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

Wednesday 8 February 2012

EVENT: Reading and Signing from Chris Beckett


A long time ago, before this blog kept a (irregular) chronicle of the book club's opinions and activities we read Turing Test by Chris Beckett. A collection of short stories with a great cover which went on to win the Edge Hill Prize for short fiction. We all loved the book and ate up the stories.

This is what one of the judges of the prize said:

‘I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand. Yet, once the judging process started, it soon became clear that The Turing Test was the book that we'd all been impressed by, and enjoyed, the most - and one by one we admitted it.

'This was a very strong shortlist, including one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright, and two authors who've been Booker shortlisted in Ali Smith and Shena Mackay. Even so, it was Beckett who seemed to us to have written the most imaginative and endlessly inventive stories, fizzing with ideas and complete with strong characters and big contemporary themes. We also appreciated the sheer zest of his story-telling and the obvious pleasure he had taken in creating his fiction.'

Now, I'm happy to announce that Chris Beckett will be coming to Liverpool to promote his newest novel, the dystopian Dark Eden. He will be reading from his work and signing copies of the book which has already received rave reviews in The Guardian and Sunday Telegraph amongst others.

Don't miss this opportunity to meet the author being described as a "latter-day Orwell", and of course get your copy of Turing Test signed. We will also be discussing Chris's The Holy Machine in the bookclub, although not until May, so you might want to buy your copy early and get that signed too - as well as a copy of Dark Eden of course...
(Facebook link for event)
FRIDAY 2nd MARCH, 6pm

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