Posted on 06/28/2009 10:00:51 AM PDT by Jotmo
This thread is for posting descriptions and reviews of Science Fiction Literature, and discussion of the same.
In order to give a sufficient amount of information if you would like to recommend a book, please provide a summation of the plot along with your thoughts, and an assessment of it’s political leanings either conservative or liberal.
An objectionable content warning would be appreciated as well for those who may not wish to encounter said content unaware.
Please limit it to one book or series recommendation per thread per person.
Feel free to offer opinions of books others have recommended, and discuss any related aspects that you may find relevant.
Please let me know if you would like to be added or removed from the Sci Fi Literature Ping List.
Here is a list of free science fiction from the guttenberg project:
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%29
Hope you enjoy “Nova”. Later Delany books got too bizarre for my taste, but I did like “Nova”.
You can add me to the ping list. Thanks.
First Meetings in the Enderverse, Orson Scott Card, 2003
Science fiction, hardcover. Found it in a Dollar Store in great condition. The book, which contains three stories plus the original Ender's Game novella is actually an update of a book released the previous year, First Meetings: Three Stories in the Enderverse. The stories are fun to read, although the original novella actually seems out of place with the story that follows it because the last story is a sequel to the novel. Also, the last story, "the Investment Councilor", was good, but weaker than the others and not the greatest note to end on. However, because the stories were presented sequentially, there wasn't much that could be done about that. Good book. My son enjoyed it also. Recommended.
Ender's Shadow, Orson Scott Card, 1999, paperback.
Science fiction. Library book. Having read Ender's Game not that long ago, I was curious about the non-sequel Ender's Shadow, which actually takes place concurrently with Game, but focusing on the character of Bean. I didn't notice any major changes (minor ones, I think), but I did wonder why Bean's story was so much longer to tell. For a while, I found myself thinking, "Get on with it already!" because I wanted to shift the story into battle school where it was more familiar. The end result is a book that makes it appear that Bean is the smart one and Ender is just in the right place at the right time, but largely because of Bean's influences. I have mixed emotions about the story and where Card is choosing to take Bean. Will I read more of that series? Maybe. If I'm not mistaken, the rest of the Bean books happen before the Ender books, but by being written later, they might spoil some of those. It's confusing.
those two reviews came off a book review page: http://www.geocities.com/tanniker/ that is slowly making its way to a new blog.
If anyone wants to discuss a related issue without discussing Ender or Bean in particular:
how do you feel about prequels -- books written later, sometimes much later, that take place earlier in the series.
Would you read them in published order or by the internal chronology? Does it depend if reading them chronologically will spoil some of the previously published works.
The obvious movie parallel is watching Star Wars IV after the first three. There are now new subtexts that weren't there before (although, the annoying thing is that most of those weren't meant to be there in the first place; just tacked on 20 years later). On the other hand, Star Wars V would contain no stunning revelations at all.
I would recommend the classics:
The Mars books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter of Mars is a heroic epic. The first three books are a trilogy and opened the way for sword and science fiction. They are planning a movie of the Mars Books right now.
if you liked the dresden first book, you might like the Garrett PI series by Glen Cook.
As far as my series to offer the thread, the Gap series by Stephen R. Donaldson. If you think of thomas covenant when you see that name, I promise that this series is another animal all together, though the first 2 of 5 or 1 of 4 books does feel like something of a psychological disorder series at some points. In any event, I couldn’t have ever guessed that the gap series and the first 6 covenant books were by the same author.
re OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT WARNING for the gap series first 1 or 2 books (1 of 4 or 1-2 of 5) = these stories have some fairly heavy and unpleasant themes of abuse.
Hamilton can really come up with some neat ideas. Some series have had a sense of contrived, missing, or deus ex machina endings.
That said, I am current on all of his published stuff, which says a lot, I guess.
Glen Cook used to write military SF, notably ‘The DRagon never sleeps’ as well as the starfisher trilogy, (shadowline, starfishers, star’s end.)
The dragon never sleeps is one of my single favorite books.
Just did a search through the Los Angeles Public Library and The Dragon Never Sleeps isn’t on their list.
clarification - shadowline is military sci-fi, but the other 2 books in that series are more mainstream sci-fi.
However, Passage at Arms by the same author is very much military sci-fi, something of a parallel to a submariners’ tale. The author mainly does military fantasy, however.
I really with fr had an edit post function sometimes. Hate to fill up thread with clarifications.
Dan Simmons “hyperion series” ( he’s the guy who wrote the essay-story “message from a time traveler” that gets posted to FR a lot and confused with be written bu Orson Scott Card : http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1610142/posts ) The first Hyperion book is an awesome spin on Chaucer’s canterbury tales set in space.
If you want to read really good sci-fi speculative fiction, try out Gene Wolfe. He is a devout Cathoic who uses Cathoilc imagery in his work. The “book of the new sun” series is fantastic, influenced heavily by Jack Vance. He’s the best writer going in my opinion. here’s the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Wolfe
Jack Vance “the Dying Earth” series
Poul Anderson “ensign flandry” series
Freegards
ERB is classic!! May your thoat never stumble in battle!!
Freegards
I still prefer the old Asimov classics like Foundation.
But, everyone should read Starship Troopers. Remember, it is a book about a philosophy not about war.
Alan Dean Foster’s books always please me.
Just give me a rocket and blaster book every time.
Is this a ping list? Please add me to the list.
Remember “I still Live!” I still have my handmade Jetan set.
I think Mary Shelly's The Last Man (1826) has precedence.
Good for you, sounds deeply interesting.
What is a real-world post-apocalyptic document?
Post-apoc novels are becoming almost literary, with The Road (which I loved) winning the Pulitzer.
However many of them that I read, like Snow Crash, are badly done. They are either clunky or pretentiously hip. I truly enjoyed A Canticle For Liebowitz.
See Augustine's City of God. When his world fell apart (with the sack of Rome), he laid the foundations for a new social order.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.