There is a great thread in the lounge about Books in general, but to be honest, all I really want to read is Sci-Fi (including post-apocalyptic), and Fantasy.
In this OP I will compile every poster's top 3 Fantasy/SciFi suggestions if they give me them. I will try to keep the posters in alphabetical order in case you want to find someone's suggestions easier.
CP POSTER SUGGESTIONS
Baby Lee
1. Fritz Lieber's Swords Against series.
2. George R.R. Martin's SoIaF series [no brainer that will probably make tons of other lists]
3. Umberto Eco, Foucalt's Pendulum [a little more obscure/forgotten to make up for GRRM]
Frosty
1.Raymond Feist - Riftwar Saga
2.Terry Brooks - Shannara series (starting with the Knight of the Word books)
3.Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
Huffmeister
(1) Dune - Frank Herbert
(2) The Stand - Stephen King (1000+ page unabridged)
(3) Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein (checkout the song by Yes, too. lots of great bass)
Jawshco
1. "Book of the Long Sun" by Gene Wolfe
2. "Paradise War" by Stephen R Lawhead
3. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams
listopencil
1. Edgar Rice Burroughs, any series
2. Robert Heinlein, everything he has written in chronological order (but read Starship Troopers first)
3. Doc Smith's Lensman series
vailpass
1. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume 1, 2A & 2B books are a gold mine for sampling the evolution of sci-fi. (below)
2.The Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards (selected yearly, pick a year)
3. Years Best SF Annual publication, pick any volume from 1 to the current volume 17 See Post 142 [Reply]
Stephenson's best, imho, was Cryptonomicon with Reamde coming in a close second (didn't think I'd like that one at all). Seveneves was good to very good, but not his best. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bowser:
Stephenson's best, imho, was Cryptonomicon with Reamde coming in a close second (didn't think I'd like that one at all). Seveneves was good to very good, but not his best.
I agree with Cryptonomicon. The Diamond Age was one of my favorites too, although it's been a long time since I read it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
It's a tough read, I think, in that it bounced so much and is "hard" fantasy, similar to "hard" scifi.
I’m used to the bouncing around. The ending did feel just a little anticlimactic but it’s a ten-part series. Some of the magic/warrens and gods stuff was hard to follow but I found some spoiler free guides that helped along with the appendix. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy:
I’m used to the bouncing around. The ending did feel just a little anticlimactic but it’s a ten-part series. Some of the magic/warrens and gods stuff was hard to follow but I found some spoiler free guides that helped along with the appendix.
I'm halfway through Memories of Ice (book 3) and I finally have the Gods and the warrens down pat. I think. I'm pretty sure 'Hood's balls!' is one of them. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Indian Chief:
I'm halfway through Memories of Ice (book 3) and I finally have the Gods and the warrens down pat. I think. I'm pretty sure 'Hood's balls!' is one of them.
Originally Posted by ShiftyEyedWaterboy:
People will attach “sci fi” to just about anything these days.
Maybe but the A.C. Clarke Award committee isn't just "people", or it didn't used to be. They carry one of the most prestigious names in sci-fi and their short list has been a reliable source of good-to-great sci-fi reading for a very long time.
It saddens me to see they've allowed their good name and standards to be lowered in a ham-handed attempt at social justice engineering. [Reply]
I haven't read it, but if what I've read about it is true, that being it mixes historical fact with fantastical imagery, similar to something like Gulliver's Travels, then I don't see an issue with awarding it a genre award.
As far as whether it's pure "scifi" goes, fantasy and science fiction have been intertwined for decades now, and the trip to horror isn't very far beyond them. Science fiction, taken by itself, can basically borrow from/fall into any genre, from history to thriller to noir to western to fantasy to post-apocalyptic to far-future, etc.
Really, what difference does it make. It sounds like an amazing book. [Reply]
