Xavier Onassiss Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List OK' date=' folx, now that FH is nearly done it's time to switch to Science Fiction reading -- the "research" for next summer's new [i']Star Hero.[/i] Since my library and tastes run more to Fantasy than SF, I thought I'd solicit fans' opinions for novels/stories I should read. So... what's not on that list that you'd recommend? I am more inclined to look at "old classics" than "hot new things," but feel free to suggest whatever you like. Some of the "hot new things" on our shelves will eventually become "old classics" -- Charles Stross has been mentioned and should definitely be on the short-list for classic authors of the 21st century. Iain Banks as well. While I'm pretty sure about those two, I can only hope that Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series also falls in this category. Time will tell, but in the meantime, I recommend it highly. Stross has covered several other SF sub-genres: I'd recommend any of these. Halting State -- near future post-cyberpunk. Iron Sunrise -- post-singularity hard SF The Atrocity Archives -- an 'office-space' comedy / Cthulhu horror / Bond spy-thriller mash-up. One of his best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (more fantasy than Sci-Fi, but I dare you to read it) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (also more Fantasy than Sci-Fi, and I double dog dare you) Isn't Ayn Rand a member of the Legion of Superheroes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted June 22, 2010 Report Share Posted June 22, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Of new syuff, I'd add The Sky People and In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, by SM Stirling, both fine alternate-history Space Operas, in a universe where someone has terraformed Venus, and Mars is habitable - and inhabited by a much older civilization than our own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawnmower Boy Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List So here’s what I see that could be added to your list. I’ve bulked up my random collection by reviewing the list of Hugo and Nebula Awards. If a winner isn’t on the list, it is because either I don’t get the author, I disapprove, or I haven’t read them yet. I’ve tried to hold down the reading by omitting books that are heavy going, when I could. Yes, it is a disgrace to have LeGuin and Delaney represented by slight, earlier books, but I’d like to see Star Hero at some fairly near date, which won’t happen if you decide to read and appreciate Dahgren and Left Hand of Darkness first. For that reason I ended up dropping James Tiptree off the list entirely. Also missing are near-future, post-apocalyptic and Earthbound novels, which means that Connie Willis and Kate Wilhelm aren’t included, although I snuck John Brunner on. Also, Vonda McIntyre ends up being singled out for a book that I haven’t read, instead of her Star Trek novels, which I have. Poul Anderson, Ensign Flandry Brian Aldiss, Hothouse Gregory Benford, In the Ocean of Night James Blish, A Case of Conscience John Brunner, the “Galactic Consumer Reports” shorts, collected in one or the other of his anthologies Hal Clement, Mission of Gravity Samuel R. Delaney, Babel-17 David Gerrold, Dealing With Dragons Joe Haldeman, The Forever War Robert Heinlein, Have Space Suit, Will Travel Lee Killough, The Doppleganger Gambit C. M. Kornbluth and Frederick Pohl, Search the Sky Ursula K. LeGuin, Planet of Exiles and City of Illusion Richard Lupoff, Space War Blues George R. R. Martin, Dying of the Light C. C. Macapp, Recall Not Earth Ian MacDonald, Desolation Road Vonda McIntyre, The Moon and the Sun H. Beam Piper, Fuzzy Frederick Pohl, Gateway Mike Resnick, Santiago Kim Stanley Robinson, Icehenge Bob Shaw, Who Goes Here? James H. Schmitz, Witches of Karres Cordwainer Smith, Norstrilia S. P. Somtow, [Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul], Mallworld Charles Stross, “A Colder War” Sheri S. Tepper, Grass A. E. Van Vogt, World of Null-A John Varley, The Ophiuchi Connection Joan D. Vinge, The Snow Queen Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky Walter Jon Williams, Dread Empire’s Fall: The Praxis Roger Zelazny, Doorways in the Sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevenall Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Add some of Lois McMaster-Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan Saga... (well' date=' she only won a *few* nebula/hugo awards for them)[/quote'] I second (and third) this recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Joe Haldeman, The Forever War I can't believe I didn't mention this one in my post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List I can't believe I didn't mention this one in my post. Oh yeah. If I could only choose one military SF novel for this list, it would be The Forever War. Another awesome series I forgot: David Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr novels. Truly an original twist on the old alien-invasion theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted June 23, 2010 Report Share Posted June 23, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Stephen Donaldson Gap Series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lapsedgamer Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Isn't Ayn Rand a member of the Legion of Superheroes? Objectivist Lass. Massive reality alteration powers based on forcing others to agree with her. Tends to change the whole world into a black and white palette as a side effect. On the actual topic here: It's not a book, but you might want to look at the Atomic Rockets website. It's a great resource for hard SF info. I am looking at it for a hardish (semi-soft?) SF scenario I am working on. http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueCloud2k2 Posted June 24, 2010 Report Share Posted June 24, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List My 2 cents: David Drake: The Reaches trilogy David Weber/John Ringo: March Upcountry (The Prince Roger series) John Ringo: The Legacy of the Aldenata, The Vorpal Blade series Eric Flint: Rats, Bats and Vats; Rats, Bats, and the Ugly Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars is an interesting Twist on Alice in Wonderland As far as Star Wars goes, I'd recommend The X-Wing series - Half were written by Michael A Stackpole and the other have by Aaron Alliston (I believe the same one that wrote the ones centering on Wraith Squadron is also the co-author of the 5E Champions Genre book... never have been able to confirm that). The nice thing about the X-Wing series is that they are not really centered on the Jedi (Jedi are cool and all, but as is the case in the StarWars RPG, not everyone can be a Jedi - thusly, not everyone wants to read about Jedi all the bleeping time). Alan Dean Foster's The Dig is based upon a PC game, but it's a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List James P. Hogan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mackinder Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List A lot of stuff I'd automatically recommend has already been covered. , but I can still squeeze a few in: 'Inherit The Stars' trilogy (Inherit The Stars, The Gentle Giants Of Ganymede, and Giants' Star) by James P Hogan (written back way before he Got Religion). Been a couple of very forgettable sequels written since, but the first three books are excellent, and each is reasonably self-contained. 'The Two Faces Of Tomorrow', also one of James P Hogan's early (and best!) efforts. 'A Martian Odyssey' by Stanley G Weinbaum. Short stories by a very promising writer who died way too soon. Definite pulpish elements, but has some very vivid concepts of aliens and alien environments. 'The Flying Sorcerors' by David Gerrold and Larry Niven. Solid comedy, lots of puns. Also a very good take on First Contact from the "primitive's" point of view. 'Hardwired' by Walter Jon Williams. For the Cyberpunk element. 'The Other Log Of Phileas Fogg' by Phillip Jose Farmer. The true story behind 'Around The World In Eighty Days' (and a bunch of other stuff) - basically a power struggle between two alien-backed organizations. 'Empire From The Ashes' By David Weber. Also known as 'The Dahak Trilogy', or as the separate books Mutineers' Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance and Heirs To Empire. Excellent Big Budget Space Opera, one of my all-time favourites. 'All These Earths' by F M Busby. An interstellar drive with the side-effect that the Earth you come back to may not be the one you actually left. 'Jumper' by Steven Gould, Better (and more character-driven) than the movie. 'Patton's Spaceship' by John Barnes. The first (and best) of a series about a cross-timeline war. Has some Very Cool Stuff in it. 'First Flight' by Chris Claremont. Good "hard" SF. A couple of sequels but, yet again, the first is the best (IMO). Because I am a Star Trek fan from way back, I will also throw in: John M Ford's 'The Final Reflection'. When written, it was THE novel about Klingons (the later movies and series took a different path ...), and a basis for FASA Trek's Klingon supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List A lot of stuff I'd automatically recommend has already been covered. ' date=' but I can still squeeze a few in:[/quote']A few??? Seriously, though, I think any "secondings" would probably be helpful to Steve, especially for books that include ideas and concepts that weren't in the earlier editions and that he might not think of on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List In addition to John M. Ford's The Final Reflection, I'd like to suggest his other ST novel: How Much For Just The Planet? Until this point Star Trek had been fairly straight space opera. This one book shows you how to turn that completely on its ear. On top of which it's fricking hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List In addition to John M. Ford's The Final Reflection' date=' I'd like to suggest his other ST novel: [i']How Much For Just The Planet?[/i] Until this point Star Trek had been fairly straight space opera. This one book shows you how to turn that completely on its ear. On top of which it's fricking hilarious. I have it, and while I don't think it's quite that funny, the bit where Scotty challenges a Klingon to a round of golf is by itself worth the price of admission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted June 25, 2010 Report Share Posted June 25, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List A few??? Seriously, though, I think any "secondings" would probably be helpful to Steve, especially for books that include ideas and concepts that weren't in the earlier editions and that he might not think of on his own. I can see that. I was trying to recommend new books/series that weren't out when Steve wrote 5e Star Hero. I kind of figured that he had already read most of the older series so I didn't really try to recommend any. BTW I do want to second the recommendation of the Atomic Rockets Website http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/ It's a great place to visit if you want to "reality check" your rubber science or if you want to run a "realistic" sci fi game. It has opened my eyes a bit toward more realistic Sci Fi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus Posted June 26, 2010 Report Share Posted June 26, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List I don't think anyone has mentioned Nova by Samuel R. Delany. While I can understand being wary of it given Delany's other works (some, extremely graphic), it's a very good example of Space Opera. Quite honestly, it reads a little like a Star Hero campaign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Mackinder Posted June 26, 2010 Report Share Posted June 26, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List A few??? Seriously, though, I think any "secondings" would probably be helpful to Steve, especially for books that include ideas and concepts that weren't in the earlier editions and that he might not think of on his own. Well, my "seconds list" would be even longer, but if you insist ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List For lighter sci-fi, Phil Foglio's 'Buck Godot' graphic novels. 'Zap Gun for Hire' is a series of shorts, but 'PSmIth' and 'The Gualimaufry' are both enjoyable and fairly quick (the time consuming part can be looking for the sight-gags). I practically have these memorized. They rock! Have no fear that I will be quoting them as appropriate in SH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Thanx for the suggestions so far folx; keep 'em coming! A few more specific responses: --to Lawnmower Boy, Ian M, and others who posted long lists, thanx! --no need to suggest any Post-Apocalyptic novels. I read plenty of those for PAH and don't plan to read anymore; I can draw any quotes I need from what I've already got. I don't think I'll need too many. --no need to suggest any Cyberpunk novels; I've alreayd read several as pre-research for writing Cyber Hero someday, and I can draw any quotes I need from them. I don't think I'll need too many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List I can't believe I didn't mention [The Forever War] in my post. No need to fret yourself, because unless someone at some point hires me to write a book analyzing "powered armor science fiction," there's no way in Hell I'm subjecting myself to this depressing post-Vietnam leftist nonsense again. I'll stick to the far more enjoyable Starship Troopers for my armor quotes, I do believe. I do think I could write an interesting essay about how the authors' life experiences and the tenor of the times has influenced the major SF powered armor novels (e.g., Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Armor). But someone's gotta pay me to write it first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List As far as Star Wars goes, I'd recommend The X-Wing series - Half were written by Michael A Stackpole and the other have by Aaron Alliston (I believe the same one that wrote the ones centering on Wraith Squadron is also the co-author of the 5E Champions Genre book... never have been able to confirm that). The nice thing about the X-Wing series is that they are not really centered on the Jedi (Jedi are cool and all, but as is the case in the StarWars RPG, not everyone can be a Jedi - thusly, not everyone wants to read about Jedi all the bleeping time). Yes, that's the same Allston. And if you look at the "thanks" section at the front of several of his books, you'll see my name listed as one of his blindreaders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List I think any "secondings" would probably be helpful to Steve, No, they really wouldn't. I only need to see a book recommended once; I can take it from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted June 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List I was trying to recommend new books/series that weren't out when Steve wrote 5e Star Hero. And that is in fact helpful! As I said in my first post I'm more inclined to stick with "the classics," but I have no objection to poking around amongst good new stuff too. For example, I don't intend to re-read them now, but Jason persuaded me to read Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" novels a few years back, and I quite enjoyed 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted June 29, 2010 Report Share Posted June 29, 2010 Re: STAR HERO Reading List Has anyone mentioned Jack McDevitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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