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Post a single title of a book you'd recommend for Dakkites with
your heartfelt explanation. First post sets the standard. If you're
reading the thread and you've read the most recent recommendation,
say that you have and what you thought then offer another recommendation.

Maybe we can get some kind of forum game out of this.

If that's too restrictive, then reply with a single book recommendation
regardless of whether or not you've read anything in the thread. But I
think single titles would be best as I'm a lazy reader...

Starship Troopers . One of my favorite books.

I just read HG Wells' The Time Machine and The Invisible Man for the first time (you can get them as a collection from Barnes & Noble). Not only are they exquisite examples of true science fiction (Wells rooted both stories on the science available in his era), but they're also just good literature. His critiques of Victorian English values, false moralism and human disbelieve are laced with humor and wit, and come across in a playful rather than scolding manner. His language is wonderfully evocative (he even plays at transcribing a cockney accent, which Mark Twain had already done with the South) and sets scenes that actually move the reader. While both stories have become somewhat hackneyed examples of B-movie horror, The Invisible Man's antics do get the pulse racing, and you feel real sympathy for the Time Traveler.

As to why a Dakkaite would be interested, both stories bring a great deal to inspire the model and wargames hobbyist. Whether it's the 19th century imagery of the Time Machine itself inspiring certain model projects or paint schemes, or scenarios involving the morlocks vs. the eloi, or the English townfolk vs. the Invisible man, there's so much for the gamer to satisfy the individual gamer.

Finally, Wells brings a wonder to his sense of science, but also a sobering understanding that it is a tool, one that can be used for good or naught. Though he died shortly after World War II, I thought him quite prescient, as only good writers can be.

I have read starship troopers, but while I enjoyed the political satire, I found that I wasnt overly impressed as I was with heinleins other works, or even short stories.

My recommendation is Dune by Frank Herbert.

"Science fiction" in the far future, full of political intrigue of biblical proportions. I placed science fiction in quotes, because the book is more about character and plot development and less about futuristic technology.

In short, this book is about how the road to hell is paved with (subjective) good intentions.

Singulalrly, this book spans the youth and zenith of the main protagonist. Collectively, the Dune series spans many thousands of years.

The world Herbert develops rivals that of the fantasy the Tolkein had invented. Many consider it to surpass Tolkein's vision, in fact. Like Tolkein, his progeny continues the legacy where the father left off, with considerable skill.

Dune is also widely considered it to be THE seminal work of science fiction. It won the very first Nebula award ever given in 1965 and shared the Hugo with roger zelazny in 1966.
If you were to pick only one science fiction book to read, Dune should be the one that you choose.

Fantasy

George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords.

Book three in his A Song of Ice and Fire Series.  The first being A Game of Thrones, then A Clash of Kings.  The fourth installment, A Feast of Crows is also out.  The remaining three books are unwritten.

By the time you get to this book you have a powerful and deep understanding of his characters, and world and what makes things tick.  The characters are immensely deep and well written, and the storyline and about as complex and deep as you could ask for in a "entertainment read". (opposed to something you'd need to read for work/school)

My father, who both shys from sword and sorcery fantasy settings, and is well read and selective in his reading material, enjoyed the series so much that even he is currently doing a reread of the books to get more out of them.

Top notch stuff, really.

I've read all of the books recommended.   You can't go wrong with any of those choices, though H.G. Wells isn't for everyone.  Storm of Swords is terrific and one of the very few realistic high fantasy.  Characters die (often shockingly so) and the plot moves in directions no one expects.

My recommendation is for Forever War by Joseph Haldeman.   A first hand account from a soldier in the future that has an amazing way of being relevant to every war right up to and including the situation in Iraq.

 

My recommendation is Warrior Brood by C.S. Goto. In this book, the first of the Deathwatch series, Goto tells a tale of a covert band of Space Marines, the Deathwatch. These genetically engineered supermen wield special guns with hi-tech bullets. They fight in groups called Kill-Teams, and are under the command of something called the Inquisition, which is just like it sounds, except instead of Jesus, these Inquisitors destroy evil in the name of a Space Emperor who is like Jesus. He may even be from the Middle East, it didn't say. Its kind of like one of Richard Marcinko's Rogue Warrior novels, but with more homo-eroticism. These Marines are from different groups, called Chapters, and therefore have different ways of doing things. One of them is like a Viking, a few others are preoccupied with fists, and their leader is named Octavius, which indicates some kind of Roman influence.

The main enemy in Warrior Brood is an alien race known as the Tyranids. They kind of resemble the aliens from that game Starcraft. That may be where Mr. Goto got the idea. Anyway, these aliens are utterly ruthless and are filled with bestial passion, which is kind of hard for a beast to do, so I'm sure it's really awesome. These Tyranids are fighting against a rogue chapter of Space Marines, called the Mantis Legion. They are atoning for some kind of wrong they did in the Badab War, which was a war involving Space Marines.

The action is quite pulse pounding, with numerous plot twists and turns that make this novel a real page-turner. There is a sequel called Warrior Coven, which introduces the Eldar, a race of Elf-like creatures that live in giant spaceships called Craftworlds.

"Fortress on the Sun" by Paul Cook

Aboard Sunstation Ra, a giant space station anchored to the sun and protected by powerful energy shields, a group of more than 100 prisoners harvest solar plasma for their captors. Despite having their minds wiped to erase any memory of their crimes - regressing some back to childhood - the sunstation prisoners have managed to carve out a peaceful existence during their three years of captivity. That is until a strange sleeping sickness spreads through Ra. The arrival of a new batch of prisoners complicates matters, initiating a series of events that reawaken the residents' memories and endanger their lives.

Seconding Dune ; but not the se/prequels. In addition to what Hellfury said, much of the fluff from 40k is pulled straight from Herbert's thoughts (sisters anyone?).

All in all, it's the only literary work to come out of the science fiction genre.

All of the above are good mentions. Right now, I'm getting a lot of mileage out of the Dark Tower (aka, the Gunslinger) series by Stephen King.

Hmm, good bookages:

David Weber's Honor Harrington Series, begins with On Basilisk Station

Military sci fi, primarily space-naval combat, seom of the best reading i've had in years.

John Ringo's Council wars series, begins with There will be dragons.

A future of supertechnology including nanomachines, teleportation, and rampant genetic engineering (including the dragons from the title) and what happens when the power gets shut off.

 

Honestly, these two are some of the best writers in sci fi/fant right now, and anything with their names on the cover is bound to be good.  General warning though, David Weber's serieses tend to start very slow, with half or more of the first book being setting development.  This happens generally when he is contracted for more than 1 book from the getgo.

You can get more info, and even free samples at Baen.com.  Here that my baenish overlords i sent you some new vit...  readers...  please send me free books so i can spend more on GW stuff

Gah, one title - Vurt by Jeff Noon then.

But you should read everything by Iain M Banks (but not necessarily everything he writes as Iain Banks), Michael Marshall Smith (but definitely not what he writes as Michael Marshall) and Jeff Noon. Of course you've already read Phillip K Dick and William Gibson.

"On War" - Clausewitz

It's a very difficult read - as dry as only a German theory book could be - but it's a facinating book, especially reading it with the hindsight of how it's misapplication resulted in how WW I was fought.

Posted By ether dude on 05/01/2007 11:23 PM
Seconding Dune; but not the se/prequels. In addition to what Hellfury said, much of the fluff from 40k is pulled straight from Herbert's thoughts (sisters anyone?).

All in all, it's the only literary work to come out of the science fiction genre.

You take that back! Dune isn't the sole pretender to the throne of true literature to come out of science fiction! It is damn good though (and Herbert's original sequels were pretty good too, if a bit dense at times). So, who else you might ask? Well, the author I first thought of was George Orwell and his most excellent dystopian manifesto of Stalinist socialism gone wrong (very wrong): Nineteen Eighty-four. Sure it doesn't have space ships and blasters and such, but the inclusion of such isn't necessarily a requirement for a book to be sci-fi. His warped vision where the machinations of government have run amok,  Floating Fortresses, eavesdropping Telescreens, Newspeak in all it's malformed glory, I really can't think of another sci-fi novel that has had as profound an effect on western literature.

That said, everyone has probably read it. At least everyone that wasn't schooled in some totalitarian dictatorship where the book was banned or something similar. Another must read, and alluded to by Torgoch, is William Gibson's Neuromancer, a book which unleashed Cyberpunk onto an unsuspecting public. It's another distopia, but here technology is and the corporations behind it are what have run amok while governments are inept shadows of their former selves and enslaved by their corporate masters.

Take these two books, plus Dune and Starship Troopers, mix them together and throw them 38,000 years into the future and you have 40k in a nutshell.

I found Neuromancer difficult to follow, allthough the action in the book was quite entertaining...

As to my personal recommendations: #1 is most absolutely, definitely Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. One of the best (if not the best) science-fiction stories I've ever read. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in space oddyssey, science fiction, man vs. aliens, etc. It's an excellent read for any 40k'er  because of the depictions of zero-G battles, and large "mother ship" type transports very much in the theme of Battlefleet Gothic, minus warp travel.

To extend my list; nobody has mentioned "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," if you only saw the movie, please, please go read the book. Another excellent and humorous title.

The HALO series of novels, although simplistic, were fun pulp-science-fiction reads, packed with action and awesome battle description. If space battles and elite warriors are you thing, you'll really enjoy these books ("The Fall of Reach" and...the other one (can't remember title))

I also recommend the "Gunslinger/Dark Tower" series of novels by  (I think) Steven King.  Excellent  present-day /interdimensional/scifi/fantasy  mix of stories.

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is a very interesting read; it forces you to look at the universe in a new way, changing your reference frame.  It may seem a bit confusing at first, but it's well worth the read.

? Dune-mentioned.
? Julian May-Golden Torc series. Humans return to Earth 6 million years in the past to discover aliens on the world. If you like images of armored knights and true psykers this series is the book for you. Nothing like the image of a psyker cracking open the Straits of Gibraltar creating the Mediterranean Sea.
? Phillip K Dick, just because.
? Lovecraft for some interesting views on Chaos.

The Complete History of Jack The Ripper by Philip Sugden.

If you have any interest in this case this is where you start. The book examines not only the crimes, but the victims, suspects, and investigators in detail. Separating facts from fiction by going back to the original sources of information and reassessing all the evidence. This book has put a real human face on these events for me.

The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks.

Written in the form of most survivalist handbooks, including first-person encounters, 'scientific' and 'historical' evidence, this book provides information for the average person that he or she might survive an encounter with zombies, be it a handful or a full-blown infestation. While technically a humor book, mocking both the late '90s early 2000 American 'survivalist' mentality as well as our need as people to be in control at all times, it conveys its 'information' so convincingly and straightforwardly that you are, at times, convinced that having a .22 rifle, a vehicle with AWD and an ability to get to higher ground is not such a bad idea.

For wargames enthusiasts, the motivation for such a book is self-evident. Gamers love zombies, and love zombie vs. survivor scenarios. This could potentially be your one-stop research tool for creating games involving zombies, from the medieval period until today, including all environments, terrains, and nationalities. Want to have WWII soviets fight german zombies on the Eastern Front? How about mid-20th century 'tsotsis' (urban toughs) in Soweto, South Africa? Medieval Europe in the time of the black plague? It's all there. Just be sure to read it with the lights on.   

Don't know how many have read this one, but Walter M. Miller- A Canticle for Liebowitz (1959).

A post apocalyptic world, mass anti-intellectualism, the preservation and eventual deificaiton of knowledge and ), the folly of man are all themes in the book. Spans 1000 years and three distinct stories. Has a lot of 40k themes (Pretty much everything can be viewed as a commentary on the Imperium). Great book but not for the easily depressed.

"The Count of Monte Cristo," by Alexandre Dumas

The penultimate story of betrayal and revenge tailored to hit the betrayer where he'll feel it the most.

"A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch," by Solzhenitsen (sp?)

Ever wonder how great it would be to live in Communist USSR during the 50's and 60's when you've been convicted of having subversive beliefs?

"Crime and Punishment," by Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky

Proof that just because you think you're better than everyone else doesn't mean you actually are.

"Watership Down," by Adams (?)

Talking bunnies!!!

"Gulliver's Travels," by Jonathan Swift

Human society really does suck if you look at it from the outside. Isn't satire funny?

"The Things they Carried," can't remember the author's name...McDonald maybe?

If you ever really wanted to know what was going through that 'Nam vet's head...there's a part I won't tell you about that will probably make you cry...and then scream out loud in outrage at the book. (Don't worry, it's not a "documentary," it's a novel...just very well written.)

"De Consolatio Philosophie," (sp?) by Boethius

The only things that can truly make you happy are the things that cannot be taken away.

I better stop now.

Sal

Posted By ether dude on 05/01/2007 11:23 PM
Seconding Dune ; but not the se/prequels. In addition to what Hellfury said, much of the fluff from 40k is pulled straight from Herbert's thoughts (sisters anyone?).

All in all, it's the only literary work to come out of the science fiction genre.

You need to read more sci-fi.  Start with Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.  I readily admit Herbert is a titan of the genre, and most of the genre is crap (thank Star Wars for polluting science fiction with too much fantasy).

My book would be Gates of Fire (Stephen Pressfield).  Almost ten years old, it is historical fiction recounting the military stand at Thermopylae, recently made famous by a movie based on a comic book.  Gates of Fire is much more intimate, epic, humanistic, and meaningful.  It essentially explores the nature of courage through a variety of prisms.  There are no battle rhinos, nine foot femkings, ninja-orcs, or executioners with bone swords for arms. 

Instead, there is a plot and some semblance of respect towards the history and men who fought there (which were more than 300 Spartans).  Interestingly enough, the realistic approach is far more heroic than the mythic one.

For steam punk, arguably, the Gibson/Sterling book The Difference Engine is probably required reading as well.

An alternate history with the grand bells and whistles that follow all Gibson writing where Babbages difference engine becomes the norm of the day and massproduced, making a sort of british victorian era computer along side IBMesque punch cards ubiquitous.

Posted By malfred on 05/01/2007 6:17 PM
Post a single title of a book... 

This is always the hardest part for people to do it seems.  I'm still debating which one book to toss in, but Jester's post on the previous page is up in the top 5 at the moment.

Surely you dont intend on recommending a C.S.Goto book as mandatory reading other than in jest, do you?

>>Don't know how many have read this one, but Walter M. Miller- A Canticle for Liebowitz (1959).

Yes, I had it. Great book.

It's impossible to recommend a single book to underpin the whole of SF or WH40K but I suppose the point is to get a span of opinion.

However we can cheat and nominate several. For me, LoTR and Elric of Melnibone.

40K is WHFB with ray guns. WHFB is LoTR with added Chaos out of Elric.

In general SF there is so much to cover, so many periods and genres. You will not go wrong by reading any of the following authors :

Jules Verne
HG Wells
Olaf Stapledon
Isaac Asimov
Arthur C Clarke
Robert Heinlein
Alfred Bester
Harry Harrison
Philip K Dick
Brian Aldiss
John Wyndham
AE van Vogt
Larry Niven
Stanislaw Lem
William Gibson
Bruce Sterling
Jack Womack
Jeff Noon
Iain M Banks

They have all produced significant bodies of work.

No doubt there are others I've forgotten -- most of my books are stashed away in the loft or at my brother's house -- and many modern authors I have simply not read.

If this derails the thread let the mods delete my post.

Wow, I had forgotten Moorcock. If I remember correctly, he was really the first fantasy author to move away from ideas of "good" and "evil," and move more into ideas of "law" and "choas."

Those are all great recomendations, especially Neuromancer, Dune and the George R R Martin series.

1984 is an all time favorite.

But i am surprised no one mentioned The Dragonlance Chronicles by Weiss and Hickman. They aren't going to change the world or strike you as particularly stunning in terms of their prose, but they are fantastic books to read. I have read my coppies at least 5 times, and some of the spinoff novels are excellent as well. Just great stories with very memorable Characters.

I enjoyed Dragonlance as well. I'm not sure I liked all of the spinoffs, but
the book was fun "light reading" about adventurers gaining experience and
"phat lewt."

My favorite book with a dragon was Ursula Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. It's
not going to make anyone excited from its action scenes, but what I found
slow and dry as a youngster I now find thrilling and beautiful as an adult. Her
prose is almost poetry, so people looking for a smash em' up should go and
look somewhere else (quite possibly, at the film adaptation that she hated so
much). Her main idea is that everything has a name, and so language and
the finding of names is the most powerful magic of all.

It deals with all the things that you find in a wizard story, too. Young apprentice,
a dangerous power, mysterious master, wizard school on an island, the
duel that leads to tragedy, the heroic quest to undo the great mistake...

Anyway. If you like intentional, pretty prose, then take a look at A Wizard
of Earthsea.

As far as weis and Hickman are concerned, the only really worthwhile collaboration they have made IMO, is the Death Gate Cycle.

While it does take a few things from their dragonlance franchise (Zifnab = Fizban), it is a far more original plan for writing than what they previosly put out. Its very science fiction/fantasy, much like 40K.