Your Top Sci-Fi Novels

[tp4tissue]

I got,

Enders,

Dune,

and

Hitchhikers Gui

also

Foundation

[baldgye]

Hitch hikers guide to the Galaxy
Ubik
Do androids dream of electric sheep

[SpAmRaY]

I fall asleep if I try to read a book.

[tp4tissue]

I fall asleep if I try to read a book.

I'm just gonna read before bed.. PSYCH !!

[noisyturtle]

Yeah, reading was really ruined for me by college. Forced reading of boring material made reading a chore, and now I cannot even read a book for pleasure without getting annoyed.

Last sci fi book I read was probably Wool and Shift, which were pretty good. Also the collected HHGttG all the way up through And Another Thing...

[tp4tissue]

Yeah, reading was really ruined for me by college. Forced reading of boring material made reading a chore, and now I cannot even read a book for pleasure without getting annoyed.

Last sci fi book I read was probably Wool and Shift, which were pretty good. Also the collected HHGttG all the way up through And Another Thing...

Hrrm... I think if this has happened, it must've been that Modern CGI has greatly exceeded any ones' own imagination....

A person may be able to draw complexity bit by bit,  but he couldn't possibly hope to visualize the entirety all at once to experience it..

And perhaps that's exactly where the CGI films is given the handoff...


hrmm...

[fohat.digs]

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

- If you are an avid reader who can handle something big, deep, and dense.

*   *   *   *   *   *

1632 by Eric Flint

- If you have trouble reading and need something that moves quickly and holds your attention.

[baldgye]

Yeah, reading was really ruined for me by college. Forced reading of boring material made reading a chore, and now I cannot even read a book for pleasure without getting annoyed.

Last sci fi book I read was probably Wool and Shift, which were pretty good. Also the collected HHGttG all the way up through And Another Thing...

Yeah I know how you feel, I only really got back into reading this last year as an excuse to get away from the PC for a while and just picked up Androids as Blade Runner was based on it and I was curious.
Just gotta give it time and pick something on your own volition. People begging me to read only made getting into reading harder.

[tp4tissue]

Yeah, reading was really ruined for me by college. Forced reading of boring material made reading a chore, and now I cannot even read a book for pleasure without getting annoyed.

Last sci fi book I read was probably Wool and Shift, which were pretty good. Also the collected HHGttG all the way up through And Another Thing...

Yeah I know how you feel, I only really got back into reading this last year as an excuse to get away from the PC for a while and just picked up Androids as Blade Runner was based on it and I was curious.
Just gotta give it time and pick something on your own volition. People begging me to read only made getting into reading harder.

begging you to read? that makes no sense.. who would do that.. ur mother?

[fohat.digs]

begging you to read? that makes no sense.. who would do that.. ur mother?

Your father. Both of my teenagers were avid readers until a couple of years ago when we got them smart phones.

Now I doubt that either of them read anything outside of school.

Yes, I beg them to read books, often.

[tp4tissue]

begging you to read? that makes no sense.. who would do that.. ur mother?

Your father. Both of my teenagers were avid readers until a couple of years ago when we got them smart phones.

Now I doubt that either of them read anything outside of school.

Yes, I beg them to read books, often.

haha... why not just pay them straight up...

Teach them the VERY fact that everything they want must come in exchange for money.

And that money can only be earned through providing a SERVICE,   

and The service must be possible through ways of learning..


Sit them down and say this.. Son.. I see you checking out That cute girl.. Well.. at some point.. maybe not now,  but at some point, she will demand that you have a certain level of salary to match her intended lifestyle..

And unless you provide that income, she won't have sex with you..

And even if you do provide that income, she will still only have sex with you sporadically..

Key thing is to make so much money that you can afford HER and Her-Backup..

[pnutster]

Maybe not your first choice, but I got a kick out of reading H.G. Wells. Got so sick and tired of the "modern" writers, really had a hard time finding books that had a truly unique story. It was amazing to read stories of more than a century old and experiencing they still read like Sci-Fi. While reading some of the stories, I could totally see what set the basis of some of the modern age Sci-Fi movies.

Here's a cheap bundle I bought and love! http://www.amazon.ca/H-G-Wells/dp/1607104962/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1421519062&sr=8-9&keywords=h.g.+wells

[nubbinator]

It's hard to pick favorites since I feel like a book that interests me at one point isn't so great when I re-read it later or one that bored me before suddenly is interesting at another time.

That said, I do love a lot of the less serious fantasy and sci-fi books.  Here are some of the ones I liked a lot:

 - The Imager series by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

 - The Grimnoir Chronicles (starting with Hard Magic) and the Monster Hunter series by Larry Correia.

 - The M.Y.T.H. series by Robert Asprin.  His Dragon series are pretty amusing as is the Phule's Company series.

 - The Libriomancer series by Jim C. Hines.

 - The Black Company by Glen Cook.  I need to finish the series and not just the first book.

 - Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.

 - The Chronicles of Chaos series by John C. Wright.

 - A. Lee Martinez novels.

 - The  Ender's Game series.

 - My guilty pleasure is the Star Wars novels

I know there are some others that I've read that I absolutely loved, but can't remember.

My list may be stilted since I refuse to read books written in the first person since 99% of them are utter ****.

[fohat.digs]

a hard time finding books that had a truly unique story.

Sounding by Hank Searls

[pnutster]

Sounding by Hank Searls

Looks really interesting, written from the perspective of a whale... Of-course my luck, local Chapters / Indigo out of stock both online, as in store... Amazon here I come...

Thanks for the tip!

[tbc]

ender's shadow

bur you still have to read ender's game first

[eth0s]

I can only recommend what I've read, and of the sci fi books I've read, I would say these are the best.  Also, if call yourself a sci fi fan, and you haven't read what's on my list, you really should, just so you understand what other sci fans are talking about when they say things like:  "Walk without rhythm, and you won't attract the worm;" or "War is peace;" or "cyberspace".

[these are in order that I thought of them, and are not ranked in any way.]

1. Dune, Frank Herbert
2. 1984, George Orwell
3.  The Time Machine, HG Wells
4. Neuromancer, William Gibson
5  Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
6. Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
7. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
8. Short story:  "The Screwfly Solution", by Raccoona Sheldon aka Alice Sheldon
9.  A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
10. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

And making this list has reminded me to read some sci fi books that I've always meant to read, but never got around to reading, which are as follows:

1. Ubik, Philip K. ****
2. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
3.  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Philip K. ****

And finally, I have to mention this one, which is technicallly a "children's book", but it's still great, especially if you are still under 18:

A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine, L'Engle

[baldgye]

I hear so many conflicting opinions on Neuromancer... I think when I'm done with The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch I'll take a break from ****....


heuheueheueheueheueh

[eth0s]

I hear so many conflicting opinions on Neuromancer... I think when I'm done with The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch I'll take a break from ****....


heuheueheueheueheueh

Well, I was never too big of a fan of ****, but I'm going to try to get a little more **** this year.

As for Neuromancer, honestly, it's not the best sci fi book ever written, actually it's not in the top 50, but it's by far the most referenced sci fi book except Dune.  You really have to read it at this point, just to be culturally literate, at least that's what I think.  You can always go to your local nerd gathering and be the only one who has not read it.  That's fun too.  It'll be like you never heard of a vulcan death pinch, or the Death Star, you'll fit right in.

[baldgye]

Yeah I do actually have a copy of Dune I should probably read... and I'm on my 7th **** book at the moment, I really love his style and  the worlds he creates

[jacobolus]

haha... why not just pay them straight up... Teach them the VERY fact that everything they want must come in exchange for money. [...] Sit them down and say this.. Son.. I see you checking out That cute girl.. Well.. at some point.. maybe not now,  but at some point, she will demand that you have a certain level of salary to match her intended lifestyle.. And unless you provide that income, she won't have sex with you..  And even if you do provide that income, she will still only have sex with you sporadically.. Key thing is to make so much money that you can afford HER and Her-Backup..

I promise you that:

(a) reading a lot of science fiction novels is not a great way to guarantee future sex

(b) there are plenty of women in the world who have sex for reasons other than monetary compensation

[jacobolus]

I hear so many conflicting opinions on Neuromancer...

Neuromancer is great, and everyone I know who read it enjoyed it. There’s a reason it won every SF book award the year it landed. Gibson’s later novels are less approachable, and have a bit more niche appeal.

It’s a much better novel than Dune, if you’re trying to decide which so-famous-you-can’t-miss-it SF novel to read.

[Tactile]

The Honor Harrington series by David Weber

Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon (not really Sci Fi, imo)  by Neal Stephenson

Neuromancer, Pattern Recognition by William Gibson

The Door into Summer by Heinlein

The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and the rest of the robot series by Asimov (love those Sci  Fi detective stories)

[nubbinator]

And I just had to buy the whole of the Larry Correia books I mentioned.  They're so delightfully pulpy and fun.

[tp4tissue]

haha... why not just pay them straight up... Teach them the VERY fact that everything they want must come in exchange for money. [...] Sit them down and say this.. Son.. I see you checking out That cute girl.. Well.. at some point.. maybe not now,  but at some point, she will demand that you have a certain level of salary to match her intended lifestyle.. And unless you provide that income, she won't have sex with you..  And even if you do provide that income, she will still only have sex with you sporadically.. Key thing is to make so much money that you can afford HER and Her-Backup..

I promise you that:

(a) reading a lot of science fiction novels is not a great way to guarantee future sex

(b) there are plenty of women in the world who have sex for reasons other than monetary compensation

Money is only a MEASUREMENT...    A woman might not asked to be paid, but the privilege of her company IS a transaction through and through.

A entire average educated person on the American market is worth ~ 3.5-4 million dollars..

That is approximately what he's worth, should he'd been able to trade in his ENTIRE life..


If any other person had that in cash,  he could no-less buy an entire other person worth in Services..   Be it a Wife or anything else..

[Badwrench]

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

- If you are an avid reader who can handle something big, deep, and dense.

*   *   *   *   *   *

1632 by Eric Flint

- If you have trouble reading and need something that moves quickly and holds your attention.

I really like his stuff.  I traded one one of his books to CPT a while bqck and am curious if he liked it.  Reynolds stuff is very deep.

[Sygaldry]

Dune, Neuromancer, Hyperion Cantos, anything by Asimov, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

[jdcarpe]

I've been on a dystopian kick lately, I guess.

I like Neal Stephenson, and really enjoyed Snow Crash. Reamde, however, dragged a bit in the middle. But I couldn't finish Cryptonimicon. It got so involved and boring to me, that I lost interest and put it down.

William Gibson is a good one, too. Pattern Recognition is probably my favorite of his.

I really want to delve into some classics, though. Some Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova, Poul Anderson. I finally read 1984 last year, and now I see all the references other authors make to the novel in their works.

[tp4tissue]

I've been on a dystopian kick lately, I guess.

I like Neal Stephenson, and really enjoyed Snow Crash. Reamde, however, dragged a bit in the middle. But I couldn't finish Cryptonimicon. It got so involved and boring to me, that I lost interest and put it down.

William Gibson is a good one, too. Pattern Recognition is probably my favorite of his.

I really want to delve into some classics, though. Some Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova, Poul Anderson. I finally read 1984 last year, and now I see all the references other authors make to the novel in their works.

I started reading 1984, then i put it down after about 10 pages.. I read it too late, and already knew exactly what they're getting at..

Surely it must've been a great novel when it came out..


Very similar to my impression of Trek TOS..  cuz I saw nx gen, and ds9 first..  then you got back to TOS.. and you're like...  POINTLESS + extra slow.

[jacobolus]

I started reading 1984, then i put it down after about 10 pages.. I read it too late, and already knew exactly what they're getting at.. Surely it must've been a great novel when it came out..

It was a crappy novel (qua novel) when it came out, and it’s still a crappy novel today. Because the point is to be (very heavy handed) political propaganda, not really to tell a story or explore a set of ideas or give us any particular insight.

It’s okay as political propaganda I guess, but I find political propaganda to be a pretty boring genre, even when it advocates political positions I support.

Orwell’s journalism and other non-fiction writing (and early more reality-grounded fiction) is dramatically more interesting and insightful than his last few novels, in my opinion.

[hoggy]

I hated 1984.  The best description of it I've ever come across is that it was meant to be a mirror of 1948.

George Orwell might have have written some great books, he just never wrote any great sf.

[baldgye]

idk if it counts as sci-fi but anyone here read 'S' ?

[iri]

- The M.Y.T.H. series by Robert Asprin.

written in the first person

[JackMills]

Flow my tears, the police man said by Philip K **** and the Man in the high castle. For me most work by him is great sci-fi.
The Foundation trilogy is a great read, just as Dune.
Vonnegut's The Sirens of Titan and Heinlein's Starship Troopers are also a good read.

[nubbinator]

- The M.Y.T.H. series by Robert Asprin.

written in the first person

It's one of the rare exceptions.  He tends not to do the I said, I, I trap that so many authors fall into.

[iri]

also it's not sci-fi. but it's a very good read anyway.

[eth0s]

I hated 1984.  The best description of it I've ever come across is that it was meant to be a mirror of 1948.

George Orwell might have have written some great books, he just never wrote any great sf.

lol, wait wut?  You mean sci fi is really an allegorical commentary on what is happening in real life?  zomg.  Epiphany:  on Star Trek (OG), the Klingons are the Russians; and Romulans are the Chinese.  mind = blown.

But seriously, I'm a huge Orwell fan, and 1984 is over-the-top in its social commentary.  It's not the best Orwell novel.  Better ones are Down and Out in Paris and London, and Keep the Aspidistras Flying.  However, neither is sci fi.  The only book more obviously allegorical is Animal Farm, (hint:  it's about the Russian Revolution).  However, although 1984 was written in 1948, you would do well to heed it's warnings.  You are in an even greater period of perpetual war right now.  You are told to defend yourselves against "radical islam", they are being told to defend themselves against "extreme blasphemy and heresy".  The terms are new, but the concept is the same.  The giveaway is that you have to give up your civil rights in order to be safe.  Also, killing in the name of g*d is a sign that you are being manipulated, at least it seems obvious to me.  When g*d is telling you to kill, maybe it's not g*d doing the talking?   "WAR IS PEACE," "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY," "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."   Does this sound familiar?  George W. Bush used to say things like this all the time.  Anyway, try this one:  reading is learning.

[intelli78]

I only saw one mention of "Wool" but I'll second that suggestion. 

[jacobolus]

It's not the best Orwell novel.  Better ones are Down and Out in Paris and London,

Down and Out in Paris and London isn’t a novel, or fiction.

Animal Farm and 1984 are both pretty mediocre novels, but Down and Out in Paris and London is great.

[jackalope]

Raft
eon
darwins children
starcraft series

[clacktalk]

ender quintet (haven't read ender in exile though)
shadow quintet (haven't read shadows in flight)
dune
most edgar allan poe stories (especially the facts in the case of m. valdemar)
all ray bradbury short stories

short stories are pretty great

[demik]

 - A. Lee Martinez novels.

reading through his stuff right now, and really enjoying it. first book i read from him was monster, which made me look up his other stuff. currently reading in the company of ogres. wanted to recommend him, but wasn't sure what type of scifi OP was looking for. since this is like scifi/comedy/fantasy

[viskin]

Dune, and The Martian. Btw they are making The Martian into a movie with Matt Damon!