[Kamakhya]

I just got back from a trip to visit my folks and while I was there, I took the opportunity to raid my father's science fiction collection. He is trying to unload them and I took all I could carry back across country.

The big score this time was a huge collection of books by John Brunner. I got over 20 titles, most of which I had never heard of.

I'm curious if anyone has read this hard to find author, other than The Sheep Look Up and Stand on Zanzibar.

To refresh your memory, some of the titles are:


The Tides of Time
The Traveler in Black
The Squares of the City
Catch a Falling Star
The World Swappers
The Super Barbarians
Children of the Thunder
The Avengers of Carrig
The Productions of Time
More Things in Heaven
The Long result
Total Eclipse
To Conquer Chaos
The Cruncible of Time
The Dreaming Earth
Age of Miracles
Bedlam Planet


Any idea where I should start?

Kamakhya

[Qin]

I usually start with whatever sounds the least painful to read, title-wise, at least. Then again, if I held to that policy more often, I wouldn't be reading the horribly titled 'Heroes Die.'

[Corwwyn]

John Brunner books I found readable, other than the exceptions you listed are:

Good:
Into the Slave Nebula
A Planet of Your Own

Ok:
Traveller in Black
Born Under Stars
Total Eclipse
The Dreaming Earth

Soso(though it's been many years since I read these, so they may be better or worse than I remember):
Victims of the Nova
Interstellar Empire

[Crazy Eddie]

yep, got a good collection of Brunner myself, I started with Stand on Zanzibar. Also The Crucible of Time is an exellent book, but I'm still looking for the sequel. Anyone read it? Is it as good as the original?

[asimovian]

John Brunner... I don't why, but I get the impression that there is something special about this author...
Something tells me I should read something from him.
What can you people advise me ?

[Crazy Eddie]

John Brunner was a very prolific writer, not all of it of great - some quite poor :( - but some books are SF classics :cool:. Brunner's most well known book is probably Stand on Zanzibar, ('69?) but not really written in his usual style. Most of his later books were quite bleak in tone. (The Sheep Look Up, The Shockwave Rider etc.) Brunner died IIRC, in 96 at an SF con in Scotland.

Personal faves:
The Crucible of Time
The Stone That Never Came Down
The Infinitive of Go
Stand on Zanzibar

[Duane]

For some reason, To Conquer Chaos is one of the most memorable books I've every read. I couldn't begin to tell you why. On the other hand, The Long Result bored me to tears.