NationStates Jolt Archive

So spill? What genre fiction do you like to read best?
Action-adventure/Thrillers?
Crime/Detective/Mystery?
Romance/Erotica?
Horror?
Speculative Fiction (Fantasy/Science fiction/Alt. History)?
Western?

(Don't like the way I've parsed the genres? Then put up your own poll.)

Speculative fiction. It can include action, adventure, thrills, crimes, detectives, mystery, romance, erotica, and horror.

My guess is that Speculative Fiction will be the top after all it does contain Sci-Fi

I usually read about 4-6 books at a time, spanning all genres, although I have noticed that my de-stressing book seems to almost always fall within the Speculative Fiction genre.

I suppose I read in phases depending on the time of year too though, during the winter I read a lot of "legal fiction" (John Grishom, ect.) during the Spring I read a lot of "medical/crime fiction" (Patricia Cornwell, ect.) Summer is time for mystery, and then fall is more Science Fiction.......... I may out of boredom snatch my husband's Terry Goodkind books this Spring though and change up my reading pattern..... I would go for his Robert Jordan, but he is re-reading the series again waiting for a new one, and since I read faster than him I might end up waiting on a book and that would be frustrating.;)

The authors I've read more than one novel from are people like Kurt Vonnegut Jr, Paul Auster, William S. Burroughs, Stanislaw Lem, Jack Kerouac...I really like Skepticism, Inc. by Bo Fowler...I don't know, there is certainly some speculative fiction in there but that's not my criteria. I think more literary cats than me would probably be better at finding the common theme than me. (though my reading is heavily influenced by my friend and collaborator who is a lit professor, so there is that...)

So spill? What genre fiction do you like to read best?
Action-adventure/Thrillers?
Crime/Detective/Mystery?
Romance/Erotica?
Horror?
Speculative Fiction (Fantasy/Science fiction/Alt. History)?
Western?

(Don't like the way I've parsed the genres? Then put up your own poll.)
I opted for "Speculative Fiction" since I like Fantasy and SF, as well as action/adventure.

I'm currently reading The Cobra Event by Richard Preston. It's about biological weapons getting out into the environment.

So far, all votes are for speculative fiction...

Personally, Historical Fiction and Alternative History are my faves. Favourite Authors include;

Harry Turtledove - Primarily the WorldWar series and the 'Althernate Civil War' timeline. He has numerous works of 'what if?' scenario's and he's fantastic.

Steven Pressfield - I've never read 'the legend of bagger vance', but he has four novels set in ancient greece, 'Gates of Fire' being quite possibly the best book I've ever read.

Jack Whyte - 'A Dream of Eagles' (or Camulod Chronicles in the States)

Kim Stanley Robinson - Mars series and 'The Years of Rice and Salt'

Colleen McCullough - Her super-awesome 'Masters of Rome' series.

S.M. Stirling - For his 'Nantucket' series, and the spin-off of that one beginning with 'Dies the Fire'. Really cool stuff.

Numerous others whose names elude me. Basically, if it took place in another time, or potentially could have happened another way, I'll read it.

Most Definitely Speculative Fiction:

David Weber

Harry Harrison

Harry Turtledove

These are among my favorites :)

ive been a science fiction fan for close to 40 years. im a sucker for a well written hard science fiction story (that means one where the science works and the characters are believable. pretty rare if you think about it)

ill take a soft science fiction book if its very well written with excellent characters

the fantasy stuff can mostly leave me alone unless it is certifiably great like lord of the rings. fantasy authors are way too enamored of the worlds they create and write too many books set in the same universe rather than using their minds and creating new ones. it gets on my nerves

in my old age (48) i like mystery books written by women. anne perry is my favorite but i love tami hoag too.

ive been a science fiction fan for close to 40 years. im a sucker for a well written hard science fiction story (that means one where the science works and the characters are believable. pretty rare if you think about it)

ill take a soft science fiction book if its very well written with excellent characters

the fantasy stuff can mostly leave me alone unless it is certifiably great like lord of the rings. fantasy authors are way too enamored of the worlds they create and write too many books set in the same universe rather than using their minds and creating new ones. it gets on my nerves

in my old age (48) i like mystery books written by women. anne perry is my favorite but i love tami hoag too.

You read Sheri S Tepper, or Sharon Shinn?

... in my old age (48) i like mystery books written by women. anne perry is my favorite but i love tami hoag too.
"Old age!" [ snorts ]

Ever read the Dragonworld series? As I recall, that was written by a woman, and written damned well too.

"Old age!" [ snorts ]

Ever read the Dragonworld series? As I recall, that was written by a woman, and written damned well too.

Do you mean the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey?

Hobbit slash.

Speculative.

Damn, it looks like speculative fiction is experiencing a landslide victory, not that I'm complaining.

OK! Who voted other without posting?

The chain is broken. Damn you who voted Other.

spec fic.

spec fic.

Especially Robert Jordan?

Issac Asimov + Robert Heinlein + Orson Scott Card + Greg Bear + Anne McCaffrey + J.R.R. Tolkein + Susan Cooper + J.K. Rowling + ... = +1 speculative fiction vote

John Steakley,
Robert A. Heinlein,
Joe Haldeman,
Isaac Asimov,
Orson Scott Card,
various Star Trek authors,
even more Star Wars authors,
and last but not least pretty much everything about Warhammer 40,000 from the Black Library.

(All in English.)

You read Sheri S Tepper, or Sharon Shinn?
i love sheri tepper. i look to see if shes published a new book every time i go to the bookstore. her book "plague of angels" caught me totally offguard. im also a big fan of connie willis. "doomsday book" captured my imagination completely.

Especially Robert Jordan?
have y'all actually been reading the last few wheel of time books or did you just not notice that the last 3 or 4 have sucked? he has almost completely stopped advancing the plot.

have y'all actually been reading the last few wheel of time books or did you just not notice that the last 3 or 4 have sucked? he has almost completely stopped advancing the plot.

I'm not that far along the arc yet. I had 'gaps' in my earlier collection... so I'm only now up to the sixth (I think) in the arc.

"Old age!" [ snorts ]

Ever read the Dragonworld series? As I recall, that was written by a woman, and written damned well too.
i put dragonworld into google to see if you meant mccaffery and i see that there are several different authors claiming dragonworld series.

hmmmm

anyway. wouldnt those be fantasy and didnt i SAY i dont like fantasy? i dont think ive read any. or if i did it was long ago and i dint think enough of them to try another.

i love sheri tepper. i look to see if shes published a new book every time i go to the bookstore. her book "plague of angels" caught me totally offguard. im also a big fan of connie willis. "doomsday book" captured my imagination completely.

I've read everything so far by Tepper... except The Companions (and the spanish language ones? "La Bella Durmiente" and "Tras El Largo Silencio"... which I think are just "Beauty" and "After Long Silence" in spanish... at least I hope so).

I even have her pseudonym books (E.E. Horlak, A.J. Orde and B.J. Oliphant).

I adore Tepper. Even when I don't like what she does to the end of a story (I wasn't too happy with the closure on either Gibbon's or Six Moon Dance), I love her language. And when she's good, she just can't be touched.

If you like Tepper - you might like Sharon Shinn. Her writing style is so similar, I actually couldn't decide at first if it was another Tepper pseudonym. "Heart of Gold" would be a good place to start. (Think "Gate to Women's Country" era Tepper).

It might have been better to have split it into Fantasy and Science Fiction categories (Alternate History usually gets put in with Sci-Fi). I read very little Fantasy, but a LOT of Science Fiction, especially the Military sub-genre.

Historical fiction, or Classical fiction.

voted other cuz i wanted to vote for several - i like science-fiction, comic fantasy (not fantasy comics), crime/mystery. also like distopian fiction like ballard or huxley but i suppose that comes under sci-fi or fantasy.

Ah, goodie: all the modern American kitsch literature, with tenets isolated from everything else in literary tradition.

I opted for "Speculative Fiction" since I like Fantasy and SF, as well as action/adventure.

I'm currently reading The Cobra Event by Richard Preston. It's about biological weapons getting out into the environment.

That was a pretty good one.

ive been a science fiction fan for close to 40 years. im a sucker for a well written hard science fiction story (that means one where the science works and the characters are believable. pretty rare if you think about it)

ill take a soft science fiction book if its very well written with excellent characters

the fantasy stuff can mostly leave me alone unless it is certifiably great like lord of the rings. fantasy authors are way too enamored of the worlds they create and write too many books set in the same universe rather than using their minds and creating new ones. it gets on my nerves


Yeah, I tend to be in the same vein. On the fantasy side, have you read any Glen Cook? He's done some good stuff set in quite different worlds. My fave is the Black Company series - very gritty military fantasy, highly informed by his own military experience. The first part of the series is set in an interesting setting that's detailed just enough. The second half is a world spanning quest and covers a variety of cultures that are intersting riffs on various African and Asian cultures.

Speculative fiction.. Along with everyone else it seems.