The Science-Fiction Thread

Recently had a mind-blowing sci-fi experience? Fondly remember a classic? Tell us here.

Anyone who posts here should give at least their favourite science-fiction story/short story, plus anything else you've really liked, if you want to.

Okay, I'll start the ball rolling. My favourite ever novels would have to be Asimov's Foundation trilogy (yes, trilogy - only the first three).

The other day, I read Robert J. Sawyer's Factoring Humanity - a great read, reminded me a lot of Stephen Baxter's Time (also a fantastic book), with a dash of 2001. I encourage those who haven't read them to give them a try, and for those who have - what are some similar authors?


Share your favourites!

[EDIT] - All suggestions are in the following list - I'll update it whenever I'm on.

Novels

• 
  Ender's Game (and Ender series), Orson Scott Card.
  Factoring Humanity, Robert J. Sawyer.
  Foundation trilogy (first three of five - Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation), Isaac Asimov.
  The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester.
  Neuromancer, William Gibson.
  The Scanner Darkly, Phillip K. Dick.
  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Douglas Adams.
  The Thor Conspiracy, author unknown?
  The Time Machine, presumably H.G Wells.
  The Ferren series (Ferren and the Angel, Ferren and the White Doctor, Ferren and the Invasion of Heaven), Richard Harland.

Short Stories

• 
  The Sentinel (framework for 2001), Arthur C. Clarke.
  Bicentennial Man, Isaac Asimov.
  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (framework for Blade Runner), Phillip K. Dick.
  History Lesson, Arthur C. Clarke.
  Nightfall, Isaac Asimov.
  The Last Question, Isaac Asimov.
  The Billiard Ball, Isaac Asimov.

Enjoy.

 

I've never been able to get into real hardcore sci-fi; The stuff that's super heavy into the science part of it.

Out of the stuff I have read, Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker "Trilogy" is probably my favorite, but that might not really count as sci-fi. Other than that, I really like the Ender books by Orson Scott Card, which I read a long time ago when I was younger.

 

Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination
I think it used to have a different title, back when it was originally published.

 

Well, my favorites include;

The Thor Conspiracy (sp?)
The Time Machine

And there is another that I can't remember the name to... Something about an alien virus in a space ship that caused humans to die almost instantly when it was inhaled, due to blood clotting.

 

just so you know, there are six books, so you have three more episodes to look forward to if you wanna read some really awesome sci-fi-esque comedy novellas

also, everyone should read Neuromancer, by william gibson, it is by far the most entertaining book i have ever read. This book introduced the idea of virtual reality, and the author was the first person to ever coin the term "cyberspace," and it was in this novel. :thumbup:

also everyone else should read a little book by Phillip K. Dick, named " A Scanner Darkly" that book is a total mind-f**k :thumbup:

and of course if you havent read "do androids dream of electric sheep" (the inspiration for the movie blade runner) then you have never experienced true suspense. (that one is also by phillip k. dick) :thumbup:

greatest sci-fi games ever- Homeworld :thumbup: /Deus Ex :thumbup: /NOT HALO :thumbdown:

 

That reminds me of another series of sci-fi books I read.

I don't remember it's name, either, but it has three races; the Perequins(sp?), the 'Buggers' and the Humans. Alot of it deals with a certain planet, and getting rid of a virus that the Perequins use to turn into intelligent trees when they die. They make a warp drive using a 'computer'-like thing the buggers accidently created while creating a new queen. Stuff like that.

 

6?! I only read up to the fourth book.

Cool, I just read that! I got it used from the library for a dime. Best ten cents I ever spent. Great book. When I saw it laying there in the pile, I remembered hearing something about it being the book that started the whole genre, so I decided to check it out. I'm glad I did.

 

I've been meaning to read Ender's Game for months, but just haven't got around to it - but I know there are 'Buggers' in that, xento...sounds like a completely different book though...

Anyway, I'm going to compile all recommended books in my first post.

Also - read Bicentennial Man - the book is fantastic, don't judge it by the movie!

Mmm...I just remembered a few of my favourite short stories -
Nightfall, Isaac Asimov - I love this kind of stuff - familiar concept to us, being discovered by others. A civilization experiences nightfall for the first time in 2000 years.

The Last Question, Asimov - A light read, with a nice (trippy) ending.

The Billiard Ball, you guessed it, Asimov - I remember liking this a few years ago, but I can't remember much of the story. Chances are it's a good story?[/b]

 

Yes! That's one of the first books of the series.

You don't hear about the united planet and the 'Little Doctor' until the last 2-3 books.

 

Hitchiker's Guide.
yeah there are six, they're all really funny right up until the end of the last one, which is probably the most fitting, but also the most depressingly hilarious, morbid ending to any series i have ever read.

William Gibson.
thats pretty cool, if you liked that one you should read the other books he's written, not all of them are that intense, (Neuromancer is kind of one of a kind) hes written books similar to neuromancer, and hes also got a kind of unofficial series going with a handful of repeating characters interacting with each other throughout a few different books, these books are: Virtual Light, Idoru, and All Tomorrow's Parties

yeah go read those if you want to

 

You ARE talkin about the Ender's Game series Xento. I can't remember which one. There are more than one revolving around that planet and such.

A series I really like is Battletech. I originally played the Mechwarrior games. Then later I saw a Battletech book in a library and thought the cover looked like somethin off Mechwarrior so I checked it out. After I started readin I realized it WAS the same universe as the Mechwarrior series and have been readin em ever since.

 

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. Great book, this one. I don't know that it's technically science fiction, more like a scary look at what the future could be (think 1987 - it's got just as many frightening possibilities, but in different ways). Anyway, it's an excellent book, and one I think many people should read.

 

You do mean 1984, don't you?

 

No, I mean 1984. I have no idea why you put the emphasis on the 8 . But yes, my mistake. Anyway, Brave New World, great book, people are controlled through conditioning and freely available drugs.

 

I didn't really like Brave New World. I thought that BNW was dated, but I loved 1984. I thought that Fahrenheit 451 was a really good sci-fi book too. (As between 1984 and F. 451, I'd say that 1984 is better, that's just a personal opinion though.)

 

Gibson: Great stories, but I always found it hard to feel anything for the characters he creates.

I enjoyed Larry Niven's books a great deal (Ringworld, The Gripping Hand, etc). Fairly light reading overall, but still enjoyable science fiction.

Frank Herbert's Dune series is also pretty god damned awesome IMO. I didn't care for the second book (Dune Messiah) much but the rest is great. The premise of his universe (8000 years into the future, a jihad against thinking machines, all the politics) is fascinating.

 

Holy shit, how could I forget Dune and Brave New World?! I guess I have read some pretty good sci-fi.

I thought Brave New World was awesome. It's a book that I read every few years.

Dune was also great. Well, the first couple of books at least. I lost steam during the middle of the third book and ended up quitting the series. No matter, the first one was a masterpiece.

For some reason, I never really considered those two books sci-fi. Science Fiction was more of a backdrop to the story than the main focus, I guess.

 

Huh.

I love the Dune series as well, but I *am* fond of the second book. It obvioulsy doesn't measure up to the first book, or the books that follow it, but I like to examine each book in a series both by itself and in the context of the whole. Speaking of dune, I have a little treat for you.

A Dune Fanfic novel!

I don't know that it's an especially GOOD novel. In fact, in most cases, it just pissed me off. But I'm a purist. Pretty much any fanfic pisses me off unless the author uses almost entirely new characters or manages to completely maintain the original characters as the author envisioned them. There are a few gross spelling errors, but I read the entire thing. I, of course, have a lot of time on my hands. I also read Brian Herbert's short stories. As a purist, I don't know that I like what he's done with his father's world, but I do appreciate the fact that most of his dune books seem to be sufficiently far away from the series as to not be a threat.
Brian should just become the Kwisatz Haderach and find the Frank within and make him keep writing. Hohoho.

 

i usually find fanfics annoying, even the idea of them pisses me off.

personally i dont think fanfics should be protected by the first ammendment. why would someone spend that much time on something that wasnt even their idea? and the number of them on the internet is also astounding.

i agree that using the universe of a story/game/movie/tv show etc, to create your own side story is a fine idea, but using the author's original characters? no, thats just annoying, you could never represent someone else's original character the way they would have wanted them to be, or imagined them to be. its just monotonous crap mostly.

who reads them anyway? people who've read everything in the world worth readin so now they've moved on to the garbage huh?

 

I think fanfiction is obnoxious trash too, but you know what I do? I just don't read it. That's a really bright idea you've got there SJ. Selective freedom of speech (/press, etc). Wow, why didn't I think of that before?