Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

Please use this topic to nominate a Classic Science Fiction or Fantasy novel, anthology or novella you wish to discuss as a group in April (beginning April 1.)

(A Classic novel would typically have been published prior to 2000 and be considered a popular, trailblazing or important work of science fiction or fantasy. Presumably, any actual "classic" is still in print!)

You need not have read the title you are nominating; after all, you'll be reading along. Feel free to say why you are making the nomination, if you care to. If your nomination is selected by the group, you'll be expected to take the lead in the discussion.

We read & discuss up to three SF/F books each month: One is a "Classic" SF/F book (novel, anthology, novella or other story) which was written before 2000; that discussion starts on the 1st of each month. One is a "Contemporary" SF/F book, which was written after 2000; that discussion starts on the 21st of each month. We may also read one book from a series, as part of reading the entire series; that discussion starts the 11th of the month. You can always check on our upcoming SF/F book discussion topics by scrolling down on the Group Homepage to the "Upcoming Reads” section.

You can review past group selections in the "read" section of our Group's BookShelf. If you wish to continue a discussion of one of those past selections, all those discussion topics are still open in our Book Discussions area.

Note that this is our discussion selection for April. Good Omens has already been selected as our March Classic Novel discussion topic.

Nominations will be open through Thursday, February 14, when I'll collect the nominees and post a poll so members can choose among them.

Been wanting to nominate this ever since the TV series came out, plus been a while since we've done a real anthology

Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick

I’m going to continue my process of nominating real book I own cluttering up my shelves :
This time......how about Way Station the old Award winner by Simak

Andrea wrote: "Been wanting to nominate this ever since the TV series came out, plus been a while since we've done a real anthology
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick"

Just for information, we discussed the Dick anthology Minority Report and Other Stories 2 years ago. As far as I can see, the story "Autofac" is the only overlap between the two collections.

Rachel wrote: "I’m going to continue my process of nominating real book I own cluttering up my shelves :
This time......how about Way Station the old Award winner by Simak"

Just for information, we discussed Way Station four years ago; there doesn't seem to be much overlap between the participants then and currently active members. So, no problem discussing it again.

PS. I'm a fan of Simak. :) One of those authors, like Farmer, who seem to have gotten lost these days. :(

I'm going to nominate The Riddle-Master of Hed

I suppose I'll renominate The Alteration seeing as how it came within one vote of winning last time.

  Reminder: Today, Thursday, is the final day to nominate a Classic Fantasy or Science Fiction work for our March group read and discussion.

I'll nominate Bolo by Keith Laumer. It's a half dozen or so short stories about tanks that are run by AI, so it has a lot of heroes, action, & other fun elements in it. Besides, we haven't read anything by him yet.

Too many good choices this month!

Thank you for the nominations. A poll to select our Classic Science Fiction / Fantasy Work discussion topic for April is now open. If you're interested in participating in the discussion of one of our nominees, you can vote here for your choice.

Please vote only if you plan on participating in the discussion of that book.

Note that this is our discussion selection for April. Good Omens has already been selected as our March Classic Novel discussion topic.

This poll will be open through Thursday, February 21.

  Reminder: For those who are interested in discussing one of the above nominees with the group, today, Thursday, is the final day to vote for one of our Classic Fantasy or Science Fiction novel for our April group read and discussion.

I've created a runoff poll to complete the selection of our Classic Science Fiction / Fantasy Work discussion topic for April (starting April 1.)

Please vote only if you plan on participating in the discussion of that book.

Note that this is our discussion selection for April. Good Omens has already been selected as our March Classic Novel discussion topic.

This poll will be open through Thursday, February 28.

Reminder: For those who are interested in discussing one of the above nominees with the group, today is the final day to vote for one of our Classic Fantasy or Science Fiction novel for our April group read and discussion.

Our selected Classic Fantasy novel for discussion in April is...

The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip
(1976)

The discussion will begin April 1. No foolin'.

I know exactly where I've put book 1 and 3...no idea what I did with the second one. Guess I'll be doing some digging through my piles of TBR this weekend.

I'm finding The Riddle-Master of Hed is out of print with no ebook (though there is an audiobook available from Audible.)

Also found it's contained in an omnibus, Riddle-Master, which contains the whole trilogy and is available in paperback & ebook.

Most will probably want to read all 3 books, anyway. It's tough stopping after the first book.

I'm lucky to have already picked up all three over the years (used bookstores or book fairs), my biggest hurdle was figuring out where I put them. Fortunately it was actually where I decided to look first so only took about 5 minutes. Now I've got all three on my to-read pile.

It kind of makes sense for these shorter older books to be only in omnibus form, easier for the publishers, and even combined they are shorter than some standalone books. At least it's still in print!