tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post4056299691518394799..comments2023-12-05T07:50:19.855-05:00Comments on No Oil for Pacifists: SF Top 36@nooil4pacifistshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16688417615117569825noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-42567965291377933912010-06-02T12:59:36.776-04:002010-06-02T12:59:36.776-04:00good point, thanks.good point, thanks.Hatless in Hattiesburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17530195543212037359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-83216477978288871502010-06-01T17:44:51.080-04:002010-06-01T17:44:51.080-04:00H_in_H: Speaker for the Dead is the exception to ...H_in_H: Speaker for the Dead is the exception to that rule. While Ender's Game is good, it was not yet the product of a mature writer, and the target audience is a bit young. It's similar to Heinlein's "juveniles" (some of which are on my list). Speaker represents a more confident writer, and the book tackles "the human condition" in a way that Ender's Game doesn't even try. The sequel-to-the-sequel, Xenocide, is nowhere near as good, nor are the follow-ons to that book.@nooil4pacifistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688417615117569825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-29452301815803817172010-06-01T16:54:36.486-04:002010-06-01T16:54:36.486-04:00i'm not near the sci-fi fan i sued to be, but ...i'm not near the sci-fi fan i sued to be, but i'm curious as to why you rated "speaker for the dead" over "ender's game".<br /><br />sequels are seldom better than the first story - as anybody who has read any sequel to "dune" should know :)Hatless in Hattiesburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17530195543212037359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-4321206864931409662010-05-31T21:04:52.532-04:002010-05-31T21:04:52.532-04:00If you add a "series" section, be sure t...If you add a "series" section, be sure to include the Stainless Steel Rat series.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-60123504817190452342010-05-31T17:56:18.298-04:002010-05-31T17:56:18.298-04:00GB, I haven't read Weber, so I ordered the boo...GB, I haven't read Weber, so I ordered the book you mentioned (I'm heading out of town tomorrow, so can't start yet--it's not available as a B&N eBook).<br /><br />hinkclan & AVI: In 5th Grade, I protested book report assignments by refusing to read. My teacher assigned me Heinlein's "If This Goes On." It turned me into a reader for life--and, for all I know, launched the though that 15 years later made me a conservative.@nooil4pacifistshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16688417615117569825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-21920531310298260542010-05-31T17:05:18.282-04:002010-05-31T17:05:18.282-04:00Hinkclan - we've got an 8th-grader who we have...Hinkclan - we've got an 8th-grader who we have been trying to find a reading niche for (he's a nephew we inherited last year - that didn't happen with the two we brought up from birth). He's also a default liberal, on account of needing to be coolest and retro, and because his parents have tended to be spongers. Thanks for the thought. Maybe we'll get two birds with one stone here.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-78984729969957789632010-05-31T13:07:56.809-04:002010-05-31T13:07:56.809-04:00Robert Heinlein should be required reading for eve...Robert Heinlein should be required reading for every high school student. <br /><br />His views on what makes a free citizen and a useful adult have guided my life since I read him in 7th grade. <br /><br />"Starship Troopers" made me join the US Army Paratroopers, best thing I ever did. Taught me more about myself than anything I've ever done.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02584147075808002424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-19414588844568905822010-05-31T10:29:14.875-04:002010-05-31T10:29:14.875-04:00> 4. All Us Zombies, Robert Heinlein
Ummm, tha...> 4. All Us Zombies, Robert Heinlein<br /><br />Ummm, that's "All <i>You</i> Zombies".<br /><br />;-)<br /><br />Geoffrey, I like Weber when he's colluding with someone (S.M Stirling, for example) but it seems like every single solo novel of his I start I wind up putting down after 30-50 pages an never picking back up (very unusual for me).<br /><br />I haven't read the HH books, so they may be an exception, I can't say. But somehow he manages to bore me when he's writing by himself. Nothing I can say I <i>dislike</i> -- just <b>boredom</b>.<br /><br />On the overall topic, I've read so much that it would be almost impossible for me to narrow it down to such a small selection. But I concur with many, if not all, of the items on this list being worthy of consideration.<br /><br />I always like RAH's "Gulf", mayself, for the short/novella category<br /><br />You also need a "series" list ("future histories" excluded) -- S.M. Stirlings' <i>Nantucket</i> ("Island In The Sea Of Time", etc) and/or <i>Draka</i> series, David Gerrolds' unfinished <i>War Against the Chtorr</i>, and EE "Doc" Smith's <i>Lensman</i> and/or <i>Skylark</i> series come to mind as candidates here, as does (Geoffrey will be pleased) The Stirling/Weber collusion "The General".OBloodyHellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09992539380115488567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-68817158277967581922010-05-30T22:10:45.065-04:002010-05-30T22:10:45.065-04:00Any list that omits David Weber's Honor Harrin...Any list that omits David Weber's Honor Harrington novels is incomplete. Judge for yourself;<br /><a href="http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743435710/0743435710.htm" rel="nofollow">On Basilisk Station</a>Geoffrey Britainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01663224962346593872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-49570885891129381622010-05-30T21:41:39.984-04:002010-05-30T21:41:39.984-04:00There's a lot of overlap with this series http...There's a lot of overlap with this series http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Vol/dp/0380512017/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275269960&sr=8-6, so I'm guessing Ben Bova and Robert Silverberg agree with you. That's pretty good company.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6427940.post-9388047960588435792010-05-29T16:27:10.030-04:002010-05-29T16:27:10.030-04:00Add "Stranger in a Strange Land" to it a...Add "Stranger in a Strange Land" to it and I'll love it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com