I swear to the flying Spaghetti Monster, if I had a time machine I would...

Member 96

Most of the latter Heinlein for starters and much of the 60's and 70's sci fi in general. :)

There is no failure only feedback

Andy Brummer

Well, it definitely wouldn't be a replacement for Star Wars. What I love about her is the quality of her writing and storytelling. The stories themselves can stand on their own, but without her words and her language I wouldn't be as interested. She is a decent writer, but she is an incredible storyteller. I don't think that can be translated across mediums. There are films where the art of movie making is so strong that the story becomes almost irrelevant, but bringing something like that in would loose the LeGuinness of the piece.

Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

Member 96

Yeah and Lucas wouldn't be the man to even try unfortunately. Star wars wasn't very original. It stands the test of time based on the characters which are two dimensional and iconic and easily digested by the masses and the imagery which, over the years, we've come to find out was looted wholesale from existing sources but there are *so* many better examples in sci fi. I have hope to see a golden age of sci fi novels to movies / tv series. We've firmly entered the sweet spot of special effects where they are good enough to do any of those stories. Just look at the recent Game Of Thrones series which is fantastic and so far I can't find any fault with even as a fan of the original novels.

There is no failure only feedback

Andy Brummer

I'll definitely have to check Game of Thrones out. With my 2 sub 5 year old kids, my wife and I don't get much time for movies and shows. I think 1-2 hours a week is the max for us. It will be easier when we start introducing more screen time into the house, but now it's limited to 5 minute shorts for the 4 year old. Mostly ballet performances on youTube right now.

Curvature of the Mind now with 3D

Member 96

Speaking as a big fan of Game of Thrones and a degenerate tv watcher (we watch a *lot* of good tv) I have to say it's superb.

There is no failure only feedback

Hans Dietrich

Sci fi? Game Of Thrones? Do you even know the difference between sci fi and fantasy? As for George R. R. Martin, at best he's third-rate. Stop watching so much TV and do more reading, John. There are much better writers than Martin. X|

Best wishes, Hans

[Hans Dietrich Software]

Member 96

You are mistaken in your ire, go back and read what I wrote and be ashamed.

There is no failure only feedback

Ian Shlasko

I'm curious as to why Elijah Bailey and Robinette Broadhead haven't made it to the big screen yet... And on the fantasy side, I'd love to see Thomas Covenant or Stile up there... (Wonder if anyone will understand all four references there...)

Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

AspDotNetDev

It doesn't get more interesting than the various relationships that exist between Luke and Leia. Well, there is one slightly more interesting relationship I can think of. The actress that plays Clark's mom in Smallville played Lana in one of the Superman movies. That means Superman had a romantic interest in his mom. :~

[

S<T>::f(U) // Out of line.

](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8yk3t00s(v=vs.71).aspx)

AspDotNetDev

Ian Shlasko wrote:

Robinette Broadhead

Sounds like an interesting stage name.

[

S<T>::f(U) // Out of line.

](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8yk3t00s(v=vs.71).aspx)

Jorgen Andersson

You believe it would be just teenagers?

List of common misconceptions

Jorgen Andersson

Seconding that and adding Ender Wiggins to that list.

List of common misconceptions

wizardzz

If you said stop after Empire, I would agree. I still love that movie. Lucas didn't make anything good after Gary Kurtz left him.

Craigslist Troll: litaly@comcast.net "I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours. " — Hunter S. Thompson

OriginalGriff

If you want to give them ideas, Philip José Farmer wrote some good ones, including pr0n fantasy - look for "Image of the Beast" and "Blown". Might be difficult to get teens into the cinema to see them though. Books that would have made good films by him: the Riverworld or the World of Tiers series.

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

OriginalGriff

Elijah Bailey: The robot series couldn't be a film nowadays: he smokes a pipe! Robinette Broadhead: the Gateway/Heechee series. Would make good films, but probably not including the first book - way too much "mushy stuff". Thomas Covenant: Oh come on! Donaldson just puts me to sleep... Stile - do you mean Piers Anthony? Would make pretty good films, but you would confuse a lot of viewers with the SF/Fantasy world switching.

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

OriginalGriff

Now that would be a good film series - I have yet to read anything by Card that was easy to put down.

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

Ian Shlasko

Well done!

OriginalGriff wrote:

Thomas Covenant: Oh come on! Donaldson just puts me to sleep...

Really? Well, maybe I'm just more of a fan of epic storylines... I've read through Wheel of Time three times so far... Covenant is my favorite Fantasy series.

OriginalGriff wrote:

Stile - do you mean Piers Anthony? Would make pretty good films, but you would confuse a lot of viewers with the SF/Fantasy world switching.

Hopefully not TOO many viewers... Cause... um... the Guardians Saga (See my sig) mixes SF and Fantasy even moreso...

Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of the Guardians Saga (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels)

OriginalGriff

Mixing SF and fantasy in books is fine: people who read books can cope. People who go to movies ... well, let's just say that Nicholas Cage is still working and leave it at that, eh? Donaldson I just don't get on with: it just seems as if he gets paid by the word, rather than by the story! :laugh:

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Manfred R. Bihy: "Looks as if OP is learning resistant."

QuiJohn

John C wrote:

...Among many things go back and excise Star Wars from history and replace it with just about *any* of the excellent science fiction novels written to that point.

George Lucas wasn't interested in making that kind of movie though. He wanted a romping adventure in space, which he figured technology would allow him to do. The original film was a nearly perfect execution in classic storytelling; the universe was still pretty shallow at that point, really, and it didn't matter. It was great fun. And I think George Lucas did know the difference between what he was doing and something like Left Hand of Darkness. Hell, he gave us THX-1138, which I would put way up there as good, hard core sci-fi, and in a completely different category than Star Wars. Most of the good sci-fi I've read is unfilmable, as it gets so complex that there's simply no way to do it justice. The Foundation or Robot series may be distilled down to some essential components, but I have zero faith that Hollywood would do them justice. (Hell, look at I, Robot.) Right now I'm reading (well, listening to) Pandora's Star and enjoying it immensely. It would be a catastrophe of a movie, it's a gigantic premise with so many interlocking parts that to leave anything out would turn it into something else completely. And I will once again go on record as saying I love Star Wars, including the prequels, though the prequels do frustrate me at times. I think they are actually a brilliant premise, but the execution fell short in places. Still, I enjoy them as the most expensive independent films ever made, and they are beautiful to look at. I keep hoping Lucas will do as he said he would and get back to some experimental projects (along the lines of THX-1138). I doubt that will happen now though.

He said, "Boy I'm just old and lonely, But thank you for your concern, Here's wishing you a Happy New Year." I wished him one back in return.

Andy Brummer

Donaldson has been mixed for me. I really liked the Mordant's need series, but it's a lot lighter. I liked the first and the 3rd Covenant trilogies. The second was really slow. The first was cheap therapy for me as an angst ridden teen, and I've been finishing it out of loyalty. What is getting me in the last series is how contrived some of the "had to let you figure it out on your own" plot lines are. I loved the first book of the gap series, I've never hated characters more. It was a really intense read but the other books just kinda trailed off.

Curvature of the Mind now with 3D