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Jack McDevitt-like sci-fi
- Thread starter Mouseferatu
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Mouseferatu
Hero
You're quite welcome.
I actually just started that one a few days ago, myself. I got the books out of order, so I've read two of his other Alex Benedict novels--Polaris and Seeker--first.
Fallen Seraph
First Post
In some regards it is sort of more "alternative-history" but at the same time it isn't and is a good mystery, suspense, noir thriller is Century Rain. It involves in the far future two warring/competing factions of humanity and stumbling across a gateway to another Earth, but one from the far past.
How Sci-Fi do you want to go? Since there is always "future tomorrow" and Cyberpunk type stuff. Which a obvious first suggestion would be to check out stuff by William Gibson. While he is no longer pursuing pure-Cyberpunk his modern books are very interesting and feel closer to home.
How Sci-Fi do you want to go? Since there is always "future tomorrow" and Cyberpunk type stuff. Which a obvious first suggestion would be to check out stuff by William Gibson. While he is no longer pursuing pure-Cyberpunk his modern books are very interesting and feel closer to home.
Jack7
First Post
One thing you guys might wanna consider reading, even though Mouse said he didn't like military stuff much, is BOLO. The original Bolo material by Keith Laumer.
What I really liked about the Bolo is how much it tried to act like a chivalrous human Knight, even though it was an artificial war machine. And it was monstrous, fearless, and unstoppable (most of the time).
Most of Laumer's stories tended to be gritty too, like much of McDevitt's stuff.
Bolo was a helluvah ride the first time I read those books years and years and years ago.
But I'd bet some of you fantasy fans would really like it too, not because the stories were sci-fantasy, they weren't. But because the Bolo was a cross between a Knight and a Dragon. And it fought like a hellion, and just wouldn't give up for nothing, and it always tried to do the right thing no matter who tried to stop it, and it reminded me a lot of a mechanical version of Godzilla (one of my favorite fictional characters). It was just plain admirable, and my kinda monster.
I highly recommend it to the sci-fi consuming crowd.
By the way, some of my buddies and I used to play Ogre, based on the Bolo. I think it was Steve Jackson made. I recommend that game as well.
What I really liked about the Bolo is how much it tried to act like a chivalrous human Knight, even though it was an artificial war machine. And it was monstrous, fearless, and unstoppable (most of the time).
Most of Laumer's stories tended to be gritty too, like much of McDevitt's stuff.
Bolo was a helluvah ride the first time I read those books years and years and years ago.
But I'd bet some of you fantasy fans would really like it too, not because the stories were sci-fantasy, they weren't. But because the Bolo was a cross between a Knight and a Dragon. And it fought like a hellion, and just wouldn't give up for nothing, and it always tried to do the right thing no matter who tried to stop it, and it reminded me a lot of a mechanical version of Godzilla (one of my favorite fictional characters). It was just plain admirable, and my kinda monster.
I highly recommend it to the sci-fi consuming crowd.
By the way, some of my buddies and I used to play Ogre, based on the Bolo. I think it was Steve Jackson made. I recommend that game as well.
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Nellisir
Hero
This is just some authors I like: your mileage may vary.
CJ Cherryh's sci-fi burns my brain out, but is good. Highly, -heavily-, psychological, also none of the characters ever gets much sleep (this is starting to piss me off, actually). No humor. I'd recommend Downbelow Station & related books (Hellburner, Heavy Time, Tripoint, Merchanter's Luck - some available in a collected omnibus trade size) the Chanur series, and Cyteen (available in a trade; sequel apparently just released). She's also got about a zillion books in the Pretender/etc/etc series; that's technically sci-fi, but of a different sort.) I've had alot of trouble enjoying her fantasy work, though.
Joe Haldeman - Forever War.
Vernor Vinge - Not as prolific as I'd like, but awesome. 4 Hugos. Rainbow's End; Across Realtime; A Deepness in the Sky; A Fire Upon the Deep (I haven't been able to read, alas).
David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series is good military sci-fi war porn; not deep, but full of tanks that Blow
Up Real Good.
Personally, I think the best thing to do is pick up the Years Best Science Fiction collection (the big, trade paperback one), and if you like a story, look for more by that author. Buy as many as you can, actually - I think they're up to #23 or #24?
I'll post new names if I think of them; most of my sci-fi is in boxes.
CJ Cherryh's sci-fi burns my brain out, but is good. Highly, -heavily-, psychological, also none of the characters ever gets much sleep (this is starting to piss me off, actually). No humor. I'd recommend Downbelow Station & related books (Hellburner, Heavy Time, Tripoint, Merchanter's Luck - some available in a collected omnibus trade size) the Chanur series, and Cyteen (available in a trade; sequel apparently just released). She's also got about a zillion books in the Pretender/etc/etc series; that's technically sci-fi, but of a different sort.) I've had alot of trouble enjoying her fantasy work, though.
Joe Haldeman - Forever War.
Vernor Vinge - Not as prolific as I'd like, but awesome. 4 Hugos. Rainbow's End; Across Realtime; A Deepness in the Sky; A Fire Upon the Deep (I haven't been able to read, alas).
David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series is good military sci-fi war porn; not deep, but full of tanks that Blow
Up Real Good.Personally, I think the best thing to do is pick up the Years Best Science Fiction collection (the big, trade paperback one), and if you like a story, look for more by that author. Buy as many as you can, actually - I think they're up to #23 or #24?
I'll post new names if I think of them; most of my sci-fi is in boxes.
Pbartender
First Post
I just finished reading the first of the Bolo books based on your recommendation. It was a good read... I'm placing a hold on the others at our local library.
One thing I really liked was that while a Bolo tank was integral to the plot of each of the short stories, they weren't always the focus of the action or the narration. It kept the stories a little more interesting.
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