Decent sci-fi or fantasy novels

[SCARECROW 539]

I read a lot and science fiction and fantasy make up a huge percentage of the fiction part of what I read.

Can anyone recommend some good authors outside of the obvious for me to look up.

Sci-fi wise I'm a fan of Peter F Hamilton, James S A Corey, Orson Scott-Cards (shadow series and formic wars, not his preachy stuff) with a bend towards space opera.

Fantasy, classics like Tolkein, David Eddings, Raymond E Feist.  But if i have to read another series that is basically a re-write of their plots with new characters I'll loose my mind.

I've downloaded preview after preview for the last few weeks and rarely get to the end of the preview before I close it and try again.

Don't get me started on waiting for Martin and Rothfuss to ever finish anything.

[IStream 2,226]

I loved the "Wool" trilogy by Hugh Howey.

Also good is "Children of Time" and its sequel, both by Tchaikovski (spelling varies, even by the author!)

[LFL 6]

Wool trilogy was a good read - post apocalypse sci-fi.

[Orion Jim 69]

This is my “go to” for fantasy......

 

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

3 hours ago, SCARECROW said:

I read a lot and science fiction and fantasy make up a huge percentage of the fiction part of what I read.

Can anyone recommend some good authors outside of the obvious for me to look up.

Sci-fi wise I'm a fan of Peter F Hamilton, James S A Corey, Orson Scott-Cards (shadow series and formic wars, not his preachy stuff) with a bend towards space opera.

Fantasy, classics like Tolkein, David Eddings, Raymond E Feist.  But if i have to read another series that is basically a re-write of their plots with new characters I'll loose my mind.

I've downloaded preview after preview for the last few weeks and rarely get to the end of the preview before I close it and try again.

Don't get me started on waiting for Martin and Rothfuss to ever finish anything.

On the fantasy side, we just watched The Witcher, an unusual move for me since I'm usually a book-before-screen type of guy.

That being said, I bought the first book while watching it and started it before finishing the series. So far it's good and I'm enjoying it. Different in many places from the Netflix show, but the spirit is captured quite well. I think there are eight or nine books now. Author's name is Andrzej Sapkowski, he's Polish but the English is quite clear though the mythologies he draws on for inspiration are quite different from what we're often used to.

Simon R. Green has some funky stuff, too, from the gritty Nightside supernatural PI series to the space opera-like Deathstalker books. I've not read all his stuff, but that which I have I've liked. The Deathstalker stuff is kind of fluffy violence, but fun even if silly sometimes. Nothing more silly than the alien/human crossbreeding in the Saga of Seven Suns, but there is that sort of suspension of disbelief on occasion.

If you haven't read Octavia Butler's Earthseed books, they're really good, though a pretty radical departure from some of the space opera SF you've listed.

[SCARECROW 539]

thanks folks, that's a good start.  didn't realize the witcher was based on a book, binge watched it a few weeks ago.  pretty sure i read the earthseed books years ago, may have to revisit.  Often find its better to re-read something good than wasting time on crap.  so much rubbish out there in e-book world.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

foundation trilogy  by isaac Asimov

[Jack 4]

The boat of a million years by Poul Anderson is a good sci-fi read

 

[mundt 151]

Dark Forest, though the translation makes the first book difficult the vision and unique ideas make the trilogy one of the best since Dune.

[Shortforbob 2,004]

59 minutes ago, SCARECROW said:

thanks folks, that's a good start.  didn't realize the witcher was based on a book, binge watched it a few weeks ago.  pretty sure i read the earthseed books years ago, may have to revisit.  Often find its better to re-read something good than wasting time on crap.  so much rubbish out there in e-book world.

Check out St Kilda Library to find new authors or new to you authors.. Mick Farran, silverberg, wanda McKytyre..theres 60-70 metres of Sci fi and fantasy books. Search the catalogue, anyone can join and it's unlimited borrowing so even if you live 50K away it's worth a monthly trip and no late fines.

https://catalogue.portphillip.vic.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/OPAC/BIBENQ

[SCARECROW 539]

48 minutes ago, Grande Mastere Dreade said:

foundation trilogy  by isaac Asimov

first sci-fi I ever read, kind of spoiled me for a lot of later stuff.

I was 8 when if first read the lord of the rings (1985) so a lot has passed under my eyes since.

 

[The great unwashed 72]

“The Stars My Destination”—Alfred Bester.  Amazing.  “Neuromancer”—Gibson classic that started the whole cyberpunk genre.  Any of Terry Pratchett’s ”Discworld” series—fantasy / social commentary / comedy, all very well written.

[steele 100]

It is older but the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is worth a look.

[Pipe Dream 67]

Kim Stanley Robinson Red Mars Trilogy

[animeproblem 196]

52 minutes ago, steele said:

It is older but the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is worth a look.

^This, the guy that sold me the last batch of windows for my house gifted me the opening novel, read them all, twice!

[suider 41]

Again, it's older at this point, and you could argue it's a little more techno-historical-fiction than his other books, but Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is really neat to read- MOSTLY because he went into all of this (at the time) fictional layout of cyrptocurrency as a laundering technique, funding dark projects, etc, set in two different time periods... and he wrote it in 1999!... LONG before it became commonplace- the rumor is that it was required reading in the early days of PayPal...

[Se7en 166]

Hmmm

I think I've read everything listed so far. Mostly good, I enjoyed Pratchett a little too much to admit in public.

My suggestion is the first law series by Joe Abercrombie. Very dark, very funny, very human. It has been many years since I've had as much anticipation for new books.

Of course Neil Gaiman should have been mentioned by now. Neverwhere would be my suggested starting point, before Anasi boys and American Gods. The Norse gods book should be avoided.

Ursula le Guin was a childhood favourite, but a little light on after Tolkien

Ballard and / or Palahnuik are also good, but not quite fantasy.

Ray Bradbury is excellent if you have somehow missed him.

[Steam Flyer 4,735]

10 hours ago, SCARECROW said:

thanks folks, that's a good start.  didn't realize the witcher was based on a book, binge watched it a few weeks ago.  pretty sure i read the earthseed books years ago, may have to revisit.  Often find its better to re-read something good than wasting time on crap.  so much rubbish out there in e-book world.

Based on a recommendation from an SA'er, we watched most of the series 'Orphan Black' a few months ago. My wife claimed she did not like it but was glued to the screen to see what happened next.

Yeah, there's a LOT of rubbish out there. On the one hand, you've got editors screening out authors and peeing in the soup, and keeping the public from getting material, then on the other hand you've got the wild-west where ANYbody can write and publish a sci-fi "novel" no matter how bad it sucks.

Some great recommendations, I like these threads. I always say, go back and hit the classics especially ones that have snuck in over the years. Asimov, Heinlein, Niven, Pournelle, Silverberg, Stanislaw Lem... second the call for Le Guin and Bradbury, don't neglect the short story.

If you haven't read 'Ringworld,' do it. You're in for a treat.

- DSK

[WetGob 1]

My favorites are:

A princess of Mars series - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Myth Adventures and Phule's Company - Robert Aspirin

Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series- Spider Robinson

 

 

[Clyde 10]

Also by Neil Stephenson, Snowcrash. As strange indictment of religion , predicted Google Earth long before it existed, and fun characters.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

12 hours ago, SCARECROW said:

first sci-fi I ever read, kind of spoiled me for a lot of later stuff.

I was 8 when if first read the lord of the rings (1985) so a lot has passed under my eyes since.

 

i like a lot of the short story collections,   Hugo Awards,  Nebula  etc.. you can get a feel for the author and go find other works

 

Ursula K. Le Guin   is another good writer

[Tax Man 159]

A couple series from the 80's:

Jennifer Roberson - Cheysuli chronicles

Fred Saberhagen - Books of lost swords

 

[Marinatrix447 147]

Me likey.... Iain M Banks 'Culture' series.... his ship names are uber slick....

https://theculture.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series

[Clyde 10]

And of course Philip K. Dick

[Slick470 130]

Some recent ones that I've enjoyed that haven't already been mentioned. The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, Johannes Cabal series by Jonathan L. Howard, The Southern Reach/Area X triology by Jeff VenderMeer, Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline.

Slowly working my way through an H.P Lovecraft box set I got for Christmas. Some is really good, but some is pretty hard to follow. My brother got me a couple Discworld novels as well and I've found myself laughing out loud and getting funny looks from my wife. 40 something novels in that series, so that should keep me busy for awhile. 

[MR.CLEAN 3,811]

Start with Ender's game or just buy all four.  

[Max Rockatansky 445]

Tanith Lee

Walter Miller’s “Canticle for Leibowitz”  series

Arthur Clarke

Salman Rushdie (fantasy ish)

Frank Herbert wrote lots of stuff outside of the DUNE novels

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

John Brunner  has some good books too..

[Meat Wad 532]

Me and my son read most of the Star Wars novels that were under the Lucas story line. Some really good stories by some really good authors that Disney does not want to pay for their creative writing. .

I've started reading the Clive Cussler books. some good action, scifi and fantasy all mushed together with a bit of history.
Here is a chronological list from his site if you want to start at the beginning of his different series.

https://www.clive-cussler-books.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Clive-Cussler-Novels-Chronological-Reading-List.pdf

[Bacchus66 20]

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan (then finished by Brandon Sanderson after Jordan passed) is one of my favorite fantasy series, maybe my favorite even over the Lord of the Rings.

If you like humor and satire at all, then Terry Pratchett is worth a read if you haven't already. (I started with Guards Guards, and ended up reading everything he wrote.) He also wrote  Good Omens with Neil Gaiman which is one of my favorite books..

Armor by John Steakley is a great sci-fi read.

[Max Rockatansky 445]

Oryx and Crake series

Retief series

[IStream 2,226]

38 minutes ago, Max Rockatansky said:

Oryx and Crake series

Retief series

Oryx and Crake is AKA the MaddAddam trilogy. Margaret Atwood just keeps getting better and better.

I also enjoyed The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin but it's more fantasy-based than science-based. Like Neil Stephenson's stuff, Atwood's stuff is plausibly extended from current scientific knowledge and highly believable as a result. 

[Fakenews 1,113]

I just finished the Peripheral by William Gibson.  About people in a post apocalyptic London 70 years in the future intervening in pre apocalyptic America (circa 2030).  It’s kind of tough to get through the first bit of the book as it doesn’t make sense and there are a lot of terms that are hard to figure out but all is gradually revealed and it becomes a good read.  I’m going to check out his followup Agency and Neuromancer next.

Re reading Lucifers Hammer now.

PS is you like post apocalyptic stuff the  Passage Trilogy by Justin Cronin is tremendous.

[Bump-n-Grind 574]

On 1/23/2020 at 9:02 PM, Grande Mastere Dreade said:

foundation trilogy  by isaac Asimov

+ a bunch

 

[Jack 4]

The Safehold series by David Weber is great, even has sailing.

 

[VWAP 901]

[Fakenews 1,113]

On 1/23/2020 at 10:04 PM, LFL said:

Wool trilogy was a good read - post apocalypse sci-fi.

Plus he’s a sailor. Was a boat captain before his success and built  a 50’ something cat built in South Africa which he sailed back to FL.

[d'ranger 2,536]

On 1/24/2020 at 11:57 AM, Grande Mastere Dreade said:

i like a lot of the short story collections,   Hugo Awards,  Nebula  etc.. you can get a feel for the author and go find other works

 

Ursula K. Le Guin   is another good writer

When I was a young lad we had several of those and was what got me hooked on the genre. Great introduction to many authors and I highly recommend to anyone interested in starting the sci-fi journey. I loved to read from the moment I learned how but struggled with anything lengthy,  there might even be a name for that....... I still enjoy short stories and my home page recommends articles from all over the place.  It's called "Pocket" and allows one to customize the feed, I enjoy the randomness of it and widened my reading library.

[VWAP 901]

[Bump-n-Grind 574]

three tits! that's awesome!!

[sshow bob 321]

On 1/24/2020 at 7:55 AM, suider said:

Again, it's older at this point, and you could argue it's a little more techno-historical-fiction than his other books, but Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is really neat to read- MOSTLY because he went into all of this (at the time) fictional layout of cyrptocurrency as a laundering technique, funding dark projects, etc, set in two different time periods... and he wrote it in 1999!... LONG before it became commonplace- the rumor is that it was required reading in the early days of PayPal...

Have enjoyed all of Stpehenson. Ananthem is worth the investment if you haven't read that yet. 

[Gissie 811]

The mote in gods eye is an oldie but a goodie.

[Ed Lada 2,470]

I am not much of a fan of sci fi or fantasy; but I will continue to read the apparently never ending Dune books (and I enjoy the books by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson just as much as the original series), periodically re-read anything by the late and much missed Terry Pratchett, and I enjoy Neil Gaiman.  

In my opinion, Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy is intellectually interesting but I find his literary style wanting.

[mad 3,693]

On 1/24/2020 at 8:18 PM, Clyde said:

And of course Philip K. Dick

You beat me too it...... A scanner darkly is an interesting read, in a slightly mind altering way. 

[Wet Spreaders 142]

I've been reading the same stuff - Corey, Hamilton, Tolkein. Here are some ideas:

Name of the Wind - Kingkiller chronicles. Good books, but a trilogy of two, which kinda fucks up the ending

Robert Jordan - Eye of the World

Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space

Brandon Sanderson - Final Empire

+1 on Children of time and Children of ruin

+1 on Three body problem and the Dark Forest

Working on A Little Hatred - which might only be funny for Brits, but nations that don't do irony-humor and get confused by sarcasm (America, Germany etc) can probably just enjoy the story.

 

 

 

[SASSAFRASS 511]

Don't think I saw Greg Bear in there, not for the light reading but liked all of his stuff.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

though  not fi, definitely  sci...  starting the carl sagan's books

[linaszuk 45]

going through the entire Dune series - Frank And Brian Herbert, including all the prequels and fillers.  I first read these as a kid. different perspective as an adult.... ish.

the Ringworld series

Footfall was neat. - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

[Ed Lada 2,470]

5 minutes ago, Grande Mastere Dreade said:

though  not fi, definitely  sci...  starting the carl sagan's books

I hope you have a lot of time.  I've heard that they contain billions and billions of words.

[mad 3,693]

The Old and New Testament? 

[Ed Lada 2,470]

6 minutes ago, mad said:

The Old and New Testament? 

[burndoc 151]

Watch on the Rhine

Don't know author as i don't have book anymore. 

[SCARECROW 539]

9 hours ago, Ed Lada said:

 

9 hours ago, mad said:

The Old and New Testament? 

first book was ok, second one gets a bit repetitive and preachy. 

[Bacchus66 20]

Some others I thought of

Gather Darkness, by Fritz Lieber. really, a must read in my opinion. And his other stuff is good too.

Dragons Egg by Robert L Forward.

Guns of the South and The Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove. For a mixture of fantasy and alternative history.

The Earthsea series by Ursala K le Guin.

Both the Dragon Knight series and the Childe Cycle by Gordon R Dickinson.

[Remodel 427]

The Dresden Files, a series of novels about Chicago' only private detective who is also a Wizard happens to be pretty good. Second the Kim Stanley Robinson Mars Trilogy.

[mad 3,693]

14 hours ago, SCARECROW said:

 

first book was ok, second one gets a bit repetitive and preachy. 

Never wasted my time with either..... firmly in the Fairytale category. 

[Chris in Santa Cruz, CA 372]

The Mote in God's Eye

[TsunamiMike 13]

Another vote for the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, and as stated above finished by Brandon Sanderson.  First half a dozen books are great, then it starts to drag a bit.  The last three (12-14?) are well worth the wait as Jordan left over 1700 pages of notes to the family before he passed, and Sanderson turned that into the final three books to clean everything up.

The fact that he got it wrapped up from where it was at the end of 11 is an achievement in and of itself.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

On 1/27/2020 at 11:26 AM, mad said:

The Old and New Testament? 

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

On 1/25/2020 at 1:44 PM, Bacchus66 said:

Armor by John Steakley is a great sci-fi read.

Also Vampire$, the source for "John Carpenter's Vampires" which is a great vampire flick.

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

On 1/24/2020 at 4:35 PM, Max Rockatansky said:

Tanith Lee

Walter Miller’s “Canticle for Leibowitz”  series - There's a series?

Arthur Clarke

Salman Rushdie (fantasy ish)

Frank Herbert wrote lots of stuff outside of the DUNE novels

Whipping Star

The Dosadi Experiment

Destination: Void

The Jesus Experiment

The White Plague

...to name a few.

[Bacchus66 20]

4 hours ago, B.J. Porter said:

Also Vampire$, the source for "John Carpenter's Vampires" which is a great vampire flick.

True. Though my favorite vampire book of all time is The Keep by F. Paul WIlson.

[Coolerking 45]

Dune...get the first book out of the way now before Denis V's new film adaptation drops in December, which by all accounts sounds like its going to be amazing.

The first four books are fantastic, and a great read while at sea...

[Bacchus66 20]

1 hour ago, Coolerking said:

Dune...get the first book out of the way now before Denis V's new film adaptation drops in December, which by all accounts sounds like its going to be amazing.

The first four books are fantastic, and a great read while at sea...

Can only hope so, since the 1984 version by De Laurentiis and David Lynch sucked. Despite some quality casting decisions in many of the roles other than that of Paul Atreides.

But yeah, the first four were very good. Though I found #2 to be the weakest link. It felt short and rushed compared to Dune, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune.

[Coolerking 45]

4 minutes ago, Bacchus66 said:

Can only hope so, since the 1984 version by De Laurentiis and David Lynch sucked. Despite some quality casting decisions in many of the roles other than that of Paul Atreides.

Agreed, I think the fact that the CGI and PP tech is many light years ahead of '84's will be a game changer.

Sounds like the first book will be 2 films, which is promising.

I really liked BR2049, the look was flawless.

Arrival was pretty damn good too.

Anyhow, Dune is a great read, a rare story that's actually better after a few times through.

The Spice Must Flow.

[SCARECROW 539]

9 hours ago, mad said:

Never wasted my time with either..... firmly in the Fairytale category. 

It’s the original unfinished trilogy.  Both books allude to a sequel but it’s never happened.

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

3 hours ago, Coolerking said:

Dune...get the first book out of the way now before Denis V's new film adaptation drops in December, which by all accounts sounds like its going to be amazing.

The first four books are fantastic, and a great read while at sea...

I lost the program some time around the time the 8th super souped up Idaho clone mutually sexually enslaved a Bene Gesserit...book 4 or 6 or something. The magic was lost.

I loved the first one, and 2 & 3 were good also.

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

2 hours ago, Bacchus66 said:

Can only hope so, since the 1984 version by De Laurentiis and David Lynch sucked. Despite some quality casting decisions in many of the roles other than that of Paul Atreides.

But yeah, the first four were very good. Though I found #2 to be the weakest link. It felt short and rushed compared to Dune, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune.

I'm still distraught over Lynch's Dune. I watched it again as an adult to see if it was just me being a callow teenager that hated it when it came out.

No, it was still an incoherent mess. A waste of a tremendous cast.

The miniseries was much better. But there's still room for improvement.

[mundt 151]

Jodorowski's Dune is an excellent documentary.

[Marinatrix447 147]

As to Frank Herbert...  (slight thread-drift)

Denis Villeneuve will be delivering the next remake of DUNE - penned for release December 2020, allegedly a two-part film saga in fact.
He stated clearly… “I’m going back to the book”

Cast? Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides/Paul Muad'Dib and the lovely Zendaya will counter as Chani. Stellan Skarsgård as a bloated, floatin' Baron Vladimir Harkonnen should prove compelling…

Hans Zimmer will compose the new DUNE score.

Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 won an Oscar for best visual effects - this bodes well indeed for one of the likely heavy-hitting sci-fi flicks of 2020.

 

[Bacchus66 20]

17 hours ago, Coolerking said:

....Sounds like the first book will be 2 films, which is promising.

....Anyhow, Dune is a great read, a rare story that's actually better after a few times through.

The Spice Must Flow.

Re 2 films for first book, I'm glad. Epic stories deserve epic films. If they aren't going to make a 4 hour movie, two 2 plus hour ones is a better option than onea weak 21/2 to 3 hour one. I still wish they'd done the Lord of the rings as six films instead of 3. After all, though published as three volumes, Tolkien did organize it into six books.

And yeah. One of several books I've read that got seriously dog-eared before I converted to digital. Good Omens, Guards Guards, the first three Wheel of Time books (before I shifted to Hardback). I, Robot by Asimov .. among others. Though i might actually say got better each time through.

 

[Bacchus66 20]

8 hours ago, Shootist Jeff said:

One fantasy sci-fi series that's not been mentioned is Stephen King's the Dark Tower series.  I REALLY enjoyed the books.  The earlier ones in particular.  Have read them all at least twice now.  Once as a teen and again as an adult and they are still excellent.  

And as with almost all SK books turned to movies or TV, the recent Dark Tower movie was meh.  But definitely not the worst of them.  

I'm not a huge SK fan, but I will say that the Shawshank Redemption definitely did NOT suffer in translation to film. One of the best movies I've ever seen. The Green Mile was pretty good too, if not quite great.

[The Main Man 130]

Anyone else a fan of Anne Mccafferey’s dragons of pern books?

[cbm 1]

John Hindmarch His books are worth a read Start with the Mark trilogy and keep going He writes a lot of trilogies and series, all of which are a great read

[godolkin 3]

You might want to give the Deathworlder series a go - all free and there are various writers but they've worked together to create a very unique series.  The first in the series is available here.

The whole series started off on the idea that what if humans aren't the weaklings that most sci-fi makes us out to be - what if our world is considered a deathworld - natural disasters (fire/flood/volcanic eruptions/cyclones), bacteria/viruses, temperature extremes, deadly plants, deadly animals.  As we evolved in this deathworld humans are actually stronger and faster than other sentient beings.

[Grande Mastere Dreade 2,020]

On 1/28/2020 at 2:25 PM, B.J. Porter said:

Whipping Star

The Dosadi Experiment

Destination: Void

The Jesus Experiment

The White Plague

...to name a few.

that was an interesting read..

 

also George Martin has a few series outside of GoT

 

was in half price books  today,  saw a foundation book hadn't seen...   so google shows

Quote

Asimov began adding new volumes in 1981, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth, and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation.

i thinks there's 4 up there i hadn't heard of,  damn,  will have to start the whole series again, if i can find my books or if i can get it through the local library..

[Max Rockatansky 445]

Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

 

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

7 hours ago, Bacchus66 said:

I'm not a huge SK fan, but I will say that the Shawshank Redemption definitely did NOT suffer in translation to film. One of the best movies I've ever seen. The Green Mile was pretty good too, if not quite great.

King's novellas and short works make great movies.

I think his longer works don't translate as well without a longer format, e.g. The Stand as a miniseries.

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

2 hours ago, Grande Mastere Dreade said:

that was an interesting read..

 

also George Martin has a few series outside of GoT

 

was in half price books  today,  saw a foundation book hadn't seen...   so google shows

i thinks there's 4 up there i hadn't heard of,  damn,  will have to start the whole series again, if i can find my books or if i can get it through the local library..

First George R.R. Martin I read was a short story called Sandkings. It was in Omni magazine, and I think it was cut down. Read a fuller story later...creepy AF and still good.

[B.J. Porter 2,822]

1 hour ago, Max Rockatansky said:

Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman

 

I had no idea.

[Fah Kiew Tu 1,860]

1 hour ago, B.J. Porter said:

I had no idea.

Doesn't sound very like the original. I don't think I'll bother.

TL;DR if they've got a mention but Charles Stross (particularly the Laundry Files if you've an IT background) and John Scalzi Old Mans War series.

FKT

[Jason AUS 250]

On 1/27/2020 at 11:21 AM, mad said:

You beat me too it...... A scanner darkly is an interesting read, in a slightly mind altering way. 

Beyond Lies the Wub...

[MR.CLEAN 3,811]

30 minutes ago, Shootist Jeff said:

a good plague that wiped out a couple of billion wouldn't be such a bad thing.  

That's a different King book.  Maybe the best one.

 

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, MR.CLEAN said:

That's a different King book.  Maybe the best one.

 

 

I’ve read that one at least 3x. I keep hoping it will come true in my lifetime. 

[IStream 2,226]

4 hours ago, Shootist Jeff said:

All true.  And the Shining was excellent as well.  Which is why I said "almost all" of his books to film sucked.  

Except that King didn't like the Shining adaptation. King's got a good imagination and passable writing skills. I'm not surprised that he'd react negatively to his material in the hands of a master who didn't give a shit about maintaining fidelity to the source material. Kubrick made it far better as far as I'm concerned.

[IStream 2,226]

4 hours ago, Shootist Jeff said:

I like that one too.  It was probably one of the earliest books I read about mankind being wiped out.  I still say with the global population pressures we put on the environment, a good plague that wiped out a couple of billion wouldn't be such a bad thing.  

You may get your wish, though probably not in the form of the 2019 nCoV unless it mutates to become a lot more lethal. More likely, another superflu.

[Meat Wad 532]

On 1/28/2020 at 12:25 PM, B.J. Porter said:

The White Plague

"The White Plague is a 1982 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert that explores madness and revenge on a global scale."

Pretty vague, Zombies??

 

If you have not read the Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.

BUY IT. every library should have it. https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Stories-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/0312878214/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

It is the collection of short stories that many of his novels are based on. It also has the 50 page short called, "The Wind from the Sun".

 

[Coolerking 45]

On 1/29/2020 at 11:58 AM, Bacchus66 said:

I'm not a huge SK fan, but I will say that the Shawshank Redemption definitely did NOT suffer in translation to film. One of the best movies I've ever seen. The Green Mile was pretty good too, if not quite great.

Oh yea,  the story was originally called "Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption"

From the Novella "Different Seasons" which also had another short story called "The Body" which became the film Stand By Me, in fact I think all of the stories were made into films. good stuff for sure.

 Shawshank was a masterpiece imho, the end scene, the shot of finally seeing the blue ocean after all the stone grey and darkness of the film, and Andy and Red meeting again was and always will be pure joy.

Nearly perfect film.

 

 

[Coolerking 45]

2 hours ago, Meat Wad said:

"The White Plague is a 1982 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert that explores madness and revenge on a global scale."

Pretty vague, Zombies??

 

If you have not read the Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke.

BUY IT. every library should have it. https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Stories-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/0312878214/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

It is the collection of short stories that many of his novels are based on. It also has the 50 page short called, "The Wind from the Sun".

 

Capt. Tripps coming to call?

The Herbert book White Plague, if I remember correctly, it was a guy whose wife and family were killed, and he designed a pathogen that killed every woman on earth or something like that..

Not unlike Children Of Men I guess.

Scary stuff anyhow.

[Bacchus66 20]

12 minutes ago, Coolerking said:

Shawshank was a masterpiece imho, the end scene, the shot of finally seeing the blue ocean after all the stone grey and darkness of the film, and Andy and Red meeting again was and always will be pure joy.

Nearly perfect film.

I couldn't agree more. Though my favorite single shot is him tearing of his shirt in the rain after emerging from the pipe. Definitely in my personal top 5.

Part of what makes it so great is how well cast and played all the other roles besides Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman were. When the smaller roles are giving so much to the movie, it's always going to be good. Throw in two outstanding starring performances, a sublime script, great directing and an awesome production design/cinematography on top of that and you end up with a masterpiece.

" I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. "