Sci-Fi Recommendations - for the unenlightened

[The Master™]

Since we've got a Fantasy one, how about your Sci-Fi favourites... Here are mine...

Arthur C Clarke
2061: Odyssey Three

Philip K Dick
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

Kevin Anderson
Jedi Academy series
Jedi Search
Dark Apprentice
Champions of the Force

Sheri S Tepper
Grass

Greg Bear
Eon
Dinosaur Summer

Robert Silverberg
The Book of Skulls

L E Modesitt Jnr
Gravity Dreams

Joe Haldeman
Forever War

Samuel R Delaney
Nova

Larry Niven
Ringworld
Ringworld Engineers
Destiny*s Road

Robert A Heinlen
Starship Troopers

Harry Harrison
Stainless Steel Rat
Bill, The Galactic Hero
Bill, The Galactic Hero... on the planet of the hippies from hell
Bill, The Galactic Hero... the final incoherant adventure

Mary Shelley
Frankenstein

Alfred Bester
The Demolished Man

Richard Matheson
I Am Legend

STAR TREK STUFF

Jean Lorrah
Metamorphosis

Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Prime Directive

Diane Duane
Dark Mirror

Peter David
Imzadi
Vendetta
Star Trek: New Frontier Series (got all the books, but couldn't make a note of all the titles)...

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Mmmkeh. Here are my essential (not always favourite) SF novels in no particular order(be aware that much of the best work in the genre is inthe short format - I'll post on that later):


The Demolished Man, The Stars My Destination: Alfred Bester
The Gods Themselves, Caves Of Steel: Isaac Asimov
Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land: Robert A Heinlein
Rendezvous With Rama, 2001: A Space Odyssey: Arthur C Clarke
The World of Null-A, The Voyage of the Space Beagle: AE van Vogt
A Harvest of Stars, The Avatar: Poul Anderson
Venus Plus X, More Than Human: Theodore Sturgeon
Nightwings, Dying Inside: Robert Silverberg
Dune, The Jesus Incident: Frank Herbert
Gateway, Man Plus: Frederick Pohl
A Canticle for Leibowitz: Walter M Miller, Jr
Ubik, The man in the high castle: Philip K Dick
334: Thomas M Disch
Cat's Cradle: Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
Emphyrio, Wyst: Alastor 1716: Jack Vance
Neuromancer, Idoru: William Gibson
On, Polystom: Adam Roberts
The player of games, Feersum Endjinn: Iain M Banks
The Left Hand of Darkness, The Lathe of Heaven: Ursula K LeGuin
Parable of the Sower: Octavia Butler
The Sky Road: Ken MacLeod
The Golden Age: John C Wright
The Mote in God's Eye: Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle
Norstrilia: Cordwainer Smith
Mission of Gravity: Hal Clement
Ringworld: Larry Niven (A novel I personally found vastly overrated)
A case of Conscience: James Blish
Stand on Zanzibar: John Brunner
Flowers for Algernon: Daniel Keyes
Blood Music, Eon: Greg Bear
The Uplift War: David Brin
The Midwich Cuckoos, The day of the Trffids: John Wyndham
Lords of Light: Roger Zelazny

 

[ravenus]

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?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Eek. Sorry abt Wells - I sort of take the lad for granted. And Moreau is my favourite of his books, too. Come to think of it, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and some of EA Poe's stories probably ought to be considered part of a through SF reading program too. And it's all fun!!!

Personally I avoid SW/ST franchise fiction like the plague. Others are less fastidious.

 

[The Master™]

I'd like to read the original HG Wells stuff... The Invisible Man, The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, etc

Read the free online version of The Island of Dr Moreau here: http://www.wells.omnia.co.uk/dr-moreau/ (as well as others)

Or even Jules Verne...

But there is so much good stuff out there, that there just isn't enough time...

I enjoyed the Star Wars/Star Trek stuff... Something fun about it... And because ST/SW started me on my road to Sci-Fi/Fantasy stuff...

OH, AND I FORGOT TO ADD A BOOK I'VE ALMOST FINISHED AND ENJOYED:

Ursula Le Guin
The Dispossessed

 

[Jay]

I'm sure everyone will name the classics and will thus refrain from doing so, but will add that if not reading Philip K. Dick, there truly is no reason to read Science Fiction. I just wanted to drop a 3 names of authors who aren't getting enough attention, which is a shame because IMHO there work is among the best written currently. I also want to note that I don't consider SF jsut books with spaceships and aliens.

In my mind these are 3 masters, and have written some of the best works in the last few years. I highly recommend them:

Jeffrey Thomas:

Punktown
Monstrocity
Everybody Scream
Letter's from Hades

Michael Cisco:

The Divinity Student
Golem

First two are collected in the San Veneficio Canon

Tyrant

Zoran Zivkovic:

The Fourth Circle
Time Gifts

 

[Brys]

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card. You've already said Dune (Frank Herbert). And depending on whether you classify the Book of the New Sun (Gene Wolfe) as science fiction, then I'd recommend that as well.

 

[Rosemary]

Apart from the brilliant Dune series, I would recommend Julian May's The Galactic Millieu Trilogy.

Some of Robert Silverberg and Steven Baxter's works make quite good reading.

 

[Taltos]

Some more SF books, series and separate books mixed together:



Mike Resnick “Widowmaker”

Robert Asprin “Phule” & “Time scout” Isaac Asimov “Foundation” & “end of eternity”

Henry Kuttner “Galloway Gallegher” & “Hogben”

Roger Zelazny “This immortal”, “Today We Choose Faces” etc.

Clifford Simak “They Walked Like Men”, “Way Station” & “City”

Patrick Tilley “Amtrak wars”

Dan Simmons “Hyperion”

S. Andrew Swann “Forest of the night” (haven’t found any of his other books)

Ben Bova “The Weathermakers”

Jack McDevitt “Talent for War”

George R.R. Martin “Tuf Voyaging”

Lois McMaster Bujold “Miles Vorkosigan”

Robert A. Heinlein “Time enough for love”, “Moon is a harsh mistress”, “Friday” etc.

Michael Swanwick “Vacuum Flowers”

Alan Dean Foster “Flinx and Pip Adventures” & “The Damned”

Frederic Pohl “Heechee”

Peter F. Hamilton “Night’s Dawn”



Some classics:



Francis Carsac “Terre en fuite” & “Les Robinsonsdu cosmos”

E.E. “Doc” Smith “Lensmen”

Alfred Van Vogt “Slan” & “Silkie”

H. “Beam” Piper “Little Fuzzy”



PS: sorry for the fonts ... copy & paste and HTML don't mix

 

[stormbard]

I received I-Robot by Isaac Asimov as a birthday present when I was young, and have continued reading science fiction since. I really enjoy all of Asimov's work, especially the Foundation series & related books.
I also recommend Nivon&Pournelle's The Mote In God's Eye, not the sequel though, which I found disappointing.
Also, all of Kim Stanley Robinson's novels are awesome.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Neal Asher:
Gridlinked
The Skinner
Line of Polity
The Cowl
Brass Man

Peter F. Hamilton:
Nights Dawn trilogy
Pandora's Star
Another Chance at Eden

Al Reynolds:
Chasm City
Redemption Ark
Absolution Gap
Revelation Space
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Century Rain
Pushing Ice
(not all in that order)

 

[longplay]

Another vote for Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy and Asimov's Foundation series and Robot books. I'd also add Jon Courtenay Grimwood. I prefer his earlier stuff but the three Arabesk novels are excellent too.

 

[The Master™]

Another I found that I forgot to mention:

Aldus Huxley
Brave New World

******************

People talk about reading "classics"...

I have never read Asimov or a lot of the early pioneers... And to be totally frank, the idea leaves me a little cold... Okay, I'd like to try maybe one or two, but I'm not gonna go out of my way to acquire them...

I've read some books considered to be classics, and been left by some of them wondering why they are considered so... Maybe because they are, so called, pioneers; but I've found other writers to be a little more fun and easier to understand... There are some books that are products of their time, and not having lived through those times I can't associate with them... So, feel a little confused... Then, there are others that are timeless (The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester... I'd never believe that it had been published in 1953!!!!)...

I guess it is all subjective and open to personal choice...

Talking of classics, would anyone consider A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain to be classic Sci-Fi or Classic Fantasy??? In fact, has anyone ever read it, or just watched the two movies, like me???

Nobody read 1984 by George Orwell???

 

[GOLLUM]

Yep also read 1984 by George Orwell more than once..

Check out my reply on your Twain question in the fantasy recommendations thread....

 

[stormbard]

Aldus Huxley
Brave New World

Still have to read this obvious gem

I have never read Asimov

Please do, his books are really one-of-a-kind.

Then, there are others that are timeless (The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester... I'd never believe that it had been published in 1953!!!!)...

I'll have to check this one out, as I haven't read it.

Nobody read 1984 by George Orwell???

I thought this book was incredible, and very real. 'Check Your Head'

 

[Jay]

Anyone who like Huxley or Orwell, should check out Jack London's Iron Heel, as without doubt it heavily influenced both.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I am probably unique in not actually liking 1984. Though I read it with an English class, so thats never a good way to do it. Maybe I should try again some time...

 

[The Master™]

At school (many, many, many years ago), I was forced to read The Chrysalids by John Wyndham... Kind of put me off reading others of his...

Has anyone read:
The Chrysalids
The Midwich Cuckoos
The Day of the Triffids
The Kraken Wakes

 

[Stalker]

Stanislaw Lem
Solaris
Edem
Summa Technologia
Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
Roadside Picnic
Beetle in the anthill
Inhabited Island
Hard to be a God
Alfred Bester
The Demolished Man
Tiger! Tiger!
Isaac Asimov
The Gods Themselves
Foundation
Robert A Heinlein
Starship Troopers
Stranger in a Strange Land:
Alfred van Vogt
The Voyage of the Space Beagle: A Harvest of Stars,
Poul Anderson
Time Patrol series
Frederick Pohl
Gateway
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1]Heechee Rendezvous[/size]
[size=-1]The Annals of the Heechee[size=-1] [/size][size=-1] [/size][/size]
Walter M Miller, Jr
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Philip K Dick
Ubik
The Man in the High Castle
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Francis Carsac
Robinsons of the Space
Escaping Earth
From nowhere
Larry Niven/Jerry Pournelle
The Mote in God's Eye
Hal Clement
Mission of Gravity
Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon
David Brin
Startide rising
The Uplift War
Barry B. Longyear
Enemy Mine
John Wyndham
The day of the Trffids
Philip J. Farmer
River World
Still, the above list is far from being full.

 

[chaos]

And what about books of Erik F. Rassel?
imo, every his short story or novel is masterpiece of genre.
special for unenlightened