Recommendation for any good sci-fi/fantasy books?

[fallenstar]

Trying to find some good sci-fi or fantasy books to read those days. People are telling me that Dune is good, but I don't know........ any suggestion? thanks.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

some SF reccomendations

Well it really depends on what sort of a read you are looking for, but I'll list a few of my favourites in any case.


The Dune series is definitely a classic, but after the first volume it can get a bit too involved and dispersed over time for some. In any case, I suggest you stick to Frank Herbert's originals and avoid the prequels which have no real character to them, IMO.

Isaac Asimov - The Gods Themselves. Asimov considered this one of his best novels, in particular because he considered the section where he describes an alien social structure in detail to be a case of him writing over his own head! Continues to be one of his most thought-provoking novels.

Arthur C Clarke - Rendezvous with Rama. The rest of the series varies, but this is real mind-expanding hard SF at its best.

James Blish - A Case of Conscience. Considers some theological implications of alien life, very thought provoking.

David Zindell - Neverness. Beautifully wirtten and crammed with ideas that willsend your head spinning.

Ursula le Guin - The Left hand of darkness
One of the most vividly imagined alien societies ever.

Robert Silverberg - Nightwings
One of the best-realised future-earths ever.

AE van Vogt - The World of Null-A
A baffling, obtuse but very rewarding piece.

William Gibson - Neuromancer - The book that spakred cyberpunk and gave SF a much-needed shot in the arm

Other authors to look out for are Phillip K Dick, Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Ken MacLeod, Jack Vance, Bruce Sterling, Larry Niven, Brian Aldiss...I could go on all day.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Dune is definitely a good novel - but I have never seen fit to read the rest of the series, as they come across more as a cash in, rather than a natural progression of the original vision of the story.

I loved 2001 by Arthur C Clarke - but it's very emotionally detached, and my g/friend didn't care for that at all.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is much more involved emotionally - you don;t forget that book. Disturbing but a mostly satisfying read.

Shame - I haven't got the new part of the site up with the book reviews up as yet - hopefully over the next few days - I'll add some links to this post when they're up.

 

[dwndrgn]

You should also check the 'recommened reading' thread and the 'what are you reading now' thread for suggestions. Lots of good books there and some warnings for those that weren't enjoyed.

Let us know what you find and how you like it. Happy reading!
recom reading:
http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50
what are you reading:
http://www.chronicles-network.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5

 

[fallenstar]

Hey thanks! Those are great suggestions......I really wish that I could read all of them in one day....^_^ Anyway I will see what I can find right now in the library according to those suggestions, without waiting on the holding list.

 

[fallenstar]

About Dune

so far it is the novel I could find in the library immediately......According to my friends it's about some politics and I am currently writing a fantasy story which politic takes part... But according to you guys that Dune has some sequels. I found those such as"God Emperor of Dune." Is the rest of the series good? and his son(or I think it is his son) wrote something like the Dune house of something.....what are those about?

 

[littlemissattitude]

Tim Powers writes amazing urban fantasy. Also, some interesting fantasies set in the past. "Declare" is a really good example of the latter; it is set during the Cold War. I'm reading "The Stress of Her Regard" right now, set in the early 1800s with characters the likes of Byron, Shelley, and Keats. For his urban fantasy, see "Last Call", "Expiration Date", and "Earthquake Weather".

Also, I'm famous (or maybe it's infamous) around here for being a fan of Kage Baker's books. Time travel and immortality.

Someone else recommended William Gibson. I recently read his latest, "Pattern Recognition." Good book.

I'll second the recommendation for "Ender's Game" and further recommend the later volumes in that series.

I'm also partial to the classics - Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and the like.

 

[Zero]

I like Sci-Fi books that originate from games and stuff like that.

StarCraft
WarCraft
Diablo

and others to name a few.

 

[Foxbat]

I found those such as"God Emperor of Dune." Is the rest of the series good? and his son(or I think it is his son) wrote something like the Dune house of something.....what are those about?

Here's the list:
Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse Dune.
These were all written by Frank Herbert. Personally, I rate Dune and God Emperor as the best of this bunch. Chapterhouse was not intended to be the final book but he died before he started the next one (although he did leave a legacy - a copy of Chapterhouse with extensive notes on it's sequel)

His son, Brian and Kevin J. Anderson have contributed a trilogy of prequels to Dune - House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Corrino.

They are now near completion of a trilogy based on a much referenced event within the Dune universe: The Butlerian Jihad.
The first two books are out: The Butlerian Jihad and The Machine Crusade. The final in this trilogy (The Battle of Corrin) is due out september 2004.
These prequels are decent books but lack the intricacies of the original Dune books.

Latest news is that Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson are to write the sequel to Chapterhouse - which will be the final book in the series.

Hope this helps.

 

[fallenstar]

Thanx.......just found Dune very interesting as well.......