Best Sci-Fi books

[radonek]

9 hours ago, Just Jim said:

However, having said that, What I like about the Butlarian prequel, and books 7 & 8, is they were based on Franks long-lost notes, so they're fairly true to his original plot…

Doubt that. At places, I doubt that author even read the original, differences are just too great. Friend of mine liked prequels, but when we discussed it, it turned out he remember original books only vaguely. I guess that must be true for most of people who like new books.

[Just Jim]

14 minutes ago, radonek said:

Doubt that. At places, I doubt that author even read the original, differences are just too great. Friend of mine liked prequels, but when we discussed it, it turned out he remember original books only vaguely. I guess that must be true for most of people who like new books.

It was written by Frank Herbert's son, after they secured the rights to a long locked safety deposit box containing Frank's original notes.

With respect... I have a feeling his son would have read his own fathers books at least once... most likely several dozen times, before attempting to follow in his footsteps.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Just Jim

[tater]

I read Dune, then the next 2. At some point I read God Emperor, and wasn’t very impressed. Pretty sure I never finished Heretics, and never even considered reading the others.

 

[adsii1970]

22 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

It was written by Frank Herbert's son, after they secured the rights to a long locked safety deposit box containing Frank's original notes.

With respect... I have a feeling his son would have read his own fathers books at least once... most likely several dozen times, before attempting to follow in his footsteps.

That would be the common sense approach. But the question remains...

I quit reading the series. Of course, I read Dune through Chapterhouse and thought they were good. Besides Dune, I think God-Emperor of Dune was probably the best of the series. When I read the first 1/3 of Hunters of Dune, it felt like the only exposure Brian Herbert had was watching Dune on the SyFy Channel.

[TheSaint]

I read Dune when I was about 10 and was totally blown away. I read Dune Messiah, it was okay. About halfway through Children of Dune I was starting to have my doubts. My brother was a book ahead of me, and he told me that almost the entire story in God Emperor took place in one room. And I was all, "That's it. I'm done." Never read another book in the series.

 

[Just Jim]

24 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

When I read the first 1/3 of Hunters of Dune, it felt like the only exposure Brian Herbert had was watching Dune on the SyFy Channel.

Again, they're supposed to be based on Franks notes, but I suppose we don't know how much or little of that is true... 

24 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Besides Dune, I think God-Emperor of Dune was probably the best of the series...

19 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

My brother was a book ahead of me, and he told me that almost the entire story in God Emperor took place in one room. And I was all, "That's it. I'm done." Never read another book in the series.

hehehe... Only about half the book takes place in that room... but it's a really long book.. lmao.

No, I agree with @adsii1970, God-Emperor might be my favorite. But I'll be the first to admit, it's a tough book to get through. The main character is... well... really, really old, and super intelligent, and sometimes you have to really sit and think hard about what he's babbling about.

But more than most in the series, God-Emperor is a real love-hate kind of book, and where a lot of people I know stopped reading as well.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Just Jim

[radonek]

Ahh, yes, the God-Emperor… I did not like it first time I read it. Neither the Dune Messiah for that matter. But I came to appreciate them. God-emperor is brilliant and Messiah is a hidden jewel, my favourite part of the series.

13 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

That would be the common sense approach. But the question remains...

I quit reading the series. Of course, I read Dune through Chapterhouse and thought they were good. Besides Dune, I think God-Emperor of Dune was probably the best of the series. When I read the first 1/3 of Hunters of Dune, it felt like the only exposure Brian Herbert had was watching Dune on the SyFy Channel.

I think Brian had some co-author, probably not for the better. My breaking point is a part of the Butlerian Jihad where Bene Gesserit is described flying and discharging lightning. Apparently somebody heard them called "witches" so come up magic? Frank's notes or not, author of this part never read original books, that's for sure.

 

[Just Jim]

9 minutes ago, radonek said:

Ahh, yes, the God-Emperor… I did not like it first time I read it. Neither the Dune Messiah for that matter. But I came to appreciate them. God-emperor is brilliant and Messiah is a hidden jewel, my favourite part of the series.

Yeah, I had to read God-Emperor a few times before I really understood how deep parts of it were. In a lot of ways, for me, it was much like Tolkien's Silmarillion... I had to read that one a few times as well to fully appreciate the scope.

[CJrm1]

Baxter's Xeelee sequence. I've only read Vacuum Diagrams and the first four novels, but they are amazing!

Both of Andy Weirs books are great too...

Edited January 24, 2018 by CJrm1

[tater]

2 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Yeah, I had to read God-Emperor a few times before I really understood how deep parts of it were. In a lot of ways, for me, it was much like Tolkien's Silmarillion... I had to read that one a few times as well to fully appreciate the scope.

I think I've read all the Silmarillion at this point. Never read it straight through, and I have started at different points each time, because people say that the beginning is tough, etc. I can't stand it, though I have friends who say it's in fact their favorite Tolkein book--people I really trust the judgement of.

I've read a lot of books, and at at this point in my life, I assume that there is no such thing as a book that is "work" to read. Anything well written is easy to read, and indeed, I have trouble putting them down, and read until I can't keep my eyes open, typically once engrossed. My wife likes Pynchon, for example, and while I devoured Eco's books, Gravity's Rainbow could not hold my interest at all. On the SF front, I have a counter-example, however. I tried to read Anathem (Stephenson) when a friend lent it to me, and I found the made-up words infuriatingly annoying.The beginning was so slow that I'd read a while, then put it down, then pick it up a couple days later, etc. As a result, every time I saw a made-up word, it was as if it was brand new. I read pretty fast (towards 90 pages/hr on novels), and this slowed me down--it was like being force to walk below your natural speed. Couldn't finish it.

On a lark, I got it on Audible. Listening means that the made up words just happen, and I can't stop to think about them. Pretty soon I internalized them in a way I had not when reading it. Ended up loving it, then went and read it for real.

That might be a strategy in the future for books I can't get into, but come highly recommended.

Edited January 24, 2018 by tater

[TheSaint]

1 hour ago, tater said:

I think I've read all the Silmarillion at this point. Never read it straight through, and I have started at different points each time, because people say that the beginning is tough, etc. I can't stand it, though I have friends who say it's in fact their favorite Tolkein book--people I really trust the judgement of.

I've read a lot of books, and at at this point in my life, I assume that there is no such thing as a book that is "work" to read. Anything well written is easy to read, and indeed, I have trouble putting them down, and read until I can't keep my eyes open, typically once engrossed. My wife likes Pynchon, for example, and while I devoured Eco's books, Gravity's Rainbow could not hold my interest at all. On the SF front, I have a counter-example, however. I tried to read Anathem (Stephenson) when a friend lent it to me, and I found the made-up words infuriatingly annoying.The beginning was so slow that I'd read a while, then put it down, then pick it up a couple days later, etc. As a result, every time I saw a made-up word, it was as if it was brand new. I read pretty fast (towards 90 pages/hr on novels), and this slowed me down--it was like being force to walk below your natural speed. Couldn't finish it.

On a lark, I got it on Audible. Listening means that the made up words just happen, and I can't stop to think about them. Pretty soon I internalized them in a way I had not when reading it. Ended up loving it, then went and read it for real.

That might be a strategy in the future for books I can't get into, but come highly recommended.

Interesting. I read Anathem and couldn't put it down. But the one time I tried to read Silmarillion I couldn't make it 25 pages in. It felt like I was trying to read the Bible. (And this is from a guy who actually reads the Bible.)

[tater]

I was like that when I actually read it, having first listened to it. I'm used to Stephenson's frequent exposition early in books, but I was so annoyed at the affect (apparent until much later) of it, I just stopped andinternally complained with every almost but not quite English word.

I agree on the Silmarillion, I've read multiple sections, but only a few pages at a time.

I get stopped by things on some books, though. I remember in cryptomonicon being really annoyed at the Pearl harbor section because he went into great detail about dive bombers attacking Arizona. It was in fact Kates, level bombing, not Vals. Was mad, and stopped reading a while.

I was recently reading a non-fiction book, The Emperor of all Maladies, about cancer, and the author mentioned Louis Leakey's discovery, Lucy (sic). It was Johanson, et al who found Lucy, not Leakey (and most of the heavy lifting in that household was in fact done by Mary, not her husband). Stopped me in my tracks (very early in the book, too). Had to work myself up to bother reading it again (figured he must know what he's talking about WRT oncology, even if he's clueless about paleoanthropology).

Edited January 24, 2018 by tater

[DAL59]

Dragon's Egg and Starquake are great, though very obscure, books, though they were turned into a mediocre episode of Star Trek Voyager("Blink of an Eye").  There's a neutron star that is inhabited by microscopic lifeforms, that are based on nuclear forces, instead of chemical ones.  So time passed for them 100,000 times faster.  The star comes within 200 au of the sun, and a starship is sent, and uses very complicated techniques to avoid the tidal forces.  Since it lasts millenia from their perspective, the ship ends up determining the aliens civilization.   

[tater]

I liked Dragon's Egg. I had forgotten about it.

[A Soviet Tank]

I actually prefer the Halo universe that was portrayed in the books rather than the games. They're great, and offer a more realistic and gritty perspective of the Human-Covenant war, as well as some great naval battles. The Fall of Reach will always be a favourite of mine.