Waterstone's Liverpool One Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club


Waterstones Liverpool One Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club

"This is space. It's sometimes called the final frontier. (Except that of course you can't have a *final* frontier, because there'd be nothing for it to be a frontier *to*, but as frontiers go, it's pretty penultimate...)"
- Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

About Us


This is the official blog for the book club held in the book lounge of Waterstones Liverpool One.

The group meet at 6pm on the first Monday of the month to discuss their thoughts and opinions on the books selected. The books range from classic fantasy to brand new science fiction short story collections.

It's a fun and friendly atmosphere and all are welcome: from those who have never read any science fiction or fantasy before, to those who don't read anything else.

The group, and this blog, are administered by Glyn Morgan, the Bookseller responsible for the Science Fiction section of the store and an avid reader of SF who is currently studying for his PhD at the University of Liverpool.

If you would like to comment on any of the books we've read, this month or in the distant past, please feel free to contribute to the comments section of the relevant posts.

Visit this club's little sister: Coffee and Comics

Monday 25 October 2010

Reminder

I don't like to double post about the same thing but if reading Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes for the session on Monday has got you into the mood for chilling tales of darkness and the macabre then you may be glad I reminded you that this Friday we've got the Twisted Tales Event in store.

From 6-8pm there will be readings from Fantasy / Horror authors Tom Fletcher, Nicholas Royle, Conrad Williams, and Ramsey Campbell. The event has already attracted quite a buzz and tickets have sold well (though there are still some available), it's even been mentioned on the British Fantasy Society page, University of Sterling's Gothic Imagination (the biggest website for studies of the Gothic in the world) and Horror magazine Black Static's "Things To Do At Halloween".

If we get as strong a turnout as I'm hoping we will, I plan to commission a series of such readings across the coming year. Not just horror, but science fiction and fantasy as well. I've already got a few authors lined up for the first sequel, and I'll be announcing the details for the first time at the event.

So come along and meet some of the biggest names in British Horror fiction working today. Hear them read their own stories, ask them questions, and get them to sign books.

Twisted Tales
Friday 29th October
6-8pm
Tickets cost £2
For more information, or to reserve tickets, call 0151 709 9820.

Thursday 21 October 2010

The Brentford Triangle by Robert Rankin

Synopsis

'Omally groaned. "It is the end of mankind as we know it. I should never have got up so early today" and all over Brentford electrical appliances were beginning to fail…' Could it be that Pooley and Omally, whilst engaged on a round of allotment golf, mistook laser-operated gravitational landing beams for the malignant work of Brentford Council? Does the Captain Laser Alien Attack machine in the bar of the Swan possess more sinister force than its magnetic appeal for youths with green hair? Is Brentford the first base in an alien onslaught on planet Earth?

A sequel to "The Antipope", this is the second novel in "The Brentford Trilogy".

What Did We Think?


(notes to follow)


Saturday 9 October 2010

Wirral Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction Event

Hi all, just a little shout out for a reading that will be going on as part of the annual Wirral Bookfest. I'll be going and I thought you might like to hear about it too:

Parallel Dimensions returns for its second year to bring together some of the UK's strongest emerging writers of the Fantasy, Horror and Science-Fiction genres.
 
Colin P Davies, Adele Cosgrove-Bray, Carol Falaki and Adrienne Odasso will share new fiction with their audience. Last year's lively Q&A session, which followed the readings, proved very popular.
 
Colin has seen over forty of his short stories published in anthologies and magazines. He is the author of "The Bookmole", a novel whose sequel is due out soon. His illustrations have also appeared in international genre magazines.
 
Adele Cosgrove-Bray's short stories appear in various anthologies published by Hadley Rille Books and Dark Moon Press. Her non-fiction writings have been featured in Prediction Magazine and Your Future. She is currently writing her forth in a series of Dark Fantasy novels set in Wirral and Liverpool.
 
Carol Falaki's first novel, "Birth in Suburbia" draws on her professional experience as a midwife. She has also enjoyed publishing success with her poetry.
 
Almost fifty of Adrienne Odasso's poems have been published in a wide variety of magazines, chapbooks and anthologies. Her six published short stories have also aded to her growing reputation as a talented writer.
 
Tickets are already on sale from all Wirral Libraries. Entry costs just £3 and includes refreshments.
 
Parallel Dimensions takes place on Saturday, October 16th, 2010 at West Kirby Library, Wirral. Doors open at 2pm. Be early to ensure a seat, as last year's event was very well attended.

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Happy Birthday Blog

"Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday Waterstone's Liverpool One Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club Blog
Happy Birthday to Blog"

Exactly 1 year ago today I posted the first entry on this blog. Since then we've grown and grown, receiving a record 704 views last month from people other than me. As the map on the right shows, these views have come mainly from the UK but also from distant lands (the figures are based only on the stats recorded by the blog for the last three months, not the whole year).

Other birthday stats: The most visited post on the blog is "Sister Book Club Forming: Coffee and Comics" with 76 views, closely followed by the summary of our discussion of The City and The City by China MiƩville. The Sister Book Club post probably did so well thanks to some Twitter publicity from Graphic Novel author (and author of 800 Years of Haunted Liverpool), John Reppion. The blog also benefited from a recent piece of good PR by Science Fiction critic and publisher Cheryl Morgan (no relation) who picked us out for praise on her site.

So here's to a successful first year and the hope of many more.

Upwards and Onwards!

- Glyn

Edit: Apparently the blog shares its birthday with Liverpool-born horror supremo Clive Barker himself. Let's hope he hasn't seen the score we gave to Hellbound Heart....

Friday 1 October 2010

Apologies for absence - October 4th

I'm sorry but I won't be at Monday's 6pm meeting to discuss The Brentford Triangle by Robert Rankin.

I've won last minute tickets to a big gig at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and the offer was too good to refuse. Sorry for letting you down but if someone takes some notes and most importantly records the score, I'll get it posted up on the blog ASAP.

Have a good meeting. See you next month, if not before, to discuss Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.

All the best,

Glyn