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Required Reading--New Scifi
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I'd want to include virtually anything by:
William Gibson
Vernor Vinge
Bruce Sterling
Gene Wolfe
David Brin
And my "fallen out of favor" list:
Orson Scott Card
Dan Simmons
Orson Scott Card? Out of favor?
WHYYYYYYYY
Yes, not all of the books were amazing. But the ones that stayed true to the Ender concept (Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of a Hegemon, Shadow of a Giant, and the one-to-be-published) are all AMAZING
WHYYYYYYYY
Yes, not all of the books were amazing. But the ones that stayed true to the Ender concept (Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of a Hegemon, Shadow of a Giant, and the one-to-be-published) are all AMAZING

Anyway, All I've read from Card so far is the first two Enders and Hatrack River (book-club 3-1; I do not remember the names of the individual volumes). Hatrack is good, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are stellar, and I'm certainly interested in advice on what to read next.
Absolutely, positively essential current SF author: Lois McMaster Bujold
I don't think she's pushing any envelopes... other than pure quality. She has a good, well realized setting, with stellar characters and well executed stories.

You ever read any of his non-fiction? And he burned me years ago on some of his short fiction, in which I felt he dealt dishonestly with the reader. Lost my taste for him.
Frankly, I felt that Ender's Game is overrated, but passible, but his work holds no interest for me after getting a sense of the man.
That's the danger of knowing too much about an artist - usually I prefer to know very little about them.
And I always thought that Simmons had potential, but there was usually something that fell flat in many of his works. Then I read some of his "hard boiled" detective fiction and found it strangely distasteful. Then Olympus came out and I was shocked at his portrayal of rape as a clever way of bringing someone out of suspended animation and I was done.
I'm not saying that others can't enjoy these writers work - but I no longer can.

I understand what you are saying about Orson Scott Card's politics. I don't agree with them either, but do admire that he is unabashedly open about what he believes.
I generally try not to know too much about the authors because I like a little mystery to the writer/reader relationship.
Plus, Ender's Game and the Ender's Shadow series is brilliant.
Rindis--I am glad you are liking the Enders series, but would suggest jumping over to Ender's Shadow and its sequels as soon as possible. I loved them! Ender's Shadow is brilliant because it is the same story as Ender's Game, but still adds so much to the story. The reader gets to love Ender even more through Bean's eyes. And the sequels are fascinating.
Seriously, regardless of your thoughts on his politics...
They ARE brilliant, and he is recognized as one of the foremost authors of science fiction of recent history.
For example, I'm against people who are very religious... it just bothers me. However, I do know that Card is a supposedly devout Mormon, and yet I still love his works...
--Kyle
They ARE brilliant, and he is recognized as one of the foremost authors of science fiction of recent history.
For example, I'm against people who are very religious... it just bothers me. However, I do know that Card is a supposedly devout Mormon, and yet I still love his works...
--Kyle

Unless for him he's got that confused or something.


Been reading some of his rants in a local free newspaper near his home (used to live about 30 minutes from him and I still read the free rag online)
On some points he sounds so conservative you want to cringe, but on others he sounds so liberal it isn't funny.
His book, Empire, is what sent him into the spiral because of the cognitive dissonace it causes in people. It paints a world where the "blue state/red state" conflict boils into an almost civil war. It paints the Blues and the Reds both in a negative light, even though it is told from the Red viewpoint so the Blues come out looking worse.
Most people miss the underlying storyline of a new "Empire" being created under everyones noses...Interestng read if you can get past the top level of the story, just like Ender's Game

On Card - I get the impression he's a Libertarian. They don't fit nicely on the "liberal-conservative" spectrum, which makes both of those categories try to call them the enemy. Empire was a frightening book, because it is easy to see as all too real - in principle, if not in detail.
Andy, what paper?
The only way that you can call Orson Scott Card libertarian is if you're using the word "libertarian" as a synonym for "jingoistic ass-hattery". That said, Card's a pretty good author (& an interesting choice for discussion! He's known for his SF, but some of his fantasy's pretty tight).
Randy: In short, you're right. Orson Scott Card is a jingoistic ass hat but if you hadn't liked him so much to start with, I don't think you would have felt as betrayed by his f**ked up political views.
Oh & for new school authors? I think Cory Doctorow's amazing (& I even agree with him politically! How cool is that?!)
p.s. Btw, OSC's fallen temporarily out of favor w/me because 'magic street' was utterly craptacular.
Randy: In short, you're right. Orson Scott Card is a jingoistic ass hat but if you hadn't liked him so much to start with, I don't think you would have felt as betrayed by his f**ked up political views.
Oh & for new school authors? I think Cory Doctorow's amazing (& I even agree with him politically! How cool is that?!)
p.s. Btw, OSC's fallen temporarily out of favor w/me because 'magic street' was utterly craptacular.

I'm going to put good ol' Dan right back on the favorite list. How do you like them apples?
Hyperion is simply a great read and Illium and it's sequal were alot of fun. Sorry mate.
If you like WELL WRITTEN; sex, violence & page turning plot. Make it a Dan Simmons day.
He's one of my favorite authors.... and you put him on the fallen out list.
Those all good authors for the last century, but for the twenty first century you need to read:
Scott Lynch
Richard K. Morgan
Alastair Reynolds
Charles Stross
Elizabeth Bear
My pick for this year's Hugos -- In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan and A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham.
Scott Lynch
Richard K. Morgan
Alastair Reynolds
Charles Stross
Elizabeth Bear
My pick for this year's Hugos -- In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan and A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham.



Roger Zelazny
Tim Powers
Actually, I wouldn't know what to call Powers, except wild! Like the Amber Chronicles, borders between scifi and fantasy.
Others I've enjoyed a great deal in recent years are
Vernor Vinge
Dan Simmons (not the new one)
Cherryh
Alastair Reynolds
William Gibson
Love Bujold, but not her latest stuff. Robin Hobb has replaced her as my favorite fantasy writer with her Farseer trilogy, continued with the Tawny Man.

Karl Schroeder ( Sun of Suns, Queen of Candesce, Permanance)
Elizabeth Bear (Hammered)
Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon, Woken Furies)
Chris Moriarty (Spin State)
Julie Czerneda (A thousand Words for Stranger)
Tobias Bucknell ( Crystal Rain ,Ragamuffins)
Elizabeth Moon (Vatta novels)
David Weber (Off Armageddon Reef)
Kage Baker (Company Novels)
Peter Hamilton (Judas Unchained, {Pandora's Star)

I read a few of Gaiman's books - I like his mind-bending concepts, but I agree that his endings leave a lot to be desired. It's as if he enjoys getting all worked up with the plot and the setting ... and then gets bored and doesn't put the same energy into the last 1/8th or so of the book.
(Mercedes Lackey in the Fantasy genre always seemed to do the same thing - the endings feel tacked on like a disappointing afterthought. She does it in the last 3-5 pages, though!)

However, I also read American Gods by Gaiman and I agree that the ending seemed forced, weird not sure what the word should be. However the sheer audacity, imagination and inventiveness of the story really overshadowed the ending IMO.

Nicola Griffith
Octavia Butler
Rachel Pollack
and on the is-it-sci-fi borderI would include:
Jonathan Carroll


Gaiman isn't bad, but Clive Barker can always do it better and first. I find too much of Gaiman's stuff forced and loose, whereas a lot of Barker's stuff seems tighter and more believable, if that's possible for such a genre.





The Warrior's Apprentice is the first Vorkosigan book that features Miles himself. It's a pretty good place to start the series, although it's not the very best book. The next book after this one, The Vor Game, is a Hugo winner.
There are two books that come chronologically earlier, Shards of Honor and Barrayar (also a Hugo winner) but they are about Miles' parents.
All of these books are now available in omnibus volumes, which should save you some money if you're buying them new. You usually get two novels and a short story in each volume.


I'd be interested in knowing which book Orson Scott Card was refering to. Ender's had a multicultural cast, but don't remember any of the main characters being black. His book Leah and Rachel is based on the old testament and one could argue that the people in the region were definitely people of color (although American christianity and bibles rarely portray them as so).
But, was there a book by OSC that had a main character that was black?
Anyone?

Magic Street? I believe it is one of his newer books and the reviews were not very stellar.



I'm new here, so please forgive if I breach protocol by recommending my favorite sources of new SF, namely, the "pulps". F&SF, Analog,and Asimov's are my staples. The book reviews therein have been very helpful.

Pandoras Star / Judas Unchained are probably two of the most epic and life pondering books I've ever read.
I need to go in for Rejuvination!
And man I would love a virtual screen projected from my cornea to navigate the internet while trying not to work.
This series has really brought me down to feeling how precious life really is, and how little we know about....'what's out there'



My favorite authors?
Octavia Butler (especially Dawn)
William Gibson (Sprawl Trilogy of course, but also really liked Idoru)
Lois McMaster Bujold (but agree that recent stuff is less than stellar)
I like Jan Siegel's trilogy starting with Prospero's Children and am dismayed to see it receive such bad reviews on this site.
Liked David Brin's Kiln People tremendously but am less than enthused by others I have read by him.

Writers lose their mystique when we get to know them too well. I attended writers workshops with Orson Scott Card and Stephen R. Donaldson when I was in college in 1987. They lost a little of their mystery when they explained some of their writing secrets and methods. I still like some of Card's books, but I think he churns them out with less pizazz than his first few had. I think that if I ever write a book I won't settle for anything less than a masterpiece, which is why I'll never write one. Also I don't think I could stand the criticism.
Anyway, the rule is: never get to know your favorite authors. They will never fail to disappoint you. For authors: never give interviews, or reveal to your readers too much about yourself. Be a Boo Radley, except never come out!

Stephen H. Turner
The Last Voyage of the Cassiopeia
Almagest: The Adventures of MarsShield
3700
The Avedon Question

One not mentioned, who I read everything, is Alan Dean Foster Pip and Flinx are good friends! Another I read everything is Stephen Baxter
Then there is Carey Rockwell who got me started in SF - not sure he should be considered 'contemporary'
K

I have been waiting for the rest of the books forever, it seems. I do not believe the trilogy will be completed at this point. Hope I am wrong.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Warrior's Apprentice (other topics)The Last Voyage of the Cassiopeia (other topics)
The Avedon Question (other topics)
Almagest (other topics)
3700 (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Iain Banks (other topics)Stephen H. Turner (other topics)
What about this question, what are the most essential reads in contemporary scifi?
What authors/books are pushing the definition of scifi or really taking scifi in new directions?