Forum Home Forum Home > Topics not related to music > General discussions
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - SciFi Book Recommendations
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedSciFi Book Recommendations
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message
  Topic Search Topic Search  Topic Options Topic Options
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 7955 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: SciFi Book Recommendations
    Posted: December 08 2013 at 09:57
I am periodically interested in reading GOOD science fiction. Any recommendations?

Past favorites include:  
Frank Herbert's Dune series
Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Isaac Asimov's 2001 series
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time quintet
Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea series
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow Series
J.K. Rawling's Harry Potter series

It does not have to be a series, a single book title is quite welcome. Thanks!
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
timothy leary View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: December 29 2005
Location: Lilliwaup, Wa.
Status: Offline
Points: 5319 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 10:58
Frederick Pohl
Peter Hamilton
David Brin
Philip Jose Farmer
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 11:22
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

I am periodically interested in reading GOOD science fiction. Any recommendations?

Past favorites include:  
Frank Herbert's Dune series
Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Isaac Asimov's 2001 series
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time quintet
Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea series
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow Series
J.K. Rawling's Harry Potter series

It does not have to be a series, a single book title is quite welcome. Thanks!

I've been reading sci-fi for over 45 years...........here are a few of my favorites though it's just the tip of the iceberg and there are so many good ones I can't even recall now.
 
Iain Banks- The Culture 'series'; they are all superb but you might want to start at the beginning. Very literate sci-fi and imo equal to anything by Asimov, Clarke, Herbert.
Michael Moorcock- The Dancers At The End of Time series and/or The Elric saga...part fantasy part sci-fi and fun to read.
PK Dick- Martian Time Slip, 3 Stigmata, Maze of Death, Ubik, etc...brilliant surreal sci-fi with plenty of existential angst.
Robert Holdstock- Mythago Wood series;  fantasy but set in a reality situation where one can slip into another world.
Zelazny- Nine Princes In Amber; my personal favorite fantasy/sci-fi series . Not like any other fantasy novel you might read. Again the hero slips back and forth between our modern world and alternate realities or 'shadow worlds'.
F Paul Wilson- Repairman Jack series...totally unique anti-hero who helps people caught up in 'occult' trouble...Stephen King is a fan...'nuff said?
Jim Butcher- The Dresden Files...a series about a contemporary adult wizard who lives in Chicago and fights evil with the help of a local cop and some friends.
 
happy reading..............btw I have read everything you mentioned except for the Ender series which I have been meaning to read for 20 years.Wink
 
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
sleeper View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
Status: Offline
Points: 16449 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 11:57
Anne McAffrey's Dragon Riders of Pern series is an excellent, at least up until the more recent books (I'd stay away from anything written by/with her son Todd). 
Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005

Back to Top
Toaster Mantis View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 5898 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 12:22
If you don't mind an (at first) extremely unsympathetic protagonist Alfred Bester's The Stars, My Destination is worth a read. It's got a well-constructed, action-packed plot and an outlandish yet well thought-out universe... not to mention that most important, the concept and storytelling aspects are equally well-handled.  A similar situation applies to the same author's The Demolished Man.

I'm kind of odd in that I by far prefer the 1960s New Wave Science Fiction style (and its cyberpunk successors) to the "golden age" of the genre, though, except authors like Alfred Bester who foreshadowed the New Wave.
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 12:48
Originally posted by Toaster Mantis Toaster Mantis wrote:

If you don't mind an (at first) extremely unsympathetic protagonist Alfred Bester's The Stars, My Destination is worth a read. It's got a well-constructed, action-packed plot and an outlandish yet well thought-out universe... not to mention that most important, the concept and storytelling aspects are equally well-handled.  A similar situation applies to the same author's The Demolished Man.

I'm kind of odd in that I by far prefer the 1960s New Wave Science Fiction style (and its cyberpunk successors) to the "golden age" of the genre, though, except authors like Alfred Bester who foreshadowed the New Wave.
Bester's 2 novels are indeed worth reading and remind me a little of PK Dick.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 7955 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 13:12
WOW! Awesome, guys! I cannot wait to get started! 

Not being a huge fiction reader for the past 30 years, please excuse me if I don't get through this list of your recommendations any time soon. I think I'm gonna start with Banks' Culture series. But I hope to try something from all of these writers.

THANKS!
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 13:39
Decent list
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 13:42
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

WOW! Awesome, guys! I cannot wait to get started! 

Not being a huge fiction reader for the past 30 years, please excuse me if I don't get through this list of your recommendations any time soon. I think I'm gonna start with Banks' Culture series. But I hope to try something from all of these writers.

THANKS!
Banks Culture series is superb... it's highly thought of by other writers and critics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
Daysbetween View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: November 12 2006
Location: Scotland
Status: Offline
Points: 1036 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2013 at 17:05
Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

I am periodically interested in reading GOOD science fiction. Any recommendations?

Past favorites include:  
Frank Herbert's Dune series
Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Isaac Asimov's 2001 series
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time quintet
Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea series
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow Series
J.K. Rawling's Harry Potter series

It does not have to be a series, a single book title is quite welcome. Thanks!

I've been reading sci-fi for over 45 years...........here are a few of my favorites though it's just the tip of the iceberg and there are so many good ones I can't even recall now.
 
Iain Banks- The Culture 'series'; they are all superb but you might want to start at the beginning. Very literate sci-fi and imo equal to anything by Asimov, Clarke, Herbert.
Michael Moorcock- The Dancers At The End of Time series and/or The Elric saga...part fantasy part sci-fi and fun to read.
PK Dick- Martian Time Slip, 3 Stigmata, Maze of Death, Ubik, etc...brilliant surreal sci-fi with plenty of existential angst.
Robert Holdstock- Mythago Wood series;  fantasy but set in a reality situation where one can slip into another world.
Zelazny- Nine Princes In Amber; my personal favorite fantasy/sci-fi series . Not like any other fantasy novel you might read. Again the hero slips back and forth between our modern world and alternate realities or 'shadow worlds'.
F Paul Wilson- Repairman Jack series...totally unique anti-hero who helps people caught up in 'occult' trouble...Stephen King is a fan...'nuff said?
Jim Butcher- The Dresden Files...a series about a contemporary adult wizard who lives in Chicago and fights evil with the help of a local cop and some friends.
 
happy reading..............btw I have read everything you mentioned except for the Ender series which I have been meaning to read for 20 years.Wink
 

I've been reading sci-fi for roughly the same amount of time and can second all of the above except Jim Butcher who I have not read.

If you are interested in ecological and sociological themes then try Kim Stanley Robinson's books especially the Mars trilogy.

Edited by Daysbetween - December 08 2013 at 17:06
Back to Top
Gerinski View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
Status: Offline
Points: 5093 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 09 2013 at 00:32
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

I am periodically interested in reading GOOD science fiction. Any recommendations?

Past favorites include:  
Frank Herbert's Dune series
Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Isaac Asimov's 2001 series
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time quintet
Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea series
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow Series
J.K. Rawling's Harry Potter series

It does not have to be a series, a single book title is quite welcome. Thanks!

I guess you meant either Arthur C. Clarke 2001 series or Asimov's Foundation series? (both great in any case).
 
Back to Top
BrufordFreak View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 25 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline
Points: 7955 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 09:49
Originally posted by Gerinski Gerinski wrote:

Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

I am periodically interested in reading GOOD science fiction. Any recommendations?

Past favorites include:  
Frank Herbert's Dune series
Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land
Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
Isaac Asimov's 2001 series
Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time quintet
Ursula LeGuinn's Earthsea series
Dan Simmons' Hyperion series
Orson Scott Card's Ender and Shadow Series
J.K. Rawling's Harry Potter series

It does not have to be a series, a single book title is quite welcome. Thanks!

I guess you meant either Arthur C. Clarke 2001 series or Asimov's Foundation series? (both great in any case).
 

Ooops!Embarrassed Thanks. 
Yeah! Clarke! 
I have enjoyed the I, Robot series, too. Also enjoyed some Carl Sagan.
Drew Fisher
https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
Back to Top
Equality 7-2521 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 11 2005
Location: Philly
Status: Offline
Points: 15783 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 10:09
Peter Watts- Blindsight

It's free at his website too.
"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "
Back to Top
Guldbamsen View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Retired Admin

Joined: January 22 2009
Location: Magic Theatre
Status: Offline
Points: 23098 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 10:20
Vonnegut's 'The Sirens of Titan' is definitely worth a read. 


How could I forget?Embarrassed You've probably read em, but in case you haven't, then I wholeheartedly recommend the cat in my sig. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy series is something you gotta have on your shelf, if you're into sci fiBig smile


Edited by Guldbamsen - December 10 2013 at 10:22
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”

- Douglas Adams
Back to Top
The Pessimist View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: June 13 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 3834 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 10:54
He only ever wrote one novel, the rest were short stories, but HP Lovecraft set the foundations for a lot of modern science fiction
"Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value."

Arnold Schoenberg
Back to Top
Toaster Mantis View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 5898 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 14:12
I'm not so sure. At the Mountains of Madness, The Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath and The Shadow out of Time for starters are very close to being the length of short novels. Lovecraft's writing style might take some time getting used to, and is definitely not for everyone.
"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
Back to Top
Formentera Lady View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 20 2010
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 1768 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 15:05
My favourite author is Karel Čapek, especially with the novels War with the Newts, The Absolute at Large, and together with his brother J. Čapek the play R.U.R. (where the word robot appeared for the first time as the name for an artificial person).

Also all-time favourites of mine are George Orwell: 1984,  and Yevgeny Zamyatin: We.
Visit me in Second Life to talk about music.
Back to Top
Logan View Drop Down
Forum & Site Admin Group
Forum & Site Admin Group
Avatar
Site Admin

Joined: April 05 2006
Location: @ wicker man
Status: Offline
Points: 32667 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 15:36
I haven't read  Čapek or We (We has been on my list for awhile).

Some of my classic faves are:

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat's Cradle
Walter M. Miller - A Canticle for Leobowitz
Philip K. Dick - The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Isaac Asimov: The Gods Themselves
Stanislaw Lem - Solaris

Stephen King - The Tommyknockers

More modern dystopian novels:

Margaret Atwood - Oryx and Crake
Cormac McCarthy - The Road
Jose Saramago - Blindness
Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
Hugh Howley - Wool (not a fave, I just read and liked it recently)

Fantasyish:

Arturo Perez-Reverte - The Dumas Club


And Stephen King and Peter Straub - The Talisman

And I must admit that I really enjoyed the Hunger Games novels.


The next book I want to read is Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan)
Back to Top
Formentera Lady View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 20 2010
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 1768 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 10 2013 at 16:02
I have recently read and really liked from Daniel Suarez the two-part novel Daemon and Freedom.
Visit me in Second Life to talk about music.
Back to Top
dr wu23 View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20468 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 11 2013 at 10:00
Originally posted by Guldbamsen Guldbamsen wrote:

Vonnegut's 'The Sirens of Titan' is definitely worth a read. 


How could I forget?Embarrassed You've probably read em, but in case you haven't, then I wholeheartedly recommend the cat in my sig. Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy series is something you gotta have on your shelf, if you're into sci fiBig smile
Really liked those and the bbc series.......though the film was just ok.
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.353 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.