Your best SciFi book ?
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Probably... The Foundation series (the original 3 books, a bit less for the other prequels and sequels). Dune (the original 3 books, obviously, and a bit less for the other prequels and sequels) The [Lost Fleet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Lost\_Fleet) (Jack Campbell) And I know, unpopular and controversial because of the Author and what he stand for (will remain nameless and no link provided), but they are fun and entertaining.... Battlefield Earth (the movie was horribly bad) and Mission Earth.
I'd rather be phishing!
Maximilien wrote:
Battlefield Earth
The book I enjoyed, the film stands out as one of the absolute worst ever.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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I am sorry - I wasn't aware that the Lounge was restricted to oneliners. I'll honor that rule from now on.
No, that's twitter.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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It's a Friday evening here, and I am about to shut down and pour myself a gin and tonic, but your reply deserves the courtesy of a response. My position is simple - if the main story line is concerned with love, grief, power struggles, conquest, deceit, mass psychology or any other human or societal circumstances and emotions, why complicate it with science fiction, unless that science fiction is absolutely essential to the plot? Perhaps I have read some bad science fiction, but a lot of what I have read concerns themes that could just as easily, and what is more important, more believably, be set in a purely earth-bound narrative. For me, if a science fiction story leaves me with a sense of wonderment about the universe we live in, then I feel it has truly succeeded - like how I felt when I walked out of the cinema after first seeing '2001: A Space Odyssey'. Maybe I just have too much difficulty in suspending belief.
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As a follow up to Glenn's post below, what would be your best SciFi book ? To me it is a hard choice, there are so many, but here a few that are important to me: - The Ice People by Barjavel, that I read when I was 8, and that probably gave me the taste for sciFi - I, Robot, that got me into robotics, computer science, logical thinking, ... - Another small book I cannot remember the name, talking about astronauts trapped in a spaceship (kind of Apollo 13) that my English teacher gave me and that was the first book I have read in English language. - A brave new world, because of that dystopian but maybe not so wrong description of our future. - Ubik, because ... Ubik. - Jurassic Parc, not because of the story, but for the chaos theory developed over 40 pages by Crichton. The movie was awesome in its time, but the book is on another level - I know it is cliché to say the book is better than the movie. Same for Terminator, the book/screenplay explains so much better the overall atmosphere, the character of Sarah Connor, and helps understanding a few shortcuts that were hard to follow in the movie.
The classics are classics for a reason and most of them hold up very well today. Dune (the first one) - builds an entire galactic civilization and an incredible story in one book. Loved it. The next few - not as much. Off the beaten path though: One book I read that I really enjoyed was 'The Excalibur Alternative' - David Weber. Good stand-alone story in the age of 10 book series. James Hogan had some great takes on robotic evolution in Code of the Lifemaker, and on AI in The Two Faces of Tomorrow. I don't know how well these have aged in 40 years though. David Brin 'The Practice Effect' has a great twist on fundamental physics in an parallel universe. My two cents.
If you can't laugh at yourself - ask me and I will do it for you.
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Chris C-B wrote:
if the core story could be written for any other genre, then it ain't SciFi.
I am puzzled by your logic: No great love story can be SF. No critical assessment of anarchism, or any other political / social structure, can be SF. No mystery can be SF. If story is bases on philosophical or moral issues, it cant' be SF. ... So, what is left for SF? No nothing. Pure drivel - that is what it sounds like to me. I strongly disagree. I have read loads of SF books of great value as love stories, as political / social comment and criticism, as great mysteries, as philosophical or moral issues. I haven't read 'Contact', but my first guess (from the summary in Wikipedia) is that I would see a lot of elements in it belonging in other genres, once you look behind that hardcore SF setting. The setting is required, if you want to direct a spotlight from that direction onto political and social issues, but as a mere storyteller's tool - the real story is not the high-tech spaceships and signals from remote galaxies. A book can be read in many ways. Same with movies: Lots of people may reject a movie on the grounds that "I know how it ends" (in IMDB comments, and many other places, you are expected to clearly mark your comment as a 'spoiler' if it reveals anything about the ending) - I often enjoy watching it for the second and third time because I know how it ends, and I want to see how all the small strands of the story leads up to that ending. Strangely enough, I have never heard any music lover rejecting, say, a symphony because "I know how it ends" :-) So you could probably read a novel such as Contact with little or no concern from what I consider the real, underlaying story, about social and political ideas and conflicts. The technology part, the action part, the 'science' part, are the only essential aspects. Some people watch movies that way: If you ask what the movie was about, they immediately start telling about the fighting, the battles, the crazy car driving, ... When I stop them, and ask which conflicts it was about, they go on naming the actors on this side and on that side. But... Which ideas or ideals where driving the two sides? Then we are down to the philosopical level of "the good against the bad". (If you know the ending, you certainly know which side is the good!) I had a similar experience with an SF book: I gave a copy of one really great SF novel, Daniel Keyes: Flowers for
Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed immediately occurred to me upon reading your third sentence. Wonderful work by a wonderful author.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Maximilien wrote:
Battlefield Earth
The book I enjoyed, the film stands out as one of the absolute worst ever.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
Too true. I was really looking forward to the movie.
// TODO: Insert something here
Top ten reasons why I'm lazy 1.
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1200 as hard cover ? And the mansion that goes with it :-D ?
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As a follow up to Glenn's post below, what would be your best SciFi book ? To me it is a hard choice, there are so many, but here a few that are important to me: - The Ice People by Barjavel, that I read when I was 8, and that probably gave me the taste for sciFi - I, Robot, that got me into robotics, computer science, logical thinking, ... - Another small book I cannot remember the name, talking about astronauts trapped in a spaceship (kind of Apollo 13) that my English teacher gave me and that was the first book I have read in English language. - A brave new world, because of that dystopian but maybe not so wrong description of our future. - Ubik, because ... Ubik. - Jurassic Parc, not because of the story, but for the chaos theory developed over 40 pages by Crichton. The movie was awesome in its time, but the book is on another level - I know it is cliché to say the book is better than the movie. Same for Terminator, the book/screenplay explains so much better the overall atmosphere, the character of Sarah Connor, and helps understanding a few shortcuts that were hard to follow in the movie.
Was it you who talked about Rene Barjavel's The Ice People several years back here? I ended up convincing a friend to buy a second hand copy off some foreign Amazon site (they were not active in India then and still don't sell second hand books) and bring it to me the next time they came. I rather enjoyed it, although the ending was sad. So thanks a lot for the (much) earlier recommendation. I also liked: Clifford Simak - City. Arthur C Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama. Hal Clement - Mission of Gravity.
Cheers, Vikram.
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As a follow up to Glenn's post below, what would be your best SciFi book ? To me it is a hard choice, there are so many, but here a few that are important to me: - The Ice People by Barjavel, that I read when I was 8, and that probably gave me the taste for sciFi - I, Robot, that got me into robotics, computer science, logical thinking, ... - Another small book I cannot remember the name, talking about astronauts trapped in a spaceship (kind of Apollo 13) that my English teacher gave me and that was the first book I have read in English language. - A brave new world, because of that dystopian but maybe not so wrong description of our future. - Ubik, because ... Ubik. - Jurassic Parc, not because of the story, but for the chaos theory developed over 40 pages by Crichton. The movie was awesome in its time, but the book is on another level - I know it is cliché to say the book is better than the movie. Same for Terminator, the book/screenplay explains so much better the overall atmosphere, the character of Sarah Connor, and helps understanding a few shortcuts that were hard to follow in the movie.
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein The Chanur Saga and The Foreigner Sequence by C. J. Cherryh; oh hell, all of her science fiction is good The Bolo books by Keith Laumer and his successors The Old Man's War series by John Scalzi Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ... These are all books that I re-read time and again. I have had to ration myself how often I go back to them so that they don't get stale.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Gawd ... very hard to pick "just one" ... "Ender's Game" and sequels Any of "The Expanse" books "Oath of Fealty" The Ringworld / Tales of Known Space series Anything by Iain M Banks, ditto William Gibson, Philip Jose Farmer (especially Riverworld), the Late Great DNA, Haldeman's "Forever War" series "The Stainless Steel Rat" series. Then there is Heinlein, Vonnegut, some of Philip K Dick's stuff was amazing. Zelazny's tales of Corwin, prince of Amber. Nah. There is no "Best ever SF book" - there is just "Best right at this moment" when you are in the mood and reading it ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Oath of Fealty is on my list, posted below. Zelazny's Roadmarks is also one of my favorites.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
I have a golden rule about SciFi - if the core story could be written for any other genre, then it ain't SciFi. This puts Carl Sagan's 'Contact' at the top of a pretty short list.
Chris C-B wrote:
if the core story could be written for any other genre, then it ain't SciFi.
I guess it therefore depends upon what you consider the "core story" to be. I've found most if not all science fiction to be retellings of classic themes in a science fiction setting. By that reasoning, your list would not just be short - it would be empty.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Oooo! Add in Robert L. Forward to that list - "Dragon's Egg" and "Flight of the Dragonfly" / "Rocheworld" are well worth a read.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
Oooo indeed. On my list too! :-D
Software Zen:
delete this; -
- Just about anything by Frank Herbert. For Dune, I'd stop at God Emperor of Dune. - Nathan Lowell's Ismael Wang books - he's an 18 year old thrust into an interstellar merchant fleet of solar clippers. - The entire Robots to Empire and Foundation series by Asimov - Heinlein's future history series - Stainless Steel Rat series - Brave New World - Starship Mage series by Glynn Stewart. They won't win awards but they're fast, fun romps through the future. I'm sure there are others but these are off the top of my head.
obermd wrote:
Just about anything by Frank Herbert. For Dune, I'd stop at God Emperor of Dune.
Agreed. I've read a few of the in-universe books by his son Brian and Mark Anderson. They weren't bad, just there was a bit too strong a whiff of capitalizing on his dad's talent.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Probably... The Foundation series (the original 3 books, a bit less for the other prequels and sequels). Dune (the original 3 books, obviously, and a bit less for the other prequels and sequels) The [Lost Fleet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Lost\_Fleet) (Jack Campbell) And I know, unpopular and controversial because of the Author and what he stand for (will remain nameless and no link provided), but they are fun and entertaining.... Battlefield Earth (the movie was horribly bad) and Mission Earth.
I'd rather be phishing!
Maximilien wrote:
Battlefield Earth
I am ashamed to admit I read the whole damned thing, thereby wasting a couple of weeks in my reading life. At that time I always finished a book, even when it was awful. I could have been reading something more entertaining, like used toilet paper.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
1200 as hard cover ? And the mansion that goes with it :-D ?
I've got around 2,000 now, and that's after heavily winnowing my book collection over the last 20 years. When we moved into our previous house, the moving company added a surcharge for the 250+ boxes of books my wife and I had between us.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Special effects are now robust enough for Pern. Anne refused to sell the rights?
I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated.
I think I'd like to see Pern done as a limited series on Netflix or one of the other streaming services. There are enough characters and story arcs to be worth a couple of 10-episode seasons.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Does one lose his access to the lounge if he admits to never reading SF?
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
theoldfool wrote:
he admits to never reading SF?
No, but it does beg the question: What's wrong with you?
Software Zen:
delete this; -
theoldfool wrote:
he admits to never reading SF?
No, but it does beg the question: What's wrong with you?
Software Zen:
delete this;Dropped on my head when I was little. Why else would I try to write code?
If you can keep your head while those about you are losing theirs, perhaps you don't understand the situation.
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The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress and Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein The Chanur Saga and The Foreigner Sequence by C. J. Cherryh; oh hell, all of her science fiction is good The Bolo books by Keith Laumer and his successors The Old Man's War series by John Scalzi Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ... These are all books that I re-read time and again. I have had to ration myself how often I go back to them so that they don't get stale.
Software Zen:
delete this;In no particular order: The Foundation series (Isaac Asimov) The Robot books (Isaac Asimov) Dragon's Egg & its sequel Starquake (Robert L. Forward) Rocheworld & its sequels (Robert L. Forward) Camelot 30K (Robert L. Forward) The Dune series (Frank Herbert) Ringworld and its sequels (Larry Niven) Rama (but not the sequels) (Arthur C. Clarke) Some of Harry Turtledove's alternate history books The Mesklin series (Hal Clement) The Riverworld series (Philip Jose Farmer)
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
-
As a follow up to Glenn's post below, what would be your best SciFi book ? To me it is a hard choice, there are so many, but here a few that are important to me: - The Ice People by Barjavel, that I read when I was 8, and that probably gave me the taste for sciFi - I, Robot, that got me into robotics, computer science, logical thinking, ... - Another small book I cannot remember the name, talking about astronauts trapped in a spaceship (kind of Apollo 13) that my English teacher gave me and that was the first book I have read in English language. - A brave new world, because of that dystopian but maybe not so wrong description of our future. - Ubik, because ... Ubik. - Jurassic Parc, not because of the story, but for the chaos theory developed over 40 pages by Crichton. The movie was awesome in its time, but the book is on another level - I know it is cliché to say the book is better than the movie. Same for Terminator, the book/screenplay explains so much better the overall atmosphere, the character of Sarah Connor, and helps understanding a few shortcuts that were hard to follow in the movie.
In no particular order: The Foundation series (Isaac Asimov) The Robot books (Isaac Asimov) Dragon's Egg & its sequel Starquake (Robert L. Forward) Rocheworld & its sequels (Robert L. Forward) Camelot 30K (Robert L. Forward) The Dune series (Frank Herbert) Ringworld and its sequels (Larry Niven) Rama (but not the sequels) (Arthur C. Clarke) Some of Harry Turtledove's alternate history books The Mesklin series (Hal Clement) The Riverworld series (Philip Jose Farmer)
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.
