Sci-Fi and Fantasy Recommendations
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Dolphin
- Posts: 21
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To be honest, I do not know anything about him, I have just read almost every book by him that I can find. I have never noticed any political views being expressed through his writing. The Ender series is full of characters who don't really like big government, but at the same time it is full of big government characters (and both groups of characters are the 'good guys'). If you want the best suggestion I can give, I would suggest: "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus". It is science fiction, but not overly science fiction, and it is a solo novel (not part of a series). It is also my favorite, and probably has the best literary merit (but not the kind of literary merit that detracts from a good story telling), and is the perfect length...slow at all the right parts, and exciting in the rest.ChrisSamsDad wrote:Do his right-wing political views come out in his Sci-fi writing? That was always a bit irritating about Robert Heinlein (Robinn EE Hitler as he was sometimes referred to as)Dolphin wrote: Science Fiction: Orson Scott Card (simply amazing).
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Bowlie
- Posts: 297
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What other series of Card's do you recommend? I have read all the Ender's Game books (to me, the first two were by far the best although I love Bean in Ender's Shadow). I'd like to read some more of his stuff, but I don't really know what to start with.Dolphin wrote: To be honest, I do not know anything about him, I have just read almost every book by him that I can find. I have never noticed any political views being expressed through his writing. The Ender series is full of characters who don't really like big government, but at the same time it is full of big government characters (and both groups of characters are the 'good guys'). If you want the best suggestion I can give, I would suggest: "Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus". It is science fiction, but not overly science fiction, and it is a solo novel (not part of a series). It is also my favorite, and probably has the best literary merit (but not the kind of literary merit that detracts from a good story telling), and is the perfect length...slow at all the right parts, and exciting in the rest.
I'm currently reading Dan Simmons' Hyperion Canto. I'm on the second book, The Fall of Hyperion. I am really enjoying it so far and want to read more science fiction.
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Dolphin
- Posts: 21
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For science fiction, I would recommend the Homecoming Saga, which includes: The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth Earthfall, and Earthborn. Another of his series, but is definitely not science fiction (it is religious fiction) is his Women of Genesis series, and includes:Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.
I would suggest both of those series, and I would suggest these stand alone novels (in addition to Pastwatch, my all time favorite of his):
Magicstreet -- About Shakespeares play "A Midsummers Night Dream" coming to life.
Enchantment -- A young fellow gets trapped in a medeval world not his own.
Lost Boys -- Sad, sad, sad. About a family who moves, and what ends up happening.
and
Homebody -- About a man who tries to fix up a broken down house.
I
I would suggest both of those series, and I would suggest these stand alone novels (in addition to Pastwatch, my all time favorite of his):
Magicstreet -- About Shakespeares play "A Midsummers Night Dream" coming to life.
Enchantment -- A young fellow gets trapped in a medeval world not his own.
Lost Boys -- Sad, sad, sad. About a family who moves, and what ends up happening.
and
Homebody -- About a man who tries to fix up a broken down house.
I
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Bowlie
- Posts: 297
- Joined: 23 Jul 2009, 16:15
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Thanks, I'll put those on my "To Read" list (all except Lost Boys which my husband said would scare me--I can't handle ghost-y things).Dolphin wrote:For science fiction, I would recommend the Homecoming Saga, which includes: The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth Earthfall, and Earthborn. Another of his series, but is definitely not science fiction (it is religious fiction) is his Women of Genesis series, and includes:Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.
I would suggest both of those series, and I would suggest these stand alone novels (in addition to Pastwatch, my all time favorite of his):
Magicstreet -- About Shakespeares play "A Midsummers Night Dream" coming to life.
Enchantment -- A young fellow gets trapped in a medeval world not his own.
Lost Boys -- Sad, sad, sad. About a family who moves, and what ends up happening.
and
Homebody -- About a man who tries to fix up a broken down house.
I
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cameron333
- Posts: 29
- Joined: 29 Sep 2009, 21:26
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Fantasy and Sci fi are completely different things. I have thought the same thing, and just the other day I was at Barnes and Noble trying to find the Hitchikers Ultimate Guide by douglas adams {Wich I gave up on and ventured to the library for} and all I could see were dungeons and dragons like books.
There is a deffinate line between us Nerds, and Those Dorks.
There is a deffinate line between us Nerds, and Those Dorks.
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ChrisSamsDad
- Posts: 59
- Joined: 02 Oct 2009, 11:41
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nanda403
- Posts: 3
- Joined: 15 Oct 2009, 14:17
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There's a used bookstore in tenneessee, Mr.Kay's, that seperates the two categories.ChrisSamsDad wrote:Absolutely - let's start a campaign!cameron333 wrote: There is a deffinate line between us Nerds, and Those Dorks.
Only place I've ever seen do it though. My local library doesn't even take the sci-fi and fantasy out of the fiction section, it's hell trying to find anything!
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ChrisSamsDad
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It makes as much sense as putting horror and sci-fi together. I like the hard sci-fi - which actually involves science. I think sci-fi is great for posing philosophical and ethical problems (some of which we're probably going to face sometime soon)
Like cloning, rejuvenation, AI etc. Fantasy I can pretty much take it or leave it, (unless it's Terry Pratchett)
Like cloning, rejuvenation, AI etc. Fantasy I can pretty much take it or leave it, (unless it's Terry Pratchett)
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marvelmite
- Posts: 45
- Joined: 31 Aug 2009, 20:55
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Big fan of Piers Anthony-On a Pale Horse (havent read the rest of the series, does anyone suggest it? Does it hold up past the first?)
Kurt Vonnegut-Sirens of Titan and Slaughter-house Five
(all of the above just take sci-fi in bizzare directions)
a little more traditional sci-fi id suggest is Dune. I know, kinda cliched but i found it to be amazing.
also suggest alternative future/post appocalypse books like The Road by cormac mccarthy, 1984 by george orwell, Farenheit 451 by ray bradburry, Brave New World by aldous huxley, and Lord of the Flies by william golding to look at the failures and strengths of human nature
Kurt Vonnegut-Sirens of Titan and Slaughter-house Five
(all of the above just take sci-fi in bizzare directions)
a little more traditional sci-fi id suggest is Dune. I know, kinda cliched but i found it to be amazing.
also suggest alternative future/post appocalypse books like The Road by cormac mccarthy, 1984 by george orwell, Farenheit 451 by ray bradburry, Brave New World by aldous huxley, and Lord of the Flies by william golding to look at the failures and strengths of human nature
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ChrisSamsDad
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EnderWiggin
- Posts: 3
- Joined: 26 Oct 2009, 16:04
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Lol, I just want to start of by thanking the guy a few posts back for coming up with that quote.
"There is a definate line between us Nerds and those Dorks."
Haha, truly awesome.
Anyway, I enjoy both science fiction. I love the Ender's Game series, from his first book on Ender (truly amazing btw) to his somewhat out there books in Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind, to his military tactics-style books on the story of Bean and his life. I enjoyed some of his other books including Empire (yes, somewhat politcal, but seeing as I'm unaffiliated, I didn't mind) and The Lost Boys (also an interesting book, but like someone mentioned before, very sad). Most of this is very sci-fi, although not all of it.
Other books I thoroughly enjoyed fall under the Fantasy section. The Black Company by Glen Cook, the Twilight Series, The Harry Potter books. All are great books, but are not science fiction, they're fantasy. Both have they're place. However, since I like them both, I don't mind seeing them clumped together.
"There is a definate line between us Nerds and those Dorks."
Haha, truly awesome.
Anyway, I enjoy both science fiction. I love the Ender's Game series, from his first book on Ender (truly amazing btw) to his somewhat out there books in Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind, to his military tactics-style books on the story of Bean and his life. I enjoyed some of his other books including Empire (yes, somewhat politcal, but seeing as I'm unaffiliated, I didn't mind) and The Lost Boys (also an interesting book, but like someone mentioned before, very sad). Most of this is very sci-fi, although not all of it.
Other books I thoroughly enjoyed fall under the Fantasy section. The Black Company by Glen Cook, the Twilight Series, The Harry Potter books. All are great books, but are not science fiction, they're fantasy. Both have they're place. However, since I like them both, I don't mind seeing them clumped together.
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EnderWiggin
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I posted this in the General Discussion Forum, and then stumbled onto this thread. Maybe someone here can help. I'm just going to copy and paste, apologies.
Ok, so I have a question concerning a certain style of book. If anyone has read "Gamer Fantastic" by Martin H. Greenburg, this pertains to that. It's a book of short sci-fi stories, and one of them caught my attention. This girl moves back to a city housing a long abandoned family estate. She's struggling to get by, so she starts looking for a job. She saw the wanted sign on a Gamer Store, and went in to apply. This particular store was a little different. One of the things they worked with included Role Playing Games, the old school kind like Dungeons and Dragons. The whole dice era. She didn't know much about it, but just expected to be working a counter. While that was one of her duties, also included was the responsibility to become more familiar with the games. She even had to roll to figure out what kind of character she was, dexterity, intelligence, strength, agility, the whole works. What she didn't realize was that this was actually determing who she was. For example, a co-worker who had been there for a few months longer than she had had rolled a set of stats indicitive of a mage. Later, he surprised her by conjuring a full feast before her eyes, without actually showing anything or giving anything away. He ACTUALLY WAS a wizard. What he rolled when determining his character was reality. She rolled stats that correspond with those of a thief. Anyway, I won't give away the whole story for those that haven't read it before.
My question was, where can I find similar stuff? It was set in a present-day form, but it involved a lot of elements from medieval-themes. The dorky co-worker with the big pimple and glasses that IS a wizard. The strong, muscular inventory delivery man that is actually a warrior. The new employee that has an uncanny ability for theivery. Story lines built up from something similar to this is what I'm interested in. If anyone has any recommendations or knows of a way to find similar story-lines, please feel free to let me know. Thanks a lot.
Ok, so I have a question concerning a certain style of book. If anyone has read "Gamer Fantastic" by Martin H. Greenburg, this pertains to that. It's a book of short sci-fi stories, and one of them caught my attention. This girl moves back to a city housing a long abandoned family estate. She's struggling to get by, so she starts looking for a job. She saw the wanted sign on a Gamer Store, and went in to apply. This particular store was a little different. One of the things they worked with included Role Playing Games, the old school kind like Dungeons and Dragons. The whole dice era. She didn't know much about it, but just expected to be working a counter. While that was one of her duties, also included was the responsibility to become more familiar with the games. She even had to roll to figure out what kind of character she was, dexterity, intelligence, strength, agility, the whole works. What she didn't realize was that this was actually determing who she was. For example, a co-worker who had been there for a few months longer than she had had rolled a set of stats indicitive of a mage. Later, he surprised her by conjuring a full feast before her eyes, without actually showing anything or giving anything away. He ACTUALLY WAS a wizard. What he rolled when determining his character was reality. She rolled stats that correspond with those of a thief. Anyway, I won't give away the whole story for those that haven't read it before.
My question was, where can I find similar stuff? It was set in a present-day form, but it involved a lot of elements from medieval-themes. The dorky co-worker with the big pimple and glasses that IS a wizard. The strong, muscular inventory delivery man that is actually a warrior. The new employee that has an uncanny ability for theivery. Story lines built up from something similar to this is what I'm interested in. If anyone has any recommendations or knows of a way to find similar story-lines, please feel free to let me know.
Thanks a lot.-
DiykhaniyeIzOsen
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- Joined: 02 Oct 2009, 15:59
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I just finished an amazing sci-fi book the other day and thought maybe some of you would like it. It's called "A Thousand Words For Stranger" by Julie E. Czerneda. It's a very easy sci-fi book, not like the ones that say phaser or some annoying thing that needs two pages worth of explanation (which is by far my biggest beef with sci-fi books). But in this book you learn gradually and it's incredibly riveting.
