[Barty]

Has anyone mentioned the Robots series by Asimov?


Though it's not necessarily the best of anything, I think Bear's Forge of God is a lot of fun. I hope somebody adapts it for the screen now that CGI makes it possible.

Another shout out to The Sparrow.

I agree that Clarke is better at originating ideas than fleshing them out in fiction forms. His books feel sterile. Similarly, Gibson leaves me cold. I can't finish anything by Stephenson because it feels like he's too impressed with his own pyrotechnics and expansive research. Oddly, I tolerate this in "literary fiction" but not in sci fi.


I confess I havent read many of the classics due to certain prejudices. For ex, the martial tone of Starship Troopers (and director Verhoven's satirical take) turned me off to Heinlein altogether. I haven't read Dune because the whole spice trading thing reminds me of those RTS games I have little patience for. Dumb, I know, but my deciding on what to read often hinges on such whims.