[Unknown Target]

The classics, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card are both excellent choices (altho Asimov is a bit hard to understand, and the universe is odd and convuluted, imo).

[Grey Wolf]

I've always liked Gordon R. Dickson and Charles Sheffield, myself. Sheffield writes mainly hard science fiction, while Dickson writes a very wide variety of stuff.

[mikhael]

I'd call Sheffield's work more speculative than hard, especially if you look to Baxter and the like for hard science fiction.

I never could get into Dickson. His writing style put me off and the universe with the Encyclopedia and the Friendlies was just annoying. Maybe I should give it another try now, tne years later.

[Knight Templar]

As far as Science-Fiction Action goes, the Halo series is actually pretty good IMO.

I sort of got the impression that they'd be dorky books to milk money from the franchise when I first saw them, but it totally wasn't the case when I read them.

And as said, Orson Scott Card is a good pick.

[Eternal One]

I suggest Dan Simmons' Hyperion.

[Singh]

*shameless plug of some writing*

By several authors...it isnt top-grade....but its something

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Eternal One
I suggest Dan Simmons' Hyperion.

Damn. How did I forget Hyperion and the rest? ABSOLUTELY must read these books.

[Su-tehp]

I can recommend the Star Wars NJO books. There are about 19 novels or so detailing a three to four year period with the New republic at war with an alien species called the Yuuzhan Vong, who are invaders from another galaxy who use biotechnology, hate all non-living machinery (especially droids) and are immune/invisible to the Force. They also consider all non-Vong to be infidels unworthy of life and sacrifice to their gods any prisoners they manage to capture. And for much of the war, the Vong have the New Republic and their Jedi allies on the run.

While I've personally read only the second half of the NJO novels, I know what happens in the first half as I read a summary of the events between Vector Prime (the first NJO book) and Star By Star (the ninth book) in the NJO Surcebook for the Star Wars RPG. But I can personally reccomend the NJO series as a whole.

And I can also say that the Vong are such hideous enemies, they make the Imperials look like schoolyard panzies. I won't give anything away here, but the Vong use such hideous and monstrous tactics against civilians, they make the Death Star look sanitary. (I'm not kidding.)

The Unifying Force, the last novel in the series, came out last November, but I've decided not to read it until I read the books I haven't read yet. I'm savoring the NJO series and don't want to read the end until I've read everything else first.

[Setekh]

I have to add in another voice for Baxter. I really enjoy the usually bigger scope that his work has.

[Shrike]

Originally posted by an0n
Doood!

After 1 Chapter of On Basilisk Station, I really friggin like it.

And Nimitz kicks ass.

Oh no!  He's gonna become a weberite!

Go read something good, like the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons, or the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, or Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan, or the books by Alistair Reynolds, the Northworld series by David Drake, or books by William Gibson if you haven't already.....  Read these.  All of these.  Now.

Originally posted by mikhael
If you'd like I can go through my sci fi library and pull out a better selection and give you individual precis and recommendations. My library is currently at about 3000 books, though there are ten or twelve I haven't read yet.

Hmm, that'd keep me going for, mmm, depends on how busy I am... *does math*

At least four years anyhow.

I don't buy too many books nowadays, they're just too expensive on my budget to be getting them all the time at the rate I go through them.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Shrike
Go read something good, like ... Alistair Reynolds...

I read an Alistair Reynolds book (Revelation Space) and I'm really torn. It wasn't a bad story (and hell, I was guessing to the end), but the writing style is so clunky and heavy handed. I don't know. Are the rest of his books good?

I don't buy too many books nowadays, they're just too expensive on my budget to be getting them all the time at the rate I go through them.

I cheat shamelessly. Books I don't like go to a used bookseller in exchange for store credit. I'd say that I've read probably four to five thousand books over the last 20 years, and I've only kept the 2500 to 3000 that are in my closet. Also, I tend to get books heaped on me as gifts. It works out better than sweaters! As for time, I can read two full length novels a day if I take my time, or three to four if I speedread, so I don't lack for time to read.

[Setekh]

Originally posted by mikhael
As for time, I can read two full length novels a day if I take my time, or three to four if I speedread, so I don't lack for time to read.

I was just doing the math, and yegads man, you read fast. Thank God there are so many writers in the world...

[kode]

does it have to be about spaec? william gibsons book are all great. I'd recommend you start off with either neuromancer or virtual light and finish one of the trilogys first, and then take the other one. admittedly, I liked the bridge trilogy better, but the sprawl one isn't bad at all, either.

and if it's some offworld planet story you want, dune by frank herbert is the book/series.

[Su-tehp]

Originally posted by kode
and if it's some offworld planet story you want, dune by frank herbert is the book/series.

Yeah, I forgot to mention Dune when I posted about the Star Wars NJO series. I read the Dune book and saw the Sci-Fi miniseries DVD and i can heartily reccomend them.

Yeah, Dune is by far one of the best Sci-fi classics EVER. I don't know about the rest of the books in the original series as I haven't read them yet, nor have I read any of the Prequel to Dune novels (House Atreides, House Harkonnen and House Corrino). As for the Legends of Dune novels detailing the Butlerian Jihad (the time 10,000 years before Dune, when Humanity was at was with the thinking machines), they are good reading, though not as good as the original Dune. But then, thats to be expected since the Prequel to Dune and Legends of Dune novels were written by Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son.

What I'm trying to do is read all the Dune novels in chronological order so, (even though I already read Dune) I'm reading the Legends of Dune novels first, then the Prequel to Dune novels, then I'll read the original series.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how many years in the future Chaprthouse: Dune takes place from the original Dune? It's several thousand years at least, but does anyone know the exact date?

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Setekh

I was just doing the math, and yegads man, you read fast. Thank God there are so many writers in the world...

Speed reading is TEH WIN. The only problem is that you do end up having to reread books occasionally because you lose fine details.

[Styxx]

Originally posted by an0n
Doood!

After 1 Chapter of On Basilisk Station, I really friggin like it.

And Nimitz kicks ass.

Mwahaha, got another one.

And don't pay attention to Shrike! Remember, missile flight statistics are good!

[kasperl]

dude, i am just starthing Chapter one here, love it. reading it on an LCD with black background and white text doesn;t even hurtt my eyes all that much.

[Styxx]

Oh, and if you're going to read the Hyperion series, read only the first two books (Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion). The other two screw everything up. It's like Simmons decided he didn't like the first two books and proceeded to completely destroy the story and the universe mythology.

[Shrike]

Originally posted by Styxx
Mwahaha, got another one.

And don't pay attention to Shrike! Remember, missile flight statistics are good!

...if 385,318 missiles are put into a long-term saving minefield at 1.8% interest compounded 7 times yearly, how many superdreadnoughts die after 2.51 years?

[an0n]

..........42?