Comments | darklordmoeser: save me from disappointing Sci Fi

darklordmoeser

save me from disappointing Sci Fi

Nov 17, 2009 14:33

I think that I may have mined the best stuff out of my favorite genre. Looking through Amazons best of the year for sci fi and the various best of the decade lists that I found on the internet, I see a common theme of having either read them already, or that they seem of a vaguely similar bent. Its almost as if there is a choose your own ( Read more... )

Comments 7

zihuatanejo November 17 2009, 20:48:38 UTC

There was a point a week or so ago where I was standing in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section at the B&N, looking at all the book covers and titles and thinking, "Really? REALLY? Is this all that you have to offer anymore? Vampires with tramp stamps? Knock-offs of knock-offs of knock-offs of Tolkien (who wasn't exactly original himself)? And laser beams?"
For a while I'd been disappointed that I haven't been keeping up on the better sci-fi and fantasy, but it was a revelation: That shit only exists in our minds. I am now thoroughly reconciled with only caring about Pratchett, Gaiman, and Adams anymore, who are the only sci-fi or fantasy authors with whom I've never said "Shit, I could've thought of that..."

darklordmoeser November 17 2009, 20:58:20 UTC

There are a good dozen or so Sci Fi authors that have done stuff I liked, and whom I keep an eye on, but at the same time, it is really hard to find new ones that don't reflect some of the paint by numbers, science fiction by people who know nothing of science or fiction kind of stuff.
The difficulty of books is that there just aren't very many produced a year... and those Best of Decade Lists are just lists of bizarre space operas or vampire lovers. Whenever I look at "Best of all time" Sci Fi lists, I've already read most of them.

lady_guenievre November 17 2009, 21:43:54 UTC

'Course, the "paint by numbers" aspect makes me really want to sit down and try. But even though I've read reams of this stuff, I still haven't come up with an interesting character to start from...

uzbradistan November 18 2009, 03:53:29 UTC

This was hilarious. Kudos for posting.

I stopped reading new fantasy and sci fi a long time ago, although I still like the concept in theory...

alpine_tunnel November 18 2009, 04:23:00 UTC

I happen to like the works of Jeffrey A. Carver, myself. He has a new book out this year called Sunborn. You can find his books right next to the Orson Scott Card books, if your bookstore deigns to carry any of Jeff's books. I was told that I had to special order mine. Pah.

darklordmoeser November 18 2009, 04:32:39 UTC

There are still good things out there, and I can give you some suggestions if you have an interest in trying some stuff out. The problem is even the Hugo and Nebula awards for Sci Fi will go to the stuff I think sounds totally lame. The problem is, normal fiction is only so so for me. I don't really want to read about someone else's ennui, unless its over killing some bug people. With cleverly named lasers.

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darklordmoeser November 19 2009, 14:54:10 UTC

I like some of the older style Sci-Fi... certainly Asimov, Heinlein, and Philip K Dick are both wonderful authors, but I have a hard time being interested in the lesser known authors from that era. Perhaps a bit to pulpy for my tastes. There's some good foreign sci fi out there though, I've read two books by Stanislaw Lem, and found them to be powerful or absurd, depending on what book you read ( ... )