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Decent science fiction authors?
Posts
I was just about to say the same thing. I figure plenty of non-serious stuff has been covered already, may as well get into the chunky books. "Evolution" is incredible.
I also recommend Kim Stanley Robinson and Charles Stross.
Think Office Space meets James Bond meets Lovecraft and you should be on the right track.
And Heinlein has some really weird views on women.
A lot of people who wrote SF before about, oh, 1980 had views on women (and most other groups that weren't white men like them) weird enough that I'd be cautious about recommending them. However, its not a good idea to just say 'ew, don't read'. If you want to provide the books, go ahead, just make sure that you also give the reader access to criticism of the books (and analysis of the writer's character) so that they can spot the weirdness and make up their own minds. Think 'teaching moment', not 'censorship', otherwise you're functionally no different to the nutty fundies who try to ban Harry Potter. And those people are silly.
That's all I have to say about that.
I'd like to repeat the recommendations for Dan Simmons' Hyperion books. The last two books aren't as awesome, but you kind of have to read them after Hyperion/Fall. I don't really know if they're "heavy" or anything, but definitely serious. Hollow Man is another pretty good one by Simmons, nothing to do with the movie of the same name.
Spider Robinson's Callahan stuff is light-hearted and fun. The Stardancers stories are less fun but still a good read.
He writes really weird speculative, often post-apocalyptic sci fi, which creates a very strange situation (often with hard science) and then investigates what it would be like to live in it as a human being. Really strong characterization plus brilliant world building.
As an idea, one of his novels is about a hyper-religious world with advanced technology and literal interpretation of moral law in the Bibliquran (har), so you get decapitated for many crimes including sexual perversion.
However, the decapitation device also attaches itself to your neck right afterward and makes sure it controls your breathing and blood flow, and your memory is downloaded to a consciousness pack in your spine; you become one of the Headless, a looked-down on under-caste.
The book is called Land of the Headless. He has also written books about our world being covered in snow in a week, a world that is just a giant wall, what happens when the world is struck by a meteor and fragments and people manage to survive on the fragments, and one about private individual space-flight capable vehicles and what the consequences of such would be. There's some others but those are the ones I've read (which are excellent).
I think you're in the wrong thread.
Well, depends on whether or not Cryogen is a 16 year old girl.
http://www.webscription.net/p-30-berserker-throne.aspx
John Ringo's Council Wars series is fairly good. A small warning about him though. While the Council Wars doesn't touch on it much, he is an extremely conservative author. His other series tend to have the odd rant or two about liberals. He also has some works up on the Baen Free Library.
http://www.webscription.net/p-412-there-will-be-dragons.aspx First book in the Council wars series.
Maybe I missed it but Larry Niven and Ringworld. Also Poul Anderson. Damon Knight's In Search of Wonder is an excellent read for understanding the very early days of the genre.
and orson scott card wrote about a 9 year old killing someone in the shower (enders game). on the whole, ellisons' work is thought provoking and powerful, with a lot of autobiographical elements in it. its not like i recommended stephen donaldson's gap series. and hell, people are recommending splatterpunk noir stuff (altered carbon).
and yes, heinlein is a product of his time. he also has some weird ideas about men, and government, and religion (stranger in a strange land, job). his female archetypes were very much female, but in many of the books they are not passive objects or super feminine 'save me' types. see friday, the moon is a harsh mistress...
oh god, i've geeked out.
I also read Dan Simmon's Hyperion Series recently, and I have to say those were amazing as well.
Ghost and the rest of that series are pretty much military action porn. The rest of his works have little to no erotic content. A couple references to rape (not in an erotic sense and actually shown on the page) and a couple of female characters are described as being amply endowed. And a few love sense that also happen off the page and are mostly vanilla.
The unmitigated rants about politics are at their worst in that series as well. The Council Wars doesn't have it (and the super hard core conservatives in that book are the bad guys) and the Aldeneta series has a few references. The only exception is the Last Centurion which is pretty much nothing but one long winded politic rant.
You kinda picked the worst book of his worst series to start with.
Oh, right. I remember being intrigued by the premises of Salt and On, but I never got around to read them. Adding him to my reading list.
I wouldn't advise any of the Dune books not written by Frank Herbert. His son has some of the themes down, but doesn't have near the skill of his father. Kevin J. Anderson is a total hack and you shouldn't buy anything he writes, ever. He'd screw up a Reader's Digest.
From a science-fiction fan perspective, Ellison's work is interesting to read, as you can see where a lot of pop sci-fi concepts germinated in the last fifty years. Just ask Harlan... he'll tell you. Repeatedly. And he'll also tell you to go screw yourself for taking the time out of his day to ask him. He's basically Lewis Black, but without the funny.
Yeah I'm just wary of recommending certain authors unless I know the predisposition of the reader and what he or she feels is ready to accept. Heinlein has some really wonky ideas about civil rights in Starship Troopers that I'd be wary of recommending his books to anyone with a 'developing mind', so to speak, because his books are written in a very didactic manner (unlike Harry Potter, which isn't didactic, so it's not gonna teach you about witchcraft, really) and could well serve to fill your head with the wrong ideas.
Heinlein's a good read for a counterpoint to those who've already established their views on civil liberties and authoritarianism. Otherwise, it's like a guidebook on how to think poorly of people who don't want to join the military.
Likewise, a lot of people who read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged at an early age without much prior social education or instruction from their parents or access to other books formulate some very self-centric ideas about the world. The world just doesn't work that way and justifying selfish behaviour isn't something you want to start doing at a young age.
Ah yes, Ghost. The protagonist collects prostitutes like and old lady collects cats. It's hilariously bad stuff.
Ah yes, Ghost. The protagonist collects prostitutes like and old lady collects cats. It's hilariously bad stuff. Oh John Ringo No! serves to educate, so you don't have to read them.
Main character's first internal monologue regards how he could easily become a sexual predator of the less than observant women of his college. Quite the starting character flaw. Hope he got something in terms of stat bonuses to make up for it.
Followed by a truly terribly written action sequence where the word "ghost" is used to often it lost all meaning to me. That stat bonus shows up in terms of Plot Armour, but to be fair, it's not really any worse than the Plot Armour worn by Dirk Pitt, James Bond, or any other person who is remarkably gifted at not getting shot, despite being shot at constantly.
Followed by the main character coming to the rescue of a cadre of young women in the process of being held captive and gang raped for the world to see. One gets violated and murdered to establish a strong sense of hatred in the antagonists, and Mr. Ghost makes his move before the second one is fully finished being traumatized.
He then proceeds to kill and behead Osama Bin Laden. I think he nabs Sadam Hussein at the same time.
Then, after being shot a few times, he leads the victims into a defensive action against the Iraqi military personnel on base (did I mention they're all buxom college co-ed types, nude during their captivity? Don't worry, Mr. Ghost comments on the matter at length), until they are all rescued by a platoon of hardcore U.S. special forces.
He's then granted millions of dollars for his kills, nursed to health, buys a boat and wanders off into the seas in search of bad people to kill (for more money) and women to have rough sex with (there appears to be an endless supply of these; willing playmates and less willing paid workers alike).
I could swear I heard a rednecks rendition of the Stars and Stripes playing in the background while reading it.
Good to know that it's the worst of the bunch, perhaps I'll stop crossing myself and spitting on the floor whenever I come across the shelf the local bookstore has dedicated to his works. It might be shelves. Either way, I'll bet they'd appreciate me not spitting on their floor.
For some classic action-y science fiction I'd recommend Alastor and The Demon Princes by Jack Vance. For more of a fantasy slant check out Tales from a Dying Earth. Vance heavily influenced Dungeons and Dragons and various text based games.
And I completely agree with the criticism offered in this thread regarding Richard Morgan. Hate him so much.
Alistair Reynolds was also mentioned and I'd second him for heavier space opera type stuff. His writing isn't quite there yet but he has some cool ideas.
David Brin's Uplift stuff is a lot of fun. You should also check out Postman.
Joe Haldeman's Forever War is a classic piece of military science fiction.
Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling is like the only really good thing that he's ever done. Classic scifi/cyberpunk, follows the career and life of a guy with malleable loyalties in the solar system.
The first Gateway novel by Frederick Pohl is pretty good. At least I liked it at the time.
Ahahah you've found a Christmas present for my friend. She's going to hate me so much.
Many thanks.
Would it not be magnificent if she ended up enjoying them?
Well she's kinda twisted and she's given me a bunch of books that were on the same level of depravity. So uh...
There's a chance.
Philip K. Dick is an excellent choice if you're at all interested in something a little more out there, and if you want complete sci-fi fantasy than it doesn't really get any better than Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, set on Earth several hundred thousand years in the future in a completely unrecognizable culture as the memoirs of a Christ-like messiah/ex torturer.
Well to clear things up i'm twice that age, and a guy
As such, people shouldnt feel bad about recommending stuff that may present some of the criticisms leveled on the last page of the thread (ie old fashioned views of women, objectifying women, racial stereotypes, etc) as i'm perfectly capable of reading the books for what they are. I'm not new to reading, just havent read a lot of sci-fi before.
The reason i'd prefer lighter, or less intense stories is that for most of the year the majority of my reading is based around law, finance, accountancy... very dry material. My entertainment reading is usually better when i can disengage the brain a bit
Reason for finishing the book: Morbid curiosity.
Orson Scott Card is an ass but some of his books are decent reading. Enders Game is one of my favorite books of all time. Speaker of the Dead is survivable. Xenocide was unfinishable. I read the 4th book due to having a boring job, and the only thing it made me do was re-read Enders Game to clean my mouth of the taste. The newer ones suffer the same way. Enders Shadow is decent and from there it goes down hill. I have finished all but the most recent and I am not sure why.
Heinlien has great books, Stranger in a Strangeland and Starship Troopers, and books I just don't care for. In general though a great author.
Assimov and Clarke are good authors. I still think Childhood's End was one of those books that really affected my outlook on life at the time.
Someone mentioned Baxter. I like his books. In general they are pretty hard sf and they don't break the rules of physics(no ftl). I also find both books I have read very very depressing though. Excellent reads, but not light at all at the end.
Nancy Kress's books I always find entertaining. I recommend the Beggers series that starts with Beggers in Spain. Fantastic reads.
If you want really braindead light, read the Dresden Files. Not really SF but I finish them in about a day and they are just entertaining. I still like them better than Harry Potter. Otherwise the Necroscope series by Brian Lumely, spys, undead, vampires. It has it all for a fun campy good time. Though he goes overboard on some of the descriptions of things.
It's strange. I've heard that criticism before but I didn't find it depressing at all. I actually found it reassuring - to have all your doubts, dreams and aspirations reduced to complete irrelevance by the slow grind of nature is kinda cool. Takes a weight off your shoulders.
Anyway, I think my Kim Stanley Robinson suggestion offsets Baxter's depression - Pacific Edge is so optimistic. Man, that book makes me happy. But if you're after something to distract you from law, finance and accounting it's not the best as a lot of Robinson's stuff directly addresses economics/law. If you have a real passion for those topics it's interesting stuff but not necessarily light reading.
"This is not a book to tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force." -Dorothy Parker.
Baxters other series are insanely depressing though. The Xeelee sage is mostly set in the detritus of a futile war that destroys pretty much everything, and the Space series ends up with humanity never achieving anything and eventually being wiped out and forgotten.
Havn't read the Destiny's Children books though, maybe I'll ask for them for Christmas
Yeah, he invented the "Vancian magic" school of magic where you need to prepare spells in advance and then just need a trigger to release them, and can only hold so many spells prepared in your head at once. Been meaning to read him some time, haven't gotten around to it yet.
He's one of my favorites. The Inhibitor series starts kind of slow and stuttering, but you can notice him getting better at it in each book. Chasm City is probably my favorite with the noir-ish detective theme going on.
I remember going "wow, this guy is channeling Starship Troopers" the first time I read it.
Oh yeah, just thought of another recommendation: The Dread Empire's Fall books by Walter Jon Williams. Very much space opera, where for once humanity was already conquered by aliens thousands of years ago and are now a well-integrated race in their empire. Three books are out, but I've only read the first two so far.
Historical Science Fiction where a group of aliens invades Earth in the midst of World War 2, causing the Soviets, Nazi's and Americans (among other forces, of course) to put aside hostilities and commit to repelling the invaders. Wikipedia says there are 4 books in the series (of which I've read 3, I think), followed by a 3 book series (haven't read any) and a more recent novel that I assume may be some kind of epilogue wrapping the whole thing up.