My five favorite Science Fiction books, in no particular order.......
1. A Deepness in the Sky
by Vernor Vinge
The plot is deep and complex. The charcters are rich and nuanced. The vision of the future is vast and fascinating. The villains are dark and wicked. The ending is triumphant.
2. Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
It takes you by surprise, luminously literate. Stuffed to overflowing with planets. Also...the datasphere is looking more and more realistic by the day.
3. Dune
by Frank Herbert
Reading it the second time, I realized it was a retelling of the beginnings of Islam. Funny how I missed that the first time (of course, I was in sixth grade at the time).
4. Heir to the Empire
by Timothy Zahn
I love Timothy Zahn. I love Star Wars. What else do you need? By the way, I have yet to fully comprehend the damage that Episodes I-III did to my love of Star Wars. Perhaps this is for the best.
5. The Caves of Steel
By Isaac Asimov
To fully appreciate Asimov, since his ideas and writing are really rather unimaginative, you have to view his books as a whole. This book, and the three after it are his finest works. At once mystery novels, psychological studies, and a fascinating commentary on human freedom, they far surpass anything in the Empire or Foundation books.
There is so much junk in the Science Fiction realm. Much of it is unreadable, some of it is diversionary, and a few books, rare as in any genre, are transcendent.
These are good ones. Read them!
(David is going to be mad that I left of Midshipman's Hope. Once, I wouldn't have. But by the time I got to Patriarch's Hope, the whole series had soured for me.
posted by Steven at 4:07 PM
8 Comments:
I think Mr. Simmons is, though I'm not sure about the good part. Something about the key to the Eucharist being the literal drinking of blood (not transsubtantiated blood mind you but actual blood) comes to mind.
Also leaving off Midshipman's Hope because you didn't like Patriarch's Hope ( I didn't either) is a mistake.
8:47 PM
Hey what's that one about intelligent species being uplifted? The first one takes place in the orbit of the Sun. I liked that one.
8:49 PM
1. Dad you think you're so clever...your first post on my blog had to be sardonic
2. I was speaking more to story-tellers with more power--the visual storytellers. I think that a book is much easier to separate and understand in its worldview than a movie or television series.
3. That part was really weird. But it was in Endymion. And you're right. His ideas are interesting, but certainly not good.
4. It is called Sundiver, and although I enjoy that book, I find the whole universe of that series to be pretty much my favorite--seriously it is fascinating. But he has not really written any compelling stories within it. There is one called the Uplift War which is a little better then Sundiver. But all of them fall short of the main idea's promise.
9:33 PM
So when you say storyteller you mean television and movies? How do you explain your addiction to 24 and Lost. Are their producers Theologians?
9:48 PM
Also, Endimyon was my favourite of the series.
9:48 PM
ha, looks like you're getting served by both dad and david for saying such a silly thing...
9:22 AM
ha, looks like you're getting served by both dad and david for saying such a silly thing...
9:23 AM
Looks like you're getting served for writing that comment twice for no reason.
11:06 AM
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