Best Sci-Fi Book?

Originally posted by Scriabin
The best? That's really a tough question. Sort of like asking me to pick my favorite composer. So I'd rather just list a few authors whose books I've enjoyed a lot.

I actually corresponded with Isaac Asimov when I was a kid living in Boston. He wrote me post cards. Little did I know that I wasn't so special -- Asimov corresponded with post cards with o ...[text shortened]... ynolds, William Tenn, Clifford Simak, Ben Bova, Algis Budrys just to name a few .... 😀😉

Answer me truthfully: did you write that list from memory? The only one haven't read something by is Jack Finney, whom you mentioned twice BTW,Bloch and Caravan. What were some of their books?

All You Zombies and Those Who Walk Away From Omelas are classic short stories that mess with your head and make you think.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
All You Zombies and Those Who Walk Away From Omelas are classic short stories that mess with your head and make you think.

That's for sure, city of Omelas, a kid has to be kept in total misery for the town to have its happiness.

IAIN M. BANKS

iain m. banks is the greatest modern sci-fi writer, however most americans don't like it as it portrays a communistic ideal.

Larry Nivens Ringworld,The Mote in God's Eye,Lucifer's Hammer, Man-Kzin War series

I don't recall the author, but I read "Tunnel in the Sky" many years ago. I liked it so much I finished it in about 2 hours.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
I just finished the first one. It's very dreamlike.

You may get mixed reviews; I agree with those who say it gets better from book to book.

King may have been called the "boogie-man of America", however, I feel that this series is the most scary; not his arguably cheesy horror novels.

Originally posted by weaselid
IAIN M. BANKS

iain m. banks is the greatest modern sci-fi writer, however most americans don't like it as it portrays a communistic ideal.

I've heard a bit about Banks but haven't read any. Which is the best to start with? My impression that his future history is not so ideal at all. Not so? Care to expound? I'd be interested.

Originally posted by weaselid
IAIN M. BANKS

iain m. banks is the greatest modern sci-fi writer, however most americans don't like it as it portrays a communistic ideal.

Banks' Culture series portray a completely hedonistic society in which artificial intelligence has grown to the extent that human beings are practically superfluous.

I liked the first three but I haven't managed to get further than ten pages into any other others.

(He's not the greatest science fiction writer; space opera composer, perhaps.)

Originally posted by badmoon
The Riverworld Series by Phillip Jose farmer was a lot of fun. The best has to be the Foundation Trilogy.

The Riverworld series is fascinating. That's the one where Mark Twain is the main character of one of the books, right?

HG Wells' 'The Island of Dr Moreau' is still very readable today.

Olaf Stapledon counts as great, although entertaining, that depends.

Now, folks, does HP Lovecraft count as science fiction?

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
The Riverworld series is fascinating. That's the one where Mark Twain is the main character of one of the books, right?

A nice little afterlife: free food, sex on tap, and a mystery to solve.

Originally posted by Bosse de Nage
HG Wells' 'The Island of Dr Moreau' is still very readable today.

Olaf Stapledon counts as great, although entertaining, that depends.

Now, folks, does HP Lovecraft count as science fiction?

The Island of Dr Moreau is one of my all time favorites.

Lovecraft is not sci-fi. There's no technology in his stories unless you want to count the freeze-wands of the Fungi from Yuggoth, the Mi-Go (is my HPL trivia right?)