Posted on 05/23/2008 10:02:34 AM PDT by GSWarrior
Another Pournelle fan, here.
Fantasy:
The late Robert Jordan
Terry Goodkind
Raymond Feist
Katherine Kurtz
Frank L. Baum
Susan B Cooper
Roger Zelazny
Lloyd Alexander
JRR Tolkein
Ursula LeGuin
David Eddings
Robert Asprin
Edgar Rice Bourroughs
Michael Moorcock
Sci Fi:
Doc Smith
Fred Saberhagen
Jules Verne
George Orwell
Heinlein
Orson Scott Card
Ray Bradbury
CS Lewis = #1 in Christian Allegory
Harry Turtledove = #1 in Alternative History
Me = #1 unpublished author :)
Horace Beam Piper of Little Fuzzy, Space Viking, and Paratime fame is probably the best SF author I know of - he knew how to put a lot of story in relatively small package.
The fantasy book, possibly the best fiction book ever, is Silverlock by John Myers Myers. He wrote some other stuff, but nothing else nearly as good Silver lock.
The rest is just the usual stuff of a Space Opera fanatic:
Robert A. Heinlein
David Weber
“Doc” Smtih
Steve White
Travis Taylor
etc.
Poul Anderson - I forgot Poul Anderson! My favorite books from him were the Flandry series. I don’t know WHY Ensign Flandry is not a movie...
Yo, thanks, I forgot all about Doc Smith. Read his entire series in high school, run through them like a freight train about the same time I read Burroughs’ Mars stuff. Doc Smith, good memories!
I tried reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It bored the hell out of me before I got a third of the way through.. My wife, who likes “arty” books, got half way through before ditching it. Dry doesn't begin to describe it. That book lacked action, drama, romance, wonder, and humor. I've read more entertaining technical manuals. Fortunately, it was a loaner...
On the other hand, Cherryh was not too bad. I enjoyed Downbelow Station and Merchanter’s Luck.
I understood that. My point though is that the others did their own cons. Algore hijacked the bus.
Kathrine Kurtz and Jean M. Auel
Clarke
Heinlein
Asimov
Niven
Pournelle
James P. Hogan
Cook
Feintuch
Gerrold
Herbert
as someone else said... to name a few, but NOT in that order.
And of course, Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Niven, et al.
Btw, I resent fantasy being lumped with science fiction--they're both excellent, but clearly not the same. I read 'em both, love 'em both, but they're SEPARATE.
Just like the mashed potatoes cannot touch the steak. SEPARATE!
(Why then, did I mention _Hiero's Journey_? Because it mixes fantasy and science fiction better than anyhting I have found.)
William Hope Hodgeson (sp?), H.P. Lovecraft, and too many others to mention are great for HORROR, if you're into that. I know I am.
Sauron
...hahaha
Members of the US Congress. I will cite Al Gore and Maxine Waters as just two examples.
Now on to SF. SF has been somewhat supplanted by fantasy in popularity, but it was my first love in fiction.
1. Robert Heinlein - I grew up on his junior fiction, written in 50’s, read by me in the 60’s. “Citizen of the Galaxy” is probably his best work for teens. His adult fiction I found somewhat disappointing because it was darker, dealing with death and sex. It was also much more political, representing his values: libertarian and freedom of the individual; meritocracy, honor and loyalty, reflecting his military background. I liked his political views almost as much as his plots and characters. Read "Methuselah's Children" if you read nothing else of his. Lazarus Long is the quintessential Heinlein hero.
After reading almost all his novels, I finally realized he had the same types of characters in each of his novels. This is a defect, but since they were realistic, it's forgivable.
There is not as much of a gap between Heinlein and the others. I give him #1 spot because he was prolific and reliably enjoyable.
2. Keith Laumer - The Retief series is great, but all his novels are great. Try “House in November” or “Five Fates” for some of his later work.
3. Isaac Asimov - Most people would rate him higher. I loved “The Foundation” trilogy and “I Robot” as well as many, many others. He combined mystery with SF. Like Heinlein, he also wrote juvenile fiction: “Lucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter” is one I remember.
4. Jules Verne - The patriarch of SF. “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, “The Island of Dr. Moreua”. His books are still entertaining a hundred years later.
5. HG Wells - “The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The First Men in the Moon and The Island of Dr Moreau.”
6. Clifford B. Simak - “Way Station” was one of my favorites. Another author who never disappointed.
7. Arthur Clarke - Another author who may be arguably be rated higher. “2001 Space Odyssey” was just one of many prescient books written by him. Do not miss “Childhood's End”—in it, he portrays mankind discovering that time actually flows backward and meeting the future generation moving backward in time.
8. Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan, John Carter of Mars. His books are still enjoyable today, although considered politically incorrect. If you think another modern author should be ahead of him, ask yourself—”Will people still be reading him in a hundred years, as they do Tarzan?”
8. Larry Niven - The Ringworld series is enough for his place here, but he's written so much more. Jerry Pournelle is often a co-author.
9. John W. Campbell - “Invaders from the Infinite” was one of my favorites. Then I discovered “Islands of Space” preceded it. He tells a great, politically incorrect story.
10. Poul Anderson - "Brain Wave" is one of my favorites. In it, the whole human race suddenly acquires super genius intelligence. Naturally, chaos ensues. "Satan's Planet", "Star Fox", "The Dancer from Atlantis" etc. etc. are all good.
“I always found Cherryh dry, dry, dry.”
Yes, she starts her novels slowly, like Tad Williams, and builds the characters and the background before beginning the plot. She’s usually worth the wait, like Tad Williams.
I intentionally did not read this thread before posting, just to see who I remembered and who I rated high from memory.
I will change one of my fantasy ratings, Terry Prachett should be on the list—I suppose I’ll bump Evelyn Nesbitt.
My SF must have Orson Scott Card and Frank Herbert. Bump Sturgeon and Campbell for them.
David Weber is very good, but the more he focuses on politics and the less on action, the less I like him. I have read all of Honor Harrington novels and anthologies except the last one. I don’t know if he’ll last the test of time.
John Ringo is also very good. I loved the Posleen series. I just wonder if anyone will be reading him 50 years from now?
Yeah, Egan really requires full concentration.
* Andre Norton?
>>Great writer—couldn't get enough of her when I was a teen. She's close to the top ten.
* Poul Anderson?
>>I put him in my top ten.
* H. Beam Piper?
>>Never heard of him.
* A.E. Van Vogt?
>>I like him. He wrote a great time travel book who's title escapes me, and the “Weapon Shops of Ishar”.
* Norman Spinrad?”
>>Never heard of him
Since you mentioned other authors, don't forget,
John Wyndham - The “Chrysalids” and “The Day of the Triffids” are great. He is near the top ten too.
Ursula K. LeGuin - both fantasy and SF author, she is also of top ten caliber.
I find it hard to distinguish among them after the top five or so. My criteria are:
1. Enjoyable - Do I enjoy everything they write? Most? Can I read the same book over and over? This latter quality is quite rare, since I always remember the plot, even after twenty or thirty years.
2. Historic - Are their works notable 30, 50, 100 years later?
3. Popular - Do millions of people like their works?
4. Prescient - Do their writings anticipate scientific or social developments?
In addition to the usual suspects:
* John Varley (esp the short stories such as The Persistence of Vision)
* Halperin (The Truth Machine, The First Immortals)
* Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game...)
* Nancy Kress (Beggars and Choosers)
* Robert Sheckley (Immortality Inc)
Two other great fantasy books:
The Princess Bride by William Golding
The Incompleat Enchanter series by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague deCamp
Orson Scott Card - In addition to his Ender series, I loved his “Homecoming” series. Very good AI and characters. I literally couldn't read it fast enough—and I read at 1000 words per minute!
I must add Phillip Jose Farmer to my SF list. The Riverworld series is a classic. He is probably one of the most creative writers I've ever read. He is NOT formulaic or repetitive.
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