Good sci-fi novels

[Colors]

I'm pretty unacquainted with sci-fi literature and being all old and lazier and now- the shelf seems pretty daunting (to slough through the technobabble to try and get to the meat).

I've read some Asimov. His short stories (from Robot Dreams) are really interesting, but the longer the work, the more his weakness in characterization/dialogue shows (Robot series). I've also read Perdido Street Station by China Mievelle- who is so in love with his own world and the same 10 obscure adjectives meaning "dilapidated" that he never bothers to get to the point. And The Hitchiker's Guide, which was cute but not very lasting. And Ender's Game... who in the hell wants to read about other people playing a video game. And then boring moral retconn about it not being a video game. (Does Brave New World count?)

So what's GOOD?

 

[Thursday]

Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate Prophicies of Agnes Nutter

 

[cafe]

Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate Prophicies of Agnes Nutter

Orson Scott Card?

 

[Thursday]

Orson Scott Card?

terry prachett and neil gaiman
nice try.....tell her what shes won !

 

[Thursday]

I found The Martian Chronicles excellent
its by Ray Bradbury

 

[cafe]

terry prachett and neil gaiman
nice try.....tell her what shes won !

Oh, no, I know that. I was giving your suggestion love and making another suggestion of my own. I should go to bed now because I'm obviously not being coherent.

Edit: However, if she doesn't care for Hitchiker's Guide, I'm not sure Pratchett is going to be a win. I love them both, but not everyone's cup of tea, I guess.

 

[6sticks]

And Ender's Game... who in the hell wants to read about other people playing a video game. And then boring moral retconn about it not being a video game.

Hahah.

Much like Asimov, Phillip K. Dick's short stories are quite good but his books are horrible. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein are probably my favorite sci fi books. I have crappy taste though.

 

[entropie]

Does someone still know the "BattleTech novels". They are like aeons of years old. I really sucked them up, they were the best Sci-Fi novels I ever had

 

[Oso Mocoso]

Okay ... I come to science fiction recommendations as someone who doesn't really care for a lot of the genre. So my recommendations are for some works that aren't hardcore sci-fi.

If you're going to read Orson Scott Card, I recommend a book he wrote called Pastwatch. It's about some time travelers trying to "fix" the European colonization of the new world.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow is a pretty good read. If you want something nice and free, you can download Doctorow's audiobook of "Eastern Standard Tribe"

Spaceland - a Novel of the Fourth Dimension by Rudy Rucker was a fun read. I've enjoyed a lot of Rudy's books, his short stories, and even his non-fiction. His book on the concept of infinity is outstanding.

Bruce Sterling is also worth checking out. If the concepts of his books sound appealing to you, you'd probably like him. Distractions is one book of his I reread lately that stood up well.

Anyway, these are recommendations from someone who doesn't care for science fiction as a genre very much. These are set in our time period or very nearly so. The characters are all human beings, and the stories stay focused on people. Little Brother is a little bit of an exception in that respect -- Doctorow loves his technology. However, if you're a skillful web user he won't range very far outside your realm of experience. And when he does, he'll hold your hand and assure you that everything is okay.

Trying really hard to think of hard SF that I didn't hate reading ... Vernor Vinge wrote some interesting books. They suffer from the characters not being all that well developed though, like a lot of sci fi.

 

[TickTock]

DREAMSONGS - George R R Martin

An anthology in chronological order. Sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Very good value for money from a brilliant writer.

 

[ed111]

Sci-fi book recommendation

Hi, I've got a few recommendations:

Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future by Olaf Stapledon
Written in 1930 it plots the rise and fall and rise (over and over) of the human race over a period of two billion years. I found it helps put my life and the world in perspective!

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Gully Foyle is a classic anti-hero.

The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
Another anti-hero. Fast and furious stuff: amusing and entertaining.

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Very deep and a difficult read, but worth the effort - 'On a colony planet, men have established a society based on technological means of imitating the Hindu religion. It is possible to reincarnate the "mind" or "soul" to a new body, even an animal. But some of the earliest colonists have additional powers, which give them the status of gods. And a faction among them is using that means in political ways: punishing their enemies with reincarnation as animals, or with the "true death."'

 

[ed111]

Oh, I forgot to mention: read anything and everything by Philip K. Dick as he is THE MASTER OF SCIENCE FICTION!

 

[Sarcasticus]

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

 

[SensEye]

I've also read Perdido Street Station by China Mievelle- who is so in love with his own world and the same 10 obscure adjectives meaning "dilapidated" that he never bothers to get to the point.

Lol. Stay away from his next two books then, which make Perdido seem positivel focused. I don't actaully mind his work though. 7/10 stuff which is tolerable.

You might try Scar Night. Similar ambience to Meville's work but a bit more plot/character driven.

I try to make suggestions that aren't the same moldy old tombes written 20+ years ago (not that there is anything wrong with them).

 

[disregard]

The Dune trilogy.

 

[rhinosaur]

Two good classics:

Fahrenheit 451 (I guess it's not Sci-Fi though)
Contact

 

[rhinosaur]

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

Yes, I also think this is a good book.

The Dune trilogy.

I also enjoyed reading these.



I couldn't get into Asimov's "Foundation" series. I would keep picking it up for a night, and then would forget about it for weeks. Some of the imagery it evoked was good, but I think it might have been too serious for my tastes. Or maybe it was his writing style, I don't know.

 

[Enyo]

I'm not a hard-core sci-fi fan, but I did enjoy the Ringworld trilogy. I also enjoyed Neil Stephenson's Cryptonomicon.

 

[Enyo]

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

It wasn't bad, but I liked Cryptonomicon better.

 

[C.J.Woolf]

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness. You might call them social science fiction.