SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Hi! I read a lot of hyped books and it is almost always a disappointment (I guess because the hopes are so high). Now I want to read books written by not so famous authors. Do you have any tips?

What kind of themes or sub-genres are you looking for, Hanna?

Take these with a grain of salt, because I’m not the one to know whether someone is famous or not (you know, other than the REALLY big names). But here are some which I think are worth checking out and should be more widely read than they currently are. :)

The Lesson (SF)
Friday Black (SF/Fantasy collection)
Flowers for the Sea (Fantasy)
I Who Have Never Known Men (Dystopian)
The Only Good Indians (Horror/fantasy)
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World (SF/Apocalyptic)
In the House in the Dark of the Woods (historical fantasy/horror)

Feeding Frenzy by Allison Hurd

“The Left Hand of God” series by Paul Hoffman and “The Symphony of Ages” series by Elizabeth Haydon. Both are well written and imaginative stories by two severely underrated authors.

I enjoyed the Elizabeth Hayden series, the Hoffman not so much

Ledge byStacey McEwan

For something very different, try Sybil Sue Blue by Rosel George Brown. This is classic sf (released in 1966 as Galactic Sybil Sue Blue). Brown probably would have been famous, but she died early of lymphoma. It was re-released by her estate a couple of years ago with the current title.

Thanks for alerting me to the reissue.

I really like The Red Wolf Conspiracy - there’s a lot to it: cast of characters, magic, pirates, political intrigue. I’m on book 3 and I’m still unravelling all of it.

Hanna wrote: "Hi! I read a lot of hyped books and it is almost always a disappointment (I guess because the hopes are so high). Now I want to read books written by not so famous authors. Do you have any tips?"

Hanna wrote: "Hi! I read a lot of hyped books and it is almost always a disappointment (I guess because the hopes are so high). Now I want to read books written by not so famous authors. Do you have any tips?"

I will suggest "Feeding Frenzy" by author, Allison Hurd. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, Hanna! : )

Have you read the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein? One of those fantasy/sci-fi crossover type things. Reads like a fantasy but has sci-fi elements. Worth a read if you like that style of book.

Anything written by Carol Berg
The Tuyo series by Rachel Neumeier
Laura VanArendonk Baugh's Kin & Kind
The Trysmoon series by Brian K. Fuller

I really like Guy Gavriel Kay but for some reason I never hear him talked about.

He's such a skilled author with some of the best prose I have ever read.

I read The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek and I remember really enjoying it and I don't ever see anyone mention it. I only heard of it because T.J. Klune mentioned it as one of his favorites. It's been years, may try to do a re-read at some point.

I'm currently reading and enjoying The Challenger

Urban fantasy and one of the best, tightest epic fantasy trilogies I've read both by Harry Connolly

I'll second the Rosemary Kirstein Steerswoman series rec as well as Tuyo.

I have just read Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, his debut. He merges perspectives from different characters, creating this narrative of a depraved American prison system. It might be this year's book for the Black Awareness Month this October.

Highly recommended!

Since this is a Sci-Fi group, I read a hilarious one recently by an independent author. Warning though, sexually explicit content.

The Milfian Conspiracy

As a general rule, I avoid books with "New York Times" bestseller on them.

Hanna wrote: "Hi! I read a lot of hyped books and it is almost always a disappointment (I guess because the hopes are so high). Now I want to read books written by not so famous authors. Do you have any tips?"

What types of books do you like to read normally, you know like Cyberpunk, Fantasy/Horror. things like that.

I cannot recommend Chris Wooding enough. He's the author of Retribution Falls and its sequels, and the setting/world is incredibly fleshed-out and the characters hilarious. He really knows his stuff.

Delta-v

Delta V by Daniel Suarez is good old fashion hard sci fi set in the near future, BUT the story is good, you care about the characters, and the pace steadily builds. This is the kind of Sci-Fi where you learn something while being entertained.