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<blockquote data-quote="Assenpfeffer" data-source="post: 614529" data-attributes="member: 9061">Yeah.&nbsp; Several friends to whom I've reccommended this series have reported problems getting through it.&nbsp; Very dry, they say, and I see what they're talking about;&nbsp; Robinson goes on for a ten-page discussion of Martian soil chemistry at one point, for example.But I myself tore through them.&nbsp; Utterly facinating and compelling storytelling.Orwell's 1984, which I read in high school, was a &quot;wow&quot; book for me.&nbsp; Limiting the discussion to strictly &quot;near&quot; future SF, I can't think of a whole lot offhand, since my tastes run toward &quot;classy&quot; space opera like Dan Simmons' Hyperion and its sequels, the Brin Uplift stuff, and Greg Benford's Galactic Center cooks.However, I can squeeze in a plug for The Forever War, which starts in the near future.&nbsp; It's most interesting, nowadays, when read in conscious comparison to Heinlein's Starship Troopers, which predates it by about 20 years, but which has aged much, much better - TFW is really dated.For that matter, a lot of Heinlein's stuff fits the parameters.&nbsp; I particularly reccommend Methuselah's Children and its ultimate continuations in Time Enough For Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset, which is my personal favoroite Heinlein book.&nbsp; The Number of the Beast brings together a lot of the threads in Heinlein's various future histories and is a lot of fun.Gibson's Neuromancer is a classic and is one of those books that anyone who is serious about SF should read.Ender's Game is a good book but the numerous sequels pound the same keys.&nbsp; Card is hit-or-miss for me - his Homecoming series started out fantastic only to completely collapse in the final book.Just to be a jerk, and knowing that they don't meet darkfire's limitations, I'm going to throw out plugs for Dune, which everyone really needs to make the effort to read, and Roger Zelazny's brilliant Lord of Light, which I seem to be plugging a lot lately, but which is just one of the best books I've ever read.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Assenpfeffer, post: 614529, member: 9061"] Yeah. Several friends to whom I've reccommended this series have reported problems getting through it. Very dry, they say, and I see what they're talking about; Robinson goes on for a ten-page discussion of Martian soil chemistry at one point, for example. But I myself tore through them. Utterly facinating and compelling storytelling. Orwell's [i]1984[/i], which I read in high school, was a "wow" book for me. Limiting the discussion to strictly "near" future SF, I can't think of a whole lot offhand, since my tastes run toward "classy" space opera like Dan Simmons' [i]Hyperion[/i] and its sequels, the Brin Uplift stuff, and Greg Benford's Galactic Center cooks. However, I can squeeze in a plug for [i]The Forever War,[/i] which [i]starts[/i] in the near future. It's most interesting, nowadays, when read in conscious comparison to Heinlein's [i]Starship Troopers[/i], which predates it by about 20 years, but which has aged much, much better - TFW is [i]really[/i] dated. For that matter, a lot of Heinlein's stuff fits the parameters. I particularly reccommend [i]Methuselah's Children[/i] and its ultimate continuations in [i]Time Enough For Love[/i] and [i]To Sail Beyond the Sunset[/i], which is my personal favoroite Heinlein book. [i]The Number of the Beast[/i] brings together a lot of the threads in Heinlein's various future histories and is a lot of fun. Gibson's [i]Neuromancer[/i] is a classic and is one of those books that anyone who is serious about SF should read. [i]Ender's Game[/i] is a good book but the numerous sequels pound the same keys. Card is hit-or-miss for me - his Homecoming series started out fantastic only to completely collapse in the final book. Just to be a jerk, and knowing that they don't meet darkfire's limitations, I'm going to throw out plugs for [i]Dune[/i], which everyone really needs to make the effort to read, and Roger Zelazny's brilliant [i]Lord of Light[/i], which I seem to be plugging a lot lately, but which is just one of the best books I've ever read. [/QUOTE]

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