Recommend Some WELL-WRITTEN Speculative Fiction

[sojourner]

thread takes off

I am trying to keep my mouth shut

Honest

 

[Idaho]

Why keep your mouth shut? We are on this board to discuss things, feel free to say what you think.

 

[sojourner]

Why keep your mouth shut? We are on this board to discuss things, feel free to say what you think.

Okay

You're talking bollocks.

 

[May Kasahara]

for some non-florid, well written and fantastically interesting female-authored sci fi, try C J Cherryh's Merchanter universe novels.

 

[DotCommunist]

I'll shout out Cherry Wilders Second Nature for a wonderful piece of non-florid and yet enchanting sci fi. Penned by a woman.

 

[Idaho]

Okay

You're talking bollocks.

I reckon if you lined up all the male authors starting from florid to non florid, and all the female authors and did the same. The median non-florid point would be further along the female line.

 

[DotCommunist]

I reckon if you lined up all the male authors starting from florid to non florid, and all the female authors and did the same. The median non-florid point would be further along the female line.

but given the undeniable historical dominance of masculine writers in the field of literature your line up of writers would be already a distorted and worthless control group because of societal factors that don't mesh with abstract analysis.

Take writing students and compare them and you might have a valid basis for whatever conclusions you wish to draw.

 

[Idaho]

but given the undeniable historical dominance of masculine writers in the field of literature your line up of writers would be already a distorted and worthless control group because of societal factors that don't mesh with abstract analysis.

Take writing students and compare them and you might have a valid basis for whatever conclusions you wish to draw.

You've lost me

 

[DotCommunist]

You've lost me

Writing is traditionally dominated by men (historically) hence there's not much point lining up authors and trying to draw a gender based florid/non-florid comparison. The weighting renders such comparison meaningless innit. I'd be interested to see the results of a close analysis of writing styles from degree level eng lit students though. The boy/girl shit/not shit ratio would make the numbers less flawed IMO

 

[ChrisC]

I recommend Eon and Eternity by Greg Bear and anything by Alastair Reynolds. Another vote for Iain M. Banks.

 

[Ms Ordinary]

Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Travellers Wife, is well worth a read.

I was going to suggest that - except that it didn't feel enough like a sci-fi, although technically it is.

I liked the way it was written too or any rate loved the story enough not to feel that it wasn't well-written.

I have heard good things about Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga from people who enjoy complex, well-written fantasy - haven't read any of them myself though.

 

[Cid]

Vonnegut and Dick are pretty obvious...

Um... Alfred Bester is well worth a look. Only two full length novels, both of which are good, 'Tiger Tiger' (aka the stars my destination) is brilliant. Short stories are great too; Fondly Fahrenheit especially.

Oh yeah, I am Legend by Richard Matheson is brilliant (don't be put off by the film).

 

[Orang Utan]

Dick is great, but not a particularly skillful writer

 

[El Jefe]

Oh yeah, I am Legend by Richard Matheson is brilliant (don't be put off by the film).

yeh, fantastic book, didn't bother with the movie

 

[kabbes]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is superb, it always lives in my mind. As does Cities in Flight by James Blish. And I love lots of William Gibson, particularly Neuromancer.

I'm currently reading Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny. It's unlike any other SF I've read -- I almost hesitate to bracket it in the same genre, although it undoubtedly contains all the right ingredients. It's half SF and half Eastern religion. But it's certainly very well written, if that's what you are particularly looking for. "Speculative" probably isn't the word though.

Oh, and Flowers for Algernon. Made me cry, that did. It's as impressively written prose as you could ever hope to read.

 

[Orang Utan]

Another recommendation for A Woman On The Edge Of Time by Marge Piercy

 

[Chz]

I'm going to say that decent editors are few and far between. In general, and particularly in SF. Some of my favorite SF novels of the past 10 years could really use some editing.

Where you will find well-written, well-edited stories is in the short fiction anthologies. Particularly the ones edited by Gardner Dozois - the man's had more Hugo and Nebula awards for editing than I can count.

 

[maya]

M. John Harrison- 'Viriconium', 'Light', or 'Nova Swing'.
A bit like Moorcock, less blargh than Mieville.

The US omnibus edition of 'Viriconium' includes a foreword from Neil Gaiman (not cool in my book, i hate Gaiman- but in case you like him you might prefer that version over the UK edition)

 

[Fruitloop]

Axiomatic is full of Win and good short pieces. Diaspora is full of interesting Fail, but still Fail. IMO

Really? It was my favourite out of all of them, although Permutation City is probably a bit more classically novel-y, I thought Diaspora was hard sci-fi brain-mangling at its best.

 

[DotCommunist]

Really enjoyed this little piece from Paul Mcauley
http://ttapress.com/LittleLostRobot.pdf

 

[DotCommunist]

Really? It was my favourite out of all of them, although Permutation City is probably a bit more classically novel-y, I thought Diaspora was hard sci-fi brain-mangling at its best.

too hard imo. I couldn't care about the characters really.

 

[El Jefe]

keep em coming folks.

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Here's the Fantasy Masterworks list - I don't know a lot of them, but I'd try most of them over Hugh Cook any day :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks
<snip>

I've read a good chunk of those and the ones on their SF list. There's a few that are sort of crap but historic. Most of them however are the business.

 

[El Jefe]

I'm reading LeGuin's Dispossessed now

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

RenegadeDog: Work in progress (sorry, no title yet)

 

[rutabowa]

Dick is great, but not a particularly skillful writer

i think he is a skillful writer, i think he wasn't so good in his early short stories but got better and better and by the time of things like "Valis" he was at the top. he certainly didn't overwrite stuff.

 

[kabbes]

Here's the Fantasy Masterworks list - I don't know a lot of them, but I'd try most of them over Hugh Cook any day :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_Masterworks
<snip> QUOTE] I've read a good chunk of those and the ones on their SF list. There's a few that are sort of crap but historic. Most of them however are the business.

I'm basically making my way through their SF list. Most of my suggestions have been from that list (or at least on that list, if you see the difference), I think.

 

[kyser_soze]

I'd second the recc for Maul, altho I thought Double Vision was confused, aimless tosh.

Adam Roberts tho...now there's a man who can cram stupidly high concept into decent characters and relatively short tales...knows how to write a twist too...

 

[DotCommunist]

^^I'm with november on this one-some of the Roberts endings are a little bit weak and wtf?

Can't go wrong with On and Stone tho...

 

[kyser_soze]

Yeah, On for it's basic concept, Stone for the Rift...both still break my head when I read them...

BTW, project is nearly completed...i haven't been slack, only slow...