Best All-Time Sci-fi Novel?

[jbcohen]

I vote for Star Wars, since it has been continously in the movie theaters since 1977 when Carrie Fisher knelt infront of a droid with two danishes strapped to her head and said "Help me Obywan youre my only hope" in episode four. A bad attempt at humor there.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jtdolphins

I was really looking forward to getting this book, but the price tag and editing issues for kindle have kept me from reading it. Somehow I missed in my sci-fi reading spree in college.

Oh, DUDE!!!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I vote for Star Wars, since it has been continously in the movie theaters since 1977 when Carrie Fisher knelt infront of a droid with two danishes strapped to her head and said "Help me Obywan youre my only hope" in episode four. A bad attempt at humor there.

[Janet Merza]

I've never been great at understanding where science fiction ends and science fantasy starts, and maybe this doesn't count as either, but I'm encouraged by someone mentioning Hitchhikers.....so has anyone out there read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon? It might even be my desert island book (a reference that will only make sense to Brits, I think)

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Janet Merza

It might even be my desert island book (a reference that will only make sense to Brits, I think)

If you mean the book you would choose to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island, what's British about that? It's a very common reference here, especially with music selections.

Any the who....

Best all-time SF....hmm...tough one. ACC's Space Odyssey series stands out in my memory, as does his "Nine Billion Names of God" anthology. (That WAS ACC, right?). While I think Star Wars was a better movie than a book, I do think some of the early expanded universe Star Wars novels were very good (Timothy Zahn, Kevin Anderson, etc.)

I'd be hard pressed to pick one best. Many of the recognized classics mentioned already (Foundation, Dune) bored me to tears.

ApK

[rkomar]

This thread started me thinking about the similarities between my ideas of what constitutes a good beer, and what constitutes a good book. With beer, I'm not looking for something that wows me on the first mouthful with obvious flavours. Rather, I like a beer to have balance between the various flavours, such that I still enjoy the taste of it after even the third or fourth pint. I find I have similar preferences with books, as well. I can re-read my favourite books over and over again, savouring the various elements without getting tired of any particular one. Most importantly, these books can't have obvious flaws that irritate me after a re-read or two (e.g. stilted dialogue, plot macguffins, prose that tells rather than shows what's going on,...), as I find that overpowers my enjoyment of the good bits.

Do others here find that their taste in books parallels their taste in other things (food, drink, clothing,...)? Does a love of spicy food and zesty drinks match a preference for plenty of zing in stories? Comfort food for those who like comfort reading? Practical diets for non-fiction readers?

[aecardenas]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Best novel(s)

The Forever War
Canticle For Liebowitz
Fahrenheit 451
Slaughterhouse-Five
+
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (OK, so its not that great but it still makes me laugh )

Liked Hitchhikers as well, but for me, the best sci-fi comedy ever, has to be Red Dwarf (the books and the TV show). But the books are absolutely hilarious. Those guys (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who write under the pseudonym of "Grant Naylor") are brilliantly funny.

With Douglas Adams...I always felt that the "Joke" was more important than the story or characters. That the characters were always sacrificed at the sake of a punch line. Whereas Red Dwarf is fundamentally a character driven comedy. The characters ARE the joke, the situation IS the joke.

With Hitchhiker, I never cared about the characters at all. And to this day, i can't even remember them all or even recall what motivated them. They seem like vague caricatures in my mind. But Lister? And Kryten and the Cat. And RIMMER? I must confess, I read the books before I ever saw the TV show, but just from the books alone, I could picture them and their characters, though warped and neurotic made complete sense to me and it was such a pleasure to follow along in their misadventures on the crimson small one.

Anyway, if you want to laugh out loud while you're reading, try the Red Dwarf books.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

If you mean the book you would choose to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island, what's British about that? It's a very common reference here, especially with music selections.

The reference is to the BBC radio programme, "Desert Island Discs", which has been running continually for over 70 years, since 1942, in which public figures are interviewed, and play the eight pieces of music that they'd choose to take to a desert island. In its 70 year lifespan, the programme's only had four different presenters.

There's an archive of over 1000 downloadable programmes from the series at the BBC web site here.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The reference is to the BBC radio programme, "Desert Island Discs", which has been running continually for over 70 years, since 1942, in which public figures are interviewed, and play the eight pieces of music that they'd choose to take to a desert island. In its 70 year lifespan, the programme's only had four different presenters.

There's an archive of over 1000 downloadable programmes from the series at the BBC web site here.

Well how about that. I remember that as a feature on rock radio stations as far back as the 1980's (which is as far back as I'd remember rock radio) on both coast of the US. I had no idea the concept was a British import.

[Andy_T]

I'd have to cast a vote for "Norstrilia" by Cordwainer Smith here.

Best regards,
Andy

[EatingPie]

The Hunger Games Trilogy should get a little love!

I found it well-written, highly relevant in a post-9/11 world. It's surprisingly political and extremely dark for the popularity it's achieved with its target Young Adult audience. From Twilight to this?? Wow.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau stands as another classic Young Adult Science Fiction novel. That series also has a tone of mild sadness that runs through each book.

-Pie

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by aecardenas

Liked Hitchhikers as well, but for me, the best sci-fi comedy ever, has to be Red Dwarf (the books and the TV show). But the books are absolutely hilarious. Those guys (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who write under the pseudonym of "Grant Naylor") are brilliantly funny.

With Douglas Adams...I always felt that the "Joke" was more important than the story or characters. That the characters were always sacrificed at the sake of a punch line. Whereas Red Dwarf is fundamentally a character driven comedy. The characters ARE the joke, the situation IS the joke.

With Hitchhiker, I never cared about the characters at all. And to this day, i can't even remember them all or even recall what motivated them. They seem like vague caricatures in my mind. But Lister? And Kryten and the Cat. And RIMMER? I must confess, I read the books before I ever saw the TV show, but just from the books alone, I could picture them and their characters, though warped and neurotic made complete sense to me and it was such a pleasure to follow along in their misadventures on the crimson small one.

Anyway, if you want to laugh out loud while you're reading, try the Red Dwarf books.

Heh, I didn't even know there were Red Dwarf books. Always liked the show (haven't seen that many episodes, though) so I might just give them a try. Cheers!

[HarryT]

Hmmmm. The "Red Dwarf" books are mildly amusing, but the best SF novels of all time? That's... a little hard to accept .

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Hmmmm. The "Red Dwarf" books are mildly amusing, but the best SF novels of all time? That's... a little hard to accept .

I think he used the words -

best sci-fi comedy ever

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

The Hunger Games Trilogy should get a little love!

I found it well-written, highly relevant in a post-9/11 world. It's surprisingly political and extremely dark for the popularity it's achieved with its target Young Adult audience. From Twilight to this?? Wow.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau stands as another classic Young Adult Science Fiction novel. That series also has a tone of mild sadness that runs through each book.

-Pie

Well, I think you have to keep in mind that while the Hunger Games Trilogy was good (at least some of us think so ), there are some really incredible books it is up against.

--
Bill