SF for the Non-SF Fan

[Calilasseia]

If you can live with the fact that it's now been rendered out of date by current events (at least with respect to its beginning), Cities In Flight by James Blish is well worth persevering with. If you get the paperback containing all four books in one, with the afterword commentary about Blish's attempt to weave Spenglerian philosophy into his tale, then this is the version to run with. Newcomers to the books will have to suspend a fair amount of disbelief in parts of Book II, but if you make it past that without having tossed the book aside, then you'll be in for some fun pyrotechnics.

[Cormac]

What, no one has mentioned The Stainless Steel Rat series? If you want sci-fi with laughs, this is for you. Harry Harrison was probably experimenting with some fun pharmaceuticals when he wrote these books.

I didn't think it were possible Cali, but you've just gone even further up in my estimation, (for what little that is worth!).

The Stainless Steel Rat is pure comical quality.

[Cormac]

I don't know what's been mentioned so I'll just list names, avoiding fantasy/sci-fi as best I can.

David Brin, Asimov's Foundation series, Gene Wolfe, Julian May (semi-fantasy), Dan Simmons, Clifford Simak, Ringworld, Jack McDevitt, and Greg Bear. (Bear is really hard sci-fi.)

My favorites in this list are: Brin, Wolfe, Simmons (♥), and Simak.

Specific books:
Canticle For Liebowitz
Lucifer's Hammer
Snowcrash
Eon (Greg Bear)
The Golden Torc
Startide Rising, The Postman (Brin)

It's been a long time since I've read sci-fi, so I don't have anything particularly new to recommend (if the OP is even still relevant).

Julian May - I suspect she'd have made an excellent Ratz. A yank (I think) who lived in Scotland for a while iirc. Her series is a masterpiece merging sci-fi with fantasy and mythology.

All the rest are great, although I don't recognise the last one.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Bella, the book is packaged and will go out when I leave for the Center at 9 CDT.

Cormac, I'll see if I can find a copy.

Anybody else want a CD with ~700 scifi books? Send PM with address.

[Red Celt]

Anybody else want a CD with ~700 scifi books? Send PM with address.

Or you could upload them to a web address and open up some guest FTP ports? Or create a torrent?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Anybody else want a CD with ~700 scifi books? Send PM with address.

Or you could upload them to a web address and open up some guest FTP ports? Or create a torrent?

358 gig? It would simpler to just mail them.

[Red Celt]

Anybody else want a CD with ~700 scifi books? Send PM with address.

Or you could upload them to a web address and open up some guest FTP ports? Or create a torrent?

358 gig? It would simpler to just mail them.

700 eBooks come to 358Gb? Are they very image-heavy, or something?

358Mb (if that's the CD-compilation you did for Bella) wouldn't take too long to download.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

They're PDFs, mostly.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

And it would take forever to upload. Not doing that. Simples.

[Red Celt]

I have shares in Iain M Banks Ltd.

Actually, I don't, and that court order is most unfair. I have to take a detour when heading towards the Forth Bridge.


Joke explanation: he lives in North Queensferry (a short drive from where I live) which is basically under the footing of one end of the bridge.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm trying to remember the Banks I did read. Must check the piles.

[DaveD]

Anything by Edmund Cooper is worth a look, if you can find it. As far as I can tell, he's been out of print for years, so second-hand books or eBooks are the only options.
I've just found, at last, an eBook version of "Kronk". The title comes from Cooper's rendition of the noise a raven makes, but the publisher thought it sounded rude, so made him change it.
The altered title was "Son of Kronk".

[Bella Fortuna]

Every time I see the name "Iain M Banks" I think of "Rosie M Banks" from Wodehouse.

[Svartalf]

I don't know if cyberpunk counts as 'proper' science fiction, but I'd recommend you try William Gibson (Neuromancer, Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, or just his Burning Chrome short story anthology.

You might also enjoy stuff by Norman Spinrar, like Bug Jack Barron or Little Heroes.

[Cormac]

Bella, the book is packaged and will go out when I leave for the Center at 9 CDT.

Cormac, I'll see if I can find a copy.

Anybody else want a CD with ~700 scifi books? Send PM with address.

Thanks zilla!