Wprst Sci-Fi & fantasy books EVER

SF: discuss futuristic sci-fi series, ideas, and crossovers.

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Post by SyntaxVorlon »

fgalkin wrote:And anything of Le Guin's work after that. Boring,
worthless drivel.
WTF???!
Haven't you read Left Hand of Darkness, or The Dispossesed??
Those kick ass!

Neuromancer is one of the better books written for the Cyberpunk era readers. It inspired people like Barnes and Banks and is still inspiring others. I can't believe that anyone would think to call this a bad novel.
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Post by Howedar »

HemlockGrey wrote:
It made one hell of a great movie, though!
Sci-Fi: The Ringworld Engineers. W...T...F?
You have got to be kidding me.
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Post by Typhonis 1 »

Good grief sounds like Jordan is trying to outdoo Hubbards 10 book Invasion Earth series.......
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Post by HemlockGrey »

You have got to be kidding me.
It was too damn boring.
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Post by Sindai »

Typhonis 1 wrote:Good grief sounds like Jordan is trying to outdoo Hubbards 10 book Invasion Earth series.......
Oh, he already has.

The 10th one just came out and I've heard that yet again nothing is resolved. All of the main plots (mostly the whole "Aes Sedai civil war" thing) simply grind forwards another couple feet.
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Post by The Yosemite Bear »

NecronLord wrote:
The Yosemite Bear wrote:While L. Ron Hubbard is bad, someone tell me that an entire book series based on the graphic rape and enslavement of women is not purchance the worst thing out there.

Sure, it's one of the series listed in the back of the DMG as a key inspiration for AD&D, My first reaction to Dark Sun was (Oh, wow, someone decided to make a PC combo of Gor & Dune)

Guy's I have to wonder, have any of you gone through the masochistic or horny adolecent process of actually trying to read John Norman?
?
Am I beginning to suspect that no one hear has read or is aware of the existance of John Norman's "Gor"?

it's listed in the AD&D's Dungeon Master's Guide as "Recommended Reading" *Shudders*

Basically, it's about a desert like planet sharing earth's orbital plane, but always on the other side of the sun so we never see it.

It ruled by priest/kings
Women are property
men fly around on giant eagles
The Priests open up magic gates to earth to abduct women from here and sell them as sex slaves.
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Post by NecronLord »

The Yosemite Bear wrote:
NecronLord wrote:
The Yosemite Bear wrote:While L. Ron Hubbard is bad, someone tell me that an entire book series based on the graphic rape and enslavement of women is not purchance the worst thing out there.

Sure, it's one of the series listed in the back of the DMG as a key inspiration for AD&D, My first reaction to Dark Sun was (Oh, wow, someone decided to make a PC combo of Gor & Dune)

Guy's I have to wonder, have any of you gone through the masochistic or horny adolecent process of actually trying to read John Norman?
?
Am I beginning to suspect that no one hear has read or is aware of the existance of John Norman's "Gor"?

it's listed in the AD&D's Dungeon Master's Guide as "Recommended Reading" *Shudders*

Basically, it's about a desert like planet sharing earth's orbital plane, but always on the other side of the sun so we never see it.

It ruled by priest/kings
Women are property
men fly around on giant eagles
The Priests open up magic gates to earth to abduct women from here and sell them as sex slaves.
I will look them up tomorrow and comment.
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Post by The Yosemite Bear »

Since there is something like 20+ books to the Gor series, and they are fairly thick (But not as thick as say a Hubbard or Jordan book)

I still say it's got them beat.
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Post by Enlightenment »

Isn't the Gor series basically BDSM porn?
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Ok, quick and Dirty (Gor Web links)

Post by The Yosemite Bear »

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Post by Alex Moon »

Sindai wrote:
Typhonis 1 wrote:Good grief sounds like Jordan is trying to outdoo Hubbards 10 book Invasion Earth series.......
Oh, he already has.

The 10th one just came out and I've heard that yet again nothing is resolved. All of the main plots (mostly the whole "Aes Sedai civil war" thing) simply grind forwards another couple feet.
I'd say more than a couple of feet.
SPOILER SPACE















With Egwene kidnapped, the Rebel Aes Sedai are most likely going to believe that it was done by the Tower, which would prompt an attack to free her soon. Kidnapping their leader would be considered an act of war.

Mat is with the DotNM, so most likely he and Rand will meet up when Rand goes to meet her and negotiate a settlement with the Seanchen.

Rand now knows that Taim is dangerous, and we'll see the 'Rending in blood and fire' that Nicola spoke about and which should bring Logian's rise to power.
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Post by Sindai »

Alex Moon wrote:I'd say more than a couple of feet.
SPOILER SPACE
Being careful not to read any of that, I just wanted to say that my comment was hearsay from another board.
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Post by HemlockGrey »

Alex, but that resolves NOTHING. It just sets up more and more things to be resolved in a later date, and, for that little to happen in such a large book...it's really rather sad.
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Post by Jadeite »

Dune.

Hoo-WAH but that book stunk on ice. I'm glad I avoided its many sequels.

"Pets and Children of Dune."
"Dune, Meshugganah."
"Dune: The Unfortunate Continuation."
"Chicken Soup for the Fremen Soul"
"10 Stupid Things Harkonnen Do to Mess Up Their Lives"
"Mentats for Dummies."
You must die.
LotR !!!
Incrediby tedious...
I agree with you, it was a good series, but it needs to be edited, with the most of the damn songs cut out. Every other chapter was pretty much the hobbits waking up, eating (but complaining about how they were running out of food) walking and singing, then camping. OVER AND OVER!
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

HemlockGrey wrote:Alex, but that resolves NOTHING. It just sets up more and more things to be resolved in a later date, and, for that little to happen in such a large book...it's really rather sad.
*theories based on spoilers*

. . . what the hell? book 10 and the white tower isnt burned to the ground? damned. . . I wanted it shattered, the seanchan on their knees, and the trollocs starting to swarm . . .
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Post by johnmarkley »

End Run, one of the early (first?) Wing Commander books, was half-decent. There are certainly much worse stand-alone books out there.


End Run came second. The first book was called "Freedom Flight." Not as good as End Run, although some of it's events and chrarcters actually turned up in games later, if memory serves.
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Post by Alex Moon »

Enforcer Talen wrote:
HemlockGrey wrote:Alex, but that resolves NOTHING. It just sets up more and more things to be resolved in a later date, and, for that little to happen in such a large book...it's really rather sad.
*theories based on spoilers*

. . . what the hell? book 10 and the white tower isnt burned to the ground? damned. . . I wanted it shattered, the seanchan on their knees, and the trollocs starting to swarm . . .
White Tower: Who's gonna do it? Rand can't because it would turn both Aes Sedai factions against him, and he needs them at The Last Battle. The AS have been dragging their feet because they know that any war will hurt the tower greatly, and they hope to resolve this some other way.

Seanchan: I agree, Rand should be more aggressive against them. 100 Asha'man conducting guerrilla operations behind the Seanchan lines would be a terror.
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Post by SpyderGS »

The Shannara books: Oh, no! the Demons are invading we must get the X of Shannara to defeat them! Long tedious hourney to get the X of Shannara. Brief run back to the demons' target. Use the X to defeat them. Repeat.

Eye of the friggin' World. Started out good, kept a decent pace, but recently it seems that Jordan has become enamoured with his own prose.

ANY L. Ron Hubbard.
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Post by Morat »

The worst sf/f book that I've ever actually read was Mutineer's Moon, by David Weber.
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Post by Rubberanvil »

The Yosemite Bear wrote:Am I beginning to suspect that no one hear has read or is aware of the existance of John Norman's "Gor"?
I read the first eight or nine of the books. IMO Jack Norman is a much better writer than Robert Jordan barring the whole "Women are property" problem.
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Post by DocHorror »

A lot of stuff by Hienlen sucks...

Also those Bladerunner 'sequels' by J.W. Jeter were aweful...

I also thought the Difference Engine could have been sooo much better...

has any one read 'Grunts' by Mary Gentle? There is a suprisingly good book!
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

I read grunts. the jury chapter I read while my class was taking a history test. I could barely hold in the laughter, and kept getting looks.

the ending was eh, reflects a hundred of my rps (I've had nice gms at times), but the rest was quite amusing.

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Post by Stormbringer »

Morat wrote:The worst sf/f book that I've ever actually read was Mutineer's Moon, by David Weber.
What did you not like about it?
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Post by Biddybot »

I'd have to go with 'Battlefield Earth'. I tried reading it after seeing--and quite enjoying--the movie, but just could not get past the half-way mark. Just unbelievably boring. Everyone seemed to speak in the exact same way. I don't think I chuckled or perked up once, whereas the movie did a fine job of amusing me in its own perverse little way.

In the slushpile category, those novels I think so horribly written that they become entertaining in a schlock kind of way, I'd have to go with the original 'Lensman' novels. Here, I find the writing in itself so silly that I once did a whole article on it. I still remember one line: "Masses of the obscene vegetation crashed down on their heads from above, revoltingly cupped orifices sucking and smacking." Or something like that! There was also a hilarious paragraph about the hero recovering from being stressed out by brewing up a strong cup of coffee and frying up a steak--wow! now that's a manly man! I have no issue with the author's ideas, it's just his style of writing that cracks me up. I can easily picture the guy pounding away on his old manual typewriter way back when, chuckling to himself at how people took the sludge he was churning out so damn seriously...

I read a couple of those 'Gor' novels, two or three, I think, then quit because they were like Harlequin Romance books--basically the same story over and over and over. Just a lot of adolescent fantasizing, as I recall, too familiar and dull to get worked up over. And as novels went, they were padded as hell, with a lot of one-sentence 'paragraphs' to fill space.

But 'Battlefield Earth'...that one still stands alone as the ONLY SF novel I've ever been unable to finish, ergo it's the worst.
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Post by Morat »

What did you not like about it?
I thought it was pointless and derivative.
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