Speculative Fiction

[close] I'd love to connect with people interested in utopian fiction. Specifically, I am interested in speculative fiction that does NOT rely on scifi and fantasy. I love that stuff, but there are plenty of places to talk about scifi and fantasy utopias. I'm thinking about the classic utopias that used to rely on some cheap premise to justify some really cool world building. We definitely, definitely, definitely don't need to confine ourselves to those classic genres sticking close to the form of an outsider visiting an isolated utopia then returning to tell the story, but this is where it begins: More's Utopia, Perkins-Gilman's Herland, Skinner's Walden Two, Bellamy's Looking Backward, Morris's News from Nowhere, Hilton's Lost Horizon, Huxley's Island, etc... In fact, I am here to find out if there are some fresher takes on utopia. Let's talk about it.

[close] This global discussion group has been designed to encourage debates about important and underreported issues of our era. All you need is an enquiring mind and a desire to gain or share “underground knowledge”. This is also a place to discuss the controversial topics explored in The Underground Knowledge Series (non-fiction books) by James Morcan & Lance Morcan as well as the Underground Knowledge podcast show.

[close] "On paths unknown, we tread with wonder. Through a glass darkly, to brave new worlds and beyond we go." We seek to explore and do critical reading from any genre on challenging literature, both new and established, that links into themes of exploring ideas relating to various aspects of culture, society and technology, as well as what is loosely called 'literary fiction'; and in addition, non-English translated literature from around the world. We also discuss classics as well as avant-garde literature from all eras inasfar as they have challenged the world around them. Wherever necessary to give more background knowledge, discussion of non-fiction books are welcome. The idea is to provide not only a forum for discussion, but a database of book-ish information for the eclectic reader. Our threads all remain open indefinitely, so you can browse through and read and/or contribute at your own leisure.

[close] This group is dedicated to an appreciation of important works of literature, both classic and contemporary... that happen to fall into the category of Dark Fiction. We tend to avoid the big, banal blockbusters (and the more lurid fare) in favor of beautifully written explorations of the unknown, many of them obscure, all of them extraordinary. [Note from the Moderator: A couple of years ago, we changed our group name from "Literary Horror" in order to expand our sphere of interests (and dislodge a few embedded trolls). Our enthusiasms embrace Gothic, Weird Fiction, and Noir, as well as much that might be classified as Horror, but we also appreciate literary fiction that cannot be easily fitted into a marketing niche. In fact, this latter group of titles has evolved into our primary focus. Most serious fiction deals (to some extent) with darker themes, and many works of distinction have employed supernatural, surreal or existentialist elements. These books have power. They endure, because they appeal to serious readers and provide thoughtful entertainment. Come. Explore them with us.]