Calling all Science Fiction, Speculative fiction & Fantasy aficionados in Manchester! Madlab is starting a book club for the Sci-fi.
We will have a preliminary meeting to establish a the group: the agenda will cover
- scoping out a reading list
- direction of the group and format of meetings
- deciding when to meet and at what regularity
Manchester Library are helping us out and will be at the first meeting to lend their support and expertise in starting us off in the right direction.
If you are interested in being part of the group, please leave your name and a date that would suit you in January for this meeting; we’ll thrash out a date in the comments and get this thing rolling!
Equally, if you’d like to take a lead organising the group, also let us know – Madlab is for the community, by the community.
Tags: mcrsf
I proposed 4th of Jan, first Monday of the new year. 6ish?
I don’t know if I can make the 4th, but I’ll do my best. What are we going to read? I propose, along with new (ish) books, we revisit the futures of the past .
What are the best SF novels you’ve never read?
What are the books that formed your mind and you’re always amazed other geeks have never heard of?
What great SF written in other languages can we find in translation?
How about a round up of short stories, they’re the jewels of the genre (and Aliki might turn them into shows later)?
I’m up for this. Will have to check my calender to see which dates I can make in Jan.
Sound good to me, I’ve been thinking I need to kickstart my reading. There’s quite a few ‘best of the decade’ lists knocking around at the moment, perhaps we could use one of those as a starting point? No preference on dates realy!
Please excuse the typo in my previous comment, posting from my phone…
I’d suggest starting with a classic, something like The Demolished Man or Man in the High Castle, but then be interested to have recommendations of more recent work.
Hope to be able to partake.
The 4th is good for me
Okay, I am totally up for this. Think starting with a classic is a good idea. Adrian’s suggestions would be fine by me, or pretty much anything in Gollancz’s SF Masterworks series.
First week back in Jan isn’t great for me – might be able to make the 5th or the 7th evenings. What about the 12th or 14th?
If proposing another date, 7th works for me as well.
Agreed that Adrian has pulled out some beefy starting points. I’d also like to look at some of PKD’s pulpier short stories and I think it’s ripe time to revisit Neuromancer.
I reread the Sprawl trilogy earlier this year. They’re all great, but really short! They still glitter, but there are more and more moments when you think “yeah, but they invented that last year”. And no one has mobile phones.
Books I rate:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Love, war, culture shock and relativistic time dilation. The flip side of Starship Troopers. A smart allegory for the author’s experiences as a Vietnam veteran.
Under The Skin by Michel Faber
One of the best novels I have ever read, in any genre. To say more would be to divulge too much. There’s a film in the works, but I suggest you read this first before they gut it for the big screen.
The Drowned World by JG Ballard
Set on a research station manned by scientists studying a submerged and tropical London. Ballard’s perennial themes of environmental catastrophe and primordial compulsion are exemplified as well here as anywhere.
A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick
I know everyone has seen the film, but the book is kick-ass too. I hadn’t been too sure about Dick, stylistically (I started with his early short stories which are fairly turgid) until I read this. Dark and incredibly paranoid
Hope those are useful – really wish I lived in Manc so I could attend this…
Niall
I have actually never read Neuromancer so would be very up for that. Phillip K Dick is always fun too, and Niall’s ideas sound great.
How’s the 7th for everyone else?
Great idea, around on 4th and 5th, not rest of the week. How about a real classic: Alfred Bester’s “The Stars My Destination” (aka ‘Tiger, Tiger’). Dave
Thanks for all the great suggestions!
Think 4th has most votes, or least opposition. As this is the first meeting, I think we can discuss which date is better in the future, and create a booklist, so people will know what to read if they miss a meeting.
Another shout out for Joe Haldemann here. Not what I expected and better for it
I’ve been reading nearly everything by Peter F Hamilton of late http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/ Great ideas and the balls to base a lot of stuff in the midlands. Northampton even. The Nights Dawn trilogy is a great work and a mental idea.
Count me in as an advocate of low brow.
Ok. I won’t be able to make Monday (first day back at work, way too much to do) but I hope to be able to come to the next meeting.
Probably not going to make this due to transport issues. Would love to get to the next one
Have meetings happened? Is this still an extant group? Has it been subsumed into the SpecFic writing group?
Hi Col, the Sci Fi Book Club is quite a lively group, and pretty separate from the SpecFic. In fact, we are reading The City & the City tonight. Please come along to the next one!