse & Wheel of Time fan (and Bradbury & Asimov are not to shabby, either.) I hope to chat with you in some of the conversations here!

Daniel wrote: "Jane wrote: "Hi, my name is Jane. I read all types of genres but I always seem to come back to fantasy and sci-fi. I'm currently reading "The Shadow of What was Lost" and enjoying it. Some of my fa..."

Hi Daniel,

I just finished it. Loved the story and the characters. Looking forward to the next instalment, whenever that comes out.

Hi all my name is tammie i love reading and making friends to i am a youtuber and loving it

Hi there, my name is Rosemary, and I've been reading science fiction and fantasy for a long time now, but I am still discovering "new treasures" everyday. I am looking forward to discussing books in the forums here on Goodreads and maybe finding out about some new books that are coming out.

Rosemary wrote: "Hi there, my name is Rosemary, and I've been reading science fiction and fantasy for a long time now, but I am still discovering "new treasures" everyday. I am looking forward to discussing books i..."

Greetings to K.C., Rosemary & Tammie. Please come on in and join the discussions.

Hey all, my name is Caz, I absolutely love curling up with a book and a decent amount of refreshments to get me through. I mostly read whatever looks interesting, blindly bustling my way through the library, but my true love of fantasy never wavers. I've recently read some absolute duds, so I'm hoping I can find some great recommendations from the group.

Thanks for having me here ☺️

Caz wrote: "Hey all, my name is Caz, I absolutely love curling up with a book and a decent amount of refreshments to get me through. I mostly read whatever looks interesting, blindly bustling my way through th..."

I read fantasy almost exclusively, so I'm happy to recommend books. What have you read recently that you liked, and what has come off like a real dud?

Hey Daniel,

My top three: Rothfuss, weeks and Sanderson. I need as much world and character building as possible without going into yawn factor mode.

I just finished Elantris. I wouldn't call it an absolute dud but it took me soooo long to get into it. I think I actually accrued some library fees by having it so long... Oooops.. Maybe it's just me but it just didn't quite hit my expectation mark. I think it really lacked in establishing care factor for the characters, I didn't feel there was much of a landscape to go with, there were so many things that it skipped past when I just needed to know the answers. You know that feeling after you read a book and wonder if there was a previous book? That's how it felt!! Like there's something missing.

Caz wrote: "Hey Daniel,

My top three: Rothfuss, weeks and Sanderson. I need as much world and character building as possible without going into yawn factor mode...."

I'm big on the care factor you mentioned. I hate books where I don't care if the characters live or die, so let me recommend Jim Butcher's Codex Alera books. There are a lot of characters to love (and hate) in these books. The first one is "The Furies of Calderon."

Thanks Kivrin!!! I'll add that to the want to read pile.

I really do love a book with all the emotional rides. It's important to me that I connect with the characters. A strong bond to the characters makes me want to turn the page quicker to see what happens next, dull characters just irk me and it makes for a slower read.

Sorry for hijacking the welcome thread LOL... Thanks for the welcomes :)

Ah, okay. Elantris is not my favorite Sanderson book, but I do like it well enough. I think Hrathen is probably the most interesting character there. You kind of are missing some things from the story. There's a lot of background there that the characters themselves don't know. It's not even in any of the other Cosmere books, really, except in hints, here and there. Super-fans have put things together from somehow figuring out those tiny little clues and asking the author questions. How much do you know about Sanderson's Cosmere universe? Like, were you aware that Elantris is on another planet in the same galaxy as the planet in Mistborn? Elantris takes place like 300 years before Mistborn.

Anyway, I can tell you all about those connections (perhaps not in the welcome thread...) without spoiling any books you haven't read yet, if you're interested. As for recommendations, I've never read Codex Alera myself, but I did read another Jim Butcher book, The Aeronaut's Windlass, and I loved it. Brian McClellan's Powder Mage books are enjoyable. I suppose I don't need to recommend Lightbringer to you. I really enjoyed David Hair's Moontide Quartet. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's an entertaining read. I'm looking forward to the sequel series.

Hi, I'm Becca. I work in collection development in a public library, so basically I shop for books for a living. I read mostly fantasy these days, but have read a lot of science fiction as well (also a lot of mysteries, history, historical fiction, and superhero comics, but that's beside the point).

My top three favorite authors, whose new book I will automatically pick up without knowing what it's about, are probably Patricia McKillip, Jim Butcher, and Sharon Shinn at the moment, but this ranking is subject to change.

Looking forward to diving into the discussions.

Becca wrote: "Hi, I'm Becca...."

Welcome to the group, Becca. Please dive right in!

Well I've commented a few times but haven't introduced myself so here goes!
I grew up on sci-fi/fantasy like a wrinkle in time series and everything Anne mccaffrey. I became obsessed with Cherryh for my twenties and now I just look for new voices/ideas/worlds.
Some recent favorites: Sanderson (everything); the broken earth series by Jemisin; the Ancillary series; and just recently loved nine fox gambit. Oh and Uprooted took me by surprise (in s great way!)
I stay home with twin toddlers so my sanity is also always in question.
Hello!

PS- it seems like Goodreads is excessively focused on YA/paranormal lately which is annoying- I'm too old for that!

Hello, my name is Nicolette and I just joined the group so an introduction is in order it seems.

I´ve recently rediscovered my love for fantasy and have just started reading Wizard´s first rule by Terry Goodkind. Other books and authors I love include Neil Gaiman (just read American Gods, wow), Brandon Sanderson and many more.

I hope being part of this group will introduce me to some more amazing stories and ofcourse find some people to talk to about them since in my daily life I can't seem to find any others who share my passion for reading.

As for a little bit about myself, I'm a computer science student in the Netherlands :)

Hi, everyone! I'm Lillian. I'm new to goodreads and so excited to find this group. I'm a sci-fi and fantasy author currently working on book 2 of a space opera trilogy (book 1 came out in August).

I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad (original and TNG), and I've loved sci-fi ever since. I like pretty much all sub-genres, but I have a particular fondness for epic stories with great character development and engaging female characters (I want male characters, too - just not only male characters). It's not a requirement, but I do love a bit of romance thrown in there. In particular I love Margaret Atwood and Karen Lord, and don't get me started on Jennifer Foehner Wells (I recommend her Confluence series to pretty much anyone who asks for a sci-fi suggestion).

I love fantasy, too, and most sub-genres. I'm getting a little burnt out on vampires and werewolves, but Elizabeth Hunter's Elemental Mysteries series is a good example of something I love from the genre.

I can't wait to meet fellow sci-fi/fantasy fans and discover my next favorite author!

Hello !! My name is Mihai ...i.m from Romania , i like reading sci fi and fantasy ,from Sanderson and Martin to the zone of sci fi like Peter Hamilton,Neal Asher and the clasics of course Frank Herbert wich basicaly represented my first introduction to sci fi reading.
Can't wait to meet fellow sci-fi/fantasy fans and i hope to read moore then my goals of ggodreads chalenge . Fantasy- SCI FI RULZZZ!! ș))

Hello, I'm Reyad from the UK. I'm a fantasy fan but occasionally read horror, I'm a big fan of Robin Hobb :)

Reyad wrote: "Hello, I'm Reyad from the UK. I'm a fantasy fan but occasionally read horror, I'm a big fan of Robin Hobb :)"

Hi Reyad, I'm also a peculiar blend of sci-fi and fantasy lover who's just starting to delve into the worlds of Robin Hobb, I'm swimming merrily through Assassin's Quest, and shopping around for other good reads -

So far I've seen some pretty strong recommendations of Patrick Rothfuss and Sanderson - (I've read wheel of time series up till the switch off with Sanderson - loved Robert Jordan) absolutely fell in love with sci-fi after Rawn's Dragon Prince and Scott Card's Children of the Mind... and now 'questing' for other similar minds to share thoughts with...

I'm Elljay btw - my bad, should've led with that! I'm a Syrian-American UAE resident.. hello all!! thanks for the warm welcomes :)

Hi Eli.

I need to reread The Dragon Prince Trilogy and the follow up trilogy. They are really good.

Hi everyone. I'm Jared. I signed up for goodreads a long time ago, but never really learned how to use it. I recently got a book about using Goodreads and now I'm going through that. I'm a struggling author (I posted my book in the promotion folder).

I'm a fan of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series. I've finished both of those and some other random books and I'm looking for a new series to read. I read a few chapters of some book in the library a while back about an exiled revolutionary turned governor of some barren world, but I can't remember what it was called.

Hey guys! I'm Zuhaib, new to Goodreads. I'm an unpublished writer hopefully on the road to publication. Being a published author is all I wanna be career-wise. My favourite author is JK Rowling and my favourite series is Harry Potter. I'm also a fan of the Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit and Shakespeare. I'm a reader too. Currently I'm writing a series of novels about elementals. I'm also pretty familiar with agent rejections and am therefore developing a thick sin and hoping to get that one yes. You can follow along with my journey on my blog https://penscratchblog.wordpress.com/. :)

Hello all, my name is Brad and I am working on learning the ins and outs of a group. I have been reading science fiction for most of my life and I'm not young guy anymore lol. I am looking forward to the experience of being online with others who share my reading interests.