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The Science Fiction Rant

Started by The Good Reverend Roger, January 31, 2011, 04:02:21 PM

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Sister Fracture

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on February 01, 2011, 01:56:59 AM
Quote from: Canis latrans eques on February 01, 2011, 01:23:02 AM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on February 01, 2011, 12:46:48 AM
Quote from: Charley Brown on January 31, 2011, 10:39:09 PM
So where does all this leave Dune?

In the rubbish bin, where it belongs.

There.  I said it.

Hey I like Dune, the rest of his work is rubbish though.

HELLSTROM'S HIVE IS A MASTERPIECE, YUO INGRATE!

(Actually, it's the 3rd worst thing ever inflicted on the English language.)

Does the Twilight series count as one book, then? If not, I'd have to move it down a notch or three.
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Requia ☣

Quote from: LMNO, PhD on January 31, 2011, 05:32:55 PM
As long as it's not about String Theory.

It occurs to me that even if you start from the assumption that string theory is true, it is still completely useless for the purpose of science fiction.  Except maybe as technobabble.
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Prince Glittersnatch III

Quote from: Requia ☣ on February 01, 2011, 04:06:07 AM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD on January 31, 2011, 05:32:55 PM
As long as it's not about String Theory.

It occurs to me that even if you start from the assumption that string theory is true, it is still completely useless for the purpose of science fiction.  Except maybe as technobabble.

Wasnt Michio Kaku's Tv show basically him using string theory to techno-babble into existence light sabers and shit?
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Quote from: GIGGLES on June 16, 2011, 10:24:05 PM
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Xooxe

I haven't read much fiction in years and recently got the urge to buy some science fiction. Can anyone recommend a few books? Assume that I know nothing and point me straight to the good stuff.

Quote from: Hoopla on January 31, 2011, 09:16:56 PM
Strangely enough I was just having an argument on Friday night about what constituted Science Fiction.  A friend was trying to claim that Star Wars was Science Fiction... I argued that it was Fantasy, dressed up as Science Fiction.  I was unable to win over the crowd.  Apparently, to the people, if there are robots and lasers, it's Science Fiction.  I eventually gave up, and just drank quietly.

I call it cosmetic science fiction when the story can still be told without robots, lasers, etc, but fantasy works too.

I'm not sure whether this fits in with hard sci-fi, but I think the genre is at its best when a technology or scientific concept is used to place characters into a situation where themes and ideas that couldn't be elegantly expressed otherwise are able to thrive. So far no one has agreed with me on this.

LMNO

Hard Scifi:

Larry Niven, All the Myriad Ways

Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, The Diamond Age, Anathem



Not-so Hard Scifi:

Philip K Dick, Ubik

Arthur C Clarke, Childhood's End

Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

Faust

Quote from: Charley Brown on January 31, 2011, 10:39:09 PM
So where does all this leave Dune?

I loved god emperor of dune and the first dune book,  GE was a proper full political intrigue novel (the rest of the series shied away and ended most segments with a fantasy deus ex). The first book was much better then the remaining books in the series, but years after I first read it, it doesn't pack the punch it did when I was sixteen.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Adios

I grew up on Buck Rogers. That dude had some cool shit!

Nephew Twiddleton

Quote from: Faust on February 01, 2011, 01:44:52 PM
Quote from: Charley Brown on January 31, 2011, 10:39:09 PM
So where does all this leave Dune?

I loved god emperor of dune and the first dune book,  GE was a proper full political intrigue novel (the rest of the series shied away and ended most segments with a fantasy deus ex). The first book was much better then the remaining books in the series, but years after I first read it, it doesn't pack the punch it did when I was sixteen.


I kinda felt the same thing, noticed that there was some repetitiveness and unnecessary segments when I went to reread it. But overall still a decent book.
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Salty

Great OP and I don't have much to add beyond Alastair Reynolds being AWESOME hard scifi. Dude was an astrophysicist for the European space agency for 12 years and his book Chasm City made me hate the movie Wall-E for the sole reason that multigenerational space traveling A) isn't likely going to result in a peaceful, unchanged culture and B) ISN'T MOTHERFUCKING LIKELY GOING TO RESULT IN A PEACEFUL, UNCHANGED CULTURE YOU GOD DAMNED MORONS.

His only major fault is that he often forgets that not every single character should have the complete set of knowledge possessed by an astrophysicists.
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nurbldoff

I don't know why Greg Egan doesn't get more love, but he's been responsible for the best "hard SF" I've read in recent memory. He just takes an idea and goes with it. No unnecessary crap and no 3 book-1000 page each-bullshit-epic-sagas.
Nature is the great teacher. Who is the principal?

Cain

I have a couple of Egan books I haven't gotten around to yet.  I suppose they are now on The List as well...

Adios

Quote from: Cain on February 02, 2011, 11:22:41 PM
I have a couple of Egan books I haven't gotten around to yet.  I suppose they are now on The List as well...

Pretty sure I am jealous of your book collection, except on moving day.

nurbldoff

Quote from: Cain on February 02, 2011, 11:22:41 PM
I have a couple of Egan books I haven't gotten around to yet.  I suppose they are now on The List as well...

In my experience they're pretty quick reads, even though they contain lots of things to think about. "Axiomatic" (I think) which is a collection of short stories, nearly blew my mind with its sheer density of ideas.
Nature is the great teacher. Who is the principal?

Cain

Quote from: Charley Brown on February 02, 2011, 11:35:18 PM
Quote from: Cain on February 02, 2011, 11:22:41 PM
I have a couple of Egan books I haven't gotten around to yet.  I suppose they are now on The List as well...

Pretty sure I am jealous of your book collection, except on moving day.

99% of them are on an external hard drive.

Admittedly, that still leaves a pretty large, in real terms, 1% to move (I have two full bookcases, plus a box, plus a table, for storage) but its not as bad as you'd think.

Quote from: nurbldoff on February 02, 2011, 11:41:56 PM
Quote from: Cain on February 02, 2011, 11:22:41 PM
I have a couple of Egan books I haven't gotten around to yet.  I suppose they are now on The List as well...

In my experience they're pretty quick reads, even though they contain lots of things to think about. "Axiomatic" (I think) which is a collection of short stories, nearly blew my mind with its sheer density of ideas.

Yeah, they didn't look too large when I got them, but at the moment, unfortunately, I have to do a lot of work-related reading, so I'm looking at edging them back until I'm a little more free (which may not be before July, depending on certain factors).

Faust

Quote from: Cain on February 03, 2011, 12:56:15 PM

99% of them are on an external hard drive.
Wow, what kind of size folder are they, would they all fit on an 8gig memory key if I sent it to you if you had time?
Sleepless nights at the chateau