# I need some more Sci-fi reading! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596 "2006-02-15T04:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/41 "2006-02-20T03:56:00Z")
If you like military science fiction, the _Hammer’s Slammers_ series by David Drake is a classic. ---
**Author:** ![pipperroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@pipperroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipperroo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/42 "2006-02-20T04:07:16Z")
In addition to agreeing about Isaac Asimov, I also suggest several books by Sherri S Tepper: The Fresco, Gate To Woman’s Country, The Visitor, Family Tree, and a couple others I can’t think of right now. And also L.E. Modesitt Jr, Andre Norton, and C.J. Cherryh. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/43 "2006-02-20T06:41:56Z")
I’ll third (or fourth, or whatever we’re up to now) Heinlein’s _Moon is a Harsh Mistress_. IMO, it’s his best work, although _Stranger in a Strange Land_ and _Double Star_ are also excellent. You’ll get conflicting opinions about _Starship Troopers_, but I enjoyed it. Those four would be Heinlein’s four Hugos. Other good choices from Heinlein might be _Farmer in the Sky_ or _Time Enough for Love_. If you enjoy _Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, you might consider _The Rolling Stones_, just to see a shameless reusal of a character. I loved Asimov’s _Foundation_, but I thought the sequels went downhill fast. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle often collaborate on books, usually with excellent results. _Footfall, The Mote in God’s Eye, Lucifer’s Hammer_, and in collaboration with Stephen Barnes, _The Legacy of Heorot_. That last is one of the best colonization stories I’ve ever read. I’d also vote for Pohl’s _Gateway_ and Le Guin’s _Left Hand of Darkness_. And **Etumretniw** is right, _Ender’s Game_ is one of the greatest sci-fi novels in existence. The sequels are also good, but in a much more thoughtful and much less dramatic way. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/44 "2006-02-20T11:29:14Z")
Neal Asher writes cyberpunkish space opera set in an improbably hostile universe. I recommend \*\*‘Line of Polity’, ‘Gridlinked’ \*\* and **‘Brass Man’**. The last two feature Mr Crane a psychopathic android hitman: - “They called him Crane because he was so very tall. They called him _Mr_ Crane because he was so very prone to dismembering people.” ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/45 "2006-02-20T21:45:49Z")
I haven’t seen anyone in this thread mention William Gibson. I’m not big into sci-fi (or at least the hardcore stuff), but it seems like every big-wig sci-fi geek recommends him - I can’t get through a bloody issue of _Wired_ without someone singing his praises. How does he stand up with the sci-fi readers on this board? I started reading _Idoru_ but I gave up partway through, it was too boring. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/46 "2006-02-20T21:53:53Z")
Well, **kushiel** , I thought Gibson’s _Neuromancer_ was great, but _Idoru_ didn’t do much for me, either. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2006, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/47 "2006-02-21T10:47:52Z")
**Johnny Angel** and other Retief fans, you do know that there’s a new sequel out called _[Retief’s Peace](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=eV3bMM6Ddl&isbn=1416509003&itm=1)_, right? The author is the same fellow who continued Keith Laumer’s Bolo series. I’d also recommend Sarah Zettel’s books. I’ve found _Fools War_ and _Playing God_ interesting and thought-provoking. In other words, SF at its best! CJ ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/48 "2006-02-26T02:18:19Z")
Thanks for this thread. I’m almost done with A Storm of Swords(Fire & Ice book 3) and am too cheap to get Feast of Crows in hardcover. Thought I’d break up my fantasy streak (the other Fire Ice books) and read some SF. I couldn’t decide between Peter F. Hamilton’s Reality Dysfunction, Part 1: Emergence and Tad Williams’ Otherland Vol 1. (of the books recommended here that I have not read and I could find these two appealed to me the most) so I bought both 🙂 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/49 "2006-02-26T02:31:13Z")
Lotsa good stuff named here! I’ll put in my obligatory plug for the works of E. E. “Doc” Smith, the [**Lensman**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman) series, and the [**Skylark**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skylark_of_Space) series. The first book in the latter series, **Skylark of Space** , as it was one of the first, if not the first, novel about interstellar travel, published in 1928. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/50 "2006-02-26T04:18:20Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > I’ll put in my obligatory plug for the works of E. E. “Doc” Smith, the [**Lensman**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman) series, and the [**Skylark**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skylark_of_Space) series. Oh, yeah! When I put in my plug for the Lensman series a few posts back, I completely forgot about the Skylark books. I think his characters were prototypes for characters in a lot of later science fiction movies. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/51 "2006-02-26T16:20:50Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > And speaking of old-fashioned, if you like space opera, read E.E. “Doc” Smith’s _Lensman_ series (“Despite the unleashing of hitherto-unimaginable forces as the unstoppable beam of energy hit the evil force’s newly-constructed unpierceable shield, the beam from our hero’s ship was unable to breach the shield to destroy the invader’s ship. Clued in by the color of the unfathomable streamers of raw energy, however, Kinnison adjusted the frequency of the output using a handy paperclip, single-handedly muscled the 800-pound energy projector into it’s new position, shuttled the backup power to the weapon room using a strip of highly-conductive material ripped from the arm of his space suit, and blew the bad guy’s ship into a cloud of dust while composing a sonnet for his sweetheart, who was treating the wounded pilot by giving him a transfusion of her own blood using a pocketknife, a soda straw, and a gum wrapper.”) **Okay, so I exaggerate. Slightly.** You don’t exaggerate even slightly! 😃 Didja ever see the “Doc” Smith sample in the classic thread [if LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=138905) It’s post #15 (of over 2000) in the thread. Do you know Periwinkle? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/52 "2006-02-27T03:26:01Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Didja ever see the “Doc” Smith sample in the classic thread [if LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=138905) It’s post #15 (of over 2000) in the thread. How in Middle-Earth did I miss that thread? It’s wonderful. It’s incredible. It’s too darned long. And your Smith fits it beautifully. > [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Do you know Periwinkle? 😉 Periwinkle? ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/53 "2006-02-27T14:36:04Z")
Sorry for the hijack, but what’s the difference between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sci-fi? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/54 "2006-02-27T14:56:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Sorry for the hijack, > > but what’s the difference between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sci-fi? I’m sure several replies will hit before mine precipitates, but: “Hard” science fiction is fiction where the science (mostly) accurate, and is often crucial to the plot or the point of the story. Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne arguably started this form. Other notables are Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, the late Hal Clement, and a great many others. It does _not_ imply a lack of interest in characterization, human values, etc., although it is certainly possible for a writer to get too obsessed with his gadgetry, just as any writing can have faults. “Soft” science fiction is fiction where this is not the case. Lots of excellent SF writers didn’t try to get into details, concentrated on other aspectsd of the story, or sometimes didn’t know a lot of science. Robergt Sheckley, Fredric Brown, Jack Chalker… there are plenty of examples. Fredric Brown’s scientific errors are sometimes outrageous, but he was a helluva writer. In the grey area we’ve got people whose science fiction is so far out that it’s not really meaningful to call it “hard” or “soft”. “Doc” Smith’s space opera space ships are so out-of-there that there’s no point in trying to call them oner way or the other. (But when he writes about, say, mining, he’s got his techn ology accurate). Is anything of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series remotely like achievable technology? Who can say? Or you’ve got “soft” sciences like Anthropology. Controversial territory here. Is Ursula K. LeGuin “hard” or “soft”? Just because it’s Anthropology instead of Nuts and Bolts doesn’t mean it ain’t science. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/55 "2006-02-27T15:23:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’m sure several replies will hit before mine precipitates, but: I don’t care, yours was awesome. 😃 Thanks! _mwah_ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/56 "2006-02-27T15:59:59Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Periwinkle? You know! Wombat and Periwinkle! “Doc” Smith’s crack acrobatic/espionage team from Imperial Stars! I thought with your handle, you must have read about them. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596/57 "2006-02-28T15:10:19Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > You know! Wombat and Periwinkle! “Doc” Smith’s crack acrobatic/espionage team from Imperial Stars! I thought with your handle, you must have read about them. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-some-more-sci-fi-reading/344596.md?page=2)