Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End

Was Vinge, Snow Queen. I have that - liked it when I read it a couple of decades ago. Never got round to reading the sequel.

 

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That's it. And then Summer Queen I think. Maybe even a third in that series too. Those were for the women, imo. Psion, Catspaw were for the men. That's kinda how I think of it.

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I've never quite been able to see those distinctions in my mind. I like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonworld series also. The same with so called chick flicks, which I also often enjoy. [I hope this doesn't mean Bhudda1 is right!!] I claim it just means I am a sensitive sort.

 

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No, I don't think Buddha1 is right about pretty much anything. That did kind of sound sexist of me, didn't it? It seemed to me that there were distinct differences, or maybe changes, in her writing style from Psion and Catspaw to the Snow Queen and the Summer Queen. I always wondered if she did that on purpose. You should try the former though. They are together in one book called Alien Blood.

P.S. I'm the sensitive sort too.

 

I didn't think it sounded sexist. There clearly are books directed towards men more than women, and vice versa. I have just never quite seen the distinction as being that important - far more important is the quality of the writing. I'll keep my eye open for Alien Blood.

I also hugely enjoyed Hubbard's Battlefield Earth. That guy knew how to spin a yarn. Pure space opera, but hugely entertaining. Travolta's film attempt was a travesty.

 

Yes, I loved Battlefield Earth too. In fact, I just re-read it a couple of months ago. That was one of those books you just couldn't put down. I agree too that the movie was pretty awful. How could anyone have okay'd it?

 

The problem was that Travolta as a scientologist with money was paying homage to his late leader. Who was going to say no?

 

Did Travolta direct or produce it though? Not much of an homage, if you ask me. Can we read into that?

 

He co-produced it.

 

Did you like Hubbard's Mission Earth dekalogy? Or Final Blackout?

 

I read some of Mission Earth. I don't believe it was written by Hubbard. He may have outlined the plot and written some of the passages, but the bulk of it was the work of a much less skilled hand. [I'll consider, then reject, the argument that senility was setting in.]

 

What? Have you actually read those books?

 

You may also enjoy "Songs of Distant Earth." That is very poignant as well.

 

Definitely a possibility that he didn't write them. They are quite a departure. I still haven't finished them all, but every few months I'll check another one out when I'm in the mood for it. Kind of boring. At least I know what I'm getting though.

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No, spuriousmonkey said they were crap. I haven't read them. Have you? What did you think?

I've heard of them, but I don't think I've read them. I'll put them on my list for next time I go to the library. Thanks.

 

I didn't think anyone still read anything but comics. Childhood's End is a classic.

Nooooooooo! Back in the day, Larry Niven and the Ringworld series were godlike. To those of us that were real scientist people anyways. Did you know some college students actually did the physics of the Ringworld and they figured out it was unstable? That is a real scientist.

Stephen.

And you like them. But you don't like Ringworld. See the picture?

 

Bova is a commercial writer. Someone who cranks out a pablum book to make the years bills. He has good ideas and good books. Not a lot of depth or startling ideas in them.

The Reality Dysfuncton started out as the first good science fiction book I had read in years. I literally can no longer buy science fiction because all the people they graduate from school now would rather party.

After the 3rd novel I think it was, it felt like he lost the book. Either that, or he had a contract with the publisher for a certain date and he had to rush the book out.

I really got turned off by all the brutality and torture. In the beginning it made the bad guys seem bad. After awhile, it was just reading sickness and depravity.

 

Books by a man named Michael Gear are fantastic from a sociology point of view. He is an archeologist I think. Some of his books are about primitive societies being repressed by dominant technological societies. A lot like the west dominating the 3rd world.

The Way of Spider is one of the series. He is good too because you get your money's worth out of the books. They are fat.


Another must read author is Julian May. She will teach you all about telepathy and assorted other mental powers. The best books to read would probably be the Many Colored Land Trilogy.

Misfits from the future go back in time for the simple life. Except there are telepathic etc aliens waiting for them that turn them into slaves. Some of the earth people discover they are telepathic and about 6 books detail the battle between the two groups.

Mrs May has detailed mental abilities in an organized and entertaining way. You don't have to believe they are real. You might keep in the back of your mind how she came up with the details of some of it if she is making it up.

Then you need to read the metaconcert series. It will tell you why no one talks about telepathy. Basically, the few people that have it will be attacked by the ones that don't

The exact same behavior found in this forums. People who say they believe in telepathy are attacked for it. You might read the Metaconcert books just to see what you look like in the mind of a telepath.

 

I liked the Mission Earth series, I think it'd make for a great TV series

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Yeah, it probably would. I like the series, but it doesn't inspire me.

 

I don't think it was meant to be inspiring

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