Favorte Science Fiction book other than Star Wars?

Got to go with Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide Series....They among my first novels to read way back when...as it stands now, I've only read the Thrawn Trilogy more than them!

 

I'm not done this book yet, but Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn is pretty spiffy

 

First thing that popped into my head was Star Trek TNG: Q-Squarred by Peter David.

It would be interesting if he wrote a Star Wars book. I wonder if he would work out in that universe?

 

Enders Game for Sure!

 

Hey RASalvatore, don't take it personally at all, mate. Whenever anybody has an opinion it is always open (and often is) to getting bagged, down-sized, put-down, whatever you call it. In fact, it's almost a certainty. It's part of the good-hearted nature of these forums. If there's a debate, people automatically take sides and argue theirs. A common tactic is to qoute other people and take apart what they've written.

Btw, i don't actually know you, i'm just extending standard Aussie friendliness towards those in need of my insignificant help Loved VP as well, great book.

 

My fav series is the Starfire series, by David Weber and Steve White. My fav book in that series is In Death Ground, which is a very deep, very exciting, and very long book. I also love Weber's Honor Harrington series, which I consider one of the best military sci-fi series by an author who knows his stuff...

 

without equal, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? By Philip K Dick.

can i just ask why a lot of your favorite authors seem to be ones who have written SW books. IF I'd just stumbled across this site, i might be inclined to think that you lot don't 'read around the lines' much.

 

I honestly don't read tons and tons of science fiction so I'm usually introduced to the authors through Star Wars and then check out their other works. Although I do read Card's stuff but he simply comes extremely recommended.

 

There are other books?

 

Eon
Author:Greg Bear

 

My Australian cousins insisted that I read "Canticle for Lebowitz," so I'm trying to find a copy. Sounds cool, since I'm a post-nuclear fan.

 

I'm kind of suprised that "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" hasn't gotten more mentions. It's well worth the read. I did a paper in college comparing it with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, with regard to what makes one "human".
Anyway, read the book. The movie version (Blade Runner) fell way short of Dick's original novel.

 

Finally more people say have said "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" I also reccomend The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Valis (both by Dick). And although I know it sounds like a presumptuous statement but Dick was the greatest science fiction author of all time.

 

Ipoodoo, the reason no one thinks it strange that you were reading SciFi in high school was because you're a guy.
When I was in high school (back in the dark ages) very, very few women read SciFi in public. I was one of the odd balls. I'm happy to see more girls and young woman reading SciFi these days, but all too often, even now, SciFi-reading females are laughed at.
And Ipoodoo, if they get on your case for not growing up and still reading SciFi at the tender age of 22, can you imagine the looks I get reading SciFi books.


My favorite SciFi book, at the moment is Conqueror's Heritage, the 2nd book of Zahn's Conquerors Trilogy. The entire trilogy is marvelous, but the second book is beyond wonderful. Zahn takes us inside the culture of the unconquerable aliens, the entire book is written from the aliens' point of view,

Other SciFi favorites include The Firebird Trilogy by Kathy Tyers, Heinliein's Citizen of the Galaxy and the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Asimov's Caves of Steel, Arthur C Clarke's short stories, Anne McCaffrey's Pegasus books.
As you can see, I like space opera, adventure stories. The weighty philosophical tales I'd rather read in a different setting. A bit of deeper thought, as in the Firebird books, is ok if it is skillfully woven into a good adventure story, but for the most part, I like my SciFi to be escapist relaxation for my all too miniscule leisure time.

 

I read A LOT so I've had a hard time trying to decide which one is my favorite. But I've decided to go with the first one that popped into my mind, and I'm sure it is my absolute favorite: The Vorkosigan Books by Lois McMaster Bujold. Nothing better. If I had to pick a single favorite from those I would say Brothers in Arms, though Memory and Mirror Dance are wonderful as well. Can't recommend these enough.

 

DADOES is still my favorite, because it is the first sci-fi book i read that really made me THINK.

don't get me wrong I love EU books to pieces, but I read them when I just wanna relax and dream about a galaxy far, far away...........when I wanna try and read something that'll challenge me (pretty much anything by Dick, Banks, Adams, Orwell etc), my brain has to be switched on, which I don't always want, or like

I've been suprised that nobody has mentioned 1984 by George Orwell and ther have only been a few mentions of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy by Adams.
Finally, doesn't anyone read Iain M Banks? He may not be quite on par with some of the formentioned authors in this post, but the guy has one hell of an imagination.

 

Hey Dewlanna,

If you want something escapist and relaxing, try Larry Niven's "The Integral Trees, and the follow up "The Smoke ring."

He manages to create a whole ecosystem without the benefit of a planet. It's not heavy on philosophy but it is interesting.

 

Just found this lovely tidbit. Dune was one of my favorites. Like Stilgar, I was excited by the prospect of Brian Herbert carrying on with his father's work. His own books have been quite good. My one reservation was the presence of KJA, one that was well deserved. After reading house Atreides I refuse to purchase another Dune book. What I find truely amusing is the comments of RAS in relation to Stilgar's post.



RASalvatore wrote:

As for myself, nope, I haven't read them, and didn't claim to - but I have to say that hearing you, in particular, make a complaint about judging novels without reading them (which isn't even what I was doing) is particularly amusing

Why strain your credibility further by commenting about books that you haven't read? The new Dune books are (IMHO) crap.

Other favorites of mine are
McCaffrey's Dragon's of Pern series
Pournelle's Flakenberg books
Stackpole's Talion

All time Favorite has to go to Heinelin's Starship Troopers, I've worn the cover off of that one.

 

RAS Wrote:

Hey FG,

How is saying,

"And of course, "Dune" stands up there, way up there! One note about the prequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson....despite early reservations by many, many people thinking that the magnificent "Dune" series should be left alone, those books have received almost universal praise in the science-fiction community,"

somehow "straining my credibility"?

Simple. By choosing to champion a book you have not read, you commit the same sin you accuse Stilgar of. In point of fact, Stilgar has read House Atreides, though he chose to attack Vector Prime without reading it. Some on this Board view you as an authority figure since you are a published author. By making statements about material you are not familiar with, you mislead those naive individuals. Look on the jacket of any book and you can find glowing reviews. Few publishers will print deragatory comments about their own books. I haven't read any of your works other than Vector Prime and it would be an error on my part to make any comment about them. I prefer to debate the merits of books I know something about.

 

Thanks Dewlana, I suppose you got a point...I'm surprised when finding a girl reading fantasy or sci-fi books (a pleasant surprise, but surprise nonetheless). So how's about everyone give a hand for our fellow fans that happen to be female.

Clap, clap. Keep on defying the stereotype, and you're not alone.

Hey Bigshet I for one would love a movie of Ender's Game, but it'd probably be really difficult for child actors to show as much depth as Card put in his characters. (they weren't children to me, they were little soldiers.) Sure you might be able to find one if your lucky (like the kid from the Sixth Sense), but a whole cast full of them. Darn near impossible.

 

Sentimental favorites: The Pern books (especially the original trilogy) and the Pegasus books by Anne McCaffrey. I've always been more of a fantasy reader, however, and my sentimental choice there is the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. These are some of the books I grew up on and still re-read from time to time

Favorite classic SF: Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. Favorite "had to read it in school" SF: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and, yes, 1984 by George Orwell.

Lately, I've re-read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - while not SF (or fantasy) per se, it borrows many themes and conventions to make its own original (and humorous) point.

But then, I'm also a fan of Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut - again, they are not SF per se, but like Good Omens use SF trappings to make a statement.

Which goes to show that I must have a keen appreciation for the absurd. And which must be why, despite any better judgement I may have, I feel compelled to point out to some people in this thread that when statement B follows statement A, and refers to points made in statement A, then using basic reading comprehension it follows that statement B is in response to statement A - especially when no other post on the thread but statement A contains the points to which statement B refers.

Direct address can be thought of as superfluous in a threaded message board situation; while direct address is preferable, it is not always used and therefore its absence does not preclude the supposition that one post is a response to another.

One would think that some people would be above hiding behind semantics and omission of language. Oh well... But let's give the posters on this thead the benefit of the doubt and take their typically tactful words at face value (oh, and typically tactful is NOT sarcastic, and is therefore not verbally abusive or shows a lack of common respect). Thus, if any reader of this post thinks that this is directed at you - that's your problem. I'm not using any names. I am merely speaking in generalities. I just heard that this is how most people use message boards from my fellow users in the internet community and from reading what publications have to say about message board usage. So I urge anyone who is interested in message board usage to give these assumptions re: usage a try. But please, do not try to make any extrapolations about my own personal experience with message boards from my comments above. That would be word twisting.

FYI: This is just a random post, thrown out not in response to any post on the board, but posted because I felt like saying something. The fact that it could be construed as a response to someone else's post is just a random coincidence, and if anyone takes it as a direct, personally aimed response well, then, you're the one with the thin skin.

(next time the emoticons are updated, could we get a rolling eyes icon? Oh, wait, before anyone gets any ideas, let me clarify by saying this is just an innocent question, not any sort of comment on the above...(and man, I could really use that icon!))

 

I guess that all depends on what you mean by the "science-fiction community." If you are talking about not-too-bright ten year olds, it may have received "almost universal praise." If you are talking about people with a high school or better education -- don't count on it.

In the last 25 years I have read DUNE maybe four times, and my guess is that I will read it again, and still get something new out of it. I read "House Atreides" am now reading "House Harkonnen" and chances are very good that I will read the third one when it comes out. One thing I know is that I will never re-read any of them. There is just not enough to them to make it worth it. Frank Herbert's DUNE books had layer after layer that you had to peel away. With Brian and Kev, everything is so close to the surface that you barley have to skim the pages to get everything.

Brian & Kev write just above the level of "The Cat in the Hat." Now I enjoyed "The Cat in the Hat" -- when I was four years old. I guess with the public education system the way it is now, maybe science-fiction has to be written for people who can barley read, but the prequels are just not in the same class as the original "Dune."

Maybe Salvy can give Brian and Kev some writing tips!

 

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Heroes Die (fantasy or scifi depending on the chapter)


Good Omens (what aleja said)

Has anyone every read "Grendel" by John Gardner? The novel isn't really scifi, unless you consider the Dragon's soliloquey.

Another good novel is "Middle Passage" by Charles Johnson which is so bizarre it can only be described as a fantasy/scifi take on Slave Shipping. If you like Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain, I recommend this novel.

 

Why are people reluctant to call Kurt Vonnegut's work science fiction, it is obviously science fiction (well not all of it, but things like Player Piano, Sirens of Titan, and Slaughterhouse Five are unapologetically science fiction).

 

Not to mention Cat's Cradle!

If the JC was a karass (and it is more likely a granfaloon, although karasses may exist in it), who would be the wampeters?