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I use the word classic, not modern, because authors from earlier in the century tend to have a bit more of an
imagination, or possess an inatngible quality I can't place my finger on that i find lacking in modern sci fi authors.

Issac Asimov: I've only read parts of his books, but i absoluetly love them. The three rules were ingenius and simple, and look at what thye did for him.
Ray Bradbury: Farenheit 451 is an incredile vison of dystopia, and done very well.
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End. I really can't describe it, other then amazing.

Those are all great, GES, and I'd also throw H.G. Wells up there, since The Time Machine is a great book and a delightfully awful movie.

Same goes for War of the Worlds.

heinlein is pretty much the man imo but all good writers have something to offer.

Recent Scifi has a very different style, I wouldnt say they have less imagination.
What recent authors are you refering to?

Anyways, to name a few.....
- Frank Herbert (Dune)
- Greg Bear (Blood Muisic --- Awesome book ) -- 1985 counts as a classic?
- Philip K Dick -- (Do androids dream of electric sheep: AKA. BladeRunner) -- 1968
- Robert Heinlein -- (Starship Troopers) -- 1959
- Aldous Huxley -- (Brave New World) -- 1932
- George Orwell -- (1984) -- 1949
- Jules Verne -- (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) -- 1870
- HG Wells -- (War of the Worlds) -- 1898

Phillip K Dick also did "second variety" which was made into "screamers" ,"A scanner, darkly", "Impostor" and "we can remember it for you wholesale" (total recall).

The drug-references are in most of them. Plus the paranoia.

Golden Eyed Scout wrote:
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End. I really can't describe it, other then amazing.

QFT, it's a great book, one of my all time favourites.

Golden Eyed Scout wrote:I use the word classic, not modern, because authors from earlier in the century tend to have a bit more of an
imagination, or possess an inatngible quality I can't place my finger on that i find lacking in modern sci fi authors.

Issac Asimov: I've only read parts of his books, but i absoluetly love them. The three rules were ingenius and simple, and look at what thye did for him.
Ray Bradbury: Farenheit 451 is an incredile vison of dystopia, and done very well.
Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End. I really can't describe it, other then amazing.

Thats not classic.

HG Wells, Orson Welles, Jules Verne, Plato, now thats classic!

Golden Eyed Scout wrote:Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood's End. I really can't describe it, other then amazing.

This. I agree.



Asimovs Foundation series is probably my favourite SF of all time.

I'm also a fan of the prolific Michael Moorcock but he's more science fantasy, by and large. He's got some great pure SF though, like The Black Corridor.

My favorite childhood SciFi author is Robert Heinlein.

Anything by Arthur C. Clark

Also the short story With friends Like These by Alan Dean Foster, one of my favorite short stories ever written.

I really liked the Alan Dean Foster novelisation of Alien...

...not so much the other ones. I've never actually read any of his "real" work though.

He might disagree with the classification, or with ANY classification, but: Jack Vance!

I'm not sure if he would count as classic, but Philip Pullman is great. His Dark Materials was amazing, although it may be more fantasy than science fiction. Definitely one of my all time favorites.

Brian Aldiss
Phillip K Dick (worth mentioning again )
Michael Moorcock
Christopher Fowler
James Blish
Jonathon Swift
Joe Haldeman
Richard Matheson
Yevgeni Zemayatin
Kurt Vonnegut
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Alfred Bester
Roger Zelazny
John Wyndham
Hal Clement
Philip Jose Farmer
Stanislaw Lem
Frank Herbert
J G Ballard
Poul Anderson
Mary Shelley
Larry Niven

There's a few from before the 1970's, which is probably pre-history for the young 'uns out there, but there's plenty of excellent authors from later. Lack of imagination? Try Reynolds, Stanley Robinson, Baxter, McAuley, Banks, Stross, Sterling, Stephenson, Grimwood, Williams, MacLeod, Sullivan, Wolfe etc. etc.

Edited for spelling

I should reiterate. Not so much lack of imagination. I know what I'm trying to say in my head, but I can't seem to be able to put it downin writing.
Don't you hate when that happens?

Heh, happens pretty much every time I comment on a forum

The thing is there's a LOT of bad to mediocre SF/fantasy out there which seems to fill stores or float to the top of your searches and it's very easy to get bogged down in it (not going to mention some of the BL stuff ). On the other hand, there's a whole load of good stuff floating about which is a joy to discover and I love being pointed towards stuff I haven't seen before, and hope to see some unfamiliar names on this thread - or names I've forgotten, I know I could pull a few compilations off my shelves and put up a load of names for this thread that I wouldn't recognise but have good stuff (although in that case they wouldn't really class as favourites).

Hmmm, see think that's another example of not being able to put across what I'm actually thinking, and just rambling

HP Lovecraft, duh. The only one I've even heard of, actually.

Heinlein and Asimov are my favorites. I've never actually read any of Clarke's work though I know I'm probably missing out.

I should reiterate. Not so much lack of imagination. I know what I'm trying to say in my head, but I can't seem to be able to put it downin writing.
Don't you hate when that happens?

Yes I do. And it happens frequently XD. I feel your pain.

Is Larry Niven classic? I like his stuff

djphranq wrote:Is Larry Niven classic? I like his stuff

Without a doubt, at least imo. I've only read The Integral Trees, but i really want to find his oother works.

monkeytroll wrote:
Michael Moorcock

Class.

monkeytroll wrote:
John Wyndham

How the feth could I forget Wyndham?! Triffids and The Kraken Wakes are some of my childhood favourites.

monkeytroll wrote:
Poul Anderson

My dad loves his work, but I can't stomach the translations and turns of phrase. His writing makes me feel like I'm reading in the back seat of a car and slowly getting nauseous and a headache... :p

Samus_aran115 wrote:HP Lovecraft, duh. The only one I've even heard of, actually.

That's Gothic Horror/ Gothic Phantasy.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I'm not as well-versed in classic Sci-Fi as I ought to be, but I will say that I really enjoy Robert A. Heinlein, particularly Starship Troopers and particularly (x2) Stranger in a Strange Land.

Both great books, and I think most of the people in this thread have read them. Heinlein is pretty much essential sci fi reading during late childhood/teenage years.


*EDIT*

Post 399!

No one has mentioned Theodore Sturgeon? One of the great writers of his time.
The Cosmic Rape (no, not that type... dirty minds you) and More Human than Human are two of my favorite books on how humanity could change.

Can't believe I forgot C. S. Lewis.

I read a few chapters of Out of the Silent Planet a few years ago before I lsot it. I really should find it in my library sometime.

Heinlein's Starship Troopers is one of my favorite novels of all times, along with the various writer's he's influenced, such as Steakley's Armor and Hamilton's Fallen Dragon.

Not entirely sure he's a classic, as he still writes, but William Gibson's Neuromancer probably beats even Heinlein in my mind. Responsible for cyberpunk as we know it, the world would be a hell of a lot less interesting without his writing.

John Wyndham.

Day of the Triffids is my all time favorite book.

I love some of the early stuff from Clarke, Asimov and Heinlein.

Also love Moorcock - Castle Brass and Hawkmoon being my favorites.

Have to say I was quite fortunate as a child - my dad had lots of old SF/fantasy books.

It probably doesn't count as 'classic', but Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the greatest sci-fi novel ever written. Ever. Period.

MasterDRD wrote:It probably doesn't count as 'classic', but Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the greatest sci-fi novel ever written. Ever. Period.

QFT