Posted on 08/19/2006 7:09:57 PM PDT by Hacksaw
Sure, they're great too. Just a matter of perspective.
I am of the same mind, I have a hard time finding anything "new" in SciFi I truly enjoy.
The best I have found in the last few years I have noted in post 260. Give them a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
A related book, not SF, is a biography of "james Tiptree Jr." She was a fascinating person who used to work for the CIA.
Try John Varley... I suggest his "Red Thunder" and "Red Lightning" books.
Well, the thought did cross my mind, but I figured that since you've been on FR for a few years, you're not completely not beyond hope! lol.
I guess maybe my viewing of Firefly is colored in a number of different ways.
First off, I absolutely fell in love with the character Kaylee, in the first scene where she appeared: When she shut down the power in the ship, and then realized that she was going to be stuck there in the dark for a while. It's something I've done myself (but not on a spaceship, of course). What really nailed it for me was her first conversation with Book. His utter surprise that she was able to "read him" said a lot about her, as well as Book's character. Not to mention that I've got a HUGH crush on Jewel Staite, although I have to say that I liked her "look" a lot better in the series than the movie. In the movie, it looks like she dropped a lot of weight, and she just looks sort of drawn to me, as opposed to looking wonderful in the series. My crush on her was evident, even to me, when in the episode "out of gas," we first meet her, and Mal calls her a "prarie harpie," and I found myself thinking, "Mal, don't dare you call Kaylee a prarie harpie!"
Maybe I'm also soft on Firefly because in so many SciFi shows and movies, the characters themselves take the back-seat, where in Firefly, nearly everything is charactere driven. Maybe those characters don't compare to the ones created in "real" dramas, but then there's additional info that needs to be weaved into the story. The characters are written with a great amount of subtlty as well. For example, in the first episode, there's no doubt that Jayne is a thug and a lout, and he took great joy at embarassing Kaylee: However, even after being slapped down by Mal, he shows great concern about Kaylee when she was shot, though not exactly publicly. There's more to Jayne than just the "hired gun." But he also proves that he's not to be trusted. It's particularly interesting that he and Book become close friends.
Regarding the look of the planets, actually it does make some sense. First off, given the fact that Mal and Serenity are doing work that the Alliance would frown on (as well as keeping Simon and River far away from the Alliance), they would spend most of their time as far away from the core planets as possible. The "frontier" planets would have little interest to the Alliance. These would be planets "fresh" from terraforming. Not too much time to establish "civilization." And it makes sense that they would look a lot like the old frontier western towns. There would be a mix of high-tech and old world. For instance, having horses on a planet like that would make sense. They don't "break down" like machines can, and you can eat them if they do. Again, if you read Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love," the look of Firefly is familiar: And maybe that's another reason I love the show: Time Enough for Love is one of my favorite books of all time. And the nifty "one liners" in the show are sort of like the quotes of Lazarus Long found in the book.
Mark
Yeah, I've got a couple of Benford's books on the shelf over there against the wall. Liked them, too.
I am burrowing through my vast stores of unread books, and am missing out on tons of current ones. The spendaholic bibliophile birds are coming home to roost!
Well...I guess they may still be making chemical cartridges in the future, who knows? In any case, I liked "Firefly."
Hadn't know Dan Simmons wrote detective novels, maybe I'll check them out.
Tell me a little about Eric Flint? That's a name I haven't encountered.
Starter, you seem quite knowledgeable. Appreciate hearing about Stirling's work. I think I had more of his books but got rid of a ton of stuff last time I moved. Which means ... there's a Salvation Army store back where I used to live that has / did have some decent paperbacks. Ah, well, that's the way it goes. Will keep my eye out for more of Stirling's books anyway.
Thanks again,
jm
Thank you Mad Dawgg, will keep an eye out for those titles.
As I told Starter, I donated tons of stuff to Salvation Army last time I moved, and I know there were some good sci-fi books included in all of it. I'm a recovering packrat, so am trying to pass on items rather than hoarding them for years and years. It's a work in progress, this recovery of mine.
Sigh.
Anyway, thanks for your excellent suggestions.
jm
pingworthy?
a topic perhaps of interest.
a useful link:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=sciencefiction
thanks
It would have been. Too late now. But thanks.
I haven't been big into sci-fi for years. There was a time when I was making my way through the classics, but I eventually lost interest. I read "Stranger in a Strange Land" but thought there was way too much sex. I read the 2001 - 3001 series and thought the books got worse as the series dragged on. I liked "Ender's Game," but for some reason never read the rest of the series.
I've read a bunch of Star Trek books in my time. My uncle Harry has a rule that "only chicks can write Star Trek books." Aside from Peter David (who wrote the most excellent "Vendetta" and Q-Squared), I tend to agree. Diane Carey, Diane Duane, and Vonda N. McIntyre are sure bets, as are books by the Reeves-Stevenses. Anytime Kirk is drummed out of the service and Spock is busted down to Ensign you know you're in for a good ride.
A buddy lent me a Charles Sheffield book a few years back and I was fairly impressed. I forget the name, but it was something about people living for thousands of years in a state of near-hibernation.
Roger Zelazny. What a mind......
Oh, definitely get Ilium then!
A good author that's fairly new is Julie Czerneda. Her "Web Shifter" series is not only intriguing, but it's actually clean, a rare thing in good SF these days. I shared a couple of emails with her -- she's a very nice lady -- and her books are some of the few I'll buy when first released.
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