Science fiction: what do you recommend?
Science fiction: what do you recommend?
I'm looking forward to getting to read this in the future. I've just started reading my first Sci-Fi book and I'm enjoying it. I didn't think I'd like Sci-Fi, but I seem to.
edit: I didn't start this thread. It was split off from Prim's Getting Published thread. The "this" I am looking forward to reading is her book.
edit: I didn't start this thread. It was split off from Prim's Getting Published thread. The "this" I am looking forward to reading is her book.
Last edited by Erunáme on Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jules Verne? He's the granddaddy of the genre, after all. The Mysterious Island has always been my favorite.
Perhaps Asimov, Steel Caves, that sort of thing. It's a sci-fi mystery.
How do you feel about LeGuinn? Left Hand of the Darkness is somewhere on the edge between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and is absolutely brilliant. Dispossessed is more on the Sci-Fi side, IMO, and a harder read, but packs a huge punch.
Or just wait a bit and start at the top with Prim's book.
Perhaps Asimov, Steel Caves, that sort of thing. It's a sci-fi mystery.
How do you feel about LeGuinn? Left Hand of the Darkness is somewhere on the edge between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, and is absolutely brilliant. Dispossessed is more on the Sci-Fi side, IMO, and a harder read, but packs a huge punch.
Or just wait a bit and start at the top with Prim's book.
If there was anything that depressed him more than his own cynicism, it was that quite often it still wasn't as cynical as real life.
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!
Eru - I envy you --- you still have the whole wonderful world of Sci-Fi to work though! I've devoured much of what the genre had that appealed to me before I hit 15!
I remember going down to the library on Friday afternoons ( with a friend, it was our ritual! ). We'd be armed with sturdy backpacks, and the library cards of the entire family ( 4 books to a card! Luxury you'd think, and yet about half an hour was spent sifting through possible choices and working out the optimal combination of books to take out this time --- 'If you take THIS one, I can come borrow it from you Monday ...' ). I remember the tall Sci-Fi and Fantasy shelves, how Tolkien occupied the right hand half of the third shelf from the bottom, and the left hand third of the shelf below it ... I still remember where all my favourite authors was located on those shelves!
Oh yes, what a geeky little bookworm I was! My favourite passtime was on my back, maybe with the afternoon sun filtering through the window, reading, reading, reading ... sometimes I'd have some snack, sometimes not. Later on I had to shift position because I've been reading so long, maybe putting the book on the floor and dangling my head over the bed ... but wow! I spend almost every waking hour in some world of words, or in imaginary adventures of my own.
I want to be small again
I remember going down to the library on Friday afternoons ( with a friend, it was our ritual! ). We'd be armed with sturdy backpacks, and the library cards of the entire family ( 4 books to a card! Luxury you'd think, and yet about half an hour was spent sifting through possible choices and working out the optimal combination of books to take out this time --- 'If you take THIS one, I can come borrow it from you Monday ...' ). I remember the tall Sci-Fi and Fantasy shelves, how Tolkien occupied the right hand half of the third shelf from the bottom, and the left hand third of the shelf below it ... I still remember where all my favourite authors was located on those shelves!
Oh yes, what a geeky little bookworm I was! My favourite passtime was on my back, maybe with the afternoon sun filtering through the window, reading, reading, reading ... sometimes I'd have some snack, sometimes not. Later on I had to shift position because I've been reading so long, maybe putting the book on the floor and dangling my head over the bed ... but wow! I spend almost every waking hour in some world of words, or in imaginary adventures of my own.
I want to be small again
Actually I lied...I remembered that I've read Contact and I suppose that counts as a Sci-Fi book.Cerin wrote:Your very first, Eru?! How did you pick what to start with?
How did I pick the one I'm reading now? Iavas brought them back from England when we were there for Christmas. He loves that author so I figured I'd give it a go. The story is pretty interesting.
I really enjoyed Contact by Carl Sagan. I found the astronomy stuff interesting, but wasn't bogged down in it because the story is excellent and there's enough "normal" stuff in the book.For the Sci Fi afficianados here, any suggestions on what the uninitiated of us might begin with, to 'acclimate' ourselves in preparation for Prim's novel?
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Those are all great recommendations!
I'm fond of Lois McMaster Bujold. She's got a publisher who slaps horrible, gaudy "military SF" covers on her books, but she writes wonderful characters, and her main protagonist is a young man with severe birth defects but a brilliant, devious mind who makes his own way in a society obsessed with military service and physical perfection. Her books are funny, too, and one book in the series is the only SF book I've read with a strong flavor of Georgette Heyer.
I love Ursula LeGuin, though she's not to everyone's taste. The Earthsea books are among the few fantasy books other than Tolkien that I really enjoy. Her SF is character-driven and she writes beautifully—she has a spare, minimalist style that still conveys a lot.
Many people love Orson Scott Card, and he's a fine writer. I find there's too much cruelty in his books.
James Tiptree, Jr., a woman who wrote under a man's name, has some brilliant short story collections that may still be in print and should be in libraries. Libraries may put her books under "Alice B. Sheldon."
Julian May and Vonda McIntyre write sweeping SF epics that are still very approachable.
Anything that is labeled as "an SF classic" and was first published between 1945 and 1965 is probably going to be a lot of fun to read. There are collections of stories from that time that are a gold mine of great escapist reading. Isaac Asimov edited many of them. The "Hugo Winners" anthologies are among the best.
(Frelga, my book is nowhere near the top of any list! I'm very happy it's going to be published, communication being the point of writing and all, but the thought of my work being "out there," warts and all, for all you wonderful and insightful and deeply perceptive people to read makes me just want to put my head in a bucket and whimper. )
I'm fond of Lois McMaster Bujold. She's got a publisher who slaps horrible, gaudy "military SF" covers on her books, but she writes wonderful characters, and her main protagonist is a young man with severe birth defects but a brilliant, devious mind who makes his own way in a society obsessed with military service and physical perfection. Her books are funny, too, and one book in the series is the only SF book I've read with a strong flavor of Georgette Heyer.
I love Ursula LeGuin, though she's not to everyone's taste. The Earthsea books are among the few fantasy books other than Tolkien that I really enjoy. Her SF is character-driven and she writes beautifully—she has a spare, minimalist style that still conveys a lot.
Many people love Orson Scott Card, and he's a fine writer. I find there's too much cruelty in his books.
James Tiptree, Jr., a woman who wrote under a man's name, has some brilliant short story collections that may still be in print and should be in libraries. Libraries may put her books under "Alice B. Sheldon."
Julian May and Vonda McIntyre write sweeping SF epics that are still very approachable.
Anything that is labeled as "an SF classic" and was first published between 1945 and 1965 is probably going to be a lot of fun to read. There are collections of stories from that time that are a gold mine of great escapist reading. Isaac Asimov edited many of them. The "Hugo Winners" anthologies are among the best.
(Frelga, my book is nowhere near the top of any list! I'm very happy it's going to be published, communication being the point of writing and all, but the thought of my work being "out there," warts and all, for all you wonderful and insightful and deeply perceptive people to read makes me just want to put my head in a bucket and whimper. )
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
I took an elective course in college about Science Fiction (fun class!) and these anthologies were our "textbooks". I noticed in the anthologies how much more fun and memorable the older classics were to the more modern stuff. Old SF is great stuff. My personal fav (though I don't know if I'd recommend it to the uninitiated) is Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles". Bradbury is a wonderful writer, IMO.The "Hugo Winners" anthologies are among the best.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
Of the few classics I've read I liked Asimovs Foundation books and his Robot series. I enjoyed Heinleins "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Starship Troopers". I never read much of Arthur C. Clarkes besides a few short stories and his own fuller treatment of 2001.
But this should probably be in the Library.
But this should probably be in the Library.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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I'd recommend Bradbury's other collections, too—R Is for Rocket and S Is for Space are two of them. (SF books used to have pretty bald names to go with their lurid covers.)
For more thoughtful, "literary" SF, I'd recommend Edgar S. Pangborn, LeGuin, Tiptree, Gene Wolfe, Samuel R. Delaney, Ken MacLeod, Cordwainer Smith, Maureen F. McHugh, and the classic A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
For pure SF fun that's well written and full of kewl ideas, you almost can't go wrong with anything by Poul Anderson, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Fredrik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, or John Varley.
Robert Heinlein was a grand master and I love his earlier novels, especially those for young adults he wrote in the 1950s. He had strong conservative political beliefs and a very un-modern view of women, which are more than some people can read past.
I certainly haven't read everything, especially lately, so there is a lot more that's good.
For more thoughtful, "literary" SF, I'd recommend Edgar S. Pangborn, LeGuin, Tiptree, Gene Wolfe, Samuel R. Delaney, Ken MacLeod, Cordwainer Smith, Maureen F. McHugh, and the classic A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
For pure SF fun that's well written and full of kewl ideas, you almost can't go wrong with anything by Poul Anderson, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Fredrik Pohl, Robert Silverberg, or John Varley.
Robert Heinlein was a grand master and I love his earlier novels, especially those for young adults he wrote in the 1950s. He had strong conservative political beliefs and a very un-modern view of women, which are more than some people can read past.
I certainly haven't read everything, especially lately, so there is a lot more that's good.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Primula_Baggins wrote:I certainly haven't read everything, especially lately, so there is a lot more that's good.
You mean, there are even more than you mentioned!? I can't remember the name of a single author beyond the last 2 or 3 I've read. It's pathetic, really; but hearing the names usually prods my memory.
Well, my memory has hardly received a tickle. It seems I've read so few of those authors (unless my memory is even worse than I'm willing to admit) beyond Asimov.
I don't know what I spent my time on; no point in asking. A misspent youth, obviously.
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Imp, I couldn't have come close to naming all those except that I have all my SF books shelved right in my office. I just walked along the shelves noting names. So really, I cheated.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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If you are into SF with an emphasis on the "science" part, I highly recommend James Hogan's Giants Trilogy (Inherit the Stars, The Gentle Giants and Ganymede and The Giant's Star). Not a great writer, but competent enough, and really interesting stories based on biology, physics, etc. Really good imagination. He also wrote a fourth book in the series called "Entoverse" (in which he does mention Tolkien's Ents) which while still interesting got just a little too far out there for my tastes.
How did Prim's thread become a thread for recommending good SF?
How did Prim's thread become a thread for recommending good SF?
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
How did my SF thread end up being about food?
Come to think about it, this thread will end up being about food, soon, too.
'Tis an inevitable thing..
Come to think about it, this thread will end up being about food, soon, too.
'Tis an inevitable thing..
"What do you fear, lady?" Aragorn asked.
"A cage," Éowyn said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
"A cage," Éowyn said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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365 Quick 'n' Simple Dinners with Lutefisk
EZ Salads with Pickled Fish
Fruit Soup Dreamin'
Quick White Casseroles
See, Anth, now it's about books and food.
Should the SF recommendations go into a thread in the Library, as Alatar suggested?
EZ Salads with Pickled Fish
Fruit Soup Dreamin'
Quick White Casseroles
See, Anth, now it's about books and food.
Should the SF recommendations go into a thread in the Library, as Alatar suggested?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Aaaaand . . . they did. *ting*
Does anyone else have anything to recommend?
Anyone want to dispute any recommendations made so far?
Does anyone else have anything to recommend?
Anyone want to dispute any recommendations made so far?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
Well, I must say that I now find Arthur C. Clarke terribly bland. I read 2001 when I was youngish (mid-teens I think) and loved it but when I read it years later I found it quite stale (specially compared to the film). I tried a few others (Rendezvous with Rama was required for my sci-fi class) and consistently found him sorely lacking storywise.
I wanna love somebody but I don't know how
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
I wanna throw my body in the river and drown
-The Decemberists
- Primula Baggins
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I think his stories are great; it's his characters that make them seem bland, perhaps. They aren't very distinct or distinctive. But of course Clarke is writing in an old SF tradition, where the point of the story or novel was the kewl ideas, and characters were just there to populate the story and spout explanatory dialog. These days, except in the hardest of hard SF or the most military of military SF, I don't think writers can get away with that.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King