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Good SF/fantasy read?

T

The_Hobbit

Beyond the rim
I read a few things a couple years ago when I was in my SF-book phase ('Foundation Trilogy' an 'Nemesis' by Asimov, 'Exiles Trilogy' by Ben Bova, Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams (I did't like that one very much though.)

Now I'm in the mood to read an SF novel again, so do you guys have any suggestions?

What about classics? 1984, Brave New World, Time Machine, Space 2001, Fahrenheit 451 etc ...

Or more recent novels?

I'm not so much into fantasy. But I'd be open for suggestions. :)
(I've read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillon, and liked those.)
 
I had no idea Roxann Dawson was a (co)author. Andrea Flores sounds a just little like B'elanna Torres. Are the characters similar?
 
What about classics? 1984, Brave New World, Time Machine, Space 2001, Fahrenheit 451 etc ...
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Can't go wrong with those. Throw in Bradbury's short stories and Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, and you've got yourself a nice reading list for a the next couple of years.
 
I had no idea Roxann Dawson was a (co)author. Andrea Flores sounds a just little like B'elanna Torres. Are the characters similar?
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Yes and no. She has a lot of B'Elanna's fire... and I can't help but seeing B'Elanna in my mind's eye sort of (especially as Roxann is on the cover art).

But all in all, the characters are very different people.
 
Throw in Bradbury's short stories and Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, and you've got yourself a nice reading list for a the next couple of years.
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Hmm, I think even he admitted that Stranger wasn't one of his best :) Lots of better Heinlein like Time Enough For Love and all the others in that universe.

Dune has to be worth a read, but don't expect too much of the sequels :(

Anything by Larry Niven is good, but particularly Footfall, Lucifer's Hammer, Oath of Fealty, and The Mote on God's Eyes, as well as Ringworld and The Ringworld Engineers.

Hmm, must go reread some of these :D
 
There are some female authors to make note of. Ursula K. Le Guin is one of the best. "Lathe of Heaven" and "The Left Hand of Darkness" come to mind. I intend to start on some of her series after I finish at least half of the series I recently started.

If you want "hard science" science fiction, try Arthur C. Clarke. Obviously the series "2001 A Space Odyssey", "2010" and the final "3001 the Final Odyssey" are great. (You can skip "2061" and you won't really miss a thing.)

AC Clarke also wrote the fantastic single novel "Childhood's End" as well as "The Songs of Distant Earth". Another series by him is "Rama".

The short story "The 9 billion names of God" is worth checking out in a library or something. He has other good short stories worth reading, but that one is a true classic.

Back to other authors:
"1984" is what I'd call a definite must-read. "Brave New World" less so than "1984" but still a great book.
 
For hard science fiction, I recommend The Sheep Look Up, by John Brunner. Tougher than Ellison, wilder than Brazil.
For fantasy, I recommend A Voyage To Arcturus, by David Lindsay. Far more fantastic than Star Wars or LOTRings.
 
I recently had the same problem. What's new in the scifi world that I want to read? So I looked around Barnes and Noble and found Jack McDevitt. I've read several of his books; but the ones I found most intriguing, and very well written, were 'The Engines of God,' 'Deep Six,' and 'Chindi.' They're a combination of archaeology and mystery. I believe you would enjoy them very much. If you do decide to try them let me know what you think. Happy Reading!
 
Let me second Fas.

For straight sci-fi, I still stand by Dan Simmons, or my old mentor Ray Bradbury.
 
"Saucer" by Stephen Conts is a great little book. It's out in paper back and is lots of fun. I got it at the local drug store.

You can also go to several sites that list Sci Fi award winning books by year. One site is "Nebula" and another site is "Hugo." If a book is on both list then it might be worth a try.

I just read "Prey" by Michael Crichton which was pretty good. I got it at the library.
 
I concur with Demon. You can't go wrong with Larry Niven. Footfall was pretty good. The Mote in God's Eye was very good, but stay away from the sequel, The Gripping Hand. If you were to look up the word *tedious* in the dictionary, it would say: *See Also, The Gripping Hand.*

Heinlein is, despite my preference, an acquired taste. I enjoyed Stranger in a Strange Land immensely - just make sure you read the unabridged version.

Read everything by Arthur Clarke.

We'll expect full book reports on all of these suggestions, of course. ;)
 
Since other authors have been mentioned, I'll through in Greg Bear or David Brin. Not hard "science fiction" but fiction with hard science I guess. Darwin's Radio or Vitals for Greg Bear and The Postman for David Brin. The only problem is that there are soo many authors to choose from.
 
I read Piers Anthony's "Macroscope" decades ago, and still pull it out now and then to read again. (It's not a Xanth novel, or a fantasy.)

I also liked his trilogy, "Omnivore", "Orn", and "Ox".
 
Personally, my all time favorite is Heinlein, but I can't believe no one has mentioned Kurt Vonnegut.
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Good ole Slaughter House 5. I really liked that book, I might just have to find it and read it again.
 
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