Science Fiction book suggestions - Page 9
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Trap
United States395 Posts
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MadVillain
United States402 Posts
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 | ||
JunZ
United States314 Posts
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Offhand
United States1869 Posts
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. | ||
Roe
Canada6002 Posts
Stranger in a Strange Land | ||
Robstickle
Great Britain406 Posts
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. | ||
Substance59
United States110 Posts
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GreatWizard
Israel1 Post
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maxor
England59 Posts
Planet of adventure - Jack Vance also his dying earth books are great but fantasy. | ||
Pangolin
United States1035 Posts
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maybenexttime
Poland5231 Posts
Here's an excerpt I managed to find (couldn't find a full translation, though): http://www.bookinstitute.pl/en,ik,site,40,80,514.php Some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfekcyjna_niedoskonałość | ||
SentryHero
Canada17 Posts
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CuttyFlam
Belgium523 Posts
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 | ||
Biochemist
United States1008 Posts
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. | ||
Insanious
Canada1251 Posts
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. | ||
Biochemist
United States1008 Posts
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. | ||
polgas
Canada1719 Posts
Mike Resnick is a good fast-paced author. I only read "Ivory" and "Starship: Mutiny" and enjoyed them. | ||
mucker
United States1120 Posts
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. | ||
Competent
United States406 Posts
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universalwill
United States654 Posts
also, douglas adams is great. surprised you haven't read him, | ||
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