|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
07-10-2012, 11:16 PM | #1 |
Addict
Posts: 230
Karma: 3799024
Join Date: May 2012
Device: iPad
|
io9 on 10 Science Fiction Novels You Pretend to Have Read (And Why You Should Actuall
at http://io9.com/5924625/10-science-fi...ally-read-them
It's mostly (relatively) old/classic titles, so that should please the traditionalists here :P |
07-11-2012, 03:15 AM | #2 | |
Wizard
Posts: 2,018
Karma: 13471689
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Almere, The Netherlands
Device: Kobo Sage
|
Quote:
|
|
07-11-2012, 04:42 AM | #3 |
Connoisseur
Posts: 77
Karma: 271776
Join Date: Jun 2012
Device: Nook Simple Touch
|
I read Gravity's Rainbow when I was an undergraduate. Well, I got about half-way through it before becoming exhausted and giving up, I should say.
|
07-11-2012, 05:04 AM | #4 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 38
Karma: 494308
Join Date: Jul 2012
Device: Kindle Touch
|
I've read Foundation and Dune when I was in highschool and I didn't find them hard.
I am surprised not to see Brave New World here though. |
07-11-2012, 08:19 AM | #5 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
Infinite Jest, you've got to be joking!
and gravity's rainbow....yuck. and I don't think I've every heard or Jonathan Strange... Dhalgren, Foundation, are wonderful. I'll admit that I've not read The Star Maker, but it's on my TBR list and Crypto...i've tried to read as I have many others of his books, just not my taste, but I see how it plays into this particular reviewers biases given that Gravity's Rainbow and Infinite Jest is on the list. anyway....yawn....just another silly list.... |
07-11-2012, 09:20 AM | #6 |
Comic book artist
Posts: 553
Karma: 1760679
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Detroit
Device: Nook Glowlight, iPad, iPhone
|
I have read one of those books to completion ("1984," which is fantastic).
I have attempted to read the following without success: "Cryptonomicon" (actually it was an audiobook), "Dune," "Foundation," and "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell." |
07-11-2012, 10:49 AM | #7 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,549
Karma: 193191846
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Although I've read Infinite Jest and enjoyed the experience ... I don't think I ever would have mentioned it AND science fiction in the same sentence/breath—near-future speculation notwithstanding. *shrugs*
|
07-11-2012, 11:33 AM | #8 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
Exactly.....that's part of what makes this such a 'weird' list IMO.
|
07-11-2012, 11:46 AM | #9 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,099
Karma: 11315768
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: UK
Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch
|
I've read five. Weirdly, I just yesterday mentioned Delany and Stapledon as major(ish) SF writers I hadn't read.
Are there really any SF readers who haven't read Dune? I can see the list is intended to be challenging or otherwise off-putting books that people might choose to miss, but there's no way I'd put Dune down as one of those. |
07-11-2012, 12:09 PM | #10 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
I was reading some skewerings of Dune on sffworld the last few days....for a variety of reasons.
|
07-11-2012, 12:59 PM | #11 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,549
Karma: 193191846
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Quote:
I missed out on it at the time it would have been considered groundbreaking. And now ... I frankly fear that it wouldn't hold up in comparison to some of the works that it broke ground for—many of which I have read. I've found that when I read something (for the very first time) is oftentimes just as important as what I read. Notice how many brand-new, young fantasy fans are left scratching their heads at why so many of their elders bow to the temple of Tolkien? They've already read many of the stories that took what he started and ran with it. Last edited by DiapDealer; 07-11-2012 at 01:04 PM. |
|
07-11-2012, 01:04 PM | #12 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
I do think dune holds it's own. The society is so filled in, so real it literally creates a world of it's own. I do believe it stands the test of time, but will not say so for the bazillion sequels....
(P.S. your argument is one that was raised against it on the other forum BTW.....was probably you eh? ) |
07-11-2012, 01:21 PM | #13 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 27,549
Karma: 193191846
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD
|
Quote:
For what it's worth ... I am old enough to have read Dune when it came out, but I was in a different reading phase at the time. I'm just fairly certain that I've missed out on the opportunity of having Dune be influential to me and my reading. And who wants to be merely entertained by something that inspired so many in its prime? It'd sort of be like hearing Led Zeppelin for the first time at some rich kid's graduation party in the early '80s with friends who had conceived their children at their concerts in the '70s. We'd be seeing and hearing the same thing, but my friends would probably be much more "wowed" by their performance than I was. P.S. And I'm not one to give a lot of literary credit to what many refer to as "In Depth World Building." Last edited by DiapDealer; 07-11-2012 at 01:24 PM. |
|
07-11-2012, 01:31 PM | #14 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
I would say Dune holds its own better than The Martian Chronicles (given what we know about Mars these days) -- but Burrough's Mars -- even more outrageous still works for me cause that background is not really what the story is about (nor is it in Dune...but it is required for the real story -- politics/society/adventure to take place in).
|
07-11-2012, 01:38 PM | #15 | |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 19,226
Karma: 67780237
Join Date: Jul 2011
Device: none
|
Quote:
Of the list, I've only read 1984. In the past year I've made an effort to catch up on some Sci-Fi I should have read by now, but this list has nothing to do with what I think I should read. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Great Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Who Never Wrote Sequels or Trilogies [io9] | taosaur | Reading Recommendations | 12 | 07-27-2012 06:37 PM |
Bargain (DRM-free ePub/Mobi @ $1.98) 2 Joan Slonczewski Novels [Hard Science Fiction] | ATDrake | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 0 | 04-07-2012 03:31 PM |
101 science fiction books to read? | David Munch | Reading Recommendations | 65 | 05-12-2010 10:42 AM |
Free science fiction / fantasy novels at FictionWise.com | narve | iRex | 4 | 06-12-2007 04:21 PM |