# What's your favorite Sci-Fi book series? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359 "2000-11-15T20:18:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/1 "2000-11-15T20:18:31Z")
Gaderene gave me the idea in this thread: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46523](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46523) My favorite was Wild Cards edited by George RR Martin. It had just about every sort of power, evil, character interaction, disfigurment, power struggle, etc. that you could imagine. Plus, being an alternate history, it was cool seeing the effects that these events had on the world at large. I was a huge fan of Popinjay, Perigrine, Dr. Tachyon, and The Turtle. I fell out of reading them once I got out of college and missed the last few books, but they were great. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/2 "2000-11-15T20:28:10Z")
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Shadow of the Torturer Claw of the Conciliator Sword of the Lictor Citadel of the Autarch Literary _genius_. MR ---
**Author:** ![Ludo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Ludo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/3 "2000-11-15T20:34:19Z")
_The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ series by Douglas Adams mmmmmm… -or- the _Dune_ series by Frank Herbert ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/4 "2000-11-15T21:00:03Z")
Dune, hands down. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/5 "2000-11-15T21:11:34Z")
Are we talking Sci-Fi or Fantasy here? For Science Fiction, I’d nominate _The Hyperian Cantos_ By Dan Simmons. For Fantasy, it’s a tie between Stephen R. Donaldson’s _Thomas Covenant_ books and Roger Zelazney’s _Amber_ series (only the first one, though). I won’t judge a series before it’s finished, but if George R.R. Martin’s _A Song of Ice and Fire_ and King’s _Dark Tower_ live up to their potentials, I may need to expand my list. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2000, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/6 "2000-11-15T21:14:43Z")
Recently I’ve been reading the Man-Kzin Wars (based on the ideas of Larry Niven) series. I ignored them when they started coming out, but I finally collected and read them all. They’re much better than I’d expected, and I recommend them. Some impressive authors have contributed to the series. My overall favorites “series” isn’t what I think you have in mind – the Ballantine books “Best of [author]” series from the 1970s-early 1980s put together great collections of stories by authors from the golden age and slighly beyond, some of whom had become virtually forgotten (like Raymond Z. Gallun). I still don’t have the whole set. While I really liked “Dune” and the first two sequels (which I read when they first came out), I started losing interest in characters whose ages could be measured in millenia. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/7 "2000-11-15T22:26:13Z")
_Wild Cards_, definitely. I loved Popinjay, Fortunato, and the Puppetmaster stuff, and the whole mosaic concept behind the stories blew me away. It’s so cool how multiple authors could intertwine their stories and plotlines within a single book to create a coherent, arcing narrative. Plus, the books were often funny as hell. Honorable mention goes to the Hyperion Cantos, mentioned by **Alessan** , and _Hitchhiker’s Guide_. ---
**Author:** ![Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/8 "2000-11-15T22:28:14Z")
Sorry about the spelling Gadarene. ---
**Author:** ![Anake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@Anake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anake)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/9 "2000-11-15T22:31:21Z")
The Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game Speaker For the Dead Xenocide Children of the Mind Ender’s Shadow Shadow of the Hedgemon From, Anake ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/10 "2000-11-15T22:35:15Z")
The Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs ---
**Author:** ![sliv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@sliv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sliv)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/11 "2000-11-15T22:35:20Z")
For sheer fun, I can’t recommend the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold enough. 15 books and still going strong. ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/12 "2000-11-15T23:18:49Z")
Fantasy Series…Tolkien pure and simple is my favorite. A very close second is Pratchetts _Diskworld_ Series. Where Science Fiction is concerned is a bit more difficult to answer. Dune and its first two sequels are good, but the later works basically ruin much of it. H.Beam Pipers works, if considered as a series of different stories in the same universe, are excellent. The same can be said of Niven’s known space works. A true series of SF that is always an enjoyable romp to read is ‘Doc’ Smiths _Lensmen_ works. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/13 "2000-11-15T23:29:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tommy the Cat \* > Sorry about the spelling Gadarene. It’s all good, Timmy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/14 "2000-11-15T23:40:02Z")
If you want a fantasy series that may never end, check out the “Dragonlance” books by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman! ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/15 "2000-11-16T00:01:17Z")
The hard part of this is that series are never done. Science Fiction The Foundation Series, Isaac Asimov. The first three books only. This series was done for 40 years until he started writing them again, unwisely in my opinion. The World of Tiers, Philip Jose Farmer. Farmer has several good series but I think this is his best (though equal parts science fiction and fantasy), followed by Riverworld (which falls apart at the end, in my opinion). Dune, Frank Herbert. The first book is so good that the series has to make anybody’s list but all the books after the first suck. Fuzzy Sapiens, H. Beam Piper. It is only two books but they are truly fun. Piper’s suicide was a great loss to science fiction. Mission Earth, L. Ron Hubbard. I’ve only put this in here to see if anybody is paying attention. The first book actually sets up an interesting universe/idea. The following nine books proceed to destroy any shred of promise contained within the first book. Current entry: Otherland, Tad Williams. Only the first three books are out and it is already shows signs of wear. It is showing potential, however. Fantasy Tolkein. I have never understood the fascination with these books. I enjoyed them as a kid but by the time I reread them as an adult they seemed too juvenile. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I think this series should be in anybody’s top five. Yes, most people find it too pessimistic but I think they are missing the point. However, the series manages to use all of the mainstays of epic fantasy without making them cliches. The Second Chronicles are weaker than the first three books but overall it is a fantastic series. The Riftwar Saga, Raymond E. Feist. Feist has extended this series well beyond the stories useful lifespan but the first series is very good. (It isn’t a series but everybody should read Feist’s “Faerie”) The Dragonriders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey. This one will gets lots of guffaws but I think if you consider only the early books it is a decent series (the downfall was trying to turn Pern into a Science Fiction universe rather than a Fantasy universe). You all should know that I am printing out this thread. In recent years I have pretty much given up on Fantasy and Science Fiction because it was becoming increasingly hard to find something worthwile to read. It has been a couple years of mostly non-fiction. I am going to take each and every one of you up on your recommendations and see if you have any taste. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/16 "2000-11-16T00:10:23Z")
Well, whenever I see a thread like this, I am obligated to lobby for Iain M. Banks. While I suppose his novels about the Culture are not necessarily a series (i.e. characters don’t recur), they’re pretty rewarding reads: So, my votes: Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons Excession ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/17 "2000-11-16T00:13:34Z")
**Titan, Wizard and Demon** by John Varley – it’s been years, and I don’t even recall the story lines – just that I really, really enjoyed them Just echoes from here on out – Martin’s **Song of Ice and Fire** , the first couple of **Dune** books, **Hyperion** and **Riverworld**. I’m in the midst of **Tigana** on the recommendation of people in this thread, and had to say thanks for turning me on to this. It’s as least as good as anything I’ve ever read in fantasy. I’m going to be sorry to see it end. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/18 "2000-11-16T00:32:39Z")
Second: Foundation Titan, Wizard, Demon Add: The Red Dwarf novels - for the most part a tighter continuity than the TV series, throws in some more interesting stuff - some of which actually seems to have been made cannon for the TV series as of Season 8. Robotech novelizations/novels - Robotech rocks in general, and the books are ‘cleaner’ in a way. Since they don’t have the animation of the 3 series, they can simply refer to the SDF-II, and not have to worry about the fact that it’s not actually there… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/19 "2000-11-16T00:47:28Z")
Whoa! All mine are here: Hyperion/Endymion; Ender; Varley’s trilogy (only with CGI could this series EVER make it as a movie, or possibly Toy Story-like animation (I know, it’s CGI, too)). I am currently reading Tad williams Otherland saga. So far, so good. I also read Hubbard’s Mission Earth series. This was before I found out about Scientology. It did have some interesting plot devices like the audio/video spy implants. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2000, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359/20 "2000-11-16T01:03:08Z")
**Tengu:** Out of curiosity, how many _Red Dwarf_ novels are there? Being an American, I’d only seen the first two until recently, and I just ordered (and finished) _Backwards_ from a Canadian bookstore.\* Are there a bunch more that I’m missing? [sub]\*It was good, but not as good as the first two. Got better by the end. Grant and Naylor are better together than apart.[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-sci-fi-book-series/41359.md?page=2)