BootsnAll Travel Community

OK, so I'm not really schooled in sci-fi fantasy stuff. But you know, judging by how much I love the concepts of Star Wars and follow the Star Trek Series


((at this point on dvd I have the entire set of 7 seasons of The Next Generation, all 7 of Deep Space 9, and I'm up to season 3 of voyager...also have the first season of Enterprise...First dvd set of the Original Series also...))

I'm wondering what the booties favorite science fiction books are? What's considered the best sci-fi of all time?

Also, I'm not much in to fantasy, but the Lord of the Rings blew me away, and people seem to rave about C.S. Lewis. So feel free to recommend some fantasy.

Oh! -edit~ Piecar just asked if I travel and then deleted his post...but here's what I said anyway:

I have a link to my blog in every post, so why the question? My blog has part of my trip to the Philippines that I took in February. I'm also going to China July 6th for a month. Before that smaller trips to Vegas, and Bakersfield. After that packing to move to Philippines to be an ex-pat and travel everywhere with that as my home base.

So, any advice on Science Fiction/ Fantasy? Thanks.

Ok. Old-school:

Asimov's 'Foundation' series is a MUST. It's brilliant. The first three novels are fairly short; written decades ago. Then he continued the saga a few decades later, writing several other books. Also, there's a separate series, that is tied to the Foundation series (builds some of the background/history)...I don't think it has a particular name, but they're the Robot books. [on a related note, I believe it was these stories that loosely inspired the 'I, Robot' movie...although the books are MUCH better!]

Another really creative, interesting sci-fi series is the Ringworld series by Niven. It's fascinating. The first book is amazing; the second one is decent; the third one isn't too great. But read the first one for sure.

The DUNE series is also excellent.

'Tau Zero' is old school, but good. By Poul Anderson.

And Anne Mccaffrey is a very good fantasy writer. Her dragonrider books are most well-known, but she's written some other sci-fi/fantasy books that I've enjoyed.

More recent:

Oh, my. How could I forget? Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series is fantasy at its best (after Tolkien of course. ;-). Those are some LONG books, though, and I'm hoping he doesn't die before he finishes the series; in my opinion, I don't see how he could wrap it up in less than 15 books total! (I've read 10! ;-)

Phillip K. Dick has to be up there. His writing inspired many hit sci-fi movies like Blade Runner ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?") and Total Recall ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale").

Samuel Delaney comes highly recommended...

But my all time favorite by far is the "sprawl series" by William Gibson published in the mid-80's. "Neuromancer", "Count Zero", and "Mona Lisa Overdrive". He's so good he's already a cliche.

Check out some Bruce Sterling, too.

And honorable mention has to go to "Fool's Run" by Patricia McKillip, with "Synners" by I can't remember her name right now...

Also, a little more pulpy, perhaps, but good near-future sci-fi, "Angel Station" and "Hard Wired" by Walter Jon Williams.

There's a great set of 5 books I'm having a hard time remembering now by Stephen Donaldson... I think the first one's called "The Rest of the Story" or somesuch. Excellent read.

A few random thoughts:

-The movie I, Robot, had nothing to do with the book. Really, nothing. There's not a single part of the film's plot that appears in the books, or vice-versa.

That said, the book is one of my favorite works of sci-fi. It's "hard" sci-fi, in that it provides a realistic view of technology. It's also "philosophical" sci-fi, in that it asks serious questions about how technology will affect society.

-William Gibson did his best work with the 'sprawl' series that jlab mentioned. But his most recent book, 'Pattern Recognition,' is one of his best works in years. It's set in the modern-day and is onl vaguely sci-fi, but it's still a great novel.

-Arthur C. Clarke is one of the greatest writers of science fiction. 2001 and 2010 (but not the other sequels) are my two favorite sci-fi books.

What kind of science fiction are you interested in, jedimbb? It's such a broad category and a lot gets thrown into it. "The Hobbit" has little in common with with "2001" yet you'll probably find them in the same section at the library.

I've watched the film "2001" a few times and I still don't think it is that great, but I loved the whole series of books.

If you're more interested in fantasy, I enjoy R.A. Salvatore for old school sword and sorcery.

"Kiln People" by David Brin was hilarious and interesting.

I'm not huge on sci-fi, but I did read a little when I was younger -- not saying its juvenile, just that my tastes have changed...

I remember liking the Frank Herbert Dune books too, at least the first 3 or 4, after that I had a hard time following who was who... if you liked the movie Dune, you'd probably like the book, if not.... wellll... dunno.

A humor/fantasy writer I really used to be into is Piers Anthony, especially the Xanth series about a parallel, pun-filled world with suspicious geographic similarity to the state of Florida. Everyone in Xanth has a magical skill, and those of us from the non-magic world live in Mundania. Reminds me of Harry Potter now that I think of it... another good series, that...

On a more serious note, "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein is interesting, I believe it started a trend in the 70s of saying do you "grok" something b/c that is how the alien visitor to earth interacts... I should really reread it, I forget, but I know its something of a classic

Not really into Sci-fi much, but I did read quite a bit of fantasy in my day. I really enjoyed the David Eddings series: The Belgariad. I love the complexity and the political involvement; tons of characters and multiple plot lines keep it exciting.

Oh... another one that I really enjoyed (again more fantasy, than sci-fi...sorry) is by Stephen R. Donaldson - The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Unlike A LOT of the fantasy out there, this is an adult book. It deals with bitterness, pain, anger, love, etc... all of a mature level. You won't find the usual "hero" here, but instead a very interesting character in Thomas. Worth a look...

Ok, lets go. I don't have time to sit and explain the plots of these books. I wll provide links..

Sci Fi can be good. These are the books I have liked. Most are kind of pocket novellas and can be bought for cheap.

Check the Russians. They were doin bizarre stuff a long time ago.

Daughter of night;: A tale of three worlds

We

Professor Dowell's head

Moscow 2042

Danilov, the violist

Far Rainbow

Noon, 22nd Century

Prisoners of power

Roadside Picnic

The Time Wanderers

The Ugly Swans

Other worlds, other seas; science-fiction stories from Socialist countries

Aelita

Kovrigin's Chronicles

Fatal Eggs and Other Soviet Satire

For straight sci fi, start with verne(10,000 leagues under the Sea, Round The World In 80 Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth.) Then go to Wells and the Time Machine.

For more specialized shit that defined the genre, start with the basics:

The Man in the High Castle P.K. Dick is a master.

Vox is about phone sex. I got kicked outta class for reading this in high school.Heh.

Neuromancer very light, very bright.

The Burning World by J.G. Ballard is worth an afternoon.

Ferenheit 451 by Bradbury. Read it. Same with the lesser known but also classic Dark Carnival.

A Clockwork Orange is as good as the movie and vice versa.

Enders Game by the famous Mormon Orson Scott Card (I love Mormon names) is part of the Ender Wiggens Saga and is the best one.

Slaughterhouse 5 is regarded as Vonne's best. Also see the Sirans of Titan.

Animal Farm and 1984. Orwell. Yes, yes. Brave New World. Yeah. Orwell and Huxley.

Ot of the Silent Planet by bible thumper C.S. Lewis is part of the Space Trilogy. Was Jesus a Martian?

The Left Hand of Darkness is Ursula K. Le Guin's best shit. Also read The Dispossessed: An Ambigious Utopia.

Oh yeah, Frankenstein and War of the Worlds. Shelly and Wells. Also Naked Lunch by Burroughs. Thats pretty weird.

Anyone want more I got lots of recs. I just gotta go now.

Phillip Dick's _Timestorm_ is excellent. Dick is my favorite for totally out of the box thinking, and really, really believable aliens.

Lee