Comments on: For Nascent Science Fiction Readers, A Primer

By: notafish

notafish — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:54:21 +0000

I read quite a bit and I don’t remember anything. Not the plot, hardly the characters, and definitely not the trivia. It makes for interesting re-reads, I can reread Agatha Christies without remembering who killed, and enjoy the plot like the first time.
However, I remember, always, the way a book made me feel. I am a fantasy gal myself, rather than Sci-Fi, but I read The Left Hand of Darkness and it felt good, I rememeber it as one of the best books I’ve read. I never really followed suit on Sci-Fi. But I read Earthsea, and I loved it too.

By: Sage Ross

Sage Ross — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:22:02 +0000

In reply to jorm. "the bloated child of A Canticle for Liebowitz and Plato’s Theaetetus." Hah! Perfect!

By: Sage Ross

Sage Ross — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:19:56 +0000

In reply to jorm. Yeah, Earthsea is brilliant. I didn't mention that cuz, yeah, not sci-fi. Sadly, I didn't read any Earthsea until I was an adult. Hopefully I can keep Brighton from that sad state of affairs.

By: Turner

Turner — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:04:26 +0000

The copy of Always Coming Home I have came with an audiocassette of the songs of the Kesh- I should probably find someone with a USB-capable cassette player and throw that one in there, shouldn’t I.

By: Tweets that mention For Nascent Science Fiction Readers, A Primer – gaijin.com -- Topsy.com

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:43:46 +0000

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Todd Reade, jorm. jorm said: For Nascent Science-Fiction Readers, A Primer: http://bit.ly/ieFxc6 […]

By: jorm

jorm — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:01:07 +0000

In reply to Sage Ross.

Anathem is a fun read: http://www.gaijin.com/2008/09/anathem-a-discussion/

Le Guin, for me, is mostly about the Earthsea trilogy. But that’s me; less sci-fi there, more Taoism.

By: Sage Ross

Sage Ross — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:39:22 +0000

I have a garage sale copy of “Always Coming Home” on my bookshelf, I think. I’ll have to move that up my reading list. My favorite Le Guin novel is probably The Dispossessed, but The Left Hand of Darkness is the obvious most-classic of her classics.

What started it it for me was definitely Asimov, specifically the Foundation series.

I still have much love for C.S. Lewis’s The Space Trilogy. Best appreciated in conjunction with the album The Monster Who Ate Jesus, by Blaster the Rocket Man.

One of my super favorites is the Cities in Flight set by James Blish.

I think Stephenson’s Anathem makes a nice follow-up read to A Canticle for Leibowitz.

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson is really good.

Some of the pre-1950s classics ought to be on any new sf reader’s list as well: Brave New World, and a smattering of the most-adapted early H. G. Wells novels, like The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.

And I’d add a Singularity novel or two into the mix. My pick would be A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 02:16:22 +0000

HOLY FUCK!
it is very rare that I totally agree with anyone. Thank you.