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.
Many people like Heinlein, and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is certainly one of the ones most Heinlein fans consider a classic. I read it so long ago that I don't remember what its about, but that's not a good sign. I remember some conservative philosophy thrown in there for good measure.
I liked "The Forever War" and IIRC it reminded me of a book written later by Vernor Vinge. I met Joe briefly.
I'm not a huge Asimov fan, but I have read his more notable creations. I would agree he is a better short story writer, and that this is generally true of PKD also. However, there are some good PKD novels..
Bruce Sterling[/b] 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.
I like Sterling a lot. He started out writing more traditional Fantasy and SF, then went into more "hard" science fiction, and in his later books is writing stories so much more plausibly connected with the reality of a near tomorrow, that they almost belong in a category of their own.
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."'
"Last and First Men" would try the patience of most people on these boards, IMHO. Having said that, I think Stapledon was more of an influence than he is generally credited with being on the shaping of the entire genre. An under rated master. The scope of some of his books is huge and sweeping. However, i think people are best off ( if never exposed to him before ) reading something like Sirius, a novel about a dog who gains more intelligence than most dogs can ever aspire to.
Alfred Bester - "The Stars My Destination" was so popular among some that the only Sci-Fi bookstore in the city of Chicago named itself after that. I liked it, but my favorite Alfred Bester was undoubtedly "The Demolished Man".
I like "The Stainless Steel Rat" stories by Harrison, since they remind me of pulps and early Jack Vance and E.E. "Doc" Smith, but my favorites of his are the books in the "Eden" series about competing with intelligent dinosaurs as cave men.
My favorite Zelazny series was the Amber series. Most of his books are fun.
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).
Thx for the link Sens Eye. I found some other good stuff there in addition to the review of the "Scar Night" book, which might also be interesting.
Easily one of the worst novels I've ever read.
"Stranger in a Strange land" was one of the first "adult" sci-fi stories that i read, and so I put up with a lot that I might not have otherwise, thinking myself immature then for finding some of it boring. I still remember the sequence where the person is trying to figure out how to get through to decision makers that are protected by screeners, which is something I have to contend with IRL as part of business. His comments on that were the first i ever read on "social engineering".
Shit, you're right, that is good. REALLY good.
Who wrote "The Gods Themselves" ?
While I really enjoy PKD, I'd be reluctant to give it a blanket recommendation to someone starting out with S.F. Great stuff. But I think it has limited appeal. Can you think of a good starter PKD book? Maybe Man in the High Castle or some of his short stories?
Good novels by PKD are " A Scanner darkly" and "Flow My Tears The Policeman Said", and "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch" ( my favorite ) . "Flow My Tears.." is a "man on the run" pulpey piece though. "Ubik" was interesting as well as "Eye in the Sky". He's hit or miss. Some of his short stories are stinkers, too. He wrote at a fast pace to actually try to make a living full time at this. Probably the worst thing I read by him was "Galactic Pot Healer". There are novels of his, beloved by some, that don't hold my interest, such as the one where the people on each planet each share a mental illness. Everyone on one colony has schizophrenia, for example, while everyone on another is depressed. Meh. His short story "Autofac" is a much anthologized classic.