Science fiction discussion -

[White bubblegum]

I haven't seen a sci-fi thread here, so I'm giving it a shot.
So, discuss sci-fi literature here. Any sub-genre besides Star Trek fanfiction goes.

Admittedly I don't read a lot but from what I have read, Phillip K Dick resonates the most with me. Anyone else a fan of him? I'm also into Dune, and am looking into the Foundation series. What about you guys?

 

[Pickle Inspector]

I like all those two, I usually prefer reading sci-fi short stories of which Phillip K Dick does really well.

Cordwainer Smith is another really good sci-fi author, here’s one of his stories - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29614/29614-h/29614-h.htm.

I’ve been really meaning to read The Culture series by Iain Banks.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Of course the first thing I wanted to talk about was Star Trek.

 

[millais]

For short stories, I like Arthur C. Clarke, HG Wells, Phillip K Dick, and William Gibson. I don't like those Asimov and Bradbury short stories.
For novella length, I like Jules Verne and E.R. Burroughs.
I liked the Culture series too.

 

[The Shadow]

I find I'm not as into science fiction reading as I once thought I was.

I like Bradbury but I consider him to be more of a fantasy writer that got lumped in with science fiction due to the era he started in and not having a solid definition of either genre yet. The Martian Chronicles and 451 can probably be called SF, but Something Wicked (IMO his best book) is dark fantasy.

Anyway! I like my early Heinlein and I like Frank Herbert and I've liked everything I've read by Joe Haldeman (including a Star Trek novella (World Without End). Larry Niven is usually pretty good too. Again more fantasy, but Michael Moorcock occasionally dips his toes into SF. Alfred Bester's novels are quite good especially for their era, and not coincidentally he wrote some episodes of "The Shadow" radio shows during the 1940's (which is how I discovered his work).

I can safely say I don't enjoy Philip K. Dick or most of Asimov's work, but Asimov's "Nightfall" is an excellent short story.

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

The Pendragon Adventure introduced me to time travel tropes
I like reading Star Trek books/comics (read my first book when I was 11 about one of those warrior aliens joining) and am trying to create my own fan fleet
I also have a Jedi Sith character...

 

[White bubblegum]

I like all those two, I usually prefer reading sci-fi short stories of which Phillip K Dick does really well.

Cordwainer Smith is another really good sci-fi author, here’s one of his stories - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29614/29614-h/29614-h.htm.

I’ve been really meaning to read The Culture series by Iain Banks.

I've omly read PKDs novels, but I'll check out his short stories once I finish what I'm currently reading, and I'll check out Cordwainer Smith too.
U

Of course the first thing I wanted to talk about was Star Trek.

Unless you want to talk about fanfics where Kirk and Spock have dirty anal sex, it's all good.

The Pendragon Adventure introduced me to time travel tropes
I like reading Star Trek books/comics (read my first book when I was 11 about one of those warrior aliens joining) and am trying to create my own fan fleet
I also have a Jedi Sith character...

I find I'm not as into science fiction reading as I once thought I was.

I like Bradbury but I consider him to be more of a fantasy writer that got lumped in with science fiction due to the era he started in and not having a solid definition of either genre yet. The Martian Chronicles and 451 can probably be called SF, but Something Wicked (IMO his best book) is dark fantasy.

Anyway! I like my early Heinlein and I like Frank Herbert and I've liked everything I've read by Joe Haldeman (including a Star Trek novella (World Without End). Larry Niven is usually pretty good too. Again more fantasy, but Michael Moorcock occasionally dips his toes into SF. Alfred Bester's novels are quite good especially for their era, and not coincidentally he wrote some episodes of "The Shadow" radio shows during the 1940's (which is how I discovered his work).

I can safely say I don't enjoy Philip K. Dick or most of Asimov's work, but Asimov's "Nightfall" is an excellent short story.

For short stories, I like Arthur C. Clarke, HG Wells, Phillip K Dick, and William Gibson. I don't like those Asimov and Bradbury short stories.
For novella length, I like Jules Verne and E.R. Burroughs.
I liked the Culture series too.

Man, I haven't heard of half those writers, but at least now I have more for my to-read list

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

The Pendragon Adventure is by D.J. MacHale btw.
Currently reading the first Animorphs ;w;

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

I find I'm not as into science fiction reading as I once thought I was.

I like Bradbury but I consider him to be more of a fantasy writer that got lumped in with science fiction due to the era he started in and not having a solid definition of either genre yet. The Martian Chronicles and 451 can probably be called SF, but Something Wicked (IMO his best book) is dark fantasy.

Anyway! I like my early Heinlein and I like Frank Herbert and I've liked everything I've read by Joe Haldeman (including a Star Trek novella (World Without End). Larry Niven is usually pretty good too. Again more fantasy, but Michael Moorcock occasionally dips his toes into SF. Alfred Bester's novels are quite good especially for their era, and not coincidentally he wrote some episodes of "The Shadow" radio shows during the 1940's (which is how I discovered his work).

I can safely say I don't enjoy Philip K. Dick or most of Asimov's work, but Asimov's "Nightfall" is an excellent short story.

Bradbury himself referred to his writing as fantasy. Farenheit 451 was his only work of sci fi as far as he was concerned. That said he's still one of my favorite authors and visiting his grave was a highlight of my life.

 

[The Shadow]

Bradbury himself referred to his writing as fantasy. Farenheit 451 was his only work of sci fi as far as he was concerned. That said he's still one of my favorite authors and visiting his grave was a highlight of my life.

I got to meet him when I was young. He signed my copy of The Martian Chronicles. And I agree- he wrote a pretty broad spectrum of fiction but always got lumped in as Sci-Fi, probably because there was no other way to categorize it then.

 

[Dane]

I've recently started reading Dune! I'm about 200 pages in and I'm enjoying it a lot so far, all the worldbuilding is a bunch to chew on sometimes though.

I've heard the 3rd one is supposed to be the best one, and considering how much I've been enjoying the first one I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Deadwaste]

i like the genre, but there hasnt any interesting reads i've found lately.

 

[drtoboggan]

Dune and William Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy are good. I’m currently reading Hyperion.

 

[Polyboros]

Probably my favorite SciFi writer is Scott Sigler. A lot of his work reminds me of Micheal Chriton. He podcasts his audiobooks, so you can listen to them for free. I love everything he does, but a quick synopsis of his works:

• The Galactic Football League - Several hundred years in the future, most of the Galaxy has been conquered by an alien race to end the constant warfare. To encourage interspecies cooperation, they heavily push the sport of football where human and several other species form teams. The story follows a talented quarterback from the xenophobic Purist Nation as he has to learn to overcome his racism to become a great football player. It's not as preachy as it sounds, his racism is often played for laughs, and works as a narrative tool to explain the universe. I don't like football at all and love this series.
• Infected triology - An alien probe tries to create a virus to end humanity, very dark and gorey.
• Alive trilogy - An attempt to get into the YA Hunger Games stronk female protagonist genre, the tropes it carries over from those are a little annoying, but man is the story a brutal one.
• Earthcore - currently airing podcast novel, a rewrite from years ago, a mining company might have made the biggest platinum discovery in history, but something else lies beneath the mountain.

He also writes in a consistent universe, so some of the aliens in the future are relevant to stories in present day. Use to be able to get all his stuff for free, but he's cut off anything but the first book in a series. Still, probably my favorite writer producing currently.

 

[Piss Clam]

Piers Anthony and the first novel Split Affinity which mixes fantasy and sci-fi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprentice_Adept

There is also Stephen R. Donaldson whom is one of my favorite authors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Donaldson

I know this is sci-fi and he writes that also, but for fantasy you should really read:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordant's_Need

 

[Tragi-Chan]

I used to be really into Clarke and Asimov, but I must admit that these days I find them a little short on character development. These days, I tend to prefer the more new wave guys and those who came after - Philip K. Dick, Michael Moorcock, J. G. Ballard, Iain M. Banks. People who used science fiction because it was the best way to tell stories about big topics like existence, mental illness, identity, religion and other such topics that work so much better when you can bring in something huge from outside our realm of experience.

PKD may be my favourite. I think it takes a lot of balls to just let your insanity spill out on the page like that. I keep changing my mind as to which of his works I like the best. It might be VALIS, even if I'm still not entirely sure what's going on there. It's part religious treatise, part manifesto, part the ramblings of a madman, part conspiracy theory and generally about the most mind-bending novel I've ever read.

 

[Polyboros]

Anyone have a recommendation of a good starship(especially warship) based Sci-Fi novels. My favorite stuff is always space based, but a lot of the stuff that gets recommended tends to be more... people in cities where it's the future.

A good example of a classic that I like in this vein would be In the Mote of God's Eye. I like both hard and soft science fiction, and I'm not looking for it to be solely about ship based activity, but I definitely like it more when there is a big starship going places and glassing things.

 

[Dreamland]

Anyone have a recommendation of a good starship(especially warship) based Sci-Fi novels. My favorite stuff is always space based, but a lot of the stuff that gets recommended tends to be more... people in cities where it's the future.

A good example of a classic that I like in this vein would be In the Mote of God's Eye. I like both hard and soft science fiction, and I'm not looking for it to be solely about ship based activity, but I definitely like it more when there is a big starship going places and glassing things.

It's prequel, Falkenberg's Legion might be something for you though it's mostly on land. I like Niven's additions to Pournelle's work even though i find Niven himself to be a mediocre writer, If that doesn't really bother you then the Man-Kzin wars series might be worth a shot too.

There is also a badass space battle in The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, the book is about a feminist-antifa revolt in space tho.

 

[Replicant Sasquatch]

There is also a badass space battle in The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, the book is about a feminist-antifa revolt in space tho.

Are you being sarcastic or are we at the point where any book with anti-authoritarian themes is feminist propaganda?

 

[Dreamland]

Are you being sarcastic or are we at the point where any book with anti-authoritarian themes is feminist propaganda?

The protagonist (Manuel) strikes a woman (Davis) at some point when she demands that Adam Selene be dismantled because he's an insane computer (and Manny's best friend), he's shocked by his outburst and remembers that if it happened in public there would be lots of (thirsty) men nearby ready to throw him out of the airlock for harming a woman. It is also suggested that a woman can put aside a husband (polyandria) when she's tired of him.

The start of the revolution happens to be when a UN peace officer murders a woman.