after too many years of reading non-fiction, im starting to get back into Sci Fi again.

I used to read a lot when i was in middle and high school, but not so much lately... I've read a lot of Arthur C. Clark, Frank Herbert, Piers Anthony, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Ursula K. LeGuin ... others.

i just picked up a couple Issac Asimov books that I'd never read before, and they're good enough, but I don't know... not really doing it for me. seems kind of too predictable, and the love interest sub threads are kind of silly.

any SciFi fans want to recommend some good recent authors? or a classic that might be forgotten?




[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 12:30 AM. Reason : ]

3/16/2008 12:24:13 AM

Asimov is one of the KINGS of sci-fi hands down. Doesnt get much better. Philip K. Dick has some good stuff. some of ray bradbury's science fiction stuff is awesome.

bah theres so many not sure where to have you start haha

3/16/2008 12:29:35 AM

I know... Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke... the kings of Sci Fi.

and, well, im working my way through the Foundation series right now... i guess i'll give it a little longer.

but i just feel like technology has so far advanced past the time when many of these writers were at their peaks (1950's-1980's) , and that a lot of the concepts have already been explored one way or another in popular film, that they just don't have the force that they used to have.

so maybe im hoping theres a recent author that is making their way with some fresh material.

3/16/2008 12:33:42 AM

micheal chrichton

3/16/2008 12:53:06 AM

^^ ive read the 2nd and 3rd foundation books (i actually read the 3rd first...), and I found the 3rd to be MUCH better than the second. It could have easily been the opposite had I read it the other way around, but the characters, the story, and the technology in the 3rd made more sense to me than those of the 2nd. I think Asimov's aging between the writing of the 2 books gave him a much better perspective all around, philosophically and technologically.

And for your post-apocalyptic/dystopia genre (which encompasses most of sci-fi, it seems), most movies don't really venture in to this territory as completely as the novels do. Of the movies i've seen, I only really feel that Waterworld and maybe I Am Legend did a thoroughly post-apocalypse theme (and 28 Days Later came really close, and could have gone all the way if 28 Weeks Later didn't completely suck). Even something like Terminator only briefly glances the post aspects of apocalypse.

3/16/2008 12:59:39 AM

Fantasy count?

George R. R. Martin is good, I have only read Game of Thrones in his Song of Ice and Fire series so far, but it has been pretty kick ass.

3/16/2008 1:00:29 AM

Quote :

"Michael Crichton"

i read one of his most recent books a couple months ago, something about genetic engineering... it was somewhere between fairly ridiculous and completely forgettable.

Quote :

"Waterworld"

say what?

Quote :

"Fantasy count?"

sure, if it's philosophical -- but not in a 19-year old greasy-haired college sophomore dropout hanging out at the coffee shop sort of way.




[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 1:46 AM. Reason : ]

3/16/2008 1:40:39 AM

Quote :

"Waterworld"

Fuck yourself.

3/16/2008 1:43:21 AM

Robert A. Heinlein
William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, and Rudy Rucker
Kim Stanley Robinson
Dan Simmons
Orson Scott Card
Neil Gaiman
Ben Bova
Frank Herbert

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel

can't go too wrong with authors on this list

hell even the short stories are good



[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 1:53 AM. Reason : a]

3/16/2008 1:50:17 AM

i read william gibson's "pattern recognition" recently. it's not really science fiction per se, but it is basically contemporary fiction written in a fairly sci-fi way.

3/16/2008 2:04:28 AM

pattern recognition is great, although the ending might be a little anti-climactic, depending on how you look at it in relation to the rest of the plot & its theme.

3/16/2008 2:21:45 AM

Discworld series, Terry Pratchett

It's like Douglas Adams stuff, only more fantasy and less sci-fi... with a longer series and more awesome.

3/16/2008 6:24:41 AM

we have an award winning science fiction writer right here at state

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/index2.html

[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 1:15 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2008 1:14:58 PM

not reading but Stephenson is good. ive enjoyed most of his books.

3/16/2008 1:16:23 PM

I just read "Dragon's Egg" by Robert L. Forward (Ph.d Physics) and it was interesting. Its about life that develops in the crust of a neutron star, and due to the specifics of developing on a neutron star the beings experience time at roughly a 1,000,000 to one time scale relative to us. Basically the civilization goes from Hunter/Gatherer to being very sophisticated in just the few days (our time scale, it was still a very long time to them) that humans are exploring the star. This isn't really a spoiler, so don't worry.

The technology seems more plausible that most Sci. Fi books I've read, and it should, this guy is actually a scientist. However, I found the first half of the book to be a little silly as he spends considerable time developing the culture of this alien species. He isn't a writer and it shows. The style is very pedestrian, there really isn't a conflict or suspense, not much meaningful character development, and an overall low level of writing. However, if you read a lot of Sci. Fi or Thriller type novels, I doubt this should bother you. The book is more like a long thought experiment, with some characters thrown in to make it a story. That being said, I found last 100 pages or so to be thought provoking and interesting.

If you're looking for something a little different I'd recommend it. Its pretty short (320 pages with relatively large font) so I'm sure you could read it in a sitting. Its not as escapist as most Sci. Fi. books seem to me and might make you think a little bit. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Egg-Del-Rey-Impact/dp/034543529X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205691499&sr=8-2

3/16/2008 1:35:52 PM

Quote :

"Fantasy count? George R. R. Martin is good, I have only read Game of Thrones in his Song of Ice and Fire series so far, but it has been pretty kick ass."

Agreed. Song of Ice and Fire is some of the best fantasy there is. I highly recommend it for anyone, not just genre fans. Awesome characters, action, suspense, even politics. In my opinion, the hallmark of good sci-fi or fantasy is a well-developed world. And Martin really thought that shit out! It's like LOTR level wold making.

3/16/2008 2:00:37 PM

Larry Niven's Ringworld series ftmfW.

Oh and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.

[Edited on March 16, 2008 at 6:32 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2008 6:32:14 PM

jack mcdevitt does some pretty good sci-fi. i'm also a fan of allen steele's coyote books

i also just finished reading a couple books by elizabeth bear (hammered and scardown). excellent novels

3/16/2008 6:42:18 PM

I also like The Integral Trees by Niven, it has a sequel The Smoke Ring

3/16/2008 8:55:46 PM

I just finished up E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series

postapocalyptic earth around 2050 where aliens who are more or less vampires enslave most of the human population

3/16/2008 10:31:40 PM

William Gibson's Neuromancer if you some how haven't read that before, or hell the entire sprawl trilogy.

3/17/2008 12:00:19 AM

fantasy seems like it should be opposed to actual science fiction

3/17/2008 12:27:29 AM

I'm a big fan of Timothy Zahn; this thread is going to provide me with lots of good sci-fi reading material.

3/17/2008 1:02:05 AM

how in the fuck have you guys not even mentioned H G Wells

3/17/2008 1:05:12 AM

Ringworld is awesome if you like to read hundreds of pages of characters walking/flying somewhere and doing nothing else (Just like lord of the rings!)

3/17/2008 1:39:52 AM

The following book could certainly be described as dark fantasy--it's definitely not sci-fi, though--but it more likely would fall under the horror category. And it may be at the opposite end of the spectrum from what you're looking for Schmoe, but I would recommend. . .



About the author:

http://www.thehistoriannovel.co.uk/about.htm

Read an extract:

http://www.thehistoriannovel.co.uk/extract.htm

3/17/2008 4:06:48 AM

early crichton and most vonnegut (definitely not Galopogos)

3/17/2008 9:31:29 AM

If you don't want to read all of those sci-fi books just read Christopher Paolini. It's like getting the cliff notes to all the others.

3/17/2008 6:53:00 PM

IM Banks's Culture Universe series of novels has been recommended to me.

3/17/2008 10:08:54 PM

a lot of good suggestions here. I'm going to print this out and stick it in my coat pocket for reference next time i'm at the bookstore.

3/17/2008 10:36:59 PM

i'm going to promote our own NCSU professor again

John Kessel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kessel
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/index2.html

3/18/2008 1:44:14 PM

^ I took a fiction writing class with him in the fall -- easily one of my favorite professors in six years of undergrad and grad classes.

There are no words for how unequivocally awesome he is.

I also read a book of his, Corrupting Dr. Nice, over the summer. I really, really enjoyed it.

3/18/2008 3:01:44 PM

I tried the entire time I was at state to take him for his sci-fi or fantasy classes (fantasy as my personal pref ) and it NEVER worked out. each one was only offered like once or something in my last 3 years

3/18/2008 3:05:28 PM

well, so long Arthur C. Clarke...

3/19/2008 12:58:01 AM

I can reiterate from above that of the original Foundation trilogy, the later 2 books were much better than the first. I'd characterize the first book as "some neat ideas", but really weak when it comes to riveting story telling. Things got really interesting when the Second Foundation became involved. The story line continues beyond the trilogy, but if you never got around to reading those additional books, you wouldn't be missing a whole lot imo.

3/20/2008 8:18:39 PM

let me also recommend Neuromancer by William Gibson. his style might be a little dense, but it's really cool, and it was really profound for me (at least it was in middle school).

3/21/2008 8:09:20 AM