NationStates Jolt Archive

I created a new revised poll because of how the old one is turning out, and I really wanted some good results.

Also Discussion on your Favorite Character from your Universe, and the themes of each.

I selected Dune because of the mysticism/supernatural qualities, and depiction of aristocracy.

Firstly, I must say that I chose without knowing the Firefly universe nor the Kitchhiker one. I'm planning on seeing the shows (they are not aired where I live), but in the mean time I chose Babylon5 mostly for the realism and plausability. Not that the other wouldn't have realism, on contraire, they do. It's just that Babylon 5 universe is so consistent and well described, that you can actully imagine it without any real headake (my opinion, at least)
If I would pick a runner up, I would chose Galactica's.
I chose these two because I don't believe in generating shields one meter ahead of anything, I find that too much religiosity damage and some telepaty schemes are farfetch (but yeah, who am I to judge the future developments?)
Anyway, I would like to suggest Andromeda universe (being a fairly recent awarded show).

Heinlein's Future History universe. After all it (at the end) contains /has access to all of the universes.

I would most like to meet Andrew Jackson Libby, also Prof. Benard(sp.) LaPaz, Manual Davis, and would like to spend a few hours with Mike.

Star Wars is popular enough as it is so i'll throw my support to Firefly this time around.

Other.

Farscape, or The Culture - not on the list ;)

oh right, there was an earlier thread. never mind.

http://www.infetech.com/IMG/jpg/stargate-depart.jpg
With
http://www.durfee.net/startrek/images/Enterprise-D.jpg\
a close second.

I wish I knew of some decent book sci-fi universes. And don't you dare suggest Ender's Game...I hated that book.

I wish I knew of some decent book sci-fi universes. And don't you dare suggest Ender's Game...I hated that book.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favourites.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favourites.

That was good, although the gender politics and pointless self-indulgence of the characters became irritating after a while.

That was good, although the gender politics and pointless self-indulgence of the characters became irritating after a while.

I suppose you could find that, although I read the novels individually over a period of a few years, so I didn't find it overwhelming. To me, they're one of the best "hard" (as in, plausible) sci-fi works out there. I'd recommend them to any sci-fi fan.

I wish I knew of some decent book sci-fi universes. And don't you dare suggest Ender's Game...I hated that book.

In addition to Asamov's Foundation series mentioned in the poll, the Robot universe is quite good (just don't watch that horrible Will Smith movie that raped the book I, Robot almost as bad as the movie Starship Troopers did to Heinlein's great book.)
David Brin's Uplift series is highly reccomended.
Jerry Pournelle's CoDominium series is one of my personal faves.
I also like C. J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union universe a lot, especially the Chanur novels.
Larry Niven's Known Space universe is excellent.
Rudy Rucker's ware books are fun.
John Varley's Eight World books and Gaea Trilogy are really, really good, and he's rightly compared to Heinlein, IMNSHO.
William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy and Bridge trilogy are modern classics, as are Bruce Sterling's Shaper/Mechanist books. Sterling has several stand alones that have truely excellent settings.
George Alec Effinger's Marid Audran series is also very good - and one of the few SF universes set in the Islamic world (the main setting is a combo of Beirut, New Orleans, and Chandler's LA).
Nancy Kress' Beggars universe should of interest to most Generalites, as it contrasts two of the popular political extremes here. (It's an explicit answer to both Ursula Le Guin's The Dispossessed and Ayn Rand's Objectivism.)

That should be enough for a start. Ask me for more, if it's not.

The Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is one of my favourites.

That was good, although the gender politics and pointless self-indulgence of the characters became irritating after a while.

I suppose you could find that, although I read the novels individually over a period of a few years, so I didn't find it overwhelming. To me, they're one of the best "hard" (as in, plausible) sci-fi works out there. I'd recommend them to any sci-fi fan.


KSR definately writes good hard SF, but I personally don't like his style. He has great ideas, but I find his writing to be overly long winded. I also suspect there's a bit of bias, as he tends to be a bit lefty for my tastes...
However, I did enjoy Forty Signs of Rain quite a bit.

David Weber's Honorverse. One of the best realized universes out there.

I am again going with Battlestar Galactica (TNS). As for my favorite character the award goes to.... ..... ..... Colonel Tigh. First off, he has a never ending bottle of whiskey and Ambrosia. I wish I had a bottle like that. Second he took down a man half his age with a lead pipe in 3 seconds. He is the only non-hypocrite in the show, hell he even killed his own wife because she helped out the cylons. Reasons didn't matter. He is the biggest badass in the show.

However since Firefly is a close second. My favorite character there is River, you have to give the crazy lady some love. ;)

I'm a much bigger fan of Star Wars than any of the others, but my favorite universe is Star Trek.
The Federation gets me all tingly.
My favorite character? Piccard, a military tactician with the tact of a diplomat and respect for all life, even a fucking giant crystal.

Doctor Who.

I'm speaking as someone who isn't as well-read in Sci-Fi as I should be, but I do like quite a lot of them. One of my favourites, I'd have to pick the Chanur series world, because of the massive amounts of political maneuvering going and the fact that all the alien races think differently from the humans and from each other. I mean, if you're a different species you're going to be wired differently and think differently. That's my take on it at least.

Another one I particularly like is Ursula LeGuin's The Disposessed. I really like Anarres, but also there's a lot of very good description of different universes and also a small cameo by Terrans (i.e. us! XD).

Babylon 5 definitaly.

Its creative, with great and beliavable characters (that arent flawless like StarTrek ones), an amazing 5 season continued plot, believable and efficient technology, and interesting aliens that doesnt sound and look cheesy.

The only thing similar that is going right now is Battlestar Gallactica, that has all the same traits Babylon 5 had.

Star Trek Definately! The SciFi show that made cell phones possible! :D

The one of Charles Stross's Accelerando in the time of the Ring Imperium!

With Star Gate finishing a close second!

Another one I particularly like is Ursula LeGuin's The Disposessed. I really like Anarres, but also there's a lot of very good description of different universes and also a small cameo by Terrans (i.e. us! XD).


Totally forgot that! I really like Anarres as well.

Doctor Who.

Which Dr. is your favorite though? I think Tom Baker was the best Doctor so far, but the new guy on the sci-fi's remake is quite good as well.