Geek Out: Asimov

Yup! Totally tore though those when I discovered them.

Another really great one many people haven't heard about is Iain M. Banks - Basically, Iain Banks, who writes his Sci-Fi with his middle initial - the Culture novels.

Indeed, the taboo-breaking was the POINT of the thing; if it just creeped you out, then you flunk. I'm ambivalent about Heinlein in general, but I loved Stranger as a teenager, and gulped down all his juvenile novels as a kid (how can you not like a book called Have Spacesuit, Will Travel? ).

Asimov likewise, I find hit-or-miss, though The Positronic Man more than makes up for his shortcomings IMO. Clarke also has some great stuff, Childhood's End being right up there. LeGuin has a few real masterpeices, too--many of her Hain books, particularly The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness.

Card's Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead were phenomenal in many respects, but his growing Jesusism over the course of the series soured it for me a bit. Pastwatch is a great Card novel, if lesser-known.

Greg Bear anyone? Blood Music and Moving Mars are satisfying reads. Queen City Jazz by Kathleen Ann Goonan is another fantastic nano story.

John Barth's Giles Goat Boy has some sci-fi elements, sort of (most sci-fi readers and other human beings would probably be vomiting blood from their eyes about 1/3 through, but I loved it ). For that matter, Hermann Hesse's Magister Ludi could be read as sci-fi or future-fantasy in much the same way.

And don't forget the real classics: Frankenstein, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and everything by H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. These stories are re-written with brighter lights and more buzzers on a regular basis to this day.

I just finished Startide Rising and I'm reading The Uplift Wars now. I'm finding Brin's form and prose a little dull (tho he pulls off a good line here and there), and plot-wise Startide was a bit of an action movie, but there is something compelling about the characters and settings--unless Uplift Wars is a big letdown, I'll be reading more of them. Reminds me of Anne Rice in a lot of ways--you forgive her shortcomings as a writer because of the strength of her imagination.

Also, the first sci-fi story I wrote in 8th grade featured "uplifted" dolphins, so I have to recognize Brin's creative genius

The Uplift War could have used a better editor. Brin tends to repeat himself a fair amount in that one and I thought it was a couple hundred pages longer than it should have been. That's the last one I finished and I'm now halfway through the first book of the second trilogy. The writing is much stronger than in Uplift War. I loved the characters in that one though, and the ending was great. Fiben was such an endearing character, and I loved Athaclena and her father.

Startide Rising was definitely like an action movie. Definitely a page turner. Good characters in that one and I found the dolphin's language and mythos to be really compelling. I know I've really enjoyed a book when I can still summon up the mental imagery I got while reading it weeks or months later. That book was very visual for me. So far all of his books have been.

I just rediscovered one of my favorite SF short stories.

The Monster, by A.E.van Vogt

I hadn't read it since I was a little kid...

-Easy

I rediscovered Poe when my girls had him for an assignment in school. You know, that guy was a LOT better than I thought he was when I had to read him at their age!

coco

I find Poe, Shakespeare, and Monty Python are things best discovered for yourself..

That is to say - more people are put off of Monty Python by the nimrods running around quoting it over and over and over... but when you sit down alone and watch it by yourself, its actually much better than the nimrods portray it..

Siggy.

Trinary was an inspired creation. I'm also more impressed w/ THe Uplift Wars now that I've read the section prefaced with the lyrics to "Evelyn, a Modified Dog."

haha, yeah. That was great. Any author that quotes Zappa is OK in my book.

I agree with you competely, which is why I overlook the big problems I have with Asimov, and take him very seriously.

I'd like to repeat a recommendation I made earlier, though - a contemporary of Asimov's who does not get much attention anymore. However, Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination often gets the vote from professional editors and authors as the best - yes, the best - science fiction novel ever written. Personally, I'm not sure about that, but it's certainly in my own top five.

Can't do better than Gully Foyle, PyrE, and the Social Renaissance caused by Jaunting.

I agree with you competely, which is why I overlook the big problems I have with Asimov, and take him very seriously.

I'd like to repeat a recommendation I made earlier, though - a contemporary of Asimov's who does not get much attention anymore. However, Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination often gets the vote from professional editors and authors as the best - yes, the best - science fiction novel ever written. Personally, I'm not sure about that, but it's certainly in my own top five.

Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation
Deep space is my dwelling place,
The stars my destination....

Just to chime in with the geekishness, I thought I'd post my top five sci-fi book list... It's not arranged in any particular order though, and I included a few comments...

Maybe it will give some people some ideas for books to read if they haven't (I've taken a couple notes too from this thread), or prompt some fun discussion.

Footfall: Niven and Pournelle
Short summary: In the latter part of the 20th century, scientists realize that an anomaly they had been confused about in some probe images from Saturn were caused by a large approaching ship. It's a story of first contact and culture clash, kinda a war story but the war is more background than the actual plot.

I love this one because (in addition to being very entertaining) its a great look at culture clash when meeting even a relativly "normal" type of alien race (Not made of energy, or telepathic, or anything... Just different). It's also a very low-tech sci-fi novel, which I find very enjoyable. I could really empathise with the fitthp, you could really feel their confusion when they first arrive.

Rendezvous With Rama: Clarke
Summary: At some point in the future when we have become a spacefaring people, but confined to our own solar system (no hyperdrive or anything like that, just good old fashioned propulsion), we detect a huge alien ship on a parabolic course that will take it through our system, singshot around the sun, and leave. A ship is quickly re-tasked to intercept the ship and try to make contact. What they find defies explanation.

The sequals were alright, but the first one was great. What is great is that Clarke didn't go out of his way to develop a "point"... It was more like a simple "what if" exercise, and Clarke uses this to keep a sense of mystery and majesty to Rama (The name given to the alien ship by scientists).

Positronic Man: Asimov
Summary: Set in Asimov's future setting, it tells the tale of a robot throughout his many, many years of life, and his slow evolution from a simple machine to something more. There were times I was screaming at the humans in the story things like "You idiots! You make me ashamed to be human! Can't you see!?".

Ender's Game: Card
Summary: In the future, mankind has had two past wars with a race of insectoid aliens. To ensure we win the next war, the world governments begin a program of selective breeding and intensive training from a young age to produce the perfect leaders for the next war. In a system full of some of the best tacticians ever known, Andrew (Ender) Wiggins stands above all the rest. Pushed to his breaking point and beyond time and time again to fill a role that he barely understands, the story actually made me sick to my stomach a few times, but is still a fantastic read.

Jurassic Park: Crichton
I hope I don't have to summarize this one The book is a bajillion and ten times better than the movie, far and away. I like it because its an example of technology breaking down not because of the technology itself, but because of the minds behind the technology.

Crichton has taken a real nosedive in recent years. Before he became hell bent on writing everything to be turned into a movie, he put out some really interesting fiction. Jurassic Park was definitely up there, as well as:

- Rising Sun, about the Japanese/American trade war
- Disclosure, about sexual harassment and gender relations in the workplace
- Airframe, about the airline industry and Quality Assurance

I really love well-researched fiction that teaches me a thing or two. Hard to sniff out, though.

I always recommend the work of Lois McMaster Bujold, Connie Willis and S.M. Sterling. They are incredibly gifted writers and truly nice people if you are lucky enough to meet them. Arthur C Clarke was a favourite way back when, but discovering that he is a child molester really ruined any enjoyment of his work for me

This is worth reading, re: Molestation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Arthur_C._Clarke

Ha, I am certain that he is just as innocent as Michael Jackson, but this is hijacking the thread. There are many other artists who were complete bastards in their own lives and yet we can still appreciate their works on their own merits. Well, aside from L Ron Hubbard, anyway...

Didn't I read in one of his zillion books that even Asimov didn't think himself good at characters, women particularly?

And, yes, Card depicts human duality (altruistic/selfish) and frailties better than anyone I've ever read. His characterizations seem only to get richer through the years. Humbling.

Yes, you certainly did. I alluded to this before, as well: he thought that he got Susan Calvin so wrong romantically at one point that he re-wrote portions of one of his stories (Liar!) entirely, having had a little more experience with women at the time of compiling Liar! into an anthology.

He did get better, but as others have mentioned, he had greater strong suits. But it didn't stop me from thinking R. Daneel and Lije Bailey were pretty damn cool.

edit: God, I wish I could remember where he said this.

I loved the Hand Maid's Tale, thought it a bit scary. I also thought the movie was well done.

Douglas Adams is one of my favorites too, but of course his stuff is more sci-fi humor.

Stephen King, (yes I know he wrote mostly horror), did some fine sci-fi writing in the Dark Tower Series oh and The Stand as well.

Harlan Ellison - I have no Mouth and I Must Scream. Anne McCaffrey - Crystal Singer. Ursula LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness and for children Ursula LeGuin - Catwings

I think Asimov was one of the greatest writers of all time. Although he wrote more Science Fiction than anything else, he wrote on many subjects -- including non-fiction and non-science fiction. He wrote a guide to the Bible, he wrote a guide to Shakespeare, he wrote explanations of how things work, he edited magazines and anthologies, he wrote textbooks, articles, letters, post cards, essays, short stories, and novels. And he encouraged other writers, especially young ones.

He was a writer's writer.

His fiction style was almost opposite Hemmingway. He tended to describe events rather than atmosphere. He preferred to describe what people thought and said rather than who they were or how they felt. He connected with the reader intellectually, rather than emotionally. Because of that his stories tend to lack the heart-pounding excitement that is in vogue now, with authors like Crichton and Grisham. I think that is because today's authors are writing for a TV audience -- readers today want to "see" everything. Asimov expected the reader to paint the background using their own imagination. His style was ideal for short stories -- which is one of the reasons his short stories are among the best ever written. Most of his stores achieve suspense through some level mystery. Most of the robot stories are some form of police detective story first and science fiction second. I think he wrote Space-Opera and Hard-Science Fiction equally well, which is unusual. Most science fiction authors tend to one or the other.

Buster

Here's a list of his work: http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/asimov_big_list.html

Interesting points, Buster. I love a very visual author, but it's a fine line. If an author is too descriptive I don't get as engaged because the visuals aren't much of my own creation. If the author doesn't describe enough, or describes in flat language, it won't be very visual at all. I want a good scifi book to take me someplace I've never seen and show it to me through my own eyes, if you know what I mean.

Trivia question: what was the dewey decimal category for "Hallucination Orbit : Psychology In Science Fiction".

Hint: The answer can be found at the link a couple of messages above.

Go ahead, I guarantee you will laugh.

Buster

Greg Egan: His novels "Permutation City" and "Diaspora" have as much, if not more in common with the concept of Second Life as the more mainstream cyberpunk references (Gibson, Stephenson etc.).