What's your favorite brand of science fiction? Are you a technophile? Are you into hard sci-fi, or maybe speculative fiction? Are you into cyberpunk, steampunk, time travel, nanotech, space exploration, world-building, alternate reality, or post-apocalyptic fiction? Robots or aliens? Or do you read it all?

Curious as to what people's tastes are.

Steampunk, post apocalyptic, and... well, a sub-genre of a sub-genre--gender-based social science fiction/spec fic. :P

After an adolescence spent reading mostly sci-fi and fantasy, I find that I read astonishingly little of it in my "adult" life, although I still have a tremedous sympathy for the concept of well-written sci-fi and fantasy: I just don't seem to encounter very much of it.

I'd have to say "all of the above" to your list, with the caveats that I really dislike time travel stories in general, even if they totally eschew paradoxes, parallel worlds, etc. (as in The Door Into Summer), while Philip K. Dick leaves me cold (though I like Robert Anton Wilson, William S. Burroughs and The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon -- haven't gotten around to reading his major works yet).

Cyberpunk, when it's not merely a fashion statement, is good: I like William Gibson (coiner of the term "cyberspace," not the author of The Miracle Worker), and am ambivalent about Bruce Sterling (though I loved his collaboration with Gibson, The Difference Engine, and I like his essays and opinion pieces). I try to divide my sci-fi readings between Gernsbackian SF (which now goes by the vaguely porny-sounding term "hard SF") and -- well, everything else. I'm not a stickler for technically accurate sci-fi, but it does annoy me when boo-boos and faux pas are used as major plot points.

I want to like Michael Moorcock more than I do; same goes for Philip José Farmer, A.E. van Vogt, Marion Zimmer Bradley and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (OK, she's usually classified as "horror," but she's written at least one post-apocalyptic novel, False Dawn, and her Count Saint-Germain series should get an honorary membership in the "fantasy" camp).

Based on mostly enjoying The Demolished Man, I'm itching to read more Alfred Bester.

I really like Roger Zelazny, Jack Vance (possibly the greatest sci-fi stylist this side of Cordwainer Smith) and David Wingrove, whose epic Chung Kuo series was so cruelly aborted by the publisher. Mike Resnick is pretty darn good too (his Kirinyaga is a must-read), and I've recently discovered, through the magic of used book shops, Mack Reynolds, who actually manages to be funny on purpose sometimes.

One of the more underrated sci-fi authors IMHO is Algis Budrys, who was mostly famed as an editor; his Rogue Moon is a minor classic, and I keep meaning to re-read Michaelmas, since I was a bit young when I read it and most of it blew right by me. On the other hand, if I never read another Frank Herbert book, I don't think I'll weep bitter tears on my death bed. (This is probably why I've not yet cracked Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy...)

Based on the trilogy he wrote for the Star Wars franchise, I'd be interested in reading some of Timothy Zahn's creator-owned books.

I need to read more Alan E. Nourse (particularly a little book called The Bladerunner), Eric Frank Russell, Fredrik Pohl, James Gunn, Jack Williamson, Joe Haldeman, Poul Anderson, Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. (I liked his Bander Snatch; sue me), Robert Silverberg, Neal Asher, Ian McDonald, John Meaney, Barbara Hambly, Norman Spinrad, Brian Aldiss and -- *sigh* -- Philip K. Dick.

And I need to finally read sci-fi by George Zebrowski, Barrington J. Bayley, Ken Kato, Fredric Brown, Theodore Sturgeon, Richard Matheson (I've only read "Duel" and "Button, Button" thus far), Neal Stephenson, John Wyndham, and -- I suppose -- Fred Hoyle.

Sorry for the length; hope this response is at least partially what you were looking for.

For me, world-building and society-based science fiction are favorites. I enjoy seeing the cultures and complex interactions that other authors dream up, as long as there's sufficient depth in terms of the people... e.g. doesn't breathlessly describe every bit of technology on the planet or revel just in the fact that the culture is different---it's really part of the story.

I also enjoy food fiction and would love to see more of it in science fiction.

False Dawn was not very good, I am with you there.

Favorite sub-genres at the moment? Scottish space opera?

Definitely hard sf and cyberpunk.

And whatever you want to call what Peter F. Hamtilon, Richard Morgan,Charlie Stross,Alastair Reynolds are up to on the grittier side of things - postpunk? :)

When it comes to Sci-Fi, I have always leaned toward the space exploration, space opera style, with some alternate reality or post apocalyptic thrown in for flavor and a break in the same old reading. Favorite Author for this right now: David Weber, and his Honor Harrington Series, most definitely.

I'll read anything that's good, but I tend to read more alternate reality and time travel than anything else.

and I definitely enjoy the Melissa Scott style 'instant milieu' I guess you could call it?

I always wondered what happened to the Chung Kuo series, but for my money, the publisher aborting it was not cruel but wise. It was an early example of what has sadly become a more common phenomenon, of authors dragging on multi-book series, refusing to resolve plotlines, and never making good on the promise of the overall story.

I have trouble putting what I like in sub-genres fiction: Connie Willis To Say Nothing of the Dog, Elizabeth Moon, The Speed of Dark, Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination, Charles Harness, The Paradox Men. Most of this I would not call hard science fiction and I guess you could say time travel for the Willis and the Harness, but that seems too little to really describe the books.

My feeling is some author's works are just harder to catagorize, such as Tim Powers. And Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle are not science fiction or fantasy, (I call them secret histories) but they certain feel like they should be. Much like defining science fiction or fantasy, I know a subgenre when I see it.

I'll admit, I'm a bit weak for cyberpunk. William Gibson and Neal Stephenson in particular have me by the short hairs. Count Zero stands out for no real reason, but then again so does Distraction. I still say that Burning Chrome is my favorite Gibson work.

My current torrid affair with scifi that has emptied my wallet is the Foreigner series by C. J. Cherryh. It has mugged me. My wallet now contains four dollars.

That aside, my first true love in the genre of scifi was military scifi, a holdover from my youth spent snorting Dragonlance. I went from the harder books in that series on to Dietz and a shameless love fo Shadowrun and Battletech.

I'm not sure, but I always thought the end of CHUNG KUO was intentional, with THE MARRIAGE OF THE LIVING DARK. Did he intend to write more than that? I loved that series.

I'm definitely a big fan of the new space opera. Peter F. Hamilton, Charles Stross, Alastair Reynolds, John Meaney, Ken MacLeod.

I haven't read anything by Richard Morgan. Any recommendations?

What's your favorite brand of science fiction?

The flip answer is that I tend to prefer the good stuff.

I used to read the stuff omniverously; but as my library grows, and as distractions proliferate, I tend not to finish stuff that's not working for me.

And these days, I find that I'm being a bit more selective about what I'll buy, using the nomination lists for the major awards as a quick buying guide.

More seriously: I'll read in about any of the sub-genres, but I tend toward the harder-SF end of the spectrum.

I don't like steampunk that much, same with the old classics (Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke I find boring now). Iain M Banks is still my favourite author, Greg Egan for his imagination, Neal Asher.
Favourite genre? No idea really, like others have said - the good stuff.

Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon is more along the lines of Peter F. Hamilton's Mindstar Rising etc. Post cyber noir, I guess. Definitely give that one a shot, if you like it, there are two further books with the same character.

This was what I meant when I mentioned those guys together, as opposed to Redemption Ark/Neutronium Alchemist sort of thing.

You can throw Sean Williams and Shane Dix into your Charles Stross space opera school from above, there, similar sorts of thing with all 3 groups of books so far:

Evergence trilogy, Orphans of Earth trilogy and the Geodesica Ascent and Geodesica Descent pari.

Rob--

What I've read is that Wingrove's publisher gave him an ultimatum after the 5th or 6th book (Beneath the Tree of Heaven or White Moon, Red Dragon) of the Chung Kuo series was published: either finish the series in eight books, not ten, as he'd originally planned and contracted for, or find someone else to publish #9 and #10. Apparently the sales of the books had dropped off precipitously enough so that the publisher didn't want to be forced to honor their contract.

Wingrove basically blinked and hacked away at his many, many plot threads to "finish" the series in eight books. IIRC, The Marriage of the Living Dark wasn't published in the U.S. (my copy was published in Canada); it is far and away the weakest book of the series, but, even so, it contains passages that many genre masters would -- or should -- give their eyeteeth to be able to write.

For me Chung Kuo dropped off with the 5th or 6th book, but didn't really jump the shark until #7 (Days of Bitter Strength). That said, Wingrove did a phenomenal job of maintaining quality and interest in the series for as long as he did; I don't think any of the books prior to The Marriage of the Living Dark was less than 500 pages long, excluding the "Cast of Characters," glossary, synopses (from #2 onward), author's note/afterword, etc. I keep hoping that he'll soon start writing something other than Myst books; in my wildest fantasies, he finds a publisher to re-issue the Chung Kuo books and publish the final books in the series as he'd originally intended them to appear. (My guess is at minimum that would mean a drastically rewritten Book #7, and of course a completely rewritten Book #8.) Hey, if Michael Moorcock and Marion Zimmer Bradley could do it, why not David Wingrove??

TimothyBurke posted:
I always wondered what happened to the Chung Kuo series, but for my money, the publisher aborting it was not cruel but wise.

I think all the books written were published. The last one, Marriage of the Living Dark, was not published by Wingrove's US publisher, but they did publish it in Canada. I got mine off Amazon (US), but never saw it in stores here.

I actually liked the last 2 books, because the previous ones were all about the civilization under the control of the authorities, with a rebellion. The 7th was an attempt by those in power to reform, to stave off their complete overthrow. It didn't work, and book 8 was then the ending of the old order and humanity's new start. If there were really 2 more that would have been cool too. It seemed a lot of posters on-line were upset at the abrupt change and summarized wrap up of the previous stories and characters.

I like a lot of SF, but don't really like old SF other than Heinlein and Doc Smith. I like meaty books, that have good stories and characters, not just an idea or a love affair with science and technology.

I usually don't like military SF like Weber's because its all about battles and machines, and spatial orientation. Also too wordy about the above topics.

Not that crazy about cyber or steam punk. A lot of the original cyber stuff was badly written and not understandable to me. More about style than substance. Some of the post cyber punk is good -- Richard Morgan.

The new weird stuff is interesting, though again it borders on style over substance. It has a strong fantasy - steampunk flavor.

I don't care for hard SF where the author can't really write, but is a science geek and the book is full of fact info-dumps.

I like sociological SF, and stories that have good characters and settings. I enjoy stories about being in space and the interactions and impacts on people like The Wreck of the River of Stars, by Michael Flynn. C.J. Cherryh does it too, and she is my favorite author. She also does amazing aliens.

I like a lot of the stuff coming from UK authors. Jon Courtenay Grimwood in particular.

Message edited by its author, Sep 23, 2006, 11:04pm.

What is a genre? And then - what is a sub-genre? I read books, and prefer good ones.

Sometimes I get the feel that lots of sf-fans are driven by some inferiority complex compelling them/us to raise steep walls to instill a feeling of Secret Society for The Choosen Ones. And these walls in part consists of strict definitions of genres, and of open contempt for those who likes books, films, etc. that don't conform to the rules.
I once met a person that disregarded me as "not for real" when I said i liked ST-TNG (Star Trek Next Generation), but when I could cite parts of Clarke-novels she started to re-evaluate me. IMHO this is sic! Sure, I can qoute or remember several oldtime sf writers, but those belongs to the past.

For me, sf is about ideas. Some ideas are valid over a long time, others age fast. Therefore, some books are anchored in the past and viewed today as curiousitys, while others are timeless.
Books that talks to me today is mainly written by Stephenson, Asher and Leguin. Also Pratchett, Gaiman and Gibson. What genre is that? What genre is Stephenson? "Ex cyberpunk"? I still thinks of the Cryptonomicon-Baroque Cycle suite as "sf" in some way, and I know I'm not alone in this... But is it essential to corner it, tag it? Does it gain some extra value from that? I don't think so.

So, along with you else out there - I prefer good reads and don't much care about what genre it belongs to :-)

Currently the only science fiction I enjoy is that which deals with social issues. Octavia Butler's Fledgling, for example or Jim Kelly's Burn, Eva Hoffman's The Secret, Elizabeth Moon's Speed of Dark to name a few. Much of what is marketed as straightforward SF doesn't seem to do it for me these days...

Probably New Wave. In particular, Roger Zelazny's science fiction (though not necessarily his fantasy), especially Dream Master and Doorways in the Sand, embody pretty much everything I respect and/or enjoy in science fiction. Many of my other favorite and/or most respected writers also fit this rubric more or less well.

(Examples: Samuel R. Delany, Philip Jose Farmer, Theodore Sturgeon -- who appears last in this last not because he is least favored (quite the contrary), but because he is the least classifiable in any subgenre other than his own.)

I mostly like hard science. Most of my effort right now is speculation of near future technology. Arthur C Clarke is a good example of this type. I find it more difficult to read the golden era hard science when it is so far off, so most of my effort is in ultra-modern scifi.

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2006, 4:17am.

No-one has mentioned justina robson yet - I read living next door to the god of love and natural history recently and they were fab. Not sure what genre, but fab, all the same. I tend to like works that get the background fabric right, where the effects of technology, limitations, pressures and events are portrayed by the way the characters behave. IF you like that sort of thing, you might like JR.

Some say that Justina Robson is part of the 'New Weird'. Other authors frequently mentioned in the same breath are China Mieville, Jeff VanderMeer, and Steph Swainston.

I uinderstand New Weird to be work that does not differentiate between sf, fantasy, and I suppose horror. Things in short that share the sensibilities of Weird Tales or any of the New Wave stories that also followed this tradition the saliva Tree, viriconium, or early Roger Zelazney. I don't think I have read any Justina Roberts that falls into that category. though I suspect Cory Doctorow or Kelly link might.

I'm kind of a Time Travel nut. I always can't wait for the next Kage Baker The Company novel to come out. I also really liked The Time Traveler's Wife and Ken Grimwood's Replay. (But NOT David Gerrold's The Man Who Folded Himself, or Finney's Time and Again).

Also, I've just finished reading several Jack McDevitt books. Don't know what category they fall in -- mainly space travel I guess, with complications.

So what are the Justina Robson books about?

Well I haven't read Silver Screen so cannot comment on that.

Mappa Mundi is a near future thriller involving a reasearch project to allow people to reprogram minds.

Natural History is a story about post / trans humans and the discovery of alien "stuff". Probably best classified as a space opera.

Living Next Door To The God Of Love is probably the novel where Robson is closest to the New Weird however there are hard-sf underpinnings to it. It is a hard book to sum up in a sentence or two so I won't try but I will mention it is a sort of follow-on to Natural History as it features the same "stuff".

Keeping It Real is an enjoyable and fun romp with a "bionic woman" secret agent. Read the reviews here for more detail. It is part of a series and shouldn't be taken too seriously.

I love time travel, alternate history, and parallel universes.

thanks andyl,

Bionic woman secret agent? Sounds like fun.

I have read Natural History by Justina Robson and it is an interesting idea, but the set up and premise of the society is rather poor. It was very much like a 19th century lords vs labor set up in a futuristic setting. The idea that there is a complete demarcation between those who are enhanced in some way and those who are pure human is also not real likely. Even today people have medical help, so it is unlikely those in the future would decline.

The writing is also not good - like pulling teeth. It was a choice for an on-line book group and most people didn't enjoy it. I eventually bought the second one Living Next Door to the God of Love but am in no rush to read it.

Message edited by its author, Oct 22, 2006, 4:34pm.

Both of those two were slow to read for me (maybe due to the multiple character voices that are used in these two novels) however I found them rewarding. They are the kind of books I have to be in the right mood to read though.

Natural History was nominated for three awards so obviously some people got on better with it than FicusFan's book group. I also think that the situation in the book is a lot more complex than described in post 32. The very names Forged and Unevolved show that both see each other with disdain. As one of the viewpoint characters was an Unevolved cyborg it is obvious that baseline humans still use machines and technology. What makes the difference is that the Unevolved do not use the machinery of their body, they do not cut & paste their DNA but are shackled by it to their monkey past. Of course, to most of the Unevolved, the Forged are just tools to be used. No wonder there is little common ground. What Robson does with this novel is do more than spin a story of plucky post-humans founding a new society for themselves, she looks at the philosophical and political points associated with the fracture of the human race.

Oops - went on a bit too long there.

Anyway Mappa Mundi and Keeping It Real are both pretty quick reads and different in style of story-telling to the two books mentioned in post 32.

mostly high-tech.

caldara

I read Mappa Mundi and found it a nice, if not good, read. Went on to buy Natural History when it came out but stopped reading after some 20 pages. I felt the storytelling to be at the same time too convoluted and too shallow to fit my taste, and the setup felt much like an artificial construct (like all those "sf" movies with a lot of styrofoam walls and very plastic-fantastic props)...

But maybe I should give it another try.

I'd probably have to say stuff in a cyberpunk vein, but I'm fairly flexible.

What I really don't do is either high fantasy or military SF, particularly the latter. I'd generally rather read the real thing.

Where could a person find the definitions of these terms?

Thanks,

Erica
http://home.socal.rr.com/ejkline/blog/ne...

I tend to divide sf into: anthropological sf, other stuff, modern stuff.
Anthropological: anything by LeGuin (ok, except for the Earthsea universe, which is fantasy); Cherryh (except for her fairy tales and the Morgaine series).
Other Stuff: Asimov; space opera (as practiced by Moon,McCaffrey,Duane, Bujold, and I've-forgotten); gender stuff ( Melissa Scott, LeGuin, Cherryh, Tepper, and more by I've-forgotten); Jo Clayton (may she rest in a fantastic whirl); -topias (well, I'm not wild about dystopias); post-catastrophe (not much around anymore); and the dear old guys (Brunner, Simak, and whats-their-names).
Modern stuff: cyber-anything; authors too numerous for me to mention--I mostly don't like it.

cyberpunk is a fav right now. A long time ago in a galaxy far away I was enamored of the time travel genre. Also much like when fantasy is interspersed with Sci-Fi, love those robotic knights in shining armour....LOL

I think it's China Mieville who coined the term "New Weird" for his fiction. Others have been using it. I read Altered Carbon and loved it but found the next two really badly written with not much plot.

I read Science Fiction for the HARD stuff; multiple universes, moving planets, 30k year societies (a-la Asimov) and the politics that might evolve around them.

Accidentally producing a quantum universe, and the consequences to your universe.

Exploring the infinite face of god, and coming to the conclusion that there are no conclusions.

Hard Science Fiction!

But political sci-fi runs a close second. Every so often a space elevator need to be destroyed.

41> You mean stuff like twistor, Moving Mars,maybe Earth Hominids? Gregory Benford probably? When I first started reading sf I associated Hard sf with smaller rather than huge speculations. It was the stories that assumed there was no FTL, The short stories by Heinlein stories, Hal Clement, and others fromthe campbell era.

Message edited by its author, Dec 10, 2006, 10:24am.

sandmantheone: Can you give me some recent titles of what you consider "hard" science fiction?

I always thought the "hard" in "hard science fiction" came from the "hard science" (chemistry, engineering, physics) versus "soft science" (psychology, sociology, anthropology) dichotomy ... so, generalizing like crazy here, if a book has a significant focus on a hard science development, it would be a hard science fiction book ... a bit more specifically, the "hook" of a hard scifi book should be something that could be extrapolated from current technology/hard science ...

Cyberpunk, new weird and when there are gods, myths and minor deities involved;) Like Zelazny, Gaiman or mists of avalon. African gods in Gibson's novels. Nice.

hmmm... i haven't really read enough i feel... at the moment i'm still experimenting and exploring.

as a hangover from the tv i used to watch as a boy i do rather hanker after the good ol' spaceships and guns. up until now i've struggled to find sf in that sub genre that was any good! does anyone know some good sf that has guys with guns running about? like more mature versions of BUCK ROGERS and GALAXY RANGERS. is there even a name for this stuff? adventure sf? cowboy sf?

one of my favourite sub genres would definitely have to be "displacement" sf, as found in NEUROMANCER and PHILIP K. DICK, where you're wondering just what is going on for a lot of the time! i love that. i really like the confusion and paranoia in DICK.

also really love DUNE. its hard to classify, but i suppose its political, philosophical, space opera?

my wife loves horror films and over the years i've started to like them a lot too. i'm still rather too scared to read horror novels, i think it'd creep into my head too much and be too hard to shut out. but i did read I AM LEGEND and i think its absolutely brilliant! what would that be? gothic, horror, science fiction? i'd like to read some more of that.

Message edited by its author, Jan 18, 2007, 4:49am.

Adventure SF? Sure, here are some possibilities. Martin Caidin has wirtten a Buck Rogers book called A Life in the Future. Haven't read it yet though.

Depending on how old you want to get, and if you haven't read it, Allan Quatermain,Galactic Patrol and the Lensman series by E. E. Smith, and Edgar Rice Burroughs

If you want a satire of that sort of thing try Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat and The Destroyer

Perry Rhodan,Dumarest,Richard Blade that sort of thing

I haven't read much James H. Schmitz but he has the sort of girls with guns going on it seems.

Christopher Hinz's Paratwa trilogy.

Judge Dredd,Rogue Trooper,Strontium Dog etc.

Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov series has plenty of guns and running around, but the main characters are women. Crossover,Killswtich,Breakaway

Aaron Allston's Doc Sidhe for a different take, you can see that in the Baen free library. If you like hardcore military sf stuff you should probably check them out in general. Doc Savage of course as the predecessor for Allston's homage.

David Gemmell's Jerusalem Man,Wolf In Shadow,The Last Guardian,Bloodstone

For military technothrillers on the edge of SF or mundane SF - Dale Brown's The Tin Man, and Matthew Reilly's Ice Station,Contest (which is definitely SF),Scarecrow etc. Nothing but running around with guns in those. James Bond and Modesty Blaise to go more mundane, but great running around with guns.

For recent stuff Richard K. Morgan - Altered Carbon, and Peter F. Hamilton - Fallen Dragon to see if you like that sort of thing.

There is always Han Solo :)

I am sure I will think of more later.

If you want to combine running around with guns and not knowing what the hell is going on, then Michael Moorcock and Jerry Cornelius are your guys.

Dune is all sorts of things. You can add ecological and superhuman themed SF to the list too.

I Am Legend I would call sf and horror, sure.

If you can say why you liked I Am Legend then maybe we could suggest more.

It is the whole undead angle, or the postapocalytic one man against thing, or that it isn't rip your guts out stalk around the house horror?

If you don't like scary, stay well away from Pet Sematary, I can tell you that.

Non-scary one man against = Terry Brooks Armageddon's Children.

There are quite a hell ghostbusters and vampire hunter types if that is why you liked it.

There are other monster as disease things, too.

Kim Newman and Anno-Dracula you could check out, for one.

wow, i didn't expect anyone do be so quick and thorough with advice!

what i liked in I AM LEGEND is very different from what i like about the concept of guys with guns. thats a different sub-genre for me (obviously).

with I AM LEGEND i think i liked the atmosphere, the scaryness of it. it didn't go too far. i know it sounds silly, but i really don't want to be too scared - but just a little is nice. i suppose it was "thrilling" to be precise about it. suspenseful too. so i'll definitely stay far away from PET SEMATARY!! i quite liked the undead angle. it was scary, but not too much so. i really liked the post-apololyptic angle. a lot! i like post-apololyptic films too. so that was definitely appealing.

the other thing i found appealing about I AM LEGEND was matheson's treatment of the story. it was quite serious and realistic... really slow paced and, i found, extremely clever and in-depth. an examination of the state of a post-apocolyptic world. so yeah, his serious treatment of it was a big thing that i liked about it. although, i'd imagine not too many writers can pull it off as well as he does! i've read some brian aldiss, and while i quite liked it, i found it a touch too dry for my liking.

as for the guys with guns... well i certainly don't mind girls with guns...

i suppose, what i was trying to describe is a few things really. space cowboys or space detectives. i suppose theres quite a bit of a BLADE RUNNER influence in there... and i'd definitely like to try more of that sort of thing. it wouldn't have to exactly as hard-boiled as ANDROIDS either, it could be lighter or more adventurous, or both!

of course they don't have to be in space! i'd like to try both. although i do like spaceships.

yeah, han solo! thats about right. that sort of thing would be cool to.

i think, to refine my taste though, i do tend to be more interested in following the exploits of one bloke rather than read about an army or a group of people. its cool if the guy is in a group, as long as he goes on little adventures by himself or resents being in the group or something. the attraction is really juvenile!

i'd prefer books that are not too old. 50s is okay.

some satire would be cool. i like terry pratchett and douglas adams, so that'd be cool. (haven't read dirk gently)

the "gun" in the "running around with guns" specification isn't compulsory of course. i guess it just helps if you're running from, or towards, danger!

you've given me LOADS of recommendations! thanks! i'm gonna check them out!

I'm surprised no one's yet mentioned the Dorsai books by Gordon R. Dickson ... classic sci-fi warrior stuff ...

KT, I had left Dorsai out actually as a bit more high concept than Buck Rogers, with a more overt military theme. :)

Ok, well, David Gemmell's the Jerusalem Man series is postapocalyptic. As is Armageddon's Children. Hmm, adventure things in that setting -
Damnation Alley - Roger Zelazny.
Deathlands series, there is more than one of those things. This has a band of gunslingers running around fighting things.
L. E. Modesitt's The Forever Hero
William F. Nolan's Logan's Run is in that vein too, fancy gun, and not so nice a place outside.
Patrick Tilley's Amtrak Wars

Altered Carbon is a noir private investigator story. Definitely your Blade Runner kind of thing.

Captain Future by Edmond Hamilton is a pulp space hero/trouble shooter, as well.

If you want monster hunting cop types, then there is Hellboy, he runs around with a big gun, as does Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, for examples of the work for the authorities variety.

John Ridley's Those Who Walk In Darkness is elite cop versus superhumans as monster.

Yes Baen is the natural home of fantasy adventure, space opera and every thing in between.
A plague of demons by Laumer springs to mind as does James H. Schmidt's Telzey Amberdon, and most anything Lois Bujold McMasters has written. when she is good she is very good and when she is bad she keeps you moving too fast to notice it.

Keith Laumer, good suggestion for him to look at.

Space cop, thought of another one. Andre Norton's Beast Master.

As far as monster hunter types go, there is a new series, Rogue Angel, except the young woman in that has a very fancy sword, so a little more to the Witchblade end of things.

I have never read any of Poul Anderson's Flandry series, which I should rectify this year, but more of that sort of thing of space agent thing.

A couple of Captain Future et. al. spoofs :-

Captain Proton, which is a Star Trek spinoff, and Captain Spycer, Tetragravitron,Animatronica and Hypneratomomachia

49>

The space opera (spaceships and guns) suggestions are well served by others so I will try and suggest some other stuff.

Paul McAuley's Mind's Eye is probably worth you reading. No horror, but a hell of a lot of suspense and dealt with in a serious tone.

I would second the suggestion of Richard Morgan's series focused on Takeshi Kovacs - starting with Altered Carbon. It has most of what you want and is well written to boot, and there is enough there to be a bit more than mindless entertainment.

You may also want to look at Neal Asher's work.

Alastair Reynolds's Century Rain is also a good read and has a violent, flashy final section.

Something else, and I have never got around to reading one myself :- Simon R. Green's Deathstalker and various sequels is probably a possibility for you (and maybe for my list as well, will have to get one from the library).

wow guys! there are loads of recommedations here!!! and many of them sound very enticing...! and theres some cool variety too...

i'm going to do some exploring now. i think i'll have to add a bunch of them to my wishlist so my wife can buy me some for my birthday (i got a poul anderson and a john wyndham for christmas) and other occasions!

again, thank you all of you for your recommendations!

I only want to add that while Asher's a good recommendation, I really enjoyed a lot of his stuff, he's also penned some things that are not... well, let's be diplomatic... ..."as good as the rest".
Gridlinked, Skinner, Brass Man, The Line of Polity and Cowl ranges between good and very good. But avoid the collections and if you're not into supergory ultraspatter, stay away from The Voyage of the Sable Keech...
Well, if you have a weak stomach, stay away from Asher completely, but that last one is IMHO way beyond reason...

I like miliary sci-fi, space opera, apocalyptic, alien invasion. Some of the sci-fi I have read that I like:

David Weber Honor Harrington series
In Death Ground and The Shiva Option

The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by Jack Campbell
Lucifier's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Future books to read:

Red Mars
Pandora's Star
A Fire upon the Deep
Downbelow Station
Revelation Space
The Dark Wing

I read pretty much anything.

My favorite science fiction sub-genres (at the moment) are probably alternate history, such as Harry Turtledove; issue fiction, such as Sheri S. Tepper; and "traditional sf" like Robert A. Heinlein.

Message edited by its author, Feb 15, 2007, 3:23pm.

At the moment, I'm reading (1) Military Science Fiction (David Weber, John Ringo and others; which does not always have to have space battles), (2) Alternate History (Eric Flint, Harry Harrison, Harry Turtledove, and others), (3) whatever the genre that involves: "Exploration-of-ruins/alien or human/found in space/planet" (Jack McDevitt), (4) sudden shift in tech level - either through nuclear war (Barrett's Through Darkest America; Brin's The Postman), natural disaster (Crawford Kilian's Tsunami), manmade disaster (Anderson and Beason's Ill Wind), shift in time, etc. (something like Stirling's Nantucket series (and companion series), Eric Flint's Assiti Shard series, Ringo's Council Wars series, David Dvorkin's Central Heat, etc.) . Though I have read many different types of science fiction.

Anyone know what #3 and #4 are called? I've thought of applying Post Apocalyptic - Apolcalyptic to #4, but that doesn't seem to exactly fit.

Message edited by its author, Feb 15, 2007, 3:52pm.

I'm not a fan of miltary SF, alternate realities or time travel.

I do love space opera Reynolds being stunning, Donaldson's Gap series being a very close second. Suprised this hasn't already been mentioned.

Cherryh is one of my alltime favourites for her political/human SF, very hard pushed to decide what my favourite of hers is, probably Chanur but alot is good. Foreigner is now 9 books long and she's contracted to write another 3. I'm not sure the plot will stay that long.

I've only read one of Kim Stanley Robinson's works but Forty signs of rain was stunning - perhaps described as near future SF. A style I do like.

I do like some of the older works, buit they feel dated and aren't as stunnning as perhaps they once were. Blish's Cities in flight is a notable exception.

@ JesNeuce, WRT message #4.

If you're really into worldbuilding, take look at the Orion's Arm project (orionsarm.com).

My favourite subgenres would be hard SF and Space Opera. Especially Larry Niven and E.E. Smith (why can't I get a decent touchstone for him).

I tend to prefer older works as in E.E. Smith, Frederik Pohl and others. Niven is far more recent.

Try it with a space between the E's. E. E. Smith

I like culture clash stories - 'anthropological' or 'sociological' SF like Janet Kagan's Hellspark or a few of Andre Norton's books (I like a lot of hers but most don't fall into the sociological SF category).

Most of what I'm reading these days is military SF/space opera (there's a fine line between the two and I'm right on it!). David Weber, some of John Ringo's stuff (though he tends to go too far to the military side for me), and Elizabeth Moon's Vatta series are examples. Keith Laumer's Retief series falls more-or-less into here - and runs a little too far in the space opera direction, so I can't read too much of it at one time. But it's a lot of fun.

And my third favorite category is alternate history. This overlaps with the sociological SF for me...I was a lot happier when Eric Flint was going to make 1632 a stand-alone book. The ramifications are still interesting, but as the history fades and most of what it's talking about is what the up-timers are doing it gets less interesting. S. M. Stirling's Nantucket series has the same problem - the first book is by far the best to me.

I love alternative histories. I think!

Although now that I have to come up with an example or two, all I can think of is Pavane by Keith Roberts, which was exquisite. And perhaps the first couple of books in Orson Scott Card's Alvin Maker series; after that, the religious subtext became too heavy-handed for me.

Can anyone kindly nominate their alternative-history favourites so that I can go and read them?

Harry Turtledove is a name to seek out in alt History.

But specifically favorites? Let's see:
1632
1633
The Hammer and the Cross (and the rest of that series)
West of Eden and series
In the Country of the Blind by Michael Flynn (can't get it linked)
The Guns of the South
The Seven Hills
Island in the Sea of Time (and less so rest of trilogy)
A Rebel in Time
Weapons of Choice (rest of series isn't anywhere as good) by John Birmingham
Resurrection Day
A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!
Ruled Britannia
How Few Remain
King of the Wood by John Maddox Roberts
Days of Infamy
In the Balance and series
The Rivers of War
Fox on the Rhine (liked the second one even more Fox at the Front, which doesn't happen that often)
The Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card

Message edited by its author, Jun 27, 2007, 9:48am.

Sorry for the double post, but can't seem to edit the above without losing the links.

Needed to add that The Seven Hills is the sequel to Hannibal's children, and I also recommend the first in the series.

--
Update (yay, I don't triple post):
Alternate History Award

A catalog of alternate history and what the story is about, where the break occured, etc.: Uchronia

And a wiki link just because (it is linked to the page that lists books, not the article on Alt history):
Published Alternate History

Message edited by its author, Jun 27, 2007, 12:58pm.

I want to echo message #37. Does anyone know of a handy list where all these genre terms are summarized?

re: 69
I'm sure there is something out there that is better, but here are some links.
Subgenres Demystified - written for writers, but helpful for readers as well

Wiki's take

Another take with some authors on a graph (only has four, and includes fantasy)

bunch more subgenre's

Science Fiction Themes

Another article about Science Fiction

Message edited by its author, Jun 28, 2007, 9:15am.

MikeBriggs at #70: great post, thanks for all the food-for-thought.

>#70

Thanks, those links are great!

> #67, 68

Mike - thank you for all the recommendations!

I'll start working through them this summer... :-)

I like the technology and society-related and alternative history stuff. I'm a huge fan of philip k dick, neal stephenson, iain banks, orson scott card ursual le guin and jg ballard. I would like to love the space opera sf but the only series from that genre that i genuinely love is dune. i dont know why. ive got some books along that line, but i havent really completed reading them. I dont know why, but sometimes I feel tired just by looking at a hefty series. :)

anyway, the recommendations in this thread left me intrigued. i will certainly get those space opera types of novels and hopefully finish them. cheers everyone!

For the moment, Mystery/SF:

13 Crimes of Science Fiction edited by Isaac Asimov
(Some of his short stories contain puzzles that are close enough to being mysteries.)
Larry Niven's The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton and The Patchwork Girl (I treated the film _I, Robot_ as what it started as: a non-Asimov robot story. In that way it it has a feel that somewhat reminds me of these stories. Alas, according to the commentary the filmakers thought they were making the *Best Meta-Robot Film Ever*! /K. sighs)

I'm sure I forgetting some titles... but it's not a big subgenre. :P

-Kushana

Kushana, I just ordered Alien Crimes, edited by Mike Resnick from the SFBC not too long ago, because I love mysteries and science fiction as well.

I like most subgenres, but I am least forgiving of Military SF or Alternate History. For a lot of the other stuff, a really intriguing idea will allow me to overlook uneven writing quality, but these two have to be well-written or I don't enjoy them.

Thank you, sussabmax. (Now it's a subgenre of 4 books...)

-Kushana

Oh, I think there are more. Santiago by Mike Resnick is a mystery, I think. I bet there are others, but they would probably require some searching. I am sure I have read others, though. It seems like private eyes set in future worlds is a theme I have encountered before.

Message edited by its author, Jul 6, 2007, 11:08am.

Sure there are many of them, like the two Dirk Gently books by Douglas Adams. Dirk Gently's Detective Agency & The Long Tea-Time of the Soul.

Also Quarantine by Greg Egan and After Things Fell Apart by Ron Goulart.

The Case of Cabin 13 by Sam McCarver involves a Paranormal PI.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Outland by Alan Dean Foster (movie novelization)

The TekWar series by William Shatner

A Just Determination and Burden of Proof by John G. Hemry

There are all those X-Files novelizations, some of which are good, like Ruins by Kevin J. Anderson.

The Craig Kreident series by Kevin Anderson and Doug Beason (Virtual Destruction, Fallout, Lethal Exposure)

Don't really recall The Nine Lives of Catseye Gomez but I believe that would be Mystery/Fantasy

The Silk Code by Paul Levinson

Don't really recall now, but have a vague recollection that the character in the Empire novels and in the Robot novels by Asimov might have been some form of detective, but as I noted, can't recall now. Caves of Steel & Naked Sun are two of the Robot novels to check out. Fairly certain they at least have some mystery in them.

The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison involves a thief.

A Hard Rain by Dean Wesley Smith is a not recommened Star Trek private investigator novel.

More crime/private eye SF books:

Gun, With Occasional Music and Amnesia Moon, by Jonathan Lethem qualify, I think.

9tail Fox, by Jon Courtenay Grimwood is definitely private eye, though it doesn't have much SF in it. His Arabesk books - Pashazade, Effendi and Felaheen - are pretty much hard boiled crime books set in an alternate history world, though.

I've had Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon recommended to me (along 'if you like JCG you'll love RM' lines), though I can't personally say how well that fits. I have seen him speak at cons on crime and noir and all that, so the signs are good, anyway.

That's more like a proper sub-genre! Thank you for reminding me of the titles that escaped me and the new ones I haven't read.

-Kushana

Oh, Kushana, I was just saying over on the "What are you reading in the genre" thread that The Demolished Man fits in this theme, too. Excellent book.

Susan

The TagMash thingie is interesting.

Books tagged Crime and Science Fiction 250 books compared with the 100 tagged both Mystery and Science Fiction.

250 War, Science Fiction

Is there a 250 book limit? Everything seems to top out at 250 books max. I see that Alt History has 1902 total works, but only 250 books are tagged both Alt History and Science Fiction. Ack, Alt History and Science Fiction mashup went from 250 books down to 100. It does say "Top Books" so . .. how do you see the rest?

Sorry, this started out as a "hey neat, this tagmash thing can be used for this thread" and morphed into "hey, I don't know how to use this tagmash thing" which is a different thread :)

UPDATE: Ok, now everything tops out at 100 max books . .. confused :)

Message edited by its author, Jul 24, 2007, 5:29pm.

Tim put in the thingology blog that there is a 250 book limit.

There might have been a 250 book limit, but everything seems to be topping out at 100 books max now. Searches that gave 250 results before now just give 100 book results.

Maybe he found he needed to restrict it some more because of load?

I'll read anything that has a good leading chapter to it. I don't usually pay attention to the distinctions between genres.

Good lord - I've just realised that I haven't posted here yet. I'm definitely a space opera fan. Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton all the way.

Kushana: Another one for the subgenre: The Last PI on Earth series by John Zakour. I've only read one of them The Plutonium Blonde, they are supposed to be humorous noir, but I weren't overly impressed.