Sci-Fi Recommendations - for the unenlightened

[HardScienceFan]

I second j.d.’s recommendation of Neuromancer. I also liked Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age and, for something more recent, Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon. I’m not sure if it’s generally regarded as Cyberpunk, but Greg Bear’s Queen of Angels struck me as such, and it was a pretty interesting, if somewhat challenging, read.

I suppose I could Google it,but:
Is Sterling's islands in the Net cyperpunk
Count Zero is good,also,BTW

 

[daisybee]

I am glad that The Sparrow has been mentioned, I also thought Children Of God was great too-hard going at times but worth it.

 

[gully_foyle]

I'm not sure I'd include either Bester or Vinge in there. Bester came long before Cyberpunk was even around; though he might be said to have influenced it. The same could well be said for Dick. Another good one to look for is Bruce Sterling. There's also Rudy Rucker. If you've not read it before, you might want to take a look at Mirrorshades, ed. by Sterling:

Mirrorshades, edited by Bruce Sterling

Cyberpunk isn't my speciality, I'll admit... though I liked a fair amount of what I've read there, I just never explored that far into it.

Definitely (even though it has become somewhat dated) go for Neuromancer, it's one of the classics of the genre. So is the "Ware Tetralogy" by Rucker: Sofware, Wetware, Freeware, Realware... the first two of which are the most notable, I'd say.

Before Gibson jacked us into the cyber wonderland I would say Bester's Golem 100 was laying the foundations. I don't think there were too many years between the two books, though a lifetime between the authors. I haven't read Neuromancer since it was released (it is on my classics to revisit list), but I recently tried to read Golem 100 and immediately thought of Gibson.

However, I didn't finish Golem 100, I stopped caring about the characters.

Is there a thread on great books to stop reading?

 

[Blackhand]

Brandon Sanderson's Elantris and Mistborn. Mistborn is a little less capturing, but Elantris = <3. Hrathen is win.

 

[j d worthington]

Before Gibson jacked us into the cyber wonderland I would say Bester's Golem 100 was laying the foundations. I don't think there were too many years between the two books, though a lifetime between the authors. I haven't read Neuromancer since it was released (it is on my classics to revisit list), but I recently tried to read Golem 100 and immediately thought of Gibson.

However, I didn't finish Golem 100, I stopped caring about the characters.

Is there a thread on great books to stop reading?

There is... though I'd have to search to track it down.

Ummm, yes, I suppose you could say Bester was laying some of the groundwork... but then, so were several other writers. As with any literary movement, it grow out of already existing materials; nothing springs like Athena from Jove's forehead.

That said... I did finish Golem 100... but found the ending rather a severe letdown... something which is true of all of Bester's sf novels from The Computer Connection/Extro on. However, each of them has so much that is brilliant, that it almost makes the grade.... That none do, is a great pity, especially considering what wonderful work the man did in his earlier career... and large chunks of these, as well.

 

[lon gallamour]

well don't hold me to all these authors but the story titles i remember well:

A Hurkle is a Happy Beast by Robert Silverberg

Cities in Flight by James Blish

The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Stardrift by John Morressey

The Wall Around the World by Theodore Cogswell

All those some short and some long, you can read over and over again, and each time they are a pleasure to read.

 

[HardScienceFan]

well don't hold me to all these authors but the story titles i remember well:

The Wall Around the World by Theodore Cogswell
All those some short and some long, you can read over and over again, and each time they are a pleasure to read.

Have to agree with you there
And the Spectre General,of course

 

[UltraCulture]

'ON' by Adam Roberts.

it's a very decent SFF

 

[Addy]

And by the way, I think 1984 is rubbish as sf... important at the time it was published because so many people were still naive about Stalin's Russia, but never a real sf book... it's not realistic even (which is why it's not good sf) as he has a situation which is so simplistic... real culture and real people are more complex... even in Stalin's time, not all Russians were automatons of the state!

Screw sf, 1984 is a brilliant piece of literature, no matter what genre. It 's not simplistic at all, and it's not supposed to be realistic.

 

[Addy]

Screw sf, 1984 is a brilliant piece of literature, no matter what genre. It 's not simplistic at all, and it's not supposed to be realistic.

Gee, that's what I get for drunk-posting. Firefox won't let me delete neither edit my post.

 

[gully_foyle]

Anyone have an opinion on Alastair Reynolds The Prefect? There's a copy at the uni bookshop near work and the blurb sounds good. Sorta Space Opera meets whodunit.

 

[UltraCulture]

Prefect is my next buy....GRAB it if you can gully.

 

[Kostmayer]

I want to read Prefect too. Am a big Alistair Reynolds fan.

 

[Advocatus]

H.G. Wells' work too passe for you pundits? I'd at least recommend Island of Dr. Moreau.

Edit: Am I retarded in only just realizing the likely intended phonetic resemblance of the name Moreau to morrow (as in tommorrow)?

And is the Jedi stuff really sci-fi or just fantasy with laser guns?

ravenus, I think you've made a good point about Star Wars. I adore the movies, and I remember when the first one (#4 for people born after 1977) came out. My friends and I had never seen anything like it. Still, on reflection, Lucas drew much more from Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung than from any thoughtful speculation about the effect of technology on society (for instance) or any of the other, harder SF techniques. I like to say that Star Trek is science fiction, while Star Wars is fantasy in space. That's not meant to be disparaging, of course, since I like LOTR equally well.

Some time ago I ran across one of those download-only novels that does a terrific job of creating a mythological or fantasy feel while keeping the science pretty strong. It's called Communion of Dreams by Jim Downey. Google the title and you'll find the website.

 

[Snow]

Yeah,I also thought this book was incredible, and very real.

 

[AE35Unit]

I'm late coming to this thread but I'm gonna add my list to that of the original poster, or at least try!

Arthur C Clarke
2001 A space Odyssey
2061: Odyssey Three
Yep, tho 3001 is much much better!


Philip K Dick
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Yea, I read that, one of those rare book adaptations where I think I prefer the film!

Kevin Anderson
not read any of his

Sheri S Tepper
or hers!

Greg Bear
Blood Music-fabulous!
Infinity Concerto and
The Serpent Mage-fantastic adventures in these pages!
Beyond Heaven's river
Psychlone

Robert Silverberg
not read any classic Silverberg, yet!
At Winter's End &
The Queen of Springtime
Face of the Waters
Hot Sky at midnight

Larry Niven
Ringworld
Ringworld Engineers
A World Out Of Time
Legacy of Heorot
Dragons of Heorot

Robert A Heinlen
Stranger in a strange Land-soooperb!
Puppet Masters
Job: A Comedy of Justice
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners
Waldo and Magic Inc
Revolt in 2100

Harry Harrison
Stainless Steel Rat
Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
Bill, The Galactic Hero
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein-oh yes!

Alfred Bester
The Demolished Man
Tiger! Tiger!

Alan Dean Foster
Cachalot
Quozl
Cats A Lyst
For Love of Mother Not
Alien!
Into the Out Of
Glory Lane
The I Inside

Asimov
End of Eternity
Caves of Steel
The Naked Sun
I'Robot
Child of Time(with Silverberg)
The Ugly Litle Boy(ditto)
The Positronic Man(ditto)
Nightfall

 

[white_wanderer]

Peter F Hamilton
Night's Dawn Trilogy
A Second Chance at Eden

Poul Andersen
Guardians of Time

Arthur C Clarke
2001
2010
2063
3001
Rendezvous with Rama

 

[iansales]

Nooooooo. 2001 and Rendezvous with Rama, yes. But not the others. And definitely not 3001.

 

[white_wanderer]

I enjoyed the 2001 series, but each to their own.

Tad Williams
Otherland series

Harry Turtledove
Guns of the South

 

[Doug Graves]

I'm going to try to list things which haven't been listed yet:

Lies, Inc by Philip K. Dick
Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks
The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany
The Essential Ellison - Harlan Ellison short stories
Dangerous Visions - ed. by Harlan Ellison; outstanding collection of the "New Wave" of sci fi.