Cassie - Sci Fi Reading list please

[Ishcabittle]

Have any of you read Neuromancer, by William Gibson? I've heard how great it is and have always meant to read it, but never got around to it.

YES. read that shit. the great-granddaddy of all they cyberpunk genre, if you dig "jacking in" or any of that wet-wear madness you will really get off on it. characters are solid, the plot is crazy good, and keeps you guessing.

go for "snowcrash" by Neal Stephenson if you dig Neuromancer, it's the same kinda thing but a little more technical.

also:

Postsingular, Rudy Rucker (excellent sci-fi with a spiritual twist on top)
Ventus, Karl Schroeder (feels more fantasy at first, then gets really sci-fi)
Accelerando, Charles Stross (epic, almost too much to imagine at times)

 

[Cassie]

Let me know when you start reading headvoid.. I'm up for another reading of Left Hand of Darkness and I just recently read Dune again. We could have a mini book discussion or something. Now I'm NERVOUS.. I hope you like them!

 

[CaptainWacky]

I'm reading Rendezvous With Rama at the moment, if anyone wants to read that...THOUGHT NOT.

 

[Cassie]

OH.. hey I read Greg Bear's book (Eon) that was supposed to be similar to that one, it was pretty good. It's about a comet or meteoroid or something, that's been hollowed out and made into a space ship. I can't remember any more of the details though.

 

[curiousa2z]

is that what Rendezvous With Rama's about?
lemme see if the library has anything on it...

 

[curiousa2z]

"Rama is a spacecraft hurtling through space and space explorers and scientists alike prepare for their first encounter with alien intelligence".

it's at the library too!

 

[Bickendan]

I'll toss out my suggestions as well

Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars and the Martians. I haven't read these yet (but I do have them): Iceheng and Antarctica; I've yet to buy the California Trilogy. KSR's stories are very, very dense and very political (with a seeming left/liberal slant), and while they are very character driven, it is thick with psychological and scientific descriptions.

Timothy Zahn: Angelmass, Deadman Switch, Icarus Hunt, and Manta's Gift.
TZ's stand alone novels are fun, and fast paced. He gives a very clear sense of the universes he's painting, does a good job fleshing the technology without pervading the story with it, and weaving in the politics of the given universe.
I tried getting into his Conqueror's Trilogy, but it hasn't been as engaging as his standalone novels. If you like Star Wars, then you must, must read TZ's Star Wars novels (and I recommend them in this order if you've never read them: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Spectre of the Past, Visions of the Future, Survivor's Quest, Outbound Flight, Allegiance).

Peter David: I'm only familiar with his Star Trek novels, so this is more of a particular taste. But David eschews the typical Trek jargon and favors the characters for the characters' sake, mixing in his trademark smartass humor. I recommend Q-Squared and the New Frontier series.

 

[Ilyanna]

Oh, I wanna add somebody, too (even if he's incredibly obvious ):

Alan Dean Foster: my personal favorites are his Spellsinger books, but that's Fantasy, not Sci-Fi, so I'll just recommend the Flinx-series: The Tar-Aiym Krang, Bloodhype, Orphan Star, to name but a few..

 

[Cassie]

OH YEAH HOW ABOUT Up Till Now: The Autobiography, with David Fisher, by WILLIAM SHATNER!!!11

I quiver with anticipation for my cattle prodding.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Peter David is a pretty good comic book writer too.

 

[curiousa2z]

OH YEAH HOW ABOUT Up Till Now: The Autobiography, with David Fisher, by WILLIAM SHATNER!!!11

i cant believe this- JUST finished reading an interview with him about that very book!
If the book's as funny as the interview it'll be fucking hilarious!!

 

[curiousa2z]

back from library adventures: have the Tepper book, and two Flinx - Patrimony and Trouble Magnet - all that were left on the shelves.

Could NOT find Rendezvous with Rama, even tho it's not checked out...found Rama II, & Rama Revealed, but Rendezvous has apparently been missshelved somewhere.

 

[Cassie]

I hope you can find Raising the Stones somewhere. Do you have a used bookstore nearby?

 

[Shitty Dual]

Headvoid, have you read Ender's Game? I forgot about that one, it's a great book. ALSO have you read much Heinlein? I loved Heinlein when I was in high school, recently I tried reading him again and didn't like it as much, with all the cold war references his stories are really dated.

Ender's Game is part of a multiple series, 'though the first three books are considered the original trilogy. I enjoyed EG but thought one or two things in it kind of ridiculous.

I've heard that the next book, Speaker for the Dead, is excellent, and the third, Xenocide is...okay.

 

[Shitty Dual]

An oft-overlooked masterpiece is A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

I still haven't gotten around to any Philip K. Dick.

 

[Cassie]

I've read most of the Ender series, it was all pretty good, but some of it pissed me off. I still haven't read A Canticle for Liebowitz, and I've been meaning to for a long time.

 

[curiousa2z]

Do you have a used bookstore nearby?

we do, and hafta say, never checked out their SciFi section so don't know what they've got. Good suggestion, thanks.

 

[Shitty Dual]

Did I forget to mention Dan Simmon's Hyperion? I forgot to mention: Dan Simmon's Hyperion (which means you'll have to read the sequel, Fall of Hyperion...It's sort of a 2001 / 2010 relationship: The first is a gem; the second exists mostly to tie up the loose ends).

 

[Cassie]

I'm gonna have to make a list of books to get myself. I haven't gone on a book shopping spree in a long time.

 

[curiousa2z]

OK, started The Gate to Woman's Country - I hate those goddamned warriors!
At the point where Chernon is setting up a fake friendship with the girls, the little rat-bastard spy.