Posted in Misc | Posted on 06-18-2008 | 2,362 views
Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who showed up for the SciFi Birds of a Feather. I know it was quite a ways away from the conference center, and literally quite deep in the Earth, so I really appreciate you making the trek.
Almost everyone at the BOF had a book/movie/comic/etc to recommend to others, so please use the comments below to make your recommendation.
Books
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I read a LOT, but probably my single favorite sci-fi books are:
• Starship Troopers (the movie stunk, so please don't base your judgement on that). The book literally affected my life.
• Battlefield Earth. 1100 pages of pure sci-fi goodness. I've read it 5 or 6 times now.
• The entire Pliocene Exile saga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Pliocene_Exil...) by Julian May (possibly my favorite writer). \
The Jesus Incident
The Lazarus Effect
The Whipping Star
The Green Brain
Neal Stevenson - The Diamond Age
And for the kids:
Brian James - Pirate School series
Start with - #1 The Curse of Snake Island
http://tinyurl.com/4kf8uv
Also, in the non-sci fi world:
Lian Hearn - Tales of the Otori series is a great, it's Feudal Japan but with a hint of magic. Very well written.
Thanks for hosting. I was there (w/CF hat -- Thanks Adobe).
The first part was well, but personally, I was disappointed when the discussiong degraded into talking about dark comic books and more fantasy related subjects. Thanks Ray for bringing the discussion back around by having us discuss books we have read.
On the other hand, there are people who would question if Lost is SF. Is the science the central point? Is it science? While Supernatural and Reaper are not science based at all, what would you consider Heroes?
Now that I reread what I just wrote, I see I may be a little defensive. I guess I see SF from a slightly broader perspective.
I like Steve Alten (Domain, Meg, The Loch, etc). Reading Domain right now and it has been a really interesting take on the Mayan Doomsday Clock. Definitely a sci-fi twist.
My husband really likes Michael Moorcock and Philip K. Dick, so I'll recommend those on his behalf. How to Survive a Robot Uprising is one we both really liked. Loved the Hobbit and am looking forward to that movie.
One thing I didn't say during our brief Star Wars discussion is this: I'm pretty irritated that a Clone Wars movie is being made instead of the third trilogy. I was promised a trilogy of trilogies when I was a young girl in love with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (who am I kidding... I still am! ;). So I want to see that last trilogy, darnit! That being said, I'll probably still go see the movie and watch the other Clone Wars episodes that were mentioned.
I'll second the suggestion of the "Heir to the Empire trilogy" put forth by Ray. It's an EXCELLENT read and well worth your time.
I didn't mean to disparge the discussion. It was interesting to me, but also reflected a dark side and made me wonder if I was out of place. I like SF as a genre, but not familiar with a lot of the dark stuff discussed and quite frankly was unconfortable. I was uncomfortable from the standpoint that I would like to believe the developer community was a big tent and was open to people from all faith backgrounds. To me, an evangelical (moderate to progressive viewpoint, however), I felt out of place and wondering if this was representative of the community.
This is just where I was coming from. Again, I do like SciFi and the concepts that often become reality. I am not sure if the out-of-the box thinking of the genre drives people to invent or make come true the things they envision, or if the inventions are independent. To me, yesterday's Sci-Fi is often today's reality. The automatic opening doors or handheld communicator of the original Star Trek may seem cheesy now, but it wasn't even thought of by the public when Star Trek originally aired.
Also, a big shout out for Iain M Banks books, particularly the Culture related novels. Consider Phlebas is the first one.
As an aside, I might be one of the few people who liked the Starship Troopers film. Hidden depths.
300, sin city, constantine, v for vendetta, league of extraordinary gentlemen, etc.
You just had the bad luck to be in the room with people who know the dark and can talk about it (ok, it could be said that being in a room with me in general is bad luck. :)
Comic books are a great way for producers to 'test the waters' of a concept and if the concept already exists they'll take it. Dark is a sure sell to them.
I'd also recommend any of the Tales of Known Space stories, by Larry Niven, including (in no particular order) Neutron Star, Protector, Ringworld, etc.
Or maybe the Riverworld books by Philip Farmer. The first is "To Your Scattered Bodies Go". Imagine an entire planet terraformed into one long river, and all of the population of the world throughout history bring to life upon its banks, left to interact with each other. Many famous people make an appearance, including Mark Twain, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Alice Hargreves (basis of Alice in Wonderland) and many others. Seven books, all very good.
Thanks for the response. I was kind of lost how the topic turned into so much discussion on comic books. I missed the transition. Maybe I am a bit like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory (i.e., how the other geeks had to hold up sarcasm signs to let him know when they were being sarcastic).
Ray,
I agree the original Star Trek did explore a lot was its themes, which not only had the positive outlook on future, but also tackled some forbidden issues of the day (like interracial relationships, racism). It also had some of the alt-history concepts, like when the crew land on a planet where the Roman Empire didn't fall.
http://www.hulu.com/
I'd have to recommend anything by Ray Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles of course, but also Something Wicked This Way Comes. It is more of a fantasy but still a darn fine read.
Other authors I've read and enjoyed, in no particular order-
Hard Science:
Arthur C. Clarke
Robert L. Forward
Larry Niven
Fantasy:
Roger Zelazny's Amber books
Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Chronicles
Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea books
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books
Steven Brust's Taltos novels
Classics:
H. G. Wells
Jules Verne
Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales
Just plain fun:
Spider Robinson's Callahan's Place novels
Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures
and many others too numerous to mention in one comment post
I don't much like audio books, but since I have very little time to read anymore, I'm actually starting to come around on the whole podcasting book thing.
By far my favorite movie of recent vintage is Cloverfield. It was such a refreshing change to have a horror movie with no soundtrack and shown entirely from a participant's (i.e., victim) point of view. The entire point of the movie is that you know only what those affected know, no more, no less. When you hear loud crashes, booms, explosions, shrieks, etc. no explanation is given and you must make the correct decisions without any additional information, just like the characters in the movie. That's an interesting and compelling twist for a horror movie. BTW, I just saw that the movie is now available on FiOS On Demand. Looks like I'll be seeing it again tonight. :-)
As for books, my favorite all-time sci-fi/fantasy genre book is the Lord of the Rings and also the Silmarillion. I've read the Silmarillion at least 4 times in the past ten years and every time it just gets better than the last. Highly recommended.
Thanks, Ray, for bringing us together to share thoughts on one of our fav subjects.
I definitely plan on asking to have this BOF again next year. I really enjoyed it.
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