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[Sinatar]

Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

Thisssssss.

But read the whole 4 book series, not just the first.

 

[Zophar]

All this talk of philosophy has reminded me of Olaf Stapleton. His books often cover ideas such as the evolution of species and of conciousness.

If you haven't read any the best are Star Maker, Last and First Men, Sirius and Odd John.

This was what I came into the thread to recommend. Stapleton is a forgotten master.

What the fuck, only Appleby got it right?

Delaney's Dhalgren. It is key.

Agreed. Dhalgren is incredible, but nigh-insurmountable, especially for a genre novel. If you don't already have experience reading, say, Pynchon, you're gonna be put off in the first 20 pages. Worth it if you can stomach it though. For Delany I'd say Babel-17 is a better introduction and a classic on its own.

Since we're straying into "obscure but vital" territory, I'll suggest that you read anything you can find by Cordwainer Smith. His Instrumentality of Mankind/Rediscovery of Man stories are some of the most out-there, original and thought-provoking in the whole genre.

Get his short story collection (which has all of them) and his equally impressive sole novel Norstrilia:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0915368560/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0915368617/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Fusebox]

I'm sure Altered Carbon has been mentioned, just wanted to +1 it.

 

[Mr_Appleby]

Delaney's Dhalgren. It is key.

:lol and with that i'm going to dig out my copy. got a long plane trip tomorrow and it seems like as good a time as any to reread it.

also sure it has been mentioned but Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five, and Cat's Cradle. both magnificent.

 

[kahni]

I am surprised that Robert Heinlein hasn't been mentioned more. I really liked his "man who sold the moon" and "the roads must roll", which are all very early sci-fi short stories/novellas/novels.

I second the recommendations of Asimov and Card, as well as Niven and Pohl. All very influential authors in the space.

For more recent authors, I believe that Timothy Zahn deserves some respect for resurrecting the Star Wars book franchise, but I am not sure he has any actual "influence".

 

[Mifune]

Something different from the classics already mentioned: Cryptonomicon and Anathem from Neal Stephenson

Man, Anathem does not get enough respect. Good call.

 

[Timedog]

Why was there no foreword in Lord of the Rings telling me to skip the endless descriptions of fucking shrubberies and scenery bullshit?

Spoiler

I love Tolkien's works, including LotR, but come on

I stopped reading when it started to get all biblical with pointless genealogical detail. I don't need a full page of you telling me Frodo's ancestors from 2,000 years ago. Dumb.

 

[Mifune]

This one rocked my world:

 

[ConfusingJazz]

This man speaks the truth. Snow Crash is a phenomenal read, although I think that Cryptonomicon, by the same author, is actually even better (it's not scifi, however).

Edit: Beaten by the Cryptonomicon recommendation. I do highly second the recommendation as it's good on so many levels (the writing is phenomenal and the interesting history is great as well).

I didn't. I thought Neal Stephenson needed an editor for this one. Especially for the "Yours Truely" email chapter. My God, I wanted to punch Stephenson in the face for that craptastic use of language. Who the fuck talks like that?

 

[snacknuts]

Maybe not traditional sci-fi (at least not compared to some of the stuff in this thread), and probably not very influential to other sci-fi novels since, but I would highly recommend Slaughterhouse-Five. It's my favorite book and has widely been recognized as one of the best novels of the 20th century.

 

[bob_arctor]

Maybe not traditional sci-fi (at least not compared to some of the stuff in this thread), and probably not very influential to other sci-fi novels since, but I would highly recommend Slaughterhouse-Five. It's my favorite book and has widely been recognized as one of the best novels of the 20th century.

Co-sign. Time travel, time displacement and aliens. And it's an incredible read. Po-tweet!

 

[BorkBork]

Maybe not traditional sci-fi (at least not compared to some of the stuff in this thread), and probably not very influential to other sci-fi novels since, but I would highly recommend Slaughterhouse-Five. It's my favorite book and has widely been recognized as one of the best novels of the 20th century.

So it goes. Great rec.

 

[besada]

Since we're straying into "obscure but vital" territory, I'll suggest that you read anything you can find by Cordwainer Smith. His Instrumentality of Mankind/Rediscovery of Man stories are some of the most out-there, original and thought-provoking in the whole genre.

I came in to suggest Cordwainer Smith. Wonderful early stuff. And while we're talking about the old guys, I recommend Frederik Pohl, particularly his Heechee series. Pohl's a multiple Hugo and Nebula (including back to back Nebulas) winner, and had a hand in bringing Delany's Dhalgren to print.

 

[Mr_Appleby]

I am surprised that Robert Heinlein hasn't been mentioned more. I really liked his "man who sold the moon" and "the roads must roll", which are all very early sci-fi short stories/novellas/novels.

I second the recommendations of Asimov and Card, as well as Niven and Pohl. All very influential authors in the space.

Have you read the original Starship Troopers? It's an interesting read, part boys-own-adventure and criticism of the same. The book is quite serious, unlike the movie.

talking of Frederick Pohl I quite enjoyed Gateway and Beyond the Blue Event Horizon. Never read the rest of the Heechee series though.

Slaughterhouse-Five. It's my favorite book and has widely been recognized as one of the best novels of the 20th century.

Do read cat's cradle, if you haven't. Very different but equally as good, and perhaps more disturbing.

 

[snacknuts]

Do read cat's cradle, if you haven't. Very different but equally as good, and perhaps more disturbing.

I've read it 2-3 times. Another favorite.

 

[grenadeguru]

 

[BorkBork]

Having a complete change of direction in my planned research for graduate school; I'm moving away from postmodern literature into a scifi specialization. I have read some of the bigger scifi novels, Neuromancer, Dune, Brave New World, really that is all I can think of right now. I am reading Stranger in a Strange Land currently, but I need to know where to go from here. I have also read a lot of the serialized fantasy/scifi stuff as a kid/teenager, but I am looking for the more influential works.

Hey Space Cadet, if you really are doing a scifi specialization and are interested in a a resource for LeGuin's works after reading her stuff, I recommend this from the Science Fiction Research Association:

http://www.sfra.org/Coyote/CoyoteHome.htm

It's written for readers with backgrounds ranging from undergraduate students in introductory courses to scholars of science fiction and fantasy. Great summaries and interpretations of her work, I found a lot of it to be quite illuminating.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Of course Asimov, Verne, Wells.

Hopefully Arthur C. Clarke has been mentioned, he is a giant in the genre.

My favorite modern sci-fi writer is Peter F. Hamilton. He is not essential but I'll throw him out there as definitely worth checking out.