# Suggest Good Science-Fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414 "2011-08-28T20:40:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/41 "2011-09-05T16:56:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I hope you enjoy Hamilton. He really is an excellent writer and he does keep the ideas coming. It’s just that his work can be overwhelming - I think _Pandora’s Star_ and _Judas Unchained_ have something like a hundred characters you need to keep track of. I’m really surprised to hear so many recommendations for the “Pandora’s Star” _series_. I read (and enjoyed) “Pandora’s Star” but “Judas Unchained” was so universally reviled I never even picked it up. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/42 "2011-09-05T17:23:00Z")
> [@BuickGNX1987](#): > > **cmyk** ,I haven’t seen very many. I like the Star Wars movies. I really liked the _Knights of the Old Republic_ games, mainly because of all the little facts about the Star Wars universe it gives. Most of that stuff seems to be glanced over in the movies. \*\*Expansive universes and Future histories. \*\* I think the [Foundations series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series) by Asimov and/or the [Hyperion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(Simmons_novel)) series by Dan Simmons. Also, [Dune](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)) by Frank Herbet, of course. > [@BuickGNX1987](#): > > I saw this older one about a submarine and crew that get shrunk and injected into someone’s body. That was pretty cool. **Miniaturization.** Fantastic Voyage. I haven’t read the original, but I read the sequel [Fantastic Voyage: Destination Brain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage_II:_Destination_Brain) (also by Isaac Asimov) when I was a teen and loved it. I think you would too. > [@BuickGNX1987](#): > > Terminator 1 and 2 were pretty cool, especially 1. I liked 2 better as a kid, but when I watch T1 now, I think it’s the better of the two just because of the mood it sets. I mean, how hopeless does it look for Sarah Connor after the Terminator single-handedly takes on that police station. Whatever uncertainty the viewer has about the effectiveness of small-arms fire on the T-800 pretty much evaporates after that. Plus Ahnuld is like the perfect actor for a emotionless killer cyborg. **Cyborgs and Time Travel.** Not a lot is coming to mind here, since the sci-fi aspect is pretty thin, and was more cat and mouse / action and explosions. There are myriad stories about both cyborgs (Asimov again), and time travel. But I nothing comes to mind as far as ruthless, killer robots right now. However, a recent time travel story I thought was fun was [The Accidental Time Machine](http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Time-Machine-Joe-Haldeman/dp/0441014992) by Joe Haldeman. > [@BuickGNX1987](#): > > I’ve seen some newer ones, like _War of the Worlds_ (Tom Cruise version) and _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ (I think; it had Keanu Reeves). Those were OK I guess. I don’t know though, I don’t find very many movies interesting these days. _Avatar_ was pretty good I suppose. > > Other than that, not too many things are ringing a bell here. Sorry, I know that doesn’t help very much. It helps a lot. For me, I try to narrow down what _concepts_ I like, and find SF books that center around those. Anyway… **Alien invasion and First Contact.** I very much recommend reading the book that started it all, [War of the Worlds](http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/warworlds/warw.html) by H.G. Welles. Written in 1898, it’s still damn near perfect, IMHO. It’s in the public domain now, so that link is the entire novel. The science fiction genre is my favorite (especially hard science fiction). I’ve found that most of my favorite stories are in the short-fiction category here. Pick up almost any short science-fiction anthology, and I think you’ll find many stories that appeal to you, are a quick and fun read, and you might start to develop a more refined taste for what you like, and authors who appeal to you more than others. Also, Stephen King is mostly known for his horror stories, but he’s done plenty in the science fiction genre as well. [Under The Dome](http://www.amazon.com/Under-Dome-Novel-Stephen-King/dp/1439148503) is a recent one, but here again is where I think short-fiction shines. In Skeleton Crew (a stellar anthology by King) is _The Jaunt,_ one of my favorite stories of all time. Also, check out Asimov’s [_The Last Question._](http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html) Good luck and enjoy the hunt! ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/43 "2011-09-05T17:28:36Z")
**First Contact** _The Sparrow_ By Mary Doria Russell. Probably one of the most well written and well constructed First Contact stories I have ever read. It is plausible and visionary at the same time. There’s a sequel called, “Children of God” which is also good but quite different. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/44 "2011-09-05T22:42:18Z")
Can i make the obvious suggestion, which i don’t believe anyones made yet. If you don’t want to blow money on something you don’t like how about your local public library. Take some of the suggestions made and see if your local library has them in stock. If not they can probably order them for you from another one. Or just go there and browse in person and see if anything catchs your eye. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/45 "2011-09-05T23:39:13Z")
The Library: It’s like the Internet, for old people! _gets smacked by a thrown copy of Twilight_ ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/46 "2011-09-06T00:14:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Hopefully, you realized I wasn’t kidding when I said Hamilton takes a thousand pages just to get a story started. _Pandora’s Star_ is the opening book in the Commonwealth series - and the series is 4384 pages long. Well, it’s the first of a two-parter, the second one about as long as the first. The second series of books (a trilogy) is set over 1,500 years from the events in PS and are a separate (and, imho, not as good) story. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/47 "2011-09-06T00:25:11Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > The Library: It’s like the Internet, for old people! _gets smacked by a thrown copy of Twilight_ Oh, I am so using this as soon as I get a chance. But it’s true. In my Nuthin’ But SciFi phase (late 60s), I would sit on the floor in the SF section of the Wauwatosa Public Library for hours, browsing. Because some authors and genres and styles I just loved, and some I thought were boring or contrived. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/48 "2011-09-06T00:32:13Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I’m really surprised to hear so many recommendations for the “Pandora’s Star” _series_. I read (and enjoyed) “Pandora’s Star” but “Judas Unchained” was so universally reviled I never even picked it up. I didn’t like it at first, but it grew on me quite a bit. But in case anybody is interested, here’s my [first impressions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424587) about JU. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414/49 "2011-09-06T09:30:35Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > The Library: It’s like the Internet, for old people! _gets smacked by a thrown copy of Twilight_ I’m literally about to go out to one now. You kids keep the noise down while i’m out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-good-science-fiction/594414.md?page=2)