Recently I re-read the book "The Invincible" by Stanisław Lem. I also discovered some illustrations by Russian artist (it doesn't seem that Lem is very popular in the West).
I think Solaris is very popular in the west, but beyond that I think your right about Stanisław Lem.
A few all time favorites: Foundation- Issac Asimov We -Yevgeny Zamiatin Star Maker -Olaf Stapledon Earth Abides -George Stewart Randezvous with Rama -Arthur C Clarke The Fountains of Paradise -Arthur C Clarke The Neuromancer -William Gibson Queen of Angels -Greg Bear The Space Merchants -Fredrick Pohl, C.M. Kornbluth Tiger Tiger -Alfred Bester The Sirens of Titan -Kurt Vonnegut Solaris -Stanislaw Lem (of course) Martian Timeslip -Phillip K. Dick The Dispossessed -Ursula Le Guin The Einstein Intersection -Samuel R. Delany The Forever War -Joe Hadleman The Past Through Tomorrow- Robert Heinlein Red Mars -Kim Stanley Robinson The Jesus Incident -Frank Herbert Stations of the Tide -Michael Swanwick Hyperion -Dan Simmons A Fire Upon the Deep -Vernor Vinge Excession -Iain Banks Startide Rising -David Brin Singularity Sky -Charles Stross River of Gods - Ian McDonald The Mote in God's Eye -Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Permanence -Karl Schroeder Lord of Light -Roger Zelazny Blind Lake -Robert Charles Wilson Gateway -Fredrick Pohl The Diamond Age -Neal Stephenson The World of Null-A -A. E. van Vogt Cosmonaut Keep -Ken McLeod
Sci-fi that I enjoyed recently: Blindsight -Peter Watts Galileo's Dream -Kim Stanley Robinson
I've read alot of sci-fi over the years, both hard sci-fi and science-fantasy:) My recent trend has been towards 1940-1950's American sci-fi. Modern American, Canadian and British sci-fi seems obsessed with dystopias and zombie apocalypses, it makes me yearn for the optimistic sci-fi of the 'golden age' where mankind uses technology to solve its problems and push out to the stars. Heady stuff; the literature of every decade is different, deals with different themes, and is imbued with its own particular zeitgeist, but I hope to see more optimistic hard sci-fi in the contemporary genre.
Edited by architeuthis - Friday, 05.10.2012, 22:29
I didn't think that it was that bad, but it certainly wasn't as good as the books written by Adams. You can really see Eoin Colfers style of writing, if you have read his other books.
You can really see Eoin Colfers style of writing, if you have read his other books.
I read Artemis Fowl a while back and that was alright. However many of his writing quirks did "leak" through into Hitchhikers Guide. Also I am biased as I really liked the ending of the 5th book, even though Douglas Adams had already started on a 6th book.
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Most Michael Crichton is a favorite and the Odyssey series. I'm reading a book called Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven and it's pretty good so far.
I'm not sure if this counts as science fiction, but George Orwell's '1984' is a good book. It makes you think about today with a whole new perspective.
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