Kevin Guertin

This was the first book I read for pleasure in grade 7 or 8. I became a big fan of Stephen King and read his books everywhere I went. I only read Stephen King. I lost interest for a while in my adult years as I ventured out into science fiction and fantasy, but I still own all of his books and have a lot of catching up to do with his latest works.

I was mainly a horror and science fiction reader, having only read a few fantasy novels like JRR Tolkien. Around 2020, I suddenly craved fantasy and to escape to imaginary lands and magic. I think the COVID pandemic created a strong need for escapism. I decided to start reading from the classics and moving up through the decades, so I started with one of the biggest series ever, The Wheel of Time. And then I craved more and became an avid reader of Fantasy, consuming as much as possible.

Way back when, I used to read only Stephen King, mostly. Eventually, I wanted to get into sci-fi and space novels since I love the same in TV and movies, but I wanted to read something that was scientifically plausible and somewhat accurate. Not something that blatantly ignores physics and whatnot. So I went on a hunt for an author who is also a scientist and I found Alastair Reynolds, an astrophysicist. What a perfect match! I was thus introduced to the world of hard science fiction and space opera and fell in love!