Where to discuss sci-fi & fantasy?
August 5, 2010 10:41 AM Subscribe
What is the best online forum to discuss sci-fi and fantasy literature? I am not looking for places devoted to specific book(s) or some author.
The Book Barn on Something Awful dot com is quite good.
posted by vkxmai at 11:08 AM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by vkxmai at 11:08 AM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've always liked the forums over at Asimovs.com. (May lean more towards short stories and novellas.)
http://www.asimovs.com/aspnet_forum/default.aspx
posted by Barmecide at 11:27 AM on August 5, 2010
http://www.asimovs.com/aspnet_forum/default.aspx
posted by Barmecide at 11:27 AM on August 5, 2010
Best answer: Used to be the GE SFRT 20 years ago. After that it was RASFW. I still, after many years of looking, have not found a suitable replacement. I realize "there isn't a very good answer to this question" isn't particularly helpful but I think it is the correct answer here.
To be honest Metafilter is the best place I've found but, obviously, you only get to discuss SF occasionally when something interesting gets posted to the blue, and even then the discussion is fairly limited to the topic of the post. Blogs are not a good replacement either. Baen's Bar is terrible. Tor.com very occasionally has an interesting discussion. You can find very in-depth detailed discussions of specific books or series at sites dedicated to those books or series (malazan, A Song of Ice and Fire, etc) but that's usually limited to fantasy doorstoppers. And who wants to visit a separate site for every book they wish to discuss?
So I'm still looking for the post-RASFW answer to this question and it has been the better part of a decade. Sometimes I think the only way I'll find one is to start it myself.
posted by Justinian at 11:56 AM on August 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
To be honest Metafilter is the best place I've found but, obviously, you only get to discuss SF occasionally when something interesting gets posted to the blue, and even then the discussion is fairly limited to the topic of the post. Blogs are not a good replacement either. Baen's Bar is terrible. Tor.com very occasionally has an interesting discussion. You can find very in-depth detailed discussions of specific books or series at sites dedicated to those books or series (malazan, A Song of Ice and Fire, etc) but that's usually limited to fantasy doorstoppers. And who wants to visit a separate site for every book they wish to discuss?
So I'm still looking for the post-RASFW answer to this question and it has been the better part of a decade. Sometimes I think the only way I'll find one is to start it myself.
posted by Justinian at 11:56 AM on August 5, 2010 [2 favorites]
The tor.com site has been overhauled, and there's a lot of new posts, discussions, etc.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:15 PM on August 5, 2010
posted by wenestvedt at 12:15 PM on August 5, 2010
To be honest Metafilter is the best place I've found but, obviously, you only get to discuss SF occasionally when something interesting gets posted to the blue, and even then the discussion is fairly limited to the topic of the post.
Plus there are a bunch of conversational loops that come up every. single. time. - like the genre discussion, or the "I am too sensitive for this prose" discussion.
posted by Artw at 12:36 PM on August 5, 2010
Plus there are a bunch of conversational loops that come up every. single. time. - like the genre discussion, or the "I am too sensitive for this prose" discussion.
posted by Artw at 12:36 PM on August 5, 2010
The Book Barn on Something Awful dot com is quite good.
I was here to say this, but remember to stay away from the lemoncakes.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:46 PM on August 5, 2010
I was here to say this, but remember to stay away from the lemoncakes.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 12:46 PM on August 5, 2010
I am friends with the people who do Think Galactic, and they have really great discussions. I would highly recommend their site and online forum.
They also have a con every couple of years, and it is really thought provoking stuff.
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:30 PM on August 5, 2010
They also have a con every couple of years, and it is really thought provoking stuff.
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:30 PM on August 5, 2010
Oh, and seconding Tor.
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:31 PM on August 5, 2010
posted by bibliogrrl at 2:31 PM on August 5, 2010
Someone already mentioned the A Song of Ice and Fire forums and discounted them because they are dedicated to that series. While this is technically true, I believe that you will find the Literature forum (or Other Literature as it used to be called) to be the best-of-breed forum on the internet for discussion of current and recent speculative fiction (sf/f). I've been following this scene for a pretty long time and most of the major bloggers and reviewers (and some authors) are active posters there. I visit there most days and I cannot remember the last time that I even went into the aSoIaF-specific sub-forums.
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:23 PM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 8:23 PM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I would second the Song of Ice and Fire literature forum. I've spent hours trawling the archives and there are a lot of great discussions.
Also, SFF World.
posted by Danila at 10:26 PM on August 5, 2010
Also, SFF World.
posted by Danila at 10:26 PM on August 5, 2010
Wow, I just checked out the Song of Ice and Fire literature forum and their discussion on Justin Cronin's The Passage was great. I just finished the book.
posted by exhilaration at 12:06 PM on August 6, 2010
posted by exhilaration at 12:06 PM on August 6, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by kjs3 at 11:03 AM on August 5, 2010