Sci-Fi General

[Anonymous No.3816883]

Science Fiction General thread (Disclaimer: if you don't like Sci-Fi, don't post. This limits the Sci-Fi to one location and doesn't pollute the board with multiple threads.)

What is is about older science fiction that feels so right? Niven, Hineline, Clark. When I read 'classic' Science fiction it feels like a question I didn't even know I asked was answered or made more clear. Modern Sci-Fi feels bogged down in personal BS and world building nonsens that feels mastabitory.

List some classics you like, or newer stories you feel fit the bill.

[Anonymous No.3816925]

[Anonymous No.3816923]

In 1000 years, will all of our current science fiction just be... Fiction?

[Anonymous No.3816928]

>>3816923
no

[Anonymous No.3816935]

>>3816923

Reading stuff from the 1900s or 20 i'm pretty surprised at how forward thinking some of the authors were. Obviously some of the science does't hold up, but overall it show good vision. Some are down right eerie and how close they got.

[Anonymous No.3816938]

>>3816928
Well sci-fi is classified as it is because it is fiction, and there is science in it that is unrealistic or has yet to be developed. If the science was developed, it would no longer fit in this category.

[Anonymous No.3816955]

[Anonymous No.3816958]

>>3816955
omg that was such a cool movie

[Anonymous No.3816962]

>>3816958
It was a movie that FELT like a Sci-Fi book. Had a singular message or goal and didn't muck it up with a bunch of bull.

[Anonymous No.3816979]

>>3816883
first of all, stop calling it sci-fi. If you must abbreviate, call it "sf."
on the note of sounding like a complete pretentious asshole, the film "sleep dealers" from a few years ago is great. like a lot of these things, dialogue and story kind of suck at times, but the premise is awesome

[Anonymous No.3816980]

[Anonymous No.3816999]

Anyone got suggestions for crews or people with ill fated discoveries like in Alien?

[Anonymous No.3817009]

[Anonymous No.3817015]

>>3816999
Hyperion

[Anonymous No.3817017]

>>3817015
I've read the Terror by Dan Simmons, but seen some nasty reviews for that one. Is it really worth the read?

[Anonymous No.3817019]

I just bought and read Poor Man's Fight by Elliot Kay.

It's one of those self-published "amateur" novels on kindle/amazon.

Pretty good read and the main character is rather likeable. Picked up a Starship Troopers vibe, but its to be expected.

Not 10/10, but more than decent.

[Anonymous No.3817025]

>>3817017
It won the fucking hugo the year it was released.

Just read it goddamn. Fuck the haters.

[Anonymous No.3817027]

>>3817025
Yeah, but Neil Gaiman won a hugo, and he's a tool.

[Anonymous No.3817033]

>>3817027
Do you actually enjoy reading? Because from your posts it only seems like you read what others around you consider good.

Form your own opinion. Read the book, its good.

If you still refuse...

read Blindsight. Pretty much Hard SF Alien, he has footnotes at the end of the book that explain theories/discoveries that tie into all of the science presented.

Here is the book for free.

http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm

[Anonymous No.3817048]

>>3817017
>>3817025

I'm reading it now, about ten chapters in. It's kinda pulpy and because there are a hundred characters there is metric shit-tonnes of exposition, but I like the premise and I'll keep going.

It's kinda like The Thing crossed with Wolf Hall but not as good as that sounds.

[Anonymous No.3817051]

>>3817033
I enjoy reading. I read Ringworld, Starship Troopers, 2001, and A princess of Mars of my own volition and no prompting.

I liked the Terror which puts a positive spin on Dan Simmons for me. But from the reviews and synopsis of the books I'm a bit wary that its going to turn more fantasy than SF.

[Anonymous No.3817079]

>>3817033

>Blindsight

Got through the first few pages, and just couldn't do it. For me it reads like a 10th graders fanfic. Not trying to make you mad, but not something I could get past.

[Anonymous No.3817098]

>>3816923
French Toast will just be toast

[Anonymous No.3817100]

>>3816999
Unto Leviathan

[Anonymous No.3817106]

>>3817100
>Unto Leviathan

I've heard of this book. I'll have to see if I can snag a copy.

[Anonymous No.3817130]

>>3817100
>Unto Leviathan

Not to /r/ but anyone know where to get an audiobook torrent of this bitch? I art while I listen to books.

[Anonymous No.3817132]

The Faded Sun

C. J. Cherryh

[Anonymous No.3817167]

>>3816938
It's science fiction because the science or technology was unrealistic/undeveloped at the time. We have telescreens and robots now, but that doesn't make books that were science fiction for those reasons any less science fiction today. That's my view of it, anyway.
Older books that are considered hard SF didn't stop being considered so when scientific advancements made it clear that the concepts they relied so heavily on weren't actually possible.

That said, I'm on the cusp of finishing Asimov's Robot series after reading through the Foundation series and I'm moving to Heinlein, having already read Stranger in a Strange Land.
I've read a bit of Clarke, mostly his bigger titles, and having finished Rendezvous with Rama, I'm wondering if the other books wrote by Geddy Lee are worth my time if I loved the first one for its heavy focus on the scientific aspects of the cylinder itself.

[Anonymous No.3817198]

[Anonymous No.3817205]

>>3816938
speculative fiction that correctly predicts future developments is still science fiction, even after reality catches up

[Anonymous No.3817218]

are there any books that address the origins of life in SF?

[Anonymous No.3817225]

>>3817167
yess..another asimov guy. i've finished all of foundation and am on the three subsequent books later released by different authors to fill in some of the hazy years of asimov's original storyline. i've stolen glimpses of bits and pieces of the robot novels but have been forcing myself to save them for last. this storyline has let fly my interest in artificial consciousness to unhealthy heights. olivaw might just be my favorite literary character.

[Anonymous No.3817227]

>>3816883
>What is is about older science fiction that feels so right? Niven, Hineline, Clark.
1/10

Crawl back to whatever you crawled out of. Let's keep this board clean and troll-free.

[Anonymous No.3817235]

>>3817227
>27 posts of civil conversation.
>doesn't read disclaimer
>First asshole in thread.

2/10 for making me respond. Goodnight.

[Anonymous No.3817238]

>>3817225
I started into the foundation series but it just comes off as so dry. Does it get better as it goes or am I going to be picking out sand the rest of my read?

[Anonymous No.3817246]

>>3817218
Starmaker - Olaf Stapledon

[Anonymous No.3817250]

>>3817225
I love the progresion of Olivaw's relationship with Bailey throughout the novels, and Olivaw's progression as a whole. Agree wholeheartedly, definitely a fantastic character.

[Anonymous No.3817255]

>>3817235
I like sci-fi, I do. But I won't reply seriously to a guy whose favorite author is 'Hineline' and who doesn't like 'mastabitory nonsens'.

[Anonymous No.3817256]

>>3816883
Honestly fuck >>3817227, your post sums up how I feel about Sci Fi better than I ever could.

[Anonymous No.3817257]

>>3817235
He might have gotten suspicious because of the spelling of the authors' names. Intended troll thread or no, like I give a fuck. I just want to talk about science fiction.

[Anonymous No.3817261]

>>3817257
I knew I spelled them wrong. Was too lazy to look up the correct spellings and took nearly 30 posts for anyone to bitch.

But you're right, back to Sci-Fi.

[Anonymous No.3817265]

>>3817261
What would you recommend from Heinlein? I've read Stranger in a Strange Land and I intend to read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Revolt in 2100, and Methuselah's Children.

[Anonymous No.3817268]

>>3817265
The moon is a harsh mistress

and Starship Troopers.

[Anonymous No.3817270]

>>3816958

And what movie is that?

[Anonymous No.3817271]

>>3817270

Sunshine

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[Anonymous No.3817278]

Aside from colonization and mining, what other benifits would space faring do you?

[Anonymous No.3817279]

[Anonymous No.3817281]

>>3817278
Culturally, it would drive change and progress in a society that at that point(where space colonization is a reasonable option) probably has everything conquered to the point of stagnation.

[Anonymous No.3817282]

>>3817281
I'm sure ancient egypt would say the same of us.

[Anonymous No.3817320]

>>3817278
How about securing the survival of the human race?

[Anonymous No.3817335]

>>3817278
You can't find new bitches to fuck in space, but otherwise space travel, exploration and colonization is exactly like any other kind of those three.

[Anonymous No.3817341]

I... I so, so wish there was a sci-fi book that was also a good novel. With actual characters, nicely plotted, well-written, not not hiding behind the pathetic "idea first" pretense. For god's sake, why can't this happen?

[Anonymous No.3817556]

>>3817238
depends, anon. the author's taken on the work of cohesively populating and directing characters and events through an incredible timespan. leaves him with odds fairly well stacked against his having an easy time of smoothing the way for the reader's sense of natural progression.
the normal convention in any sort of story or character-driven work is for the characters to mature in synch with the filling out of an overarching event, all growing on the reader as a whole in this way, and pulling them further into the setting.
whereas asimov had to set entirely separate worlds, cultures, characters, and political/technological backdrops into play to accurately bring off the interesting conclusion he reaches in determining the ideal course of being for the future of the species.
so while the events which are most closely tied to the ideas he is exploring are taking place, we have the opportunity for more of that conventional thrill of experiencing growing events as we ourselves might--namely through the experiences of a consistent character: time slows to a more comfortable rate at the beginning and end of the series as events must be set up then satisfactorily concluded. (at these nodes we stick for a book or two to following on the coat tails of a single character and their personal micro-universe as they act inside the overlying plot.) but in between we must experience some leaping between entirely different POV's so as to give us that underlying feeling that the course of events has been unravelled believably.
so here i'd kind of make allowances that the 'dryness' (or yeah) is necessary to some extent in telling this story, since in offering the reader a few examples of key events (the two foundations' struggle for survival,) which moved to furnish the great block of time [that must be leapt in the intervening years between the seeding and the reaping of the question of humanity's future,]

[Anonymous No.3817575]

>>3817335
>can't find new bitches
No blue-skinned, three-breasted females from a culture ignoring the concept of clothing?
Fuck this gay space.

[fembot No.3817585]

>>3817238
depends, anon. the author's taken on the work of cohesively populating and directing characters and events through an incredible timespan. leaves him with odds fairly well stacked against his having an easy time of smoothing the way for the reader's sense of natural progression.
the normal convention in any sort of story or character-driven work is for the characters to mature in synch with the filling out of an overarching event, all growing on the reader as a whole in this way, and pulling them further into the setting.
whereas asimov had to set entirely separate worlds, cultures, characters, and political/technological backdrops into play to accurately bring off the interesting conclusion he reaches in determining the ideal course of being for the future of the species.
so while the events which are most closely tied to the ideas he is exploring are taking place, we have the opportunity for more of that conventional thrill of experiencing growing events as we ourselves might--namely through the experiences of a consistent character: time slows to a more comfortable rate at the beginning and end of the series as events must be set up then satisfactorily concluded. (at these nodes we stick for a book or two to following on the coat tails of a single character and their personal micro-universe as they act inside the overlying plot.) but in between we must experience some leaping between entirely different POV's so as to give us that underlying feeling that the course of events has been unravelled believably.
so here i'd kind of make allowances that the 'dryness' (or yeah) is necessary to some extent in telling this story, since in offering the reader a few examples of key events (the two foundations' struggle for survival,) which moved to furnish the great block of time [that must be leapt in the intervening years between the seeding and the reaping of the question of humanity's future,]

[fembot No.3817591]

>>3817585
we must touch down at relatively evenly spaced points every century or so so as not to completely lose touch with the explanation of how it was possible to spool events from point A to reach point B, so can't be afforded a leisured buildup of a constant character set in an independently steady setting.
mainly, if the concept of our far-flung future is not of as much interest to you as other reads might be, or you are reading for entertainment or just enjoy a certain authorial voice or prose that you're not seeing, these books might not be for you. but if you are interested in the concepts asimov's playing with and the conclusions he's searching for, it is well worth any negative aspects to move for the end, because he wonderfully uses the logically plumbed sum of events and character dialogue presented to lay the groundwork for a roundly represented grand idea [of what might most practically equate to the idealization of humanity.]
to ravel out a story is one thing. but it's quite another to anchor a question [best future course?] then set it rolling for labyrinthine millennia to find the yarn's never faltered in it's leading you back with an interesting answer.
appreciate the ask, anon

[Anonymous No.3817607]

>>3817130
Just as the Space Race was the catalyst for growth in 60's, something like a manned mission to Mars would do the same thing.
People assume that NASA is just a cash drain, but it has a 700% profit margin.
Tl;dr Big Goals = Big Growth

But, don't trust me. Just read the Pale Blue Dot. Basically, to decentralize humanity is to increase its chances of long-term survival and its resistance to existential threats.

[fembot No.3817623]

>>3817250
this was a very happy read
thanks, anon
caused a search for an olivaw scribble, then a general throwing together some of my foundation doodles
[attached thing]
cheers 250

[Anonymous No.3817640]

>>3816962

>didn't muck it up with a bunch of bull.

Did you watch the second half of the film where it turned into a mindless slasher film?

[Anonymous No.3817664]

>>3817341

I suppose most people read science-fiction novels for the ideas and the world presented, not for the characters and their relationships. If you want something like that you could always read some cannonised classic in English literature.

[Anonymous No.3817670]

Are there any good science-fiction novels besides This Immortal which deal with the theme of human immortality /lit/?

[Anonymous No.3817710]

>>3816962

this movie was also the tale of one man's journey to meet God. every character is a different personality trait.

[Anonymous No.3817715]

>>3817664
Obviously.

But, as I said, I WISH there was a sci-fi novel that was also good literature.

[Anonymous No.3817729]

>>3817715
Martian Chronicles, Slaughterhouse Five, Man Who Fell To Earth, Looking Backward, The Time Machine, Watch the North Wind Rise

[Anonymous No.3818429]

>>3817640

Aside from the symbolic meaning, its pretty likely for a human to lose their shit and just start killing people when confronted with the psychological issues of being near a planetary body that large. Even 2001 brought that up when they passed jupiter.

[Anonymous No.3818442]

>>3818429
Why the fuck?

[Anonymous No.3818455]

>>3818442
Because every time in the past when faced with something novel or beyond their understanding, every human has gone mad.
Just this morning I woke up and there was a missed call from a number I didn't recognise, straight away I just lost my mind and that's why I'm typing this in an asylum.

[Anonymous No.3818465]

>>3818442

People experience a personal high when confronted by large things. Mountains, Art, Buildings. Its only after years of exposure that people are able to cope with such things. Even as children most of us have issues confronting open sky. Scale is indeed a danger to the human psyche.

They never said the other crew was killed by the man wandering around. So we could throw in that he might have snapped when they torched themselves.

[Anonymous No.3818479]

>>3818465
Utter bollocks.

[Anonymous No.3818481]

Martian Chronicles.

I don't think that older sci-fi is necessarily better; I think people have just forgotten the old garbage and kept the good stuff. Good sci-fi can deal with important themes in a way that other more "realistic" works can't, but bad sci-fi quickly turns into gratuitous space battles and silly aliens.

[Anonymous No.3818484]

The Foundation Series.

The Door Into Summer.

Double Star.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Dune (the books get progressively worse after the original).

Ender's Game (you can read the book and then watch the movie when it comes out this year, the books get worse after the original)

[Anonymous No.3818496]

>>3818465

They were clearly killed by that one man. The cause for their deaths does not change the fact that the change in tone in Sunshine ruined the film.

[Anonymous No.3818501]

>>3818481
I'll disagree after my expirence with the Oxford Book of Science Fiction Short Stories.

It starts with an H.G. Wells from 1906 and goes to David Brin 1992.

Each story has a date and its pretty clear around the end of the 70s Sci-Fi started dealing with 'humanities' or personal growth shit more than science. Sure these stories are the best of almost 100 years but it clearly shows the shift in focus being more about the feels than any of the larger questions.

[Anonymous No.3818504]

>>3818455
Great. Now that you've brought something novel to >>3818442, he will go mad and go on a killing spree.
Tell me where you are so I can call the police and have you prosecuted for murder.

[Anonymous No.3818517]

>>3818496
Prove it. Prove that the people all huddle in the same bench looking toward the sun were killed by the same person. Four or five people over powered and just sat there waiting to be killed by a single person in the same room...

The exposition of a man tryng to kill the crew is clearly meant to show man being his own worst enemy. Otherwise its a pretty uneventful truck up to sun to dump the payload. Or something lame and impossible like an asteroid. I say impossible because how would any observatory miss a solid body passing in front of the sun?

[Anonymous No.3818519]

Alright, it's a common idea that humanity should expand to prevent the extinction of itself. But is there SF that forms its basic idea around that we'd never be able to transcend that motive (as we'd grow more destructive at least at the same rate as we expand or whatever)? Hyperion kind of touches on that with the modern world and way of life fragmenting as the Web gets destroyed, but is there anything that focuses on topic a bit more?

[Anonymous No.3818539]

>>3818517

I was referring to the crew on the Icarus II.

[Anonymous No.3818550]

>>3818539

So you pointed out the obvious and what happens in the movie... when I was talking about how the guy who goes around crispy kills because he might have seen his own crew self immolate?

I just don't even have the patience to berate you.

[Anonymous No.3818574]

>>3816935
>Some are down right eerie

I don't find it particularly creepy, rather it shows just how pragmatic and predictable technology can be.

It's the speed of which technology advances that impresses me more.

From planes to landing on the moon within a lifetime.

[Anonymous No.3818672]

>>3818484
>Dune (the books get progressively worse after the original).

I remember reading a humongous Dune thread right around I've started reading it and general consensus was that the third book (God-Emperor of Dune) was a masterpiece and best in the series. Why do you disagree?

It was also said that the second one was somewhat cumbersome to get through though.

[Anonymous No.3818690]

>>3818519
So you want to read a sci-fi book that deals with humanity post-expansion? Since you've read Hyperion, maybe the logical course would be something akin to cyberpuke-astrofarer-transhumanism so we can forever dwell among the stars as glorious beep beep signals? Or as long as the equipment sustaining those mind echoes can last.

Such literature could then deal with psychology of ex corpore minds, unfettered by biological shackles, or how such unburdened psyches develop or dismantle. I have no examples to offer.

Maybe Vanamond in Clarke's The City and the Stars?

[Anonymous No.3818707]

>>3818672
I don't remember. I read it when I was in college. I'm near 30 right now.

[Anonymous No.3818754]

>>3818574
>From planes to landing on the moon within a lifetime.
And now we're a generation and a bit after that, now what?

[Anonymous No.3818930]

>>3818519
sounds like Foundation, in a nutshell.
(hyperion was wonderful.)

[Anonymous No.3819363]

>>3818574
> predictable
> technology

yeah, right. there was exactly ONE sf writer who predicted the web, and he didn't even call it that.

Frederic Brown, "A Logic Called Joe"

[Anonymous No.3819746]

>>3819363
John M. Ford. Web of Angels, 1978. called his systems virtual, predicted laptops, hackers,nodes, ports, etc. Read it.