Your Favorite Sci-Fi Author? - ...or am I making a bad assumption here?

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-21 06:24:32

The assumption here is that most Mars advocates are also going to be sci-fi readers/watchers. Feel free to attack it at will...

...or, if you prefer, share who your favorite sci-fi author is, and perhaps your favorite work by that author.

Adrian · 2002-05-21 07:23:40

Tough question Some of my favorite SF authors include Vernor Vinge, Iain M Banks, Kim Stanley Robinson, Arthur C Clarke, Larry Niven, Nancy Kress and Allen Steele.

Favorite books include: A Deepness in the Sky (Vinge), The Player of Games (Banks), The Martians and The Years of Rice and Salt (KSR), The Fountains of Paradise (Clarke), Known Space short stories (Niven) and both Kress and Steele's short stories.

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-21 10:24:29

^^^ You know, there was a reason I used the singular and not the plural, Adrian... Just kidding. I've been wanting to read some Vinge for a while now; he made quite a splash a few years back.

Allen Steele is also a favorite of mine...particularly his older stuff.

I expect to see a great deal of KSR in this thread...I enjoy him too...although I have to say I prefer Bova's Mars to KSR's. I know, I'm a heretic. So excommunicate me.

Anyone else?

clark · 2002-05-21 11:26:35

KSR... nice concept, horrible delivery.

The characters are dry, the dialogue weak- the problem is that the characters exsist solely for KSR to have an imagination driven romp through Mars- nothing wrong with that until Book 2 and 3- at this point you have established characters who apparently operate only to serve whatever plot direction KSR wants- which inevitably leads to characters acting in ways they shouldn't given their experiences or background. Don't get me wrong, I like KSR's ideas- just his writing blows.

Try the Honor Harrington series, by David Weber. - FUN FUN FUN- Start at the begining and work your way through all the series- if you like ONE, you will like them ALL.
Uplift series, by David Brin - Humanity joins the Universe and raises crearures to sentience
Ender series, by Orson Scott Card - his short stories are worthwhile, avoid his fantasy, it's udder crap - Enders Game is by far the best, the rest of the series just gets weaker until Ender's Shadow (which dosen't have to be read in order)
Beggars series, by Nancy Kress - phenomenal series dealing with advances in gentics, and the changes in humanity
Riverworld series, by Philip Jos? Farmer - everyone who ever died is brought back to life along a River that wraps around the entire world- bizarre and GREAT.
The Mote in God's Eye is a fun read.
1984 is a personal favorite, as well as A Brave New World- definite must read as the issues rasied in BOTH books are dealing with the science we enjoy today, or soon will
How about a shout out for Bradbury?

If you're interested in trying some decidely non-SF, try Choke by Chuck Palahnuiuk- you will not be disappointed. And if you need more of a recommendation, this is the guy who wrote Fight Club, which was THEN made into a movie. The man rocks, and his writing is exceptional.

Phobos · 2002-05-21 14:07:43

I don't really read that much sci-fi. I'd have to say my favorite sci-fi novel though is Dune, even though that novel
probably belongs more in the fantasy genre than the sci-fi one. If you want a really weird non-sci fi book to read try wading through "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon. I'm reading it right now and he definately throws any accepted
concepts of structure out the window.

clark · 2002-05-21 16:06:02

I'd have to say my favorite sci-fi novel though is Dune, even though that novel
probably belongs more in the fantasy genre than the sci-fi one.

Dune was okay- I lost complete interest though after reading the sequel though.

The Eden series, by Harry Harrison are great if you like alternate earth stories. In this series it pre-supposes that the meteor that wiped out the dino's missed, and humanity grows up with a sentiant dino that rules the earth through advances in bio-tech.

Haven't head much about the Gravity Rainbow

Phobos · 2002-05-21 18:50:59

I haven't read any of the sequels to Dune and I get the feeling your right, I don't think the sequels would be able to live up to the original. I've often imagined what
different paths evolution would have taken if the dinosaurs
hadn't met such a grisly fate. There were some dinos after all that had rather large braincases. As for Gravity's Rainbow, it's a hard novel to follow along with, the writing style is almost as bizarre as the plot. It's basically about this Lt. in the British Army that plots his sexual conquests on a large map and someone discovers that the location of his sexual encounters matches exactly a map depicting the impact
sites of V-2 rockets in London and so the powers that be
begin to chase him down thinking he has some special ability
to predict V-2 impacts. It's actually a lot deeper than that but hard to sum up in a paragraph.

Bill White · 2002-05-21 20:02:11

I have to say I prefer Bova's Mars to KSR's

I agree with Peter. Maybe they will burn us together.

One of my personal favorite writers is Patrick O'Brian - but he wrote about late 18th/early 19th century sea captains.

In the sci-fi realm I do like Greg Bear - but not enough to say he is my all time favorite. . .

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-22 08:10:40

Any Stephen Baxter fans out there? I'd think that Voyage would be a Mars Society favorite.

clark · 2002-05-22 09:02:50

I read both Bova and KSR. I liked Bova's writing style better, he gave life to his characters and then let them play in his imagination. KSR, though, built his characters to serve his imagination- they were merely used as a part of telling his over-arching story.

I liked KSR's ideas, hated his delivery.
I liked Bova's narration, but found his story to less encompassing then KSR.

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-24 06:18:43

Am I really the only one here who's read Baxter's Voyage? If you're a Mars advocate, you really should read it... Here's a link to the appropriate page at Amazon.co.uk, and another to the page at Amazon.com, which has a fuller review and more reader comments.

Imagine The Right Stuff (and if you haven't read that, you can't really call yourself a space enthusiast!) in an alternate world where Kennedy survives the assassination attempt to motivate the U.S. to go to Mars. It's within the top three books I've ever read...

Adrian · 2002-05-24 06:28:23

Nope, I've read it as well. It's one of the best realistic hard-SF novels about Mars out there, although it's not really about Mars rather than getting there. Baxter is one of the best authors for this sort of alternate history hardware 'NASA flies to x on a piece of string and duct tape' story. I met him once at a talk we were both speaking at in London - he was a very nice guy. I bought a copy of Voyage there to get it signed by him

So - I think it's a great read, but not quite as great as the other books in my top three. It's definitely in my top 20 though.

Bova write very entertaining stories, but I find his characterisation to be very flat and two dimensional.

Bill White · 2002-05-24 07:17:50

Adrian writes:

Bova write very entertaining stories, but I find his characterisation to be very flat and two dimensional

clark writes:

I read both Bova and KSR. I liked Bova's writing style better, he gave life to his characters and then let them play in his imagination. KSR, though, built his characters to serve his imagination- they were merely used as a part of telling his over-arching story.

Perhaps we do not read Bova and KSR -

Perhaps Bova and KSR read us.

clark · 2002-05-24 08:31:41

Perhaps Bova and KSR read us.

Ah, who adds the subtext, the writer or the reader. I think that is what can be so great about a book- the myriad of stories we all can bring to it, which is ultimetly a reflection of ourselves. There are a lot of good stories, but the great ones, I have found, are the ones that actually taught me something about myself.

I understand Adrian's evaluation of the characters in Bova's book, however, when I compare the Bova to KSR, I still would argue that Bova did a better job of letting his characters exsist. Granted, they may have been a bit cliche, the whole Navajo thing made me feel like I was getting my head caved in by some Political Correctness stick.

KSR, great ideas, but again, I couldn't get over the feeling that the characters exsisted solely so KSR's could describe Mars.

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-25 11:14:20

Nope, I've read it as well. It's one of the best realistic hard-SF novels about Mars out there, although it's not really about Mars rather than getting there.

Well, as you might imagine from the quote in my signature, I'm partial to those kinds of stories.

I met him once at a talk we were both speaking at in London - he was a very nice guy. I bought a copy of Voyage there to get it signed by him

Okay, I am now officially jealous. Did you ask him to write a sequel?

Christina · 2002-05-26 04:58:57

Difficult question to answer - I don't read much SciFi these days , Watch SciFi yes, read no.

Hmm, the names from the past, Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury...although I think Isaac's style might seem a little dated now.
I have fond memories of Stranger from a Strange Land (appropriately for this site) and Number of the Beast, so I guess I'll go with Robert Heinlein.

Peter Pevensie · 2002-05-27 09:41:15

All classics, Christina...I've always been fond of The Number of the Beast, but Starship Troopers takes the prize as my favorite Heinlein. Chalk it up to testosterone, I suppose.

Which Asimov is your favorite? I love the Foundation Series -- at least the ones Asimov wrote himself...

Adrian · 2002-05-27 13:02:24

The first Foundation trilogy is a deserved classic, but everything past that is IMO a complete cash in, especially the novels that ham-handedly try to tie his Robot and Foundation series together.

I loved his standalone novel The End of Eternity though. Great ideas, great stuff.

Phobos · 2002-05-27 13:11:52

Has anyone read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Heinlein?
I can't believe I forgot about a Stranger in a Strange Land. That novel is absolutely a classic.

Palomar · 2002-05-30 14:31:49

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, without a doubt. "Childhood's End," "2001: A Space Odyssey (the book, not the movie)," and "Rendezvous with Rama" are unparalleled, IMO.

I couldn't possibly pick my favorite of these three. Astoundingly brilliant!

--Cindy

Mars Society member since 6/01.

Palomar · 2002-05-30 14:57:46

...I should add a very special mention: "Micromegas" by Voltaire.

Written in the mid-1700s. I wondered, prior to reading it, how Msr. Voltaire planned to have his traveler from Sirius traverse the galaxy, considering he was writing in an age when hot-air balloons (tethered to the ground, for use in military campaigns) was the only form of "flight" for man.

But I won't give the story away. It is primarily a philosophical story; however, it also is a science fiction story as well...and very charming indeed.

--Cindy

Mars Society member since 6/01

Palomar · 2002-05-30 15:08:44

Phobos asked: Has anyone read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Heinlein? I can't believe I forgot about a Stranger in a Strange Land. That novel is absolutely a classic.

I have a copy of "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress." I've gotten roughly 2/3 of the way through it. However, my enjoyment of it has been a bit limited. I've enjoyed other works by Heinlein ("Have Spacesuit, Will Travel; "Farmer in the Sky"), but for some reason I "lag" a bit with TMiaHM. I have "Stranger in a Strange Land" on my shelf...I'll get around to it eventually.

--Cindy

Mars Society member since 6/01.

Christina · 2002-06-15 06:13:22

Which Asimov is your favorite? I love the Foundation Series -- at least the ones Asimov wrote himself...

the foundation series was interesting, but I actually preferred the Robot series...

Palomar · 2002-07-29 22:44:36

*I've already given my "thumbs up" for Arthur C. Clarke as my favorite sci-fi writer, but after reading a mention H.G. Wells' short story "The Star" by Clarke [and reading same on the internet; I posted information about where to find it in the "18th Century Online Resources" thread within the past 1-1/2 weeks, i.e. it is linked with Voltaire's short story "Micromegas"], I decided to purchase some of Wells' novels. Saturday night I bought four titles: "The Invisible Man"; "The War of the Worlds"; "The Time Machine"; and "The Island of Dr. Moreau." I got all four titles for under $6.00, brand new. The last three titles were published by Dover Thrift Editions -- $1.00 each; and this at a national chain bookseller. I'm starting off with "The Invisible Man." Very excellent reading so far.
--Cindy

Bill White · 2002-07-30 11:19:34

Dover Thrift Editions

are awesome.

I have considered looking into whether they can send me every volume. Then, for maybe $500, plus shipping I can have a truly world class library that would could $10,000 or more if purchased through regular publishers.

I already have maybe 30 or 40 Dovers - and I have no guilt about writing in the margins. Hey, for a $1 or $3 more I can buy another!

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Re: Your Favorite Sci-Fi Author? - ...or am I making a bad assumption here?

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