Sci-Fi books that got you to go 'wow'

[Mistwell]

*Chuckles* I know OSC - in fact, I am the basis of the main character (Stevie? It's been WAY too long) in his book "Lost Boys" (the rest of my family is the Cooper - rather than Cooley - family - albeit with a little poetic license since my dad's name is not Spike - and he "adopted" me into his family for the purposes of the book).

So you are the one responsible for that travesty of a book!

Personally I love most of what Card writes, including all of the first three of the Ender series (I have not read the shadow books yet).

However Los Boys I consider to be one of the sneakiest, nasiest tricks ever committed by an author in the history of writing! I mean he makes you think it will be a horror story - ghosts will be the main topic. You read it - and BAM, no, it is a Mormonism story! I felt so cheated by that book. It single handedly made me cease purchasing Card books to this day.

And now my fiancee is an ex-mormon chased out by BYU-Hawaii for protesting their dress code...so I doubt I will get much change from her in my attitude towards Card...

 

[The Sigil]

*LOL*

Apologies for ruining him for you Mistwell - I was but 7 at the time...

--The Sigil

 

[Tarek]

Books

Sheri Tepper's The True Game
Roger Zelazny's Amber series
that first Battletech trilogy (Decision at Thunder Rift, etc)
McCaffery's books The Ship Who Sang, Crystal Singer, and the second book in the first Pern trilogy.
Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series.
Asimov's Empire series and his Foundation series.
Gibson's Neuromancer (but only the first time I read it, oddly enough)
Stephen Brust's "Vlad Taltos" series, including the prequels and Brokedown Palace.

And Gene Wolfe's Books of the New Sun. (I just realized... they're living in grounded spaceships!)

 

[Dave Blewer]

I absolutely love all of Peter F. Hamilton stuff. Although, being a father, I find his Night Dawn Trilogy difficult to read.

All of his books are highly recommended IMO