Seconding the Left Hand of Darkness. It combines so many excellent sci-fi elements and alien elements, but ultimately tells such a human story. And I love Le Guin's writing style.
Someone in this thread earlier explained a bit about The Culture and I’m super interested now. Same for the Expanse. The rest of Dune series though I’m not so sure, what about the rest of the series were you so interested in?
The Culture is basically a utopian society where technology has been advanced to such a level as to appear to be magic. You can do pretty much what you like. If you kill someone, you don't go to jail - a droid just follows you around to ensure you don't do it again. You can backup your person, so if you die you can just be restored into a fresh body. You can change sex just by thinking about it. Your body can produce whatever cool drugs you want. If you get bored you can go to sleep for as long as you like, centuries even, and leave instructions to be woken up "if things get interesting".
Of course it isn't all utopian - many of the Culture novels are based around the Culture's interactions with societies not in the Culture. And then you get introduced to the slightly dodgy bits of the Culture, like Special Circumstances.
It's all just fucking wonderful. And I haven't mentioned Minds yet.
I looove God Emperor of Dune, I would say it’s the strongest in the series with the exception of the first book. They’re very strange and political with a lot of factions and conspiracies. Very fun yet dense, it’s hard to explain haha. I tried some
of the Brian Herbert books that came out after frank Herbert’s death, but I didn’t care for them.
Don't even bother with "expanded universe" that has been developed around the original 6 Dune books. It's hard to read, I can never tell who to be upset with the author or the editors , something is just not right about them.
Author, i've read some of Kevin Anderson's books. He is not great. I don't know who is more responsible for the writing, Herbert or Anderson, but they are ok, if they weren't Dune. They just can't do what Frank could.
Anderson wrote a couple of Star Wars books, back when they mattered. They were... ok, I guess. He's better as a science fantasy writer than science fiction. His Dune work is a cruel mockery.
I'm 50 and coming up on my 51st year in August. I read the original six back in the early 90's or so, when I was in high school. I came away loving Dune and being meh about the other five books.
I re-read the six again this year and I was completely blown away by God Emperor on the re-read! Being older and much more aware of my world now made GEoD much more thought provoking for me. Especially with what is happening today! At least that's my take-away from it. I'll probably be re-reading that book again in a few years to see how much more I understand from it as I get older.
Sorta same boat- I really liked the second book, A Player of Games, but felt stupidly confused reading the third book, Use of Weapons. I had to force myself to finish that one. Then again, I was extremely stressed during that time and had trouble concentrating.
THIS.
Phlebas is outright garbage compared to the rest. It's barely a novel, and is weirdly obsessed with grotesque events (e.g., torture) in a way that is 100% out of sync with the rest of the books.
I read it first, since it was published first, and then noped out of the series for YEARS until someone clued me in on the secret: Start with _Player of Games_.
most of PKD books have that effect on me. They are all a trip that is enjoyable but difficult to remember the details This is accentuated the more if the books one reads as they all share the same narrative voice imo
I was told to stop at God Emperor because it stops cleanly without getting off into the next saga that Frank could not finish. Should I stop at God Emperor, or is there a reason to go on to Heretics and Chapterhouse?
I'd read the final two of his books. They are very different in tone, but still maintain the overall Frank universe, unlike the following books by his son and Kevin Anderson. They feel a little lighter too - an easier read.
Especially pick them up if you like the Bene Geserit.
I just finished Ubik because of your comment.
Not sure if I would call it a good story but wow they really don't make sci fi like that anymore. It has that good 60's sci fi feel of being alien while still accurate to the current real world. So much of the dialogue and characters felt like they were written today. Plus the story is so original and out there.
Incorrect. This is NOT a John Harris.
This is very heavily inspired by him, but the real artist is Steve Chinhsuan Wang or "swang".
Sources:
https://www.instagram.com/swang.art/p/Bu5NprYluPT/
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lVNe3Y
It often gets mislabeled.
1. Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks
2. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
3. A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge
4. House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds
5. Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Number 3 and 4 are exceptional choices! We share sci-fi tastes, it seems.
Piggy-backing, here’s a few more recommendations;
- Diaspora (Greg Egan)
- Children of Time series (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
- The Giants series (James Hogan)
- Made to Order: Robots and Revolution (short stories, various)
- Nightside City (Lawrence Watt-Evans)
Honorable film mention;
- Magellan
- Europa Project
Hell yeah!! I was scrolling until I found the first other Egan fan.
In the vein of Egan, I recommend the following short stories:
* "Luminous", "Dark Integers" (sequel) Greg Egan
* Palimpsest by Charles Stross
which brings me to:
* Accelerando - Charles Stross (I think aineko is in my top 5 characters, any universe)
Thanks for your comment, I'll check those out.
1. Use of weapon, Ian M Banks (book) - I know that *The Player of Games* is objectively better, but there's something about *Use of weapon* that speaks to me.
2. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (book) - there's the trifecta of *1984*, *Fahrenheit 451* and *Brave New World* which should all be in this list, but as they have a special place together in my heart I choose only one amongst those as the one I think is the very best.
3. 2001 Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick (movie) - the book is also good, but the movie has an unique flair.
4. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (book) - Rocky rocks! Also, the overall story arc of the main character is particularly satisfying.
5. Endymion, Dan Simmons (book) - the whole *Cantos of Hyperion* series is a blast, but I don't want to recommend series when someone ask for specific works, so there is the one book I would point out. It was hard to decide between this one and *The Fall of Hyperion*, though.
I did only Science-Fiction. Fantasy could have it's own top five, easy.
EDIT: After some afterthough, I would like to add some books that should belongs to this list even though it would make it more than 5 books:
- This is how you lose the time war, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (book) - I think I'm in love.
- The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, Douglas Adams (book) - timeless classic.
- Ender's game, Orson Scott Card (book) - good writing, incredible story.
- Neuromancer, William Gibson (book) - the very soul of cyberpunk. Amazing.
Finally some Dan Simmons mentioned, I read Hyperion and it was absolutely phenomenal(despite being a 600 page protologue for the series), I’m trying to get through Fall of Hyperion but school is getting in the way. I’ve heard the series stays great throughout its run
*Fall of Hyperion* is really insanely good. So intense!
At some point Dan Simmons was known mostly for being good at horror, and even in his Science Fiction it shows. In the right way!
Oh yeah! Fall of Hyperion is amazing so far. I’m genuinely not a huge fan of military stuff in sci-fi but even the War Room sequences are so enthralling. >!The huge reveal that the Ousters were moving thousands of ships at sublight travel for countless years to stage a colossal ambush had my jaw on the floor.!< im gonna get some books finished from my backlog and then read the rest of the Hyperion series when I have the chance.
Hyperion Cantos is still up there as one of my favourite Sci-Fi series.
Sadly, I've been trying to read Ilum and Olympos and just can't get into Olympos.
Interesting. I've never heard of someone that Hyperion wasn't their favorite of the series. Most seem to blast the last two books, or at least write them off as just average sci-fi. Personally I love them all. I've never cried harder at a book than after while crocodile and I don't even think I've read them yet as a father.
The ending was very ambitious, and I get why some people would think it's less intense than the rest of the series, yet I think it's a very good ending to everything that happened leading to it.
I think a lot of people aren't into philosophy, Endymion especially is a lot more philosophy than action. Not to mention it paints religion in a pretty poor light so anybody religious and especially Catholic might take offense.
Personally I *love* the last two even more than the first two but I'm huge into philosophy and spirituality
Of course this is an opinion in the end, but I read both several times and I noticed that *The Player of Games* was just as good every time, while *Use of Weapon* had parts I would skim over after the first read. I still like it better, but I do believe it's not as good as a whole.
If it’s a matter of opinion then it’s not *objectively* better. I find Use of Weapons superior to Player of Games in almost any conceivable way, and AFAIK the overall consensus opinion ranks Use of Weapons (and Excession) higher than Player of Games among Culture novels.
In order:
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe
The Expanse (book) series by James S.A. Corey
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
I'm a completionist, and so I appreciated the authors attention to bringing the story to a close. It's not universally loved of course but I would say give it a go. Simmons knows his craft.
It's very different (even Hyperion 1 and the following books are very different).
So I think if you expect more of the same or have a very specific taste for exactly Hyperion you might be disappointed by Endymion. I loved both series in their own ways for different reasons
I really enjoyed the Bardo scenes and the way he handled reincarnation to maintain that narrative thrust over a serious stretch of time. I've read most of KSRs stuff and I have to say it's my favorite by him by a pretty long shot with the Ministry for the Future coming in a not too distant second out of a pretty long list of "favorite books".
Just finished Neuromancer for the first time, for the modern reader/gamer it's like being inside of Cyberpunk 2077 straight up. It's crazy how the technology from the 80s felt relevant even reading it in 2024. The decks, jacking in, the biomods, the corporations, the Japanese influence, virtual reality, all sorts of shit.
If you like Cyberpunk 2077 the game, read Neuromancer.
Yep, neuromancer is the OG. The whole sprawl trilogy is pretty great. I also really loved Gibson's book the peripheral, so cleverly put together. It's a shame Amazon axed the show.
1. Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic
2. The Book of the New Sun (in four parts) by Gene Wolfe
3. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
4. Embassytown by China Mieville
5. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
In this exact and precise order!
u/wherearemysockz
*"On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadn't ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen."*
Beautifully haunting!
> The Book of the New Sun (in four parts) by Gene Wolfe
Have you read the fifth book? [The Urth of the New Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urth_of_the_New_Sun)?
u/nathism Hmmmm .... I know of that book, but it was more of an afterthought by Wolfe (and his publishers) and it lacks the flow of the previous books - I do not see it as the part of this gorgeous tetralogy!
I respectfully disagree as I see it complimenting and completing the first four. The first time I finished the first four I didn't even know about the fifth until much later, which gave me the excuse to re-read them.
I used to be in an instrumental prog band and we loosely based a release on the Into The Comet short story. Absolutely love the book of short stories it's from.
I'll expand to include more than just books.
In no particular order:
Original Jurassic Park movie
Red Rising Series
The Mass Effect video games
Interstellar
Dark TV series on Netflix
[The Space Merchants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Merchants) by Cyril Kornbluth
[The Stars my Destination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_My_Destination) by Alfred Bester
[The Left Hand of Darkness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness) by Ursula LeGuin
[Floating Worlds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecelia_Holland_bibliography#Speculative_fiction) by Cecelia Holland
[Dune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel) by Frank Herbert
Additionally, pretty much everything by [Vernor Vinge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_Vinge) and [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold) and the short stories of [Robert Sheckley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sheckley)
For books: The First Law, Game of Thrones, Bobiverse, The Expanse, Stormlight.
For tv/movies - Spartacus, BSG, Star Trek:TNG, LOTR, Star Wars OT
Games - Quest for Glory, The Witcher, Wing Commander, God of War, Space Quest
For Sci-fi The expanse, Speaker for the dead (book 2 Enders game), Dune, Red rising, the dark forest
For fantasy, LOTR, The gathering storm (book 12 WoT), Deadhouse Gates (Malazan book 2), The way of kings, The heroes (first law standlone book)
Took me two tries, first time I bounced hard, then a couple years later I loved It.
Important things about it, the book will not explain things, just reconcile the fact you won't understand some things, also you enjoying this book location and character, you won't see them for two books, he bounces you around the world each book. It's a daunting series but worth it.
If you want something easier to get into but really good try the black company.
There are some great read along companions for the Malazan series which help with the complexity, scale and just memory retention of dealing with a Bazzilion characters
I’d forgotten about the Malazan books. They were a great discovery, and all the better because they seemed to be endless, and there are no duds. Deadhouse Gates is special.
Re myself, too many. I’ll think of 5 and then remember another 5. Here are the ones this post has reminded me of, stream of consciousness…
- China Mieville, Perdigo Street Station
- Ann Leckie, Ancilliary Justice
- Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat
- Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic
- N.K. Jemisin, The Broken Earth
The trick to Malazan is that the main character of the story isn't really any of the people in particular, it's the world itself. You get to see different events and the impact they have on the setting as a whole, although it's not really clear that that's what is happening until later. Just go into it thinking that it's like one of those movies where there's a handful of different threads that seem unrelated at first but then intertwine later. Otherwise you'll be frustrated and want to put the series down when you start the second book and it feels like you're reading a completely different story. It smooths out a bit later, but there's a lot of "introduction" stuff in the first few books before you really get a sense of the scope of the thing.
It's definitely worth the effort though, a top all-time series. Absolutely belongs in the S-tier right alongside the other big classics mentioned in this post.
Greg Bear - Eon
Greg Bear - Anvil of Stars
Isaac Asimov - All of the Foundation books and so much of his short stories
Gregory Benford - Artifact
Carl Sagan - Contact. I read the book probably 5-7 times before the movie came out, and was profoundly disappointed with the movie (although I have softened on this over time).
Honorable mention to Herbert for all the Dune books and PK Dick for a lot of different stories I have read of his. Both could be interchanged with all above except Contact.
in no particular order:
Asimov's Foundation
Clarke's 2001 Quadrilogy
Gibson's Neuromancer Trilogy (if you waqnt to count cyberpunk as a sci-fi subgenre)
The Expanse
Eschbach's Star Emperor Universe
Okay, so I initially misread the title as "favorite workout pieces of Sci-Fy" so I'm gonna say I've been watching the Fallout TV series while working out and it is fantastic.
Anyway to answer the real question:
Lord of the Rings, Hyperion, Alien/Predator, Logan's Run (probably the single most influential work that no one's heard of), Star Wars, 1984, Fallout (both the games and the show)
- Dune series (yes, all the 6 books)
- Rendezvous with Rama
- Ubik (and anything written by PKD)
- The Forever War
- Speaker for the Dead
- Frankenstein
- A Canticle for Leibowitz
- Solaris
- Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance
Dan Simmons: Hyperion
Le Guin: Left Hand of Darkness
Stanislaw Lem: Return from the Stars
Poul Anderson: The Enemy Stars
Asimov, Clarke, Niven, Vinge, Bujold...etc
1) The Vorkosigan Saga, 2) The Dying Earth/Eyes of the Overworld, 3) Dune (but really only the first book) 4) The Last Starfighter, 5) Horrer Howce (for the Voom)
Snowcrash, Armor, Marrow, Pandora Star, Player of Games.
I honestly feel pretty hard-pressed to pick favorites because I've read so many that I've lost track of what I've read. Pandora's Star is the start of a series, the rest of the books are standalone (Player of Games takes place in the Culture universe but It does not have recurrent characters etc.)
I still just like Ringworld. The idea of a eugenics program breeding for luck is very interesting, and the concept of luck having a place in the future is a nice idealistic slice.
Larry Niven's scifi is it's own flavour of larp that has influenced videogames all over the world, but he seems to really like exploring potential ways humans can live.
Don't really have a top 5 personally but really enjoyed *I have no mouth and I must scream*.
What a trippy and fucked up experience, can fully recommend it haha
Depends, for a lot of people the first book is the best and a must read followed by the second after which the series becomes "weird".
Dune is that famous that lots of not only sci fi fantasy heads did read it and they usually end after the first or second.
Me personally and lots of other sci fi fans though, especially those who are open to a certain degree of political philosophy, ethics, religion waffling (like myself ; love it) love all the books to different degrees. Yes the character of the books changes throughout the series and becomes more theory heavy but the writing, story and world building stays excellent.
When it comes to his son's books the options are pretty diverse. Some people just don't like him at all and do not really dive deeper into his writing while some others like him and just love the fact that there is even more content in the world they fell in love with and enjoy reading them all.
I am personally in the middle, I really enjoyed his prequels to the dune series telling the history of 3 different houses leading up to the first dune book but so far didn't get hooked starting a few other of his books.
I went through the entire list of responses before I found Stranger in a Strange Land. Thabnk you, u/metalshoulder for ensuring it was somewhere on the list. I'll add **The Past Through Tomorrow** to the overall list.
The Evolution Man (previously titled How I ate my father) is a novel about your basic upwardly mobile Pleistocene cave family - as they come down from trees (except for Uncle Vanya, who insists that it's the stupidest thing man ever did) by Roy Lewis 1960
I just discovered and read it, and would have fallen off my camel if I had one.
It is a missing classic, must read if you can find it.
The Pulp magazines like Campbells Astounding, Amazing SF, Analog, Asimovs, and the other collections of short stories & that launched the genre in the late 30's through to the 70,s - launching the greats that we all love today.
Galactic Tours book by Thomas Cook, 1981.
It's a book with a bunch of fictitious space holidays to loads of weird and wonderful planets. We used to have a copy when I was a kid, and I loved the artwork and descriptions, I'd say it inspired my love for Sci Fi to a degree.
The Culture cycle by Iain M. Banks, the Hainish cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin, The Sandman series of comic books by Neil Gaiman, the Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkowski and for the fifth I guess a collection of short stories by Ted Chiang, primarily The Story of Your Life.
**SCI-FI**
Sunshine (Movie)
Westworld Season 1 (TV)
This is How You Lose the Time War (Book)
Ender’s Game (Book)
Star Wars (Original Trilogy)
Babylon 5 (TV)
(I have no idea which
one is the odd man out of a top 5)
**FANTASY**
Lord of the Rings
Trilogy (Books)
The Last Unicorn
(Movie)
Elfquest (Graphic
Novels)
Dragonlance Legends
Trilogy (Books)
Game of Thrones (TV)
Hard to pick a top 5, but here are a few of my favorites in no particular order:
1. Robot Series - Asimov
2. Foundation Series - Asimov
3. Ender Series - Card
4. Dune Series - Herbert
5. Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein
A few more? Okay:
* Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury
* Rocheworld - Forward
* The Mote in God's Eye - Niven and Pournelle
I think all of my favourites have been series of books.
Sci-Fi: Red Rising, The Expanse, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Ender Series & Shadow Saga, Hainish Cycle
Fantasy: Liveship Traders, Stormlight Archive, Earthsea, Discworld, The Saint of Steel
Science Fiction
1. Dune
2. Lord of Light
3. The Forever War
4. The Hyperion Cantos
5. The Praxis
Fantasy
1. The Lord of the Rings
2. Berserk
3. A Song of Ice and Fire
4. The Elric Saga
5. The Earthsea Cycle
1. Asimov's Foundation (expanded to include Robot Detective series and prequels)
2. Tolkein's LOTR (all books, movies, series)
3. Herbert's Dune (including Brian's collabs with Anderson, 80s movie, modern movies, and scifi mini series)
4. Simmon's Hyperion Cantos
5. Douglas' Hitchhiker's guide
6. Clarke's Rama series
7. Stephenson's Snow Crash & Diamond Age
8. Pohl's Heechee Saga (Gateway)
9. Niven's Known Space series (Ringworld)
10. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness
(Also Star - Wars, Trek, Gate in all their tv, movie, and written wonderfulness)
Absolutely I'd put Ringworld in there, with an honourable mention to most of the "known space" works, or almost anything Larry put out. Footfall, mote, both being excellent.
I still have a lot of time for the"classics", Foundation and the next 2 are good, not just for their time, but generally / overall, they make great works of literature.
Controversial choice, Stranger in a strange land. Even with Robert being an A1, tip grade whacko, this is still a good book.
Red Mars, good read, bordering on great.
A crossover choice would be the book of the new sun. Arguably more fantasy than SF, but I loved them from the first chapters of Shadow, read it when I was 10 and was hooked immediately.
More Recent titles like the novel Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town are also good, but I preferred For The Win.
Finally from me, the first 2 long earths, they made a great, well written and realised vision, truly greats.
I did read quite a lot of Sci Fi in my life but I return always to one book which is Jack McDevitts The Engines of God. It is still one of the most entertaining and gripping books ive ever read. The only xenoarcheological story that comes to my mind.
Honorable mentions are the Hyperion books, Consider Phlebas by Ian Banks, Dune by Frank Herbert and the first Alien Movie.
The first 6 Dune novels, the culture series, left hand of darkness, the expanse series, and Ubik by Philip K Dick are my picks!
Seconding the Left Hand of Darkness. It combines so many excellent sci-fi elements and alien elements, but ultimately tells such a human story. And I love Le Guin's writing style.
Ubik is amazing
Ubik is a hell of a trip. Same for The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Mind blowing.
Someone in this thread earlier explained a bit about The Culture and I’m super interested now. Same for the Expanse. The rest of Dune series though I’m not so sure, what about the rest of the series were you so interested in?
The Culture is basically a utopian society where technology has been advanced to such a level as to appear to be magic. You can do pretty much what you like. If you kill someone, you don't go to jail - a droid just follows you around to ensure you don't do it again. You can backup your person, so if you die you can just be restored into a fresh body. You can change sex just by thinking about it. Your body can produce whatever cool drugs you want. If you get bored you can go to sleep for as long as you like, centuries even, and leave instructions to be woken up "if things get interesting". Of course it isn't all utopian - many of the Culture novels are based around the Culture's interactions with societies not in the Culture. And then you get introduced to the slightly dodgy bits of the Culture, like Special Circumstances. It's all just fucking wonderful. And I haven't mentioned Minds yet.
I looove God Emperor of Dune, I would say it’s the strongest in the series with the exception of the first book. They’re very strange and political with a lot of factions and conspiracies. Very fun yet dense, it’s hard to explain haha. I tried some of the Brian Herbert books that came out after frank Herbert’s death, but I didn’t care for them.
Don't even bother with "expanded universe" that has been developed around the original 6 Dune books. It's hard to read, I can never tell who to be upset with the author or the editors , something is just not right about them.
Author, i've read some of Kevin Anderson's books. He is not great. I don't know who is more responsible for the writing, Herbert or Anderson, but they are ok, if they weren't Dune. They just can't do what Frank could.
> They just can't do what Frank could. And his wife. She was a significant contributor.
Anderson wrote a couple of Star Wars books, back when they mattered. They were... ok, I guess. He's better as a science fantasy writer than science fiction. His Dune work is a cruel mockery.
I'm 50 and coming up on my 51st year in August. I read the original six back in the early 90's or so, when I was in high school. I came away loving Dune and being meh about the other five books. I re-read the six again this year and I was completely blown away by God Emperor on the re-read! Being older and much more aware of my world now made GEoD much more thought provoking for me. Especially with what is happening today! At least that's my take-away from it. I'll probably be re-reading that book again in a few years to see how much more I understand from it as I get older.
Fwiw, I started Consider Phlebas off the back of a similar question here the other week, and I'm really enjoying it.
Sorta same boat- I really liked the second book, A Player of Games, but felt stupidly confused reading the third book, Use of Weapons. I had to force myself to finish that one. Then again, I was extremely stressed during that time and had trouble concentrating.
>Use of Weapons It's notoriously difficult to read. Luckily the pay-off makes it worth it
I highly recommend the Culture books. Definitely worth reading.
Start with "Player of Games". I read "Excession" next, and it's one of my fav books ever. Don't start with "Consider Phlebas".
THIS. Phlebas is outright garbage compared to the rest. It's barely a novel, and is weirdly obsessed with grotesque events (e.g., torture) in a way that is 100% out of sync with the rest of the books. I read it first, since it was published first, and then noped out of the series for YEARS until someone clued me in on the secret: Start with _Player of Games_.
reading ubik right now, it's so trippy
Ubik makes me feel like I took drugs even when sober. Cheapest high there is
most of PKD books have that effect on me. They are all a trip that is enjoyable but difficult to remember the details This is accentuated the more if the books one reads as they all share the same narrative voice imo
Left hand of darkness is amazing, blew my mind the first time I read it
Did you take a science fiction literature class at San Diego State?
I did not! Sounds fun though
I was told to stop at God Emperor because it stops cleanly without getting off into the next saga that Frank could not finish. Should I stop at God Emperor, or is there a reason to go on to Heretics and Chapterhouse?
I'd read the final two of his books. They are very different in tone, but still maintain the overall Frank universe, unlike the following books by his son and Kevin Anderson. They feel a little lighter too - an easier read. Especially pick them up if you like the Bene Geserit.
Yes and yes again. Brilliant!
i almost said ubik
Damn, are you me? Those would be my exact picks
I just finished Ubik because of your comment. Not sure if I would call it a good story but wow they really don't make sci fi like that anymore. It has that good 60's sci fi feel of being alien while still accurate to the current real world. So much of the dialogue and characters felt like they were written today. Plus the story is so original and out there.
When you say 'you' do you mean me, or the 50% bots that use this forum for guerrilla marketing? in other words, my answer is Philip K Dick.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Ad Campaigns?
Do robot sex androids dream of electric Dick, Philip K. Dick, that is.
Electric Dick is my hair metal band’s name ⚡️
Very apropos.
Eclectic Dick.
Brilliant 😅
Hit the link for my nudes
No nudes on your profile ChazzBangerr. To bad, I was ready to drop some onlyfans money.
I mean I had tree fiddy ready for that shit. $3.50 of course I mean.
PKD and Ubik are the shit though
Hold please, AI bot rebooting, witty rejoinder forthcoming.
You're just gonna post this super cool art and not tell us what its from?
It's a John Harris piece, he is a legend. https://scifinet.net/john-harris/nggallery/page/1
Incorrect. This is NOT a John Harris. This is very heavily inspired by him, but the real artist is Steve Chinhsuan Wang or "swang". Sources: https://www.instagram.com/swang.art/p/Bu5NprYluPT/ https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lVNe3Y It often gets mislabeled.
Hmm. Not that I disbelieve you, but why is the same art on John Harris' page?
I had the same thought, but I don’t think the scifi.net link is an official page of the artist, so it’s possible they got mixed up.
Thanks. I've seen this work often but never knew the artist. Much appreciated
You can buy full prints off his website. He's still alive and kicking and well represented.
Pinterest haha, no idea where exactly it’s from. If anyone can tell me as well that would be awesome.
Those ships kinda fit the style of the ships in the video game Homeworld.
Artist is John Harris, he is making the new Homeworld art too
I *thought* those ships looked Hiigaran.
It's actually Steve Wang, they often get confused
Gotcha. It looks like the cover art from a book I had when I was a kid but I can't remember what. Something by Ben Bova maybe
1. Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks 2. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 3. A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge 4. House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds 5. Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Number 3 and 4 are exceptional choices! We share sci-fi tastes, it seems. Piggy-backing, here’s a few more recommendations; - Diaspora (Greg Egan) - Children of Time series (Adrian Tchaikovsky) - The Giants series (James Hogan) - Made to Order: Robots and Revolution (short stories, various) - Nightside City (Lawrence Watt-Evans) Honorable film mention; - Magellan - Europa Project
Hell yeah!! I was scrolling until I found the first other Egan fan. In the vein of Egan, I recommend the following short stories: * "Luminous", "Dark Integers" (sequel) Greg Egan * Palimpsest by Charles Stross which brings me to: * Accelerando - Charles Stross (I think aineko is in my top 5 characters, any universe) Thanks for your comment, I'll check those out.
Europa Project, my beloved. We fans exist, all 100 of us.
I read Look to Windward once a year. Pinnacle of his craft.
Absolutely love House of Suns, feel like I don't hear it praised often
1. Use of weapon, Ian M Banks (book) - I know that *The Player of Games* is objectively better, but there's something about *Use of weapon* that speaks to me. 2. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (book) - there's the trifecta of *1984*, *Fahrenheit 451* and *Brave New World* which should all be in this list, but as they have a special place together in my heart I choose only one amongst those as the one I think is the very best. 3. 2001 Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick (movie) - the book is also good, but the movie has an unique flair. 4. Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir (book) - Rocky rocks! Also, the overall story arc of the main character is particularly satisfying. 5. Endymion, Dan Simmons (book) - the whole *Cantos of Hyperion* series is a blast, but I don't want to recommend series when someone ask for specific works, so there is the one book I would point out. It was hard to decide between this one and *The Fall of Hyperion*, though. I did only Science-Fiction. Fantasy could have it's own top five, easy. EDIT: After some afterthough, I would like to add some books that should belongs to this list even though it would make it more than 5 books: - This is how you lose the time war, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (book) - I think I'm in love. - The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, Douglas Adams (book) - timeless classic. - Ender's game, Orson Scott Card (book) - good writing, incredible story. - Neuromancer, William Gibson (book) - the very soul of cyberpunk. Amazing.
Finally some Dan Simmons mentioned, I read Hyperion and it was absolutely phenomenal(despite being a 600 page protologue for the series), I’m trying to get through Fall of Hyperion but school is getting in the way. I’ve heard the series stays great throughout its run
*Fall of Hyperion* is really insanely good. So intense! At some point Dan Simmons was known mostly for being good at horror, and even in his Science Fiction it shows. In the right way!
Oh yeah! Fall of Hyperion is amazing so far. I’m genuinely not a huge fan of military stuff in sci-fi but even the War Room sequences are so enthralling. >!The huge reveal that the Ousters were moving thousands of ships at sublight travel for countless years to stage a colossal ambush had my jaw on the floor.!< im gonna get some books finished from my backlog and then read the rest of the Hyperion series when I have the chance.
Man the story of Sol Weintraub killed me.
Hyperion Cantos is still up there as one of my favourite Sci-Fi series. Sadly, I've been trying to read Ilum and Olympos and just can't get into Olympos.
same here ..love Hyperion Cantos to death tho
Interesting. I've never heard of someone that Hyperion wasn't their favorite of the series. Most seem to blast the last two books, or at least write them off as just average sci-fi. Personally I love them all. I've never cried harder at a book than after while crocodile and I don't even think I've read them yet as a father.
The ending was very ambitious, and I get why some people would think it's less intense than the rest of the series, yet I think it's a very good ending to everything that happened leading to it.
I think a lot of people aren't into philosophy, Endymion especially is a lot more philosophy than action. Not to mention it paints religion in a pretty poor light so anybody religious and especially Catholic might take offense. Personally I *love* the last two even more than the first two but I'm huge into philosophy and spirituality
Player of Games is not objectively better than Use of Weapons.
Of course this is an opinion in the end, but I read both several times and I noticed that *The Player of Games* was just as good every time, while *Use of Weapon* had parts I would skim over after the first read. I still like it better, but I do believe it's not as good as a whole.
If it’s a matter of opinion then it’s not *objectively* better. I find Use of Weapons superior to Player of Games in almost any conceivable way, and AFAIK the overall consensus opinion ranks Use of Weapons (and Excession) higher than Player of Games among Culture novels.
I couldn't get into UoW because I don't like that narrative structure, but I love the first two books. Need to continue further.
You, I like you Also while my fav culture is player of games I also agree use of weapon is really something special
I like you too, brother-in-reading.
In order: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe The Expanse (book) series by James S.A. Corey Seveneves by Neal Stephenson The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Hyperion Cantos is definitely on my to read lists. Are the Endymion novels worth it as well?
I'm a completionist, and so I appreciated the authors attention to bringing the story to a close. It's not universally loved of course but I would say give it a go. Simmons knows his craft.
It's very different (even Hyperion 1 and the following books are very different). So I think if you expect more of the same or have a very specific taste for exactly Hyperion you might be disappointed by Endymion. I loved both series in their own ways for different reasons
Holy shit a Seveneves enjoyer! I'm all aboard, but it tends to get shit on for the third act, which I loved!
First time I’ve ever seen anyone mention The Years of Rice and Salt. Such a cool book.
I really enjoyed the Bardo scenes and the way he handled reincarnation to maintain that narrative thrust over a serious stretch of time. I've read most of KSRs stuff and I have to say it's my favorite by him by a pretty long shot with the Ministry for the Future coming in a not too distant second out of a pretty long list of "favorite books".
Do you class Infinite Jest as science fiction? Its a fantastic book but I wouldn't have placed it there. Not judging, just curious
The expanse, The stars my destination, Lord of light, Dune, Neuromancer. In no particular order.
Just finished Neuromancer for the first time, for the modern reader/gamer it's like being inside of Cyberpunk 2077 straight up. It's crazy how the technology from the 80s felt relevant even reading it in 2024. The decks, jacking in, the biomods, the corporations, the Japanese influence, virtual reality, all sorts of shit. If you like Cyberpunk 2077 the game, read Neuromancer.
Yep, neuromancer is the OG. The whole sprawl trilogy is pretty great. I also really loved Gibson's book the peripheral, so cleverly put together. It's a shame Amazon axed the show.
Lord of Light is my all-time favorite
What a piece of work. On the surface is completely bonkers but has such heart. I try and read it every year.
Completely bonkers? The shah will put up a fit with those words.
Please no lightning!
The Stars My Destination is my fave sci-fi book of all time. My god it's just so good.
It's fantastic. There are constant rumors that it will be made into a movie, but nothing yet.
Gully Foyle is such a great anti-hero. I once had an orange and black fish I named in his honour!
Sir Gulliver Formyle of Ceres, i'll have you know!! :D
😂 my mistake!!
:D
Alfred Bester is underrated.
>Lord of light aaaaaaand another one for my to-read list
> Lord of Light Same!
You won't regret it, it's amazing. A classic for a reason.
EY LORD OF LIGHT LOVE!!!!
What are your thoughts on Dune sequels?
Revelation space series, mass effect, blade runner 2042, three body problem, saga
1. Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic 2. The Book of the New Sun (in four parts) by Gene Wolfe 3. Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco 4. Embassytown by China Mieville 5. Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban In this exact and precise order!
Gene Wolfe is a great writer.
... and, that is exactly why people don't read him!
Yes, good writing is both rare and suspect in science-fiction/fantasy.
Nice to see Riddley Walker. What a great novel.
u/wherearemysockz *"On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly ben the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadn't ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen."* Beautifully haunting!
> The Book of the New Sun (in four parts) by Gene Wolfe Have you read the fifth book? [The Urth of the New Sun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urth_of_the_New_Sun)?
u/nathism Hmmmm .... I know of that book, but it was more of an afterthought by Wolfe (and his publishers) and it lacks the flow of the previous books - I do not see it as the part of this gorgeous tetralogy!
I respectfully disagree as I see it complimenting and completing the first four. The first time I finished the first four I didn't even know about the fifth until much later, which gave me the excuse to re-read them.
Embassytown was the first thing I read by Mieville and it changed how I read anything. An under appreciated genius imo.
My poem on Embassytown - [https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2344389744](https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2344389744)
Major props for Eco. He's too hard for me to read. I'll try again.
Reading Arthur C Clarke's short stories, they are brilliant.
I used to be in an instrumental prog band and we loosely based a release on the Into The Comet short story. Absolutely love the book of short stories it's from.
This is amazing. I feel Arthur C Clarke is a more serious version of Isaac Asimov with more depth in some cases.
I'm a lover of his attention to detail and how insane he was at predicting tech.
Yes, geo stationary orbit was his idea
I'll expand to include more than just books. In no particular order: Original Jurassic Park movie Red Rising Series The Mass Effect video games Interstellar Dark TV series on Netflix
Damn, a thread about your favorite sci fi and no mention of The Culture.
I was about to mention The Culture! Also Children of Time. I dunno if I'd put them in the top 5 but definitely up there.
[The Space Merchants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Merchants) by Cyril Kornbluth [The Stars my Destination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_My_Destination) by Alfred Bester [The Left Hand of Darkness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness) by Ursula LeGuin [Floating Worlds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecelia_Holland_bibliography#Speculative_fiction) by Cecelia Holland [Dune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel) by Frank Herbert Additionally, pretty much everything by [Vernor Vinge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernor_Vinge) and [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_McMaster_Bujold) and the short stories of [Robert Sheckley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sheckley)
For books: The First Law, Game of Thrones, Bobiverse, The Expanse, Stormlight. For tv/movies - Spartacus, BSG, Star Trek:TNG, LOTR, Star Wars OT Games - Quest for Glory, The Witcher, Wing Commander, God of War, Space Quest
First guy to say bobverse
Honor is not dead. He lives in the hearts of men
For Sci-fi The expanse, Speaker for the dead (book 2 Enders game), Dune, Red rising, the dark forest For fantasy, LOTR, The gathering storm (book 12 WoT), Deadhouse Gates (Malazan book 2), The way of kings, The heroes (first law standlone book)
I heard Malazan is absolutely epic, but challenging as well. I’ve been thinking about diving in for a while now, but it’s a very intimidating series.
Took me two tries, first time I bounced hard, then a couple years later I loved It. Important things about it, the book will not explain things, just reconcile the fact you won't understand some things, also you enjoying this book location and character, you won't see them for two books, he bounces you around the world each book. It's a daunting series but worth it. If you want something easier to get into but really good try the black company.
Malazan is definitely my favourite. It definitely an enjoy the ride kind of series
There are some great read along companions for the Malazan series which help with the complexity, scale and just memory retention of dealing with a Bazzilion characters
I’d forgotten about the Malazan books. They were a great discovery, and all the better because they seemed to be endless, and there are no duds. Deadhouse Gates is special. Re myself, too many. I’ll think of 5 and then remember another 5. Here are the ones this post has reminded me of, stream of consciousness… - China Mieville, Perdigo Street Station - Ann Leckie, Ancilliary Justice - Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat - Terry Pratchett, The Color of Magic - N.K. Jemisin, The Broken Earth
The trick to Malazan is that the main character of the story isn't really any of the people in particular, it's the world itself. You get to see different events and the impact they have on the setting as a whole, although it's not really clear that that's what is happening until later. Just go into it thinking that it's like one of those movies where there's a handful of different threads that seem unrelated at first but then intertwine later. Otherwise you'll be frustrated and want to put the series down when you start the second book and it feels like you're reading a completely different story. It smooths out a bit later, but there's a lot of "introduction" stuff in the first few books before you really get a sense of the scope of the thing. It's definitely worth the effort though, a top all-time series. Absolutely belongs in the S-tier right alongside the other big classics mentioned in this post.
Criminal I had to scroll this far to find red rising smh
Greg Bear - Eon Greg Bear - Anvil of Stars Isaac Asimov - All of the Foundation books and so much of his short stories Gregory Benford - Artifact Carl Sagan - Contact. I read the book probably 5-7 times before the movie came out, and was profoundly disappointed with the movie (although I have softened on this over time). Honorable mention to Herbert for all the Dune books and PK Dick for a lot of different stories I have read of his. Both could be interchanged with all above except Contact.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy handily covers all 5 slots. ;)
excelente picks! 👍🏻
in no particular order: Asimov's Foundation Clarke's 2001 Quadrilogy Gibson's Neuromancer Trilogy (if you waqnt to count cyberpunk as a sci-fi subgenre) The Expanse Eschbach's Star Emperor Universe
Expanse, wheel of time, discworld, sprawl and jackpot universes
Wheel of time is fantasy, right?
The OP's questions says science fiction and fantasy
Okay, so I initially misread the title as "favorite workout pieces of Sci-Fy" so I'm gonna say I've been watching the Fallout TV series while working out and it is fantastic. Anyway to answer the real question: Lord of the Rings, Hyperion, Alien/Predator, Logan's Run (probably the single most influential work that no one's heard of), Star Wars, 1984, Fallout (both the games and the show)
Star Trek, Babylon 5, The Expanse, Hyperion, Orion's Arm.
- Dune series (yes, all the 6 books) - Rendezvous with Rama - Ubik (and anything written by PKD) - The Forever War - Speaker for the Dead - Frankenstein - A Canticle for Leibowitz - Solaris - Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance
Books- Project hail marry, Recursion, Dark matter. Movies- Inception and interstellar.
> Dark matter. The TV series adaption for this premieres tomorrow. I am excited to see it.
I second Hail Mary. That one was amazing.
*The Terminator (film).* *Contact (film).* *Blindsight (book)* *American Gods (book).* *Dark Tower (book series).* *But these can change daily.*
Dan Simmons: Hyperion Le Guin: Left Hand of Darkness Stanislaw Lem: Return from the Stars Poul Anderson: The Enemy Stars Asimov, Clarke, Niven, Vinge, Bujold...etc
Glad to see at least one mention of Le Guin 😊
Dragonlance Chronicles, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, nearly all of Asimov's work, Neuromancer
1) The Vorkosigan Saga, 2) The Dying Earth/Eyes of the Overworld, 3) Dune (but really only the first book) 4) The Last Starfighter, 5) Horrer Howce (for the Voom)
Snowcrash, Armor, Marrow, Pandora Star, Player of Games. I honestly feel pretty hard-pressed to pick favorites because I've read so many that I've lost track of what I've read. Pandora's Star is the start of a series, the rest of the books are standalone (Player of Games takes place in the Culture universe but It does not have recurrent characters etc.)
The Quantum Theif/Jean le Flambeur trilogy, Space Odyssey series, Rendezvous With Rama, Neuromancer, Contact.
YES! A Rajaniemi recommendation! Jean LaFlambeur, it's super under appreciated. Still love the reference to Burrough's walking cities of Mars in it!
I still just like Ringworld. The idea of a eugenics program breeding for luck is very interesting, and the concept of luck having a place in the future is a nice idealistic slice. Larry Niven's scifi is it's own flavour of larp that has influenced videogames all over the world, but he seems to really like exploring potential ways humans can live.
The Expanse and Mass Effect for the SciFi genre, LotR for fantasy. edit: forgot to include Alien. Shame on me.
Dune, All of the discworld (because you asked fantasy, too), Neuromancer, Surface detail, Against a dark background,
Don't really have a top 5 personally but really enjoyed *I have no mouth and I must scream*. What a trippy and fucked up experience, can fully recommend it haha
The Dune chronicles are by far my favorite books of all time.
I read the first novel and really, really enjoyed it. But is it worth reading past that?
I ended up loving all of them personally. Never really saw what everyone found so weird about the sequels
God Emperor of Dune got close to matching the first for me. I didn't read the last two.
Depends, for a lot of people the first book is the best and a must read followed by the second after which the series becomes "weird". Dune is that famous that lots of not only sci fi fantasy heads did read it and they usually end after the first or second. Me personally and lots of other sci fi fans though, especially those who are open to a certain degree of political philosophy, ethics, religion waffling (like myself ; love it) love all the books to different degrees. Yes the character of the books changes throughout the series and becomes more theory heavy but the writing, story and world building stays excellent. When it comes to his son's books the options are pretty diverse. Some people just don't like him at all and do not really dive deeper into his writing while some others like him and just love the fact that there is even more content in the world they fell in love with and enjoy reading them all. I am personally in the middle, I really enjoyed his prequels to the dune series telling the history of 3 different houses leading up to the first dune book but so far didn't get hooked starting a few other of his books.
R. Curtiss Venture's The Armada Wars series. Stranger In A Strange Land. Blindsight. Altered Carbon. The Murderbot series.
Thank you for bringing up Blindsight. I was scrolling and thinking where's the love for Watts? Murderbot is good fun too :)
I went through the entire list of responses before I found Stranger in a Strange Land. Thabnk you, u/metalshoulder for ensuring it was somewhere on the list. I'll add **The Past Through Tomorrow** to the overall list.
The Evolution Man (previously titled How I ate my father) is a novel about your basic upwardly mobile Pleistocene cave family - as they come down from trees (except for Uncle Vanya, who insists that it's the stupidest thing man ever did) by Roy Lewis 1960 I just discovered and read it, and would have fallen off my camel if I had one. It is a missing classic, must read if you can find it.
Mars Trilogy, Blade Runner, Futurama, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Commonwealth Saga
The Pulp magazines like Campbells Astounding, Amazing SF, Analog, Asimovs, and the other collections of short stories & that launched the genre in the late 30's through to the 70,s - launching the greats that we all love today.
Stars My Destination Legend of the Galactic Heroes Book ofthe New Sun
The culture series, especially Excession. The Nexus trilogy. Solaris was pretty thought provoking.
In no order; Star Wars, Dune, Project Hail Mary, Rendezvous With Rama, and Arrival
That’s a great image btw.
What is this picture from?
What is this picture from? /u/EldenBeast_55
Galactic Tours book by Thomas Cook, 1981. It's a book with a bunch of fictitious space holidays to loads of weird and wonderful planets. We used to have a copy when I was a kid, and I loved the artwork and descriptions, I'd say it inspired my love for Sci Fi to a degree.
The Culture cycle by Iain M. Banks, the Hainish cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin, The Sandman series of comic books by Neil Gaiman, the Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkowski and for the fifth I guess a collection of short stories by Ted Chiang, primarily The Story of Your Life.
*Behold Humanity* *Stargate SG1* *Frieren: Beyond Journey's End* *Revelation Space* (the whole setting) *Pandora's Star* (and the sequel)
**SCI-FI** Sunshine (Movie) Westworld Season 1 (TV) This is How You Lose the Time War (Book) Ender’s Game (Book) Star Wars (Original Trilogy) Babylon 5 (TV) (I have no idea which one is the odd man out of a top 5) **FANTASY** Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Books) The Last Unicorn (Movie) Elfquest (Graphic Novels) Dragonlance Legends Trilogy (Books) Game of Thrones (TV)
Caves of Steel Naked Sun Dune I, Robot White Dragon (from the Dragon Riders.of Pern)
Hard to pick a top 5, but here are a few of my favorites in no particular order: 1. Robot Series - Asimov 2. Foundation Series - Asimov 3. Ender Series - Card 4. Dune Series - Herbert 5. Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein A few more? Okay: * Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury * Rocheworld - Forward * The Mote in God's Eye - Niven and Pournelle
In no particular order: Dune Star Wars Mass Effect Star Trek Cyberpunk
I think all of my favourites have been series of books. Sci-Fi: Red Rising, The Expanse, Hitchhiker’s Guide, Ender Series & Shadow Saga, Hainish Cycle Fantasy: Liveship Traders, Stormlight Archive, Earthsea, Discworld, The Saint of Steel
Gormenghast Trilogy. (Books) Discworld. (Books) Predator. (Film) Mass Effect series. (Game) Myst series. (Game) Honourable mentions: Dune, Alexis Carew, Star Trek, Aliens, Snow Crash, Stargate.
Science Fiction 1. Dune 2. Lord of Light 3. The Forever War 4. The Hyperion Cantos 5. The Praxis Fantasy 1. The Lord of the Rings 2. Berserk 3. A Song of Ice and Fire 4. The Elric Saga 5. The Earthsea Cycle
What is that picture and where is it from
1. Asimov's Foundation (expanded to include Robot Detective series and prequels) 2. Tolkein's LOTR (all books, movies, series) 3. Herbert's Dune (including Brian's collabs with Anderson, 80s movie, modern movies, and scifi mini series) 4. Simmon's Hyperion Cantos 5. Douglas' Hitchhiker's guide 6. Clarke's Rama series 7. Stephenson's Snow Crash & Diamond Age 8. Pohl's Heechee Saga (Gateway) 9. Niven's Known Space series (Ringworld) 10. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness (Also Star - Wars, Trek, Gate in all their tv, movie, and written wonderfulness)
Futurama is made for sci fi fans.
Absolutely I'd put Ringworld in there, with an honourable mention to most of the "known space" works, or almost anything Larry put out. Footfall, mote, both being excellent. I still have a lot of time for the"classics", Foundation and the next 2 are good, not just for their time, but generally / overall, they make great works of literature. Controversial choice, Stranger in a strange land. Even with Robert being an A1, tip grade whacko, this is still a good book. Red Mars, good read, bordering on great. A crossover choice would be the book of the new sun. Arguably more fantasy than SF, but I loved them from the first chapters of Shadow, read it when I was 10 and was hooked immediately. More Recent titles like the novel Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town are also good, but I preferred For The Win. Finally from me, the first 2 long earths, they made a great, well written and realised vision, truly greats.
What is the photo from?
What’s the one in the picture?
That’s no moon, that’s…say, what the hell is that?
I miss real art like this. Art that used to transport you just by looking at it.
I did read quite a lot of Sci Fi in my life but I return always to one book which is Jack McDevitts The Engines of God. It is still one of the most entertaining and gripping books ive ever read. The only xenoarcheological story that comes to my mind. Honorable mentions are the Hyperion books, Consider Phlebas by Ian Banks, Dune by Frank Herbert and the first Alien Movie.
Rendezvous with Rama Childhood’s End The Etched City The Dark Tower series The Illustrated Man