Peeps,
I've read most of Arthur C Clark/Asimov and maybe some others in the past, and am looking for suggestions for other sci fi fiction.
I'm not overly interested in stories of alien species - more sci fi with humans (and maybe interactions with alien).
Also a fan of Pratchett and Adams (HHGTTG) so recommendation along those lines too
Cheers
ATB
Simon
Harry potter ?
Yeah, if I was 12
ATB
Simon
Harry Harrison, great sci fi stories!
http://www.harryharrison.com/
[Edited on 30/7/07 by donut]
Iain M Banks: brilliant well formed stories based on thought out places
John Wyndham: now slightly dated but well presented stories in a present or near future
Michael Moorcock: Whacked out drug inspired 1970s parallel London
William Gibson: Current writer of cyberfiction based on computer and robot futures
Philip K Dick: good sci fi some made into films nice ideas well thought through
Frank Herbert: Dune is his best novel, very long and well described space opera very badly filmed in the 80s there are a number of sequels that are
only worth reading if you are really absorbed in the original.
Get through that lot should take you a few years!
Caber
More fantasy than sci-fi but read the Gray Mouser series of books, swords and sorcery sort of thing.
quote:
Originally posted by caber
Frank Herbert: Dune is his best novel, very long and well described space opera very badly filmed in the 80s there are a number of sequels that are only worth reading if you are really absorbed in the original.
Caber
) Rest of series (of books) looked like a rip off of the bible - imho
o/c. Michael Marshal Smith - only forward - spares..... this stuff can be funny but not like pratchett
Peter f Hamilton - read the mindstar rising stuff first (his later stuff is fantastic but you have to be dedicated)
Neal Stephenson - Snowcrash (one of my fave books)
William Gibson - the neuromancer
Greg Bear - eon
[Edited on 30/7/07 by bpgoa]
[Edited on 30/7/07 by bpgoa]
Guy Gavriel Kay, The summer tree trilogy, again more fantasy than sci-fi, but worth a read.
Al.
try the robbin hobb stuff,,,
Read the Amtrak Wars series
fantastic books.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Amtrak_Wars
alternately some fantasy:
Robert Jordans wheel of time series is amazing imo
Anything by David Gemmel or Raymond E Fiest
Neil Gaimon
Fantasy, again, but my favorite series of all (still in progress) is by George R.R. Martin - Song of Ice and Fire:
o A Game of Thrones, Bantam Books, 1996
o A Clash of Kings, Bantam Books, 1999
o A Storm of Swords, Bantam Books, 2000
o A Feast for Crows, Bantam Books, 2005
He figures that there will be about 2-3 books to complete the series. Characters are all very 3-dimensional, and writing is fantastic. Best of all,
he is not at all afraid of killing off his major characters!
Again, this is among the best I have read
Shaun
quote:I have been reading sci-fi since I was 9 years old starting wih a.c.clark and asimov...my recommendations echo several of those above...
Originally posted by smdl
Fantasy, again, but my favorite series of all (still in progress) is by George R.R. Martin - Song of Ice and Fire:
o A Game of Thrones, Bantam Books, 1996
o A Clash of Kings, Bantam Books, 1999
o A Storm of Swords, Bantam Books, 2000
o A Feast for Crows, Bantam Books, 2005
He figures that there will be about 2-3 books to complete the series. Characters are all very 3-dimensional, and writing is fantastic. Best of all, he is not at all afraid of killing off his major characters!
Again, this is among the best I have read
Shaun
I used to read quite a bit of SF, although my reading in general tapered off over time.
I also read a lot of Clarke and Asimov, but I also liked:
Charles Sheffield (good "hard science" author)
Larry Niven (the Ringworld series mainly)
Roger Zelazny (the SF, not the fantasy works)
I went through a few from Ben Bova and Jerry Pournelle, James Blish, a variety of Robert Heinlein, and I see that I also see I've hung onto a
couple of books by John Brunner and Stanislaw Lem.
There were a few writers that I didn't get to that I thought sounded interesting. Recently I read that Fred Saberhagen died and so I looked into
his "Berserker" series but haven't picked it up yet.
Oddly it was some of the really bad, laughably over-the-top stuff that I read that I still recall fondly. No accounting for taste I suppose.
Since the early eighties when the fantasy titles seemed to be pushing the SF off the shelves I left the genre. I haven't any idea of who is
writing stuff like Clarke and Asimov used to now. I have heard of Gibson and a couple of other contemporary authors but haven't read any of their
stuff.
At great risk of offending people how about the bible? It's far more far-fetched than Star Wars lol. Would have said the Koran but i've never read it. Also i'm aware that Salman Rushdie has spent half his life hiding in Morecambe cos of comments about Islam. Still wtf. I already live in Morecambe lmao.
Steven Donaldson, the gap series
very good but not well known.
A bit more on the darker side but very good.
Dale
Ron Champion - " Build your own sports car for as little as £250 "
Falls into the techno-fantasy category.
Replay
by Ken Grimwood
If you like Terry Pratchett then you will find Jasper Ffordejust as good.( possibly better)
Start with The Eyre Affair which is the first of 5 books about Thursday Next.
Paul
JG Ballard
Stephen Baxter
id second the Iain M Banks recomendation, use of weapons and excession are two if my favourites.
Amtrax Wars are an excellent read but not as ambitious as Banks' work.
A good source of scifi is the warhammer 40k books, theres loads of the them but the inquisition series (zenos, hereticus and malleus) is good.
Or maybe steven kings dark tower sequence? I think he's actually finished it now!
Another vote for Dune by Frank Herbert. The other books he wrote in the series go slowly downhill but are still enjoyable if you liked the first.
Avoid the copy cat books by his son they are complete dreck.
Weapon Shops of Isher by A. E. van Vogt are good.
For an entertaining quick read Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster is ok.
More off the wall are the books of Stanislaw Lem, Solaris being his most famous, are good if you can get into the strange style.
Third vote for Ian M Banks - not a huge si- fi book fan but I enjoyed his 'proper' novels (where he's just Ian Banks) so I though
I's give the si-fi ones a go and suprised myself by realy enjoying them
[Edited on 31/7/07 by D Beddows]
Kevin J Anderson has a great series of books out, Saga of the seven suns
EE doc smith, Grey Lensmen
On the warhammer 40K boots, Space Marine, Inquisition and Harlequin are quite good (I think can be bought as a compliation now).
The books based on the Halo games are quite good too, though I think the one based directly on the first game was a bit weak at times. The one based
directly on the game was a different author and occasionally it read a bit like he was just transcribing what was on screen.
.... and the great grand daddy of them all, HG Wells.
also Grant Naylor (Red Dwarf)
not really into sci fi myself but found Dean Koontz books fairly entertaining reading
The last sci-fi book I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) was The Ethos Effect by L.E. Modesitt Jr. It takes a while for the story to get started
properly, but I found the political intrigue and ethical dilemmas quite fascinating.
It focuses mostly on inter-stellar politics between feuding human factions. There is an alien race involved also, but they keep mainly to the
sidelines. Interesting read, and it avoids most of the cheesy SciFi cliches.
[quote="travelinlibrarian.com"]The Ethos Effect is the story of Commander Van C. Albert of the Republic Space Forces of Taran, a brave and
resourceful officer who once defeated a larger enemy ship but indirectly caused the loss of a civilian liner in the process. Cleared by the board of
inquiry, but an embarrassment to the high command, he retains his commission but is given only dead-end assignments. For a time, he must watch
helplessly as a cold war among economic, religious, and political rivals evolves toward interstellar open warfare.
Assigned as a military attache to the Taran embassy on Scandya, Van is seriously wounded foiling an assassination. Decorated, promoted, and summarily
retired while still in a coma, he wakes to find himself honorably but intolerably unemployed. When the harmless-sounding Integrated Information
Systems foundation of the Eco-Tech Coalition recruits him to fly a starship, Van finds he now has a powerful new vantage point, not just for
observation but for action. IIS has interests everywhere, and Van is not just a pilot but their point man in a conflict that will shake the worlds.
Modesitt uses a distinctive blend of space battles, political and economic intrigue, and issues of race and religion to address deep questions of good
and evil, ethics and self-interest. Van Albert makes his decisions; it is for you to decide whether he is a hero.
Strangely enough, I have 4 of 5 (or whatever it is) of the Amtrak Wars, unfortunately I don't have the first or I'd have read years
ago!
Just ordered the second John Twelve Hawks book (of The Traveller series) along with the 3 A C Clarke RAMA books I don't have and a book
that's featured in press recently "The World Without Us" - about the Earth and what happens to it if the human race were to vanish
overnight. Interesting idea.
I keep lookin at IM Banks - perhaps a look at Amazon 2nd books could be in order
Keep 'em coming
ATB
Simon
quote:
Originally posted by Dale
Steven Donaldson, the gap series
very good but not well known.
A bit more on the darker side but very good.
Dale
If you can get hold of a copy, I found Utopia by Lincoln Child to be one of the better *recent* SF/Fantasy books around.
quote:
Originally posted by Simon
Strangely enough, I have 4 of 5 (or whatever it is
i read the ill earth books by donaldson, odd but interesting!
Simon, if you want to borrow the first amtrax book i can post it to you.
Another authour i love is Raymond Fiest, the Shadow of a Dark Queen Rising is amazing, as are the rest of the series, plus his linked books Magician
and the follow ons.
Another big vote for Iain M Banks here!!
I never read much at all until my mate made me borrow Player Of Games. Absolutely awesome! You always hear how people harping on about how books are
better than films etc etc, but i never believed it until i read that. I read a lot of stuff nowadays including all of Banksie's Sci-fi and some
of his 'proper' novels, and he's still my fave author. He's got one amazing (and slightly warped) imagination!
I'd say Player Of Games is a decent introduction to IMB for someone not strictly into sci-fi, but if you already love sci-fi, start with Consider
Phlebas which is pure space opera and the first book in the Culture series anyway. His non-culture series sci-fis are just as good too. Go on -
READ!! Damn i want to read Look To Windward again...
Liam
[Edited on 31/7/07 by Liam]
Joel,
Thanks for the offer - let me see if I can buy a copy on the cheap, so I'll have the set (best find the rest first). If no joy I contact
you.
Me can feel another look at Amazon coming on!
Gonna have to print this thread
ATB
Simon
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.
Bringing back memories liam, after i finish dan brown i might well dig them out again!
Another vote for Iain Banks, with or without the M. His sci-fi books are great, and his other stuff is just as good, and can be quite dark at times. Consider Phlebas, Excession, Player Of Games are all good. If you buy one, they used to be all shown on the inside of the covers. I would dig one out, but I don't know where I put them all!
I like the Iain M Banks stuff but my favorite writer i think has to be Peter F Hamilton, i always loved the way he devloped his charaters like greg
mandel("no messing", guess youll have to read it to understand that line!) and his story lines are just mind blowing, well except for his
last one which seemed more like a soft porn fantasy!
Another excellent writer is Alistar Reynolds his Revelation space books are just huge in
scope.
ive also just read the Hyperion and Endymion books by Dan Simmons which id recommend if you dont mind the writer going off on little tangents every
now and then.
Currently im reading my way through Kim Stanley Robinson's RedMars/GreenMars/BlueMars trilogy which has a lot of hard science behind it but still
very enjoyable
[Edited on 31/7/07 by Gav]
quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
.... and the great grand daddy of them all, HG Wells.
also Grant Naylor (Red Dwarf)