Sci-Fi Group Book Club discussion

If you are interested in joining in on themed group reads, what themes would you like to read?

Do you prefer space opera, alternate history, realistic science fiction, classic SF, steam punk, horror in a sci-fi setting, cyberpunk or something else?

How about a theme on types of writing other than novels such as anthologies, novellas, individual short stories? Or one focused on a particular setting (e.g., Star Wars or Star Trek)?

Post your suggestions here!

I'd like to see Era themes...SF from the 1800's, the 1950's or even a specific year (1986, 2001, etc).

Award winners or simply nominees (Nebula, Hugo, Clarke, etc) would also be a different theme. In fact you could have the Susan Lucci theme of writers who have been nominated but never won a major award theme...

I quite like the idea of Award/Nominees themes, but how about taking them from this upcoming year's crop of prizes? How about reading the winners of Nebula, Hugo, Clarke, etc 2017, as they arise? We could then cast our 'expert' verdicts on the judges' choice.

I like those ideas, PSX and Donna! Would it be worth reading the nominees and then holding a poll to see which we think will win the awards?

Sure...We could call them our Jules of the Crown award (in honor of the Father of SF Jules Verne) and have an award show, interview the books as they walk down the red carpet wearing the latest fashions and even how to get the gossip on who is now sleeping with whom....

Damn...I need my coffee...

PSXtreme wrote: "Sure...We could call them our Jules of the Crown award (in honor of the Father of SF Jules Verne) and have an award show, interview the books as they walk down the red carpet wearing the latest fas..."

:O Erm... so long as you're paying for the red carpet, venue and the award itself! :P

I like the idea of up coming nominees for awards. But could we counter that with past winners by decade. I'd like to get some golden oldies into the mix as well. (You'd need to refine the details on this one).

Mel wrote: "I like the idea of up coming nominees for awards. But could we counter that with past winners by decade. I'd like to get some golden oldies into the mix as well. (You'd need to refine the details o..."

I was thinking that we could have 4 (out of 12) monthly reads that would be devoted to a theme so one on the golden oldies as you suggest would be great!

Would it be worth having a poll on the four themes for 2017?

Greg wrote: "Mel wrote: "I like the idea of up coming nominees for awards. But could we counter that with past winners by decade. I'd like to get some golden oldies into the mix as well. (You'd need to refine t..."
How about two set themes and a poll for two optional ones?

Yeh - this is where it all starts to get a bit complicated, so perhaps a poll on the themes would be a good idea, Greg. Taking up Mel's suggestion, how about a Past Winner's theme, a 2017 Winner's theme and then a poll for two genre themes, e.g. steampunk, space opera, weird (cosmic) fiction, alternate history, etc?

You make some good points, Mel and Donna. I'd like to see a few more suggestions from members before settling on any themes yet - only four of us have posted about this here so far! But it does seem that a poll would be a good way to sort the themes out (whether this is for two or four).

These are my proposed categories for the suggested theme poll:

Award winners/nominees of 2017 (Jules of the Crown?)
Past award winners
Cyberpunk
Steampunk
Space opera
Apocalyptic/Post-apocalyptic
Alternate history
Weird (cosmic) fiction
Horror in a sci-fi setting
Classic (early) sci-fi

Anything I should add before setting it up?

I like the term "Realistic Science Fiction," and I'm wondering if there is (or should there be) an additional category for it. I consider SF realistic, either near-future or far-future, if it's given a sound technological basis or is presented as a reasonable extrapolation (like FTL) of current physics and technology, including some reference to the hardware. Another term for it might be Hard SF, but I like to think of it as Modern Classic Science Fiction, with modernized characterization and technology. I consider my novels to be in this category, as might some others, like Robots Like Blue, by Anthony J. Deeney. My own work is heavily influenced by John W. Campbell, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven; and Deeney's work is very reminiscent of Isaac Asimov's Robot Stories.

This isn't an all-encompassing definition of the category, and it may need refinement, but maybe one could be developed. I think if we could refine the definition, those of us who like this kind of story would have an easier time finding it.

I would like some comedy science fiction but not like Terry Pratchett.

Ken wrote: "I like the term "Realistic Science Fiction," and I'm wondering if there is (or should there be) an additional category for it. I consider SF realistic, either near-future or far-future, if it's giv..."

I had omitted realistic sci-fi from the list having proposed it myself weeks ago! :p But you're right to suggest it's inclusion.

Damon wrote: "I would like some comedy science fiction but not like Terry Pratchett."

And comedy science fiction is another good suggestion!

OK, I'll set up a poll now.

The poll for picking the quarterly themed read for March can be found here. This poll begins tonight at 12:01 a.m. GMT and will continue until 11:59 p.m. GMT tomorrow.

Once the theme for March has been picked, another suggestion thread will be set up for the themed read with a follow-up poll.

The industry-adopted term for realistic science fiction is "hard science fiction." There is a wikipedia page for hard science fiction, for example, none for realistic science fiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_sc...

I am not a great fan of the sub-genre. I feel the writers in it too often leave storytelling behind when emphasizing the science.

Dan wrote: "The industry-adopted term for realistic science fiction is "hard science fiction." There is a wikipedia page for hard science fiction, for example, none for realistic science fiction. https://en.wi..."

I used 'realistic/hard sci-fi' for that option on the poll. :) There's always some disagreement about the 'correct' term for what people like to read. Consider, for example, the conflicting views on using a term like 'New Adult' to define books for 18-25 year-olds so that 'Young Adult' would now only be applicable to 13-18 year-olds when 'teen' or even 'children's' was previously used for the latter age group.

If I can figure out that by realistic science fiction, what is meant is hard science fiction, everyone else will be able to figure it out too.

Dan wrote: "I am not a great fan of the sub-genre. I feel the writers in it too often leave storytelling behind when emphasizing the science..."

Of course, that is a generalization of the sub-genre. Fans of that sub-genre can find authors who create great stories with the science embedded within, and who create well-developed characters to carry it forward. It takes a little work, but finding a favorite author in any genre or sub-genre is well worth it.

Space opera and steampunk are in the lead for the first themed read! There's less than two hours left to vote so if anyone hasn't done so yet, now's your chance!

24 hour poll? I check my GoodReads account a couple times a week. It's unlikely I'll be able to vote in most polls if they're just 24 hours. All my other groups leave polls up for a week or more. I would have voted for classic, but hey, there's lots of classic space opera.

Yes I think we should start voting for April soon. (once we have voted for the March books of course).

Afro futurism?

Damon wrote: "Afro futurism?"

Good idea! That could always be voted on as a write-in vote if anyone wants to do that.