It's time to stop beating around the bush!

[Specific Ceel]

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Seriously, let's get down to the nitty-gritty! No more general stuff!

What's your favourite recent sci-fi book and why?

Mine - Aliens: The Female War

Why? Because it's ending was very "Empire Strikes Back" esque, and it used the "wow" button to good effect (IMHO).

(This is because I'm on a reading high and plan on making regular trips to the library and need suggestions. If you've not read any sci-fi recently, I'll take fantasy suggestions - no, not sexual fantasies, Gav!)

PS: This is Peter.

[Marcus Telcontar]

I dont think I have a favorite Sci-Fi book or series. Never really seemed attractive for me. The last series I read was E.E Doc Smiths Lensmen

[Loki Ahmrah]

ROTFLMAO!!! :lol :lol :lol

I wonder who else will get that joke. Hilarious.

Well generally, I don't go for sci-fi books and prefer to read things less related to my tastes in film and whatnot.

[ReaperFett]

Easy. Starfighters of Adumar. Aaron Allston is a genious. I await Mongoose amongst Cobras with as much baited breath as EP3 and Kill Bill.

Dont read that much though. I have to have a reason. So, most that I have read is movie Adaptations and Star Wars. There is the odd other, but not a lot. Now though, I have some authors I am going to start finding novels for.

[Kyryanu Sevon]

Orson Scott Card's books; Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.


Ok ok, so I've read those books years ago, but damn; they're awesome bboks and deserve a mention.

If you haven't read them, go. Now. Read. You'll like.

[Alpha]

Don't really have any favorites. I have least faves, but not faves. :)

[Lady Vader]

I just like the Star Wars books in general (cept for that piece of $hit... gawd, now I can't even remember the name... I was so tramatized by it I forgot :lol)

[ReaperFett]

Describe it, name ONE new character in it. I bet I can guess which. I bet the authors name starts with Ham :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

:: Gets out Pan in case someone mentions the C word ::

[Lord Gue]

The Eon book series was awesome!

[Ilyn Pyke]

I have a few suggestions...


George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Best fantasy series anyone can read. Best series period. Very real, fleshed out characters and marvelous world-building. Dark and grim, thrust into a very real world. Six books are planned to complete the saga.

1. A Game of Thrones
2. A Clash of Kings
3. A Storm of Swords
4. A Feast for Crows (Due this fall)

I will stalk and torment any of yas does not pick up this series and read it. lol a j/k
-------------------------------------

Steven Erikson's A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Violent and quite some interesting concepts. Unfortunately his books are pricey here in the states without an american publisher. Easily obtainable by those in Canada and the UK. However doesn't hold a candle to GRRM's series. 8 or 10 books planned to complete the series. Available only through Amazon.com for us american consumers.

1. Gardens of the Moon
2. Deadhouse Gates
3. Memories of Ice

-------------------------------------
Dan Simmon's Hyperion series is excellent especially the first and third book. Well drawn out characters and fantastic worlds. Absolutely love the first one and can be read as a standalone.

1. Hyperion (Great! Read this book!)
2. Fall of Hyperion
3. Endymion
4. Rise of Endymion
-------------------------------------

[Dark Lord Dyzm]

Kyryanu, Enders Game was AWESOME, and Ender's Shadow was also cool, but read

SHADOW OF THE HEGEMONY, its about Bean's Continued life, and it introduces Peter as a main charachter. Its his rise to power. Achillies is back, and he after world domination.

Next, Shadow Puppets. Orson Scott Key is calling it the Shadow Triliogy.


Ilyn, I have also read the Hyperion books.


And what I recomend is: The Death Gate Novels

And the Piece of Shiza Star War Books: The Black Fleet Crisis. DEAR GOD! WHY DID I READ PAST THE FIRST ONE!!!
And the one with the Eye Of Palpatine

But the BFC! Oi, they add in ANOTHER freaking Super Star Destroyer, another Race with "Thrusters Ships and wolverine type claws.", and this supreame ship that HAS NOTHING to do with anyone else! It doesn't even help them defeat the bad guys!

[Grizwaldy]

Dan Simmon's Hyperion series is excellent especially the first and third book. Well drawn out characters and fantastic worlds. Absolutely love the first one and can be read as a standalone.

1. Hyperion (Great! Read this book!)
2. Fall of Hyperion
3. Endymion
4. Rise of Endymion


RIGHT ON!!

And:
The world at the end of time
The Heechee Series
The Mars Trilogy

[ReaperFett]

Dyzm, if all you have read in the SW EU is two novels, you cant say they are all rubbish. I mean, I havent even read them two yet :)

[Vega Van-Derveld]

Discworld. Anything Discworld :D

[Severen Morkonis]

I like fantasy books, dislike Sci-Fi in books alot..

Fantasy Books and games:

(fav)Ian Irvine Series: The View from the Mirror
Sword Of Shanaraa Series
The 3 Kings of DarkThrom= Robert Mitchell

Vidio Games: Neverwinter Nights, Dungion Seige

[Chance]

The Dragonlance mytholoigy :) I loved them alll!

[Dark Lord Dyzm]

O no, I have read 90% of the Star War Books Created

Here is a Good Book series ya'll should read.

Wiz Biz (Series) The land was in trouble, the legions of dark was advancing. A great wizard reached across the demensions to pull forth the greatest of all wizards. Someone who would save the world. They pull Wiz, a computer programer and a master hacker from our universe. Yippee! Wiz soon finds out that magic operates much like a computer, and you can program it and hack it to your desire using a magic item known as the Magic Compiler. Etc. Etc.

[Khendon Sevon]

anything by Gene Wolfe rocks. He's my favorite author.

[Live Wire]

*takes a look in the thread*

nope no one got the joke yet

[ReaperFett]

I got it, but I'm not giving him the privalage of my laugh ;)

[Ange Tot]

*ahem* Try reading anything By R.A Salvatore...I've almost read all the books written by him except a few inc;uding the Vector Prime one....Or any by David Eddings, I have now read all of his Fantasy books, plan on getting a hold on The Losers and High Hunt someday.....

[Marcus Telcontar]

Oh, now if we take Fantasy books, now I can comment!

Lord Of The Rings - Full stop end of story the best fantasy ever. All others bow to it.

David Eddings - The Belgariad and the followup which i cant rememebr the mane for. Then the six books with Sparhawk I loved.

And Magician. Yeah. :)

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Terry Pratchett - Feet of Clay. I haven't had so much fun reading a book in my life :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

PRACHETT! LEGEND!

Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters I love. Death and Capatin Carrot are my favorite characters, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibber is a scream too

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

I'm partial to Detritus, myself :)

Him and the She-wolf, of whom I have forgotten her name.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Rincewand when he went to the Land Down Under was funny, funny, funny. I wish I could rememebr the name of that book. I think my Prachett book count is 12. The problem with Prachett is that when somethign truly funny happens, the rest of the book suffers cause you really want to read somethign like that again. And get disappointed if you dont

[ReaperFett]

He's hit and miss for me. Read 2 or 3 of his books. Some stages, Im laughing out loud. But others, it feels like he's trying to be as wierd as possible, but not making it funny

[Sanis Prent]

I have Men at Arms lying around somewhere...haven't read it yet.

[Loki Ahmrah]

It's just delightful to read anything Discworld. :)

[Marcus Telcontar]

Ooooh, read Men At Arms. Read it today. That one is very good and has lots of Carrot and Detrimis in it

[Sith Ahnk]

I love you Peter, I'd love you more if it weren't illegal

[Marcus Telcontar]

Have you been sniffing petrol and glue again?

[Sith Ahnk]

Had a fallout with the cieling

[Figrin D'an]

I actually haven't read any science fiction books lately... unless you count the AOTC novelization, which I certainly don't. I'm reading a book on string theory right now, but that's not really science fiction... more like abstract theoretical physics.

Ummm... let's see sci-fi.
Some of my favorites:

Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game (and it's sequels). Haven't got around to reading Ender's Shadow or Shadow of the Hegemon... maybe someday.

Issac Asimov: I, Robot ; Foundation series



Fantasy-wise, I concur with Marcus... The Lord of the Rings rules over all. Not to say that there isn't other good stuff out there, just that Tolkien is the best of the best. In terms of a show of raw creative power, take a look at The Silmarillion. Unbelievable.



So, that's my meaningless opinion. :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

Yes, Tolkien is an automatic given. Fans of fantasy should be required to read him. lol a j/k!

Here are some Sci-Fi and Fantasy authors people should take a long, hard look at:

Alastair Reynolds - Refreshing and fascinating. New author whom has just written two novels, I am reading the first one now, Revelation Space, and am enjoying it. Getting alot of praise.

Iain M Banks - One word... Culture World. Read two of his books and loved them. Unfortunately this britan's earlier Culture World novels are out of print in the States though not in the UK. However, they are standalones. ;)

China Mieville - Steampunk, read Perdido Street Station. What a gratuitously bizarre yet remarkable novel. Getting alot of praise. His second novel, The Scar, will be released in the states soon.

Neil Gaiman - Surreal worlds. Great author!

Stephen Donaldson - Thomas Convenant and a Gap Theory. Both TC series are great if you can forgive it's outward Tolkienish appearance. However, Donaldson craftfully builds his very own story with great merits. While the Gap Theory can really take you to limits of your tolerance, very graphic and dark. He is masterful in creating conflicting ambiguities nearly as well as George R R Martin.

Highly touted authors whom should not be overlooked!

[Marcus Telcontar]

Yes, Tolkien is an automatic given. Fans of fantasy should be required to read him. lol a j/k!

j/k? I wouldn't be. If you like Fantasy and you have not read Tolkein, you need a good butt kicking. But to be honest I have never heard of someone into Fantasy whom has not read Lord Of the Rings

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Marcus Q'Dunn


j/k? I wouldn't be. If you like Fantasy and you have not read Tolkein, you need a good butt kicking. But to be honest I have never heard of someone into Fantasy whom has not read Lord Of the Rings

Agreed. My two favorite authors of fantasy are Tolkien and GRRM. I think everybody that does not read these two need a butt-kickin. Tolkien achieved creating a world and characters so memorable it continues to draw you back. To revisit the mythic Middle-Earth and it's denizens. My only complaint is why did Tolkien have such a rushed delivery in some of the most important moments within ROTK? However the ending is awesome and yet sad, very sad. As the dawn of the fourth age brings with it radical change. The age of magic and myth is destinied to fade away forever.

[Anubis]

The Endworld series was great, though lesser heard of

[Marcus Telcontar]

Ilyn - Yes I would agree that Tolkein made the ending great on the surface - but incredibly sad if you really understand what was happening. Okay, maybe not a spoiler, but more of an explaination - The story of Arwen and Aragorn is truly tragic if you understand the fate of Arwen. Elves have the choice of going to the Undying lands, lingering in Middle Earth - or dying. Dying does not mean that they go to another place and live on as Men do, for that is the "Gift" of mortal Man. They do not remain with the world. An Elf that dies remains with the world, seperate and waiting until the world ends, basically alone. Arwen chose that after Aragorn died, she would pass to shadow and wiat until the end of Arda. I dont think this is exactly a desireable thing - it's a Catholic Purgatory, where spirits wait in concept. The tragety is that Aragon died and Arwen was not ready to pass into shadow. She wanders to Lorien, now empty and no longer beautiful with the power of the elves. She basically lies on a bed and slips away, grieving and understanding how bitter parting really was. She did have the chace to reclaim her immortality, but she chose Shadow and to be apart from all until the End. And more to the point, "Here ends this tale as it has come to us from the South and with the passing of the Evenstar no more is said in this book of the days of old" ie, the Elder Days were truly gone with her passing, and she died truly alone. There was nothing sweet about Tolkein's writing, he is great because he is willing to have a sad ending. Some of the greatsest works of literature are tragic and in someways Tolkein is a tragic as the best.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Marcus - Thanks for the heads up on the tales related to LOTR. You are very knowledgable of Tolkien's epic. LOTR is very bittersweet and poignant. I am so looking forward to TTT this December and hope Peter Jackson captures all the emotions and impact of the book.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Hey, he did a bloody good job on the first part, I'm betting he does it again in December.

[ReaperFett]

I dont overly like reading Fantasy, so I have an excuse :)

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Ange Tot
*ahem* Try reading anything By R.A Salvatore...I've almost read all the books written by him except a few inc;uding the Vector Prime one...

R.A.Salvatore is definitely one of the better serial pulp writers though his last book, Attack of the Clones movie novelization was very, very dull dictated by his flat writing. ::YAWNS:: I usually stay away from the serial pulp writers because the dime-store quality of the writing. However, some can provide a quick and enjoyable read, provided there is some originality involved.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

GRRM --- I love his books. I can't wait for "A Feast For Crows." Talk about someone not afraid to kill off a main character, or two, or three, for the sake of the story. More! I demand more!

Plus I love Arya. She's the best character ever. EVER!

Robert Jordan I *used* to love, but now I'm just painfully awaiting the conclusion to his bazillion book series. All I have to say is: MORE MAT CAUTHON and less braid tugging!!

Tolkien: goes without saying.

Another author I ADORE is Stephen Lawhead. He wrote the "Song of Albion" series, and the Pendragon cycle. If you're into Celtic myth at all, or Athurian legends, you MUST read these books. THe Pendragon cycle is his take on King Arthur, and the events leading up to him. Its fascinating, I'm on book two right now "Merlin."

The Song of Albion books, The Paradise War, The Silver Hand, and the Endless Knot are brilliant.

And for a mix of both fantasy and sci-fi, Michael Crighton's "Timeline" is wonderful. Mmmm. :)

AND I GOT THE JOKE! :lol:lol:lol

[Morgan Evanar]

No mention for Raymond E. Feist...

Anything from the Riftwar Saga is truly top notch. Magician is a very sweet read.

If you enjoy that, pick up the three books he co-authored with Janny Wurts, Servant to the Empire, Daughter of the Empire, and Mistress of the Empire.

It tells part of the war from the other side. Read the Riftwar Saga first tho.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

C.S. Lewis will always be one of my favorite authors; A Grief Observed was a read I'll never forget; and the Out of the Silent Planet trilogy, though I'm only halfway through, are very good so far.

Future Shock, by Alvin Toffler is another book I've been trying to read; I just don't have much time, and usually when I do, I fall asleep with the book on my chest. It's interesting, but when I'm tired, I just can't concentrate on a single thing.

Pretty much the only fantasy author I've read with true interest is Susan Cooper; she wrote The Dark is Rising Chronicles: The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree. These books are awesome. I highly recommend them if you haven't read 'em yet. They're great.

And LD, Lawhead is an awesome writer; though I've only read the Empyrion books. I should look for more of his stuff.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I haven't read the Empyrion books!! NOO! I must..go...get..them...

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis is...well written but very weird. :) Not what I expected when I read them.

[Ilyn Pyke]

Originally posted by Lilaena De'Ville
GRRM --- I love his books. I can't wait for "A Feast For Crows." Talk about someone not afraid to kill off a main character, or two, or three, for the sake of the story. More! I demand more!

Another author I ADORE is Stephen Lawhead. He wrote the "Song of Albion" series, and the Pendragon cycle. If you're into Celtic myth at all, or Athurian legends, you MUST read these books. THe Pendragon cycle is his take on King Arthur, and the events leading up to him. Its fascinating, I'm on book two right now "Merlin."

GRRM is a superb author and one of the best I have ever read in any genre. His characters are perfectly fleshed-out and his world-building is brilliant. He makes other authors considered good in this genre look bland and their characters much like cardboard props on a dim stage. Yeah, he does dare to make his world very real. Unfortunately he killed off two characters I really, really enjoyed and that is Qhorin Halfhand and Oberyn Martell. But they weren't my favs. :D

If you like King Arthur, an exceptional historical fiction series was written by Bernard Cornwell. It is a series known for it's realistic portrayal of this age. This series does not involve the mythic King Arthur of magical Camelot but rather the historical Arthur of recorded lore and legend. It is a trilogy but forgot the titles of the individual books. Hmm... might be called the Winter King trilogy however that is not the title of the first book. Don't possess them anymore. Shame!

[Ilyn Pyke]

FYI, on the subject of historical fiction writer Bernard Cornwell, he is most famous for his Richard Sharpe series set during the Napoleonic wars. His 'Warlord Chronicles' (King Arthur trilogy) is very reminscient of GRRM's series just without any fantasy entanglements. Cornwell's out-take on Lancelot is really fitting and ironic in comparision to the mythic version. lol!

His newest book should generate much interest with history buffs. It is called 'The Archer's Tale' and is depiction of the 100 Year War between England and France during the mid-fourteenth century. I plan on reading it soon.

[Garrett Blade]

Boo-hoo. The main point of this topic has been widely missed.

But with regards to the secondary topic of the books, I have been wanting to read the "Death" trilogy of the Discworld novels. I'll make it a port of call over the summer. As for the sci-fi stuff, nothings tickled my fancy as of yet. I think I'll write my own!