Books Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Only Thread - Page 43

**Buck** · 12:56 PM

There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy.

In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier.

CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS

Baby Lee
1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series.
2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists]
3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM]

Frosty
1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga
2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books)
3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn

Huffmeister
(1) Dune - Frank Herbert
(2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged)
(3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass)

Jawshco
1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe
2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead
3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams

listopencil
1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series
2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first)
3. Doc Smith's Lensman series

vailpass
1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below)
2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year)
3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17
See Post 142

vailpass · 07-15-2019, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mennonite

Cool. I grabbed a huge collection of his stuff a while back and haven't cracked it open yet. I'll start with that one.

Cool, let us know what you think.

**Bowser** · 07-15-2019, 06:22 PM

I mainly just lurk this thread, but it's genuinely one of my favorites. Keep up the great work in here.

vailpass · 07-15-2019, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumppy

Spinward Fringe series by Randolph Lalonde is one of my favorites. I think it's up to 12 or 13 books with a few spinoffs / side stories that are worth reading. Out of the entire series I've only been slightly disappointed in a couple of the books.

Just looked up the author. Interesting guy. Going to take a look at this one. Thanks.

ShiftyEyedWaterboy · 07-17-2019, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

I finished Urth. Gonna' read these now, next chance I get.

Nice! So what do you think of Wolfe? Urth could get a little "out there" at times but I ended up liking it as much as NS.

vailpass · 07-17-2019, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy

Nice! So what do you think of Wolfe? Urth could get a little "out there" at times but I ended up liking it as much as NS.

I very much like Wolfe, will look for more of his to read going forward. I liked Urth. I wasn't as carried by it as I was by NS but I didn't feel like I was supposed to be. It felt like what it was: a follow up to the main story. Part of it got a little nebulous for me ( no pun intended) but it was good stuff. I'm happy you recommended it.

ShiftyEyedWaterboy · 07-17-2019, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

I very much like Wolfe, will look for more of his to read going forward. I liked Urth. I wasn't as carried by it as I was by NS but I didn't feel like I was supposed to be. It felt like what it was: a follow up to the main story. Part of it got a little nebulous for me ( no pun intended) but it was good stuff. I'm happy you recommended it.

Always happy to recommend Wolfe. I think he's one of those authors everyone should try at least once. Fifth Head of Cerberus is good short read. The rest of the Solar Cycle is great, too. Soldier of the Mist and its sequels are also great. Follows a Roman mercenary fighting for the Persians. He suffers a head injury and has major problems with memory loss. He may or may not be able to communicate with the Greek gods.

I'm still dual reading Musashi by Endo and Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Haven't been able to read as much as I hoped so far this summer. Back to Malazan when I'm done with those.

patteeu · 07-18-2019, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy

Pynchon

Yikes

stumppy · 07-18-2019, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vailpass

Just looked up the author. Interesting guy. Going to take a look at this one. Thanks.

It's popcorn scifi. Not too deep but a pretty good read for what it is.

TipRoast · 07-18-2019, 06:57 AM

Here are some that have not already been mentioned

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester - considered by many to be the finest SF book ever written. Ostensibly about teleportation, it also touches on such minor topics as revenge, betrayal, love, hate, class warfare, and transcendence.

Rite Of Passage by Alexi Panshin - Nebula award winning novel. A fast, enjoyable read.

Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg - First in a trilogy. The other two books, The Majipoor Chronicles and Valentine Pontifex, are also good, if not quite up to the quality of the first book.

There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson - an intriguing time-travel story.

The Man In The Tree by Damon Knight - the story of a pituitary giant who has other talents besides sheer size. Knight's novella "Natural State" is also worth a read.

Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney - the plot itself is just OK, but the characters that populate the book are what makes it special.

Voyage From Yesteryear by James Hogan - a story about Earth's first colony in the Alpha Centauri system.

Fun books

The Practice Effect by David Brin - explores what happens when one of the fundamental laws of physics works differently.

The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrod - the title might make you think fantasy, but this one is SF.

Dimension Of Miracles by Robert Scheckley - something like Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide, but better.

Glory Road by Robert Heinlein - swords and sorcery in the hands of an SF grandmaster.

Other authors I didn't see mentioned

Keith Laumer: The Retief books/collections are outstanding. Mostly short stories, but Retief's War and Retief's Ransom are two novel-length books I return to every now and then. If you like the Retief stuff you might also like Poul Anderson's stories about Ensign Flandry.

Gordon Dickson: The Alien Way - a well-constructed first-contact story. Dickson wrote a lot of good military-themed short stories, as well.

ShiftyEyedWaterboy · 07-18-2019, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

Yikes

The guy is a little nuts but I love him. Mason & Dixon feels a little more accessible than some of his other work, too. Once you get used to the old timey language, anyway.

patteeu · 07-18-2019, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy

The guy is a little nuts but I love him. Mason & Dixon feels a little more accesible than some of his other work, too. Once you get used to the old timey language, anyway.

You're a better/more persistent reader than I am.

vailpass · 07-18-2019, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy

Always happy to recommend Wolfe. I think he's one of those authors everyone should try at least once. Fifth Head of Cerberus is good short read. The rest of the Solar Cycle is great, too. Soldier of the Mist and its sequels are also great. Follows a Roman mercenary fighting for the Persians. He suffers a head injury and has major problems with memory loss. He may or may not be able to communicate with the Greek gods.

I'm still dual reading Musashi by Endo and Mason & Dixon by Pynchon. Haven't been able to read as much as I hoped so far this summer. Back to Malazan when I'm done with those.

It's not all that frequent that I come across more than a word or two with which I am not familiar while reading but boy does Wolfe change all that.

I'm back in Malazaan now. Gonna' finish 'em off now. I think.

Mennonite · 08-08-2019, 12:52 PM

Still slowly making my way through the massive 13 volume Theodore Sturgeon collection. I've read 4 volumes so far.

Vol. 03:
"Memorial" is ok at best.
"KILLDOZER!" is an awsome title, but I didn't dig the story.

Vol. 07:
"A Saucer of Loneliness" is good.

Vol. 10:
"The Man Who Lost the Sea" is great.
"The Graveyard Reader" is good. Not SF.
"The Man Who Figured Everything" would have made a good 50s western. Not SF.
"Like Young" is pretty good.
"How to Kill Aunty" is ok. Not SF.

Vol. 12:

"Slow Sculpture" is good but the SF element seems superflous.
"The Girl Who Knew What They Meant" is good. Not SF.
"Crate" is ok. Ending a bit predictable.

I also read The Cauldron by Jean Rabe and Gene DeWeese. Not good. DeWeese wrote a pretty good Star Trek book called Engines of Destiny back in 05 and I was curious about his other stuff.

Started Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay but quickly grew bored with it.

I also read:

Country of the Kind by Damon Knight
That Only a Mother by Judith Merril
Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard

Mennonite · 08-09-2019, 11:34 AM

Reading this now:

It's the story of an astronaut who starves to death while waiting for his idiot friend to figure out how shovels work.

Not really.

Actually it's sort of a sci-fi procedural. Think CSI: The Moon. Astronauts find a human skeleton on the moon. A 50,000 year old skeleton. The book is basically scientists sciencing the hell out of the corpse to unravel the mystery.

Mennonite · 08-12-2019, 11:52 AM

I am slowly making my way through a collection of Hugo award nominated short stories. Some are good, most are not.

The Men Who Murdered Mohammed by Alfred Bester and Cassandra by C. J. Cherryh are two pretty good stories that I had never read before.

03-20-2012, 07:05 PM
Buck Take a Chill Pill Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: South Carolina Casino cash: $7599900	Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Only Thread There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy. In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier. CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS Baby Lee 1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series. 2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists] 3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM] Frosty 1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga 2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books) 3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn Huffmeister (1) Dune - Frank Herbert (2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged) (3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass) Jawshco 1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe 2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead 3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams listopencil 1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series 2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first) 3. Doc Smith's Lensman series vailpass 1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below) 2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year) 3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17 See Post 142 Last edited by Buck; 03-25-2012 at 12:56 PM..
Posts: 44,566

07-15-2019, 06:22 PM	#632
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $1671616	I mainly just lurk this thread, but it's genuinely one of my favorites. Keep up the great work in here.
Posts: 103,918

07-18-2019, 06:57 AM	#639
TipRoast Starter Join Date: Nov 2004 Casino cash: $9974900	Here are some that have not already been mentioned The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester - considered by many to be the finest SF book ever written. Ostensibly about teleportation, it also touches on such minor topics as revenge, betrayal, love, hate, class warfare, and transcendence. Rite Of Passage by Alexi Panshin - Nebula award winning novel. A fast, enjoyable read. Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg - First in a trilogy. The other two books, The Majipoor Chronicles and Valentine Pontifex, are also good, if not quite up to the quality of the first book. There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson - an intriguing time-travel story. The Man In The Tree by Damon Knight - the story of a pituitary giant who has other talents besides sheer size. Knight's novella "Natural State" is also worth a read. Babel-17 by Samuel Delaney - the plot itself is just OK, but the characters that populate the book are what makes it special. Voyage From Yesteryear by James Hogan - a story about Earth's first colony in the Alpha Centauri system. Fun books The Practice Effect by David Brin - explores what happens when one of the fundamental laws of physics works differently. The Flying Sorcerers by Larry Niven and David Gerrod - the title might make you think fantasy, but this one is SF. Dimension Of Miracles by Robert Scheckley - something like Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide, but better. Glory Road by Robert Heinlein - swords and sorcery in the hands of an SF grandmaster. Other authors I didn't see mentioned Keith Laumer: The Retief books/collections are outstanding. Mostly short stories, but Retief's War and Retief's Ransom are two novel-length books I return to every now and then. If you like the Retief stuff you might also like Poul Anderson's stories about Ensign Flandry. Gordon Dickson: The Alien Way - a well-constructed first-contact story. Dickson wrote a lot of good military-themed short stories, as well.
Posts: 58	1 0

08-08-2019, 12:52 PM	#643
Mennonite Veteran Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10258572	Still slowly making my way through the massive 13 volume Theodore Sturgeon collection. I've read 4 volumes so far. Vol. 03: "Memorial" is ok at best. "KILLDOZER!" is an awsome title, but I didn't dig the story. Vol. 07: "A Saucer of Loneliness" is good. Vol. 10: "The Man Who Lost the Sea" is great. "The Graveyard Reader" is good. Not SF. "The Man Who Figured Everything" would have made a good 50s western. Not SF. "Like Young" is pretty good. "How to Kill Aunty" is ok. Not SF. Vol. 12: "Slow Sculpture" is good but the SF element seems superflous. "The Girl Who Knew What They Meant" is good. Not SF. "Crate" is ok. Ending a bit predictable. I also read The Cauldron by Jean Rabe and Gene DeWeese. Not good. DeWeese wrote a pretty good Star Trek book called Engines of Destiny back in 05 and I was curious about his other stuff. Started Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay but quickly grew bored with it. I also read: Country of the Kind by Damon Knight That Only a Mother by Judith Merril Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard
Posts: 3,378

08-09-2019, 11:34 AM	#644
Mennonite Veteran Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10258572	Reading this now: It's the story of an astronaut who starves to death while waiting for his idiot friend to figure out how shovels work. Not really. Actually it's sort of a sci-fi procedural. Think CSI: The Moon. Astronauts find a human skeleton on the moon. A 50,000 year old skeleton. The book is basically scientists sciencing the hell out of the corpse to unravel the mystery.
Posts: 3,378

08-12-2019, 11:52 AM	#645
Mennonite Veteran Join Date: Jun 2014 Casino cash: $10258572	I am slowly making my way through a collection of Hugo award nominated short stories. Some are good, most are not. The Men Who Murdered Mohammed by Alfred Bester and Cassandra by C. J. Cherryh are two pretty good stories that I had never read before.
Posts: 3,378