International Young Naturists Organisation
General Talk (primarily non-naturist) => Pitti's Book Club => Topic started by: tohellwithconvention on January 25, 2011, 12:04:24 pm
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There are some amazing Sci Fi writers out there that can have you believing the most outragious concepts as if you've grown up with them. But there are also some incredibly lame writers who still seem to sell books?!?
So...
Sticking to my personal fave genre, Sci Fi, the question is whos the best? Obviously we all have our own way of reading, accepting or absorbing ideas and concepts so theres really no such thing as 'The' best, mearly various perceptions of mind.
I'm really liking Peter F. Hamilton. He can take you places and then explain how and why in such a way that theres no imaginative effort at all when I read. He enables me to flow through a cinima of mine own imagination as easily as watching a brilliant and compelling movie. The difference is of course the images that come to mind are, all though triggered by his imagination, entirely of my own making!
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JMS.
He writes for TV but I've yet to see someone with better skill to write a SF epic than Babylon 5.
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Iain M Banks, definitely. SO GOOD :D
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Robert Heinlein
Isaac Asimov
Gordon R. Dickson
Jules Verne
H.G. Wells
I don't rate them in that order, they are just my five favourites.
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Jules Verne, HG Wells, Asmov and Arthur C Clarke
Agree. :2345
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I would have to add Frank Herbert.. ( Dune :908 :908 :908)
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So many to choose from!
Philip K Dick, if you want old-school sci-fi
Orson Scott Card, just for Ender's game
Iain M Banks and Alistair Reynolds for space-opera and large-scale sci-fi
Neal Stephenson with Snow Crash
for some more lighthearted reading, I like Douglas Adams; and Jules Verne if you think of it as sci-fi
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AELF,
LIke your choices, a lot in common with mine. I do admit i am also fan of Frank Herber and dune series of books. I also enjoyed the first movie, not so much SyFy Channel version
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I personly enjoy Lerry Niven. Beyond having interesting plot lines the story arch he has created is possible based on science as we know it, and very forward looking. The time line he has covered over 4000 years, i find it just fastenating.
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Hmm, I dunno if they're be best, but I really enjoy Asimov, Bradbury, Heinlein, and Clarke.
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It is very hard to pick out a best author, or even a favourite author, the best I can manage is to choose my favourite science fiction. This is the Ringworld created by Larry Niven, absolutely brilliant science fiction as well as a fascinating scientific concept. I once had a Ringworld poster on my bedroom wall . . . wished I could go there . . . tried to write some science fiction once . . . only managed a few chapters before I realized I had no idea where the plot was going . . . luckily the assignment was for a single chapter.
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Hmm, I dunno if they're be best
that's a very good point to make, actually - what I put was what I enjoy, which isn't neccessarily the "best"
what defines the best, anyway?
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It is very hard to pick out a best author, or even a favourite author, the best I can manage is to choose my favourite science fiction. This is the Ringworld created by Larry Niven, absolutely brilliant science fiction as well as a fascinating scientific concept. I once had a Ringworld poster on my bedroom wall . . . wished I could go there . . . tried to write some science fiction once . . . only managed a few chapters before I realized I had no idea where the plot was going . . . luckily the assignment was for a single chapter.
Glad to see Im not the only one who likes Lerry Niven.
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William Gibson
JG Ballard
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THats a tough one. Brian aldis I think
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I've been a fan of Arthur C. Clark ever since I was a teen. He's one who was always known for the more "hard sci-fi" where much of his worlds were created based on extrapolating from current scientific theory vs just treating technology as a form of magic or plot device with no real idea as to how it would work.
That said I do feel that his characters are often flat and boring. His stories tend to be more about the world and the ideas than the characters who drive the plot.
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I really enjoyed George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. Read the first four back before they were completed. Still haven't seen any of the tv series, but I hear it's good. Also really liked reading some of H.P. Lovecraft's imaginative stories. He really fits more under the horror genre, but man that guy had a fun writing style and really put you in some dark moods. His life is just as interesting as his stories. If you get the chance go watch the documentary on him. It's what got me started on his short stories. Rat's in the Walls is very creepy.
You can watch the entire thing here :-)
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/lovecraft_fear_of_the_unknown# (http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/lovecraft_fear_of_the_unknown#)
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Dorothy Fontana
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Some of my favourite ones are:
Robert J. Sawyer
Isaac Asimov
Orson Scott Card
Greg Bear
Douglas Adams
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It occurred to me that the term 'Science fiction' is a bit of a misnomer. It should be really be called fantastical future fiction. That sounds much better :)
If you think about it, it's not about science at all. You don't get many books about someone spending half a year performing an experiment, writing up their results and presenting them at a conference*. But I suppose if the author uses sound scientific principles then you could argue that it actually is Sci-fi (unlike the original series of Star Trek where they had to figure it all out after it became really popular)
(* Ironically enough I have actually just written a chapter in my own book where the heroine gives a presentation to a science department at university. I was trying to be satirical. I'll get Stuart to tell me if I have succeeded or not.)
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To me, i keep with the classics: H.G. Wells and Isaac Asimov
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To me, i keep with the classics: H.G. Wells and Isaac Asimov
What have you read by Asimov? I've read the Robot novels and most of the Foundation series. His stuff is great!
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My favorite is David Gerrold. Not only did he write the Star Wolf series, he wrote Star Trek's classic "The Trouble with Tribbles."
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Gerrold is pretty good!
My favorite is a newer author, Karen Traviss. I've read all of her Wess'har Wars series, her Star Wars: Republic Commando & Legacy of the Force novels, and the first in her Gears of War novel series (I'm not a gamer, but I loved the book anyway)
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Jules Verne is my childhood, while Michael Crichton is my teenage.
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I'll leave "best" up to other people to decide. Far and away the funniest is Douglas Adams who wrote "Hicthhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
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One writer who I think is kind of brushed aside today is Philip K. Dick. My favorite novel of his is "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," which was adapted into "Blade Runner." His sci-fi was always grounded in oftentimes sad reality, following heroes trying to navigate that murky existence. In short, heavy stuff.
I loved Minority Report. It has little to do with the movie of the same title.
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Philip K Dick is my personal favorite.
Arthur C Clark is very good, but his characters aren't. The ones that don't focus so much on the characters and more on the science are great.
I've never been a fan of Asimov. Although Foundation was great, the sequels were very weak I thought.
Frank Herbert's Dune is probably one of the best out there. Although some of the sequels aren't so great. I haven't read his Lazarus stuff, but it's supposed to be better than Dune, according to fans.
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I read Hardeman's Forever War for the first time the other day. Thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as I wasn't expecting it to have a happy ending! Made me really rather happy :P
Iain M Banks is still my favourite, though. Got his new one, The Hydrogen Sonata, for Christmas and while it's not his best Culture novel by a fair way, it's still got some very, very good bits, some making me giggle uncontrollably, and his imagination and flair for the visually spectacular is undiminished.
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I personally would have to go with John Brunner. I'm not certain if he is terribly well known, but he wrote the most singularly enthralling science fiction novel I have ever read, entitled "The Crucible of Time". In essence, it followed the development of a species of aliens, with sections devoted to major historical figures. It was interesting, well written, and made one feel as if one was actually reading about an alien world. No work I've read before or since has had quite the same feel as said novel.
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I am a big fan of PJ Haarsma.
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Michael Moorcock
William Gibson
Daniel Keyes
Philip K Dick
HG Wells
Douglas Adams
Sheri S Tepper
To name a few
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For ones already mentioned I wil agree with:
Douglas Adams
Larry Niven
Philip K Dick
Robert Heinliein
Frank Herbert
And to add some I dont think mentioned yet:
Anne Mcaffrey (yes she does scifi too)
Philip Jose Farmer (you have to try "To your scattered bodies go" even though at this stage the series isnt full sci-fi)
Many others mentioned I know are good from their reputation and what they have inspired, but as I havent directly read them I wont add them to my list.
:)
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David feintuch for seafort saga. (First book midshipmans hope) 7 books, I read them all every 2 years or so they are that good.
Orson Scott card was a magician with the ender series, but he is rather homophobic so that ruined him for me...!
I love sci fi and there are many others I could mention as stand outs, but the seafort saga is such a fave of mine he wins.
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I can't believe I haven't replied to this one yet.
Hmmmmm....
Isaac Asimov and Mary Shelley for two.
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Has anyone mentioned Brian Aldis and Robert Heinline yet? Both excellent writers.
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Just throwing this out there, Steven Moffat, he creates this crazy work with emotions and drama, and overall mix of everything packed into sci-fi at the same time, and it is always perfect. Yes, I am referring to his work on Doctor Who.
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I love dr who but i dont like moffat much. He often tries too hard to be deceptive in his story tellingand ends up nonsensical. He made a mess of series 6 of dr who and series three of sherlock. Luckily he seemed to be less up his own bottom on series 7 and mostly avoided his usual massive plot holes.
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My fav is Arthur C. Clarke
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While I don't think most of his writing fits cleanly into "sci-fi," I've recently gotten into Steven King. Most people know of him for his horror books. But, some of my favorite reads recently are his "Under the Dome" (which has been made into a TV series which I need to watch) and his self-proclaimed Magnum Opus, "The Dark Tower." For those of you who want to lose 2-3 months of your life delving into an incredible story spread over 8 books and around 8000 pages, it is an incredible journey that can be summed up by the first line of the series (which has been suggested as one of the best first lines to a book ever in certain lists):
"The man in Black fled across the Desert, and the Gunslinger followed."
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William Gibson
China Mieville
Christopher Priest
Jack Womack
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Daniel Eschbach, because his stories seem to could be real
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Andy Weir is fantastic, as is James S.A Corey
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Disclaimer: I am not a Sci Fi fan. But I did enjoy some of Christopher Rice's books.
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Just read the whole Foundation series and couple more Asimov's books.
Isaac Asimov. Even after 80 years, Foundation books are interesting and suprisingly accurate.
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So who's body of work is altogether the best? I'd say Asimov, with Clarke as a second place. My personal favorite is Dick. But what is the best sci-fi novel ever? Dune by Herbert.
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My personal favourite is William Gibson, one of the few authors I've gone back to. Through I have read Dune at least 3 times.