Top 10 New Sci-Fi/SF Authors? 1259
Dukebytes asks: "I am looking for the new RAH/Piers Anthony/Roger Zelazny/Weis & Hickman etc..., of the world. I have read just about everything I could find on King Aurthur, all of the Dragon Lance stuff, and all or most of the 'old school' hardcore. I don't know, I have maybe 4000 books at home, most of them Scifi/SF. I am looking for some new stuff. I haven't bought any kind of book other than techie for more than 2 years. I just keep reading the ones that I have over and over and over. What are you guys reading? If it is a series, please list ALL of the books in it!"
The new Piers Anthony? (Score:4, Funny)
Doh! (Score:3, Funny)
> What are you guys reading?
Slashdot.
My favorite New Sci-Fi author (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Robert Jordan (Score:3, Funny)
There is no beginning or ending to the Wheel of Time.
Summary Haiku (Score:2, Funny)
Scifi has lots of gay.
Won't someone think of the children!"
You're in graduate school aren't you? If not, they'll be waiting with open arms...
James P. Hogan (Score:3, Funny)
If you want to try some stuff that isn't SF, try Andrew Vachss [vachss.com] for some really dark, hard crime stories with a message (more on the web site). I recommend his Burke series (too many books to list) or Graphic novels (if you can find them) to anyone. He's done a Batman or two, too, I think.
Harry Turtledove's Colonization series (I don't remember the names) -- taking place after his "WorldWar" series, are very good reading, but the series kinda "ends" leaving too much hanging, IMHO. Again, not completely new, but if you haven't read it, you might like to.
I'm probably the only one that will tell you this, but I tried reading Neal Stephenson/Stevenson/However you spell it, and threw it out less than 100 pages in. Not just put it away, THREW IT OUT. Neal is apparently the James Joyce of SF, That is to say, he uses too many freaking words and doesn't really ever gets to the damn point, nor does he tell all that great a story. It's an "emperors new clothes" kind of book. The sophists will tell you it's great, but only because they think they *have* to in order to stay in the "in" sophist crowd. Well, I'm that little boy telling his daddy that the king is walking around naked. Not a good book.
Re:Tad Williams: Great Fantasy AND Sci-Fi (Score:1, Funny)
4000 books? You're done dude. (Score:2, Funny)
Ok let's assume a few things.
1. You're unemployed and can spend 16 hours a day reading, 365 days a year.
2. You're an above avg reader(in terms of speed) and take an avg of 3 hours per book.
3. You do not have a photographic memory
16hourx365daysperyear/3hoursperbook = 1946.67 booksperyear
With 4000 books, that means even at marathon pace you could go two years without repeating a title.
Longer if you had a life.
So you should be set for a decade or so.
Re:Iain Banks & The Culture (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Too many goofs (Score:5, Funny)
That weekend, I went to the local Barnes and Noble and picketed in front of the "S" section. I posted several scathing reviews on Amazon.com under various pseudonyms and spent most of Sunday digging up Neal Stephenson's home phone number, after which I prank-called him for a good six hours straight.
I wrote a letter to my congressman as well, and I strongly urge you to do the same! If we don't fight the rising tide of inaccurate astronomical navigation references in modern science fiction, then who will?
Re:Too obvious? (Score:2, Funny)
Surely it'll be more like 12?