Hard Science Fiction Recommendations - Page 8

tomereader · 09-02-2010, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Ok... Amazon has two Kindle versions available. One for $3.99 and one for $7.99. Both published by RosettaBooks. Cheap one in 2002. Expensive one in July of this year. 6K difference in size. ??? What the heck?

The larger and more expensive file is probably the combined Bimbos of the Death Sun, and Zombies of the Gene Pool omnibus version:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/...nd-zombies.htm

called Bimbos and Zombies

jgaiser · 09-02-2010, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomereader

The larger and more expensive file is probably the combined Bimbos of the Death Sun, and Zombies of the Gene Pool omnibus version:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/...nd-zombies.htm

called Bimbos and Zombies

Don't think so. Descriptions don't imply that and with only 6K of size difference, there would have to be a whole lot of editing to get both books in that size package. Guess I'll have to try one or the other to find out.

tomereader · 09-03-2010, 01:45 AM

I don't know WHAT I thought I saw but you are right what could a 6k difference mean.... a new forward? tacking on an award she had won on the cover? but if you could get the omnibus at a good price it would be worth it

jhempel24 · 09-03-2010, 03:19 AM

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not, but Flashforward (the book the TV Show was based off of) is a great hard Sci-Fi read.

It's NOTHING like the show, only has one character in common, and the plot line is not even close for the most part. So if you want an action book, with a good mystery etc, then don't read it.

If you want a ton of cool info on particle accelerators and the inner workings of an LHC, then check it out!

brecklundin · 09-03-2010, 11:11 AM

Another under appreciated SF author who was actually quite fun to read, was L. Ron Hubbard. His SF works were a lot of fun and generally what I would call somewhere between hard SF and just good old SF...either way, Battlefield Earth was a fun read. So were the first 5 or 6 "Mission Earth" novels...never did I associate the whole Scientology thing with what I was reading.

One of the joys I had as a kid and likely WHY I was drawn toward SF was the idea was always to think and look at the world from a POV that could be very different from your own. The idea was to break through and beyond the propaganda of the day...apparently many here prefer to see the political agendas of today in current novels as well as still going strong 1000 years from now. I find that depressing and, well a sad indictment of the world today.

I keep saying it, we need an ELE to happen so maybe the surviving inhabitants of this planet might finally remember what life is all about...and that we are genuinely becoming those "rats in a cage" that turn on each other. We are a bored species possessing a level of hubris that has never been seen in recorded history.

FYI, nothing turns me off more than writers with a polarized agenda...it's one thing to take a POV or belief system and grow it to see where it could go, see an interesting novel The Unincorporated Man and the follow-up which I have only glanced through, The Unincorporated War. Some say it has one agenda and others say it is coming from the exact opposite direction...to me that makes for good writing when people walk away from it with different perspectives.

One of the big turn offs I have over the direction of Baen these days is the John Ringo's of the world...fine because I did enjoy a couple of his earlier works but every title with the same POV is, well, I'll just say not interesting.

Not classified as SF by some but Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a read that will truly challenge your values. OF course I LOVED the TV series Re-Genesis as I thought it was one of the most creative series on TV in years. Until they too had to "jump the shark"...hmmm, I wonder of there were any novels from which the series was based?

I always tell friends who ask be for SF recommendations the same answer...just go and grab a few books that look interesting...read them all the way through then try and decide why you liked or did not like them...after than you can start hunting for titles more toward your personal tastes.

bill_mchale · 09-03-2010, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brecklundin

One of the big turn offs I have over the direction of Baen these days is the John Ringo's of the world...fine because I did enjoy a couple of his earlier works but every title with the same POV is, well, I'll just say not interesting.

I don't think you can take John Ringo's writing as an indication of Baen's direction. After all, he is one of a number of different authors that Baen publishes, many with very different ways of looking at the world.

--
Bill

brecklundin · 09-03-2010, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

I don't think you can take John Ringo's writing as an indication of Baen's direction. After all, he is one of a number of different authors that Baen publishes, many with very different ways of looking at the world.

--
Bill

oh, ok.

PhilK · 09-10-2010, 08:06 AM

Larry Niven does some great SF with plenty of "hard science" thrown in
But his "Inferno" and "Escape from Hell" with Jerry Pournelle have very little to do with that, but are must reads (updating Dante's Inferno)
Inferno was written mid-70s and Escape from Hell - the sequel - written 2 years ago !
Long wait for a follow up !

PhilK · 09-10-2010, 08:19 AM

Actually - you should read one of the best "End of the world" stories ever by these two - Lucifers Hammer. A cometary strike. Brilliant, as the tension rises, and "It'll be close, but not hit" becomes...well, read and thank me forevermore !
His "Ringworld" is about the best Sc-Fi ever. Part of his "Known Worlds" series, it includes Niven's wonderful aliens. The Kzin, which Star Treks movie Klingons were loosely based on, apart from the fact the Kzin are 7 foot tiger/bears with "scream and leap" policy, and the Puppeteers, the greatest aliens ever thought up. Looking like deer with three legs, a large cranial hump on it's back, and two necks ending in mouths with one big eye each, the lips and tongue acting as fingers. The pupeteers are far advanced of Humans and abject cowards who talk perfect english (transworld) with a thrilling feminine contralto ! (but theres a lot more to the pupeteers later books tell us - they're still being written after 25 years of none, now by Niven and Lerner)

kennyc · 09-10-2010, 08:22 AM

Yep. I love the early Niven - Known World stuff, but feel he really went downhill later and began writing just to make money instead of for the interesting stories/ideas.

pdurrant · 09-10-2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yep. I love the early Niven - Known World stuff, but feel he really went downhill later and began writing just to make money instead of for the interesting stories/ideas.

I don't think you can blame that on money. Look up his family background — he has independent means.

I love his fantasy books about The Warlock.

kennyc · 09-10-2010, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I don't think you can blame that on money. Look up his family background — he has independent means.

I love his fantasy books about The Warlock.

I didn't know that was the case, but still...if not the money the notoriety perhaps...the point being that I feel his work went significantly down hill after the initial wave.

ardeegee · 09-10-2010, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yep. I love the early Niven - Known World stuff, but feel he really went downhill later and began writing just to make money instead of for the interesting stories/ideas.

Have you tried the three recent books, Fleet of Worlds, Juggler of Worlds, and Destroyer of Worlds? I enjoyed those.

ardeegee · 09-10-2010, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilK

The Kzin, which Star Treks movie Klingons were loosely based on, apart from the fact the Kzin are 7 foot tiger/bears with "scream and leap" policy

Prepare for a geekgasm.:

http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/SW.html

kennyc · 09-10-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Have you tried the three recent books, Fleet of Worlds, Juggler of Worlds, and Destroyer of Worlds? I enjoyed those.

I have not, but I will check them out based on this. Thanks!

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09-03-2010, 01:45 AM	#108
tomereader Zealot Posts: 124 Karma: 664461 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: North Coast of Ohio Device: Ectaco JBL, Archos 5, 7, 70, Kindle DXG, Craig 7, Vizio Vtab	I don't know WHAT I thought I saw but you are right what could a 6k difference mean.... a new forward? tacking on an award she had won on the cover? but if you could get the omnibus at a good price it would be worth it

09-03-2010, 03:19 AM	#109
jhempel24 Wizard Posts: 2,157 Karma: 7068605 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, B&N Nook Colro	Don't know if this has been mentioned or not, but Flashforward (the book the TV Show was based off of) is a great hard Sci-Fi read. It's NOTHING like the show, only has one character in common, and the plot line is not even close for the most part. So if you want an action book, with a good mystery etc, then don't read it. If you want a ton of cool info on particle accelerators and the inner workings of an LHC, then check it out!

09-03-2010, 11:11 AM	#110
brecklundin Banned Posts: 1,906 Karma: 15348 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: mine	Another under appreciated SF author who was actually quite fun to read, was L. Ron Hubbard. His SF works were a lot of fun and generally what I would call somewhere between hard SF and just good old SF...either way, Battlefield Earth was a fun read. So were the first 5 or 6 "Mission Earth" novels...never did I associate the whole Scientology thing with what I was reading. One of the joys I had as a kid and likely WHY I was drawn toward SF was the idea was always to think and look at the world from a POV that could be very different from your own. The idea was to break through and beyond the propaganda of the day...apparently many here prefer to see the political agendas of today in current novels as well as still going strong 1000 years from now. I find that depressing and, well a sad indictment of the world today. I keep saying it, we need an ELE to happen so maybe the surviving inhabitants of this planet might finally remember what life is all about...and that we are genuinely becoming those "rats in a cage" that turn on each other. We are a bored species possessing a level of hubris that has never been seen in recorded history. FYI, nothing turns me off more than writers with a polarized agenda...it's one thing to take a POV or belief system and grow it to see where it could go, see an interesting novel The Unincorporated Man and the follow-up which I have only glanced through, The Unincorporated War. Some say it has one agenda and others say it is coming from the exact opposite direction...to me that makes for good writing when people walk away from it with different perspectives. One of the big turn offs I have over the direction of Baen these days is the John Ringo's of the world...fine because I did enjoy a couple of his earlier works but every title with the same POV is, well, I'll just say not interesting. Not classified as SF by some but Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro is a read that will truly challenge your values. OF course I LOVED the TV series Re-Genesis as I thought it was one of the most creative series on TV in years. Until they too had to "jump the shark"...hmmm, I wonder of there were any novels from which the series was based? I always tell friends who ask be for SF recommendations the same answer...just go and grab a few books that look interesting...read them all the way through then try and decide why you liked or did not like them...after than you can start hunting for titles more toward your personal tastes.

09-10-2010, 08:06 AM	#113
PhilK Member Posts: 23 Karma: 245922 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Wallsend, England Device: Kindle 3	Larry Niven does some great SF with plenty of "hard science" thrown in But his "Inferno" and "Escape from Hell" with Jerry Pournelle have very little to do with that, but are must reads (updating Dante's Inferno) Inferno was written mid-70s and Escape from Hell - the sequel - written 2 years ago ! Long wait for a follow up !

09-10-2010, 08:19 AM	#114
PhilK Member Posts: 23 Karma: 245922 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Wallsend, England Device: Kindle 3	Actually - you should read one of the best "End of the world" stories ever by these two - Lucifers Hammer. A cometary strike. Brilliant, as the tension rises, and "It'll be close, but not hit" becomes...well, read and thank me forevermore ! His "Ringworld" is about the best Sc-Fi ever. Part of his "Known Worlds" series, it includes Niven's wonderful aliens. The Kzin, which Star Treks movie Klingons were loosely based on, apart from the fact the Kzin are 7 foot tiger/bears with "scream and leap" policy, and the Puppeteers, the greatest aliens ever thought up. Looking like deer with three legs, a large cranial hump on it's back, and two necks ending in mouths with one big eye each, the lips and tongue acting as fingers. The pupeteers are far advanced of Humans and abject cowards who talk perfect english (transworld) with a thrilling feminine contralto ! (but theres a lot more to the pupeteers later books tell us - they're still being written after 25 years of none, now by Niven and Lerner)

09-10-2010, 08:22 AM	#115
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,903 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Yep. I love the early Niven - Known World stuff, but feel he really went downhill later and began writing just to make money instead of for the interesting stories/ideas.