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MrFungus420 said:Very difficult.
I'd have to default to authors. Asimov, Heinlein, Niven, Silverberg, Harrison, and Pournel come immediately to mind.
Gardener said:Dan Simmon's Hyperion series is terrific. So is Across Realtime by Verner Vinge. Both are big, meaty reads that take a little effort, but are well worth the time.
Neal Stevenson's Snowcrash and Diamond age are both great cyberpunk -- tongue in cheeck and much better than his later stuff imo. I also like Pat Cadigan in that genre.
I certainly wouldn't have that Douglas Adams quote were it not for Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. The movie was a disappointment. Read the books, instead.
John Brunner's Stand On Zanzibar is a classic, as is James Blish's Cities in Flight. Couldn't fail to mention Herbert's Dune, either.
Other favorite writers are R.A. Laferty, Cordwainer Smith, James Tiptree Jr., John Varley, Nancy Kress (beggers in Spain esp), and Lois McMasters Bujold.
Sulla158 said:Dune is on top for me, then comes the Foundation books by Aasimov, The Ender's Game Series by Orson Scott Card, and Phillip K. Dick's books are up there too.
Sulla158 said:Dune is on top for me, then comes the Foundation books by Aasimov, The Ender's Game Series by Orson Scott Card, and Phillip K. Dick's books are up there too.
alphamale said:Global Warming - It's Gonna Kill Us All! by I. M. Wacko
Hoot said:I know this thread is dying, but I've gotta put a plug in for Edgar Rice Burroughs...not just the Tarzan series, but the John Carter of Mars books, which are, of course, more sci-fi. Good, entertaining, and easy going reading.
I always liked Bradbury, and H.G. Wells. My wife keeps wanting me to read Heilen (sp?), as in Robert S. Heinlen, but I cannot get into his books. Too boring, too descriptive sometimes...the plot is moving along nicely, then suddenly, you have to read through 6 pages of landscape details, or someone's home furnishings...etc...blah.
I prefer Science Fantasy over Sci-Fi.
tryreading said:It is harder to read Heinlein to me too. I've read several of his books but none are among my favorites. Try some of his short stories, though. 'He Built a Crooked House,' and 'Them' for instance. They are more to the point.
The only Burroughs I ever read was 'Tarzan.' Didn't know he wrote sci-fi.
Sir_Alec said:Are you kidding me? I've always thought that Heinlen was easy to read. It's not like he's the Tom Clancy of scifi, or anything like that. To start out reading his books, go look up 'Starship Troopers'. Next look up 'Stranger In A Strange Land'. I prefer Starship Troopers, but it lacks the great amount of combat that should be associated with a book of that name. Still a good book though.
Sir_Alec said:Are you kidding me? I've always thought that Heinlen was easy to read. It's not like he's the Tom Clancy of scifi, or anything like that. To start out reading his books, go look up 'Starship Troopers'. Next look up 'Stranger In A Strange Land'. I prefer Starship Troopers, but it lacks the great amount of combat that should be associated with a book of that name. Still a good book though.
tryreading said:I read 'Stranger in a Strange Land' and grokked it very well. But Heinlein's books aren't as interesting to me as some of the other sci-fi I read. That's really what I meant by a 'hard read.' I kind of have to make myself read his books, but I jump on stories written by my favorite authors, like Niven. Funny thing is, Niven has said that 'Heinlein showed us (authors) how' to write sci-fi. I've never read Starship Troopers, but will soon.
Sir_Alec said:Don't get to exicted about any epic scifi battles. The reason I like the book is because of how ahead of it's time it was. How many 50s era scifi novels do you read that include mech robots (a lot like the ones from the series Mobile Suit Gundam) with automated machineguns and computer targeting missiles fighting against giant communist spiders with laser cannons.
Book Description
Filled with sex and violence--in and out of time and space--the three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the imagination. They tackle all the coverups of our time--from who really shot the Kennedys to why there's a pyramid on a one-dollar bill
tryreading said:The thing I respect most about Heinlein is that he went full bore into the religious and political to make one think. He was a pioneer. Although not my favorite, I understand how talented he was.
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