Some of the classics I've read...

[The Master™]

Knivesout thought it might be a good idea to post this here... Get some discussion going... HE CAN BE SOOOOOOO PUSHY!!!

So, anyhoo:
Here are some of the ones I've read and my feelings...

Firstly, I must just say that a lot of the books have a very dated feel to them... Showing the ideologies of the times they were written...

Joe Haldeman - The Forver War... An enjoyable read... Highly recommended...The idea of the super intelligent being soldiers instead of those whose only worth is as cannon-fodder...

Robert Silverberg - The Book of Skulls... Kind of a "rights of passage" story... Bit of heavy going at times...

Greg Bear - Eon... Highly recommended... Full of lots of techno-babble... May take a couple of reads to understand a lot of it...

Samuel R Delany - Nova... I've tried reading this book many times, but always seem to get a mental block and need to put it away for a while and then start again...

Richard Matheson - I Am Legend... Vampire-type post apocolyptic novel... A good read... Reminds me of Omega Man in some ways...

Larry Niven... I've read Ringworld and Destiny's Road...Both good reads... Sometimes a little heavy going... Hoping to getting around to Ringworld Engineers, The Man-Kzin Wars and The Man-Kzin Wars II soon...

If you are wanting a laugh and something a little different - you can't do better than Harry Harrison... I've read The Stainless Steel Rat, and Bill, the Galactic Hero... Definitely worth the time... They aren't very thick, so you might get through them in a couple of nights...

[polymorphikos]

Can I say some too? I'll take that as a yes.

A. E. Van Vogt - The Voyage of the Space Beagle - an enjoyable space actioneer with little central plot but some very memorable creature, focusing upon a young scientist who is part of a naturalistic expecition.

E. E. "Doc" Smith - The Skylark of Space - an extremely fast-paced space opera about a scientist who discovers the secret of interstellar travel and the man who wants to steal said secret from him. Read if you want a good romp that's light on the meaning and high on the excitement. Has three sequels.

Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Novels of Caspak - "Lost World"-type trilogy of the adventures of a man who is captured by a German sub and escapes when they are lost on a primeval island with a very perculiar life-cycle, and the subsequent adventures of two of the men who come to rescue him. All of Burroughs' trademark flare for narrative and fantastic cities and beasts, and his scenes of the carnosaurs are very memorable.

Asimov - Pebble in the Sky - A brilliant story of a post-holocaust world in the distant future where the galactic empire views earthlings as subhuman, and a man from the twentieth century who is transported there.

The War of the Worlds - You know what it's about. If you haven't read it, then all I can say is WHY?!!!!

Harry Harrison - West of Eden - Harrison is often thought of solely for his humorous work, but this "Clash of the Timeperiods" adventure story is very good. Has sequels that I've never read, a well-developed plot, and excellent attention to detail in the technology. Very fanciful, but what isn't, when you think about it?

As for your list, I can't say that I've read any of it excepting The Forever War. I love that book. Very thought-provoking, and not as dated as people refer to it being. I'm out of the loop, though, so I could be missing something. I'll have to read that Greg Bear book, and I think I saw The Book of Skulls in my local bookshop.

[knivesout]

Thanks for kicking this off , The Master.


I have not yet read Joe Haldemann, though I am looking out for The Forever War.

Robert Silverberg - I've read Nightwings, a most excellent sf tale set in a far-future earth. Notable for its depiction of the future world, one that has fallen from a technological/cultural peak and still harbours memories of old ages, and for the central theme of the Watchers. Dying Inside, another of his novels, is one of the finest I have read - a brilliant depiction of telepath who is loosing his powers, in many ways it may well be a metaphor for the coming of age and loss of earlier zest that we all experience.

Greg Bear - I've read a number of short stories, and two novels - Strength of Stones and Beyond Heaven's River. Definitely a writer in the hard SF tradition, very varied in quality but the conceptual pay-off is always rich.

Sameul Delany - I enjoyed his short stories, but found the one novel I read - The Einstein Intersection - ultimately unsatisfying. I think the problem is that, as a dedicated 70s new-waver, Delany tries a bit too hard to shake off pulpy genre elements - such as a discernible and resolved plot. I think he is a good writer but way too self-consciously intellectual for real enjoyment, I suspect.

Larry Niven - Definitely the sort of stuff sf-bashers would moan and groan about. Characterisation is shallow, with most human protagonists seeming like eternal 13 year olds. Social structures are terribly conservative for such a sweeping vision - most of his works fit into a future history of Known Space. Having said all that, the payoffs for the hard SF fan are immense. Ringworld is his best known creation - a brilliant riff on the Dyson sphere concept - but there's more where that came from. His alien-contact novel with Jerry Pournelle , The Mote in God's Eye is a deserved SF classic. This is a writer who will stretch your left brain and give you healthy doses of that classic SF sense of wonder.

AE van Vogt - May seem quaint by modern standards, but what a visionary! Most of his novels are fix-ups of several short stories, hence the patchiness at times. Thematically he largely deals with people who achieve a sort of super-human stature by means of superior mental discipline. The Null-A novels are mystifying, but rewarding. Space Beagle set the pace for so many fantastic voyages - elements have found their way into both Star Trek and the Alien movies.

Edgar Rice Burroughs - Thrilling space fantasy that hasn't lost one jot of its power to enthrall and entertain.

My own Sf reading covers a lot of classic stuff - will weigh in with more details soon.

[littlemissattitude]

Wow. What a list.

To begin with - Silverberg's "The Book of Skulls" is a wonderful book. I've got to find it and read it again. It's been years.

I read Greg Bear's "Eon" quite a long time ago, as well, and I remember liking it a lot. But then there was a sequel, and I couldn't get through it. I really liked "Blood Music", "The Forge of God", and "Darwin's Radio".

And there's a reason Matheson's "I Am Legend" reminds you of "The Omega Man"; that is the book the film was based on. It was also the basis of an earlier film, "The Last Man on Earth", which starred Vincent Price.

As far as Larry Niven goes, I've never read any of his solo novels. However, I've quite liked some of the things he's written with Jerry Pournelle. "Lucifer's Hammer", although I've heard that in some circles it is considered racist. I didn't get that, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention - although I usually pick up on that kind of thing pretty quickly. Also, as knivesout mentioned, "The Mote in God's Eye" is another book I read a long time ago and really liked; probably should read that one again as well. And then there's "Inferno", which they based on Dante's "Inferno", in which it is a science fiction writer who gets the tour of Hell. Good book.

Honestly, I read a lot of the classic stuff so long ago that I don't remember that much about it. Some of my favorites, in addition to those listed above, are:

Heinlein's "Stranger In A Strange Land" - yes, it's quite dated now in many ways, as we've discussed around here before. But it is still an amazing book. I've also got to mention the first Heinlein juvenile, which I read when I was about eight, "Red Planet".

Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey" - Of course, it was expanded from the short story "The Sentinel" when the film was made; but I do think it stands up.

Michael Bishop's "No Enemy But Time" - If this book is not considered a classic, at least of the time-travel sub-genre (which I have a special thing for), it should be.

David Brin's "Earth" - I've read this one a couple of times; it's a long complicated novel that, I think, takes time to absorb.

I'm trying to think of a couple more classics, or books I think should be classics, but I can't make them come up from the depths of my mind right now. Anyway, this has got me thinking, and you all have suggested some things that I haven't read yet that I'll have to look for. My reading list just keeps getting longer and longer and longer.

[Michael]

I've read some of that: *Forever War*, *Ringworld Engineers* (I know, it would be nice if I'd *Ringworld* first, but . . . ), *West of Eden*, and *Stranger in a Strange Land*. I loved them all.

I *have* *War the Worlds* and I keep asking myself why I don't read it again. A long time ago I had an anthology of H.G. Wells stories (I wish I knew what happened to it) and I read everything in it. How about:

Wells' "Food of the Gods" - You may have seen the movies, but the first only gets into the giant rats and has very little to do with the book. The second comes close. The main difference is the time in which it takes place. I really liked the book, of course.

[knivesout]

You know, that is one Wells book I have not read. Could you tell me a bit about the theme?

[Michael]

Originally Posted by knivesout

You know, that is one Wells book I have not read. Could you tell me a bit about the theme?

Wow, you're quick. I just barely finished editing the post and you've replied!

It's been a while since I read it so I hope I get this right. Basically, a scientist develops a formula to make things grow very big. I think the reason is to end world hunger or something like that. Somehow, the formula gets loose and all kinds of trouble starts.

[knivesout]

Sounds like something Wells would really have run with. There is a quaint old 50s hardback edition (with the original dust-jacket, the art therein is the quaint aspect) in a local second hand store. Perhaps I shall buy it once the paycheck arrives.

My favourite Wells novel is The Island of Dr Moreau, not least for its horrific elements. I suppose my favourite short story would be The Country of the Blind - a most thought-provoking take on the claim that 'in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king'.

- speedy knivesout

[The Master™]

Just had to visit Waterstones bookshop, this dinner time... And purchased some more classics to get me teeth into:

Sheri S Tepper - Grass (1989)
Gregory Benford - Timescape (1980)
Philip K Dick - Martian Time-slip (1964)
Alfred Bester - The Demolished Man (1953)
Ursula Le Guin - The Dispossessed (1974)

Any comments on these???

[polymorphikos]

My favourite Wells novel is the Time machine. Needless to say I was less than happy with the latest film version of it. Here's hoping...

The best shorts he wrote, to me, were "The Abyss", "The Crystal Egg", and "The Valley of the Spiders". Awesome stuff, and in his shorts he really lets loose his story-telling instead of some of the stuffier aspects of his writing. I've a feeling they have an anthology of his stories in the bookshop in town, but I've already spent all of my money.

(edit: sorry, didn't see you there. Haven't read any of them, i'm afraid).

[knivesout]

Originally Posted by The Master™

Any comments on these???

The Disposessed: It's a study in different social set-ups and a comparison between an more or less anarchistic system and one that is more authoritarian and their relative merits. It does have interesting characters and a plot, don't worry, but it's more a thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating read than an adventure yarn. I think Le Guin writes beautifully, btw.

The Demolished Man: Bester has two real masterpieces* to his name, and this is one. A very original book, a bit obtuse at times, but rewarding in the end. Tenser, said the tensor...

I don't know how that Tepper book is, but I have mixed feelings on what I have read by her- she writes well, has a powerful imagination, but there is a distinct feminist agenda that I sometimes feel is a bit too strident. Still, if nothing else,a good balance to the largely male-dominated SF ethos.

* The other one is 'The Stars My Destination' aka 'Tiger, Tiger' , an SF re-casting of Stevenson's Count of Monte Cristo, among other things, and my favourite by Bester, so far

[littlemissattitude]

Originally Posted by The Master™

Just had to visit Waterstones bookshop, this dinner time... And purchased some more classics to get me teeth into:

Sheri S Tepper - Grass (1989)
Gregory Benford - Timescape (1980)
Philip K Dick - Martian Time-slip (1964)
Alfred Bester - The Demolished Man (1953)
Ursula Le Guin - The Dispossessed (1974)

Any comments on these???

Benford's "Timescape" is one of the books I was trying to think of when I posted in this thread before. I recommend it highly; it's another one I haven't read in some time and need to read again. I actually finally remembered title and author yesterday while I was at lunch and just hadn't gotten around to posting about it here yet.

[polymorphikos]

Knivesout:* The other one is 'The Stars My Destination' aka 'Tiger, Tiger' , an SF re-casting of Stevenson's Count of Monte Cristo, among other things, and my favourite by Bester, so far.

Do you mean Dumas? Sorry if I'm picking you up on things. Just not sure if you're referring to another retreatment I've never heard of.

[knivesout]

No Polymorphikos, you are of course right. My memory failed and foiled me in this respect.

[Ivo]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

And then there's "Inferno", which they based on Dante's "Inferno", in which it is a science fiction writer who gets the tour of Hell. Good book.

I really enjoyed that book. I'm pretty much Agnostic but have a fascination with Biblical imagery, especially concerning Hell. I had read Dante's works in High School and Inferno, of course, left the biggest impression on me.

When I saw this book I thought it was one of the more original ideas for a book I had heard of in a long time. Outstanding book, especially trying to picture Benito as a guide through Hell!

I'm suprised it never got much attention.