crp Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Ray Bradbury , R.I.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Sad! My all time favorite sci-fi/fantasy writer is no longer with us! I have posted it on two of my blogs: Rest in Peace: Ray Bradbury - MyPassionIsBooks.Wordpress.com and reprinted it on 5BuckReview.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 He wasn't my all time fav, but I did like him and his stories. While he may be gone, his work will live on for a long, long time, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 RIP Ray. I hope you find those golden apples of the sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I never would have thought he was my favorite of all time either Eric, but when i realized how many short stories were made into various thriller shows I love, as well as the books themselves that are fabulous imho, I had to admit, that he made such a huge impact on my growing up years that he is in fact my all time favorite author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Indeed, he was a very prolific writer. His output will give him immortality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I know that crp was referring to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke when he posted the title to this thread, but I'd have to add an H in there, too... for Heinlein. Maybe even an D for Dick (Philip K.). There are/were so many classic sci-fi authors... http://classics.jame...om/ByAuthor.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 You are so right! There are so many! And really if it weren't for the impact on my growing up years that Bradbury had, I would be hard pressed to even choose one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I know that crp was referring to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke when he posted the title to this thread, but I'd have to add an H in there, too... for Heinlein. Maybe even an D for Dick (Philip K.). There are/were so many classic sci-fi authors... And an S for Sturgeon, Theodore. More Than Human is an all-time favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 And an S for Sturgeon, Theodore. More Than Human is an all-time favourite. Never read any Sturgeon, but the one you mention is now on my list to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Roger, I started Sturgeon's More Than Human the other night. I believe it's going to be one of those that has a lasting effect on me. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll let you know what I think of it when I'm finished in a couple days or so. Anymore good recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Anymore good recommendations? Seeing as you asked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Your_Scattered_Bodies_Go To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) is a science fiction novel and the first book in the Riverworld series of books by Philip José Farmer. It won a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1972 at the 30th Worldcon.[1] The title is derived from the 7th of the "Holy Sonnets" by English poet John Donne: http://www.mervynpeake.org/gormenghast/clarice_cora.html Lady Clarice & Lady Cora Groan - Sisters of Sepulchrave -- So limp of brain that for them to conceive an idea is to risk a haemorrhage. So limp of body that their purple dresses appear no more indicative of housing nerves and sinews than when they hang suspended from their hooks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dancers_at_the_End_of_Time The inhabitants of this era are immortal decadents, who create flights of fancy using power rings which draw on energy devised and stored by their ancestors millions of years prior. Time travel is possible, and throughout the series various points in time are visited and revisited. Space travelers are also common, but most residents of the End of Time find leaving the planet distasteful and clichéd. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_of_Melnibon%C3%A9 Elric is described by his creator, in the first book, Elric of Melniboné, as follows: It is the colour of a bleached skull, his flesh; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white. From the tapering, beautiful head stare two slanting eyes, crimson and moody, and from the loose sleeves of his yellow gown emerge two slender hands, also the colour of bone.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Cornelius Jerry Cornelius, secret agent, superhero, adventurer, all things to all men (and women). A figure of almost complete anarchy. Typically destroys repressive authority. Later exposed as a false Harlequin, a tragic Pierrot at heart, or simply an adolescent fantasy. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Roger, I started Sturgeon's More Than Human the other night. I believe it's going to be one of those that has a lasting effect on me. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll let you know what I think of it when I'm finished in a couple days or so. Anymore good recommendations? I've been on a Terry Pratchett binge lately. The first 3 Discworld stories, only 36 to go 1 The Colour of Magic (1983) 2 The Light Fantastic (1986) 3 Equal Rites (1987) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 @ abarbarian... Read Farmer years and years ago. I'll check out the second on your list. Not familiar with that one. As for Moorcock, I read everything he's ever put on paper except the Jerry Cornelius series. I'll have to look for it in the library. I was a licensed firearms dealer/gunsmith (mostly to support my own hobby) many years ago. My biz name was "Stormbringer's Arms and Ammunition". @ Roger... Pratchett writes good stuff. I read the original Discworld eons ago. He's written tons of non-Discworld stuff. Thanks for reminding me of him. I'll have to snoop around at the library for some of his stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 @ abarbarian... Read Farmer years and years ago. I'll check out the second on your list. Not familiar with that one. As for Moorcock, I read everything he's ever put on paper except the Jerry Cornelius series. I'll have to look for it in the library. I was a licensed firearms dealer/gunsmith (mostly to support my own hobby) many years ago. My biz name was "Stormbringer's Arms and Ammunition". @ Roger... Pratchett writes good stuff. I read the original Discworld eons ago. He's written tons of non-Discworld stuff. Thanks for reminding me of him. I'll have to snoop around at the library for some of his stuff. Thought you might have read Farmer and Moorcock, Surprised you missed the Jerry Cornelius ones.Shocked that you have never heard of Titus Groan and Gormenghast shocked I say. Have the full 4 part BBC TV adaptation of Gormenghast, the original radio series from 1984 and the new Radio 4 Extra production. I remember reading the books in the late 70's and I think they have coloured my outlook on life ever since. Sunrat the BBC Radio 4 Extra have been dramatising some of TP's works lately and they are very well done. I have three of them if I remember rightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 It looks interesting... https://en.wikipedia...s_Groan_(novel) Kinda' like a twisted horror/fantasy version of Downton Abbey, eh? Speaking of Elric... If I remember correctly, I gave all my Elric Saga hard cover books to Josh a year or so ago. I wonder if her read any of them. Great stuff. Elric is the classic anti-hero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Sunrat the BBC Radio 4 Extra have been dramatising some of TP's works lately and they are very well done. I have three of them if I remember rightly. I saw the two part Going Postal on TV recently. Very Good. Hopefully we get more Pratchett on TV soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluttermagnet Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I know that crp was referring to Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke when he posted the title to this thread, but I'd have to add an H in there, too... for Heinlein. Maybe even an D for Dick (Philip K.). There are/were so many classic sci-fi authors... http://classics.jame...om/ByAuthor.php Hear, hear, Eric- couldn't agree more. May also be several others who deserve mention. SF has been a very prolific field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I am not sure I would agree that science or tech would have to be used to solve the problem in order to classify the work as sci-fi. I think great sci fi leads us back to humanity and our common condition. It draws on our strengths as a community to help solve the problem, and tech will be a part of it. I just don't think it *has* to be a tech solution. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 But you said tech would be needed to solve the crisis. I don't think tech needs to be part of the solution to make it scifi. The resolution can be, and in some cases is very low tech. Example: the Firefly series. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Firefly was definitely scifi. And the solution included tech, but wasn't tech only for sure. As it is with many scifi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Firefly was a western that took place in space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 true. some resolutions to star trek (original show) were no-tech - example: the corbomite maneuver where kirk's resolution was a bluff. TOS was in some ways more sci-fi than TNG and DS9 (please don't tell me it should be DSN) due to lower budgets and makeup capabilities. The writers were also paying attention to the movements in science thought. I still get a chuckle out of people complaining that the writers got it wrong in calling an energy sucker a 'black star' instead of a 'black hole' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I would tend to agree with the statement, only because I believe that sci fi should *not* rely on a tech solution to solve a human problem. TOS was pretty good at it. DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise tended to favor the tech solution. I think the stories in TOS were much deeper and though provoking. My wife and I literally just finished watching Voyager today by watching the final episode, Endgame. In reality, the episode focused on wrapping up a few interpersonal relationships, the almost complete destruction of the Borg, and the return of Voyager to Earth. All in all, a very dissatisfying conclusion to the series. Voyager did hit some interesting stories during its run, but I think TOS was light years ahead in that respect. Even DS9 had some great stuff. It looked like Voyager focused on tech and the bigger guns at times. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Have to say Enterprise I liked too. I liked every Star Trek franchise. Even ones that others didn't like. LOL! And they were all scifi. Firefly was a scifi western. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Firefly was an absolutely outstanding series! I have the DVD collection + the full length movie. It was short-lived because FOX was stupid and it's always about ratings/advert $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 And an S for Sturgeon, Theodore. More Than Human is an all-time favourite. Roger, More Than Human was excellent. I just finished it. I have a couple more Sturgeons on my book list at the local library, too. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Roger, More Than Human was excellent. I just finished it. I have a couple more Sturgeons on my book list at the local library, too. Thanks! You're malcome. (2 internets prize if you can name that reference). I must read More Than Human again soon. I think I only read it 3 times. Firefly was great. River Tam is one of my favourite characters whose development through the series was inspired writing. The movie was called Serenity btw. I also liked Farscape although it was a bit more cheesy. The living ship idea was unique, especially when it had offspring. It was produced in Australia by the Jim Henson company (you know...Muppets). Claudia Black was great as Aeryn Sun, the defected Peacekeeper. She's an Aussie too, and later appeared in the movie Pitch Black, and Stargate. Some of the SF comedies were good too. Red Dwarf in particular, and Quark, about a deadbeat intergalactic garbage collection ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross549 Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 ah, and ds9, the shopping mall in space. i missed 75% of that show, but did love the little multi-photon tubed warship that the station master got to go to war in. I really think DS9 got a "bad rap" by the fans. it was an outstanding series with deep story lines (much more so than Voyager) and compelling characters. Once they got into a rhythm, it was hard to beat. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Not sure of that reference, Roger. Search was no help either. Yes, More Than Human is one of those books that requires a second or third pass through to really get it all. I fell in love with all the ladies on Firefly. My favorite character, though, was "a man called Jayne". http://youtu.be/vEIDvgapTw8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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