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Originally Posted by GravitySlips
sounds rad! I'm looking for some science fiction books beyond Gibson/PKD, any recommendations?
I have exams coming up, so I'm mostly reading stuff for that...Descartes' Meditations right now for example.
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Well, there are tons to be found on
the SF message board I admin (my name over there is ljim2000 from an old email address) particularly in the
Author Central forum (there's actually an alphabetical
index of the author threads there).
Off the top of my head:
if you like both Gibson and Dick you really ought to check out
Pat Cadigan who is very influenced by both but with her own voice.
For anyone who is interested in checking out the best of current contemporary SF, I always direct them to
Alastair Reynolds, who just fucking rules.
I am a huge fan of the science fiction books by
C.J. Cherryh, in particular Downbelow Station, Cyteen, and the other Alliance/Union books which are mostly classic space opera.
I'm also pretty big on
David Brin mostly for the "Uplift" series (especially the first two Sundiver and Startide Rising) but also Kiln People which isn't space opera like those at all but a very weird detective novel in a future where people can replicate themselves in temporary bodies.
In terms of really classic books that stand the test of time remarkably well,
Stanislaw Lem's Solaris is much, much better than either of the film adaptations.
Finally (in terms of the "off the top of my head list...") the late
Octavia Butler wrote some of the best dystopian/apocolyptic future stuff I've ever read in Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talent. I really wish I didn't see the world laid out in those books starting to happen for real right now.