Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Eris Discordia]

> tip, though: DON'T read any sequels. 2001 is great, 2010 so-so, 2100
> blah, and 3001 well-nigh unreadable.

A little correction: it's 2061. I disagree about 2010 and 2061 as I loved 
reading them. 2061 explores the interesting character of Heywood Floyd in 
more depth. But I agree about 3001. It was unwise of Clarke to write it the 
way he did--and the parts about computer viruses pretty much sound like my 
ideas about Plan 9 and computers in general; uninformed at best, that is :-D

While doing short stories you may want to try Clarke's The Sentinel as 
well. 2001 grew out of that one. 2001, the film, is probably the greatest 
science-fiction film of all time. Any serious 2001 fan should also read The 
Lost Worlds of 2001. Clarke's chronicle of how 2001 the book was written 
and 2001 the film was made. It contains in addition parts of the book that 
never appeared in the final revision. Some of them are astounding, some 
clumsily-written, but all worth a read.

Two very interesting short stories of Asimov legacy are The Last Question 
and The Last Answer. Each thought-provoking in a different way.

--On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 5:56 PM -0500 "Joel C. Salomon" 
<joelcsalomon@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 5:32 AM, Eris Discordia <eris.discordia@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> There are the Great Three, of course. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and
>> Robert A. Heinlein. Anything they wrote is worth a read. Sometimes a
>> number of reads. Clarke particularly interests me. Try the short story
>> The Nine Billion Names of God. The series of Odyssey novels are very
>> readable--2001 is a magnum opus of Clarke, and of science fiction.
>
> Clarke's short stories are great, as are many of his novels. Quick
> tip, though: DON'T read any sequels. 2001 is great, 2010 so-so, 2100
> blah, and 3001 well-nigh unreadable. Same with the Rama books: read
> the first, ignore the rest. Also, if there's a short story, and then
> an expanded novel, stick with the short story. Especially Guardian
> Angel/Childhood's End.
>
> If you want short stories, look for the "Best of …" set by del Rey
> books. Great introduction to many authors, especially Golden Age ones.
>
> —Joel

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Joel C. Salomon]

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 6:17 PM, Eris Discordia <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
> Two very interesting short stories of Asimov legacy are The Last Question
> and The Last Answer. Each thought-provoking in a different way.

Along the same lines, and much shorter, is Fredric Brown's "Answer".

—Joel

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Uriel]

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 11:32 AM, Eris Discordia
<eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
> At last, something I can claim expertise in--you actually see the "sci-fi"
> expertise showing on my feeble attempts at technicality ;-)
>
> [...]
>
> Then there's Philip K. Dick. One of his short stories was recommended (by
> which the film Blade Runner was inspired).

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is now a 'short story'? Or your
"sci-fi" expertise is equivalent to your technical "expertise"?

Peace

uriel

PS.: And I agree with yy, it is a very recommendable book, as is most
work by P.K. Dick. Also is very recommendable almost everything by
Jack Vance, although it is less 'sci-fi' and more high quality
literature.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Eris Discordia]

> "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is now a 'short story'? Or your
> "sci-fi" expertise is equivalent to your technical "expertise"?

You're right. It's a novel--a "long story." I haven't read it. Which is why
I didn't recommend it. I named and recommended what I had read.

--On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:54 PM +0100 Uriel <uriel99@gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 11:32 AM, Eris Discordia
> <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
>> At last, something I can claim expertise in--you actually see the
>> "sci-fi" expertise showing on my feeble attempts at technicality ;-)
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> Then there's Philip K. Dick. One of his short stories was recommended (by
>> which the film Blade Runner was inspired).
>
> "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is now a 'short story'? Or your
> "sci-fi" expertise is equivalent to your technical "expertise"?
>
> Peace
>
> uriel
>
> PS.: And I agree with yy, it is a very recommendable book, as is most
> work by P.K. Dick. Also is very recommendable almost everything by
> Jack Vance, although it is less 'sci-fi' and more high quality
> literature.
>

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Lorenzo Fernando Bivens de la Fuente]

I think Dune is a must read for any scifi fan...

I am a retro-scifi fan... I love to read the stories, but sometimes a
50's movie can tell a story quite nicely... Crappy FX require a better
plot to keep you watching...

I recommend:
- The Forbidden Planet (The best!) (Very likely the precursor of Star Trek)
- The day the Earth stood still (Not the remake, the old one) (GREAT
music) (Klaatu Barada nikto!)
- THX 1138 (The only good movie George Lucas has ever done) (A little bit dense)
- Soylent Green
- War of the worlds (old movie, not the remake)
- Voyage to the centre of the Earth (old movie, great for a sunday
evening with kids)
- The time machine (Again, the old movie)

Some other interesting movies...
- Silent Running
- Solaris (both Soviet and American remake)
- Metropolis (It is great, but it is also long... Very good visuals...
There are some alternative suggested sountracks around... look for
them)
- Capricorn One (For the ones that still think that Apollo never made
it to the Moon)

And of course.... Plan 9 from outer Space!!

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 12:25 PM, Eris Discordia
<eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
>> "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is now a 'short story'? Or your
>> "sci-fi" expertise is equivalent to your technical "expertise"?
>
> You're right. It's a novel--a "long story." I haven't read it. Which is why
> I didn't recommend it. I named and recommended what I had read.
>
> --On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 12:54 PM +0100 Uriel <uriel99@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 11:32 AM, Eris Discordia
>> <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> At last, something I can claim expertise in--you actually see the
>>> "sci-fi" expertise showing on my feeble attempts at technicality ;-)
>>>
>>> [...]
>>>
>>> Then there's Philip K. Dick. One of his short stories was recommended (by
>>> which the film Blade Runner was inspired).
>>
>> "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" is now a 'short story'? Or your
>> "sci-fi" expertise is equivalent to your technical "expertise"?
>>
>> Peace
>>
>> uriel
>>
>> PS.: And I agree with yy, it is a very recommendable book, as is most
>> work by P.K. Dick. Also is very recommendable almost everything by
>> Jack Vance, although it is less 'sci-fi' and more high quality
>> literature.
>>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Joel C. Salomon]

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:02 PM, Lorenzo Fernando Bivens de la Fuente
<lorenzobivens@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think Dune is a must read for any scifi fan...

Dune is one of the few books I put down partly-read. Came a point
where I just didn't care what happened to the characters on the other
side of the page, and I never turned the page to look.

Try for some of the older books and authors—Hal Clement, Lester del
Rey, Fredric Brown, C. M. Kornbluth, C. L. Moore. See
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Science_Fiction>.

> I am a retro-scifi fan... I love to read the stories, but sometimes a
> 50's movie can tell a story quite nicely... Crappy FX require a better
> plot to keep you watching...

In the visual media, Joss Whedon's Firefly is some of the best science
fiction I've seen.

> - Solaris (both Soviet and American remake)

Also read the story. Or other books by Stanisław Lem.

—Joel

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Lorenzo Fernando Bivens]

On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:45:20 -0600, Joel C. Salomon
<joelcsalomon@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:02 PM, Lorenzo Fernando Bivens de la Fuente
> <lorenzobivens@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I think Dune is a must read for any scifi fan...
>
> Dune is one of the few books I put down partly-read. Came a point
> where I just didn't care what happened to the characters on the other
> side of the page, and I never turned the page to look.
>

The story is interesting... But it takes too long to get into something...
I have found that people love the book or hate it... I read that book
while living in the middle of the Atacama Desert... Ambience helps...

There are a couple of  "mainstream" scifi books that I've read while
travelling and I have enjoyed: "The Andromeda strain" (Crichton) (Both the
book and the old movie... Avoid, really, the recent remake)... I also
liked a book called "The terminal Experiment" (Sawyer)...

For those speaking spanish... There is a book called "Synco" written by a
chilean writer called Jorge Baradit... I've not read it yet... But it
sounds very interesting... I've read that it talks about what would have
happened if Allende had succeded implementing Cybersyn...
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn] I am looking for reading
this book.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Sebastian Arvidsson Liem]

Ursula K. Le Guin is great. I can recommend The Birthday of the World
and The Left Hand of Darkness.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Eris Discordia]

> I've read that it talks about what would have
> happened if Allende had succeded implementing Cybersyn...
> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn] I am looking for reading
> this book.

That is the most interesting thing I've come by in months. Shame on Augusto
Pinochet, unaugust scoundrel, forever.

--On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 2:09 PM -0600 Lorenzo Fernando Bivens
<lorenzobivens@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:45:20 -0600, Joel C. Salomon
> <joelcsalomon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 2:02 PM, Lorenzo Fernando Bivens de la Fuente
>> <lorenzobivens@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I think Dune is a must read for any scifi fan...
>>
>> Dune is one of the few books I put down partly-read. Came a point
>> where I just didn't care what happened to the characters on the other
>> side of the page, and I never turned the page to look.
>>
>
> The story is interesting... But it takes too long to get into
> something... I have found that people love the book or hate it... I read
> that book while living in the middle of the Atacama Desert... Ambience
> helps...
>
> There are a couple of  "mainstream" scifi books that I've read while
> travelling and I have enjoyed: "The Andromeda strain" (Crichton) (Both
> the book and the old movie... Avoid, really, the recent remake)... I also
> liked a book called "The terminal Experiment" (Sawyer)...
>
> For those speaking spanish... There is a book called "Synco" written by a
> chilean writer called Jorge Baradit... I've not read it yet... But it
> sounds very interesting... I've read that it talks about what would have
> happened if Allende had succeded implementing Cybersyn...
> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn] I am looking for reading
> this book.
>
>

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Wes Kussmaul]

Eris Discordia wrote:
>> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Cybersyn]...
> Shame on Augusto Pinochet, unaugust scoundrel, forever.

And shame on Allende for not seeing that land reform via confiscation is
always a loser's game.

And of course shame on the U.S. government for its part in the debacle.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Tod Beardsley]

Fun space scifi:

Recently, I've liked Jack McDevitt's stuff (read most of Academy
series), and James P. Hogan's (read most of Giant's series). However,
I hate the Internet now because these guys have blogs and I really
just would prefer not to learn about them personally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Bibliography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giants_series

I only mention them because I found them by accident, and not they're
not (to my knowledge) part of the typical cannon of Clarke, Heinlein,
Asimov, etc.

Computer nerd tech-fi:

I heart William Gibson, but unless you're into the style, his earlier
stuff can be kind of dense. Neuromancer is the earlier work (80s era),
the Bridge series is more accessible (and clearly written after Gibson
read Stephenson's Snow Crash, but that's okay because Stephenson wrote
Quicksilver after reading Difference Engine).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gibson#Neuromancer

And strangely enough, I've found that for really light reading, Tom
Clancy's stuff has a tendency to tickle my sci/tech bone, even though
I doubt anyone considers it sci-fi. Submarines are cool. :)

Anyway, it's a broad genre, and I hope you're prepared for the
millions of replies.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Joel C. Salomon]

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 5:32 AM, Eris Discordia <eris.discordia@gmail.com> wrote:
> There are the Great Three, of course. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and
> Robert A. Heinlein. Anything they wrote is worth a read. Sometimes a number
> of reads. Clarke particularly interests me. Try the short story The Nine
> Billion Names of God. The series of Odyssey novels are very readable--2001
> is a magnum opus of Clarke, and of science fiction.

Clarke's short stories are great, as are many of his novels. Quick
tip, though: DON'T read any sequels. 2001 is great, 2010 so-so, 2100
blah, and 3001 well-nigh unreadable. Same with the Rama books: read
the first, ignore the rest. Also, if there's a short story, and then
an expanded novel, stick with the short story. Especially Guardian
Angel/Childhood's End.

If you want short stories, look for the "Best of …" set by del Rey
books. Great introduction to many authors, especially Golden Age ones.

—Joel

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Eris Discordia]

At last, something I can claim expertise in--you actually see the "sci-fi"
expertise showing on my feeble attempts at technicality ;-)

You should definitely try anything by Stanislaw Lem. Reading him in the
original Polish would be awesome but somewhat far-fetched. Then there are
the German translations in terms of quality and diversity. And lowest on
the ladder are the English translations. Try Solaris, Fiasco, and The
Invincible. Then you can go for Cyberiad, His Master's Voice, Imaginary
Magnitude, and Hospital of Transfiguration. If you are become a studious
fan you may eventually end up reading Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. To fill
the short breathing intervals between reading these works you could try any
of Ijon Tichy's adventures.

Then there's Philip K. Dick. One of his short stories was recommended (by
which the film Blade Runner was inspired). You can try the collection of
essays and stories titled The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick for a
first taste.

Larry Niven's The Jigsaw Men should provide good shock value and probably
get you reading his other works.

There are the Great Three, of course. Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and
Robert A. Heinlein. Anything they wrote is worth a read. Sometimes a number
of reads. Clarke particularly interests me. Try the short story The Nine
Billion Names of God. The series of Odyssey novels are very readable--2001
is a magnum opus of Clarke, and of science fiction.

No science fiction (or fantasy) book recommendation will be complete
without a mention of Ray Bradbury. Try The Illustrated Man, and The Martian
Chronicles. Fahrenheit 451 you have already heard of surely.

There's a lot more to recommend but let's let it pass.

--On Wednesday, December 03, 2008 4:29 PM +0800 Fernan Bolando
<fernanbolando@mailc.net> wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --
> http://www.fernski.com
>

[9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Fernan Bolando]

Hi all

I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?


--
http://www.fernski.com

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Thorben Krueger]

Anathem by Neil Stephenson. Not incredibly fast-paced but loads of
idea-porn. Apart from some (convincing) nano-technological concepts,
the science is pretty much "hard" (i.e realistic).


2008/12/3 Fernan Bolando <fernanbolando@mailc.net>:
> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --
> http://www.fernski.com
>
>

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Rodolfo kix García]

Sci-Fi? In Spain we have newspapers.

> Anathem by Neil Stephenson. Not incredibly fast-paced but loads of
> idea-porn. Apart from some (convincing) nano-technological concepts,
> the science is pretty much "hard" (i.e realistic).
>
>
> 2008/12/3 Fernan Bolando <fernanbolando@mailc.net>:
>> Hi all
>>
>> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>>
>>
>> --
>> http://www.fernski.com
>>
>>
>
>


-- 
Rodolfo García AKA kix
http://www.kix.es/
EA4ERH (@IN80ER)

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[lejatorn]

Hello,

well you could start with classics like Asimov's Foundations, and then
Dan Simmons' Hyperion. And if you're more into modern space opera
there's Peter F. Hamilton's The Night's Dawn series; not very
sophisticated but pretty entertaining imho.
A few examples among many ...

Mathieu

On Wed, Dec 03, 2008 at 04:29:22PM +0800, Fernan Bolando wrote:
> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --
> http://www.fernski.com
>

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[yy]

2008/12/3 Fernan Bolando <fernanbolando@mailc.net>:
> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --
> http://www.fernski.com
>
>

I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, but "Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep?" is worth a read.


--


- yiyus || JGL .

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[LiteStar numnums]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1897 bytes --]

"Electric Sheep" by John Scalzi is a very humorous play on Dick's wonderful
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep". Anathem is good, but Snow Crash &
Diamond Age equally as good, & have faster pacing. "The Hostile Takeover
Trilogy", everything written by William Gibson, "The Electric Church",
Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, The original Dune series, most of Cory Doctrow's
stuff (Little Brother was a stretch, but most everything else was good;
"Down & Out in the magic kingdom" is a good start). If you like Hard Sci Fi,
the "Hard SciFi renaissance" is a great collection of works, including
Arthur C. Clarke, and it's heavy on Science, which is pretty neat.

On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 4:39 AM, yy <yiyu.jgl@gmail.com> wrote:

> 2008/12/3 Fernan Bolando <fernanbolando@mailc.net>:
> > Hi all
> >
> > I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
> >
> >
> > --
> > http://www.fernski.com
> >
> >
>
> I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, but "Do Androids Dream of Electric
> Sheep?" is worth a read.
>
>
> --
>
>
> - yiyus || JGL .
>
>


--
And in the "Only Prolog programmers will find this funny" department:

Q: How many Prolog programmers does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: No.
 -- Ovid

   "By cosmic rule, as day yields night, so winter summer, war peace, plenty
famine. All things change. Air penetrates the lump of myrrh, until the
joining bodies die and rise again in smoke called incense."

   "Men do not know how that which is drawn in different directions
harmonises with itself. The harmonious structure of the world depends upon
opposite tension like that of the bow and the lyre."

   "This universe, which is the same for all, has not been made by any god
or man, but it always has been, is, and will be an ever-living fire,
kindling itself by regular measures and going out by regular measures"
-- Heraclitus

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 2624 bytes --]

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Juan Céspedes]

Hey, doesn't anybody like Orson Scott Card?

His books (specially Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow) are probably
among my top-5.

--
Juan Cespedes
http://www.cespedes.org/

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Robert Raschke]

I very much enjoy Samuel R. Delany
(http://www2.pcc.com/staff/jay/delany/); especially Babel-17, Nova,
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand and Dhalgren. The latter one is
a good one for the holiday, as it's a tad longer. His short stories
are well worth seeking out as well. His stories are characterised by a
focus on people on the fringes of society without making a big deal of
it.

Also very enjoyable are books by Ken MacLeod
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_MacLeod). His first one, The Star
Fraction, is a gem. Although his later books employ a little bit too
much flashback.

And I second Ursula Le Guin. especially the books set in the Hainish
universe. Although you can give The Telling a miss, unless you like
religious epiphanies.

And finally, for good old fashioned, sillyness, Alan Dean Foster.

Robby

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[roger peppe]

i feel extremely hypocritical responding to this thread,
because it really *is* so very off topic, but i have to
put in a plug for Greg Egan. absolutely brilliant for extreme
(and well thought out) technological extrapolation. he's got a computer-sciency
background (he might even have heard of plan 9...)

i'm stopping there, though i could go on and on.

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Kim Shrier]

On Dec 4, 2008, at 8:01 AM, roger peppe wrote:

> i feel extremely hypocritical responding to this thread,
> because it really *is* so very off topic, but i have to
> put in a plug for Greg Egan. absolutely brilliant for extreme
> (and well thought out) technological extrapolation. he's got a
> computer-sciency
> background (he might even have heard of plan 9...)
>
> i'm stopping there, though i could go on and on.
>

I have noticed a dearth of recommendations for the very early sci-fi
writers.  I enjoy reading Jules Verne.  In particular, "Journey to to
the Center of the Earth", and "Mysterious Island".  Then there is
H. G. Wells.  "The Time Machine" has already been mentioned but other
ones I liked are "A Story of Days to Come", "When the Sleeper Wakes",
and I find his numerous short stories interesting.  If you are looking
for something in a lighter vein, there is Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I
liked his "At the Earth's Core" series and his Venus and Mars series.

Kim

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Brian L. Stuart]

> i feel extremely hypocritical responding to this thread,
> because it really *is* so very off topic, but i have to
> put in a plug for Greg Egan. absolutely brilliant for extreme
> (and well thought out) technological extrapolation. he's got a
> computer-sciency
> background (he might even have heard of plan 9...)

I, too, have been trying not to respond, but there is
one book I'd suggest that hasn't been mentioned.  It's
called The Difference Engine and it's by William Gibson
and Bruce Sterling.  It's build around the premise that
Babbage did eventually succeed in building his difference
and analytical engines.  It even has elements of
computability theory in there.

Of course, it's still OT because Plan 9 just wouldn't
fit on an analytical engine--Inferno maybe...

BLS

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[john]

> Hey, doesn't anybody like Orson Scott Card?
>
> His books (specially Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow) are probably
> among my top-5.
>
> --
> Juan Cespedes
> http://www.cespedes.org/

Ender's Game is fine.  I don't think I read Ender's Shadow.  However,
I read the Homecoming books and got suspicious part way into the first
one...  by the time I approached the end I was confirmed in my
suspicion that he was rewriting the Book of Mormon (albeit with a
slightly more believable storyline than the original).  This turned me
off so strongly that I haven't read any of his other books since.

Go Heinlein is my recommendation, the early stuff especially.  Try his
Expanded Universe.  Then after you get a taste for his writing, read
Stranger in a Strange Land, followed by Starship Troopers, and see
what got all those hippies so riled up.  Avoid the later stuff where
he essentially goes crazy.

VERNOR VINGE.  Ron and others will appreciate his novel "The Peace
War", in which Lawrence Livermore National Labs has taken over the
world.  "A Fire Upon the Deep" and "A Deepness in the Sky" are also
brilliant.

Dune is essential, as noted earlier.  Skip anything by Brian Herbert.

Charles Stross' "Atrocity Archives" is excellent too, but I'm a sucker
for techno-Lovecraftian stuff.

And yes, read Jules Verne and H G Wells.  I got "A Journey to the
Center of the Earth" in 3rd grade and read it until the cover fell
off...  then read it a few more times for good measure.



John Floren, Duke of Off-topic

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Matt Moore]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Heinlein and would like to recommend the
following of his works:

Starship Troopers (my favourite book)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Door into Summer
Space Family Stone (yes it is dead cheesy, but we all have our guilty pleasures)

No one seems to have mentioned Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series, the
main three being Red Mar, Blue Mars and Green Mars.  He's also done a
few short stories based on the same universe which are well worth a
read if you like the main three books.

Cheers,

--
Matthew R Moore
Personal - tba
LARP - www.pathfinderlarp.org.uk

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Adrian Tritschler]

In short stories both Asimov's robot and Fred Saberhagen's Berserker
series would make fine Google Summer of Code projects :)

Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Sergio de Mingo]

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Why not a post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel?

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart it's the best.
On Wed, Dec 3, 2008 at 9:29 AM, Fernan Bolando <fernanbolando@mailc.net>wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --
> http://www.fernski.com
>
>


--

                       Sergio.

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Re: [9fans] Very Off-Topic: Anybody here reads Sci-Fi? :)

[Roman V. Shaposhnik]

On Wed, 2008-12-03 at 16:29 +0800, Fernan Bolando wrote:
> Hi all
>
> I am not sure if anybody here reads Sci-Fi novels. Any recommendations?

Here's my personal top 10:
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_to_Be_a_God
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadside_Picnic
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitely_Maybe_(novel)
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Wanderers
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doomed_City
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_%22%D0%9F%22
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(novel)
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C5%82os_pana
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_with_Rama
  * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_(novel)

3 of them are Slavic authors and some things do get lost in
translation. But be it as it may, the level of insight into
human psyche they offer seems to be unparalleled.

Thanks,
Roman.

P.S. Take a special note of "Generation P" -- embedded in there
is the best explanation of they concept of money in the 21st
century. Was it a mandatory read on Wall Street during early 200X?
I don't know. But the cynical view on this current financial
crisis suggests that it was.

P.P.S. And there are reasons to believe that this one:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_City_(1998_film)
was ispired by "The Doomed City"