NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, we've had battles between the sci-fi kings of TV - Star Trek v. Star Wars. Now time for books. What science fiction book series is the best?

I favor Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. I am halfway through Blue Mars, and I am in love. Main reason, I like the mix of science and politics.

Children of the Star, by Sylvia Engdahl.

Dune was a great book series. Very complex but understandable at the same time.

Manifold by Stephan Baxter
Or Foundation (do I really have to say who it is by)

Ian M. Banks, culture series http://www.iainbanks.net/sf.htm

Steven Erickson, A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen http://www.majid.info/mylos/weblog/2004/10/26-1.html

Since Herbert West: Re-Animator was published originally as a serial, does it count? I think it counts as sci-fi, since it's about people raising the dead with a chemical solution.

Not that big of a spoiler, but I'll do it anyways to be safe.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has space and *gasp* humour! Five books of it.

I don't know if they count as great but I really liked Hammers Slammers....

Isaac Asimov's conglomerate series, consisting of his Robot series (starring R. Daneel Olivaw, the human-like robot, and highlighting Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics), his Empire series (starring a radioactive or simply unknown Earth and unsteady interstellar politics), and his Foundation series (starring the collapse of the Galactic Empire and the Galactic Dark Ages). Bloody long and spanning Asimov's career, this uber-series is easily the best in science fiction literature.

I've never liked the Dune series, really; Frank Herbert is dull to read.

I don't know if they count as great but I really liked Hammers Slammers....
I love them as well

I did not list them under the "great" ones I like but you are right I enjoy them

Ohh thinking of that the northworld trillogy

The Ender's Game series was great. I liked Dune, but found the sequels increasingly dull and forced. I liked the Mars books a lot, but found the writing pretty tedious at times.

The Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter Hamilton was pretty good, although kind of hard to get through at first. I also really like Aasimov's original Foundation trilogy.

I guess that depends on what you consider sci-fi. The Mars trilogy was pretty good, if a little dry in parts (okay.. really, really dry in parts.)

I'm a huge fan of Harry Turtledove. I suppose you could classify his Worldwar series as sci-fi.

David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I must be in my fourth read of the series! :)

David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I must be in my fourth read of the series! :)
Damn it people keep naming series I love (Hey btw I have the special book CD of the series here if ya want a copy) Its been awhile sense I have looked at it but got all kinds of technical/extra documentation

No Riverworld? Blasphemy.

Well, they're not really books, but I like Perry Rhodan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan).

I'll take most of the above and toss in Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano (and related books) series.

I'll take most of the above and toss in Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano (and related books) series.
And another one ... I got to make a list of series to Re Re-read :)

David Weber's Honor Harrington series. I must be in my fourth read of the series! :)


Yes! Excellent series. Also, you might try Lois McMasters Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan stories.

Damn it people keep naming series I love (Hey btw I have the special book CD of the series here if ya want a copy) Its been awhile sense I have looked at it but got all kinds of technical/extra documentation

I haven't actually looked at it yet but I recently bought At All Costs and it came with a CD-ROM, I don't suppose that is it?

No Riverworld? Blasphemy.

Now there is an amazing drop-off in quality if ever I saw one. Need we even mention the fifth in the series? Surprisingly, though, the short stories of Riverworld that other authors have produced are actually pretty good.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has space and *gasp* humour! Five books of it.

Agreed. However, I also liked the Dune series, and...well, just about any Sci-fi you put in front of me.

And another one ... I got to make a list of series to Re Re-read :)
Could be worse, most of my books are currently in boxes in the US. But every time I go home I bring over more and more. It's going to cost me a fortune to get them back home again. :p

I haven't actually looked at it yet but I recently bought At All Costs and it came with a CD-ROM, I don't suppose that is it?
Could be

Looking through it again it has all the books in it (as far as I can tell so far complete) along with documentation and graphics

It is free and legal to distribute without profit so I can work on throwing it on my web server if anyone is intrested

The various series by William Gibson, surely? Particularly the Neuromancer-Count Zero-Mona Lisa Overdrive sequence; but Virtual Light-Idoru-All Tomorrow's Parties are also pretty darn good.

Bruce Sterling's Patterner/Mechanist stuff (available collected in a single volume now, Schismatrix Plus)

And in the hard sci-fi realm there's Ben Bova's Mars-Venus etc and (I can't believe no-one mentioned this) Arthur C Clarke's 2001, 2010...

I'm a huge fan of Harry Turtledove. I suppose you could classify his Worldwar series as sci-fi.

Indeed, Turtledove rules. His books aren't quite old enough to be classics, though... Not yet, anyway.

Ender's Game, but more importantly the spinoff series that started with Ender's Shadow. Ender's Game was by far the best out of all..... 8? of the books but after that the series, IMO dried up and lost quite a bit of the action that had captured the reader in Ender's Game. The politics in the Ender's Shadow book and beyond are amazing in their depth, I personally feel that having read those books I have A.) A better understanding of English (reading and writing, although I am sure as you can tell my this little speech I need some more work.) B.) An interest in politics, and finally C.) It showed me that reading truly could be enjoyable, I started to read more and more because of that book (I have read most the books more than three times!) and it has broadened my understanding of the outside world by once against making me interested in what happens outside of this little place I call home.

The various series by William Gibson, surely? Particularly the Neuromancer-Count Zero-Mona Lisa Overdrive sequence; but Virtual Light-Idoru-All Tomorrow's Parties are also pretty darn good.

Bruce Sterling's Patterner/Mechanist stuff (available collected in a single volume now, Schismatrix Plus)

And in the hard sci-fi realm there's Ben Bova's Mars-Venus etc and (I can't believe no-one mentioned this) Arthur C Clarke's 2001, 2010...
I am a fan of clark but I actualy do not care for 2001

I love bova

I am a fan of clark but I actualy do not care for 2001


Anybody that suggest that Rama was a good series is going to get punched in the throat. Like the film Highlander it generated no sequals.

The various series by William Gibson, surely? Particularly the Neuromancer-Count Zero-Mona Lisa Overdrive sequence; but Virtual Light-Idoru-All Tomorrow's Parties are also pretty darn good.
Have you read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? I'd rate him better than Gibson in the cyberpunk department.

I am a fan of clark but I actualy do not care for 2001

Really? I highly enjoyed the series.

Could be

Looking through it again it has all the books in it (as far as I can tell so far complete) along with documentation and graphics

It is free and legal to distribute without profit so I can work on throwing it on my web server if anyone is intrested

It is! All the Honor Harrington series not to mention all the other books Weber wrote! :)

Have you read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? I'd rate him better than Gibson in the cyberpunk department.

One of the problems with Stephenson is he never really knows when to end novels. Personally I rate Cryptonomicon above Snow Crash. And yes, I know that not all the ideas in SC were meant to be taken seriously.

I'm a huge fan of Harry Turtledove. I suppose you could classify his Worldwar series as sci-fi.

I think after the first World War book they switched the Genre from Alternate History to Science Fiction. Have you read any of his other books? I like the American Empire Series quite a bit and if you have not done so already you really need to read the Colonization series and Homeward Bound (BAD NAME!) because they do a great job of showing how the world could evolve after the war and it also delve into the realm of the effects that co-existance could have on both species.

Wow. I post this at about 5:30. Less than two hours later, and this thread is three pages long.

Well, looks like the Mars trilogy isn't as popular as I might have thought, but now I have an excellent book list.

And I forgot to add this.

Ender's Game the move, scheduled for release in 2007, I wonder how they will handle the Stilson and Bonzo incidents. (Don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read them.)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Robert A. Heinlein yet though.

Have you read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? I'd rate him better than Gibson in the cyberpunk department.

That book was... interesting. The character Y.T. was... also interesting.

One of the problems with Stephenson is he never really knows when to end novels.
Hmm, why would you say that?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Robert A. Heinlein yet though.

He didn't really write series though, did he? - apart from his later attempts to shoe-horn everything into his future history.


ooohh... speaking of 'future history' - certain parts of Niven's Known Space sequence, although there are severe issues with quality control at work with several of his novels there.

Hmm, why would you say that?

They always seem to finish with a whimper rather than a bang, and although in most cases he has provided sufficient information for you draw your own conclusions as to eventual resolutions there does still remain something deeply unsatisfying about his endings.

Anybody that suggest that Rama was a good series is going to get punched in the throat. Like the film Highlander it generated no sequals.
Rama was alright ... I would not say it was "good" but I did like it when I was in 6th grade

(I really think I might have had a learning disorder, is it normal for a 5th or 6th grader to sit and finish something the size of rama in one night) and to consistantly do that throughout their highschool career and beyond lol

Rama was alright ... I would not say it was "good" but I did like it when I was in 6th grade

I think one of the things I loved about Rama (aside from the octobots, obviously) was that Clarke's notoriously wooden characters were unable to get in the way of the simplcity of the idea: not only was the ship a cipher, but also too the humans exploring it.

Ooh, the Mars series is good. I haven't read Blue Mars yet though, but I bought it some time ago. It's in the queue. :p

I usually prefer fantasy to Sci-Fi in my reading, but I would have to say Heinlien's Future History is the best Sci-Fi series I have read. The first Dune was good, but the rest were crap.

I'm not big on scifi, but I read several books of the Sector General (http://www.sectorgeneral.com/) series, which as far as I know is pretty obscure. they're excellent, sort of like ER(except not schlocky) set in the far future and deep space. Really very original for a sci-fi IMHO.

Have you read Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson? I'd rate him better than Gibson in the cyberpunk department.

Of course, and of course Stephenson's a better writer - but he hasn't written a sci-fi series, only a couple of individual books. His best work is actually not sci-fi - Cryptonomicon - and the only series he has done is historical - The Baroque Cycle. I'd say Sterling's a better writer than Gibson, too.

I'm not big on scifi, but I read several books of the Sector General (http://www.sectorgeneral.com/) series, which as far as I know is pretty obscure. they're excellent, sort of like ER(except not schlocky) set in the far future and deep space. Really very original for a sci-fi IMHO.

I like these too, although they're kinda pulpy ;)

His best work is actually not sci-fi - Cryptonomicon - and the only series he has done is historical - The Baroque Cycle. I'd say Sterling's a better writer than Gibson, too.

Under what definition is Cryptonomicon not sci-fi?

I like these too, although they're kinda pulpy ;)

They are very good. The rest of James White's novels are also worth tracking down if you, like myself, are a fan of a simpler time in the 60s and 70s when the average sf novel clocked in at about 200 pages and actually told a self-contained story.

Can't mention White without at least a casual nod of the head to his compadre Bob Shaw, although it is best to avoid the novels from the start and end of his career if you want the cream of the crop.

Under what definition is Cryptonomicon not sci-fi?

I'd just call it fiction. You might even call it historical fiction, given the large parts of the book set in the first half of the twentieth century. The science involved is not an extrapolation or thought experiment, it's all actual science native to the two periods in which the story is set. It seems to me that while Snow Crash (for all its tongue-in-cheek) and The Diamond Age are both clearly sci-fi (and the latter in particular is brilliant), his other stuff defies that kind of genre classification.

I'd just call it fiction. You might even call it historical fiction, given the large parts of the book set in the first half of the twentieth century. The science involved is not an extrapolation or thought experiment, it's all actual science native to the two periods in which the story is set.

Apart from the fact that one of the central characters is immortal and carries the Philosopher's Stone around with him, and is able to raise the dead... or did I just sleep through the history classes that covered all that as 'actual science native to the two periods'?

Well if anyone is intrested I zipped down the honor harrington honoverse CD ... Let me know if you want a copy it is 181 MB

(And just in case the mods stop by the CD itself says "This disk and its contents may be copied and dshared but NOT sold")

Apart from the fact that one of the central characters is immortal and carries the Philosopher's Stone around with him, and is able to raise the dead... or did I just sleep through the history classes that covered all that as 'actual science native to the two periods'?

Now, it's been a while since I read Cryptonomicon, but that sounds more like Quicksilver...

Now, it's been a while since I read Cryptonomicon, but that sounds more like Quicksilver...

Nope. That's all in Cryptonomicon.

Lemme see... here's a page of speculation which predates the publication of Quicksilver and is an attempt to untangle what the hell was really going on in Cryptonomicon -

http://www.cafeaulait.org/cryptonomicon.html

Nope. That's all in Cryptonomicon.

Lemme see... here's a page of speculation which predates the publication of Quicksilver and is an attempt to untangle what the hell was really going on in Cryptonomicon -

http://www.cafeaulait.org/cryptonomicon.html


Now I remember - thanks. Still not sure that shoves this into the Sci-Fi genre any more than the Baroque Cycle is, although when it comes down to it I have no particular need to police genre boundaries, particularly when much of the really interesting stuff happens out there in the borderlands anyway. I guess I think of the alchemical elements here (as in Baroque, where they are more prominent) as something more akin to magical realism; for me it seems most like Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, which is not generally classified as Sci-Fi. But as I said, I don't care too much, I just care that Stephenson is one of the best living authors in whatever direction he happens to take his work.

..for me it seems most like Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, which is not generally classified as Sci-Fi. But as I said, I don't care too much, I just care that Stephenson is one of the best living authors in whatever direction he happens to take his work.

For me I would classify Foucault's Pendulum as a hallucinatory novel: the desire to believe in things makes them appear to be true.

I would put Cryptonomicon into the sci-fi category as rather than just leaving the mysteries as being somehow connected with alchemy and religion, there are several hints throughout that what is at work is a kind of technology - the punched gold plates, for example, which are more than a touch reminiscent of one of Stephenson's more shameless jokes in Snow Crash (Sumerian).

Alchemy is not sufficient to explain the goings on as the rest of the novel is clearly focused on cryptography - on breaking the code, and I do not believe this to be just another sleight of hand, rather an indication that the work of Root is tied together with the workings of a much larger code* (and not only in the metaphorical sense that is present in alchemy).


* and they don't get much bigger than this.

Phew. As spoiler free as I could make it.


EDIT: if you liked FP and Cryptonomicon then you really should track down some Iain Sinclair - Radon's Daughters is probably his best work, but White Chapell, Scarlet Tracings is probably a more gentle introduction to the man. His collections of non-fictional essays on the psycho-geography of london and environs are also very much worthy of tracking down.

Hmm, I don't have an all time favorite, because I am a fickle, fickle, man.

But I just recently read Ken Macleod's Fall Revolution series. I give it a thumbs up.

BWO - thanks for the tip on Sinclair.

I was just musing on whether the steampunk of China Mieville is sci-fi or fantasy or both or neither. Anyway, if two books do a series make, then Perdido Street Station and The Scar are worthy of consideration for this growing list...

BWO - thanks for the tip on Sinclair.

I was just musing on whether the steampunk of China Mieville is sci-fi or fantasy or both or neither. Anyway, if two books do a series make, then Perdido Street Station and The Scar are worthy of consideration for this growing list...

The Iron Council (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Council) is part of that series. So, it definitely counts.

And is a good one also.

And I forgot to add this.

Ender's Game the move, scheduled for release in 2007, I wonder how they will handle the Stilson and Bonzo incidents. (Don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read them.)

The best way to do it would probably be not to show it on-camera, but merely have it happen while we see other people watching in shock. Basically, I mean to do it the way that old movies from the 40's did violence.

I voted for the Mars trilogy because I, for one, dig hard sci-fi.

Loved the hitchikers series, liked Asimov´s foundation series, have read Dune series, liked it, read Ender´s Game --) found it amazing. Also I enjoyed Arthur C. Clarke´s space odessy series´, though not all of them were up there with 2001.

Uhm...

Not really a series, but I also liked Forever War and Forever Peace by Joe haldeman...

I'm sorry, but in the eyes of this long time SF fan (more than 30 years), your poll is insultingly lacking. Not bother to put Foundation on your poll, says all that anyone needs to know.

Where are the Lensman, John Carter, and other classics?

Animorphs(K.A. Applegate) taught me a lot of English when I was a kid. They stopped translating after book 14 but me an my little bro had to know how it was going to end... so we bought all 54+ books in English. They were good, but I'm too old for them now.

I like Foundation, it had a nice retro-fel to it, with all the atomic trashcans and everything, and the Mule was cool. Otherwise, there's always HHGTG, though weird it is clearly one of the most influental sci-fi books(or maybe I simply hang out in the wrong places, lol).

And there was a Swedish socialist/environmental propaganda-series called The Destiny of the Universe(Universums öde, George Johansson) I read a a small kid which basically set me off into real sci-fi.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has space and *gasp* humour! Five books of it.
Aye. Some of the greatest books ever made.

I really liked both the 2001 - 3001 series (2010 was best) and the Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke.

I've just read The Algebraist (started very slow and heavy, but then really got going), so I'm going to have to read more Ian M. Banks. I even guessed the trick at the beginning, but it made me forget until it was revealed at the end.

The "Demon Princes" series by Jack Vance.
And Revelation Space and its sequels by Alastair Reynolds.

My favourite sci-fi trilogies are the Nights Dawn, and Greg Mandell trilogies. Both by Peter F Hamilton. Some of my favourite books, also.

Star Wars is far and away the best(and probably the longest) series ever. The only two I believe com e close are Hitchhiker and Foundation.
Although not really SF, I rate the Freedom series by Anne McCaffery as awesome

BAH!

The two greatest Sci-Fi works of all time can only be the Hitchhikers guide and the fantastic trilogy of Otherland by Tad Williams, 'nuff said.

Star Wars is far and away the best(and probably the longest) series ever. The only two I believe com e close are Hitchhiker and Foundation.
Although not really SF, I rate the Freedom series by Anne McCaffery as awesome
Bah it was an alright movie

The only reason anyone reads the books is cause they are a fanboy

Star Wars is far and away the best(and probably the longest) series ever.

Now here is afellow who obviously has never encountered Perry Rhodan if he thinks Star Wars is a long series... by my back of the envelope calculations Perry Rhodan clocks in at about 70 million words.

Well, obviously I'm putting Foundation and all accompanying books up there as the best, but I have to give props to 2001 (series) een if they did decline somewhat in quality after 2001 . Has anyone else noticed that CLarke really doesn't seem to know how to finish a story/series decently? They all seem a bit... phleh... a bit weak to me.

But also, and I can't believe no-ones bought this up before, Larry Niven's Ringworld series - I've only read Ringworld and RIngworld Engineers so far, but they're absolutely fantastic - it's brilliant the way a book without any major uber-events happening can be so gripping! (I refer mainly to the first one here, as Engineers has some pretty funky stuff going on there). But yeah - I'd highly recommend them to one and all.

The Dune and Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy series are the only sci-fi books I've been able to read - enjoyed both thoroughly even though I usually dislike sci-fi.

I've read and very much enjoyed all those... but I had to say "other" because Foundation is the classic big-daddy winner.

But also, and I can't believe no-ones bought this up before, Larry Niven's Ringworld series ...

Hey, did I or did I not mention his Known Space stories, of which these two novels are a part?

Hey, did I or did I not mention his Known Space stories, of which these two novels are a part?

Did you? Oh, whoops *blush* Sorry 'bout that BWO, musta missed it. *Bows head in shame*

Good though, aren't they :D

Dune 4 life!

Dune. Gripping, yet challenging, political, original, excellent writing technique. Really has it all.

The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is excellent near sci-fi, but quite dry in places.

I have yet to read the Enders series. I've heard great things though.

Iain M. Banks rocks. Probably best living sci-fi writer alive. But I am hesitant to call the Culture books a series.

Star Wars, as a book series sucks frankly. Larry Niven writes gripping but not particularly good stuff. I would say the same for Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.

Someone mentioned the John Carter series. I have to admit to a weakness for Burroughs, but even ERB did not claim his work as being literary.

As for Neal Stephenson, he is magnificent, but not really sci-fi. His work lies in that area between genres where the really amazing stuff is happening.

Edgar Rice Burroughs - Mars series. I've only read a few of them so far, but they're very good and pre-dated several of the ones mentioned. He gets my vote

I've also read most of the Enders series and like the books that are set earlier in the series rather than the later ones (ie. ender's shadow was good but I didn't care for children of the mind even though ender's shadow was written later it took place earlier)

And Asimov's Foundation was pretty good as well

But also, and I can't believe no-ones bought this up before, Larry Niven's Ringworld series - I've only read Ringworld and RIngworld Engineers so far, but they're absolutely fantastic - it's brilliant the way a book without any major uber-events happening can be so gripping!

Bad news, I'm afraid.... the first is the bestof the series, the second a pale shadow.... and it is a trend that continues.

Shame, really... but there are other 'Known Space' books out there, so it doesn't all fall with the sad demise of the Ringworld franchise.

No one mentioned Terry Pratchett's Discworld series or Piers Anthony's Mode, Xone, or Xanth series. What a shame!

Bad news, I'm afraid.... the first is the bestof the series, the second a pale shadow.... and it is a trend that continues.

Shame, really... but there are other 'Known Space' books out there, so it doesn't all fall with the sad demise of the Ringworld franchise.

Oh :( That's a shame. I did notice that Engineers wasn't quite as good as the original. Maybe I shouldn't search too hard for Children then. Any suggestions as to which I should read? (From the rest of the Known Space series I mean).

No one mentioned Terry Pratchett's Discworld series or Piers Anthony's Mode, Xone, or Xanth series. What a shame!

Discworld is fantasy rather than sci-fi. Dunno about the rest. But yeah - Discworld - along with all Pratchett books - rawk.

I guess it would...although it's all pretty much the same for me. Sci-fi and fantasy have always been kind of intertwined for me.

The female author seems somewhat under-represented thus far (three of my five favourite sci-fi authors are female:

Sherri Tepper has more than one excellent science-fiction series behind her: "The Books of the True Game", the "Marjorie Westriding Trilogy" , and "The Awakeners".

Julian May has one long connected science-fiction series: the 'Saga of the Exiles', and 'The Galactic Milieu' series are the two 'ends' of the same arc.

Anne McCaffrey has several excellent series arcs behind her, both as sole author, and as co-author. Of her 'solo' work: the "Pern" arc, the "Crystal Singer" series, the "Talent" series, and connected "Tower and Hive" series, and the "Coelura" series.


Among male authors:

I also love the "Foundation" books, by Asimov... and the "Dune" series.

That is, pretty much 'in order', my 'top five'.

In terms of what could be called 'space-opera' or 'pulp', Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" trilogy, and "To The Stars" trilogy are very good... and E.E. Doc Smith's "Lensman" books are definitive.

Piers Anthony has also done some good work (I'm personally not a fan of his 'Apprentice Adept' books, but his "Planet of Tarot" series is very good.

Oh :( That's a shame. I did notice that Engineers wasn't quite as good as the original. Maybe I shouldn't search too hard for Children then. Any suggestions as to which I should read? (From the rest of the Known Space series I mean).

Well, I can tell you what they were called on their English releases... I'm not sure if they were released under the same titles in the US.

"Protector" details the 'first contact' between humans and Pak Protectors.

"The Man-Kzin Wars" span a number of books (I believe it might now be nine?) of which Niven tends to write the first 'short-story', and a handful of other 'collaborators' add a short-story each. As with any series, and any collaboration, there are high and low points.

The others which I found especially worthwhile are "The World of Ptavvs", "Tales of Known Space" and "A Gift From Earth"... all of which were combined a few years ago into one book "Three Books of Known Space".

Well, I can tell you what they were called on their English releases... I'm not sure if they were released under the same titles in the US.

"Protector" details the 'first contact' between humans and Pak Protectors.

"The Man-Kzin Wars" span a number of books (I believe it might now be nine?) of which Niven tends to write the first 'short-story', and a handful of other 'collaborators' add a short-story each. As with any series, and any collaboration, there are high and low points.

The others which I found especially worthwhile are "The World of Ptavvs", "Tales of Known Space" and "A Gift From Earth"... all of which were combined a few years ago into one book "Three Books of Known Space".

:D That's ok, since I live in England anyway hehe. Hmm - that's quite a few books there. Could take me some time to get through them all lol - in fact, it'll probab;ly take me a while to even find them. But thanks for the tip GNI :) 'preciate it.

Actually, I believe Man/Kzin Wars XI is currently available in hardback.

I vote for Dune. Frank Herbert is the master of byzantine political manouverings, plot twists, and a marvelous idea of the direction of the human race - and beyond.

God-Emperor (book four) is unfortunately the weakest of the series, which spoils some people on the second half of the tale. But I found the entire series wonderful, right down to Chapter House.

Duncan Idaho eternal!

Dunno if anyone has mentioned but for me, The Gap series by Stephen Donaldson ....

Go, Nick, Go!!

I think after the first World War book they switched the Genre from Alternate History to Science Fiction. Have you read any of his other books? I like the American Empire Series quite a bit and if you have not done so already you really need to read the Colonization series and Homeward Bound (BAD NAME!) because they do a great job of showing how the world could evolve after the war and it also delve into the realm of the effects that co-existance could have on both species.

I've read all of those books, plus some of his stand alone's, such as In the Presence of Mine Enemies, and Ruled Britannia. The man's a talent, there's no denying. Some of his other stuff, isn't quite on par with Worldwar or the alternate civil war series, but it can't all be gold can it?

As to an earlier post about Turtledove not being classic; neither is the Mars trilogy. They are both modern 'classics' though.

The Guns of the South is a brilliantly imagined book by Turtledove. For a series, however, I'd vote for his alternate Great War Quadrilogy.

My favorite series has got to be Arthur C Clarke's odyssey series (2001, 2010, 2061 and 3001).

I don't usually read sci-fi books, but...

I love Linda.

:sniper:

Star Wars is far and away the best(and probably the longest) series ever. The only two I believe com e close are Hitchhiker and Foundation.
Although not really SF, I rate the Freedom series by Anne McCaffery as awesome

Actually Harry Turtledove has a couple of "series" that come pretty close to that mark, it's actually a series of series, three-four books at a time broken down into sub series so that a person can pick up the first book in the series and start reading without having this feeling like they are missing a whole lot.

His Videssos Cycle series (Kind of a cross between Fantasy and Sci-Fi) has 11 books in it broken down into three smaller series. The Great War series starts with "How Few Remain" which is set as a war between the states in 1881 over two provinces of Mexico and so far he has written two of the four books of the Settling Accounts series which has Hitler in the CSA and the Kaiser still in power in Germany and is set in WWII, this series also hase 11 books. Great series but it is not technically Sci-Fi, it is alternate history.

Not really a series, but I also liked Forever War and Forever Peace by Joe haldeman...
Forever war was really good. Forever Peace wasn't the sequel to that one though, Forever Free was, and it was crap.

I gotta go with Roger Zelazny's Amber series. It was well written and a lot of fun, even if it was kind of shallow. Also the science fiction of George R. R. Martin, which while it wasn't strictly a series, was all set in the same world.

The Guns of the South is a brilliantly imagined book by Turtledove. For a series, however, I'd vote for his alternate Great War Quadrilogy.

Actually, I've never read Guns of the South, but I've read the Great War series and beyond (seriously good books.) From what I understand, Guns of the South is based on a completely different premise of the South winning the Civil War (time travellers offering AK-47's to General Lee as opposed to a courier dropping secret battle plans tied around 3 cigars.)

The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison (who also wrote Make Room! Make Room! which was the basis for Soylent Green),

(crime in the far far future!)

and the Retief series by Keith Laumer.

(diplomacy in the future!)

Very funny sci-fi!

Both series are uneven, but love the humor!

The Mars and Dune books read like cheap airport pulp. My two cents are divided between Hitchickers Guide and Foundation (Adams and Asimov)

Dune is my fav on that list, even though I didn't read them all.

It's a toss up between Foundation and Dune, but I think I have to go with Dune. The reason is the complexity along with the combination of religion, ecology and politics.
While I love to read Asimov, I find that his writing is much simpler and the Foundation story seems to be just a series of short stories combined into a book.
The Robot series, also by Asimov, is also up for grabs. What I love about it is that the laws of Robotics were logically made out and are still used in other series such as Star Trek and Star Wars. They are timeless and totally make sense.

Very funny sci-fi!

Both series are uneven, but love the humor!

No mention of humour in science-fiction can be complete without a mention of Robert Sheckley. It is best to avoid anything he wrote after about 1975 or thereabouts though, as there is an incredible drop off in quality there. Dimension Of Miracles is probably his best novel, but the rest of the earlier stuff (including the short stories) is certainly worth your time and effort in tracking down.

The best way to do it would probably be not to show it on-camera, but merely have it happen while we see other people watching in shock. Basically, I mean to do it the way that old movies from the 40's did violence.
But the point of those scenes exactly was the sheer force of the violence Ender used. Personally I'm not a fan of the Ender series or Orson Scott Card. He depicts and tries to justify a moral universe that is kind of screwed up in my opinion, and most of his works have underlying tones of elitism, sexism and homophobia. Past Ender's Game none of the books in the series are even well written, and not one, including Ender's Game, can put forward a decent plot. Most of his books seem kind of self-aggrandizing in a masturbatory sense.

Well, I can tell you what they were called on their English releases... I'm not sure if they were released under the same titles in the US.

"Protector" details the 'first contact' between humans and Pak Protectors.

Probably his best novel in the series, even if there is one part which requires an incredible amount of willing suspension of disbelief. Personally I'm still annoyed that instead of writing Down In Flames (http://www.larryniven.org/stories/downinflames.htm) he produced Ringworld Engineers.

Actually, I've never read Guns of the South, but I've read the Great War series and beyond (seriously good books.) From what I understand, Guns of the South is based on a completely different premise of the South winning the Civil War (time travellers offering AK-47's to General Lee as opposed to a courier dropping secret battle plans tied around 3 cigars.)


Ahhhh, you're missing out on a gem of a book. Yes, it does use time-travel to allow the South to prevail as it were, but it goes deeper than that. It explores Lee as a character in a very sympathetic way, and I like the character Turtledove builds. Plus it all gels together nicely - I won't spoil anything, but the last third of the book is brilliant.

No mention of humour in science-fiction can be complete without a mention of Robert Sheckley. It is best to avoid anything he wrote after about 1975 or thereabouts though, as there is an incredible drop off in quality there. Dimension Of Miracles is probably his best novel, but the rest of the earlier stuff (including the short stories) is certainly worth your time and effort in tracking down.

And he wrote Seventh Victim, which was the basis for the film "10th Victim". Cool.

Thanx for reminding me about him. Must find that book!

No one mentioned Terry Pratchett's Discworld series or Piers Anthony's Mode, Xone, or Xanth series. What a shame!

All fantasy. And while Pratchett has maintained a high level of quality, the same can't be said of Anthony. The early books were alright, but the series as a whole tends to be written down, even for juviniles.

The Guns of the South is a brilliantly imagined book by Turtledove. For a series, however, I'd vote for his alternate Great War Quadrilogy.

GotS was quite good, and he managed to keep it a reasonable length. It's borderline SF though. The Great war is pure alt. history. And it suffers the same disease as most of Turttledove's morte recent series - way too long.

Personally I'm not a fan of the Ender series or Orson Scott Card. He depicts and tries to justify a moral universe that is kind of screwed up in my opinion, and most of his works have underlying tones of elitism, sexism and homophobia.

...

Most of his books seem kind of self-aggrandizing in a masturbatory sense.

Hey, that's Mormonism for you.