(08-04-2024 02:07 PM)bullet Wrote: (08-04-2024 12:38 PM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote: Harlan Ellison was incredible. Any Asimov fans here?
Yes!
I was wondering if that was DaSaint's favorite ahead of Heinlein. I've done all the Foundation Series, think I've done all the Empire series, a good bit of the robot series and several of his non-sci-fi books. His "Chronicles of the World" is a really good "encyclopedia" of history if you are in to history. Have been thinking about re-reading the Foundation Series. I'm sure its been over 40 years since I read the first 4. I even read the 3 followup Foundation novels by other authors after he passed (they weren't that good). "Pebble in the Sky" I really enjoyed. Its kind of a "prelude" to the Empire series.
I really like Alfred Bester, but he only wrote two novels (the Stars my Destination and the Demolished Man), along with some short stories.
Asimov is 3rd on my list actually .. (probably cause I've never been able to find the full Foundation series of books).
#1 - Ray Bradbury , F451 (Still so pissed at HBO completely screwed that book over with their movie), Martian Chronicles,, Something Wicked this Way comes, I Sing The Body Electric, if it's between a Bradbury book and a Heinlein book, Bradbury wins but JUST barely. (See #2)
#2 - Heinlein (read ALMOST everything of his, including when I'd get my hands on 1950 sci-fi magazines - The Man Who Sold the Moon will always be my favorite short story of all time.)
#3 - Asimov (I REALLY need to finish off the Foundation series), and Isaac should never forgive Will Smith for that horrible thing call "I, Robot".
I get what the writers were trying to do.. there were two REALLY good short stories they wanted to mix, but had no clue how to do it. ("Little Lost Robot" and "The Evitable conflict', as well as mix in pieces of the other stories)
#4 - Someone else who should be thankful they never got their hands on his great Rama series was
Arthur C. Clarke
Although i think ACC was losing something when he got to the 4th book in the series. LIke he HAD to write a book on society, so it was.. There. But the first three in the Rama series... want a horror sci-fi story that scares you with almost "bare minimalism?" They do it... and they do it well
#5A/B - I will always love H.G. Wells Time Machine, but
Jules Verne did more for the Genre than HG Wells did (that's why Verne was the "grandfather of modern science-fiction, Wells was the father of modern science fiction), but I'm putting them together as 5a and 5b.
#6 - Philip K. Dick - Is there a sci-fi short story author that more people have come up with "long-lasting" movies.
#7 - Douglas Adams - Grab a towel together, shall we? (taken away far too soon!)
#8 - Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman - I don't think i could put one on this list without the other. Although you _could_ argue they're more fantasy than sci-fi, so this one might be a little blurry. (although, i will say Good Omens 2, i didn't really need the sexualization subplot betwen Crowley and Azirphale.)
#9 - George Orwell - Surprised that with my beliefs, Orwell falls this far down the list for me?
#10 - Michael Crichton - Come on? Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park (the good versions!), Coma, Westworld, Timeline (speaking of never letting someone touch his books again... thanks god! and I "liked" Timeline the movie).
(Somehow the ladies missed my top 10 list.. sorry Ursula,Mrs. Shelly)
