Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library discussion

I'm looking for some recommendations and I hope that you'll be able and willing to help me :)

I would be interested in reading sci-fi books, a series if possible, that would concentrate on a team/group of people doing the exploring/alien fighting etc. etc. Usually - or maybe it's just my luck ;) - when a book starts with a team going somewhere and doing something, most of them get killed until one sole hero remains (or the hero and his significant other).

But I'm curious - are there any books similar to, for example, Stargate? You know, the team, getting to know each other, becoming friends, saving Earth, exploring the universe, book after book? I'm buying the tie-in novels to SG and SGA and they are great but I would like to find something original (as in not tied to a TV show) on a similar note.

Help? *hopeful*

I am reading The dragonstone,by Dennis Mckiernan.They are a group of elves,people on a quest to finf a dragon stone.
Linda

Well...
It's not exactly sci-fi/fantasy, but my favorite series of Action/Adventure novels is the Sigma Force novels by James Rollins. They start with Sandstorm and are about a group of scientist-soldiers who... investigate... stuff. For instance; in Sandstorm there's an explosion at The British Museum and so Painter Crowe and is sent to investigate what happened. It leads to a race against an evil group that is also trying to track down the source of the explosion which seems to come from a statue that could possibly lead to the lost city of Ur.
It's all very Indiana Jones and great fun. There's enough science to make it feel like realistic, but it's all very pulpy in it's execution. The rest of the series maintains the feel and as the books develop the team grows and works together more. The second and third books( Map of Bones and Black Order respectively) have a very Team! feel to them since it takes the whole team to solve the crisis.
So, yeah, it's not exactly Sci-fi since there's not any lasers(pew pew pew) and it's not fantasy since there aren't any dragons(or trolls or gnolls or gnomes or fairies or faeries or magic rings or dire wolves or anything), but there are "secrets of the ancients" that are revealed and exciting chase scenes and alot of really well written scenes.

The Price of the Stars: Book One of Mageworlds by Debra Doyle & James D. MacDonald is a pretty good series. The link here is to the first one published, not the first in the time line. The heroine is the rebellious daughter of the leaders of a civilization & she gathers together several other misfits. Lots of action & some neat ideas make it a lot of fun to read - the first 3 for sure & a couple of others aren't bad. The spin-offs & prequels got a bit old after a while for me, but I still like the first 4 published & I'd suggest reading them in that order.

Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Rolling Stones which is about a family tripping around the solar system. No guns or swords, but interesting.

Simon R. Green wrote the Death Stalker series that's more of a sword & sorcery plot with SF trimmings. There are swordsmen, telepaths, spaceships & a core set of characters. It's a fun read, too.

Thank you so much for your tips! I read some of the authors but none of the books so I need to check them out ASAP! :)

You might try Tanya Huff's Valor series, beginning with Valor's Choice. The protagonist is a marine sergeant who leads a team composed of humans and aliens of both sexes on various galactic missions. Lots of exploring and fighting involving teamwork.

Tanya Huff rocks so I will definitely check it out! Thank you for the tip :)

Kati,
a a very good series displaying teamwork would be The Nimble Man by Christopher Golden. There are several in the series and it's very much like Leauge of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Yay, thank you! I have so many awesome books to read now!