Well Jay you got me there with the Simon Jester reference. I had to go to the oracle (google) to check it out. I take it that it refers to "The Moon is a harsh Mistress". I just read "Starship Troopers" by Heinlein. Whats your rating of 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". Any other good books you recommend?
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is one of my very favorite books; right up there with "Fahrenheit 451". It's a blueprint of sorts for a libertarian revolution featuring a (marginally) free people throwing off an oppressive symbiotic government that's taking their resources for pennies on the dollar. Heinlein does masterful work carrying the revolution from cradle to grave, detailing the work needed to get the revolution started; keeping the spirit of freedom alive; and starting a fledgling nation.
Plus it has quotes like this:
"There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him." — Professor Bernardo de la Paz
Really, how can you argue with that?
I haven't yet found a Heinlein book that I didn't like; there have been certain ones (Job comes to mind) that took a couple extra readings to warm to, but all have been enjoyable and worthwhile. Friday is an excellent stand-alone novel; a good chunk of Heinlein involves Lazarus Long and the Howard Family, "Time Enough For Love" is a good primer here, or "Methuselah's Children" for how it all got started. Be warned, though - Heinlein has some, err, odd ideas about sexual mores and taboos, and isn't shy about beating the reader about the head and shoulders with his unconventional beliefs...
Lately the author I've been digging is Terry Pratchett, he of the Discworld series. Really, how can you not like an author who creates a universe where magic is plentiful and the entire planet is a disc resting on four giant elephants standing on an enormous, space-going turtle? From Rincewind the failed magician to Carrot Ironfounderssen, a 6'6" tall dwarf and all points in between, the characters are outlandish, fascinating, utterly incomprehensible, and thoroughly entertaining. I'd have to say right now that "Men At Arms" is my current favorite Discworld novel, although I've barely scratched the surface.
So, who are some of your favorite authors and novels?
That is all.
18 comments:
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" has a great idea for better government. A 3rd house in Congress that does nothing except revoke laws with a 1/3 majority.
With a few exemptions like national defense, how great would that be?
I'm definitely adding that to the Constitution after the Revolution.
I have one to contribute, written by Frank Herbert. Dune, and the first 2 sequels, making up the original trilogy.
The Fremen, the Bene Gesserat, the planet itself and the ecology of it, all are a fully realized image of a world. A free people, with a sense of honor, living in a harsh world.
There is a belief system in the novel, and in it there is this litany:
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
The movie was awful, just unwatchable. The novels are shiny.
Freehold by Michael Z Williamson is a great novel. I was reading online an eARC copy of John Ringo's new novel. The aliens get drunk off of maple syrup. I swear, that man's sense of humor went through a cotton candy machine to be as twisted as it is.
I didn't like "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls." Maybe it needs another reading?
anything by
# Steven Pressfield
# Robert Heinlein
# Julian May
oh, and i did like Atlas Shrugged once i got into it
But currently not reading anything :(
H. Beam Piper has some good ones; he was a libertarian and it shows in his writing. Empire is good, so are all the Paratime stories.
Frank Herbert wrote a lot of good stuff, one of the most overlooked (IMHO) is Hellstrom's Hive.
I remember reading Dune before it was a novel; it was a serial in Analog magazine and entitled The Prophet of Dune. Quite a bit was added when it came out in book form. The SciFi Channel did the trilogy as a miniseries and was surprisingly good; they followed the books more faithfully than the movie did.
Anything by William Gibson. I'll second Julian May, and will put forth Dan Simmons as a must-read author. His Ilium/Olympus duology is insanely good, if you like Greek warfare, quantum science and far-future bots who obsess over "A la recherche du temps perdu..."
I'll second Pratchet and Gibson. And adding to the list: Larry Correia(MHI!), George RR Martin, Robbin Hobb, Ian M Banks, Frank Herbert, Alaister Reynolds, Conn Iggulden, and the list just goes on and on... But those are some of my tip of the top favorites.
Oh and if you loved MHI, you'd probably love the first 4-5 books of John Ringo's Posleen series as well...
GOOOOOD point Mikael!!!
PISSED, if you haven't read MHI let me know. I have a spare copy you can borrow, and it'd be a great reason to get together at the range... ;)
Anything by David Weber. David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" stories. S.M. Stirling's Nantucketers trilogy. The fantasy trilogy "The Deed of Paksenarrion" by Elizabeth Moon. The entire "Jhereg" series by Steven Brust. Jack Chalker wrote some damn good stuff, if you can get past his "changing bodies" motif and his penchant for really vile characters and situations.
Outside of SF/F, you could try C.S. Forester's Hornblower series. Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler wrote some good beachbum thrillers in their earlier years. There's a guy named James Rollins who writes modern-day action thrillers based on ancient legends -- kinda like Dan Brown, but rather better quality. See also the first couple of books by the team of Doug Preston and Lincoln Childs -- The Relic is one of the creepiest novels I've read in many years.
Hey Jay!,
I already bought and read MHI great book!! Highly recommended to others.
I'll join you at the range, let me know.
As far as my books,
Steven King, "The Stand", and the "Gunslinger" series.
Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged" and "Anthem".
Bill Bryson, "a short history of nearly everything"
Robert McCammon "Swan Song"
Those all come to the top of my head.I'll have to dig thru the pile in my closet for others that I just can't think of now. I started reading again because I hate TV.. tons of channels and nothing on..
and another..Max Brooks.
"World War Z" was excellent.
I re-read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress every time a Democrat takes the Oval Office. Think of it as a Libertarian Rules for Radicals.
Have given copies of Starship Troopers to all family and friends entering the military. Every DVD of Starship Trooper movie should be ground down and force fed to Hollywood producers.
Farnham's Freehold hasn't aged well. I read it a few years after doing "duck and cover" drills at school and that may have colored my opinion of it.
I have 3 feet of shelving dedicated RAH. Come the Dark Time I'll read them by candle light and say "Yup, should have listened to the Old Man."
I'm a big Heinlein fan, but there was one superdud in the mix. "I will fear no evil" was both distasteful and thinly-plotted.
Frankly, IMHO, nothing comes close to Dan Simmons' 'Hyperion' series, which predates the 'illium' series referred to by scotacu (which is also teh tits, as my watch officer used to say).
As an aside, I'd never have developed an interest in 'space opera' style writing if it hadn't been for "Star Blazers" appearance on TV when I was a kid.
TANSTAAFL !!!!!
Just finished re-reading all eight books in the Sten series. Still as clotting awesome as ever.
(Note to self: must find someone who can distill 'stregg').
all the suggestions look like things on my shelf already. I just started reading this guy; http://www.feedbooks.com/author/93
his books are free on this site. Little brother is scary but a good primer.
All good choices. The guy I'm digging now is Steven Brust. His To Reign in Hell is outstanding. The Jhereg series is great fantasy with a small touch of sci-fi thrown in. The prequel series, starting with The Pheonix Guards is written in the style of Alexander Dumas and, after reading it, my speach patterns changed for a few days.
Brass
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