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#3094662 - 09/16/10 03:03 AM The era of great sci-fi authors  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
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Is it just me or does it seem like the "golden age" of great sci-fi writers is over and probably wont be replicated for a long time? By "golden age" I mean authors such as Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and others.

Which current day authors would be considered to be even close to their level? Kevin J. Anderson and Timothy Zahn have had quite a lot of commercial success but from a critical/intellectual standpoint I dont think they are in the same category.

Any others?


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#3094682 - 09/16/10 03:43 AM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I keep meaning to try Iain Banks. Well, Iain M Banks when he does sci-fi. Any opinion?

http://www.iain-banks.net/science-fiction/



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#3094692 - 09/16/10 04:07 AM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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When the "Great Authors" were active the field was relatively new. All they did was invent. They wrote a lot of good stuff, although much of it is dated nowadays, but also a lot of rubbish. Asimov is and remains one of my favorite authors, but I think his stories can best be read for the ideas behind them, and certainly not for their "future historic" significance.

Also, nowadays the public for a large part seems to want rehashes of existing stuff: Star Trek, Star Wars etc. Zahn, Anderson, David are - in my mind - connected mostly to that; not to any original stories of themselves. Even David's "New Frontier" series is set in the Star Trek universe.

One really great current author (IMHO of course) is Peter F. Hamilton. I love the Sci-Fi he writes - rather bombastic space opera. And I'm not the only one here on SimHQ.


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#3094705 - 09/16/10 04:54 AM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Which current day authors would be considered to be even close to their level? Kevin J. Anderson ...


Anderson writes some of the worst rubbish I've ever been inflicted with. He should be ashamed at producing such tripe.

There's a few good writers around though - Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Iain Banks, Richard Morgan, etc.


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#3094789 - 09/16/10 11:50 AM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Check out Dan Simmons. Hyperion is extremely good, and Illium and Olympos are two of my top favorites.
I think what's hard these days is finding the good ones due to so many being out there. They're around to be found though.


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#3094868 - 09/16/10 02:00 PM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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ohh...good thread.

I have been reading posts here and on BGG for something in the realm of "hard scifi opera" (large, universe-scale settings). One recommendation that I picked up at the public library was "House of Suns" by Alastair Reynolds. I think this book is worth checking out. I enjoyed the story overall, but I felt he was too verbose in some places and could have cut out ~100 pages.

I also reserved "The Forever War" and "Ender's Game" and I will be picking those up this weekend.

Keep those suggestions coming!
smile


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#3095041 - 09/16/10 06:08 PM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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I recently got Herbert's 'Dune' and 'Matter' by Iain M Banks, and have only got about 50 pages into each. It seems I find the galactic empire stuff hard going these days.

Regarding golden ages, was the Asimiv/Heinlein era better than the Verne/HG Wells era?

#3095057 - 09/16/10 06:40 PM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Brian Aldiss writes some good stuff.I must have read Non-Stop (Starship in the States) 3 times at least.
Hothouse is another good one of his.
He was greatly influenced by H.G Wells and is vice-president of the H.G Wells Society.


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#3095484 - 09/17/10 08:23 AM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: AWL_Spinner]  
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Originally Posted By: AWL_Spinner
I keep meaning to try Iain Banks. Well, Iain M Banks when he does sci-fi. Any opinion?

http://www.iain-banks.net/science-fiction/


I`m a fan of Banks, especially the novels playing in the Culture universe. Space opera at its best IMO. Edit: And yes, I think he can compete with the big ones in the Genre. His later books are little complicated though.

My favourites are "Consider Phlebas", "The player of games" and "Use of weapons". On many boards my nick is from the latter.

Greets

Karsten

Last edited by kilosierra; 09/17/10 08:29 AM.

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#3095582 - 09/17/10 01:06 PM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: mikew]  
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PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
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PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
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Originally Posted By: mikew
I recently got Herbert's 'Dune'


I'm currently on my third read-through of Dune. Yes, I'm a huge Dune and Frank Herbert fan. smile


“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
#3095909 - 09/17/10 07:58 PM Re: The era of great sci-fi authors [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
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Macca Offline
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Uuuummm....Sci-Fi Golden Age is never to come back. But maybe Second Golden Age is still to come;)

Dan Simmons' Hyperion is really good, second part is good, 3 and 4 are boring imho.

Try Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep, Deepness in the Sky, Rainbow's End

Connie Willis' Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog,

If you like hard sf - go for the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson

Unfortunately, a great Polish author, Jacek Dukaj, hasn't been translated to English. He's got some wonderful books, really mindbending and thoughtprovoking.


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