Thread: Science Fiction Authors Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Can anyone recommend modern SF authors that I should read? I have read the classics, of course, but would be interested in newer, less well known ones.
 
Posted by Sipech (# 16870) on :
 
Surely most SF authors are modern? I'd say Philip K Dick is a modern author. Maybe only HG Wells and Jules Verne might be considered to be SF writers belonging to an earlier era.

One that's been recommended to me several times (though I confess I've not read him yet) is Jeff VanderMeer with his 'Southern Reach' trilogy, all three volumes of which were published this year.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I'm into hardcore SF. I like Alastair Reynolds, but probably you know him already.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Where do you draw the line between 'classic' and 'newer'? Which side would you put Ursula La Guin?
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
Purely to aid in amazon.com searches, I will mention that the lady's name is Ursula K. Le Guin. Computers are pernickety about that sort of thing.

Science fiction is, by definition, the most varied field of fiction there is. Thus it would help if you could indicate the sort of thing you would most like. Le Guin's work is anthropological and cultural, for instance. If your appetite is for space opera I would read Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan novels. Period dragons? Read Jo Walton's Tooth and Claw, or Naomi Novik or Marie Brennan. Harry Potter-esque? Pick up the Bartimaeus trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud.

You can, mostly, do well by looking at the yearly finalists for the Nebula awards (awarded by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) or their British equivalents.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Simon Morden's Equations of Life trilogy?

I assume you mean Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Philip K Dick, Ursula le Guin, John Wyndham under both nom de plumes et al as the classical authors?
 
Posted by Oscar the Grouch (# 1916) on :
 
And how do you define "science fiction"? Where is the dividing line between that and "science fantsasy" or anything else?

Have you read the Wool trilogy (Wool, Shift and Dust) by Hugh Howey?

It has its flaws, but is still worth reading.
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
I wanted to leave it very broad, not least because it is a matter worth discussing - what makes SF, what is classic and modern.

For me, I would consider anyone writing prior to, say, 1980 as classic. I think there is a distinction between SF as a more niche market, focused very much on space exploration etc. Somewhere around then, with the explosion of Star Wars and the much wider acknowledgement of the genre, a focus on more niche aspects, and more crossovers seemed to appear.

As for what is SF and what isn't, I would tend to consider anything using magic is fantasy. But anything using an alternate reality, a what-if scenario, comes close to SF - but I am not wanting to draw rigid divisions, because I am not sure they are valid. I like SF, but I am interested in anything else that might therefore appeal to me.
 
Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
I imagine these are far too mainstream to have escaped your notice, but Iain M Banks and Richard Morgan (particularly the Takeshi Kovacs series) are well worth a look if you've not come across them before.
 
Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
I would recommend some Alfred Bester - The Demolished Man and The Stars My desination (classic) and for a historical oddity Philip Vhadwick's The Death Guard (written in the 40s, print run destroyed in the blitz and republished much later, very of its period - but interesting in how it imagines the future.)

Sorry, I see you wanted modern, I would second Iain M Banks - love the Culture series. Has flashes of truely beautiful writing, and a well detailed imagined world. In some ways more so than Herbert's Dune universe.

William Gibson too if you haven't read his stuff

[ 25. November 2014, 19:57: Message edited by: Doublethink. ]
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Purely to aid in amazon.com searches, I will mention that the lady's name is Ursula K. Le Guin. Computers are pernickety about that sort of thing.
Not any more. It's been one of the interesting developments in search algorithm that it is so much better at second guessing what we meant to type. It's how I checked how to spell 'algorithm'.

(It goes with making shrewd punts at what stuff it can show us that we might like to buy. You want to keep an eye on technology.)
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
Lots of genre writers do series these days, but one-offs are a good way of working out whether to take a punt on a writer's longer works.

I'd recommend (highly) Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds, Learning the World by Ken McLeod, Dark Eden by Chris Beckett, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, Children of Men by PD James, The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

One I've only just read which may cross the SF/horror boundary, but is probably the bravest piece of story-telling I've come across for a very long time is Mike Carey's The girl with all the gifts.
 
Posted by Jonah the Whale (# 1244) on :
 
One of my favourite series I've read recently is Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns. It's a seven book series, so you'd have to really like it to get through it all.

Another series I liked was The Gap into Conflict by Stephen Donaldson. This writer is better known for his fantasy series the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. But this series is pure science fiction - a space opera. It's very dark and I struggled to get through it in places but it was worth it.

Another writer I quite like is Ben Bova. If you are interested in technology then he has a string of books set in the near future, about the exploration and colonisation of the solar system.
 
Posted by Hedgehog (# 14125) on :
 
I suppose it is cheating to suggest that you just get a subscription to Analog Science Fiction & Fact? The magazine has been around (under different names) for roughly forever (or at least since the late 1930s).
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Iain M Banks is definitely in my list as "modern" SF - his imagination is awesome. The Culture series is an astounding exploration of what we could do with unlimited energy and resources.

Hedgehog - what I'm really interested in is what other people have read that may not quite fit into a style or genre, but might be appropriate.

The Time Travelers Wife is an example - brilliant, and SF really as a minor part (the story is really the relationship). Life after Life by Kate Atkinson is another I would put into this category.

I am noting all the suggestions, and will record them all, to work through!
 
Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
Gene Wolfe, straddles classic and modern, has not been mentioned so far.
The Book of the New Sun sequence is his magnum opus, and the kind of thing that regularly crops up at the top of critics' lists of best sf; the Book of the Long Sun and Book of the Short Sun sequences are set loosely in the same universe. Fifth Head of Cerberus is a stand alone.
 
Posted by Doublethink. (# 1984) on :
 
I have to admit I hated The Time Traveller's Wife with a passion. Everything about it made me angry.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
I started a novel which involved terra-forming and colonization of Mars. More later.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink.:
I have to admit I hated The Time Traveller's Wife with a passion. Everything about it made me angry.
I thought the film was execrable! Don't want to bother my wife with her opinions...
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
Charlie Stross
Neal Stephenson
John Scalzi
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
A few random choices;

Ian Macdonald "Dervish House", "Neptunes Brood"
Samuel Delaney "Nova"
China Miéville "EmbassyTown"
Dan Simmons "Ilium"
Philip K Dick "Ubik"

I'm still tracking down various books called Palimpsest [Smile] Charles Stross did one.

If you're looking outside the usual there's fantasy".
Neil Gaiman "The Ocean at the End of the lane"
Connie Willis "Blackout" which crosses time travel with British War history.

[ 26. November 2014, 04:03: Message edited by: Palimpsest ]
 
Posted by Athrawes (# 9594) on :
 
Can I also suggest "The City and The City" by China Meiville, too? Brilliant, different and unputdownable.
 
Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Flip, how could I have forgotten Charles Stross. If you have a bit of an SF/horror (Lovecraft)/geek cross-over going on in your life the Laundry series are a must. As is Halting State, without the Lovecraft. And his normal stuff is generally very good too.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink.:
I have to admit I hated The Time Traveller's Wife with a passion. Everything about it made me angry.
With you there. It's one of those books that seems to polarize opinion. I'd expected to enjoy it, and found I hated it.
 
Posted by Fredegund (# 17952) on :
 
How about Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London etc
Harry Potter for the slightly older. I'm beginning to get annoyed with sloppy editing, but still worth it for Molly and the rivers...
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Fredegund:
How about Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London etc
Harry Potter for the slightly older. I'm beginning to get annoyed with sloppy editing, but still worth it for Molly and the rivers...
The PC Grant novels are fabulous, but more fantasy than SF. I've forgiven the sloppy editing, but wish he wrote them more speedily!

[ETA: Not remotely LoTR. Set in present day London, it's a mixture of police procedural meets fantasy with wizards, fairies etc.

Aaronovitch loves London and knows it really well, so bits of it feature as characters. The rivers, Old Bailey etc and he overlays it with folklaw - the travelling markets etc. There's a TV series in the offing but no casting or firm details as yet].

But, if you like them, you may also like:



If you think there's some classic SF you've missed, read Among Others by Jo Walton and nick the book list!

Tubbs

[ 26. November 2014, 11:49: Message edited by: Tubbs ]
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Fredegund:
How about Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London etc
Harry Potter for the slightly older. I'm beginning to get annoyed with sloppy editing, but still worth it for Molly and the rivers...
That sounds like it is more fantasy. Not that this is a problem as such, and I am sure it is good, but I have read a whole lot of fantasy (including GoT), and I have probably had my fill of it for a while, or until someone can find something different to write about. Forms of Tolkien fan-fic have pretty well been done.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Simon Morden's Equations of Life trilogy?

Reading his new book after Christmas and will be leading the discussion in February at the Ship's book club. Mr. Morden requests that you not get the e-book from Amazon; I hope it will be out on Barnes and Noble - read first three chapters - v. exciting!
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
*cough*

The war is over (for now), and Mr Morden is more ambivalent about Amazon than he was previously, though as Sir Kevin points out, other E-readers are available.

If you feel like a workout, the paperback is just under 800 pages...
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Actually, if you like the slightly fantasy end, and are a steampunk fan, you might like the Chronicles of Light and Shadow by Liesel Schwarz.

I enjoy the gentle humour in it. It does frustrate me that there is magic in the air, and it seems to be the answer to everything. I also like the Absinthe fairies.
 
Posted by Caissa (# 16710) on :
 
Robert Sawyer
http://www.sfwriter.com/
 
Posted by Figbash (# 9048) on :
 
These are all hard SF with an emphasis on the problem of communication with aliens (and perhaps not-so aliens):
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
These may be considered "classics" by now, I guess, but "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle as well as "Schismatrix" by Bruce Sterling entertained the hell out of me.

[ 26. November 2014, 16:27: Message edited by: IngoB ]
 
Posted by HCH (# 14313) on :
 
I recommend Ursula LeGuin, and we have a Shipmate named Brenda Clough.
 
Posted by Ceannaideach (# 12007) on :
 
Space Captain Smith - Toby Frost for some Sci Fi with added humour.
 
Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
These may be considered "classics" by now, I guess, but "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle as well as "Schismatrix" by Bruce Sterling entertained the hell out of me.
When I first started reading Larry Niven I was surprised to find that he was writing in the 60s and 70s. To me, a lot of his work read like "Golden Age" SF of the 50s. I still really like his writing, but he's quite difficult to find in UK bookshops. I lost most of my Niven books in a house move about 20 years ago, and still haven't managed to replace all of them. I was recently delighted to find a second hand copy of Convergent Series and loved every single story in the collection.
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
quote:
Originally posted by Fredegund:
How about Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London etc ...
... I have read a whole lot of fantasy (including GoT), and I have probably had my fill of it for a while, or until someone can find something different to write about. Forms of Tolkien fan-fic have pretty well been done.
It's urban fantasy - certainly not SF, but nothing like Tolkien or GoT either, so worth a try if you want a break from that sort of thing. Or if you like it gritty, Paul Cornell's London Falling. Both are essentially police procedurals with magic.

quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
I started a novel which involved terra-forming and colonization of Mars.
Is that Kim Stanley Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy? I'd second any recommendation of that (must re-read...).

[ 26. November 2014, 23:23: Message edited by: doubtingthomas ]
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
Read a lot of Larry Niven when I was younger because I picked up one of his books of short stories as a kid (The Flight of the Horse I think) and in those days I tended to stick with authors I knew. World Out of Time is still one of my favourite books. Not great writing by any definition but a book I can always pick up and enjoy.

Anyhow, I just checked my e-library for what I've read in the last year or so (better to recommend what I've actually read rather than the vast array of waiting-to-be-read) and sadly there's not as much there as I'd like (must read more!) However I enjoyed:

The Martian, Andy Weir - very focussed on the technical details (like Niven). Set in the near future and about a manned Mars mission.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North - a bit like Life after Life, similar concept only a slightly different spin on it. Not an out and out comedy but more amusing that Atkinson's novel.

Going further back I like Bob Shaw's Ragged Astronaut trilogy. I suppose it'd get called 'steampunk' these days but they were written before that term was coined I think. The premise is twin worlds that share an atmosphere so "space" travel is possible via hot air balloon.

Other than that I'm seeing a lot of either not-great or pre-1980 fare.
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Eclectic suggestions from me:

--Terry Bisson's "Numbers Don't Lie". 3 very funny and quirky short stories.

--Madeleine L'Engle's "Time Quartet" ("A Wrinkle In Time", etc.) I recommend reading them in order.

--Heinlein's "Number of the Beast". Very good, EXCEPT it has at least one incident of consensual adult incest. (It's been decades since I read it, but I only remember one brief incident.) If you're comfortable with reading *or* skipping over that, it's a good read.

--Spider Robinson's series that takes place in Callahan's bar. ("Time Travelers Strictly Cash", etc.)

--Jeanne and Spider Robinson's "Stardance" trilogy. It's been repackaged various ways, but was originally "Stardance","Starseed", and "Starmind". I recommend reading them in order. I especially like "Starmind".
 
Posted by Ricardus (# 8757) on :
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned Adam Roberts yet.

"Jack Glass" is probably his best - but a work that would appeal to Shipmates would be "Land of the Headless". It's about a man on a planet that follows a strict religion requiring decapitation for certain crimes. However the followers of that religion have come to see capital punishment as inhumane - so the decapitated individuals are first fitted with artificial brain, voicebox and eyes that allow them to continue their existence.
 
Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
--Heinlein's "Number of the Beast". Very good, EXCEPT it has at least one incident of consensual adult incest. (It's been decades since I read it, but I only remember one brief incident.) If you're comfortable with reading *or* skipping over that, it's a good read.
Are you sure you're not thinking of "Time Enough for Love"? I can't quite parse the phrases "Number of the Beast" and "it's a good read" appearing in the same thought process.

Anyway, IIRC in the scene I'm thinking of, only one of the parties is aware it's incest. He knows she's his mum; she thinks he's just a distant ancestor. Which of course makes it all all right. (When it comes to informed consent, Heinlein wasn't big on the informed bit.)
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by doubtingthomas:
quote:
Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
quote:
Originally posted by Fredegund:
How about Ben Aaronovitch - Rivers of London etc ...
... I have read a whole lot of fantasy (including GoT), and I have probably had my fill of it for a while, or until someone can find something different to write about. Forms of Tolkien fan-fic have pretty well been done.
It's urban fantasy - certainly not SF, but nothing like Tolkien or GoT either, so worth a try if you want a break from that sort of thing. Or if you like it gritty, Paul Cornell's London Falling. Both are essentially police procedurals with magic.

quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
I started a novel which involved terra-forming and colonization of Mars.
Is that Kim Stanley Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy? I'd second any recommendation of that (must re-read...).
I tried the Cornell, on the basis that it keeps coming up on my recommendations list but the sample wasn't very promising. Is it worth taking a punt on?

Tubbs
 
Posted by Horseman Bree (# 5290) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
Purely to aid in amazon.com searches, I will mention that the lady's name is Ursula K. Le Guin. Computers are pernickety about that sort of thing.
Not any more. It's been one of the interesting developments in search algorithm that it is so much better at second guessing what we meant to type. It's how I checked how to spell 'algorithm'.

(It goes with making shrewd punts at what stuff it can show us that we might like to buy. You want to keep an eye on technology.)
Not so sure. Recently, I was offered the word "amadjon" as a truly wild stab at "imagine". Spell-check didn't offer any possibilities.

But machines aren't quite as stupid as humans, yet.
 
Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
I tried the Cornell, on the basis that it keeps coming up on my recommendations list but the sample wasn't very promising. Is it worth taking a punt on?
It takes some time to get going. I think the opening chapter is mishandled. (The opening viewpoint character is I think supposed to be unsympathetic, but because it's written from his viewpoint it a bit fumbles how unsympathetic he's supposed to be.)
It does pick up.

Warning: if you are a parent you will get a worst nightmare that is even worse than your current worst nightmare.
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dafyd:
Warning: if you are a parent you will get a worst nightmare that is even worse than your current worst nightmare.
Have you met my kids? Do you really think an author can picture a nightmare worse?
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:
Recently, I was offered the word "amadjon" as a truly wild stab at "imagine". Spell-check didn't offer any possibilities.
[tangent]Amadjon seems to be a given name in Russia and Iran. And would probably do for the Barbarian warlord in Book 2.

Tricky thing, fantasy names. The Thomas Covenant books are sunk for me by, if nothing else, having a character called High Lord Kevin.[/tangent]
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
And I think it was Terry Brooks (Sword of Shannara) whose wizard is named Allanon. Which for Americans immediately calls to mind his teenaged sidekick, Alateen.
These days I have been advising writers to push -all- their names, especially the invented ones, through Google. If the gorgeous name you cooked up for your fantasy realm is actually the street slang term in Dubrovnik for a really creative style of genital piercing, you would want to know.
And, for those of you who have seen the new movie Intersetllar -- the space ship is named the Endeavor. Now is that not courting disaster, right there? You might as well name it the Titanic and get it over.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Brenda Clough: These days I have been advising writers to push -all- their names, especially the invented ones, through Google. If the gorgeous name you cooked up for your fantasy realm is actually the street slang term in Dubrovnik for a really creative style of genital piercing, you would want to know.
Isn't this the job of a character in one of William Gibson's cyberpunk novels?
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
the new movie Intersetllar -- the space ship is named the Endeavor. Now is that not courting disaster, right there?
And not, as it would seem, an obvious homage to Arthur C. Clarke?

And, yeah, Heinlein's later books were more about awkward sexual considerations and dubious sociological assertions than his earlier masterworks. Still well-written, though. None of which qualify as "new" in anything other than a geological sense.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
I also reckoned Interstellar was channelling Arthur C Clarke, stargates and all,
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Horseman Bree:

But machines aren't quite as stupid as humans, yet.
Oh, they are. The difference is their stupidity is confined to a limited set of parameters. Their failures are within a predictable range. That will be the true announcement of the Singularity: When machines cock up in the same imaginative and bizarre ways we do.
 
Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :
 
Someone mentioned Lois McMaster Bujold but only in passing so I have to emphasize the total awesomness that she is. Her science fiction Vorkosigan books are multiple award winners. (Her fantasy is also excellent but that's not was requested on this thread.)
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
I also reckoned Interstellar was channelling Arthur C Clarke, stargates and all,
I think of Interstellar as the 2001 for this generation (if I may still call myself a member of it...).

Advice I've given to some acquaintances, trying to describe the relationship between the films: if you like 2001, you will probably like Interstellar, if not, don't worry - Interstellar is totally different.

A friend also felt some echoes of Rama - I'm sure there is more.

Isn't Nolan's ship called Endurance, though?

PS (and to get back to the thread), the BFI is about to re-release 2001 in a feat of good timing - surely an incentive for anyone to put Clarke on their reading list...anything by Clarke...

/rambling
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
I tried the Cornell, on the basis that it keeps coming up on my recommendations list but the sample wasn't very promising. Is it worth taking a punt on?
Yes. As Dafyd says it's a slow start but worth it. Darker than Aaronovitch's books but covering similar territory. Also brings a thoughtful religious perspective from what I remember.

Really must get around to the sequel The Severed Streets which I've had lying around for an embarrassingly long time. [Frown]
 
Posted by Kitten (# 1179) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Paul.:
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
I tried the Cornell, on the basis that it keeps coming up on my recommendations list but the sample wasn't very promising. Is it worth taking a punt on?
Yes. As Dafyd says it's a slow start but worth it. Darker than Aaronovitch's books but covering similar territory. Also brings a thoughtful religious perspective from what I remember.

Really must get around to the sequel The Severed Streets which I've had lying around for an embarrassingly long time. [Frown]
If anything, I liked the severed streets even more. Not that I didn't enjoy London Falling, there was one line in it that made my blood run cold, all the more so because I hadn't seen it coming, despite the clues. I don't want to give anything always so I'll just say it's what Quill says to his wife
 
Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
For something right up to date I would thoroughly recommend 'Ancillary Justice', by Ann Leckie.

It's one of those stories with an unusual point of view (no spoilers) that you may have to persevere with to allow yourself to get into the groove, including an interesting take on gender in language.

For my money it's extremely well written. The next in the trilogy - 'Ancillary Sword' - is out now, but I've not read it yet
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Jestocost:
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
--Heinlein's "Number of the Beast". Very good, EXCEPT it has at least one incident of consensual adult incest. (It's been decades since I read it, but I only remember one brief incident.) If you're comfortable with reading *or* skipping over that, it's a good read.
Are you sure you're not thinking of "Time Enough for Love"? I can't quite parse the phrases "Number of the Beast" and "it's a good read" appearing in the same thought process.

Anyway, IIRC in the scene I'm thinking of, only one of the parties is aware it's incest. He knows she's his mum; she thinks he's just a distant ancestor. Which of course makes it all all right. (When it comes to informed consent, Heinlein wasn't big on the informed bit.)
Definitely was "Number Of The Beast" that I read. I hadn't read any Heinlein before. I was attracted by the title, because I grew up fundamentalist and wanted to see what he did with the idea. From *that* point of view, it was quite a ride.

The incest in "Number" was with fully informed consent between a father and adult daughter. IIRC, it had never happened before, but there had maybe been some half-conscious leanings that way. There was a situation where everyone was throwing sexual caution to the winds, and...

I don't in any way, shape, or form approve incest (consensual or not). I just was able to somehow get past that bit of the story.
 
Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
Of authors and works that are post-1980s, I'd happily recommend:

-Richard Morgan

-Jon Courtney Grimwood (especially the Arabesque trilogy set in an alternative Alexandria)

-Justina Robson

-Under the Skin – Michael Faber (made into a film recently with Scarlet Johannsen)

-Early Michael Crichton (stretching the date to 1970s)

-Headcrash - Bruce Bethke (who may or may not be the first person to use the term 'cyberpunk' in fiction)

-Steph Swainston

-Air - Geoff Ryman (the story of Mae, a dressmaker from rural village in a fake 'stan, the first person to use a direct-to-brain version of the internet)

-China Mieville – proponent of 'new weird', a mix of SF and fantasy
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Alisdair:
For something right up to date I would thoroughly recommend 'Ancillary Justice', by Ann Leckie.
Oooh! Seconded. Worth wrapping one's head around the pronouns.

quote:
The next in the trilogy - 'Ancillary Sword' - is out now, but I've not read it yet
It is the same excellent writing, and the same fascinating method of POV, but it is a different kind of story from 'Justice'.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
Greg Bear, for mine, is consistently excellent. Some highlights:
Moving Mars
The Forge of God
The Anvil of Stars
Blood Music
Eon (less so the sequels)
Darwin's Radio & Darwin's Children.

Orson Scott Card isn't a bad writer, he's a bit of an arse though. Ender's Game has one of the truly great climaxes.

Philip K. Dick has some great ideas, but I've always found his prose uninteresting.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
If you're looking for Science Fiction that escaped the genre, the P.D. James novel "The Children of Men" comes to mind. Unfortunately her obituary appeared in the paper this week.
 
Posted by Timothy the Obscure (# 292) on :
 
Nobody's mentioned C.J. Cherryh yet. She works in both fantasy and SF, and has never disappointed me.
 
Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by doubtingthomas:
PS (and to get back to the thread), the BFI is about to re-release 2001 in a feat of good timing - surely an incentive for anyone to put Clarke on their reading list...anything by Clarke...

/rambling [/QB]
Childhood's End! That was responsible for my life long interest in SF. When I was about 12 my older brother came home from school with a copy someone had lent him. He disappeared upstairs to his bedroom and didn't come down for several hours. When he did he thrust the book into my hands and said: "You MUST read this!" And so it began.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
<Interstellar - spoiler alert>

quote:
Originally posted by doubtingthomas:
I think of Interstellar as the 2001 for this generation (if I may still call myself a member of it...).
No way. Interstellar is a cheesy exploration of the love of a father for his daughter, which due to dystopian nonsense about crop failure involves travelling through worm holes and turning black holes into a mechanism for ghostly "five dimensional" interactions. Luckily for humanity, one can construct a superior theory of gravity with some bytes of "quantum info" send by morse code out of a black hole. Just because it tries to copy some of the epic visuals of 2001 does not get Interstellar into the same ballpark. As for many Holywood movies, the most important function of the admittedly gorgeous special effects is to stop you thinking. If you can do this, it is enjoyable. In particular, its side stories about planetary exploration are fun. The main plot is however - as mentioned - cheddar to the power of Edam.
 
Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
And, for those of you who have seen the new movie Intersetllar -- the space ship is named the Endeavor. Now is that not courting disaster, right there? You might as well name it the Titanic and get it over.
Captain Cook's Endeavour (with a "u") made it safely home ...

quote:
Originally posted by Dafyd:
Warning: if you are a parent you will get a worst nightmare that is even worse than your current worst nightmare.
Indeed, absolutely terrifying. He wrote it shortly before becoming a parent himself; he has said he couldn't write it now.
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Paul.:
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
I tried the Cornell, on the basis that it keeps coming up on my recommendations list but the sample wasn't very promising. Is it worth taking a punt on?
Yes. As Dafyd says it's a slow start but worth it. Darker than Aaronovitch's books but covering similar territory. Also brings a thoughtful religious perspective from what I remember.

Really must get around to the sequel The Severed Streets which I've had lying around for an embarrassingly long time. [Frown]
Okay, based on two recommendations I'm willing to give them a go but slightly concerned about the whole worst parent nightmare thing ... Maybe a PM to explain a bit so we don't derail this thread. I don't like squick.

Tubbs

[ 28. November 2014, 15:05: Message edited by: Tubbs ]
 
Posted by Kitten (# 1179) on :
 
OM sent Tubbs
 
Posted by Tubbs (# 440) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kitten:
OM sent Tubbs
Thank you. I've never had a book I've had to hid in the freezer before, but there's always a first time! Maybe I'll start with book two!

Tubbs

[ 28. November 2014, 16:00: Message edited by: Tubbs ]
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tubbs:
Re Severed Streets
... Maybe a PM to explain a bit so we don't derail this thread.
Maybe it should have its own thread?

quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
<Interstellar - spoiler alert>

quote:
Originally posted by doubtingthomas:
I think of Interstellar as the 2001 for this generation (if I may still call myself a member of it...).
No way. ... Just because it tries to copy some of the epic visuals of 2001 does not get Interstellar into the same ballpark. As for many Holywood movies, the most important function of the admittedly gorgeous special effects is to stop you thinking.
Well, it as made *me* think more than any film I have seen in a long time. And as side from a few quite explicit visual references, the images are very different form 2001. Comparing our views in more detail might be enjoyable, but sounds a bit more Purgatorial to me, and certainly outside the remit of this thread. This might also be worth its own thread, especially as the BFI is about to re-release 2001, making it possible to discuss the films on equal terms.

To get back to recommended reading...
Diana Wynne Jones is another author who starddles the Fantasy/SF divide. Don't get put off by the fact that most of her books are (or are marketed as) children's or Young Adult. More on the SF end of the spectrum are A Sudden Wild Magic (not for kids!), The Homeward Bounders, and A Tale of Time City.
Also well worth a read is Deep Secret, more towards the Fantasy end of the scale, but set a at convention which I am sure is a dig at Eastercon. Serious story with lots of affectionate, well-observed humour.
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
You surely cannot fail with Jones. She is one of those writers (Lois Bujold is another) who should live forever so that she can write a book a year!

There is no hard-and-fast line between SF and fantasy. There are works you can point out as definitely the one or the other, but most of us hover in the middle. And even in the hardest of hard SF, you can find a black box in the center, sometimes very well concealed indeed, labeled, 'and magic happens here.' Some of these black boxes -- FTL, time travel, FTL communications -- are so ancient and accepted that they get a free pass from magic into SF. Others (psionics) used to be SFnal but now are definitely fantasy. Whereas others used to be clearly fantasy of the most flowery sort (alternate universes) and now are, thanks to quantum physics, really SF.
 
Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
You surely cannot fail with Jones. She is one of those writers (Lois Bujold is another) who should live forever so that she can write a book a year!
I'm sorry to say she was one of those writers...
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
It was a dreadful loss to the field.
 
Posted by guinness girl (# 4391) on :
 
oooh, a thread in which I can legitimately plug one of my favourite books!

May I recommend the excellent (though, criminally, out of print) Emergence by David R Palmer? An exploration of what happens when homo sapiens begins to evolve into a new breed of super intelligent Homo post hominem, in the midst of a bionuclear war which destroys much of humanity.

The central character, an 11 year old girl, is one of the smartest, sharpest and most sympathetic protagonists I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know. Very, very worth reading. Why it was never made into a film I will never understand - its plot is full of action, pathos and twists that would have people glued to their seats.
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
In case anyone is interested, I am recording all of these suggestions. I will print out a list, and keep it with me whenever I might be near a books shop (especially a second hand one). So I hope, over time, to acquire some of these.

I will probably also take it to the library when I can, and see what I can get from there.

So they will all be noted!
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
Just finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir.

Holy.

Ever-living.

Fuck.

Witness as I fall to my knees and bow to my geeky overlord, for he is the one true kind of all geek-kind. Long may he rule.
 
Posted by Yorick (# 12169) on :
 
I got a copy on your fab recommendation and I'm totally hooked after three chapters.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I got it as well, and it's a page turner. The technical story is fabulous, the political story is just ok and there's not much deeper content other than people can sometimes work together for a common goal.
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
There are some authors whose work is centered on short stories. Avram Davidson was a classic SF example although he also wrote novels like "Peregrine Primus". R.A. Lafferty worked best in short stories although "Past Master" might be of interest as the hero is a revived Thomas More.

More recently, I'd suggest the work of Ted Chiang who tends to explore worlds with biblical influence. And while I'm biased by being a friend, I also like Eileen Gunn. Her newest book has a story on the Golem.
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
It is argued that the natural length for SF is the novella (i.e. between 7500 and 17500 words). This would be the length at which the genre shows to the best.

I would also argue that the natural length for fantasy is the trilogy, or at the least the Fat Fantasy (150K minimum).
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
I think there is something in that Brenda. The shorter form does work well for SF, because it works best if you suggest stuff rather than telling it all. there should be loose beginnings and ends, because there should be a connection to a completely different world.
 
Posted by Fr Weber (# 13472) on :
 
Can't remember if I've seen Neal Asher mentioned yet or not. I'm currently reading Prador Moon, and enjoying it as I've enjoyed his other Polity novels.

He won't win any awards for beautiful prose, but the novels are exciting SF thrillers shot through with veins of black humor. Fun.
 
Posted by moron (# 206) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
She sands the sharp edges she left off a bit with The Children Of God sequel.
 
Posted by doubtingthomas (# 14498) on :
 
Here's something I've been meaning to add for a while: a reading list compiled at a recent convention, where in each panel, someone noted down any recommendations made by the panellists or from the floor (both fantasy and SF).
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
Just read and enjoyed "Lust: or No Harm Done" by Geoff Ryman. It's an odd cross between a modern gay novel and a magic wish fantasy.

Modern SF went through phases of Steampunk, Vampires and Zombies. I'm only fond of the first but I concede it's not to everyone's taste and few are good. The other two aren't Science Fiction to me, despite being lumped as such.
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Palimpsest--

Are there any Steampunk novels you'd recommend? (Or any other Shipmates.)

I love Steampunk, as far as the gadgetry and the retro-fitting of modern gadgetry. (I've always loved Victorian tech.) The clothes, too. I'm familiar with the "Girl Genius" comics. (Fun, although the women are rather...hyper-inflated.) I know there's at least one GG-related novel.

Thanks!
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
I found Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan (and there are two sequels) almost unbearably exciting and vividly told. It is a YA but don't let that slow you down. And one of the very definers of the term 'steampunk' is Girl Genius, a comic strip which appears three times a week (for free!) on girlgeniusonline.com. This won so many Hugo Awards that the creators finally took themselves out of the running. It is wildly addictive, and there are about twelve years' worth of strips to happily read, so be warned.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
Palimpsest--

Are there any Steampunk novels you'd recommend? (Or any other Shipmates.)

I love Steampunk, as far as the gadgetry and the retro-fitting of modern gadgetry. (I've always loved Victorian tech.) The clothes, too. I'm familiar with the "Girl Genius" comics. (Fun, although the women are rather...hyper-inflated.) I know there's at least one GG-related novel.

Thanks!
You could always read one of the original novels.
 
Posted by Garasu (# 17152) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Brenda Clough:
I would also argue that the natural length for fantasy is the trilogy, or at the least the Fat Fantasy (150K minimum).
That's rather debatable. There are plenty of fantasy novels that aren't particularly big or tripartite. And where does the open-ended series fit in?
 
Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
Palimpsest--

Are there any Steampunk novels you'd recommend? (Or any other Shipmates.)

I love Steampunk, as far as the gadgetry and the retro-fitting of modern gadgetry. (I've always loved Victorian tech.) The clothes, too. I'm familiar with the "Girl Genius" comics. (Fun, although the women are rather...hyper-inflated.) I know there's at least one GG-related novel.

Thanks!
Liesel Shwartz - Chronicles of the light and dark (something like that - look her up in your favorite none-river-related bookseller). Just nearing the end of the third book of three. Lots of fun, well written.
 
Posted by Eigon (# 4917) on :
 
I saw Phil Foglio at WorldCon, one of the co-creators of Girl Genius - and he looks just like Agatha! He was such an enthusiastic speaker that we went off and treated ourselves to the earliest graphic novels in the series that we could find, so we could find out about the characters.
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
Actually Agatha Heterodyne (the Girl Genius) seems to be closely modeled upon his wife Kaja. If you ever see them doing their live 'Girl Genius Radio Theater' it is always Kaja who reads the part of Agatha.
 
Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Garasu:
And where does the open-ended series fit in?
The deepest pit of Hell? There are only a few open series that are much more than greed or ego. IMO.
Not that an open series needs to be, but many are.
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
The only open-ended series I will read is the Vorkosigan books, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Each one is more or less freestanding, although there is a linear development that takes place over the series. She herself hops around within the time line, sometimes flashing back and sometimes jumping forward.
 
Posted by TurquoiseTastic (# 8978) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by RooK:
Just finished reading The Martian by Andy Weir.

Holy.

Ever-living.

Fuck.

Witness as I fall to my knees and bow to my geeky overlord, for he is the one true kind of all geek-kind. Long may he rule.
I guess he must have been working on his writing style over the last decade...

I thought "that can't be the same Andy Weir"... but it is...
 
Posted by Dafyd (# 5549) on :
 
I can't agree that open-ended series are automatically bad. Consider the Discworld series. Or Sherlock Holmes.

I think open-ended series are fine if the point is to tell a new story every time, and you have a set of characters that can be reused in different stories. You have limited to no character development. (Sherlock Holmes or Granny Weatherwax can be explored more deeply, but they don't develop much.)

If the interest is not having a different story, but the fate of the character - what happens next - then the open-ended series is the wrong form. It turns into soap opera.

[ 17. December 2014, 23:29: Message edited by: Dafyd ]
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
It is dangerous, however. And a pitfall for the writer. You've put so much work into the world, the background, etc., that it is easier to just stick with it.
One of the things that makes for gripping fiction is that the story is important to the characters: I must marry her, I must defeat Saladin, I must get the Ring into the volcano. You can do that once, three times, but not fifteen times. After a certain point it is obvious that the protagonist is not learning from his previous mistakes. And the shuffling through the standard Very Important Things degenerates into collecting the plot coupons. Marry the girl, check. Win the throne, yes. How about the magic sword? Golden Helmet of Mambrino?
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I'm very fond of Victorian technology and there's a lot of bad steampunk out there. If you do read 20,000 leagues under the seat, get the new complete translation by Walter. There's also Wells "The Time machine".

Looking at Wikipedia to jog my memory an older but fun book is Harry Harrisons "A transatlantic tunnel.

I'd suggest "The Steam punk Anthology" for a good sampling of the genre. Gibson's Difference Engine.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest falls into my personal category of apocalyptic books set in my neighborhoods. Spring-Heeled Jack by Pullman.

Steampunk is also a subculture "It's what happens when Goths discover the color Brown [Smile] "
 
Posted by Palimpsest (# 16772) on :
 
I'd agree that open ended series can be a trap. Roger Zelazney's Amber series started so wonderfully and became boring. I'd say the same about Frank Herbert's Dune except I couldn't bring myself to read past the third one.

A series can be good if the main point is to reuse the universe and not necessarily the plots or even characters. Earthsea manages to be interesting because the character changes and the magic changes. But a series can be a problem when the author is spending more time papering over the inconsistencies to fit the latest in a series of plots. There's also a tendency of a single author in a universe to run out of creatinve new responses to the same universe and characters.
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Palimpsest:
I'd say the same about Frank Herbert's Dune except I couldn't bring myself to read past the third one.
Presumably it was just the fact that it was short that got you through the second.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I loved the Dune books – however the fourth never seemed to quite fit and I lost interest after the third. The Amber Chronicles were interesting but got a bit much of a muchness. The switch from colloquial to sudden faux archaic was a bit grating, though.

I struggled with Game of Thrones. The first one was interesting enough for me to get hold of the next two, but after the second it was clear that the author had settled in for a long run and I started skipping entire chapters and only reading the ones for the characters I found interesting. I’m up to date on Arya Stark, Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister but bored stiff with or repelled by most of the rest and in two minds about reading any more. However, I do want to find out what happens to Arya.
 
Posted by Paul. (# 37) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dafyd:
I can't agree that open-ended series are automatically bad. Consider the Discworld series. Or Sherlock Holmes.

I think open-ended series are fine if the point is to tell a new story every time, and you have a set of characters that can be reused in different stories. You have limited to no character development. (Sherlock Holmes or Granny Weatherwax can be explored more deeply, but they don't develop much.)

If the interest is not having a different story, but the fate of the character - what happens next - then the open-ended series is the wrong form. It turns into soap opera.
I don't know about Sherlock Holmes - I've only ever read A Study in Scarlet - but I don't agree about Discworld. I think there is character development but that's because there are not only plenty of characters so that you can rest them for a book or three, but that there are so many different settings.

I've often thought this is the genius of the Discworld - that it's an entire world, with different countries with fully developed cultures. It means Pratchett can tell very different stories, in different genres, with different characters. There's a consistent set of themes, a unifying voice rather than a single set of characters. Or if you prefer Discworld is not a series but a collection of series loosely related by taking placing on the same planet. That's why you get things like this.
 
Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
Palimpsest--

Are there any Steampunk novels you'd recommend? (Or any other Shipmates.)

I love Steampunk, as far as the gadgetry and the retro-fitting of modern gadgetry. (I've always loved Victorian tech.) The clothes, too. I'm familiar with the "Girl Genius" comics. (Fun, although the women are rather...hyper-inflated.) I know there's at least one GG-related novel.

Thanks!
I've just borrowed Infernal Devices by K.W.Jeter from the library. Haven't started it yet, but I hear it's considered a classic of the genre.

Also 2D Goggles is worth checking out, a webcomic of the adventures of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage as detectives.
 
Posted by Brenda Clough (# 18061) on :
 
Oh yes, that is great fun.
 


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