Vivian on 9/12/2005 at 11:21
Quote Posted by Scots_Taffer
Michael Marshall Smith writes the best science-fiction around. At least, in
my opinion.
I'd agree with you on 'Spares' and to a lesser extent 'Only Forward', but 'One of Us' was pushing it a bit far, I think. It put me off reading that detective thriller he did for a bit. But Spares was great, with some fantastic if slightly messily-plotted leaps of the imagination. Whats with his obessession with talking locks and suchlike, however?
Oh yeah, and that Island film can suck my fists. They didn't pay MMS a penny for obviously ripping off (and watering down into some piss-weak soup) his book.
Scots Taffer on 9/12/2005 at 11:57
I haven't read One Of Us. Spares was really good but I also got a bit kick out of Only Forward, but I particularly enjoy his writing style, the mix of surreal and sci-fi and thriller and detective worked, and it had a fair bit of humour in there.
The other authors I mentioned are also both good, but where Dick is patchy with quality and coherence, Morgan can be a bit soapboxey, tangental and tell-not-show.
ignatios on 9/12/2005 at 12:45
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It's not exactly Deus Ex or System Shock, but it's a great read. The rest of the Ender series is supposed to be just as good, though I've never read them.
Matthew on 9/12/2005 at 12:48
I quite liked Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams.
Jennie&Tim on 9/12/2005 at 14:03
C.J. Cherryh is quite good: I'd recommend starting with the Chanur books or Downbelow Station.
On a lighter note, particularly if you like space opera, Bujold's Vorkosigan books are a lot of fun.
DC on 9/12/2005 at 15:52
Haven't read any of Bujold's Vorkosigan books, but I enjoyed The Spirit Ring, though there is nothing even remotely SF about it.
Ilium, another Dan Simmons, is very enjoyable. I can't compare it to the Hyperion books cos I haven't read those yet. Threre is a sequel out now also - Olympos.
Julia on 9/12/2005 at 19:09
Anything by Ray Bradbury. Especially The Martian Chronicles, The Golden Apples of the Sun, The Illustrated Man, and wow...I could go on and on. The great thing about Bradbury, is that many of his sci-fi books, are collections of short stories. I also highly reccommend CS Lewis' Space Trilogy, starting with Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and ending with That Hideous Strength. All are amazing, and I go through them in a day. Good Good stuff.
Flux on 9/12/2005 at 22:49
Thanks a lot everyone, started checking them.
Gray on 9/12/2005 at 23:41
Well, I for one thoroughly enjoyed most Clarke and Dick novels I've read so far, but I also have to mention the lighter side of sci-fi. Clearly, nobody should ever go without reading the Douglas Adams trilogy (the five-part The Hitchhiker's Guide), but also, the Red Dwarf novels are rather more amusing than the TV series and well worth checking out (Grant/Naylor).
