A Science Fiction Novel YOU would recommend

[donslade]

I agree with you on the 'Paladin of Shadows' series and that's why I did not list them. John Ringo is only one of many whose writing's I recommend.

David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series and the newer Leary of the RCN books are good reads. Andre Norton has lots of good stuff. Of course Larry Niven's Ringworld series - except for the last one which was a let down to me. Eric Flint, S.M. Sterling, Jerry Pournelle, lots of others.

Now all I need is more time away from work...

[ahi]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Yah, I've read it. I also enjoyed it. Excellent read.

I'm waiting for Flood by Stephen Baxter to come out in ebook. Trying to resist buying the hardcover. Baxter's written some good books too if any of them look interesting. Oh, and I noticed someone recommended Vinge's Marooned in Realtime above.. Yes, me too. Another good read.

I've just finished reading it in Hungarian, and having checked out the wikipedia plot summary I'm left wondering whether the English translation has been dumb down or at least changed significantly.

How did you find the book, Wayspooled? By my reading it was a fairly intricate, complex, and layered novel--quite apart from the degree to which the alien world was described. The wikipedia summary in contrast makes it seem like a rather simplistic piece of fiction.

- Ahi

[wayspooled]

Originally Posted by ahi

How did you find the book, Wayspooled? By my reading it was a fairly intricate, complex, and layered novel--quite apart from the degree to which the alien world was described. The wikipedia summary in contrast makes it seem like a rather simplistic piece of fiction.

- Ahi

It didn't go onto my 'must someday be reread list' It's the only thing by the author I've read and he seemed to build a complete, alien world that made sense in it's parts. I like a little more complex character development myself in a novel. I guess I'd say I perceive his strength in world building and not storyline based on reading this one. The storyline was simple and nothing wrong with that. As I said, I enjoyed it. Them leaving with the feeling they didn't understand things and that being okay, isn't really exciting.. The world he built and it's connections, very good. I plan to read something else by the author one day.

note: I haven't gone to see what wiki said. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not pertinent or inaccurate. Anyway, all that matters about a book is your own opinion.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

Them leaving with the feeling they didn't understand things and that being okay, isn't really exciting..

That's Lem's big thing. If you didn't care for that, you might not be crazy about his other books either.

Having said that, I found the book thickly permeated by a sense of not understanding things... and found it a fairly significant aspect of it. Would you agree?

Originally Posted by wayspooled

note: I haven't gone to see what wiki said. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's not pertinent or inaccurate. Anyway, all that matters about a book is your own opinion.

I realize that. Just found it strange... and since the original language is polish, the translation taking liberties could be either one (if it isn't simply a case of a poorly written wikipedia summary).

- Ahi

[chorpler]

Originally Posted by wayspooled

I'm waiting for Flood by Stephen Baxter to come out in ebook. Trying to resist buying the hardcover. Baxter's written some good books too if any of them look interesting. Oh, and I noticed someone recommended Vinge's Marooned in Realtime above.. Yes, me too. Another good read.

I can't wait for Flood to come out in ebook as well, but I did succumb to temptation, and bought the hardcover in the meantime. It was a cool book, and apparently there's going to be a sequel.

The only thing that would have made it better is if he had linked to some online animations or applets that would allow you to simulate the flooding and see what the world looks like with 1 meter, 10m, 50m, 80m, 100m, 200m, etc. of flooding, all the way up to 10,000m, when all the land, even Mt. Everest, is long covered. I've been working on animations in MicroDEM and Google Earth that let you do this, based on this guy's work, but neither is working properly yet.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by donslade

...and the newer Leary of the RCN books are good reads.

I must admit having to re-read the first book again after giving up on it but love the series. Cannot wait till the next book Very much written in the Patrick O'Brien style.

[triviadave]

I don't think anyone has mentioned "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" yet (Douglas Adams), which I love.
Also "The Stars My Destination" and "The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester, both great books, well ahead of their time.
Finally, "The Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut. Not an exhaustive list by any strech of the imagination, but must reads in my (probably not very) humble opinion.

[Andybaby]

the stars my destination is the darkest novel I've ever read, Great book. but you absolutely hate everybody in the book.

[Gibbo]

Originally Posted by chorpler

I can't wait for Flood to come out in ebook as well, but I did succumb to temptation, and bought the hardcover in the meantime. It was a cool book, and apparently there's going to be a sequel.

The sequel is called Ark and will be released next month

[Witchbaby]

The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkwaway

Really, really good.

From Publishers Weekly
This unclassifiable debut from the son of legendary thriller author John le Carré is simultaneously a cautionary tale about the absurdity of war; a sardonic science fiction romp through Armageddon; a conspiracy-fueled mystery replete with ninjas, mimes and cannibal dogs; and a horrifying glimpse of a Lovecraftian near-future. Go Away bombs have erased entire sections of reality from the face of the Earth. A nameless soldier and his heroic best friend witness firsthand the unimaginable aftermath outside the Livable Zone, finding that the world has unraveled and is home to an assortment of nightmarish mutations. With the fate of humankind in the balance, the pair become involved in an unlikely and potentially catastrophic love triangle. Readers who prefer linear, conventional plotlines may find Harkaway overly verbose and frustratingly tangential, but those intrigued by works that blur genre boundaries will find this wildly original hybrid a challenging and entertaining entry in the post-apocalyptic canon. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Gibbo]

Originally Posted by chorpler

I can't wait for Flood to come out in ebook as well, but I did succumb to temptation, and bought the hardcover in the meantime. It was a cool book, and apparently there's going to be a sequel.

Flood is already out at Mobipocket/BoB has it for $24.95 and Cyberread for $49.90 suerly it must be a mistake.

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by Gibbo

Flood is already out at Mobipocket/BoB has it for $24.95 and Cyberread for $49.90 suerly it must be a mistake.

And it is $14.95 in a Kindle edition.

[chorpler]

Originally Posted by Gibbo

Flood is already out at Mobipocket/BoB has it for $24.95 and Cyberread for $49.90 suerly it must be a mistake.

Yep, NOW it is... it came out on August 10th or 9th or thereabouts. And fortunately, it was available for $9.99 in Kindle version. Go Kindle!

What the heck? It's up to $14.97 for Kindle? What the ... why would the price suddenly go up by $5? Good thing I bought it when it was $9.99...

ETA: And as of 2009-08-17 at 07:38 PDT, it's down to $10.34. Why is the price varying so much over such a short period of time? This frightens me; I don't want to have to wait several days to purchase Kindle books to make sure I'm getting a good price...