h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

A Canticle for Liebowitz is also by Roger Zelazny. A fellow afficionado I see.

Oh no it's not. It's Walter Miller, mightly fine book too.

The Amber series rocks, as do Lord of Light and The Isle of the Dead. Haven't read any of 'em for ages, though.

'The Shift' by George Foy is a good addition to the overcrowded 'cyberpunk' sub-genre, and Moorcock's 'Behold the Man' is as impressively thought-provoking a fusion of SF and religion as I've read.

Other stuff I've read and enjoyed includes 'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman, which someone else mentioned - fantastic book! Also a bit of Piers Anthony, Stephen Donaldson and even Anne McCaffrey, when she's not being too over-sentimental or clichéd.

I can't believe that nobody's mentioned the best SF book ever, though: Alfred Bester's 'Tiger Tiger' (also known as 'The Stars My Destination'). Never has there been a book more worthy of making into a film, even though it could never hope to match the book.

I sit corrected.
Tim Powers - 'The Anubis Gate' and 'The Drawing of The Dark' - SF, Fantasy or alternative history? I am tempted to burn anything containing the word 'genre'.

how bout a silent classic,metropolis is in my top ten,wish i had made a copy of it when i had the chance.the version i saw had a 80s proggressiverock soundtrack havent been able to find another copy,suppose i could order it from somewhere.i cant begin to describe how amazeing it is. btw imho starship trooper sucked.the actress in the lead role was real cute though.its a book?bug parts everywhere in the book too?

No one's mentioned David Eddings yet. He does some quality storytelling, even though his characters and storylines from series to series all seem to be exactly the same.

The best thing Heinlein ever wrote was Stranger In a Strange Land. How come nobody mentioned it before now?

Jerry Pournelle writes some excellent hard sci fi. His Falkenberg's Legion series outlines a future history where the US and the USSR form an uneasy empire that is decaying in the stories. The stories follow Colenel Falkenberg who is cashiered, and it tells the story of the formation of an empire. I loved Falkenberg's Legion, but that's because it suits my military background. Go Tell the Spartans and it's sequel would probably be more suited for a general audience if you don't mind coming in the middle of a series.

There are also stories in the far future of his future history after the first empire collapsed and the second one is rising. Some of these include The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand.

I could never get itno his Jannisaries series, but the War World books that he edited are good.

His best work seems to come when he writes with other authors, such as Larry Niven or S. M. Stirling (with whom he co-wrote Go Tell the Spartans and the Prince of Sparta).

Along with the Mote in God's Eye, Pournelle's best works are Footfall and Lucifer's Hammer. The former is an alien invasion novel that is actually good, and the later is about a comet that hits the Earth. These three books are all EXCELLENT tales written with Niven.

Finally, I have to put a plug in for Fallen Angels, which was written with nivne and someone else. It was written for the fans, and includes several fans and authors as characters in the book. Apparently they even auctioned off parts in the books. It's a lot of fun.

Another author that deserves mention is Lois McMaster Bujold. She can't write a bad book. Her stories so far have all been exciting hard science fiction tales that at times are absolutly hilarious. Be warned, once you pick up her books, don't plan to stop reading until you finish the whole series. So stock your refrigerator, and say goodbye to your spouse and kids.

Seems to me people have stopped talking about intelligent sci-fi and are just naming their favourite sci-fi. That wasn´t really the intention was it?

About Heinlein, he actually once recieved a sci-fi Oscar, I believe it´s called a Hugo. And was booh´ed off the stage.

I afraid I can't class RAH as intelligent SF mainly due to his very poor dialogue(which always makes me grind my teeth when reading RAH) and his terrible stereotypical women which is another reason to grind the teeth.I understand that he is representitive of his time period and his women are portrayed this way as he was aiming at an adolescent male audience(few women were thought to be interested in SF in the 50's/60's).I know he is also credited with 'inventing' a variety of gadgets i.e.the water bed but this is not enough to keep me reading his work.There is much better SF to read that does portray both genders equally well(some of it even written by women).Anything by CJ Cherryh for instance.

There are some clever ideas in Heinlein, but they got increasingly buried in his sexual tubthumping that it ceases to be worth the effort. Back in posting 16 Dirk Doubtful felt his women were portrayed as empowered - hmmm empowered to want to hyave lots of sex with older men (usually father figures and sometimes fathers!) and have lots of babies. Yeah right.

I'll put my mark against Iain M Banks for intelligent, sassy SF, especially the early ones. And thanks to nexus 7 for reminding of the name of Bester, author of Tiger Tiger. Clever, clever book, must get hold of a copy....

ok ok

maybe sometimes he treats his women as Baby factories of the help me save me variety (Number of the Beast, etc.) but even here the woman is the Captain of the vessel and gives the orders as well as the hors d'oeuvre (sorry couldn't resist it)

my original resonse was against someone who cited RAH as fascist which I don't agree with, and sexist which now just maybe I agreee with but its not as simple as that.

many of his women are stong independant and want to have a lot of sex with whomever they choose...sounds empowered to me but hey as a guy what do I know?

There's an excellent book called The Swallow (can't remember who by) about a Catholic mission to a recently discovered planet containing life. It contains some good ideas but could do with a little more on the alien culture. It also has a sequel called All God's Children which I plan to read soon.
I'm reading Time by Stephen Baxter at the moment... It's alright, lots about squids.

I read Time a few weeks ago the squids are a nice touch as is trhe overall thrust of the book in terms of the purpose for humanity...but i won't spoil it for you...enjoy

have a friend who cant read vonegut.the writeings challange too many of his belief systems.i think its a shame some cant get past the postured perspective of a arthur and so miss completely what the real person might be saying

and to name more of my favorite intelligent sf,anything by norman spinrad.the reality liberation front,needs your support

Dune is ok-ish but the rest of the sequence is self-indulgent crap.

Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, John Wydham and Larry Niven all provide interesting ideas, but their writing ain't so hot.

Heinlein became obsessed with avoiding death, and getting as much sex as possible. Both good life-goals, but neither ambition has the brain in the driving seat.

For intelligent SF - go to the distaff side.

Ursula Le Quin has not written an unintelligent word in her life. The Earthsea sequence is exceptional fantasy. There is no fight between good and evil. There are no magic swords. But it is about truth, and personal responsiblity.

"The Left Hand of Darkness" (if I have the right one) is about a planet where people have been genetically engineered to be hermaphrodites - there are no sexes, and people can both father and carry children, and frequently do both. Her other stuff is highly intelligent, but tends to be rather more political.

The first books in Anne McCaffreys' sequences tend to be good. "The Ship who Sang" is excellent by any count - complex systems are hard wired into individual human beings, and operated in partnership with a normal human; the heroine is a space ship, but one of her friends is a city.

The first two Dragon books are the best of the bunch - "Dragonriders" and "Dragonquest"? I enjoyed "Crystal-singer" But she gets formulaic and self-indulgent as the sequences progress.

If you can get hold of any Science Fiction written by Naomi Mitchison, then read it. I remember a book about a xeno-biologist, who carried a telepathic child for an alien. It was less corny than it sounds.

And intelligent books by men? I recently re-read "1984" and "Brave New World" and both of them gave me the heebie jeebies.

Andy, I'll second you on 'The Swallow' for intelligent thoughtful writing on first contact and mutual misunderstandings, not to mention general cultural and religious musings. I think the author's called Mary Doria Russell. The sequel is equally goof, mostly based on the other planet so you get lots more about the alien cultures.

If nobody's mentioned Neal Stephenson yet ('fraid I've not delved into the first page of postings yet) then I do so now. Diamond Age, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon all well worth the read.
Surely somebody's mentioned Theodore Sturgeon already, lots of thought-provoking ideas about 'what makes humanity' and gender identity in his works.

Robert Sheckley's writing is pretty funny, and you have to be reasonably intelligent to get the humor in it. Oftentimes he'll set up a universe where something is not quite right, and carry it out to its logical end, in a similar way to Monty Python.

I have to recommend Maureen McHugh who is a recent discovery.Try her China Mountain Zhang which is really different.She writes what I would call literature that just happens to be SF.She has written two more books and each of them are standalones.No endless cash cow serials here please.