Styleforum › Forums › General › Entertainment and Culture › ITT we nerd it up on science fiction literature!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

ITT we nerd it up on science fiction literature!

post #1 of 18
4/17/11 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
I'm mildly surprised to find that there's more than one or two other sci-fi fans here. I used to read a lot of science fiction back when I was in junior high, but haven't touched the stuff since. Having recently decided I could use a few purely entertaining reads, I'm getting in touch with my inner nerd. I invite you to do the same. Also, please make sure to hide your spoilers! (For anyone who doesn't know, you put "spoiler" and "/spoiler" in square brackets, before and after the spoiling information, respectively.)
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 18
4/17/11 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
So, I just finished Larry Niven's Ringworld. I've known about the book since I was a young'n, and always planned to read it, but never really got around to it... I'm glad I never did, however. This was the first hard sci-fi book I've ever read, and I really liked it. A lot. Having a formal chemistry, and physics education made it much more interesting. But the plot was a little...serial. It wasn't bad per se, but it did feel a bit like Niven was trying to take a bunch of random ideas/scenarios and string them together to make a cohesive story. There was great novelty in it, though; the aliens (well, one of them, at least) were really, truly alien, and the setting was clever. Some of the physics were a little off, though. I have since learned that some hard sci-fi writers refer to "The Game" wherein readers continually try to find holes in the writers' science. I realize for most people that sounds incredibly dull, but for a nerd like me, it actually sounds kinda fun. Anyway, I'm not sure yet if I should bother with the rest of the books in the series. I was satisfied with the ending of Ringworld; it was slightly open-ended, but not a cliffhanger, or an apparent small part of a larger, more expansive plot. I hear - a bit like the Ender's Game series - the quality of the writing starts to go down a bit with each successive book in the series. Can anybody confirm this? I really want to get to the Foundation series, but first, I think I'm going to knock The Windup Girl off the list. It got the 2009 Nebula, and the 2010 Hugo, so it's probably worth a read. And the premise sounds interesting. Anybody here read it yet? Thoughts?
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 18
4/17/11 at 11:02am
Don't know if that worked (embed fail lawl) so here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnYoyCgFKSI#t=0m55s
IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later.       I AGREE

TIP: to embed Youtube clips, put only the encoded part of the Youtube URL, e.g. eBGIQ7ZuuiU between the tags.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 18
4/17/11 at 5:42pm
I liked Ringworld. Really cool concept, (especially luck as a genetic, existing trait), but havent bothered to read anything else in the series.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 18
4/17/11 at 5:44pm
There are actually quite a few Sci-Fi fans on this board. Everything from TV, movies, books and even comics.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 18
4/17/11 at 7:12pm
Yeah, I enjoyed Ringworld a lot when I was younger. Mostly forgotten the storyline at this point, but I do remember the subsequent books being a letdown. The initial Foundation trilogy is strong; when Asimov decided to add on a couple of decades later, it didn't seem to hold together. I doubt his science is as solidly grounded as you might like. Not familiar with The Windup Girl. Found myself talking with someone about Beggers In Spain, which was more philosophical. Declines in subsequent books, though. Starting to sense a theme here...
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 18
4/17/11 at 8:45pm
Altered Carbon-----Richard K. Morgan Thirteen----Richard Morgan (This is the American title. The British title is Black Man.) holy shit this is a brutal rough ride. Fantastic book. I've been tending towards very violent and brutal post cyberpunk sci-fi. (my own categorization) Anything by William Gibson or Bruce Sterling.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 18
4/17/11 at 9:14pm
i used to read a lot of scifi, but the more i've learned about literature/the move i've read, the less i'm drawn to it. that said my favorites are probably neuromancer, a mote in god's eye, a fire upon the deep and stephen king's the long walk/the running man (his best books and some of the best fiction written in the last 40 years IMO). william gibson has just gone downhill since neuromancer. classic scifi can always be good, ie: philip k dick, asimov, niven, jerry pournelle (footfall is pretty good too), but it's getting more and more dated.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 18
4/17/11 at 10:49pm
The Windup Girl is very good, particularly if you have spent time in Bangkok and understand some of the Thai mindset. I'd recommend it to anyone, even people who never before touched science fiction.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 18
4/17/11 at 11:35pm
i think snow crash was terrible. i've also read 'the prince'/'king david's spaceship'/'the gripping hand'. they're ok.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 18
4/18/11 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teger View Post
i think snow crash was terrible.

Really? May I ask why? It's on my "To Read" list as well...
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 18
4/18/11 at 1:47pm
Alastair Reynolds is a Welsh astronomer and one of the most brilliant sci fi writers today. If you are looking for old school hard core sci fi, check out his trilogy Revelation Space, Redemption Arc, and Absolution Gap. All three are brilliant and he has other books set in the same universe. Highly recommended.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 18
4/18/11 at 2:56pm
ITT I am a huge dork who cannot help giving recommendations.

Frank Herbert
-The Dosadi Experiment
-Dune Chronicles

Dan Simmons
-Hyperion Cantos

Ian Mcdonald
-Out on Blue Six
-Desolation Road
-Evolution's Shore
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 18
4/20/11 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by clockwise View Post
The Windup Girl is very good, particularly if you have spent time in Bangkok and understand some of the Thai mindset. I'd recommend it to anyone, even people who never before touched science fiction.

Since I have a lot of driving to do in the next week or so - but not a lot of free time to read - I snagged an "audiobook" version of The Windup Girl. I'm only, say, 10% in, but it's pretty good. The narrator, Jonathan Davis, is pretty solid. But I have a feeling this book is going to be a real downer, and it's going to be amplified by the narration. I suppose that shouldn't be a big surprise; stories set in dystopian world are rarely spirit-lifters. :P
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 18
4/20/11 at 5:41pm
Greg Bear
-Blood Music
-Forge of God + Anvil of the Stars
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Entertainment and Culture
Styleforum › Forums › General › Entertainment and Culture › ITT we nerd it up on science fiction literature!