What's Your Favorite SciFi Novel?

[klod]

Sci-Fi - Sphere, Andromeda Strain; Michael Crichton
Dune series; Frank Herbert

Fantasy - The Narnia Chronicles; C.S. Lewis
The Myth series; Robert Asprin

 

[bobio]

sci-fi: isaac asimov - robot series
fantasy: david eddings - The Belgariad

 

[wolf550e]

Frank Herbert - Dune
I also read all 5 sequels, but that doesnt matter. Everyone must read Dune!

 

[wolf550e]

I add my vote to Isaac Asimov's Foundation& Robot series.


Are the (color) Mars that good?

 

[Jothaxe]

A Planet Called Treason by Orson Scott Card. This is definately my favorite sci-fi book that is not part of a longer series. I have read it several times because it is so incredible.

*edit*

If you count books that are part of longer series I would choose:

Ender's Game or
Dune or
Rendevous with Rama

 

[etech]

Robert Heinlein, The best of all the SF authors in my opionion.

Time Enough For Love vec, that's the one you were thinking of.
Stranger In A Strange Land Classic, must read.
The Green Hills of Earth short stories,but some of the best there are
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress An aware computer.
I Will Fear No Evil Ever wondered what it would be like to change bodies.

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
The Mote in God's Eye
The Gripping Hand sequal to Mote
Lucifer's Hammer
Larry Niven
Neutron Star
World of Ptavvs
Heck, any thing by Niven is worth reading

Asimov, to be a well rounded SF fan you have to read his robot series
I, Robot
The Rest of the Robots
The Three Laws of Robotics

 

[Praetor]

What is the Enders series all about anyway? I've seen a number of posts here and other places saying that the entire series is pretty cool.

Anyway, my picks.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (See also Good Omens, Stardust, and his forthcoming American Gods (read the review here.))

Contact by Carl Sagan

The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. (I also liked Well of Darkness, but haven't read any of the DragonLance books)

Dune has already been mentioned, but it honestly took me a while to fully understand it.

The Lord of the Rings cycle... I've struggled through the first quarter of The Hobbit, but that's as far as I've ever managed. One of these days, I'll finally finish it so I can move onto the 'real' cycle.

 

[LordMaul]

Uhh...Hitchikers guide?

 

[Frenchie]

Anything by Roger Zelazny, but the Amber series in particular.

Also, the Elric of Melnibone series by Michael Moorock.

 

[Atlantean]

Anything by Robert A. Heinlein, or Isaac Asimov. There are also some good ones by Poul Anderson, Larry Nivin (don't know how to spell it) and there are a couple others that I can't think of

 

[Jothaxe]

<< Also, the Elric of Melnibone series by Michael Moorock. >>




Frenchie, I agree with you. When it comes to dark fantasy, this series is my favorite. Good stuff!

 

[vec]

Time Enough for Love - that it! Thanks etech. Lazarus Long is a favorite character.

 

[1967mustangman]

I love the foundation, but I am going to go really old on you for another one and say Space Prison by Tom Goodwin.

 

[skylark]

<< ARMOR, by Jon Steakley. &quot;ANTS! ANTS EVERYWHERE!&quot; >>



Loved that book, very similar to the movie Starship Troopers.

Felix is god, he couldn't be killed.

 

[ArnoldLLerch]

Starship Troopers - Robert A. Heinlein Read it at 12 in 1959. His widow, Virginia is now a personal acquaintence. He was my first hero before Black Elk and John Glenn.

Time is the Simplest Thing - Clifford D. Simak

Welcome to the Monkey House - Kurt Vonnegut

Dreamland - Edgar A. Poe Some argue that this is not &quot;Science Fiction&quot; but I contend that it is the feeling evoked as much as the setting of the story.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Noel Adams (Just passed last month) and his subsequent offerings. http://www.com-www.com/hhgttg/

 

[randypj]

NUTS.....too late to the party again.

Yes.....The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. As mentioned...maybe not true SF, but close enough. And, each book just gets better. This is one that might be missed by some SF fans, since King is considered horror.

I just finished listening to Illustrated Man and Stranger in a Strange Land again. They just seemed too dated this time around.

BTW...if you travel and you haven't listened to BooksonTape, you are really missing something. I'd rather listen to a book than tunes.


Y'all are right on:
Foundation series and Robots series by Asimov
Dune series
Tolkien of course.
--Randy

 

[ArnoldLLerch]

...oh yea, Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogies.

Sorry Isaiah Akissabove!

 

[MrChicken]

Another vote for Armor by Steakley.

If you could call it sci-fi, Vampire$ by Steakley would be my number 1. John Carpenter did a gigantic hack job to Vampire$ when he made the movie. IMHO the book is a thousand times better. Leaving out Felix was a sin!

Other sci-fi I like in no particular order:
The Starfisher Trilogy by Cook, got me started on sci-fi, still very cool.

Dune, of course...

The Mote in God's Eye.

Most of the David Drake stuff, I love his military sci-fi. Particularly Hammers Slammers, brutal, emotional, insight into the minds of ordinary people turned into killers by war.

The Casca series by Barry Sadler.

 

[FriedToast]

Praetor- Ender's Game, et al. is a pretty wide subject to try to explain, actually. It's just a must-read You'll get sucked into the world of little Ender Wiggins. Great stuf. I've even taken Ender's Game abroad w/ me so I'd have a bit o' home to keep me company
Just be sure to read them in order (as listed by Maleficus- think that's how it was spelled). Great stuf, especially Ender's Shadow and Shadow of the Hegemon.
Have to second the vote for A Planet Called Treason by Card. Another good book. Card puts out good stuf.

Reading Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls right now. Just about anything you pick up by Heinlein's worth reading. You'll grok my meaning once you've read Stranger in a Strange Land

Battlefield Earth. Yes! Great stuf. It should be against the law to put out a crap movie. I haven't seen it, but have heard enough that I don't want to. The book is great. Why ruin it w/ crappy visuals?

Asimov. Asimov. Asimov. Like Card, it's all good

Nightfall. Great book. I don't remember if it was an Asimov book or not (too lazy to go into my attic to find out for sure).

Someone mentioned Piers Anthony's Xanth series. Cute stuf for fantasy. Brain candy. Good for those not-so-serious times when you don't want to think too hard.

For a little something outside of sci-fi, I'd recommend Wilbur Smith. Another author that puts out great stuf.

I tried the Gibson's Necromancer years ago and it didn't gel. Might have to pick that one up and try it again.

There's so much out there, you're sure to do no wrong w/ any of the suggestions given here. I'm sure all of us could make lists of good stuf once we looked at all our boxes o' books My personal fave is Orson Scott Card, tho'. Go Ender!

 

[unclebud]

i don't remember the title (surPRISE!!)
but it involved this cross-country walkathon where the penalty for losing or dropping out was death and the prize was a million dollars
i especially think about it now with the spate of &quot;reality&quot; shows that we are currently (probably forever) besieged(sp?) with

 

[datalink7]

<< Time Enough For Love by Robert Anson Heinlein. Do yourself a favor and read EVERY word that man ever wrote. >>



I am in the processs, and I totally agree. So far I have read:

Time Enough for Love
Starship Troopers
Stranger in a Strange Land
War &amp; Rememberence (this is Heinlein I believe?)
The Cat That Walked Through Walls

All at the top of the best books I have ever read list. How does this guy write awsome stuff in all his book? I have no idea. Amazing author.

BTW... what should I read next?

 

[Emos]

<< but it involved this cross-country walkathon where the penalty for losing or dropping out was death >>


That was a short novel called &quot;The Long Walk&quot; by Steven King who was writing under the psuedonym Richard Bachman. That story was part of &quot;The Bachman Books&quot; which also contained &quot;The Running Man&quot;, &quot;Rage&quot; and another short novel. Great read!

 

[unclebud]

thank you
i've been wanting to read it again
you know, most of my favorite sci-fi (carrie, the shining, dead zone, firestalkers, his short stories) have actually been written by him...
i wonder how i forgot
much appreciated

all the other suggestion in this thread were nice also

that one had been on my mind for some time tho

 

[Anghang]

tho the movie sucked, i thought the book was very kickass!!...Battlefield Earth...read it wayyyy before the movie was even being thought about...i really anticipated the movie..but very disappointing..

 

[dc]

no mention of clark's space odyssey series? =/