The Apolyton Science Fiction Book Club: November Nominations

[Drake Tungsten]

Dune!!!


Wait, I mean The Forever War!!!

[Wraith]

--"the other one (stand alone, I think) I deffinitely think is better (something about aleins within)"

The Alien Shore perhaps? Or The Madness Season?

Wraith
"Fred the alien," Yang thought disgustedly. "What next?"
-- The Madness Season - C. S. Friedman

[Koyaanisqatsi]

James P. Hogan, The Proteus Operation

Not a serious or heavy-duty sci-fi by any means, but it is a fun book with a strong plot and an entertaining read. From the author:

The story opens in the 1970's of a world in which England capitulated in 1940, Japan went the other way in 1941 and attacked the Soviet Union from the east, and the U.S. remained isolationist until it was too late. The result is a world dominated by totalitarian empires, in which the only vestiges left of the Western democracies are North America and Australia-New Zealand. JFK is President, the Japanese are initiating a move on the Hawaiian islands as a prelude to isolating the last two Western strongholds, and the brightest future that anyone on this side can expect to is to go down fighting. . . .

Until an unexpected development involving some astonishing technology offers the possibility of sending people back in a bid to change things. Because of limits with the capability, we can't send them back beyond January, 1939. So everything that happened before that--Hitler's coming to power; the reoccupation of the Rhineland; Czechoslovakia and Munich; the Austrian Anschluss--we're stuck with. Also, the number of people we can send is restricted to a dozen. So whom would you pick to make up such a mission, that would have the best chance of making a difference?

[Mordoch]

Originally posted by dv8ed
James P. Hogan, The Proteus Operation

Not a serious or heavy-duty sci-fi by any means, but it is a fun book with a strong plot and an entertaining read.

I realize we're supposed to be nominating books right now instead of talking about them in general, but it would seem that one of the most decisive things these people could do would be take technology from the 1970's back to 1939. Taking actual pieces of technology and blue prints would be the best, but even sending back people with details knowledge of key technologies could work. Was this considered in the actual book?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

In fact, that's one of the major problems...

[Mordoch]

Originally posted by dv8ed
In fact, that's one of the major problems...

By this do you mean this is one of the major things the book addresses, or that for some inexplicable reason the people involved with setting up the mission didn't consider this possibility at all?

[monolith94]

I nominate "The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!", by Harry Harrison.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Originally posted by Mordoch
By this do you mean this is one of the major things the book addresses, or that for some inexplicable reason the people involved with setting up the mission didn't consider this possibility at all?

It's one of the root causes of the conflict in the story.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Wraith
--"the other one (stand alone, I think) I deffinitely think is better (something about aleins within)"

The Alien Shore perhaps? Or The Madness Season?

Wraith
"Fred the alien," Yang thought disgustedly. "What next?"
-- The Madness Season - C. S. Friedman

actually I like both better

but I thought that The Alien Shore was very good

Jon Miller

[Harry Seldon]

Are you talking about CS Freidman's The Madness Season?

[Eli]

I just finished The Forever War. Good book.

[flipside]

no nomination but read Iain Bank's "culture" series. They are very good at developing certain themes and yet the characterisation is still strong.

[Drake Tungsten]

I just finished The Forever War. Good book.

Make sure you bring that up when the voting begins.

[pchang]

nomination

I nominate
The Diamond Age
by Neal Stephenson

[Stefu]

Let's go with a classic - "Ender's Game".