What is your favorite SF book?

[evcake]

And how did you find it,or it find you? Bookstore? Library? Friend?
My aunt gave me Olaf Stapleton's books, Odd John and Sirius, but the first one that really struck me was Beast Master. (NO relation to anything by that name that came after.)
The hero is a Navaho ex-commando with a team of telepathic animals, mustered out after the destruction of Earth at the end of a war. Gave me lifelong interest in Navaho culture - and meercats.
It remains one of my favorites. I still have my old Ace paperback. I think I read everything she ever wrote until she started collaborating.

[Rigil Kent]

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. (Seriously, is anyone surprised?) There's just something about this book that appeals to me ... which is why it caused me physical pain to sit through the Melrose Space movie they called Starship Troopers. What's always been interesting to me is the fact that Heinlein stated numerous times that the main character of that book (Juan Rico) dies on the final "drop" that they are preparing for at the end of the book. I originally read this in high school, and will freely admit that the name of the novel was what appealed to my inner sci-fi geek. I've even written a Star Wars fic (up at fanfiction.net) where I consciously emulated Heinlein's style from Troopers.

The Long Run by Daniel Keys Moran is quite close to Troopers in terms of my enjoyment. It's much harder to find, and has a unique style to it, but is exceptionally enjoyable. I stumbled upon it purely by accident.

[enterprikayak]

Imzadi was the first trek book i read and when I was done, I was all: okay: I watch the show and read the books. *sigh* I guess I'm a Trekkie.

The Chrysalids and

The Day of the Triffids
"When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere..."


are some of my favourite non-trek sci fi's. Sadly, shockingly, not-so-much in print. You can find them, but it's a little harder than going out and getting a copy of some real literary gem, like, say, The Da Vinci Code.

both by John Wyndham

[evcake]

Day of the Triffids! A great book, and a damn good film they made of it, I thought.

[evcake]

The Long Run by Daniel Keys Moran is quite close to Troopers in terms of my enjoyment. It's much harder to find, and has a unique style to it, but is exceptionally enjoyable. I stumbled upon it purely by accident.

We only have Emerald Eyes and The Armeggedon Blues at SPL. Would you recommend either of them?

[Rigil Kent]

The Long Run by Daniel Keys Moran is quite close to Troopers in terms of my enjoyment. It's much harder to find, and has a unique style to it, but is exceptionally enjoyable. I stumbled upon it purely by accident.

We only have Emerald Eyes and The Armeggedon Blues at SPL. Would you recommend either of them?

I dunno ... I've been trying to track them down to read them but haven't had any success. Since both are set before The Long Run, it's likely the his writing isn't quite as good as I noticed a considerable improvement between The Long Run and The Last Dancer (which is the sequel to TLR).

Alas...

[krn]

Dune

Years ago, saw the original movie of the same name. It was like the writer skimmed the book, said, "there's some neat stuff in this" and made a movie.

Sci-fi channel took a shot at it, and it actually made sense. I liked it enough to get the book and give it a go. I'm glad that I did see the mini-series, cause it helped with pronunciations.

The book, of course, is way better than the film versions. So many layers - wheels within wheels. I've read it (the whole series actually) three times. Now that I mention it, it has been a while....

now the second mini-series Sci-fi made... ugh. what a discrace.

[Rigil Kent]

I've read it (the whole series actually) three times.

Heh. You actually managed to get through the last two books? I own the whole series (the real ones, not those new ones by someone other than Herbert) and I honestly don't think I've ever got all the way through Chapterhouse or Heretics...

[krn]

You actually managed to get through the last two books?

why yes. three times.

[Distracted]

My "favorite SF book"? Jeez. Might as well ask the mother of 20 kids which one's her favorite, only in my case it's more like 500 kids. I have a huge hardback SF library arranged alphabetically in four floor-to-ceiling bookcases in my living room. I've read them all...most of them several times. I have favorite authors, though. Lemmee see...

C.J. Cherryh
Frank Herbert
Anne McCaffrey
Isaac Asimov
Robert Silverberg
Larry Niven
Gene Wolfe
Fredrick Pohl
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lian Hearn
Jacqueline Lichtenberg
Zenna Henderson
Piers Anthony
Robert Jordan

And too many more to list that I can't think of right off the top of my head. These people created worlds for me to explore. I love them all.

[justTripn]

My computer's acting strange. I hope this posts.

A REALLY good one is "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audry Neffenegger (sp?). Its a really odd love story. A love story that transcends time! The couple is destined to be. The guy, Henry, has an illness that causes him to time-travel spontaneously, usually to a place where he has some emotional connection. At around age 40, he starts appearing to his future wife, who is still a kid and he tells her they are married in the future. So she grows up in love with this man she hasn't met yet in her real time. They finally met when she is about 18 and he is in his twenties or thirties. He has never seen her before, but she convinces him that they are destined for each other and he instantly dumps his current girlfriend. Interestingly, he is kind of a jerk before he meets his future wife, he becomes something better because of this woman who appears and just adores him and tells him how wonderful they are in the future. They have a very hard life because of his time traveling. When he goes to another time he takes nothing with him, meaning he arrives naked everytime and has to steal and hide. This wears him down.

I'm posting before this disapears again.

Rated R. Warning: do not read unless you have a whole day to kill. You won't be able to put it down until you are finished. I got it from my sister and then it made the rounds here at work. Everyone loved it.

[blacknblue]

The Lost World by A. Conan Doyle. Probably the first Science Fiction book I ever read. It got me hooked when I was in single digits and I haven't looked back.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

As a kid I was blown away when I first read Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. As an adult I can readily see the inherent philosophical flaws (psychohistory), but they still remain favourites. I did enjoy his continuation, at least up until Gaia was introduced.

Arthur C. Clarkes's Rendezvous with Rama is another childhood favourite. His later continuations was OK, but they got worse by each book. I like the original 2001 novel too.

I love Frank Herbert's Dune and like Rigil I had a progressively hard time to get into the later books, but I have read them (although I cannot say I remember much of the last two ones or so...).

For military sci-fi i recommend David Feintuch's Seafort saga and David Weber's Honor Harrington stories.

John Wyndham's Day of the Triffids has been mentioned. Good book that was eventually made into a good British TV series.

[Rigil Kent]

Ah man, the Seafort books are awesome!

[justTripn]

I think my all-time favorite was the Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson for which he won a Hugo award. Edit: Sorry the Hugo and Nebula awards. I also love his Antartica, as well as Icehenge and his short stories.

WARNING:His latest, Forty Nights of Rain? is inexplicably awful.