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Hi TL community. Since I think people on here generally have good taste, I decided to ask what SF book should I read next. I'm not at all an avid reader, though I would like to be, and really don't know where to begin looking for new authors.
The complete list of every SF I've read is:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card Nightfall - Isaac Asimov Foundation - Isaac Asimov (just the first one of the series. I found it interesting but not too riveting) Do Androids Dream of electric sheep? - Philip K. Dick A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
Thanks!
EDIT: I forgot to mention some other books for some reason. Maybe it's because they're often not found in the SF section. Maybe they're not considered SF:
Brave New World - Huxley 1984 - Orwell Farenheit 451 - Bradbury
I highly recomend any of those books
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Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
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Asimov - The Robot Trilogy (3) - Better than Foundation IMO, very relevant issues for today's society (connectedness without closeness, virtual sexuality, the double-edged sword of progress, etc). Detective Mysteries + Sci Fi - AWESOME. The titles are: The Caves of Steel The Naked Sun The Robots of Dawn
Fahrenheit 451 - must read. Also very relevant today.
Maybe not sci-fi, but The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite books.
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Dune, you absolutely must read Dune
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Some classic nerd literature:
Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott Neuromancer by William Gibson Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Dune by Frank Herbert Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
edit: arr too slow with the dune, whatever its a good book
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On August 09 2010 13:21 Meth wrote: StarCraft God no... those where the most poorly written books I have read.
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On August 09 2010 13:36 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: This. It is an awesome TvZ novel.
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On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
Many more to go then, I remember reading about 10 of them a few years ago ^^
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what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course.
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On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
woah now, you must speak from ignorance, because although good, ender's game is definitely not the best sci fi book of all time.
as for my reccomendations: Vernor Vinge: A Fire Upon the Deep Dan Simmons: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion, ilium and Olympos. Really anything by dan simmons is probably great, but I haven't read the rest of his books
Edit: to the guy above me, DEFINITELY try out A Fire Upon the Deep. It has an incredibly unique way of justifying the possibility of faster than light travel features a human race that is not the center of the universe, similar to mass effect. Although i'm only about half way through, the universe it creates is one of the most intriguing thought experiments in all sci fi i have come across.
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You actually have a dent list there; the stuff you have read is good. Keep in mind that there about 14 books in the Ender series, with many of them being set 3000 years in the future, and far more Science-oreinted.
I would prescribe... "Tomorrow and Tomorrow" by Charles Sheffield. It's good, hard sci-fi, and it is very entertaining.
I would also try the "Worthing Saga" by OSC.It has a mix of psycology, fantasy, and science that you cant quite get from Ender.
Dune is good... farenheit 451 is good... Foundation, Empire, Robots, and their crossovers are all excellent...
I would buy a "Best of" book. they usually have a tons of stories from a bunch of really good writers. HG Wells, Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Verne, etc.
EDIT: And how dare I forget! The Homecoming Series y OSC is quite possibly one of the best series I have ever read. Extremely memorable, and very awesome all around. 5 books, best if you left out the last one.
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A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick VALIS by Philip K. Dick Starship Troopers
some of my all time most favorite books
EDIT: and don't forget one of the greatest sci fi novels of all time!
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
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gah, i was gonna suggest ender's game cause its an amazing book but you're already read it... have you read the rest of the series though? you only listed 4 of them and there's 6 total.
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I actually took an english course in university focused on science fiction. I kept the reading list. Most of these books I enjoyed. They are all sci-fi but very different types. I organized them as they were presented in my class. Hope these give you something to go on.
Misc Nathaniel Hawthorn - Rappaccini's Daughter Nathaniel Hawthorn - The Birthmark Mary Shelly - Frankenstine
Technology in Sci-Fi Aldous Huxley - Brave New World E.M. Forster - The Machine Stops Ray Bradbury - The Veldt Ray Bradbury - There Come Soft Rains Harlan Ellison - I have no Mouth and I Must Scream
The Futuristic Apocalypse Sheri Tepper - The Gate to Women's Country Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451
The Alien in Sci-Fi John Wyndham - The Day of the Triffids Ursula Le Guin - The Dispossessed Stanislaw Lem - Solaris Campbell - Who goes There?
The Superman/Cyborg/Robot in Sci-Fi Raniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon C.L. Moore - No Women Born William Gibson - Neuromancer Phillip Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Olaf Stapledon - Old John Theodore Sturgeon - More than Human Isaac Asimov - I, Robot
Time Travel in Sci-Fi H.G. Wells - The Time Machine James Tiptree Jr. - Houston, Houston, do You Read? Marge Piercy - Woman on the Edge of Time
Enjoy
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Snow Crash for sure. Brave New World is pretty good for something heavier.
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On August 09 2010 13:33 Thegilaboy wrote: Dune, you absolutely must read Dune
Yes, this. If you want to read sci-fi you have to read Dune. Seriously it's not optional.
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just about everything by james hogan or robert heinlein is good for light and interesting, though some of heinlein's get a bit deeper.
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I could have used a few more inspirations, like if you liked them or how it could have been a better book and so on, however:
Based on your choise of PKD and Asimov, i would suggest the following as very likely to be interesting for you:
Ubik - Philip K. Dick I, Robot - a collection of novels - Isaac Asimov 2001: A space odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke
Some less obvious, but legendary choises could be: 1984 - George Orwell Neuromancer - William Gibson From the Earth to the Moon - Jules Verne
There are several other science fiction authers with none to little emotional stuff, but i'm not sure it's truely what you are seeking.
Also: In general science fiction is extremely bound on you getting along with the authers way of articulating. Therefore; if you like a science fiction book by an auther, chances are that you will like all his works.
Good luck finding books to your likings!
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In addition to many, many of the above suggestions:
I recently read and enjoyed several of Peter F. Hamilton's books. The Night's Dawn Trilogy and the Commonwealth Saga are both very good (although the first book of Night's Dawn has way too many sex scenes in it).
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Ender's Shadow - Orson Scott Card ---> I thought this was better than Ender's Game, because it actually humanized a character. Though Ender was a complicated individual, he seemed too robotic for my tastes.
1984 - George Orwell Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Halo books that were written by Eric Nylund are pretty good, though it's been a while since I last read them.
And surprisingly enough....I actually liked the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, so you could try those out too.
Anyway, don't know if these are specifically what you're looking for, but here!
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Dune for sure. Although I can't vouch for anything after the first six books. They were written by the original author's son. I heard they were really bad though.
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On August 09 2010 13:21 Meth wrote: StarCraft
+1
I really liked these novels.
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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy I am Robot (If you have seen the movie, the book isnt at all like it and its much better)
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I hear that the Maximum Ride was a good series. but then again, it was targeted towards the young-adult group, and i'm not sure if you're into that kind of thing =\
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Martian Chronicles-Ray Bradbury Harrison Bergeron-Kurt Vonnegut (it's actually a SS but w/e.) 2001 A Space Odyssey-Arthur C. Clarke 50 short sci-fi Stories (just a collection)
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I remember liking the Jack McDevitt books like polaris and a talent for war (theres a third one which I liked but can't remember the name of and the fourth one was poop on a stick)
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Awesome list already. I strongly agree you should read Neuromancer (William Gibson), and Snow Crash (Neil Stephenson). Definitely Dune too. Great start already with Asimov and Philip K Dick, they're great. I'd also suggest Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.
I'm going to read Hyperion and see what I think. Thanks Avalanche.
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Hmm, 1984 seems to be coming up. It is a dystopian social commentary, not Sci-fi. "Brave New World" is Sci-fi.
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On August 09 2010 14:07 Perseverance wrote:+1 I really liked these novels. -999999999999999999999999 seriously i really really really hated how most of these were written, the writing is just horrendous (I'm not some crazy literature-loving-everything-else-sucks person, but still) maybe except Speed of Darkness, the rest were trash.... (wait this is for the first two starcraft novels, dunno about the dark templar saga and nova one, can't imagine them being stellar though).
One novel i really liked is The Glass House by Charles Stross, it takes place faaaaaaaaaar in the future and its full of crazy out of this world stuff. The plot is basically about some guy (girl? later goes into a female body hahaha) who is put into a world that is supposed to simulate our 21st century world 9tthe scientists or w/e are trying to figure out what the 21st cent was like). But of course things aren't what they seems.
Recently I read Light by M. John Harrison, it was an interesting noir sci-fi novel. Has three narratives for three different weird/interesting/disturbing characters and the crazy stuff that happen to them. It was kinda trippy. Some may not like the ending and how things tied up, it was hard for me to find a connection between the three narratives when they all came together (sort of), maybe someone can enlighten me? Nonetheless i enjoyed it and recommend it.
Right now im reading quite a few books, but the sci fi ones are Anathem by Neal Stephenson (lots of TLers recommended other stuff by this guy too) and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which is hilarious so far.
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The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch -Philip K. Dick
I'm not a fan of PKD's writing style, but the guy was damn creative.
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Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. Just epic.
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there was a science fiction novel by dan brown called deception point, was a fantastic read
EDIT: not so sure if its science fiction actually, had some elements to it though.
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To the haters the StarCraft novels, they aren't THAT bad. Shadow of the Xel'Naga is horrendous, sure, Uprising is poorly written, and Heaven's Devils is incredibly inconsistent and "bouncy" (author changes scenes way too often leaving a bunch of cliffhangers, then you forget wtf was happening to the characters at that point 15 pages later) but they're not unreadable.
In fact, Liberty's Crusade was pretty entertaining until + Show Spoiler + after which it was still decent although a little bland.
But those (bar SotXN) weren't absolutely terrible, although I certainly wouldn't recommend them. Especially if you don't give a crap about the SC storyline, these definitely wouldn't change someone's mind about it.
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Going for Neuromancer is a no brainer, a classic as many other books already mentioned.
If you like cyber punk, space operas and wanna try something new, try the Takeshi Kovacs trilogy from Richard K. Morgan, a UK writer, he's a rather new one, but has been pumping books pretty consistenly, love his style, it's very dark and sometimes a bit raw so have that in mind. Start with Altered Carbon if you choose it.
Cheers.
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Anything by Alastair Reynolds is really good.
Look for Revelation Space as a start.
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On August 09 2010 13:57 NobleHelium wrote: Snow Crash for sure. Brave New World is pretty good for something heavier.
Neal Stephenson is my fetish writer at the moment. Right now I am reading Diamond Age, is a ciberpunk thriller with some RPG nonsense in a nanotech earth. Pick anyone on that page above, and enjoy.
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I really liked the halo series books!
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Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
A giant spacecraft of unknown origin enters the Solar System, and Earth sends out a team to investigate. The storyline is very well done by Clarke for a theme that's been replicated a lot. His writing makes the visual scene a very crisp, so you won't have trouble figuring out what exactly is going on.
If you do happen to read it and enjoy it, Clarke wrote 3 more sequels. Quite good.
Quote wikipedia - Awards
Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 British Science Fiction Association Award in 1973 Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1974 Jupiter Award for Best Novel in 1974 Hohn W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1974 Locus Award for Best Novel in 1974
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Well you can't go wrong with Roger Zelazny. He's not precisely sci-fi, it's more of a combination of fantasy + sci-fi, but you won't be disappointed.
Probably the most famous work is Lord of Light, it's not the easiest of reads however, but any of you shouldn't miss it. It takes place in a space colony far away, where a handful of people decide to pretend to be hindu gods, they develop special powers and try to guide the rest of the people (well actually they force them to use praying machines etc.) When I first heard about that idea I wasn't interested at all.. but how awesome can that turn out? Check these out: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_151xaYaZnMs/SL271ZxVVAI/AAAAAAAAAVE/5gQ0EJsND7I/s1600-h/LOL Montage (small).jpg
Anyways whatever it is from Zelazny, you can't go wrong and I mean that. He's a witty writer that will never bore you like Tolkien. If you search the internets you can also find his series of Amber narrated by him alone which is one of the things that'll always have place in my mp3 player.
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On August 09 2010 14:58 Fontong wrote: Anything by Alastair Reynolds is really good.
Look for Revelation Space as a start.
Yes. Alastair Reynolds is one of my all time favourite SCfi authors, all the more so coz its 'hard' scfi. For the uninitiated, that just means that it makes sense, and often includes current scientific theories, rather than say Star Wars where they just 'go into lightspeed' and such.
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On August 09 2010 13:45 Avalanche wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
woah now, you must speak from ignorance, because although good, ender's game is definitely not the best sci fi book of all time.
your actually right, I don't really read a lot of SF, so I'm biased
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As far as SF reading goes the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov is a must.
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Hands down the most entertaining Sci-fi book I have ever read would be the Sam Gunn Omnibus.
Epic character, epic adventures, and great science and business.
As for Rama series, I think it's pretty good, having only read Rendezvous and Garden...
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stanislaw lem - solaris psychological scifi. lampoons scientific writing in general. amazing and also only 200 pages or so. was made into a film twice.
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Definitely recommend Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and even though it's not sci-fi, Cryptonomicon because it's awesome). Neuromancer by William Gibson, Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein and Dune by Frank Herbert also go without saying.
I'm kind of surprised no one has mention Iain M. Banks. He writes some great Space Operas and the Culture novels are set in one of my favourite sci-fi universes. Consider Phlebas is technically the first but they aren't dependent on each other so you can start wherever, my favourites being Excession and the Player of Games. He also doesn't tend to succumb to Aliens-look-like-humans syndrome, so that's always a plus.
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On August 09 2010 13:19 happyness wrote: Hi TL community. Since I think people on here generally have good taste, I decided to ask what SF book should I read next. I'm not at all an avid reader, though I would like to be, and really don't know where to begin looking for new authors.
The complete list of every SF I've read is:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card Nightfall - Isaac Asimov Foundation - Isaac Asimov (just the first one of the series. I found it interesting but not too riveting) Do Androids Dream of electric sheep? - Philip K. Dick A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
Thanks!
go straight to hell for the foundation comment and never come back
you should read at least the trilogy if not all of the foundation books
and anything asimov is straight up gold
as far as new authors arthur c clarke is a very famous and good choice
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Colin Kapp books. "Cageworld Series" "Patterns of Chaos" and the sequel "Weapon of Chaos" <-- Must Read.
James White "Space Hospital" series.
C.C MacApp "Recall Not Earth" <-- Another Must Read "Secret of the Sunless World"
Brian Aldiss "Non-Stop"
And as everyone ever said "Dune" "Foundation" "Ender" etc. Those are the pillars of S-F.
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On August 09 2010 13:45 Avalanche wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
woah now, you must speak from ignorance, because although good, ender's game is definitely not the best sci fi book of all time. I agree with this statement. The Ender series is good, but more appropriate for younger audiences. My theory on why it is so popular is the same one I hold in regards to the Harry Potter series: good writing as far as children's books go, but just not on the same level as books that adults should be reading. However, it becomes very popular in the mainstream due to being very accessible.
On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them) For you, definitely check out Alastair Reynolds and Jack McDevitt. Both feature a human race just beginning to discover the (often dark) secrets of their universe. They have human-focused stories, but not to any effect of humans being the center of the universe. Often, humans are the ones just stumbling upon the traces of aliens who have long transcending the human race.
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Hyperion, the Fall of Hyperion and its sequel Endymion and the Rise of Endymion are pure gold
-Technology that makes sense (i hate bullshit like minority reports, with former drug addicts children who can read the future and when plugged to a machine it writes a name on a wooden ball seriously wtf) - A real space opera with hundreds of planets with their specificities and communities - Incredible plot - Very well written (eventhough it's not scifi, I wanna say im sick of Stephen king's terrible writing style, his stories are often great but ...) - A lot of philosophy inside.
I also enjoyed Arthur C Clarke's books. (Rama series especially)
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There are so many good science fiction books but here a few who have been most memorable for me:
"The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clark "The End of Eternity" by Asimov (in my opinion his best work) "Sunstorm" by Arthur C. Clark and Stephen Baxter (its the 2nd part of the time trilogy but you it also works as standalone book as the necessary information is provided at the start and in my opinion this book is by far the best of the trilogy).
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A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Millter Jr.
One of the finest books ever written in my opinion, though most people can't appreciate it. SF is actually a misclassification of it, despite the setting.
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Alistair Reynolds is great if you like "dark SciFi"! Most strongly recommended for reading!
Also, books i found particularly good that were not yet mentioned:
"Quest" by Andreas Eschbach "The Great Sky River" by Gregory Benford (its book 3 from a series of 6 but the others do not remotely reach the level of this one).
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not a single A.E.Van Vogt book in here (strange) 3 pretty good ones are
Slan Wizard of Lin Empire of the Atom
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As far as Phillip K. Dick goes: VALIS The transmigration of timothy archer The three stigmata of palmer eldritch The divine invasion Lies Inc.
Well, I could go on and on but realy 99% of his work is G R E A T. Also his collected short stories are pretty much all awesome books.
gogogo PKD GET.
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My favorite ever sci-fi is still Hyperion from Dan Simmons. I also read his other works, but they weren't quite as good in my opinion.
I also agree that Dune is kind of not-optional if you want to read sci-fi, because of it's historical place in the genre. It's also really not a bad book at all. After the first book it kind of goes downhill in my opinion though and I didn't have the stomach to finish the entire series.
Another recommendation would be the Culture novels from Lain Banks. Especially 'The player of games' is a good read for all us gaming fanatics
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Not to repeat what others have posted, I will just point out one amazing book that's strangely missing from this thread: Robert A. Heinlein - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
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On August 09 2010 15:16 Stratos wrote:Well you can't go wrong with Roger Zelazny. He's not precisely sci-fi, it's more of a combination of fantasy + sci-fi, but you won't be disappointed. Probably the most famous work is Lord of Light, it's not the easiest of reads however, but any of you shouldn't miss it. It takes place in a space colony far away, where a handful of people decide to pretend to be hindu gods, they develop special powers and try to guide the rest of the people (well actually they force them to use praying machines etc.) When I first heard about that idea I wasn't interested at all.. but how awesome can that turn out? Check these out: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_151xaYaZnMs/SL271ZxVVAI/AAAAAAAAAVE/5gQ0EJsND7I/s1600-h/LOL Montage (small).jpgAnyways whatever it is from Zelazny, you can't go wrong and I mean that. He's a witty writer that will never bore you like Tolkien. If you search the internets you can also find his series of Amber narrated by him alone which is one of the things that'll always have place in my mp3 player.
only just reading one book from zelazny (children of ashes) and i have to agree i enjoyed his writing ALOT! thx for giving me a flaschback gonna check more from him out now
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I read this amazing story about a future where people decided to become aliens and the robot servant of a family became the patriarch of the world and intelligent ants took over the world. And dogs became intelligent too and travelled into a paralell universe.
Now that I reread what I just wrote, scratch amazing and replace it with sketchy.
Oh and I forgot to ask if anyone knows what book I'm talking about?
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Kyrgyz Republic1462 Posts
Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day.
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Iain M Banks is my favourite sci-fi author. His world of 'the Culture' is incredibly creative and enjoyable - depicting future human society as a technological utopia, which has to play complex political games with alien races.
He's also often funny, which I think counts for a lot amongst all the seriousness.
Excession is a good one to start with, as shown by this fantastic blurb:
"Two and a half millennia ago, the artifact appeared in a remote corner of space, beside a trillion-year-old dying sun from a different universe. It was a perfect black-body sphere, and it did nothing. Then it disappeared.
Now it is back."
I also agree with Lann555 that 'The Player of Games' should be pretty resonant with a lot of this forum.
In a similar 'wow this is nearly literature' vein, Ray Bradbury's 'The Martian Chronicles' has kind of stayed with me, as has E.M Forster's short story 'The machine stops'.
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I think anyone who's read Snow Crash will agree it's a must. This book enriches your mind so much in addition to being incredibly entertaining.
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There is before, and there is after one reads Dune.
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Hyperion is one of the best novels ever written.
Dune, excellent. The entire series is fascinating but it veers into fantasy territory.
Iain M. Banks' Culture novels are also great fun, but The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, Consider Phlebas, and Excession are the best, in that order. The other ones don't do a good enough job of establishing dramatic tension (though still entertaining and thought-provoking).
Zelazny's Lord of Light was a fun book to read - It was a bit more fantasy than science fiction overall. But the author really managed to pull off something amazing by making this an interesting and not-heavy-handed story.
Neal Stephenson is a great author but he can take a long, long time to get his stories going. The exception is Snow Crash, which is a fast paced romp. I enjoyed Anathem the most out of any of the books I've read by him, but you need to give it a couple hundred pages before any of the plot even begins.
A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge are extremely high caliber sci fi. The latter I liked perhaps even a little more than the former.
I haven't seen anyone mention Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan here so I'll recommend that - Great semi-near future detective story, light on science but highly plausible technology and a great sense of the social implications of it.
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Sorry if some of the positions were already mentioned, treat is a another good reason to read them.
Dune F.Herbert - a must read, middle books are kind tough, but fiorest and last are just great
Hyperion -Dan Simmons A great read also, but i hate all soco-philosopic crap tha authors throws at You, it gets worse with every book, still a great read nontheless
Issac Asimov -Fundation classic, a good read but not great, still a mandatory position. Robot series are also classical, but not that great. "Gods Themselves" also worth reading.
P.K.Dick -Pretty much everything is worth Your time. "The Man in the High Castle[" , The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch my personal favorite, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? And many more
William Gibson- classic of Cyberpunk Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive
Brian Aldiss- NonStop , Hothouse - great books!
Robert Silverberg- a lot of differrnt books, depends on the taste, but defienetly worth cheking
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic, Monday Begins on Saturday especially
Orwell -1984
Aldus Huxley- Brave New World
Anthony Burgess- Clockwork orange
Stanisław Lem- Solaris is in fact one of his weakest books, his books are very deep and philosophical not everyone like them, but if u ask me worth Your time.
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Robert Heinlein is my favourite SF author. You absolutely MUST READ 'Stranger In A Strange Land'.
I strongly recommend Huxley's 'Brave New World'.
Another recommendation is Alastair Reynolds. His 'Revelation Space' series is great, but his latest book, 'Terminal World' is fantastic! A must read.
Oh, and Richard Morgan's 'Black Man' was very, very good.
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Czech Republic11293 Posts
Roadside Picnic and Beetle in the Anthill from Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Great books! Any other I read from them did not disappoint either. I read whole Beetle in the Anthill in about 8 hours straight. I just couldn't stop.
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On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You could try the Altered Carbon series written by Richard Morgan. It contains of 3 books (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels & Woken Furies).
Market Forces from Richard Morgan is also a very good read but not SciFi as you would normally describe it. In short it's about a society ruled by the big cooperations where the way to aquire new clients is to drive your competitors of the road.
I can also recommend all the books of Alastair Reynolds. He specialises in dark hard science fiction. He has an PhD in either physics or astronomy (I forgot which) and worked 12 years for the European Space Research and Technology Centre (a part of the European Space Agency) before he became a fulltime writer. So most science he uses in his books is very solid.
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This one jump started me on sci fi. It's a great classic though he goes off the deep end at the end, in classic Heinlein fashion.
Fantastic, action-packed and unashamedly Space Opera. Great stuff and leads into the sequel, Judas Unchained.
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Other suggestions for the OP (suprised nobody mentioned them before): (not really time to properly summerize them so please look them up in wikipedia for more info)
Jack Vance: Almost all of his books are really good but the Demon Princes series (The Star King, The Killing Machine, The Palace of Love, The Face, The Book of Dreams) is simply AMAZING.
Larry Niven: The Ringworld series (Ringworld, The Ringworld engineers, The Ringworld throne (and to a lesser degree, Ringworld's children)) is a must read. Other great books of him include The Mote in God's eye & The Gripping hand. He also wrote so good fantasy if you are also into that.
Rober A. Heinlein: Most notably I think are these books of him: The moon is a harsh mistress, The unpleasant profession of Jonathan Hoag, Citizen of the galaxy
A.E. van Vogt: Most notably I think are these books of him: Slan, The Null-A books (The world of Null-A, The players of Null-A, Null-A three) The weapon shops of Isher & The weapon makers
Other great books like Snowcrash, I Robot, Ender's Game etc. are already mentioned so I won't.
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On August 09 2010 18:06 Random() wrote:Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day.
I'm with you there. I hated this book.
My favorite sci-fi serie is the trilogy of Mars from Kim Stanley Robinson. He just describes the future of humanity in a way that makes me dream, while trying to explain everything scientifically.
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Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World // Haruki Murakami
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The forever war by Joe Haldeman
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On August 09 2010 14:50 Pellucidity wrote:Hyperion The Fall of Hyperion Ilium I don't know.. Dan Simmons is an excellent writer in my opinion. He has some great books check him out. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Simmons
I agree with this, its basically a space opera with amazing detail and description along with one of the most cleverly laid out plots. I recently tried to go through and read past hugo and nebula winners to find good sci-fi and I found this novel. Another decent book (kinda like starship troopers) is the forever war by Joe Haldeman, (it also won the hugo and the nebula).
*EDIT didn't see the Haldeman mention above..., but I guess it goes to show you that its good.
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I just read Glasshouse by Charles Stross a few weeks ago when I was stuck at the airport for a connecting flight. I'd recommend it as an entertaining read!
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France1916 Posts
From Wikipedia: Perry Rhodan is the name of science fiction series published since 1961 in Germany, as well as the name of the main character. Perry Rhodan is a space opera, dealing with several themes of science fiction. Having sold over one billion copies (in pulp booklet format) worldwide, it is the most successful science fiction book series ever written. The series and its spin-offs have captured a substantial fraction of the original German science fiction output and exert influence on many German writers in the field. The series is told in an arc storyline structure. An arc — called a "cycle" — would have anywhere from 25 to 100 issues devoted to it, similar subsequent cycles are referred to as a "grand-cycle".
A friend told me about it, I haven't read it yet but it seems really cool.
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On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course.
You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest.
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On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest.
I was just about to post the exact same thing!
Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy.
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On August 09 2010 21:36 snotboogie wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest. I was just about to post the exact same thing! Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy.
Yeah, I never thought about confronting the question of eternal life until Hamilton raised it in his books, and it gets you thinking on whether the concept of eternal life is that great an idea after all.
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Either way, Joe Haldeman's books of Forever War and Forever Peace can't be recommended enough by me. The books are short, and concise, but Haldeman has this talent of squeezing so much detail and imaginative world-building into these books. His descriptive of combat and the physical and emotional aftermath is very well-qualified indeed, for Haldeman's a 'Nam vet and he's seen it all before. Even Robert Heinlein of Starship Troopers fame praised The Forever War as the best war novel he ever read, and that's some high praise indeed.
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On August 09 2010 18:06 Random() wrote:Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day.
I thought it was decent, but nothing great. The 2nd book (Speaker for the Dead) was so bad, that it's one of the few books that I never actually finished.
Also, there are a few good books set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Most of it is utter trash, however, Dan Abnett is the exception to the rule. He is an amazing writer and his books are some of the most enjoyable and action-packed sci-fi I ever read. The Eisenhorn Trilogy and Gaunt's Ghost are worth a try if you can handle the inherent cheesyness of the 40K universe
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On August 09 2010 21:50 Lann555 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 18:06 Random() wrote:Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day. I thought it was decent, but nothing great. The 2nd book (Speaker for the Dead) was so bad, that it's one of the few books that I never actually finished. Also, there are a few good books set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Most of it is utter trash, however, Dan Abnett is the exception to the rule. He is an amazing writer and his books are some of the most enjoyable and action-packed sci-fi I ever read. The Eisenhorn Trilogy and Gaunt's Ghost are worth a try if you can handle the inherent cheesyness of the 40K universe
The only fun W40K book I ever laid my hands on was The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer.
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Asimov is good.
Oh and Day of the Triffids.
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I'd suggest the short stories collection Zima Blue, from Alistair Reynolds. Scifi & seriously philosophic stuff, I loved it.
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I know I'm just echoing previous posters here, but I fix my seal of approval firmly on the Hyperion Cantos and Neuromancer. And Dune, obviously, but unless you're really crazy about it I would only bother with the first book.
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On August 09 2010 21:38 NEWater wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 21:36 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest. I was just about to post the exact same thing! Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy. Yeah, I never thought about confronting the question of eternal life until Hamilton raised it in his books, and it gets you thinking on whether the concept of eternal life is that great an idea after all.
I've always felt eternal life, in this universe at least, would be the greatest torture one can endure (though obviously Hamilton's characters can still choose to off themselves when they wish).
But the bad fantasy I was referring to was the whole Edeard thing, the bits that are inside the Void... they fill up more than 1/2 of the books and they're utter tripe. Just complete boy-becomes-chosen-one crap that was old 10 years ago. I knew where it was going after reading its first damn chapter. Fantasy has moved on since then (thankfully), but Hamilton, being a mainly sci-fi author who wanted to experiment with fantasy in this series, didn't realize that the genre has evolved.
I mean sure, go ahead and write fantasy, but do it in a separate book/series so I don't have to read it... why write a whole trilogy that's half awesome sci-fi and half crap? (And, in so doing, ruin the awesome Commonwealth universe)
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"It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion, It is by the Juice of Saffo, that thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains, the stains become a warning, It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion."
Seriously, read Dune. Best and most original sci-fi imo.
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On August 09 2010 22:42 snotboogie wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 21:38 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 21:36 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest. I was just about to post the exact same thing! Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy. Yeah, I never thought about confronting the question of eternal life until Hamilton raised it in his books, and it gets you thinking on whether the concept of eternal life is that great an idea after all. I've always felt eternal life, in this universe at least, would be the greatest torture one can endure (though obviously Hamilton's characters can still choose to off themselves when they wish). But the bad fantasy I was referring to was the whole Edeard thing, the bits that are inside the Void... they fill up more than 1/2 of the books and they're utter tripe. Just complete boy-becomes-chosen-one crap that was old 10 years ago. I knew where it was going after reading its first damn chapter. Fantasy has moved on since then (thankfully), but Hamilton, being a mainly sci-fi author who wanted to experiment with fantasy in this series, didn't realize that the genre has evolved. I mean sure, go ahead and write fantasy, but do it in a separate book/series so I don't have to read it... why write a whole trilogy that's half awesome sci-fi and half crap? (And, in so doing, ruin the awesome Commonwealth universe)
I totally agree. I'm still going to read TEV though, since it looks like Edeard's story is probably done now.
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Can't seem to see someone mention Kevin J. Anderson - the saga seven suns. Just finished the first book in the series and I'm hooked. Also takes place in a setting where humans discover ftl and start discovering/clashing with alien civilizations
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On August 09 2010 17:38 Kolean.Tellan wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 15:16 Stratos wrote:Well you can't go wrong with Roger Zelazny. He's not precisely sci-fi, it's more of a combination of fantasy + sci-fi, but you won't be disappointed. Probably the most famous work is Lord of Light, it's not the easiest of reads however, but any of you shouldn't miss it. It takes place in a space colony far away, where a handful of people decide to pretend to be hindu gods, they develop special powers and try to guide the rest of the people (well actually they force them to use praying machines etc.) When I first heard about that idea I wasn't interested at all.. but how awesome can that turn out? Check these out: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_151xaYaZnMs/SL271ZxVVAI/AAAAAAAAAVE/5gQ0EJsND7I/s1600-h/LOL Montage (small).jpgAnyways whatever it is from Zelazny, you can't go wrong and I mean that. He's a witty writer that will never bore you like Tolkien. If you search the internets you can also find his series of Amber narrated by him alone which is one of the things that'll always have place in my mp3 player. only just reading one book from zelazny (children of ashes) and i have to agree i enjoyed his writing ALOT! thx for giving me a flaschback gonna check more from him out now Check out the amber series it's really exciting.
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dune snow crash Ender's game(never read anything else by Card unless you like long philosophy rants) Anything by Celia S. Friedman(best new science fiction author) Asimov is good Heinlein is good once or twice Did i mention dune? Dan Simmons is a weird mother fucker. Hyperion and the Troy series were good, the second hyperion just too weird. Armour by Steakley Forever War was the most horribly depressing book with the happiest ending. EDIT: seven suns was alright, a little boring. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is awesome as well.
http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/ Has a large amount of Space/military/action sci-fi on it. To be honest most of them are awfulbooks.com, but there's a helluva lot of them, and they are all free so you may find something to your liking.
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Just going to throw in my 2 cents and sum up a little of what i've seen in this thread.
Eisenhorn Trilogy-Dan Abnett, easily the BEST warhammer 40k series period. Gaunts Ghosts was too drawn out, Abnett is a master of action though and if thats what you like you can stick with him Dune Series-Frank Herbert, the first was by far the best unless you like to immerse yourself in a very confusing world... Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land and pretty much anything by Robert Heinlein. Same goes for Isaac Asimov but i enjoyed the short stories more than his epic series Rama Series-Arthur C. Clarke Cats Cradle-Kurt Vonnegut, it isn't 'strict' SF but its fucking good A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky-Vernor Vinge, both are amazing but fairly long Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury, lots of other good stories both long and short I see tons of people posting books by Orson Scott Card and i enjoyed him immensely but the same caveat about the Dune series applies... David Brin and Larry Niven are both great writers but nothing specific pops into my head right now Ursula K. Le Guin is an insane writer, she wrote EarthSea among other things The Time Machine and War of the Worlds-H.G. Wells, obviously much older but still great Hitchhiker series-Douglas Adams, the funniest SF ever written and there is so much depth within the humor
thats all i can think about off the top of my head i will try to post more later SF is the shit and it can keep you interested much longer than any other genre because it never ends...and because the output of most SF authors is enough to open a small library, Did you know that Isaac Asimov wrote textbooks?
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My recommendation is Samuel R Delany.
I really enjoyed a collection of SF short stories of his, called "Aye, and Gomorrah". It has a very unique timeless feeling, like the SF element just provides a background for the storytelling rather than being the whole point. He is also very good at describing pretty fucked up stuff in an everyday kind of way.
I've also started reading his (I think) most wellknown novel, Dhalgren. It's a bit challenging though since it's not really supposed to make sense and it feels more like an experiment than a real story.
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Must read: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Robert Heinlein)
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My forum nickname also recommends Dune by Herbert to you.
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You might want to look at some of the Best New SF short story anthologies, very imaginative stuff and good for sampling different authors' work
Personally I'd recommend A Fire Upon The Deep, epic and contains a great parody of Internet posting as a bonus, and I think a gamer can't help but appreciate The Player Of Games
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Pretty good recommendations in here so far. I'll just add a few more.
Eifelheim by Michael Flynn is a really good modern sci-fi novel. It's sort of "historical sci fi," about a group of aliens who crash-land on Earth during the Middle Ages and come in contact with the people there. Very interesting stuff about both the alien's society and medieval society. Personally, I thought it was awesome. The author has a bunch of other sci fi novels that are supposed to be quite good as well (I've only read one).
Also, C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy is a series of books I would recommend to just about everyone...but it's most definitely not hard science fiction like most of the stuff in here. "Theological sci fi" is about the best word for it. Very strange in places, and very beautiful. Second novel (Perelandra) is the best, IMO.
Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gene Wolfe yet...
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On August 09 2010 17:38 Kolean.Tellan wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 15:16 Stratos wrote:Well you can't go wrong with Roger Zelazny. He's not precisely sci-fi, it's more of a combination of fantasy + sci-fi, but you won't be disappointed. Probably the most famous work is Lord of Light, it's not the easiest of reads however, but any of you shouldn't miss it. It takes place in a space colony far away, where a handful of people decide to pretend to be hindu gods, they develop special powers and try to guide the rest of the people (well actually they force them to use praying machines etc.) When I first heard about that idea I wasn't interested at all.. but how awesome can that turn out? Check these out: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_151xaYaZnMs/SL271ZxVVAI/AAAAAAAAAVE/5gQ0EJsND7I/s1600-h/LOL Montage (small).jpgAnyways whatever it is from Zelazny, you can't go wrong and I mean that. He's a witty writer that will never bore you like Tolkien. If you search the internets you can also find his series of Amber narrated by him alone which is one of the things that'll always have place in my mp3 player. only just reading one book from zelazny (children of ashes) and i have to agree i enjoyed his writing ALOT! thx for giving me a flaschback gonna check more from him out now Always a pleasure to meet any other Zelazny fans. Make sure to read his novel The Dream Master, it's a rather short story you can easily read in 3 or 4 days and it's definately worth it. Perfect for holidays or when you're sick and need something to distract you for a while
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Neuromancer, by William Gibson
One of the best Sci-Fi book out there.
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Venus on a halfshell-just do it
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On August 09 2010 21:50 Lann555 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 18:06 Random() wrote:Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day. I thought it was decent, but nothing great. The 2nd book (Speaker for the Dead) was so bad, that it's one of the few books that I never actually finished. Also, there are a few good books set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Most of it is utter trash, however, Dan Abnett is the exception to the rule. He is an amazing writer and his books are some of the most enjoyable and action-packed sci-fi I ever read. The Eisenhorn Trilogy and Gaunt's Ghost are worth a try if you can handle the inherent cheesyness of the 40K universe
Speaker of the Dead was horrendously bad and unentertaining. It is the only book that I have never actually finished.
Has anyone here suggested anything by Michael Crichton? That guy's a fucking boss.
I would actually recommend Next by Michael Crichton. It doesn't have a very coherent storyline as it just jumps around from place to place, but it's a very interesting book that brings up a few interesting questions.
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Why don't you just google like all the other posters.
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Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. It's hard sci-fi but never feels like a textbook which is nice. It's a hard book to find, but well worth the read. Even if you need to just sit in the university library (where I found one).
I can just echo other posters here, but:
Dune (first novel is best) Neuromancer (other 2 novels in trilogy are also good) 1984 Fahrenheit 451
You may also want to take a look at short story anthologies. Some are superb. The Years Best Science Fiction anthologies are generally excellent.
Personally I would be hesitant about reading sci fi done about existing IP's (Mass Effect, WH40K, Star Wars etc.). Some are really good, but there is alot of crap out there.
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I didn't read all the responses so sorry if it's a repeat, but I enjoyed the Homecoming series by Orson Scott Card as well.
Edit: Omg, and how can I forget... John Varley's Titan and Wizard. Loved them.
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Uhm? I'm going to read Varley's Titan and Wizard if only because varle means bollock in Czech. Btw. after googling his images I became even more suspicious as of the origin of the name. Sorry I'm drunk a bit can we post on TL while drunk? Hopefulyl noones reades this anyways. Dont banish me
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Hah I found the book I was wondering about!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_(novel)
Sounds hilarious: The novel describes a legend consisting of eight tales the pastoral and pacifist Dogs recite as they pass down an oral legend of a creature known as Man. Each tale is preceded by doggish notes and learned discussion.
I recommend it to people who like strange scifi from the fifties.
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Ender's Shadow is a good book by Orson Scott Card. It tells Ender's Game from a different perspective. The sequels to Ender's Shadow go in a completely different direction from Speaker and the other Ender sequels.
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On August 10 2010 01:58 Zergneedsfood wrote: Speaker of the Dead was horrendously bad and unentertaining. It is the only book that I have never actually finished. It's not that it's a bad book but it isn't really SF. It's more a moral tale of humanity (and so are Xenocide & Children of the mind, the other two sequels in that story arc).
As somebody above me already wrote: if you liked Ender's game and want more in that same style you most likely will enjoy the story arc containing the 4 Shadow books. The first one is the tale of Ender's game but seen from a different perspective with a different protagonist and the other three set of from there. They all take place way before Speaker of the death.
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On August 10 2010 08:01 Golden Ghost wrote:Show nested quote +On August 10 2010 01:58 Zergneedsfood wrote: Speaker of the Dead was horrendously bad and unentertaining. It is the only book that I have never actually finished. It's not that it's a bad book but it isn't really SF. It's more a moral tale of humanity (and so are Xenocide & Children of the mind, the other two sequels in that story arc). As somebody above me already wrote: if you liked Ender's game and want more in that same style you most likely will enjoy the story arc containing the 4 Shadow books. The first one is the tale of Ender's game but seen from a different perspective with a different protagonist and the other three set of from there. They all take place way before Speaker of the death.
Ender's Shadow or whatever the first one was wasn't bad, but the other sequels after that were SO BAD. All the battle school kids become stupidly one-dimensional, every military commander on the planet that didn't go to battle school has the mental capacity of drywall, and international politics get painted in simple primary colors that are only believable if you're less than six years old.
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On August 09 2010 23:19 Biochemist wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 22:42 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:38 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 21:36 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest. I was just about to post the exact same thing! Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy. Yeah, I never thought about confronting the question of eternal life until Hamilton raised it in his books, and it gets you thinking on whether the concept of eternal life is that great an idea after all. I've always felt eternal life, in this universe at least, would be the greatest torture one can endure (though obviously Hamilton's characters can still choose to off themselves when they wish). But the bad fantasy I was referring to was the whole Edeard thing, the bits that are inside the Void... they fill up more than 1/2 of the books and they're utter tripe. Just complete boy-becomes-chosen-one crap that was old 10 years ago. I knew where it was going after reading its first damn chapter. Fantasy has moved on since then (thankfully), but Hamilton, being a mainly sci-fi author who wanted to experiment with fantasy in this series, didn't realize that the genre has evolved. I mean sure, go ahead and write fantasy, but do it in a separate book/series so I don't have to read it... why write a whole trilogy that's half awesome sci-fi and half crap? (And, in so doing, ruin the awesome Commonwealth universe) I totally agree. I'm still going to read TEV though, since it looks like Edeard's story is probably done now.
Just have to thank you guys. I ordered the first book of the Night's Dawn Trilogy a few minutes ago - seemed like a logical starting point (from what I read the Greg Mandel trilogy isn't for me).
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Arthur C. Clarke ( he died recently and is brilliant so i went on a book spree of his, anything by him is usually top notch sci fi) - Space Odyssey 2001 , and 2010 , Childhoods End
Asimov - End of Eternity, The Gods Themselves
Connie Willis - Dooms Day Book
Snow Crash and Neuromancer as others have mentioned. For me im not into Dune its a little too fantasy and I hate lord of the rings and all that crap.
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I only read the first ender's shadow... goddamn that book was awful. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a novel by card other than ender's game.
On August 10 2010 06:31 Niji-z wrote: I didn't read all the responses so sorry if it's a repeat, but I enjoyed the Homecoming series by Orson Scott Card as well.
Edit: Omg, and how can I forget... John Varley's Titan and Wizard. Loved them.
Haha, titan wizard demon, I loved those when I was in middle school... bet they're still good.
If you're in the mood for some less action-packed sci-fi, The Man in the High Castle and Now Wait for Last Year are among my favorite novels. They're by Philip K Dick, who you seem to have liked.
EDIT: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, by Cory Doctorow.
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Snow Crash is one I would recommend, a really interesting take on the world of tomorrow. Not to mention it has one of the most bad ass characters of all time in it.
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On August 09 2010 14:58 Fontong wrote: Anything by Alastair Reynolds is really good.
Look for Revelation Space as a start.
Revelation Space is Long and droning. Frustrating Really. But when the stories come together it is really decent and exciting sometimes.
Some of the scenes really stick to memory in an epic way. And the creative use of ridiculously advanced technologies are the highlights for me.
Its also a huge ripoff of Art C Clarkes 2001... but whatever hes a highly ripped off author. And Space Odyssey is one of the most original Sci Fi premises of all time.
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My 3 top sci-fi books ATM:
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
Nostrilia by Cordwainer Smith
The Gods themselves by Asimov
And one short story: We can remember it for you wholesale by PKD. PKD's short stories are amazing, but I think I have read all of his novels, and I think they are not among the greats.
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The Saga of the Seven suns by Kevin J Anderson 7 books and a prequeal by far the best series ive read an that includes every book in Dune series,
The Dread Empire Falls by Walter Jon Williams 3 books with a great cast and exciting plot
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It may not be true science-fiction, but my favorite book, Stel Pavlou's "Decipher", is simply excellent. The character development is great, the plot keeps you hooked, and + Show Spoiler + is used as a main plot device, WITHOUT being completely corny and fantasy-like. I'd say it's a must-read.
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Maybe not the kind of science fiction you were thinking about but these books are great:
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I recommend: Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series, Douglas Adams. Dune, Frank Herbert. Anything written by PK Dick. Neverness, David Zindell (A Requiem for Homo Sapiens trilogy if you want more of the same.)
Not too impressed by William Gibson, Ursula LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut or Heinlein, but they aren't terrible.
Avoid: Anything written by Arthur C Clarke Anything beyond the first Foundation novel Anything beyond the first Dune novel
This is my opinion based on how much I enjoyed reading the books, not an objective ranking of literary quality.
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Brave new world and Einsteins Dreams.
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I've read Dune and every book in the series by him, and I've read 2 of the prequels by his son. All of Frank's books are good and his son's take a bit to get used to but they are really nice if you enjoy the world and setting of Dune and want more about the background and how it ends as well.
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Dune, Ender's Game, The Hyperion Cantos for more serious sci-fi; anything by Jim Butcher for sci-fi/fantasy.
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i didn't like slaughterhouse 5, personally... i thought it was boring
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On August 10 2010 09:22 heishe wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 23:19 Biochemist wrote:On August 09 2010 22:42 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:38 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 21:36 snotboogie wrote:On August 09 2010 21:35 NEWater wrote:On August 09 2010 13:42 heishe wrote: what can you suggest to someone like me who loves the Mass Effect universe? I just like the setting, with humanity relatively fresh in space travel and not on their own (found alien artifacts and reverse engineered them), plus I like very "semi-realistic" settings - I mean with stuff that is completely made up but sounds very reasonable - Mass Effect is mostly realistic, at least what their faster-than-light travel is based on sounds reasonable (basically an element with zero mass, that can bend spacetime if it's exposed to electric current, its supposed to be dark energy), they also explain why the different alien races look the way they do etc. (for example the krogan with their thick skin because of the high radiation exposure on their planet) ? It should not make an astronomy-buff sigh every second line because something is totally inaccurate.
Erm... with the exception of the ME books of course. You might be interested in books written by Peter F. Hamilton. His books tend to go into 1000++ pages but his crafted worlds are very detailed and enjoyable to digest. I was just about to post the exact same thing! Hamilton rocks, but don't touch the Void Trilogy unless you want to get caught up in bad, cheesy quasi-fantasy. Yeah, I never thought about confronting the question of eternal life until Hamilton raised it in his books, and it gets you thinking on whether the concept of eternal life is that great an idea after all. I've always felt eternal life, in this universe at least, would be the greatest torture one can endure (though obviously Hamilton's characters can still choose to off themselves when they wish). But the bad fantasy I was referring to was the whole Edeard thing, the bits that are inside the Void... they fill up more than 1/2 of the books and they're utter tripe. Just complete boy-becomes-chosen-one crap that was old 10 years ago. I knew where it was going after reading its first damn chapter. Fantasy has moved on since then (thankfully), but Hamilton, being a mainly sci-fi author who wanted to experiment with fantasy in this series, didn't realize that the genre has evolved. I mean sure, go ahead and write fantasy, but do it in a separate book/series so I don't have to read it... why write a whole trilogy that's half awesome sci-fi and half crap? (And, in so doing, ruin the awesome Commonwealth universe) I totally agree. I'm still going to read TEV though, since it looks like Edeard's story is probably done now. Just have to thank you guys. I ordered the first book of the Night's Dawn Trilogy a few minutes ago - seemed like a logical starting point (from what I read the Greg Mandel trilogy isn't for me).
Good call. They're long, but it's a fun series.
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I enjoyed the Dune series =).
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starwar! may the force be with you
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The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. It is very good.
I also liked Double Star by Robert Heinlein quite a lot. It's really just a story about an actor doubling for a politician, and the sci/fi setting is entirely superfluous, but it was cool.
Also, Flowers for Algernon is a keen short story. I can't comment on the long version. The author wimped out on the full range of possible narrator growth (retarded --> brilliant instead of animal intelligence --> brilliant), but it's still a good story.
And The Mountains of Sunset, The Mountains of Dawn. Another short story.
Actually, I would just read sci/fi short stories. Sci/fi lends itself well to short stories.
On August 09 2010 21:13 RanosD wrote: The forever war by Joe Haldeman Read this instead of Starship Troopers. It's the same thing except not written for fascists and not completely fucking terrible. Haldeman heard you liked reading an actual fucking story, so he put a story in your book so you can read it and not vomit. (He's also very insightful in person, although he has this goddamn fetish for using only the word "said" to indicate the speaker of a sentence. If you prefer not to do this, he snarks.)
On August 09 2010 16:48 Divinek wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 13:19 happyness wrote: Hi TL community. Since I think people on here generally have good taste, I decided to ask what SF book should I read next. I'm not at all an avid reader, though I would like to be, and really don't know where to begin looking for new authors.
The complete list of every SF I've read is:
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card Nightfall - Isaac Asimov Foundation - Isaac Asimov (just the first one of the series. I found it interesting but not too riveting) Do Androids Dream of electric sheep? - Philip K. Dick A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
Thanks! go straight to hell for the foundation comment and never come back you should read at least the trilogy if not all of the foundation books Foundation was everything that's ever been wrong with science fiction. It's a "Contrived Circumstance --> Easily Found Contrived Solution Delivered With Smugness Aplenty" piece, which keeps skipping decades/centuries into the future so you never bond with any character.
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On August 10 2010 01:18 Captain Peabody wrote: Also, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gene Wolfe yet...
As am I. In the last few recommendations threads I've seen, I've been the only one to even mention Gene Wolfe, and I shall do so again. To quote Wikipedia:
Although not a best-selling author, Wolfe is highly regarded by critics and fellow writers, and considered by many to be one of the best living science fiction authors. Indeed, he has sometimes been called the best living American writer regardless of genre. Award-winning science fiction author Michael Swanwick has said: "Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today. Let me repeat that: Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today! I mean it. Shakespeare was a better stylist, Melville was more important to American letters, and Charles Dickens had a defter hand at creating characters. But among living writers, there is nobody who can even approach Gene Wolfe for brilliance of prose, clarity of thought, and depth in meaning."
Among others, writers Neil Gaiman and Patrick O'Leary have credited Wolfe for inspiration. O'Leary has said: "Forget 'Speculative Fiction'. Gene Wolfe is the best writer alive. Period. And as Wolfe once said (in reference to Gaiman), 'All novels are fantasies. Some are more honest about it.' No comparison. Nobody – I mean nobody – comes close to what this artist does."
Wolfe is so vastly under-appreciated that someone like Asimov is overrated in comparison. His books are not just good sci-fi, but important literature that requires diligence and multiple readings for full enjoyment.
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On August 10 2010 13:48 Severedevil wrote:
Read [The Forever War] instead of Starship Troopers. It's the same thing except not written for fascists and not completely fucking terrible. Haldeman heard you liked reading an actual fucking story, so he put a story in your book so you can read it and not vomit. (He's also very insightful in person, although he has this goddamn fetish for using only the word "said" to indicate the speaker of a sentence. If you prefer not to do this, he snarks.)
Yeah. I mean, I'm totally on the right side of the political spectrum and even former military, and I hated starship troopers because it was obviously nothing more than a sermon masquerading as a science fiction story. I have no idea why people like it so much. Every other chapter includes a 10 page monologue by the main character's high school teacher where he beats you over the head with fascist propaganda.
I haven't read the forever war, but from the wiki article it kinda sounds like the same thing but from the other side of the road.
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I'd like to re-recommend Robert Heinlein's Time Enough For Love. Unsurprisingly, it seems there are a few Heinlein fans on TL but noone else has recommended this specific book.
TEFL is the only sci fi book I have ever read that had me on the verge of tears. The story is basically about the oldest man in the galaxy (thousands and thousands of years old) telling stories that happened in his life. One such story covers the lifespan of a particular woman he met, form childhood to death, and is absolutely fantastic. By its end I missed her, and was extremely melancholy. It kicked my ass, man.
The book goes crazy at the end simply because it's Heinlein and he had a few screws loose in his mind, but this book is my highest recommendation in sci fi.
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I second this \o/, not much of a sci-fi fan but this was a great read
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Snow Crash don't think, just read it
actually, read it, then think
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I'm reporting live as I'm reading the first few pages of "THE REALITY DYSFUNCTION". I started reading a few minutes ago and I'm only at page 10, but I really really like the style already. When you guys said the author goes into the details you were not lying, the way the battle at the beginning is described is just awesome.
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intelligent, one of my favorite books ever focused on what it means to be human trying to understand the universe. A masterpiece.
Deep as much as it gets.
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Dan Simmons - Hyperion Douglas Adams - Every one of his books Kevin J Anderson - Saga of Seven Suns David Brin - The Practice Efekt William R. Forstchen - Wing Commander Robert Heinlein - Every one of his books Philip K. Dick - A Scanner Darkly Frank Herbert - Dune
Edit: Did not notice you already read Scanner Darkly .. never mind, read it again!!! That book is great
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Ctrl-f "tau zero" and "the mote" both got hits in this thread, TL I am not disappoint.
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Read Lem, Lem and more Lem! (not solaris)
Maybe start with something more traditional like The Invincible before you delve into his incredibly thought-provoking, "philosophical" science-fiction: His Master's Voice Golem XIV (my personal favourite) Fiasco And for hilarity: Mortal Engines (don't know if the english translation is any good, hard to translate) Tales of Pirx the Pilot
As for other authors, one gem of science fiction I found accidentally: The Dark Beyond the Stars by Frank M. Robinson
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Isaac Asimov - The End of Eternity pure gold
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On August 13 2010 19:12 Uriel_SVK wrote:Dan Simmons - Hyperion Douglas Adams - Every one of his books Kevin J Anderson - Saga of Seven Suns David Brin - The Practice Efekt William R. Forstchen - Wing Commander Robert Heinlein - Every one of his books Philip K. Dick - A Scanner Darkly Frank Herbert - Dune Edit: Did not notice you already read Scanner Darkly .. never mind, read it again!!! That book is great
I second William R Forstchen, for Wing Commander (Action Stations and Fleet Action are very well written, ignore the cover art) and also his Lost Regiment series is pretty good.
If you want something like alternate history/sci-fi I would recommend Harry Turtledove, he wrote a series about the south winning the civil war and how world war I and world war II would turn out with the south as a power. He also wrote a WWII series that involves aliens invading and the world powers teaming up to defeat them (its not as cheesy as it might seem).
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Netherlands19120 Posts
I personally also really enjoyed Passage of Arms and The Dragon never sleeps by Glen Cook. Hyperion and Windhaven are great too and Dune is obviously a must.
I really disliked the saga of the seven suns though .
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Useful Idiots by Jan Mark.
By far one of my favorites.
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On August 13 2010 19:40 Maenander wrote: Read Lem, Lem and more Lem! (not solaris)
Maybe start with something more traditional like The Invincible before you delve into his incredibly thought-provoking, "philosophical" science-fiction: His Master's Voice Golem XIV (my personal favourite) Fiasco And for hilarity: Mortal Engines (don't know if the english translation is any good, hard to translate) Tales of Pirx the Pilot
As for other authors, one gem of science fiction I found accidentally: The Dark Beyond the Stars by Frank M. Robinson
Yeah Golem IV was sick! if you are even a little into AI (not some fancy robots, but computer intelligence), this is a must read.
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Stanislaw Lem - Solaris Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey Frank Herbert - Dune H. G. Wells - Men Like Gods A & B Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic
Just to name some classics everyone should read.
@ Maenander: Why not Solaris? It's way better than Pirx in my opinion. I know that they've ruined the movie, but the book was great.
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I was about to suggest The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov but I see you've already cut that out
I don't read as much Sci-Fi as I would like (a lot of Dark/ High Fantasy) but my recommendation would be the Horus Heresy series. The first book was fantastic.
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On August 13 2010 20:53 Manit0u wrote: Stanislaw Lem - Solaris Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey Frank Herbert - Dune H. G. Wells - Men Like Gods A & B Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic
Just to name some classics everyone should read.
@ Maenander: Why not Solaris? It's way better than Pirx in my opinion. I know that they've ruined the movie, but the book was great.
Yeah Solaris is good, but it is over-hyped in the sense that it is the only well-known book of Lem in english-speaking countries. I just liked other books of him more, and they are really unknown in the english-speaking world. The english translation of Golem XIV isn't even available as a stand-alone version. Thankfully the german translations are quite excellent.
As for Pirx I like it mostly for the laughs, it's not better than Solaris.
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Also worth mentioning is that there are lots of excellent classic SF short stories out there, like
Bradbury's "The Creatures That Time Forgot", Heinlein's "All You Zombies", Asimov's "Runaround", Sturgeon's "And Now the News ..." Bester's "The Pi-Man" Ballards's "The Subliminal Man" Zelazny's "For a Breath I Tarry"
etc.
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The Bible
On serious note I recommend Dune as well (1000 times better than any of the movies).
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On August 13 2010 20:53 Manit0u wrote: Stanislaw Lem - Solaris Arthur C. Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey Frank Herbert - Dune H. G. Wells - Men Like Gods A & B Strugatsky - Roadside Picnic
Just to name some classics everyone should read.
@ Maenander: Why not Solaris? It's way better than Pirx in my opinion. I know that they've ruined the movie, but the book was great.
Oh how could I forgot Roadside Picknick also from the classic C.J. Cherryh - Cuckoo's Egg Steinmüller - Andymon Brian Wilson Aldiss - Non-stop
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On August 13 2010 21:57 LastWish wrote: The Bible
hahahah good one, even though it probably isnt "science" fiction. more like fantasy.
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Netherlands19120 Posts
Let's not go there, thanks.
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the commonwealth saga (peter f. hamilton) is amazing, abosolutely recommend it
the void trilogy is decent, but is randomly interrupted by a not-so-good fantasy story =\
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On August 09 2010 13:30 0neder wrote: Asimov - The Robot Trilogy (3) - Better than Foundation IMO, very relevant issues for today's society (connectedness without closeness, virtual sexuality, the double-edged sword of progress, etc). Detective Mysteries + Sci Fi - AWESOME. The titles are: The Caves of Steel The Naked Sun The Robots of Dawn
Fahrenheit 451 - must read. Also very relevant today.
Maybe not sci-fi, but The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite books.
Yes yes yes. The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun are the best things that Asimov has written but you should start with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rest_of_the_Robots
Short novels about robots.
The two last books i.e: The Robots of Dawn and especially Robots and Empire aren't as good ( they are longer and sometimes a bit dull ).
Foundation is good but not as good imo. The main problem of Asimov is that he is an awesome writer for humour / SF sociology / detective stories but when it comes down to battles/fights/epic stuff ewww... he just avoids it or writes it poorly and imo it hurts a bit the foundation cycle
Also Lovecraft ( not real SF, more like retro SF but mostly horror ) and Bradbury ( Retro SF + poetry ) <3
Lovecraft is really special so you might not like it. I think the best introduction/ first book to read is The Colour out of Space. If you don't like it don't bother with Lovecraft. Pretty much all his work has the same dark style. If you like it PM me and i will give you advice about what to read after that ( order is quite important imo ).
Bradbury -> The Martian Chronicles ( short novels ) Fahrenheit 451 ( edit: you have read it already :p ). The Illustrated Man ( short novels again ) <3
On August 10 2010 13:48 Severedevil wrote: Also, Flowers for Algernon is a keen short story. Yes i recommend this book too. Really touching.
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On August 13 2010 19:08 johanes wrote:intelligent, one of my favorite books ever focused on what it means to be human trying to understand the universe. A masterpiece.Deep as much as it gets.
Like this one too. You can read a good amount of it at google books.
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On August 13 2010 22:42 0neheart wrote: the commonwealth saga (peter f. hamilton) is amazing, abosolutely recommend it
the void trilogy is decent, but is randomly interrupted by a not-so-good fantasy story =\
This man knows of what he speaks.
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Try the collection of short stories "Tuf Voyaging" by George R.R. Martin. It's quite different from his fantasy work and a fun read.
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Wow, I'm very suprised nobody has recommended any Vernor Vinge. He is one of the best sci fi authors I've ever experienced. If you are looking for ultra realistic world building and epic space opera type stuff I suggest you read him.
His books have great characters and explore a lot of sci fi concepts (some new) in ways other books haven't.
Here are the two that I immediately recommend though all his books should be read. Both Hugo winners so they should be easy to find.
and
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On August 09 2010 13:37 Loser777 wrote:God no... those where the most poorly written books I have read.
Jeff Grubb is a great writer, although the books he wrote for Wizards of the Coast (M:TG) were way better. I highly recommended The Brother's War, which can be read without any context of the game itself.
E: Also, while not exactly sci-fi but still set in the future, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is probably the best book ever written. It's set near an oddly distopian future Boston at a Tennis Academy and a drug addict's recovery house. I think there's a lot of commentary on how entertainment, addiction, and quests for greatness effect our own lives (something any pro-gamer hopeful is sure to appreciate). I believe the book was actually set in 2010 (it was written in 1990, determining the exact time frame is difficult although I won't reveal why) so a bunch of the futuristic predictions are interesting to see. There's also a wicked sense of humor to the whole thing.
Cons: Not exactly light reading. It's 1000+ pages and Wallace's vocabulary is immense while the reading is incredibly dense. I first read this book senior year of high school and it gave me a hell of a time.
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Oryx and Crake Stranger in a Strange Land
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The Culture novels.
I think tvtropes sums up what it's about pretty well.
The eponymous "Culture" is a star-spanning "empire" organized along anarchist principles, as applied through post-scarcity levels of technology. The seven or eight humanoid species that founded the Culture along with the others which joined later live without want, and without a need to work; practically anything they can ask for, they can receive. This is largely because the organic Culturniks are under the benevolent dictatorship of the AI "Minds" that control the starships and space habitats practically the entire Culture lives on.
Of course, living with all your needs granted can wear thin without any goals. Therefore, the Culture gleefully throws its weight behind "Contact" — an agency/program/conspiracy existing to help other species and governments in the galaxy reach the Culture's standard of living without being too disruptive of their cultures. And for the cases where standard diplomacy, or even open warfare, would not help, there exist... "Special Circumstances", the Special Ops wing of Contact that intervenes discreetly (but as messily as they have to) to make the universe a better place, at least by the Culture's standards.
The novels mostly follow the interaction between the Culture and other species and societies — both less and more powerful than themselves.
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The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut is amazing. its not as SF as Dune and other books posted here but its still really cool and it sorta gets you thinking too which I really enjoy
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Lots of good popular books here. I'll add a less known gem - "The city and the stars" is a very good science fiction story, happening a billion years in the future by Arthur C Clark.
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Best sifi adventure book ever and a must read for everyone
Planet of adventure - Jack Vance
also his dying earth books are great but fantasy.
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A lot of people have mentioned various Phillip K Dick books but I've yet to see anyone mention my favorite (that I've read): Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
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recently i've been really partial to alistair reynolds books, especially if you like a good anthology, galactic north and zima blue by him are great. his novels are fantastic as well, my favourites being Century Rain and The Prefect.
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Very nice thread! Kinda wish i had discovered this before
My all time favorite is Peter F Hamilton though, its Hard sci-fi , fabulous space opera! To start with i would suggest the Night's Dawn Trilogy, which concludes is his (imho) Magnum Opus : The Naked God.
The Naked God
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On August 16 2010 15:49 CuttyFlam wrote:Very nice thread! Kinda wish i had discovered this before My all time favorite is Peter F Hamilton though, its Hard sci-fi , fabulous space opera! To start with i would suggest the Night's Dawn Trilogy, which concludes is his (imho) Magnum Opus : The Naked God. The Naked God
A lot of people complained about the ending of TNG:
+ Show Spoiler +You know, the whole deus ex machina with Joshua finding some ancient artifact/entity with virtually unlimited power that allows him to single-handedly solve the possession problem.
But I enjoyed it. I thought it was creative and fun, and more enjoyable than the slow and predictable ending that would result from them winning the war one acre at a time.
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Dunno if anyone has recommended it, but the Horus Heresy series are amazing.
Based in the Warhammer 40k universe, the books really explain everything so you have to know about the universe to be sucked right in. The books generally center around a specific legion in the imperium of man.
Great books, really well writen, the series has a set of authors who take turns writing books so you get a few different writing styles when changing between legions which really helps pull you into the books as you change venues and characters the way the books are written differs.
Amazing books IMHO, rich stories, pulls you right in, go read now.
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Why is everyone recommending Dune so much?
I'm about 3/4ths of the way through it now (been listening to the audiobook for a few weeks now), and I'm bored out of my mind. Both Paul and his mother are impossible to relate to (Richard Rahl syndrome), and most (all?) of the characters are extremely one-dimensional. Going to finish it anyway, but I'm not exactly sitting on the edge of my seat here.
With Peter Hamilton's books (similar scope/genre) I couldn't wait to get an opportunity to get back to the book, and found myself getting annoyed if people interrupted me... no so with Mr. Herbert; getting interrupted is almost a relief.
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I enjoyed the world building and politics of Dune. Starship Troopers, Forever War, Spin, Rendevous with Rama are all good books. Generally Heinlein books are ok. Wasn't able to finish "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" though, and I already forgot most of "Stranger in a Strange Land". Also wasn't able to finish "Hyperion" or "A Fire in the Deep". Maybe short attention span.
Mike Resnick is a good fast-paced author. I only read "Ivory" and "Starship: Mutiny" and enjoyed them.
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On August 20 2010 06:02 Biochemist wrote: Why is everyone recommending Dune so much?
I'm about 3/4ths of the way through it now (been listening to the audiobook for a few weeks now), and I'm bored out of my mind. Both Paul and his mother are impossible to relate to (Richard Rahl syndrome), and most (all?) of the characters are extremely one-dimensional. Going to finish it anyway, but I'm not exactly sitting on the edge of my seat here.
With Peter Hamilton's books (similar scope/genre) I couldn't wait to get an opportunity to get back to the book, and found myself getting annoyed if people interrupted me... no so with Mr. Herbert; getting interrupted is almost a relief.
Stick with it. Dune is pretty boring, but it builds an amazing world for the ultra kick ass Dune Messiah to take place in.
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War of the worlds, by H.G. Wells. Sorry if its been said already.
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anything by kurt vonnegut jr. the sirens of titan is great. actually, my username here is based on a the sirens of titan. universalwill would be universalwilltobecome if it wasn't so damn long. but my sc2 username is UWTB, which is the abbreviation of that.
also, douglas adams is great. surprised you haven't read him,
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Red Mars by K. S. Robinson Blue Mars Green Mars
Basically a complete future history of humanity in the next 2 hundred~ years. It's kind of rather slow paced, like very slow paced it all takes place on mars and spends a great deal of time talking about the rocks and the sky around the characters, to the purpose of making you feel what it's like to live on mars. But it's basically about a team of 100 scientists who make the first big expedition to terraform the planet, and what happens on mars before, during, and after its terraformation, all written from the points of view of various of the most intelligent and expertly people humanity has to offer, each in their own field. There's lots of interesting ideas on geology, architecture, psychology, philosophy, politics, religion, physics, math, economics. And all the characters are very eccentric and interesting. Very well written imo and extremely epic.
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On August 20 2010 06:02 Biochemist wrote: Why is everyone recommending Dune so much?
I'm about 3/4ths of the way through it now (been listening to the audiobook for a few weeks now), and I'm bored out of my mind. Both Paul and his mother are impossible to relate to (Richard Rahl syndrome), and most (all?) of the characters are extremely one-dimensional. Going to finish it anyway, but I'm not exactly sitting on the edge of my seat here.
With Peter Hamilton's books (similar scope/genre) I couldn't wait to get an opportunity to get back to the book, and found myself getting annoyed if people interrupted me... no so with Mr. Herbert; getting interrupted is almost a relief.
I actually find I could relate to paul just fine. But anyways when I read Dune my primary concern wasn't relating to him. It was finding out wtf was going to happen. I was very interested in finding out wtf was going to happen.
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Im sorry if someone already said it but
Backcoller- Timothy Zahn
There are 3 books but you can get all 3 in a bundle for the price of one It's about some Spartan like guys trying to save their planet. Really awesome sauce. And his other books are great, too.
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A lot of the previous suggestions are amazing.
I'll add that anything by Charles Stross is very good, not just Glass House. In particular, check out the Accelerando series as he's made the first book available for free at http://manybooks.net/authors/strossc.html
For another just plain fun series, the Vorkosigan books by Louis McMaster Bujold are fantastic. Start with the Warrior's Apprentice.
Finally, if what you want is gritty military scifi, nothing comes close to the Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake. Paying the Piper or Hammer's Slammers are the books to try first.
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If you don't mind Star Wars, the Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn is very good. Everything after that is just crap.
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THANKS to the people who suggested Stranger in a Strange Land! I recently read the book and it was amazing! Thanks, dudes! May you never thirst!
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Small bump:
I just finished The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton, and wanted to post something here in response to criticisms of the first two books.
I enjoyed reading the Edeard sections more than the first two books; they are nowhere near as formulaic as they were before with the very trite "chosen one fulfills his destiny" storyline.
Having all the loose ends tied up was nice, and we learn a lot more about the history of everything.
Also the book starts off with lots of action, and keeps up the pace pretty well. If you enjoyed the first books and were mainly annoyed with the blandness of the makkathran storyline, you'll probably really enjoy this one.
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You can't say that you like science fiction books if you haven't read Dune.
Also, the Mass Effect and Halo books are solid.
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I kind of liked the starcraft books personally...
but besides those anything by R. Bradbury is good.
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RINGWORLD BY LARRY NIVEN
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I read most of stranger in a strange land, the book was exclusively about sex. It belongs in the harlequin romance section of a book store, not sci fi. Lots of the sci fi classics like 1984 are pretty awful, that's why I generally avoid the sci genre, so much of it is crap.
Also the halo books were surprisingly good, I thought they'd be a joke but they're really fun quick reads, just don't expect anything too deep. And no, i'm not a halo fanboy, can't stand playing it.
Last sci book I read was Fermat's last theorem the last book by arthur c clark before he passed. I wouldn't recommend it, the book starts off strong then gets weaker as it goes on.
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The Road and I Am Legend are both fantastic.
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On September 17 2010 02:15 EAGER-beaver wrote: Lots of the sci fi classics like 1984 are pretty awful, that's why I generally avoid the sci genre, so much of it is crap.
Also the halo books were surprisingly good, I thought they'd be a joke but they're really fun quick reads, just don't expect anything too deep. And no, i'm not a halo fanboy, can't stand playing it.
You have good taste lol ! Halo > 1984 yo
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I really liked the dark templar saga by Christie Golden
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Anything from Peter F. Hamilton is extremely good, the man is a legend an has sort of revolutionized science fiction, at least the characterization part of it imo...
Especially the Nights dawn trilogy if some people wonder where to begin^^
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Dune (the original 3 books are best)
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Am i the only one that thought Ender's Game and Speaker of the Dead was a unbelievably amazing book, easy top 5 in scfi, and it was way ahead of its time? Ive read ender's game probably more then 20+ times. And i STILL dont understand what a desk looks like, i imagine it as a ipad kind of.
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The Golden Age series by John C. Wright deserves a mention. Kind of hard to get into when you've just picked it up and there's not a lot of action going on. It does however get you thinking which is what i read sci-fi for anyway, handles lots of interesting concepts such as mass minds, machine intelligences that outsmart humans by many orders of magnitude and immortality. Also, +1 for Alastair Reynolds, just finished Revelation Space. Loved it.
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diamond age > golden age
++ anathem, snow crash etc. Stevenson truly is the asimov of our time.
also His dark materials, sort of sci-fantasy, but classy anyway
oh and obv ender's game. The whole series is phenomenal, though the later books are a lot more philosophical and dealing with issues not as immediately identifiable with, I actually think they're better written.
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I enjoyed David Feintuch's Nick Seafort saga starting with Midshipman's Hope. Really awesome stuff, and it hasn't been mentioned here yet.
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Matthew Reilly's Contest is an awesome sci fi novel.
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Can someone help me remember a short story I read about a month ago?+ Show Spoiler + I forgot the title and the author: Our "hero" goes to work daily by foot, and is stopped on the street by an unknown man and asked about directions to a non-existant street/streets. The unknown man then continues talking about some weird unknown cults/religions, and our "hero" is intrigued. He decides to visit one of these rituals and follows the man through these hitherto-unknown streets (that somehow open up parallel to the usual streets). In the end it is implied that he is killed in a ritual or somesuch.
As to the topic, I would just like to echo the few guys who praised Robert Charles Wilson's Spin. Best I've ever read.
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On October 26 2010 13:51 alpskomleko wrote:Can someone help me remember a short story I read about a month ago? + Show Spoiler + I forgot the title and the author: Our "hero" goes to work daily by foot, and is stopped on the street by an unknown man and asked about directions to an unknown street/streets. The unknown man then continues talking about some weird unknown cults/religions, and our "hero" is intrigued. He decides to visit one of these rituals and follows the man through these unknown streets. In the end it is implied that he is killed in a ritual or somesuch. As to the topic, I would just like to echo the few guys who praised Robert Charles Wilson's Spin. Best I've ever read.
I don't think that could be any more vague, unless you said "unknown places upon which people walk" instead of "streets".
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Stranger in a Strange Land - #1 favorite book of all time.
Armor by... shit i forgot his name. Look it up, its excellent.
And of course the classic, "Neuromancer" by William Gibson. You know all those words that people use to describe technological stuff? this is where they came from. I mean words like "Microsoft".
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Dune - Frank Herbert
The best sci-fi novel of all time.
Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are also awesome.
I just read Neuromancer and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep this summer and they truly are classics, even if Neuromancer can be pretty confusing at times.
But tbh I'd have to put Dan Simmons' Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion together as my number 2. No other story comes close to the scope of these two books. Ilium and Olympos, also by Simmons, are similar in their scale as well. Endymion and the Rise of Endymion are to the Hyperion series what God Emperor of Dune and everything after it are to the Dune Trilogy- not nearly as good, but they are decent and bring a good sense of closure to each series.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein is another classic that every sci-fi reader should check out.
And my guilty pleasure: Heroes Die and Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover are two of my favorites. If you're not averse to some fucked up shit and plenty of hilarious profanity, then check these out. Matthew Stover writes about the most riveting, realistic characters that I've read, and the techno/fantasy setting is not hokey like a lot fantasy worlds tend to be. I was introduced to him when I was reading Traitor (probably #4 on my list) from the Star Wars: New Jedi Order series (which I actually think was very good)
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A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge are great, particularly if you're into hard sci-fi.
Vinge has a talent for designing really interesting alien cultures and I personally found the alien characters a lot more interesting to read than the human ones. Also I particularly liked A Deepness in the Sky where Vinge paints a very realistic picture of a space-faring human civilization where faster than light travel is not possible.
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Basically, anything written by Isaac Asimov is brilliant, and of his books I recommend most Tue Foundation series.
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I had a few books that I was going to suggest, but then I noticed someone suggesting Dune.
I have to second that recommendation, for everyone, if you haven't read Dune. Go read it now!
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I'm a big fan of Science fiction novels so I'm gonna give some recommendations
Some of my favorites and books that I personally recommend
The Culture Novels by Iain M. Banks-I've only read the first two (Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games) and they were both fantastic (The Player of Games is one of my top 5) and I've heard great things about other novels in the series
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin-My Personal Favorite SF book
Dune by Frank Herbert-Everyone says it's great, and for good reason
Hyperion by Dan Simmons-Great book, Canterbury tales-like structure gives really good characterization and world-building. Not so fond of the first sequel (The Fall of Hyperion) but I've heard the next two are better, so I'll get around to reading them at some point
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson-Great Social examination and characterization. It's a newer book but it's one of the all-time best.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Earth Abides by George R. Stewart I'm a big fan of Post apocalyptic novels and the three above are my favorites. All three are very different novels but all of them are outstanding in my opinion.
Some good sources that I use to find new books. SF Lists-A site with a top 200 list of books based on votes/awards with comments on each book. Very good list (not necessarily that I agree with the order, but there are a ton of great books on it), also, take a look at the 101-200 section, some really underrated books there. Also has a link to a similar list for fantasy books.
SFReviews.net-A site with a large number of SF/Fantasy reviews. I don't agree with the writer of the site's opinion on everything, but the books he recommends (4+) are generally pretty good
Science Fiction Book Review podcast-Good reviews, though the podcasts are really long since the maker generally talks for as long of a time as he wants to about the books he is reviewing. Again, I don't always agree with him about book quality but the books he rates highly are almost always good, and his reviews have exposed me to new books and has me think differently about books I have already read.
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Wow this thread's still active lol. Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I see a lot of stuff for Stranger in a Strange Land and Dune and Neromancer so I'll have to check those out!
On September 17 2010 02:15 EAGER-beaver wrote: I read most of stranger in a strange land, the book was exclusively about sex. It belongs in the harlequin romance section of a book store, not sci fi. Lots of the sci fi classics like 1984 are pretty awful, that's why I generally avoid the sci genre, so much of it is crap.
Also the halo books were surprisingly good, I thought they'd be a joke but they're really fun quick reads, just don't expect anything too deep. And no, i'm not a halo fanboy, can't stand playing it.
Last sci book I read was Fermat's last theorem the last book by arthur c clark before he passed. I wouldn't recommend it, the book starts off strong then gets weaker as it goes on.
Is this a troll? I haven't met anyone who didn't like 1984, or at least be "moved" by it so to speak.
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On October 26 2010 15:14 Zaxro wrote:I'm a big fan of Science fiction novels so I'm gonna give some recommendations Some of my favorites and books that I personally recommend The Culture Novels by Iain M. Banks-I've only read the first two (Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games) and they were both fantastic (The Player of Games is one of my top 5) and I've heard great things about other novels in the series The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin-My Personal Favorite SF book Dune by Frank Herbert-Everyone says it's great, and for good reason Hyperion by Dan Simmons-Great book, Canterbury tales-like structure gives really good characterization and world-building. Not so fond of the first sequel (The Fall of Hyperion) but I've heard the next two are better, so I'll get around to reading them at some point Spin by Robert Charles Wilson-Great Social examination and characterization. It's a newer book but it's one of the all-time best. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Earth Abides by George R. Stewart I'm a big fan of Post apocalyptic novels and the three above are my favorites. All three are very different novels but all of them are outstanding in my opinion. Some good sources that I use to find new books. SF Lists-A site with a top 200 list of books based on votes/awards with comments on each book. Very good list (not necessarily that I agree with the order, but there are a ton of great books on it), also, take a look at the 101-200 section, some really underrated books there. Also has a link to a similar list for fantasy books. SFReviews.net-A site with a large number of SF/Fantasy reviews. I don't agree with the writer of the site's opinion on everything, but the books he recommends (4+) are generally pretty good Science Fiction Book Review podcast-Good reviews, though the podcasts are really long since the maker generally talks for as long of a time as he wants to about the books he is reviewing. Again, I don't always agree with him about book quality but the books he rates highly are almost always good, and his reviews have exposed me to new books and has me think differently about books I have already read.
My friend just lent me A Canticle for Leibowitz and I really like it so far. So I'll have to look into your other suggestions. And thanks for the links!
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How are the StarCraft books? I'm very skeptical...
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I have really enjoyed everything I've read by Robert Heinlein. Some of the books are hit or miss, but you can't go wrong with any of the Hugo winners. I'd especially recommend Stranger In A Strange Land and The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls was very entertaining but I would read some of Heinlein's other work before it, as it has a lot of references to his other novels. Also, as was mentioned previously Starship Troopers is a very good TvZ novel
If you're looking for something lighter I really enjoyed the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron series. Nothing serious there, but if you like your books to satisfy you like an action flick, they're a fun read.
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Dune. All of the Dune books by Frank Herbert. I don't know anything about the ones his son wrote, though.
I consider Dune to be required SF reading. Simply the best in this genre.
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The commonwealth and void triologies by Peter Hamilton as well as (if you can read a 1200 page final novel) the Night's Dawn triology.
Spin and Axis by Ian Banks.
Ringworld by Niven.
This Alien Shore, In Conquest Born and the Wilding by CS Friedman (despite her name she is a woman - zing!)
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These have probably been listed before:
The "Rama" Series by Arthur C Clark All 4 books from the Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy series (i would assume most have read this) Contact - Carl Sagan
Oh and in about 2 years time look up a book called "PARXDOX - Future's Prologue". I am currently writing it and am around 100pages into what i estimate to be a 300 page book. I have plans for more books to follow the characters ;p
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Hi guys, thanks for all the suggestions.
I strongly recommend The Light of OtherDays by A.Clarke and S.Baxter .
It is a true "scientific" sci-fi. Clarke and Baxter invent just a single technical concept, but develop a very broad story around it with lots of imagination ... especially the exploration of the + Show Spoiler + is breathtaking.
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On August 10 2010 01:58 Zergneedsfood wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 21:50 Lann555 wrote:On August 09 2010 18:06 Random() wrote:Am I the only one who thought that Ender's Game wasn't that good I would take Dune and Hyperion over it any day. I thought it was decent, but nothing great. The 2nd book (Speaker for the Dead) was so bad, that it's one of the few books that I never actually finished. Also, there are a few good books set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Most of it is utter trash, however, Dan Abnett is the exception to the rule. He is an amazing writer and his books are some of the most enjoyable and action-packed sci-fi I ever read. The Eisenhorn Trilogy and Gaunt's Ghost are worth a try if you can handle the inherent cheesyness of the 40K universe Speaker of the Dead was horrendously bad and unentertaining. It is the only book that I have never actually finished. Has anyone here suggested anything by Michael Crichton? That guy's a fucking boss. I would actually recommend Next by Michael Crichton. It doesn't have a very coherent storyline as it just jumps around from place to place, but it's a very interesting book that brings up a few interesting questions.
Yes, Michael Crichton is definitely a good scifi writer. I read and love most of hist book, except Pirate Latitude which I don't really like it, perhaps because it's more historical than a scifi.
I can recommend Next, Jurassic Park, Lost World, Prey, Sphere, Timeline from Crichton. Jurassic Park and Lost World probably are his most famous books.
Other than Crichton's books, I don't really find any scifi book that really thrills me. I would like to read "Saga of the Seven Suns" but since it compiles of 7 books, I never tried to actually start to buy it :D Anyone read this books?
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all of these have to have been mentioned already, but i'm going to do it again for emphasis.
the entire dune series by frank herbert stranger in a strange land by robert a. heinlein(read all of his books) the traveler series by john twelve hawk for extremely enjoyable and light reading, battle tech. gotta love mechs fighting.
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All the dune books minus the one's by Frank Herbert's son. Why did he have to have a son?
Iain Banks, up to just before Matter, where his writing style has dipped a bit. I hope it'll be better in the next Culture book.
Steven Erikson - Canadian military fantasy novel. Crazy world building, somewhat overdrastic writing style, but still a great read.
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Someone has probably already stated this one, but I'll say it anyways:
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
It was my 'waiting' book, I'd read it in small chunks while I was waiting for my carpool buddy to get off work. I was so, so sad when I finished it.
For lighter books, Jack McDevitt's Hutchins series was great. Gives you a good sense of the wonder of exploration. I also found his forays into the politics of the future to be fun and cute. Start with The Engines of God. Some nice suspense bits too. Gosh, I need to reread it again.
edit - wait, cryptonomicon isn't really sci fi. Hurrdurr. I offer up the Honor Harrington series for redemption? It's delicious military sci fi by David Weber.
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I'm so glad theres a thread like this.
Dune: Honestly, the time worth explaining why Dune is the best sci-fi book ever created is lengthy and could be better spent actually reading the best sci-fi book ever created.
My next favorite thing to read other than the Dune series would have to be Asimov's short stories. Just grab the anthology and read just about any of them. Truly the source of what are today many generic concepts of sci-fi and always incredibly thoughtful and inventive.
I'm going to have to go back through this post and start grabbing suggestions.
On October 27 2010 15:17 nihoh wrote: All the dune books minus the one's by Frank Herbert's son. Why did he have to have a son?
I have a theory that Brian Herbert ruined what might have been one of the best plot twists in history.
+ Show Spoiler +I don't know if you've read the books that he wrote based off of his fathers outlines, but when he revealed that the hidden threat from beyond (the one frequently prophesied throughout the series) were the thinking machines I got really pissed.
His son wrote a whole series about the thinking machines. He created characters and plots revolving around the concept. He did that after his father died leaving the series unfinished, but with the knowledge of where the series was going to go.
So basically, he spoiled the big ending. Imagine how it would've been had Frank Herbert written it. The thinking machines, so sparsely mentioned throughout the series, so inconsequential to the story (yet crucial to the universe's setup), end up being the threat from beyond that Leto was trying to prevent with the Golden Path.
This rant was unexpected, and it should probably go between some spoiler tags.
Edit: Upon reading some previous posts, I realized that if I'm going to mention Asimov, I have to also recommend The Gods Themselves. Easily his best stand alone work.
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Anthem by Ayn Rand.
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Otherland by Tad Williams
BEST
SERIES
EVER!!!!
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On October 28 2010 15:00 forgotten0ne wrote: Otherland by Tad Williams
BEST
SERIES
EVER!!!!
Really? I just finished that earlier this year, and I thought it was okay ... But not great. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn (his first fantasy series) was much, much better. Otherland had too much padding (Book 2 was especially slow IMO). Particularly as science fiction, it's not that great.
Re: Bijan
I'm not even convinced that Frank Herbert wrote down notes about that "threat from beyond." I only read the "House: X" novels before feeling like the Brian Herbert / Kevin J. Anderson books sucked and stopped reading them. So we can safely treat it all as non-canonical.
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On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
Given that "God-Emperor of Dune" was the best book in the series, I would certainly recommend reading all of the Frank Herbert authored Dune books.
I would also recommend reading "Prey", "Next", "State of Fear" and my all time favourite book of all time "Jurassic Park", which are all written by Michael Crichton.
The Red Dwarf books are all really good as well (though are comedy set in a sci fi universe rather than a bone fide sci fi).
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Didn't read all posts, but anything by Richard Morgan is a great read.
I suggest "Thirteen"
Edit: Otherland was 1 or 2 books too long. Reminded me of Wheel of Time with some of the filler Neil Stephenson is good, although "Snow Crash" is probably one of his more sci-fi books
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On October 28 2010 17:32 smegged wrote:Show nested quote +On August 09 2010 13:30 Beloth(OD) wrote: Are you telling me you haven't read the 2nd best SF of all time (2nd to Ender)
Dune - Frank Herbert
I'm actually on the 2nd book :D
Given that "God-Emperor of Dune" was the best book in the series, I would certainly recommend reading all of the Frank Herbert authored Dune books. I would also recommend reading "Prey", "Next", "State of Fear" and my all time favourite book of all time "Jurassic Park", which are all written by Michael Crichton. The Red Dwarf books are all really good as well (though are comedy set in a sci fi universe rather than a bone fide sci fi).
now hold up here, god-emperor was the best book in the series? while certainly better then messiah or children, i would consider it rather bland and dry when you take heretics and chapterhouse into consideration. after reading the final two, god-emperor is nothing but back story
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Children of Hope by David Feintuch - one of the best Sci-Fi's I've ever read... seriously, just read it. It's epic.
EDIT: And oh yeah, the Ender series was genius as well! Got a tad strange after the first book, but they were good nonetheless. Ender's Game was by far my favourite of that series.
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Hyrule18714 Posts
On October 27 2010 15:20 littlewisp wrote: Someone has probably already stated this one, but I'll say it anyways:
Neal Stephenson - Cryptonomicon
It was my 'waiting' book, I'd read it in small chunks while I was waiting for my carpool buddy to get off work. I was so, so sad when I finished it.
For lighter books, Jack McDevitt's Hutchins series was great. Gives you a good sense of the wonder of exploration. I also found his forays into the politics of the future to be fun and cute. Start with The Engines of God. Some nice suspense bits too. Gosh, I need to reread it again.
edit - wait, cryptonomicon isn't really sci fi. Hurrdurr. I offer up the Honor Harrington series for redemption? It's delicious military sci fi by David Weber. True, but his other books (like Snow Crash which is fucking awesome) are. Cryptonomicon is a bit of historical fiction mixed with plain fiction. Awesome book though. I've read through it at least 4 times.
McDevitt is also awesome. The Benedict series is also quite good.
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Not sure if it's been mentioned but China Meiville's Perdido Street Station.
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Seconded: Dune Nights Dawn Trilogy and Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep
Alastair Reynold has spoiled me to most SciFi. I would direct unfamiliar readers to Chasm City and/or Pushing Ice.
A few other oft under-looked works:
Greg Bear: The Forge of God, and it's unbelievable sequel Anvil of Stars Peter Watts: Blindsight, the most thought provoking SciFi book I've ever read and, the best "alien invasion" storyline of all time: World War, by Harry Turtledove
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I know this sounds silly considering I looooove StarCraft 2, but.... I hate science fiction. Weird, huh? >.<
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I can recommend reading the trilogy The Traveller, The Dark River and The Golden City.
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On October 28 2010 23:31 DarKFoRcE wrote: I can recommend reading the trilogy The Traveller, The Dark River and The Golden City.
this.
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On October 28 2010 17:25 wail wrote: Re: Bijan
I'm not even convinced that Frank Herbert wrote down notes about that "threat from beyond." I only read the "House: X" novels before feeling like the Brian Herbert / Kevin J. Anderson books sucked and stopped reading them. So we can safely treat it all as non-canonical.
Actually, here's a quote from his son:
"I got a call from an estate attorney who asked me what I wanted to do with two safety deposit boxes of my dad's ... in them were the notes to Dune 7 -- it was a 30-page outline. So I went up in my attic and found another 1,000 pages of working notes."
And I know that he intended to write it as a 7th book, but couldn't figure out how to do it and broke it up into 2.
On October 28 2010 22:11 pfods wrote: now hold up here, god-emperor was the best book in the series? while certainly better then messiah or children, i would consider it rather bland and dry when you take heretics and chapterhouse into consideration. after reading the final two, god-emperor is nothing but back story
God Emperor is the most philosophical of all the novels and in that way is more similar to Dune Messiah. Those were both certainly slower in action and pacing. Its my favorite after the original book.
Actually, Heretics and Chapterhouse are my least favorites because they are more action driven. There are less thought-provoking themes.
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The Gateway Trip - Frederik Pohl Footfall - Niven / Pournelle The Legacy of Heorot - Niven / Pournelle / Barnes The Demons at Rainbow Bridge - Jack Chalker Building Harlequin's Moon - Niven / Cooper DUNE and if you like really cheesy ending its hard to beat The Stars, Like Dust - Asimov
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Dune
Brave New World
Atlas Shrugged
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I know it's just Star Wars, but Shadows of the Empire is the true heir to the SW: Universe. You will read it and wonder why the hell they made those crappy 1-3 movies.
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On October 29 2010 13:09 Bijan wrote:Show nested quote +On October 28 2010 17:25 wail wrote: Re: Bijan
I'm not even convinced that Frank Herbert wrote down notes about that "threat from beyond." I only read the "House: X" novels before feeling like the Brian Herbert / Kevin J. Anderson books sucked and stopped reading them. So we can safely treat it all as non-canonical. Actually, here's a quote from his son: "I got a call from an estate attorney who asked me what I wanted to do with two safety deposit boxes of my dad's ... in them were the notes to Dune 7 -- it was a 30-page outline. So I went up in my attic and found another 1,000 pages of working notes." And I know that he intended to write it as a 7th book, but couldn't figure out how to do it and broke it up into 2. Show nested quote +On October 28 2010 22:11 pfods wrote: now hold up here, god-emperor was the best book in the series? while certainly better then messiah or children, i would consider it rather bland and dry when you take heretics and chapterhouse into consideration. after reading the final two, god-emperor is nothing but back story God Emperor is the most philosophical of all the novels and in that way is more similar to Dune Messiah. Those were both certainly slower in action and pacing. Its my favorite after the original book. Actually, Heretics and Chapterhouse are my least favorites because they are more action driven. There are less thought-provoking themes.
that's understandable. i actually like heretics the most, but that's because even from the first book, the bene gesserit were my favorite. also, maybe having one of my majors as philosophy is why i cringe so much at letos musings.
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On October 28 2010 23:10 Hoosegow wrote: Seconded: Dune Nights Dawn Trilogy and Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton Vernor Vinge's Fire Upon the Deep
Alastair Reynold has spoiled me to most SciFi. I would direct unfamiliar readers to Chasm City and/or Pushing Ice.
A few other oft under-looked works:
Greg Bear: The Forge of God, and it's unbelievable sequel Anvil of Stars Peter Watts: Blindsight, the most thought provoking SciFi book I've ever read and, the best "alien invasion" storyline of all time: World War, by Harry Turtledove
Some of my favorites as well. I jumped right into Revelation Space with Reynold, and got hooked from that - Read it first!
Hoose, I'd reccomend you read Neuromancer by William Gibson and Armor by John Steakly (finally remembered his name).
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On October 26 2010 15:14 Zaxro wrote:I'm a big fan of Science fiction novels so I'm gonna give some recommendations Some of my favorites and books that I personally recommend The Culture Novels by Iain M. Banks-I've only read the first two (Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games) and they were both fantastic (The Player of Games is one of my top 5) and I've heard great things about other novels in the series The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin-My Personal Favorite SF book Dune by Frank Herbert-Everyone says it's great, and for good reason Hyperion by Dan Simmons-Great book, Canterbury tales-like structure gives really good characterization and world-building. Not so fond of the first sequel (The Fall of Hyperion) but I've heard the next two are better, so I'll get around to reading them at some point Spin by Robert Charles Wilson-Great Social examination and characterization. It's a newer book but it's one of the all-time best. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham Earth Abides by George R. Stewart I'm a big fan of Post apocalyptic novels and the three above are my favorites. All three are very different novels but all of them are outstanding in my opinion. Some good sources that I use to find new books. SF Lists-A site with a top 200 list of books based on votes/awards with comments on each book. Very good list (not necessarily that I agree with the order, but there are a ton of great books on it), also, take a look at the 101-200 section, some really underrated books there. Also has a link to a similar list for fantasy books. SFReviews.net-A site with a large number of SF/Fantasy reviews. I don't agree with the writer of the site's opinion on everything, but the books he recommends (4+) are generally pretty good Science Fiction Book Review podcast-Good reviews, though the podcasts are really long since the maker generally talks for as long of a time as he wants to about the books he is reviewing. Again, I don't always agree with him about book quality but the books he rates highly are almost always good, and his reviews have exposed me to new books and has me think differently about books I have already read. This guy is fantastic and has excellent opinions! Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorite books ever, but it doesn't exactly have widespread appeal, and I don't mean this in a hipster, douchey way, it's just that it goes more into literature than mainstream bestsellers, or even sci-fi bestsellers, so people wanting a light read might not like it.
I second the Culture novels by Banks, which are fantastic, but even though The Player of Games is good, Use of Weapons is best by far imo. Much stronger thematically.
Also good is Oryx and Crake, by Atwood, which I read recently. Not too sure if I'll remain liking though.
The Forever War by Haldeman is a little dated but still very relevant and still very good.
The Stars My Destination by Bester is as best as his name implies.
Lord of Light by Zelazny is much better than his Amber stories. It helps if you read Siddhartha by Hesse first, but it's not required by any means.
The Road by McCarthy is excellent, though not really sci-fi. It's just a beautiful book in general, if a little more shallow than some of the others.
My favorite light read is probably Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Clarke. It's fantasy/historical fiction, but excellent all the same. Also it's a fucking brick. You can kill people with it.
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I want to read left hand of darkness because I haven't read very many sci-books by women. Seems to be a man's world when it comes to sci-fi, not just with readers, but with authors too.
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Asimov >>> ALL
pity i cant find forward the foundation in argentina :/ i also like arthurs c clarke RAMA and RAMA II , (cant find the next 2 in argentina either)
fffffuuuuuuuu
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The poseleen war series by john ringo is amazing military sci-fi.
Humans make first contact with aliens who want our help to defend them from another species that is raping and pillaging across the galaxy, and we are not far off on the list of planets to be invaded. However they are not willing to provide us help for free and we end up selling our soliders to go defend other planets to buy equipment for the eventual defense of earth
What I like most about this is how it focuses on the economic, social and political repercussions of this alien war. There is also a large focus on the military command being set in its ways and slow to change, and how the officers on the battlefield are forced to improvise. I was laughing with glee when the humans decided to fill fire trucks with kerosene and turn them into massive flame throwers.
Hymn Before a Battle, go read it now
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Check out the Out of Phaze Series by Piers Anthony, or his Incarnations of Immortality series, I just reread the second one. They are very very interesting.
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ill check out left hand of darkness sounds good.
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Peter Watts: Blindsight, the most thought provoking SciFi book I've ever read
Seconded. Blindsight was an amazing read.
Left hand of darkness is probably one of the best Scifi-esque books ever written.
pity i cant find forward the foundation in argentina :/
1. Get erearder 2. Look up name on isohunt 3 Profit (and/or go to jail)
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On October 30 2010 03:38 Carras wrote: Asimov >>> ALL
He's the most consistently interesting sci-fi author in my opinion. I've read so many of his short stories, and only a few of them were less than great.
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Finishing up Semper Mars and thought it has been good, should I continue with Luna Marine or w/e the sequel is called?
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Dune, Starship Troopers, and Neuromancer. All good.
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Dune and the couple that follow although they get more and more abstract the further the series goes.
If you enjoyed the ender series you could read the bean and peter spin off from them.
1984 is a solid warning of the future.
Neuromancer is the book that defined cyberpunk and was the vision behind the matrix 15 years later.
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Harry Turtledove and his 7book alien invasion during the middle of WWII.
Its about half sci-fi/half historical fiction, but still really awesome. It takes multiple perspectives including the aliens, Americans, Nazi Germany, Russia, China, and the Middle East.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosev_timeline
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Pendragon has very bad writing.
I read a different book placed 100 years in the future depicting a select group of kids who could see these strange, invisible creatures that supposedly suck the life out of a dying person. Said kids hunt these creatures,+ Show Spoiler + only to find that when they die they dissolve into bubbles that individually form new creatures. the kids efforts are extremely counter productive. later it was shown that they actually suck the PAIN out of a dying person, and that a government agency was using them for horrible purposes. If anyone has read this book and knows the name, reply And I will edit it into this post. I read the book once 3 years ago, and I recall that it was very good. I thnk the title was one word.
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On November 08 2010 13:35 Thoreezhea1 wrote:Pendragon has very bad writing. I read a different book placed 100 years in the future depicting a select group of kids who could see these strange, invisible creatures that supposedly suck the life out of a dying person. Said kids hunt these creatures, + Show Spoiler + only to find that when they die they dissolve into bubbles that individually form new creatures. the kids efforts are extremely counter productive. later it was shown that they actually suck the PAIN out of a dying person, and that a government agency was using them for horrible purposes. If anyone has read this book and knows the name, reply And I will edit it into this post. I read the book once 3 years ago, and I recall that it was very good. I thnk the title was one word.
The Supernaturalist
it's pretty good
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The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe <-- better than LotR and Dune combined.
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On September 29 2011 12:33 rave[wcr] wrote: The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe <-- better than LotR and Dune combined.
This looks incredibly interesting. Thanks! Shall give it a try.
I didn't look at every post in the thread, but the pages I looked through had a distinctive lack of Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars series.
It's an incredible, realistic look at the idea of terraforming and inhabiting Mars as the Earth becomes overpopulated. Definitely worth a look for those into hard Sci-fi.
Edit: And oh my god, this thread has been a gold mine for me. Seeing all of these posts about A Fire Upon the Deep forced me to wiki Vernor Vinge, and I discovered that he supposedly has a sequel to that novel I read all those years ago coming out in October!
Perhaps this will mend the heartbreak I suffered reading A Storm of Swords for the first time.
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Timothy Zahn has benefited in name recognition from his Star Wars series, however it has obscured several amazing SciFi books. If you have to read one, I suggest Spinneret.
I also love the already mentioned Blackcollar (and trilogy) Cobra (and trilogy later expanded) and Triplet (stand alone). Manta's Gift is genius. If you love cross cultural discussions and politics, his Conqueror's Trilogy is amazing. Zahn's aliens are alien, which you would never expect if you know him post joining the Star Wars staff. So if you like reading about aliens that don't make any sense to humans, don't look like humans, and have technologies you wouldn't expect, Zahn is an excellent option.
Everything else I would suggest has been suggested already in this thread except perhaps for Jules Verne, who despite the abundance of retarded movies is actually a wonderful, though technical, read.
Two second tier SciFi writers are Poul Anderson and Gregory Benford.
Of Benford try the Galactic Center Novels (in order): In The Ocean of Night, Across the Sea of Suns, Great Sky River, Tides of Light, Furious Gulf, and Sailing Bright Eternity.
Of Anderson: Harvest of Stars series in order: Harvest of Stars, The Stars Are Also Fire, Harvest the Fire, The Fleet of Stars.
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I've been reading a lot of Clive Barker's books, namely the "Books of Blood", which are collections of short horror-stories. They are mostly horror, but he has some really creative stories in there which might be seen as science fiction. Check them out! Oh, and H.P Lovecrafts books. Amazing stuff.
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It's been mentioned, but Childhood's End by Arthur Clarke is an awesome book. Definitely check it out if you haven't yet.
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Anything Asimov. The The Robot Novels are the best. The Foundation series is also great.
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A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is my favorite SF book. Pretty much unknown, but absolutely worth reading.
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If you are looking for a good SF (or fantasy) read, I recomend you have a look at this decision-chart of the voted best 100 books of these generes:
http://www.box.net/shared/static/a6omcl2la0ivlxsn3o8m.jpg
I found it absolutely brilliant (and precise, since many of my top reads are up there as well)
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Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin is one of my favorite books, nevermind SF specific. It's a collection of Novellas all around the same character, Tuf. The writing is extremeley funny, while still providing all of the nuts and bolts you'd expect from the SF genre. It's a true gem!
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Dont think anyone has mentioned it yet, but:
John Steakley: Armour!! -Seriously BADASS! book....this is what starship troopers was based on, but it is a no joke adult sci-fi masterpiece. Quick one book read.
I think someone has mentioned Dan Simmon, but I second them Dan Simmons: Hyperion Endymion Both are awesome books, if you like the super tech savy descriptions and can handle the politics!
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Try reading some of Greg Egan
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