Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by fortunate on August 8, 2008 at 4:24pm

I'm kinda new to science fiction.

So far my favorite sf author is Jacek Dukaj, he's a Polish author so you probably haven't heard of him.
One of his stories, the Cathedral, inspired a CGI animated short that was nominated for an Oscar. Look it up on Youtube, it's 6 minutes worth of awesome.

Oh, and I read Pullman's HDM trilogy and loved it.
And I've read a load of stuff by Neil Gaiman, I guess you can call me his fan.

Other than that, I'm a bit behind on sci-fi... You guys could recommend me a good read.

Permalink Reply by susan thomason on June 29, 2009 at 1:31am

I've read all kinds, Ray Bradbary, Frank Hurbert, Roger Zelazny, Philip Pullman, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind. I guess I mix sci fi and fantasy, in together. Then I'll read a classic, or Romance or a science book on DNA and evoulation. I good spy/conspirany story is fun at times.
It's all good!

Permalink Reply by Jaume on July 3, 2009 at 11:01am

I can't understand why so many people here seem to love Pullman. Personally I hate his pseudo-atheism. Lord Asriel is, essentially, a messianic character, just as his daughter, the 'New Eve'. Stories where protagonists are supposed to 'fulfill prophecies' and 'save the world' or 'give humankind a new start' always turn me off.

If I'm not mistaken, noone here mentioned Stanislaw Lem. To me he was the most consistently intelligent SF writer ever, by a few miles.

Permalink Reply by Skraeling on March 23, 2010 at 1:37pm

Maybe because it was written for teens rather than adults, he has, imo, made some of the characters "larger than life".

I found some of the mechanics of the book, from a physics point of view, a tad odd, and I think it may be best to read it with your critical thinking idling instead of at full throttle :)

Permalink Reply by Skraeling on March 23, 2010 at 1:33pm

(resurrects year old thread)

Man, so many authors already mentioned here that I have read and liked - Pratchett, Gaiman, Bradbury, Harrison (yup, I too have a week spot the the stainless steel rat), Pullman Niven - especially the Ringworld novels, and Moorcock, though he is more sci-fantasy.

Permalink Reply by Tomas W on April 18, 2010 at 4:03pm

Well, Asimov is a legend. Some of his short stories are fixed on my "epic"-list.
But I've also gotten quite hooked on Peter Hamilton's books. I started with Pandora's box, Judas unchained and went on to the void soon-to-be trilogy. I even went back to the Nights Dawn trilogy, but didn't find it as good as his later books. Pandora's star is a great starter if you're new to Hamilton, I think.
Right now I'm reading "Use of Weapons" by Ian M. Banks.

Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on April 18, 2010 at 4:28pm

Not even a contest:

Robert Anson Heinlein

I started off about 50 years ago when my mom brought home a copy of Starship Troopers from the library for me. No way I was able to fully absorb what he had to say with it back then. Some years later, I had to read Moon Is A Harsh Mistress for an assignment in college, and I suspect from there the hook was sunk.

Since that time I've read almost everything Heinlein wrote and collected a healthy amount of it in hardback, the rest in paperback ... and I still say that Job: A Comedy of Justice should have been his FIFTH Hugo!!!

Certainly, kudos go to Asimov, Silverberg and a few others, but RAH is Number One with a BULLET!

Permalink Reply by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on April 18, 2010 at 5:37pm

I was a late comer to "reading" the sci-fi genre although I always rated it as my first love on film. But when it finally happened it was Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" that got my attention! So I give big love to RAH.
But my favorite is Kim Stanley Robinson! The Mars Trilogy is almost a religious experience for me. (close as Ill ever get) Iv read the first book three times all the way through and bits and pieces of all three over and over. All NASA should read it, and the President.

Permalink Reply by Craig Duckett on May 3, 2010 at 9:13am

I've always liked the classics, especially Alfred Bester's THE STARS MY DESTINATION and THE DEMOLISHED MAN, Wylie & Balmer's WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and AFTER WORLDS COLLIDE, Brain Adliss's CRYPTOZOIC!, Philip Jose Farmer's FLESH, the 1960/70s works of Robert Silverberg (THORNS, THOSE WHO WATCH, THE MAN IN THE MAZE, SON OF MAN, HAWKSBILL STATION, DOWNWARD TO THE EARTH, NIGHTWINGS, THE WORLD INSIDE, A TIME OF CHANGES, etc), and, of course, Kurt Vonnegut's SIRENS OF TITAN and SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE and practically anything by Ray Bradbury.

Permalink Reply by BilLee Miller on May 6, 2010 at 1:06am

My favorite science fiction author is Robert Heinein.

Permalink Reply by Dejah Thoris on May 7, 2010 at 4:26am

I can't pick just one author. Many authors already mentioned are favorites of mine, such as Heinlein, Asimov, Niven, McCaffrey and others. I didn't see Greg Bear mentioned. I thought "Eon" was fascinating.

I'm surprised no one has listed Sherri Tepper. She is definitely high on my list.

This thread is great, now I know some new authors and books to try.

Permalink Reply by Giga Gnome on January 20, 2011 at 6:25am

Wow I am so glad I found this topic. Thanx for all the good recommendations here. I fell in love with sci fi in my teens reading Clark, Asimov etc. Then came Greg Bear, although lately I just can't get into his work as much as I used to. just way above my head. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchette ( who I think of as more fantasy) are also right up there.

 

I must be the only person in the world not to have read 1984, although I've always hear about it ( might be a cultural thing) it was probably banned in South Africa while I grew up

 

Looking forward to reading a lot of your recommendations though.

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