# Recommend Some Good, Little Known Sci/fi **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741 "2003-10-05T18:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/41 "2003-10-07T19:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isabelle \* > \*\*Soylent Green is a classic. > > The Blob is a classic > > Invasion of the Body Snatchers \*\* **Make Room! Make Room!** by Harry Harrison, filmed as Soylent Green in 1973 Was **The Blob** based on a book? **Invasion of the Body Snatchers** by Jack Finney, first published in 1955–there are 3 motion pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Politzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/42 "2003-10-07T19:39:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by foolsguinea \* > \*\*Keith Laumer, of course. The “Retief” stories, & _Dinosaur Beach_. > \*\* Ooh - you beat me to Laumer! I recently discovered him myself, thanks to [The Baen Free Library](http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm) - they’ve got a Retief short story collection, another ss collection called _Keith Laumer: The Lighter Side_ and _Galactic Odyssey_. ---
**Author:** ![konzar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ac8455/32.png) [@konzar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/konzar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/43 "2003-10-07T21:03:11Z")
Jack McDevitt is a really good, not-real-well-known author. “The Engines of God” is terrific. About an alien intelligence out to destroy all other forms of intelligence in the universe. “Eternity Road” is a great post-apocalypse novel. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/44 "2003-10-09T14:24:23Z")
I’ll second (or third) Piper. Liked the _Fuzzy_ books, as well as the ones written by other authors. I also enjoyed the _Matador_ series by Steve Perry. Although I don’t think he’s an obscure author, the series itself isn’t well know. First book in the series is _The 97th Step_. Good read. I enjoyed _Death World_ as well as it’s two sequals, by Harry Harrison. I also enjoyed the \*Fire Dancer \* books by Ann Maxwel. Those are a bit harder to find, but I did like the stories. ---
**Author:** ![KingLupid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/839c29/32.png) [@KingLupid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KingLupid)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2003, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/45 "2003-10-11T22:16:55Z")
Holy crap! What a response! This will keep me busy for awhile. Thanks, Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/46 "2003-10-12T00:38:51Z")
Eric Frank Russell: _The Sentinels of Space, Sinister Barrier, Wasp, Three to Conquer_. Trust me, he is the most underrated SF author of all. A writer named Louis Charbonneau wrote some decent books, but I can’t remember titles off the top of my head. John T. Sladek’s _Mechasm_ William Sloan’s _The Edge of Running Water_. He also wrote _To Walk the Night_, which I have, but have not yet read. John Wyndham’s _Out of the Deeps_, also known as _Kraken_, and _Rebirth_. I second Zenster’s remarks about Hodgeson. One of my dungeons is based on _The House on the Borderlands_. I also agree with Jeffwc’s remarks about Brown’s _Martians, Go Home_, although I don’t think Brown can be considered obscure. ---
**Author:** ![KingLupid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/839c29/32.png) [@KingLupid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KingLupid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/47 "2003-10-12T02:20:39Z")
Funny you should mention Wyndham: I am about halfway through **Triffids** right now. I really like his writing style. I guess I haven’t read many British authors in the past, and it seems to be a breath of fresh air. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/48 "2003-10-12T02:56:35Z")
I preferred Lem’s _Cyberiad_ better. Freak’n hilarious man. 🙂 [Peter Watts](http://www.sfwa.org/members/Watts/) _Starfish_ is an amazing novel… I recommend it highly. Dunno how obscure they are, but I really liked _The Eyes of Light and Darkness_ by [Ivan Cat with Darren Savari](http://www.nextlevel.com/eyes/index.htm). I couldn’t find a link for her, so I’d say Clare Bell, with her series starting with _Ratha’s Creature_ counts. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741/49 "2003-10-12T05:42:38Z")
Bruce Sterling is a well-known author, but his early works don’t get the attention they deserve. Check out _Involution Ocean_ – closer to traditional SF than his later cyberpunk output, but still showing a distinctive style and imagination. Avram Davidson (1923-1993) deserves even more attention than he gets. He wrote more fantasy (and mystery – he was one of the several authors who wrote as “Ellery Queen”) than SF, but his style has been widely praised, and if you read even one of his stories you will understand why. See the Avram Davidson Website, [http://www.avramdavidson.org/](http://www.avramdavidson.org/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-good-little-known-sci-fi/205741.md?page=2)