Is Gregory Benford any good?

[SolarpunkFan]

I've been on a hard SF literature kick for a while now and I'm looking for some more material. And naturally my attention has turned to one of the "Killer B's" of science fiction: Gregory Benford.

I've tried reading a few of his books and I don't really recall the quality that well. If the Amazon reviews are anything to go by he doesn't seem to be that outstanding of an author. Are there any books of him that are good?

[B5B7]

I found his 'Galactic Center' series interesting. You could perhaps read the first book and see if you like it.

[SolarpunkFan]

I found his 'Galactic Center' series interesting. You could perhaps read the first book and see if you like it.

I did try reading Across the Sea of Suns but found myself a bit confused on references to what happened before that book. So I'll give In the Ocean of Night a read. Thank you!

[ZOmegaZ]

I've read Foundation's Fear and Beyond the Fall of Night. Both are Benford playing in someone else's universe (Asimov and Clarke respectively) and in both he was completely and utterly disrespectful of the source material. Neither is worth reading.

Unfortunately, both were so bad that they made me avoid his original works.

[SolarpunkFan]

I've read Foundation's Fear and Beyond the Fall of Night. Both are Benford playing in someone else's universe (Asimov and Clarke respectively) and in both he was completely and utterly disrespectful of the source material. Neither is worth reading.

Unfortunately, both were so bad that they made me avoid his original works.

You were probably wise to avoid his works.

I read the first book in the Galactic Center saga and it was awful. The novel was originally a fixup of a short story and it very much shows. The Icarus artifact is never tied into the rest of the plot and is just used as a way to get the book started. Biological mysticism is involved later on in the story. Oh, and the last third of the novel reads like an Ancient Aliens episode with an extra helping of bad. Suffice to say I won't be reading him again except maybe as his collaborative works with other authors (which seem to be better novels overall).

In short:

[ZOmegaZ]

As for the Killer B's, I can definitely recommend Bear and Brin. Also Baxter. Egan's pretty good too.

[Q99]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timescape is his most acclaimed story, so I assume if he has a good one, it'd be it.

And Killer Bs, heh, I don't think I've heard that term before

[SolarpunkFan]

As for the Killer B's, I can definitely recommend Bear and Brin. Also Baxter. Egan's pretty good too.

I used to be a fan of Baxter, not really anymore. Though Bear and Brin seem right up my alley. I read Diaspora by Greg Egan and I loved it. I'm going to try reading some of his other works. Maybe not the later stuff though, I heard they read too much like textbooks.

[Q99]

I do recommend Brin.

[Enigma]

I am currently reading Shiva Descending. Not too bad considering it is over 36 years old. He has a very pessimistic view of how humankind would react when finding out a multi billion ton asteroid is heading their way.

[ZOmegaZ]

In addition to being a good writer, Brin's just an awesome guy. When I asked for his thoughts on my Foundation sequel fan fiction, he read the whole damned thing and gave me pages of feedback! Who does that?

Naturally I've bought most of his works since then...