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03-20-2012, 07:05 PM | |
Take a Chill Pill
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: South Carolina
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Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Only Thread
There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy.
In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier. CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS Baby Lee 1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series. 2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists] 3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM] Frosty 1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga 2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books) 3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Huffmeister (1) Dune - Frank Herbert (2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged) (3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass) Jawshco 1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe 2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead 3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams listopencil 1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series 2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first) 3. Doc Smith's Lensman series vailpass 1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below) 2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year) 3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17 See Post 142 Last edited by Buck; 03-25-2012 at 12:56 PM.. |
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07-15-2019, 04:03 PM | #631 |
Psycho Bag Of Squanch
Join Date: Sep 2001
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07-15-2019, 06:22 PM | #632 |
sorta mod-ish
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: KC North
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I mainly just lurk this thread, but it's genuinely one of my favorites. Keep up the great work in here.
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07-15-2019, 07:48 PM | #633 |
Psycho Bag Of Squanch
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Just looked up the author. Interesting guy. Going to take a look at this one. Thanks.
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07-17-2019, 12:18 PM | #634 |
Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Denver
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07-17-2019, 03:30 PM | #635 |
Psycho Bag Of Squanch
Join Date: Sep 2001
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I very much like Wolfe, will look for more of his to read going forward. I liked Urth. I wasn't as carried by it as I was by NS but I didn't feel like I was supposed to be. It felt like what it was: a follow up to the main story. Part of it got a little nebulous for me ( no pun intended) but it was good stuff. I'm happy you recommended it.
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07-17-2019, 09:42 PM | #636 | |
Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Denver
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Quote:
I'm still dual reading Musashi by Endo and Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Haven't been able to read as much as I hoped so far this summer. Back to Malazan when I'm done with those. |
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07-18-2019, 05:33 AM | #637 |
The 23rd Pillar
Join Date: Sep 2002
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Last edited by patteeu; 07-18-2019 at 06:41 AM.. |
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07-18-2019, 06:12 AM | #638 |
New and Improved
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Springfield, Mo.
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07-18-2019, 06:57 AM | #639 |
Starter
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Here are some that have not already been mentioned
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester - considered by many to be the finest SF book ever written. Ostensibly about teleportation, it also touches on such minor topics as revenge, betrayal, love, hate, class warfare, and transcendence. Rite Of Passage by Alexi Panshin - Nebula award winning novel. A fast, enjoyable read. Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg - First in a trilogy. The other two books, The Majipoor Chronicles and Valentine Pontifex, are also good, if not quite up to the quality of the first book. There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson - an intriguing time-travel story. The Man In The Tree by Damon Knight - the story of a pituitary giant who has other talents besides sheer size. Knight's novella "Natural State" is also worth a read. Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney - the plot itself is just OK, but the characters that populate the book are what makes it special. Voyage From Yesteryear by James Hogan - a story about Earth's first colony in the Alpha Centauri system. Fun books The Practice Effect by David Brin - explores what happens when one of the fundamental laws of physics works differently. The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrod - the title might make you think fantasy, but this one is SF. Dimension Of Miracles by Robert Scheckley - something like Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide, but better. Glory Road by Robert Heinlein - swords and sorcery in the hands of an SF grandmaster. Other authors I didn't see mentioned Keith Laumer: The Retief books/collections are outstanding. Mostly short stories, but Retief's War and Retief's Ransom are two novel-length books I return to every now and then. If you like the Retief stuff you might also like Poul Anderson's stories about Ensign Flandry. Gordon Dickson: The Alien Way - a well-constructed first-contact story. Dickson wrote a lot of good military-themed short stories, as well. |
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07-18-2019, 10:20 AM | #640 |
Starter
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Denver
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The guy is a little nuts but I love him. Mason & Dixon feels a little more accessible than some of his other work, too. Once you get used to the old timey language, anyway.
Last edited by ShiftyEyedWaterboy; 07-18-2019 at 10:29 AM.. |
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07-18-2019, 10:29 AM | #641 |
The 23rd Pillar
Join Date: Sep 2002
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07-18-2019, 11:58 AM | #642 | |
Psycho Bag Of Squanch
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Quote:
I'm back in Malazaan now. Gonna' finish 'em off now. I think. |
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08-08-2019, 12:52 PM | #643 |
Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Still slowly making my way through the massive 13 volume Theodore Sturgeon collection. I've read 4 volumes so far.
Vol. 03: "Memorial" is ok at best. "KILLDOZER!" is an awsome title, but I didn't dig the story. Vol. 07: "A Saucer of Loneliness" is good. Vol. 10: "The Man Who Lost the Sea" is great. "The Graveyard Reader" is good. Not SF. "The Man Who Figured Everything" would have made a good 50s western. Not SF. "Like Young" is pretty good. "How to Kill Aunty" is ok. Not SF. Vol. 12: "Slow Sculpture" is good but the SF element seems superflous. "The Girl Who Knew What They Meant" is good. Not SF. "Crate" is ok. Ending a bit predictable. I also read The Cauldron by Jean Rabe and Gene DeWeese. Not good. DeWeese wrote a pretty good Star Trek book called Engines of Destiny back in 05 and I was curious about his other stuff. Started Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay but quickly grew bored with it. I also read: Country of the Kind by Damon Knight That Only a Mother by Judith Merril Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard |
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08-09-2019, 11:34 AM | #644 |
Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Reading this now:
It's the story of an astronaut who starves to death while waiting for his idiot friend to figure out how shovels work. Not really. Actually it's sort of a sci-fi procedural. Think CSI: The Moon. Astronauts find a human skeleton on the moon. A 50,000 year old skeleton. The book is basically scientists sciencing the hell out of the corpse to unravel the mystery. |
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08-12-2019, 11:52 AM | #645 |
Veteran
Join Date: Jun 2014
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I am slowly making my way through a collection of Hugo award nominated short stories. Some are good, most are not.
The Men Who Murdered Mohammed by Alfred Bester and Cassandra by C. J. Cherryh are two pretty good stories that I had never read before. |
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