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Originally posted by Lonestar
Why the Hell not?
Why the Hell not?
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Because he writes alternate history, not sf. -
Asimov, Poul Anderson, Charles SheffieldComment
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Turtledove sucks! Sorry, it's been a few posts since anyone mentioned this fact
Herbert, Heinlein, and Poul Anderson (although his more recent work is crap)."Stuie has the right idea" - Japher
"I trust Stuie and all involved." - SlowwHand
"Stuie is right...." - GuynemerComment
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I have one all time favorite SF author, and that is Stanislaw Lem. I read a lot more authors in my SF period, but my interest in this genre has vanished, so I don't even know what's good right now.Comment
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Card (surprised no one's mentioned him yet), Herbert, Adams (or if that doesn't count, Asimov).Comment
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I don't read much sci-fi... but from what I have read I would have to say;
1. Douglas Adams
2. Rob Grant
3. Ray BradburyRethink Refuse Reduce Reuse
Do It OurselvesComment
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I can't believe I forgot PAD. I have brought dishonor to my family.Originally posted by DinoDoc
Peter David
Stan Lee
Today, you are the waves of the Pacific, pushing ever eastward. You are the sequoias rising from the Sierra Nevada, defiant and enduring.Comment
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What kind of scum are you.Originally posted by General Ludd
I don't read much sci-fi...
Gaius Mucius Scaevola Sinistra
Japher: "crap, did I just post in this thread?"
"Bloody hell, Lefty.....number one in my list of persons I have no intention of annoying, ever." Bugs ****ing Bunny
From a 6th grader who readily adpated to internet culture: "Pay attention now, because your opinions suck"Comment
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That's just his WWII series.Originally posted by Tingkai
Turtledove has some good ideas, but he doesn't seem to understand that books need a central plot. He just rambles on in all different directions. The stories never end. He uses too many characters and too many sub-plots.
His WWI series (well, civil war, WWI, soon to get to WWII) is extremely good. All the sublpots aren't supposed to end.Comment
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Originally posted by St Leo
Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Even were I to accept your definition, which I don't, her certainly doesn't rate in the top ten SF authors of all time, let alone the top 3.
Alternate History is a form of Speculative Fiction just like Fantasy and SciFi -- which are often though not always filed jointly in bookstores. I'd say it's closer to SciFi because, whever it breaks the laws of physics, it does it in SciFi ways.
And, yes, Turtledove does suck.
Not all alternate history breaks the laws of physics. How did say, "How Few Remain" break the laws of physics? Not all ah involves time travel.
In fact the AH purists at Soc.history.what-if would deny that time travel stories ARE proper AH, precisely because they break the laws of physics, and so belong with Sci Fi."A person cannot approach the divine by reaching beyond the human. To become human, is what this individual person, has been created for.” Martin BuberComment
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He's close, very much so, but I like Bova a bit better...Originally posted by civman2000
Card (surprised no one's mentioned him yet)Comment
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Golden Age of SciFi - Heinlein, no contest.
Post golden age, the start of modern hard SF - Niven, who I've noticed is the most mentioned author in this thread from that period.
Modern hard SF - David Brin (Startide Rising) and Vernor Vinge (A Fire in the Deep). Honorable mention to Greg Bear, awesome imagination but I just wish he could write as well as the other two.
If Turtledove isn't SF, neither is Adams. First, if you've read his Dirk Gently stories, the man got lucky the first time through. They are absolutely terrible. Secondly, he is a humorist and a satirist (who I don't happen to find funny at all) who uses SF as a vehicle. It's like the movie Alien, which is a horror flick in an SF setting. Thirdly, it's one of the areas my wife and I profoundly disagree, and as long as she doesn't play her original BBC radio broadcast of the Hitchhiker's Guide in my prescence, we can agree to disagree.
The worst form of insubordination is being right - Keith D., marine veteran. A dictator will starve to the last civilian - self-quoted
And on the eigth day, God realized it was Monday, and created caffeine. And behold, it was very good. - self-quoted
Klaatu: I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.
Mr. Harley: I'm afraid my people haven't. I'm very sorry… I wish it were otherwise.Comment
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For "serious" SF, it would be Herbert, Anderson and Asimov, I guess.
Among less serious works, I really like the Hitchhiker's guide, and the first Dirk Gently isn't that bad either.
The Strugatsky brothers deserve a mention too.Why can't you be a non-conformist just like everybody else?
It's no good (from an evolutionary point of view) to have the physique of Tarzan if you have the sex drive of a philosopher. -- Michael Ruse
The Nedaverse I can accept, but not the Berzaverse. There can only be so many alternate realities. -- ElokComment
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In no particular order:
Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Strugatsky brothers.
Asimov's got great novles and stories, everything. Bradbury is usually great, though some of his stories are, IMO, not good. Strugatsky brothers are pretty amazing at all their works, and some are simply outstanding. Don't think any translation to English can do them justice. I read all three of these mostly in their original languages.
Other mentions. Stanislav Lem, for Solaris - he has a few good humorous stories, though, but Solaris is a marvel. Robert Shekley - again, some great short stories, though his novels I don't find as enjoyable. Aleksandr Belayev - several excellent novels. Arthur Clarke - he's got some pretty amazing style, and his optimism is a nice switch sometimes.Solver, WePlayCiv Co-Administrator
Contact: solver-at-weplayciv-dot-com
I can kill you whenever I please... but not today. - The Cigarette Smoking ManComment
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I'm of the fantastic variety.Originally posted by Lefty Scaevola
What kind of scum are you.
Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse
Do It OurselvesComment
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