Oh yeah, and I love the Red/Green/Blue Mars books, xayaxos... meant to mention that... I am, however, tired of defending them. Yes, I think they comprise the best SF trilogy out there. Yes, I think they have grandeur, great writing, interesting speculation, fun geology-type tidbits, and even a good character or two. But if you don't get it, for whatever reason, you don't get it, so there's certainly no point forcing yourself through them.
Although this is not a "best book" thread I would like to chip in and say I agree 100% with lemming regarding Robinson's Mars Trilogy. Without doubt my favourite science fiction trilogy.
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An offensively bad SF novel: I read one by Briam Lumley once, and threw it in the trash. That's how bad it was. I can't remember the title. The sad thing is, I really like his Necroscope series.
I didn't like C.J. Cherryh's Foreigner and never read another book by her.
After reading Dune, I never read another Frank Herbert novel. The characters didn't seem to develop. There was no arc for any of them. My interest waned while reading, until I realized I just didn't care.
I found Ayn Rand's Fountainhead to be too preachy, not enough plot.
But I love Tad Williams's Otherland saga.
I just couldn't get into ANdrew Sinclair's Gog . Written back in the seventies, it is a after the war type of book, where the main chara ter is important, but he( the character0 has no idea why. I got about 100 pages in and just could force myself to read anymore. I could tell that the book had some cool writing style, but I could get into it. Just like Thomas Pynchon, I tried to read V. and just kept on falling asleep. The individual stories were intriguing, but the overall story was so coherent and wandering that I lost interest.
Though I do love everything that I have read by C J Cherryh, I do have to say that 40,000 in Gehenna was her worse book. When I finished reading it, I shrugged and wondered what the whole point of the novel was.
The only truly unreadable sci-fi I've ever read was Poul Anderson's "Starfarers" -- Luminary of the genre my ass! I could write better than that when I was 9! The problem is that people sometimes think that, since they can't follow it at all, it must be art. Neuromancer suffered from a similar problem, except that because it introduced so many original sci-fi ideas, time has been extremely kind to it, and people treat it reverently now.
If someone were to write a book like Neuromancer today, it would never get published, simply because its not marketable and its far too hard to follow. I've read the damn thing 3 times and I still can't decipher 80 percent of that mess. To me, Neuromancer was simply a really bad acid trip, and thats how Gibson wrote it. Visionary? Definitely. Readable? Barely.
I don't know Abrock, I had no trouble with it, mainly. But I think that the novel that desevres everyone's derision is Robert Heinlin's Number of the Beast. Just bad.
One book convinces you not to read any more of his novels? I suggest you try Captain Nemo.Originally Posted by knivesout
I can't seem to read anything by J.G. Ballard. I've picked up and put down The Drowned World, Crash and Empire of the Sun. I don't know why but, I find his writing boring.
I like Delany, although I have only read Nova and The Towers of Toron. Arguably his most accessable books.
I loved Dune and have reread it many times but I can't seem to get past the first 100 pages of Children of Dune. Weird since I enjoy his other books.
I'm a big fan of PKD but I had a really hard time reading Ubik. Usually, I can not put his novels down. Often reading them in one sitting.
I appreciate that Anderson is a favourite of yours. However, considering that Hopscotch is not even an early work, but one of a swriter well into his career, and that I was less than thrilled with the Dune prequels, I think I'm fairly certain that he is not my cup of tea, in any case.
I'm thinking that this novel that I'm reading right now is the most unreadable scifi that I have ever read. It's titled The Depths of Time by Roger McBride Allen. Has anyone read this book? And if so, does it get better?
Wow, what's with all these rabit anti-dune fans?I love the series, and have re-read it three times in the last four years. My favourites vary from Dune, to Chapterhouse Dune, and Heretics (not many people seem to like the series from God Emperor onwards, but they're my favourites).
As far as stuff I don't like, there is probably some, but I've got a terrible memory, and have been known to re-read stuff and not realise that I've already read it! *lol*
I am with you
I rate the dune books
Dune -- Great
DM -- ok moved the story
COD --- Same as above
GED -- Ok Set story to move ahead
HoD -- Great
CD -- Great
House Books all crap but I did read them
Very inconsistant with books by the father
Jihad - OK but on the weak side
Hi Ambidexter! *waves*
Nice to have someone agree with me for a change.
First step in world domination....*checks list* next.....
Actually, I remembered someone... I had a really hard time reading Revelation Space by Reynolds. It's not that I hated it or anything, but it was really hard-going, and I haven't been inspired to read the sequels. I also found Red Mars a hard read, but I really loved it in the end (in the same vein as the Silmarillion, but are worth it, IMO).
Just had to stick an oar in here... "Revelation Space" was hard to read, felt like he was throwing in the kitchen sink, ya know? But "Chasm City" is incredible. I haven't read the other two yet, but "Chasm" struck me as being excellent, and really focused. Really went into questions of identity and such. So don't stop just yet!
Revelation Space - I liked but it was slow going for the first 200 pages then it picked up.
I am haft way done with book two and again it is picking up.
I have chasm but have not read it yet.
just started the briar King about 100 pages and enjoying it so far.
I have red mars bit again have not read it yet.
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