Author Topic: Science Fiction Writers (Read 36379 times)

player1 · « **on:** August 07, 2007, 06:22:28 am »

Hey we have plenty of serious topics where we can get all vociferous and everything, but in the interest of "building community" and just chillin' in the Off Topic Sub-Forum, I ask:

Who is your favorite science-fiction writer?

Who have you read recently?

Favorites among current SF authors?

My answers:

Robert Sheckley (& Harlan Ellison)

Reading Stanislaw Lem right now. (Mortal Engines) <3 Lem!

Iain M. Banks is really good, if you want book-length fiction. For anthology readers, the two or three best editors are Gardner Dozois, or the David G. Hartwell/Kathryn Cramer team, and of course Gordon Van Gelder, as well. (Brian Aldiss is one of my personal favorite editors, for good crusty old weird stuff like A.E. van Vogt, & etc.).

U?

If you don't read/like/enjoy/understand scifi, sry 2 impinge on ur bandwidth. It's a scifi game, so... meh. Humorous, spammatory, inflammatory and other spurious responses always diligently considered.

Lava Croft · « **Reply #1 on:** August 07, 2007, 07:42:57 am »

Anselm Audley and Isaac Asimov.

When it comes to games, Deus Ex and Anachronox have by far the best scifi stories. Especially Anachronox is a blast, although it's a shame the $$$ got in the way or freedom of mind, resulting in cliffhangers that's almost too much to bear.

Iltama · « **Reply #2 on:** August 07, 2007, 09:50:53 am »

1) Hmmm...a tough one, there are so many amazing writers. I guess I have to say Alastair Reynolds. Especialy Chasm City gave me that *wow* experience.

2) In the summer I read Harry Harrison's Wheel-/Star-/Homeworld serie, found the english versions from an antiquarium for 1.50 € a piece

. Best one of those three I read was Wheelworld. Harrison's other books are maybe a bit better though (like Stainless Steel rat and Bill serie).

3)
Kk, this could be a long list : D. I must mention Dan Simmons atleast, with his Hyperion saga and Ilium/Olympos, which really are enjoyable to the end (and yes, I like long books : p). Vernor Vince is also good at making multilayred storylines, that unfold in the end with huge bang. Though I haven't seen much of his works up here (I've only found two), maybe they just haven't been that popular. Hmmm, I guess I could mention Adam Douglas with his Dirk Gently books and Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. Ouh and Ian Banks does write good books too.

When it comes to games....Well, those that Lava mentioned are good, but I'd like to mention X-COM and Alien versus predators too.

Ouh well, that's it.

PIE · « **Reply #3 on:** August 08, 2007, 03:11:25 am »

Why didn't you make a poll that was for something... this actually could have been poll-worthy but you poll spammed..

Asimov is a clasic.
Fredrick Phol has written some really good stuff imho
.. heinlin (sp) has done some good books.. i haven't read any sci-fi in a while.. strangely enough read a bit of fiction, and largely educational stuff recently.. so i'm intersted in what people say because i could use some good authors to look up.

Paradox · « **Reply #4 on:** August 08, 2007, 03:58:50 am »

Niven is best.

player1 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 08, 2007, 04:11:05 am »

@ PIE

ERB - Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan, etc.)
REH - Robert E(rvin) Howard (Conan, etc.)
HPL - H(oward) P(hillips) Lovecraft (Cthulu, etc.)
CAS - Clark Ashton Smith (weird, urbane horror-fantasy)

extra credit would have been given for:
OAK - Otis Adelbert Kline (Maza of the Moon, etc.)
Michael Moorcock (Elric, etc.)
Fletcher Pratt
E. R. Eddison
J. R. R. Tolkein
C. S. Lewis

If you dig Sturgeon and Asimov, you might like: Iain M. Banks, Neal Stephenson, Peter F. Hamilton, Robert Sawyer, Robert Reed, Vernor Vinge, Hal Clement, Joe Haldeman, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Howard Waldrop, Alistair Reynolds, Paul J. McAuley, Nancy Kress, UKLG, PKD, Gwyneth Jones, Cory Doctorow, Rudy Rucker, Paul DiFillipo, Vonda N. McIntyre, Ted Chiang, Carol Emshwiller, Susie Schwartz, Pat Cadigan, Greg Egan, Jack Williamson, Clifford D. Simak, Geoffrey A. Landis, James Van Pelt, James Patrick Kelly, and dozens of others...

sry if you thought it was a spampoll (science-fantasy)
a scifi poll would've had 150 entries :eek:

in current writers the letter "B" alone would contain:
Banks, Baxter, Benford, Bear, Bishop, Butler

"S" would have: Sterling, Stross, Sheffield, Swanwick

check out anthologies by the editors listed above:

David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer edit the Year's Best SF series (#12 is the most current) as well as many other fine collections

Gardner Dozois edits the Year's Best Science Fiction (#23 is the latest) as well as many themed anthologies

Gordon van Gelder is/was the eic of F&SF, and as such has released some excellent short-story collections

Asimov's, Analog, and Fantasy & Science Fiction are/were all still around

all in all there is a lot of it, and lots of it is good stuff

novels or short fiction?

@ Paradox:

Thoroughly enjoyed both World of Ptavvs and The Mote in God's Eye. Read a great deal of Niven, Blish and van Vogt, as well as a lot of Andre Norton, as well as the usual Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, PKD, etc. about thirty-odd years ago.

Oh and if you guys have never read any Stanislaw Lem, get some tomorrow and thank me the next day. Same goes for Robert Sheckley. The retrospective Masque of Manana was released recently, collecting his short fiction. If you can't find it at your local library or bookseller, berate them for their lack of taste and take your business elsewhere. XD

n00b pl0x · « **Reply #6 on:** August 08, 2007, 04:31:53 am »

i just dont get how people can like to read when they can watch a movie

help

player1 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 08, 2007, 04:42:00 am »

the movie inside my head has a budget of infinity

oh I forgot William Gibson, Kage Baker, and about twenty others

thx to Lava for Anselm Audley tip

as mentioned above, Dan Simmons is also well-regarded

Fred Pohl and Harry Harrison are also good, but you guys must be old like me to bring up these authors, lol ;p

mooseberry · « **Reply #8 on:** August 08, 2007, 06:15:59 am »

My favorite SF author is probably Oroson Scott Card (Ender's game, Ender's Shadow ect.)

gareth · « **Reply #9 on:** August 08, 2007, 10:00:26 am »

Who is your favorite science-fiction writer?
dont read enough to have one.

Who have you read recently?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Recoil-Andy-McNab/dp/0593055578/ref=pd_bbs_3/202-1876842-9402230?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186563493&sr=8-3
my rating: not bad, 6/10

Favorites among current SF authors?
refer to first q.

NiTRoX · « **Reply #10 on:** August 08, 2007, 11:09:54 am »

Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials (Amber Spyglass, Northern Lights, Subtle Knife) - Best trilogy IMO.

Paradox · « **Reply #11 on:** August 08, 2007, 04:46:25 pm »

I have an ancient copy of Protector signed by larry niven:

AKAnotu · « **Reply #12 on:** August 08, 2007, 10:38:41 pm »

jack mc devvitt, his characters are so realistic
orson scott card, i love teh situations

player1 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 09, 2007, 02:41:52 am »

Quote from: "Paradox"

I have an ancient copy of Protector signed by larry niven:
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/5049/img002cu7.jpg

sweet...

I not only have a signed copy of Isaac Asimov's collected short stories, I also have a personal note from him wishing me luck in my future endeavors.

Overdose · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2007, 03:39:28 am »

Reading? Wtf is that? lol, I was gonna say "reading is for noobs," but decided to go with that one instead.

I read some sci-fi but I don't know who any of the authors are.

Paradox · « **Reply #15 on:** August 09, 2007, 04:29:07 am »

hehe, my irc server is niven.freenode.net

techhead · « **Reply #16 on:** August 09, 2007, 04:31:28 am »

Hmmm, sci-fi authors I like...

Here we go, all the sci-fi authors I enjoy reading:
Robert Anson Heinlein (Classic; go look him up)
Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game)
Spider Robinson (Callahan series)
Issac Asimov ('I, Robot' & Foundation)
Larry Niven (Ringworld)
Philip K. Dick (Assorted works)

If you want fantasy authors:
Piers Anthony (Xanth series)
J.R.R. Tolkien (Middle-Earth)
Anne McCaffrey (Dragonrider books)
J.K. Rowling (Get a clue, people)

n00b pl0x · « **Reply #17 on:** August 09, 2007, 05:26:14 am »

Quote from: "techhead"

J.K. Rowling (Get a clue, people)

Get a clue, people ?

never heard of it

google doesnt seem to have any answers either D:

Paradox · « **Reply #18 on:** August 09, 2007, 05:46:50 am »

I know that larry niven is going to publish another ringworld book this fall, said so at RadCon

Kaleo · « **Reply #19 on:** August 09, 2007, 10:58:47 am »

The Forever War

Second best book evah!!!

player1 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 13, 2008, 05:25:23 am »

What's the best book ever, then, Kaleo?

Just stopped by to say I just finished reading Spaceman Blues, by Brian Francis Slattery. Read some blurbs here. It was a crazy book, and I liked it. Check it out. You may enjoy it.

l8z

mooseberry · « **Reply #21 on:** May 13, 2008, 05:36:36 am »

HI PLAYER1!

I'm not sure if this was ever mentioned but A moat in God's eye, by some author was good.

Also here is todays discussion:

Movies made out of science fiction books fail hard.

Example: Dune, with Sting in it.

Counter example: Blade runner- do androids dream of electric sheep?

Personally I say that with a few possible exceptions, movies made out of science fiction books do not come close to doing those books justice.

player1 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 13, 2008, 05:41:24 am »

The Mote in God's Eye was a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed that one.

You may also enjoy Cities in Flight.

I agree about the movies, but then my imagination has a budget of infinity.

infy · « **Reply #23 on:** May 13, 2008, 01:19:22 pm »

I'm surprised no one mentioned Ursula Le Guin.

As for movies, think 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Kaleo · « **Reply #24 on:** May 13, 2008, 01:34:41 pm »

Quote from: player1 on May 13, 2008, 05:25:23 am

What's the best book ever, then, Kaleo?

Just stopped by to say I just finished reading Spaceman Blues, by Brian Francis Slattery. Read some blurbs here. It was a crazy book, and I liked it. Check it out. You may enjoy it.

l8z

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. Hands down.

EDIT: Post removed then reposted, so I could screenie this:

Amtie · « **Reply #25 on:** May 13, 2008, 02:26:01 pm »

Isn't that GIMP'ed?

Ben Bova.

Kaleo · « **Reply #26 on:** May 13, 2008, 11:05:50 pm »

Quote from: amt111 on May 13, 2008, 02:26:01 pm

Isn't that GIMP'ed?

Nope... Anyway, I have PhotoShop, so if anything, it would be PhotoShopped.

Which it isnt.

When you have 1337 posts, it says leet.

Plague Bringer · « **Reply #27 on:** May 13, 2008, 11:56:22 pm »

Favorite authors? Isaac Asimov, Fredrick Pohl, and Piers Anthony.

I've recently read "The Currents of Space", and the "Azazel" series (again) by Asimov; Robot Adept by Piers Anthony, and I'm halfway through reading Chernobyl by Fredrick Pohl.

Yes, contrary to popular belief, I am an avid reader.

mooseberry · « **Reply #28 on:** May 14, 2008, 06:06:58 am »

P.S. Orson Scott Card is still my #1.

EDIT: Technically it's not science fiction, but if any of you know Harry Turtledove...

Kaleo · « **Reply #29 on:** May 14, 2008, 06:46:11 am »

Quote from: mooseberry on May 14, 2008, 06:06:58 am

P.S. Orson Scott Card is still my #1.

EDIT: Technically it's not science fiction, but if any of you know Harry Turtledove...

I think it is...

Ever heard of "Ender's Game"? That's pretty science-fictiony...

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Author Topic: Science Fiction Writers (Read 36379 times)

Lava Croft