[MichaelDennis]

Looking for some suggestions for the Science Fiction book club in my town. Below is a list of books we've read in past months:

* Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
* Once A Hero by Elizabeth Moon
* The Price of the Stars by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald
* The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

It's been a general concensus to select a novel which is self-contained (ie. NOT book 7 of a 12 book series) and which is in paperback.

Some current thoughts are: Hyperion by Simmons and Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear. Any other ideas out there?

Thanks in advance

[Ariel]

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. It's one of the most best written and most intensely cathartic genre-themed novels published in recent years.

[Leonard Crane]

I was passing through and saw this post and couldn't resist. If anyone is looking for a new title in the hard science fiction category for their book club, I would be pleased if they considered my own book as a possible choice.

If I had to construct a one-line summary that characterized the book, it would be: "cutting-edge genomic science collides with a good old-fashioned natural disaster."

More information can be found on my web site at www.ninthday.com (http://www.ninthday.com) (where there are chapter excerpts, a review, background material, and an essay). Alternatively, the detail page at Amazon.com is also reasonably informative:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967571294/ninthday (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967571294/ninthday)

Who would like the book? Probably anyone who enjoys science thrillers--where the setting is the present and the technology refuses to advance beyond the just barely speculative. My favorite science thriller? Jurassic Park.

[FitzChivalry]

Well, you wouldn't want to read Hyperion, it's not self-contained but a 4 books long series.

An excellent book is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
Hard to explain what it's about... it includes cyberpunk, japanese swords fighting, sumerian mythology and the art of delievering pizza in the 21st century.

[Lady Fox]

Try "In Conquest Born" or "The Madness Season" by C.S. Friedman. Both are stand alone and in paperback. "In Conquest Born" is my personal favorite by Friedman, and I would recommend anything that she has written.

[Shehzad]

A superb single-book recommendation:
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov. Possibly one of Asimov's greatest works, its status as a single-book disconnected work is what prevents it from reaching the status of the Foundation books. OK its old, but hey... it's one of the best.

Also try something by Greg Bear. How about Slant/?

[Arrakis]

My suggestion would be "The Mote in God's Eye" by Jerry Pournelle and another author (big name also - can't believe i don't remember) - it is an excellent (if dated) read, and hard to put down. I also suggest Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - there are sequels to both, but these are definitely stand alone type books. there's my input http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[cassandra]

Here, here for Snow Crash. Stephenson's The Diamond Age is also excellent. More in the cyberpunk genre:
Pat Cadigan is very good; one of the few cyberpunk authors who has worked out how to write an ending. I've read Synners, and I reccommend that.
There is a litte-known book called Headcrash by Bruce Bethke that is one of the most hilarious near-future cyberpunk books ever written. You HAVE to have the computer background for it, though, or all the punchlines are just lost on you.
Other humorous sci-fi: Robert Asprin, Phule's Company. Very amusing.