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.
Right now I am working on Jack McDevitt’s, POLARIS, which is a sequel to A Talent for War and Seeker.
I’m finishing the Riverworld series by Philip Farmer. The last two are fairly preachy but I still like the concept. There is some language and sexuality in them.
I thought judas unchained was quite weak. as far as other stuff, I liked Mindstar Rising, and his current series (2 books out) whose name I cannot recall I enjoy as well. It is set about ~1000 years after Judas Unchained, IIRC.
I see. I have read the Confessions but not City Of God, I will do that.
Rome’s fall was a slow dissolution. It’s regrettable that Roman (or Latin) writers paid so little attention to the common people and what was happening with them at the time. But it was certainly apocalyptic.
As for current post-apocalypse novels, it would seem they would become more popular with the general reading public with our current administration. I wish you good fortune with your studies.
As to the post to you below I will also order Farnham’s Freehold.
The subject interests me also.
The dragon never sleeps is one of my single favorite books.
Yep, another one of my favorites; I waited years for a follow-up to "Dragon Never Sleeps" but he never continued it.
It did lead me, though, to the weird and completely wonderful "Garrett, P. I." books. Pure whacky fantasy, but damn fine as a series.
One of my favorite stories from ancient history is the unsparing, clinical dissection of a dying culture, being driven into the ground by a leadership clique and its media sycophants. The anatomist is a Greek physician and meticulous historian. The villains include the quisling puppet rulers and religious hucksters of various shades. As the culture thrashes around in desperation, bizarre supernatural phenomena proliferate. This society misses the last exit before catastrophe, and has never recovered. The tragedy is, the leaders were more worried about protecting their own status than they were about their nation's survival.
I'm referring, of course, to the Gospel of Luke and Acts.
Excellent point. Except that you say ‘the society never recovered’. It is true the Jewish state never recovered but Judaism remains a light in the darkness with its determined monotheism and love of the ancient scriptures, and is yet a lynchpin of spirituality and civilization.
I say this as a Christian.
“New Mil Sci-Fi guys are Jack Campbell (getting there), Douglas Ian, and John G. Hemry.”
Campbell is the new name Hemry is using for his Lost Fleet/Lost Relationship series. I really enjoyed the direct application of speed-of-light info barrier and distances to naval engagements, something only rarely seen anywhere else, but the guy’s personal life and single active relationship was a lesson in torture by book 3.
Ever read Armor by John Steakley, or any of the 1980’s CJ Cherryh stuff (union-alliance universe mainly, like Downbelow Station)...?
"Sci-Fi as it was meant to be..."
And Overthrowing Heaven is even better.
I wonder how many people know of MLVN? He is one of the best writers to come along in a long time. My daily prayers include: Please give me the insight of a writer...MLVN is who I would write like if I had the talent.
I didn't know about the pen-name, and I also like the way he handles fleet actions, too.
Ever read Armor by John Steakley, or any of the 1980’s CJ Cherryh stuff (union-alliance universe mainly, like Downbelow Station)...?
Steakley's two books, Armor and Vampyre$ were outstanding; but like a few others he seems to go into looong hiatus' between them. Both books are sequel bait. Dunno why...
I've never found a chronological order to the Alliance books, and I do purely hate the Cyteen books. Loved Downbelow Station, and Heavy Time was pretty good.
For another older series, check out Roland J. Green's 'Starcruiser Shenandoah' series. I bet they're all out of print but they were excellent books, with a fine treatment of asymmetrical warfare, for the '80s.
I’d like to be on your ping list. Thanks.
Just finished Armor. It was a good read!
Jack Vance is actually still alive. He’ll turn 94 in August.
The Raj Whitehall Series: The General by David Drake
The Forge
The The Hammer
The Anvil
The Steel
The Sword
Or any of his HAMMER'S SLAMMERS series.
Or Keith Laumer's BOLO series.
Yeah, supposedly he says his writing days are over, we’ll see...I guess he writes on some sort of weird contraption for the blind/seeing impaired. I haven’t read his autobiography yet. The last stories I read were the “cadwal chronicles”, they were great, and had very conservative overtones.
Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe are the two best writers going in my opinion.
Here’s a fairly recent article on Vance from the NY times magazine I thought was pretty cool:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/magazine/19Vance-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Freegards
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