Top three SF authors

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by GePap

One which sets a common story in a future setting- for example, a Romeo and Juliet on Mars. The point of that type of sci-fi is to give a new "twist" to a fundamental human story.

Simply setting Romeo and Juliet on Mars would not be science fiction. Speculative fiction must contain some elements that are beyond our contemporary understanding of our existance.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by SpencerH


Simply setting Romeo and Juliet on Mars would not be science fiction. Speculative fiction must contain some elements that are beyond the our contemporary understanding of our existance.

Like living on mars?

[Lefty Scaevola]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Actually, I'm a very good Marxist. You just don't understand Marxism.

REAL marxists are meglomaniacal brutal oppressors, anything else is jus 'marxist lite' and not worth screwing around with. (and they don't eat quiche, either)

[SpencerH]

I'll admit its tough to define, but simply setting Romeo and Juliet on Mars is not enough. Change the characters to robots, throw in a problem associated with robot life rather than families that are enemies and OK, it passes muster.

[Verto]

Has anyone mentioned Jules Verne yet?

[Kuciwalker]

Yes.

[Spiffor]

I never read too much SciFi, but I really loved Jules Verne as a kid. And even today, I still love the setting in which his stories happen. I can only imagine, this high-tech world devoid of computers, where most machines are made of wood and heavy steel.

This "high tech 19th century" has an excellent potential, and would make a great environment for any novel, movie or videogame (Myst draws on it)

[MosesPresley]

How about J.G. Ballard? I don't think he's been mentioned.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
Yes.

Then I salute whoever mentioned that great man.



Jules Verne, Michael Crichton, all great. Timothy Zahn did an excellent job in the Star Wars universe.

[Cruddy]

Iain M Banks, Julian May, Frank Herbert.

Not that I like all their stuff... but I reckon the quality is consistently high with their output.

[Kuciwalker]

I like Zahn, but I don't think the Star Wars novels are quite enough.

[Jaguar]

Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke.

[Verto]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
I like Zahn, but I don't think the Star Wars novels are quite enough.

Nor do I. Still, he deserves my honorable mention. Thrawn was the uber-bad guy.

[Kuciwalker]

Funny, I never really thought of him as a bad guy...

[Last Conformist]

Originally posted by Spiffor

This "high tech 19th century" has an excellent potential, and would make a great environment for any novel, movie or videogame (Myst draws on it)

Aware of the subgenre of "steam punk"? The basic idea is that much higher technological levels were reached in the Victorian era than in our timeline, but society stayed basically Victorian.

It does contain computers (comparable to ~1950 ones in our timeline, perhaps), but The Difference Engine by Sterling and Gibson is very good.