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    By: smax This person is cool! x Show Full Post
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    I didn't want to hijack eldersveld's so I'll start this one.

    Favorite sci-fi writers, current ranking:

    1. Alistair Reynolds - best writer of the decade. so prolific too.
    2. Vernor Vinge (he needs to write more stuff )
    3. Iain M Banks
    4. Richard K. Morgan (although apparently he writes homoerotic fantasy now?)
    5. Greg Bear

    special mention for Larry Niven and William Gibson though their stuff feels terribly dated and 80s now.
    Nov 02, 2010 6:10pm PDT
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    I didn't want to hijack eldersveld's so I'll start this one. Favorite sci-fi writers, current ranking... : smaxThis person is cool!

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      Agree on your 1st choice. : terath
      • i second this agreement, amazing writer : Dravenport
      • oh wtf ... Revelation Space isn't available on Kindle? fail ... : homeboyJimThis person is cool!
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      I'm enjoying this book Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton. The shack recommended him. It was really slow... : GoncynThis person is cool!
      • also I should probably read more of Alistair Reynolds's books. I read his first one. It was good, but I f... : GoncynThis person is cool!
      • I really liked Fallen Dragon. : MacemanInTW
      • Wait until you get through that and Judas Star and into the next Commonwealth trilogy. I think his writin... : EruditeCaveman
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        wait till you read the rest of them in that universe... damn good stuff.... i started reading his other u... : ssj4megamanThis person is cool!
        • yes! The Night's Dawn trilogy is some good shit. : thechunder
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      richard k morgan is now writing for video games so yes, homoerotic fantasty : spiderfill
      • lead writer for Crysis 2?? I didn't know that. :D now i'm even more pumped for that : smaxThis person is cool!
    • John Ringo David Weber Eric Flint Tad Williams C.S. Freidman : YerMothah
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      Ian MacDonald, hands down. Brasyl, River of Gods, and The Dervish House are three of my favourite books,... : duffman03
      • McDonald I mean. Fuck. : duffman03
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        Holy shit, have you read Terminal Cafe? It's fucking AWESOME. : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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          I haven't, but I've liked every McDonald book so far, I'm sure it's going to be awesome. Lucky for me Am... : duffman03
          • I love that book. I think of it every Nov 1'st for reasons in the book :) : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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      Has Vernor Vinge announced anything new? I have no idea how I'd rank my favourite sci-fi authors, but he... : gigaduck
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        A sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep is within a few months : smaxThis person is cool!
        • *expected : smaxThis person is cool!
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          That's awesome! I'll have to re-read it though because all I remember are the awesome aliens, not what w... : gigaduck
          • lol me too. Awesome aliens were indeed awesome though! : bolange
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      Neal Stephenson is my favorite; no idea who else I would rank up there. : sgtsanity
      • fuck i can't believe i forgot about NS. Anathem was my favorite book of the decade. : smaxThis person is cool!
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        I've never read any of his books. Where to start? : Dave-A
        • Snow Crash!! : smaxThis person is cool!
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          Snow Crash was his first one, and is pretty hilarious as an over-the-top version of cyberpunk that simult : sgtsanity
          • Thanks, good sir. I will indeed pick up the cryptonomiconadingdong. : Dave-A
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            Snow Crash isn't the best piece of literature ever, but it is definitely one of the most "fun" books I've... : smaxThis person is cool!
            • Yea. It's so crazy. The beginning will always be laughter inducing for me, when somebody brings it up,... : famine101
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          start and end with Cryptonomicon. : DonkeyPopsicleThis person is cool!
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            do not end there. The Baroque Cycle trilogy and Anathem were great. I particularly liked Anathem. I read... : Cheeziologist
            • I quite reading The Baroque Cycle partway through the second books because Eliza is obnoxious and insuffe... : DonkeyPopsicleThis person is cool!
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              The Baroque Cycle is great, but getting through it is a HUGE investment in time so be forewarned. : smaxThis person is cool!
              • Sounds like my kind of series. I've read all 21 Master and Commander books. I love me some epic shit. : riptydeThis person is cool!
            • I loved Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash, but I couldn't stand Anathem. I couldn't even finish it. : riptydeThis person is cool!
            • IMO Anathem was probably his most mature work so far. Very good stuff. : HiroThis person is cool!
        • Rainbow's End is a really well done near-future sci fi by Vinge. : thechunder
        • Snow Crash is his best. : thetangentThis person is cool!
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        Richard K. Morgan's "Takeshi Kovacs" series (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies), as well as Nea... : Ride-My-RocketThis person is cool!
        • I love the Kovacs series. Something about having protagonist that is a borderline-psychotic killing mach... : smaxThis person is cool!
      • Stephenson is so cheesy but i still read all of his books. : father_crownThis person is cool!
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      I've been reading through these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos : MacemanInTW
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        first two were great, i lost interest partway into Endymion :( : smaxThis person is cool!
        • Im about half way though the second book. Really liking it so far. : MacemanInTW
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      book marking this as only some of those are on my lists already : sixfoot6This person is cool!
      • Same here. Been looking for some sweet new books to read. : Cliffzorz
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      I could never finish Absolution Gap. I really stopped caring about the fate of the characters. : DonkeyPopsicleThis person is cool!
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        and you dont like Snow Crash. pretty sure you are broken :( : smaxThis person is cool!
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          I liked all of Reynolds's other novels up to that point. Chasm City was the best of the bunch. : DonkeyPopsicleThis person is cool!
          • i also highly recommend his non-Revelation Space books. House of Suns is awesome, and I'm currently read : smaxThis person is cool!
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        Reynolds is a terrible writer. His concepts are great, but he just sucks at every aspect of executing a s... : thechunder
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          damn i almost made a post that certainly would have permabanned me. i will just say that you are wro... : smaxThis person is cool!
          • you are also wrong! mexican standoff. : thechunder
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            Exhibit A: Pushing Ice. You cannot defend that pile! : thechunder
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              never read it actually! but I've read everything else according to wikipedia. currently reading Te : smaxThis person is cool!
              • ill always give his shit a try because i'm a sucker for his type of hard sci fi. i just find his characte... : thechunder
            • Haha, seriously. The rivalry between the two main characters was such a clusterfuck. Terminal World wa... : Arceihn
    • the shackwiki needs a books page : homeboyJimThis person is cool!
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      Isaac Asimov? : daVinci1980
      • People should read Nemesis before they get all hopped up on the Alpha Centauri game : On the Brane
      • Yessssss! : Dontdrop
      • Yessssss! : Dontdrop
    • 1) Robert Heinlein 2) Neal Stephenson 3) William Gibson 4) Isaac Asimov 5) Larry Niven : Cheeziologist
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      Peter Watts - Blindsight READ IT NOW http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm Iain M. Banks is cool A... : OdoyleThis person is cool!
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        Second Peter Watts. He's a sadist though. : Rodeoclash
        • Plz explain. We're all sadists in the Sylvia Plath sense. : OdoyleThis person is cool!
    • It changes, but currently I'm interested in 1) Karl Schroeder 2) Iain M. Banks All time favorites... : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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      Fucking kids these days. No Clarke, Asimov, Herbert, Heinlein, Niven, Bradbury, Anderson, Pohl, Del Ra... : watcherxpThis person is cool!
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        Niven is my all time favorite. : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
        • yeah n-space is way up there on my all-time favourite reads : nem00
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        But we all know about those guys. I like when people do lists with current writers as half the time I'... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
        • Yeah, but for the newbs, we gotta make sure they hit the masters first. : watcherxpThis person is cool!
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      Philip K Dick? COME ON! : Albemuth
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        Post + Username! Also, yeah, Dick is my fave. And Kim Stanley Robinson. : father_crownThis person is cool!
        • Haha yes! Also lulz @ "dick is my fave" : OdoyleThis person is cool!
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        Seconding this PKD vote. Radio Free Albemuth is actually my next book to read! : Lexicon_Leidun
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          It's good, but read VALIS as well. They are two halves of the same coin. In fact, VALIS is my favorite Di... : Albemuth
          • Yeah, I've read Valis, it was good, certainly interesting. : Lexicon_Leidun
    • Now y'all know I'm still rooted in the old school stuff, but as far as new-ish books: Larry Niven & Jerry... : AxeMan808This person is cool!
    • also, just a reminder that a new Culture novel just came out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_Detail : smaxThis person is cool!
    • Neal Stephenson : DarthStank
    • you have good taste. Add Richard Morgan to the list. Elizabeth Bear is pretty good too in this same vein.... : steelsamurai
    • A friend of mine introduced me to Greg Egan, who I really like. He's not the best at crafting story (thou... : Vincent GraysonThis person is cool!
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      1) Heinlein. As weird as his later stuff got, MiaHM, ST, and SiaSL are foundational, and his short stori... : mopic42
      • The Baroque Cycle is more sci-fi than 99% of this fantasy in space ridiculousness. : sgtsanity
    • L.E. Modesitt jr. : retardhumperThis person is cool!
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      Peter F. Hamilton's epics really suit my taste. I'd give up a toe to see a epic trilogy set in the common... : thechunder
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        I tried to get into that series, but the whole thing with Al capone using his finger as a machine gun mad... : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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          thats the nights dawn trilogy. different universe. it definitely has some magic shit in it. commonwealth... : thechunder
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            Really? I read about 10 pages into "The Reality Dysfunction" and put it down. If I want Science Fantasy I... : locater16This person is cool!
            • ...that's still the Night's Dawn trilogy. Try his Greg Mandel books instead. : master_disaster_17
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      It is criminal that Iain M Banks is listed below Alastair Reynolds. I like Reynolds, but his books are no... : Arceihn
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        I dunno. Banks gives a "post scarcity" view of the galaxy. i don't think that means his fiction is mor... : smaxThis person is cool!
        • Why would his post-scarcity universe have anything to do with whether it was well-written? He's just bett... : Arceihn
        • The post scarcity is one thing I like about it to be honest. Also, while on the subject, I also view the ... : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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          Well, quite specifically, Banks has outright said he just makes shit up with the science etc., which I lo : nodeThis person is cool!
          • Lastly, unlike many sci-fi writers (Stephenson and Reynolds especially), Banks has written some of the mo... : nodeThis person is cool!
      • It's criminal that the most prolific scifi writer of all time, Isaac Asimov, is nowhere on the list. I... : daVinci1980
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      I can't believe there's no Stephen Baxter in this thread. : thetangentThis person is cool!
      • His early stuff was so much like Niven that it was awesome. His later stuff is pretty much not so good. : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
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        recommend any? : thechunder
        • RAFT http://www.amazon.com/Raft-Stephen-Baxter/dp/0586210911/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1288763120&sr=8-2 ... : Visceral MonkeyThis person is cool!
        • I'll second Raft. Ring I also really liked. The problem with Baxter is his characterisation is often p... : Arceihn
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          Everything from his Xeelee sequence: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeelee_Sequence also, The Timeships : thetangentThis person is cool!
          • Oh, and Vacuum Diagrams, which is a short story collection which is part of the Xeelee sequence. : thetangentThis person is cool!
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      I really like John Scalzi. His Old Man's War trilogy is excellent, as is the stuff he's written outside t : coldfusioncs
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        second this Old man's war is a wonderful series : Gapyro
        • entertaining but not wonderful /monocle : smaxThis person is cool!
    • have you read William Gibson's three most recent books? not dated at all! : CecilPhilpot
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      Any chance I could get you guys to recommend me something to read? my question is here: http://www.shackn... : MrBig0
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        Or specifically, I just need something that is not a really complex read for someone who doesn't have muc... : MrBig0
        • also, preferably something modern : MrBig0
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          Rainbow's End by Vinge is easy and fantastic. Actually, any of his books qualify. : VantageThis person is cool!
          • Thanks, I'll check it out! : MrBig0
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            Other must-reads: Ender's Game by Card Neverness by Zindell The Mote in God's Eye by Niven A Deepne... : VantageThis person is cool!
            • The Algebraist by Banks Adiamante by Modesitt Jr. Altered Carbon by Morgin The list goes on... : VantageThis person is cool!
            • good list! : smaxThis person is cool!
            • read these books and you will be a happy nerd : smaxThis person is cool!
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              Thanks, V Dawg. That list will keep me going for a while. : MrBig0
              • Deepness in the Sky is fantastically amazing. I've read over half the books on his list, and Deepness is ... : famine101
            • Dune is amazing but most people seem to be down on the sequels so I never read them Hyperion is quite po... : nodeThis person is cool!
        • from the below recomendations Snow Crash, Adiamante, and Ender's Game meet your criteria. Good, but not c... : Old_FartThis person is cool!
        • If you want to go old school, Asimov's Caves of Steel is basically a normal detective story...with robots... : ConanThis person is cool!
    • Reynolds is brilliant, especially his crazy universe-threatening weapons and awesome pseudo-scientific de... : nodeThis person is cool!
    • New vote - Charles Stross. VERY, intentionally overtly British, but excellent fun as a result. Strange mi... : nodeThis person is cool!