Books: SciFi & Fantasy

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Dune was by Frank, not Brian; Brian is his son and he wrote the seventh in the series. However, while the first is astonishing and the second is readable (but short) the rest are terrible.
But by all means, everyone, read the first.

Terry Goodkind/Terry Brooks: terrible. Stick to Tolkien.

Laurell K. Hamilton: only read her Anita Blake books. If this is another one, it's well worth a read.
Peter David: snigger.
 
YOu left out Kurt Vonnegut my favorite writer! He wrote such great books as slaughterhouse 5 and timequake, which was sadly his last book (or at least thats what he says)
 
Culture

For what I have seen, a lot of people haven´t even heard about Iain Bank´s Culture series (Consider Flebast, Player of the Game, Use of Weapons and The State of Art) which (I think) were great. The culture was perhaps the most optimistic society I have ever seen (altough unfortuanlly humanity wasn´t part of that society :( )

Culture was quite opposite from the society in George Orwell´s 1984
 
I'm not sure about the author Iain Bank, Although 1984 that the prophecy that Mankind is to have it's face ground by the heel of a boot.

(I think that's correct ,but if it isn't well... it's one of those memory glitches)

The author that I keep mentioning... is William Gibson for the Cyberpunk genre,Of course I'm not going to Leave out Bruce Sterling as another author to the genre.

John Wyndham novels are pretty good too... Like day of the Triffads, The Kraken Awakes, The trouble lichen.

On a different note: Welcome to Sciforums Yang's_Matrix :D I hope you have the chance to take in the scenery and post to what ever board you choose. As I know from previous experience your comments were well founded :D
 
*Originally posted by rde
Dune was by Frank, not Brian; Brian is his son and he wrote the seventh in the series. However, while the first is astonishing and the second is readable (but short) the rest are terrible.
But by all means, everyone, read the first.

Are you referring to Children of Dune through Chapterhouse Dune? If so I am astonished at your given language. Terrible is an odd word to chose for something whose brilliance parallels the original. I am assuming that either did not read the forementioned titles or did not read the forementioned titles. I recognize that you are entitled to an opinion, but I would suggest that without support your opinion is weightless. I enjoyed the 5th and 6th book especially. The grand sweeping scale and general twist of events placin an underdog against a vastly superior force, was a brilliant return to the original formula. It is telling of Herbert's genious that the end moral message of converting one's enemy as an ally pervades the final book.
 
Originally posted by Teg
*Originally posted by rde
Dune was by Frank, not Brian; Brian is his son and he wrote the seventh in the series. However, while the first is astonishing and the second is readable (but short) the rest are terrible.
But by all means, everyone, read the first.

Are you referring to Children of Dune through Chapterhouse Dune? If so I am astonished at your given language. Terrible is an odd word to chose for something whose brilliance parallels the original.
Click to expand...
The original Dune is my most-read book; I've lost count of the number of times. I've tried to re-read the subsequent volume, but I just can't. They are, IMO, terrible. I liked the ideas in God Emperor, but in general I stand by my original assessment.

It's over a decade since I read them, so I can't give any concrete criticism at the moment, but dredging the memories, I found them tedious and repetitive.
 
Heretics, tedious and repetitive? What pace would you prefer, Die Hard, the book? In no way can this book be characterized as either boring or redundant. You have obviously not read the last two books.
 
I am personally a real die hard Alpha Centauri fan (AC is a PC game by Sid Meier) and I can´t wait till the third AC book is released... altough in the first two books did have few sacrileges in them... mostly concerning about the charracters and factions. :p

I think that first book (Centauri Dawn) gave a good picture from Comissioner Pravin Lal (aka Brother Lal), but in the second book (Dragon Sun) I think that Michael Ely (author) didn´t give a full picture about Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang and his ideology (and ofcourse Yang´s downfall was ALMOST unacceptable :) ).
Also I have pictured the Spartans to be a bit different... personally I don´t think that Spartans are so much in emotions and honor... but I thought they would be more logical... and war and physical strenght would not be theyr whole ideology, but all kinds of means wihch would assure theyr survival (after all, theyr ideology was that the survival of mankind must be assured, atleast I got that picture) and make humanity stronger.

Altough I cannot blaim Michael Ely for not seeing them as I do after all the game itself gives only minor hints about the charracters and theyr nature. One can easily see them in different light.
 
Originally posted by Teg
Heretics, tedious and repetitive? What pace would you prefer, Die Hard, the book? In no way can this book be characterized as either boring or redundant. You have obviously not read the last two books.
Click to expand...
I don't agree with you therefore I obviously didn't read the books. Well, I can't argue with logic like that.
 
David Eddings

David Eddings ranks "almost" alongside Tolkien. His Belgariad, Mallorian, Tamuli and Eleni series are brilliant, can't put the book down, stories in fantasy. One gripe I have - is that he tends to repeat on a variation in one or two books. But overall, I'd give him 95%.:rolleyes:
 
I personally liked Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer and
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter. Both are excellent reads.

Calculating God deals with an interesting way of looking at God. It is a sort of compromise between creationists and evolutionists, and brings up many interesting points throughout.

Vacuum Diagrams is a novel about the human race as a whole. It looks at humanities future, right up until the last star in the universe has long burned out (you will see why if you read the book ;) ). Not only does it deal with many interesting technologies (such as a huge ring of superstrings attached to eachother, which opens a doorway to a seperate universe a highly advanced alien race has constructed to save themselves and humanity from the force that has destroyed all the stars) but once you finish the book, you will realize how much it relates to God and the predictions in the Bible.

Both are amazing books, and I'd highly recommend them. But if you're only going to buy one, get Vacuum Diagrams.
 
Neal Stephenson is my favorite current author and the only SF I've read recently.

I unfortunately have too much work (ok school, but that's my job) related reading to read as much SF as I'd like.


I mainly wanted to say, if we are making a list of great authors Orson Scott Card, Robert Heinlein, and Robert Anton Wilson should all be mentioned. Niven too if you like effects between man, technology, and environment. Arthur C Clarke and Asimove deserve props too.

Fantasy wise - I like Eddings, Robert Jordan, and Raymond E. Feist.

ok I'm leaving people out, but I don't want to just start spouting names meaninglessly.
 
Originally posted by Xelios
I personally liked Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer and
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter.
Click to expand...
How about that! Yesterday I had posted -
---------
Robert J Sawyer. any of his books.

Flash Foward,
Calculating god,
Factoring humanity,

philosophy and science. Great mix.

Old stuff? Michael Crichton - Andromeda Strain, Sphere.
----------

Will definitely give Vacuum a try.

After reading a lot of RJ sawyer, I decided that his ideas are untouchable, but he always resorts to quickly wrapping up his stories, so we get a lot of "coincidences" in the end to tie up the loose ends.
 
Re: Culture

Originally posted by Yang´s_Matrix
For what I have seen, a lot of people haven´t even heard about Iain Bank´s Culture series (Consider Flebast, Player of the Game, Use of Weapons and The State of Art) which (I think) were great. The culture was perhaps the most optimistic society I have ever seen (altough unfortuanlly humanity wasn´t part of that society :( )

Culture was quite opposite from the society in George Orwell´s 1984
Click to expand...

I, too, love all of Bank's Sci-Fi and straight fiction novels.

Some I would recommend are the 'Culture' based sci-fi "Excession" and "Look to Windward". "Against A Dark Background" is also superb. His writing can be dark, witty and gritty, and the worlds / ships / aliens and 'Culture' society within which he has immersed himself is extremely rich and detailed.

Non-scifi that I have enjoyed by the same author have been "The Wasp Factory", "Complicity" and "The Crow Road".

Since reading his first novel "The Wasp Factory" I have become a total Banks addict and eagerly await his every publication.
 
I haven't read Goodking the books from Brooks are some of the best i have ever read after Fiest and then Tolkin
 
The Andromeda Strain

I just finnished reading The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. He's the greatest! wished only AS was longer thn it is:(
 
the best

one can't leave out Stephen R. Donaldson's the Gap series. I am a big SciFi fan and have red Heinlen, Asimov, Tolkien, Stephenson a trillion others, but This Gap series is absolutely the best SciFi I hve ever read.
 
No books by Heinlein on that list!?!?:mad:

Heinlein is the best Sci-Fi author ever. Stranger in a Stange Land is the best book ever written. Starship Troopers is almost as good.

By the way has anyone here heard of Mike Resnik? He's one of the best authors I've ever read but all his books are out of print and he isnt that old.
 
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