[Qwinn]

Heheheh. Alright, I'm going to say it, after which I'm sure I'll be stoned as a heretic (on this thread, anyway).

Heinlein occassionally produced a novel worth reading, and while I haven't read Troopers yet, I have seen and enjoyed the movie and the animated series and from what I've heard of some of the sociological ideas expressed in it, it sounds like a worthwhile read. I'll get to it one of these days.

But as a consistently good sci-fi writer, Larry Niven runs circles around him. I'd even put Orson Scott Card higher on my list.

And as for fantasy? Roger Zelazny.

Okay. Let the stoning begin.

Qwinn

[womcg]

Having read everything Heinlein ever wrote, including those he wrote under a pen name for "pulps" and magazines, I can't find a stone big enough! I like Niven, and Jerry Pourenelle (sp) even more, but both admit to RAH fandom. Please take the time to read him, including some of his "juveniles". But I warn you, "Starship Troopers" played a part in my choosing the Army as career, Vietnam included. "Glory Road" beats anything Roger Zelazny ever wrote, in my opinion. However, a pox on anyone who has seen the movie, but not read the book!! I figure the Islamiterrs offed the wrong Dutch filmmaker.

[talosiv]

I'd even put Orson Scott Card higher on my list.

Orson Scott Card is the Nora Roberts of Sci-Fi. Books padded out to 10 times the number of pages necessary in order to cash in. He rips off classic sci-fi ideas and respins them with tortured moral relativism. Some books read like children's stories with an insidious omnipresent (and BORING) PC background music track. Not an original idea in his head.

I like Niven also, but you can't get any further apart in the Sci-fi spectrum from him than Card.

-R

[S.O.L.]

I am really pi$$ed about the way they ruined the movie, "Starship Troopers" as I was hoping more of his books would be turnined into movies. If you have not read the book, you should. The movie is crap.

"Citizen of the Galaxy" as mentioned above is one of the best, but don't forget "The Sixth Column / The Day After Tomorrow."

Heinlein will always be my favorite author.

TANSTAAFL

And for Bucky, he did the best he could.

[WillRain]

The animated series is seriously underrated. I long for the day when Cartoon Network is wiling to risk something like that in their "Adult Swim" block. It should have gotten far more respect than it did.

As for Niven, Well, with Poutnelle he rocked. Lucifer's Hammer is still my all time favorite SF novel. But alone? Well, after years of hearing how it was a classic, I came across a used copy of Ringworld and was...underwhelmed. It was a nice enough read, but I didn't pick up on the characters nearly as well as I do with Heinlien. Card, though, I have enjoyed- what little I've read of his work (so much to read, so little time!!)