2007-03-16 19:33:18 · 10 answers · asked by Wendy G 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I don't read sci-fi a lot, but I thought Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card was excellent.
2007-03-18 17:37:40 · answer #1 · answered by holly golightly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just a note first, it's better to refer to it as science fiction or SF than sci-fi when speaking with anyone involved with the genre. Simply a matter of tact.
There are certainly many brilliant masters in the genre (Asimov, Nester, Card, etc.) and several new faces stepping forward to move SF forward (Lowachee, Sagan, McDevitt, etc.). There are a wealth of books I've read that are amazing in quality, character, and scope. But if I could only pick one, the answer is clear. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. Dick is one of the most under-appreciated, under-read authors of our time. He also happens to be a philosophical genius with some truly interesting questions regarding the nature of reality, humanity, and religion. Some might point to the award-winning Man in the High Castle or Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep (inspiration for the movie Blade Runner) as Dick's best work. But for me the pinnacle of his success comes in the form of his gritty novel about the drug trade in the future, A Scanner Darkly. Perhaps it works so well because it feels very modern, and so remains highly relevant to our time period. The central character is also highly sympathetic, a cop narcing on a drug ring, slowly losing his mind and identity to the drugs he must take to keep his cover. It's a highly moving tragedy made all the more poignant by Dick's own experiments with drugs and his losses to them. Definitely check this one out.
2007-03-17 09:00:35 · answer #2 · answered by ap1188 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin.
Ubik, Philip K. Dick.
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess.
Big Planet, Jack Vance.
Houston, Houston, Do You Read?, James Tiptree Jr.
The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester.
Make Room! Make Room!, Harry Harrison.
This Perfect Day, Ira Levin.
... and so forth...
2007-03-17 03:15:57 · answer #3 · answered by Kate S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was by a Russian writer about a world of few centuries ahead so much advanced that even the toilets had cascades on walls which were live with illumination and everyone was literally transported by light. It was really fantastic sci-fi novel.
2007-03-17 02:58:12 · answer #4 · answered by Mahesh R 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well as much as I can remember the first sci-fi reading material I read was a comic book. And it is about Superman. Well he really is disobeying the laws of physics!
2007-03-17 02:47:20 · answer #5 · answered by nevikenezer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is hard, I'm a real sci-fi fanatic (Star Trek books and all).
But when ever this comes up the following books come to mind:
"Nightfall" by Issac Asimov
"Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke
2007-03-17 04:54:30 · answer #6 · answered by lokai1701 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's more fantasy than sci-fi, but King Fortis the Brave would be my best answer
2007-03-17 10:10:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was called The Planet Of Three Suns, but I don't know who wrote it.
I've read it a long time ago, about 20 years, I probably read five or six times, but all I can remember now is that there was a scientist lady called Navratilova and there were three suns shining over the planet (obviously).
2007-03-17 02:46:02 · answer #8 · answered by tamara_cyan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nightwatch, anything by Asimov or Vonnegut, I read this really good story once and a stowaway on a spaceship and her weight made it too heavy to survive the journey to this planet where her brother was and the pilot had to decide whether or not to kick her out...its called "The Cold Equation"....it was awesome.
2007-03-17 03:16:42 · answer #9 · answered by Willow_Elf 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Time Enough For Love by Robert A. Heinlein.
2007-03-17 02:48:16 · answer #10 · answered by Karebear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋