Good Science Fiction?
Hey everybody, I've recently taken up reading again, and am looking for new material. I have a definite interest in science fiction, but am willing to branch out as well. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed works by Michael Crichton and Ben Bova.
Any suggestions for good authors or specific books would be appreciated.
Any suggestions for good authors or specific books would be appreciated.
Comments
Among the best books I've ever read. Phenomenal stuff. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Also have enjoyed Steven Baxter... Moonseed and Manifold Time were both pretty cool, along with "The Light of Other Days" with Arthur C. Clarke.
Also gotta put in a good word for Starstrike. Weird name, and an 'older' book than the others I've mentioned so far (early 90s, I think?) but it was really enjoyable. Group of humans pulled by an alien race to wage war on another race, then the results on earth after all nuclear warheads were disabled and a new arms race began. Very cool stuff.
The Chronicles of the Lensmen are also worth checking out. I got a 3-in-1 book from a book club years ago and found it to be quite good... Interstellar combat in ways you'd never have thought after being conditioned by Star Trek and Star Wars. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Also I liked The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn and Moving Mars by Greg Bear.
The 'culture' novels by Iain M. Banks - Amazingly clever, definitely worth reading.
Robert Heinlein - If you haven't heard of him then you don't know enough about scifi. I'm sure everyone else on the forum can testify as to how good these authors are but seriously, if you get anything from this thread then Enders Game (1st) and Enders Shadow (2nd).
Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash is quite funky, although be warned in advance : He has <b>no</b> idea how to finish a book. He always meanders at the end and basically has climaxes of "Oh...erm... yeah GG!"
A Signal Shattered
--Scythe--
That's why I said <i>Ringworld</i>, not the <i>Ringworld</i> Series. It's called reading between the lines. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Ghost in the Shell - Masamune Shirow
Asimov : Good choice, unfortunate mis-spelling <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I also really like David Brin and his "Uplift" series. I can't remember the author right now, but another great book is 'The Forever War.' 'Dune' of course, is great... but try not to go into the sequels expecting the same quality. They're still pretty good though. Hmmm... 'Lucifer's Hammer' (Can't recall the author(s) but I know they're up there somewhere) I'm forgetting a bunch... and I'm sure I've made mispellings. Clarke is a great choice as well. I have the book that spawned 2001: A Space Oddysey.... but for some reason I can't remember the name. 'The Sentinel'? Too lazy to go check... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> Also, a very very good short story titled 'Who Goes There', which "The Thing" by John Carpenter was loosely based off of. I can't remember the author.... <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> I'm terrible.
Ok, that's enough rambling. I'm sure there's enough stuff here that we all agree on.
Since you said that you wanted to branch out, I would reccomend any military books, because usually they're good. I reccomend "Inside Delta Force" by Eric. L. Haney.
Anyting dan brown is always good, and all of the tech he talks about is real but its still cool. Try Deception Point or Digital Fortress.
Here is a list of the ISBN numbers for the books I listed in case you're interested.
The Sphere - 0345353145
Inside Delta Force - 0440237335
Deception Point - 0671027387
Digital Fortress - 0312995423
I read the book Pilot Pirx, written by Stanislaw Lem. A very good book, with a bit phylosophy.
The only sci-fi books I can recommend you, are written by Arkadi and Boris Strukagtzki. Well, if your definition of sci-fi are space ships, nano-tech, uber-weapons of mass-destruction or fighting aliens, you won't like those books.
But I love these books. It is science fiction, with a little humor. They are full filled with phylosophy. Most people don't understand. But if you want to read a good science fiction books, I can recommend you Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki.
Maybe you already heard of books like 'Roadside Picnic" or 'Monday begins on Saturday' etc. (don't really know the english titles, many books weren't even translated from russian to german, so I don't know whether they were translated into english).
I don't read much.
What? Somebody had to say it.
Oh, and anything by Asimov.
Larry Niven:
Ringworld
The Mote in God's Eye
Heinlen:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starship Troopers
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Job
Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury:
Fahrenheit 451
George Orwell:
1984
Aldous Huxley:
Brave New World
Michael Crichton:
The Andromeda Strain
Congo
Jurassic Park
You can read more Crichton stuff but for me it's sort of hit or miss.
And of course there's a whole bunch of other stuff. But this is just to get started.
<b>Classic sci-fi:</b>
I'd like to mirror the suggestions regarding <i>Ray Bradbury</i> and <i>Stanislaw Lem</i> - two of the very best authors of the last century. I hear Gene Wolfe is up there with them, but haven't had the opportunity to read him yet. In case you feel like experimenting, he's got a new <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765307901/qid=1113581307/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/104-0724998-9535920?v=glance&s=books' target='_blank'>short story collection</a> out - they're always good to get to know an author.
I also feel I should mention <i>Philip K. ****</i>, though he is very much a hit-or-miss affair. Definetly try his short stories first.
<b>Cyberpunk:</b>
<i>William Gibson</i> is god. I'll be heretical and suggest to get <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0425192938/qid=1113581460/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-0724998-9535920' target='_blank'>Pattern Recognition</a>, a contemporary novel, first. His ability of precise observation is stunning.
I'm going to second the suggestion of <i>Neal Stephenson</i>, though it's true about his endings. Right now, he's writing on the 'Baroque Cycle', a series of books that allows him to get away with leaving several books worth of story up in the air. Must be a dream for him <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Others:</b>
<i>H.G. Wells</i>, one of the very first sci-fi authors, remains one of my favorites. Suggested first read: <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812505042/qid=1113581683/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-0724998-9535920' target='_blank'>The Time Machine</a>.
It's not 'pure' sci-fi, but a very weird mix of steampunk and fantasy, but <i>China Mieville</i>'s <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345444388/qid=1113581868/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0724998-9535920?v=glance&s=books' target='_blank'>The Scar</a> is already one of the best books of the decade.
By the way, I know it's a character flaw in a nerd, but I found Dune pretty boring. Herbert has a few great ideas, but trying to be clever, he muddies the water so far that his message is almost undiscernable at the end.
In response to Testa:
I really enjoyed Hyperion, which was an awesome exercise in combining different scifi forms, but the subsequent novels became so overwrought and drenched in pathos ("Let's not only save the world, but <i>all</i> worlds, at <i>all</i> times, and don't even stop there.") that I pretty much gave up on him by now.
Michael Marshall Smith - Spares and Only Forwards (funny, with a side order of distressing)
Neal Stephenson - The Diamond Age (kind of your standard-issue cyberpunk, but a cut above the rest)
George R Stewart - Earth Abides (post-apocalyptic business, very good)
Walter M Miller - A Canticle For Liebowitz (more good post-apocalypse stuff)
John Brunner - Stand On Zanzibar
Joe Haldeman - The Forever War (space opera)
count zero, neromance, etc etc etc.
The Father of Cyber Punk!
For those that play ShadowRun, gibson once said: "They Tolkiened my CyberPunk"
And my other favorite is Heinlen.
Especialy a book containing a collection of his short stories called "The Past Through Tomorow".
pluss what Tycho said. And Stranger is one of my favorite books ever.
The one warning is that Heinlen has a thing for thinly veiled political ramblings.