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

Good point, SoRB.

Who said Heinlen became a dirty old man? I thought he was *always* a dirty old man. Doesn't stop his stuff being enjoyable, though.

I must admit that apart from the very noticeable exceptions of two his short stories, 'The Roads Must Roll' and 'The Man who Sold the World', I've always found Heinlein to be excrable rubbish.

But then I think Frank Herbert sucks the big one as well.

Ah well, we've disagreed over Heinlein before. Although I agree about Herbert.

What about "...all you zombies..."? Surely one of the best time travel paradox stories ever put down on paper?

Having said that, I agree with you that most of the rest of his stuff is tripe. I did like "Starship Troopers", though, because as with much of the stuff that I like (and indeed with some of the stuff that I say...) it's so hard to tell whether he means it or is writing it simply to wind people up. I understand that originally people thought that Starship Troopers was a satire, and it was only as Heinlein got older that he appeared to have actually meant it. "Stranger in a strange land" I found to be terrifically over-rated.

SoRB

Stranger in a Strange Land I enjoyed, although I agree that it's hardly 'the most important book you will ever read!' as the bunf on the back of my copy claims.

Friday is deeply disturbing in a 'God, did this bloke *really* think like this?' sort of way.

>Stranger in a Strange Land I enjoyed, although I agree that it's hardly 'the most important book you will ever read!' as the bunf on the back of my copy claims.<

However, it was of course the most important book in the lives of Charles Manson, Sharon Tate and arguably Roman Polanski.

Possibly. Although to be fair no-one ever really seems to have got to the bottom of whether or not Manson ever actually read the book.

I wouldn't say that. Both of the standard books on the case, Ed Sanders' 'The Family' and Vincent Bugliosi's 'Charles Manson' make pretty explicit reference to it, and it was raised by Bugliosi during the trial as well.

It was certainly well enough established that Heinlein worried about it a great deal, as reported by Harlan Ellison.

Oh, I'm not saying that he and his group weren't influenced by the ideas in it, I don't think that's in dispute at all.

I thought there was some debate though as to whether Manson himself had ever actually sat down and *read* the book.

Heinlein is from a small town near me, so we still have interest in his books. But it is less and less all the time. I was curious about circ stats for him so I just checked. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "The Cat Who Walked Through Walls" were the last Heinleins to be checked out and that was 8 months ago. "Stranger in a Strange Land" hasn't circulated since 2003.

Much to my regret, the bulk of my readers are heavily into fantasy rather than traditional science fiction. I would estimate that the circulation ratio is about 5 to 1. I hope this is a local abberation, but I fear it isn't. I have had similar reports from other librarians.

I enjoy books by Julie E. Czerneda. I find them literate with a fresh slant on old themes. I especially enjoyed the Species Imperative Series. "Survival" is the first and was followed by "Migration". A tad slow moving, but I don't mind that as much as some people do.

"it's so hard to tell whether he means it or is writing it simply to wind people up"

There's a tendency for people, when faced with artists they admire making political points they don't like, to pretend that they don't really mean it. I've not read Heinlein, so I can't judge his sci-fi, but his rightwing politics (an apparent mixture of survivalism, cynicism towards liberal democracy and militarism) have always been pretty well-known. It's unlikely that anyone would push political viewpoints in a novel in a non-satirical manner if they don't believe in those viewpoints.

This isn't really sci-fi, but I wanted to hear your opinion. There's a book called Shadows over Baker Street, which is a collection of short stories based around the premise of mixing Sherlock Holmes with the Cthulu mythos. One of the stories is written by Neil Gaiman. It's kind of pricey and was wondering if it was worth spending my money on. Anyone here who have read it?

Event Horizon, Alien / Aliens, Terminator films. Stargate SG1 and Stargate Alantis. The X Files.

I bought my mum 'Shadows Over Baker Street' last christmas. I think she must have enjoyed it because she promptly asked to borrow my H. P. Lovecraft short stories collection.

The Matrix films

Argh! I've just finished Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson and now want to read the rest of the series (Green and Blue Mars). Why haven't I read this before now!
Seems like an interesting Author, any recomendations about his other books?

Well, Shadows Over Baker Street can't be that scary if mums can read it.

Wolfden, it is usually literature we talk about here. And instead of just giving a list, you might want to mention what makes it good.

I remember reading a book called 'Chaga' by Ian McDonald (I think it was). Despite some really crap characterisation, it had totally alien aliens in it. Not little green men, but something utterly bizarre which changed all the life it came into contact with, and was taking over the entire Earth.

From a very hazy recollection, it started with Europa disappearing, or at least moving from its orbit, and part of it broke away and headed for Earth. It was apparently non-sentient, couldn't be communicated with at all, and eventually something from it hit somewhere in Africa, from where it started spreading. It made me think of how different aliens could be, compared to something like Footfall (which is pretty good, but kinda not weird enough).

(this is a very hazy memory, so forgive any mistakes)

I wish the title of this thread hadn't been changed.

Lord Wofden this is not about SF films you have seen but SF books you have read...
Please stick to the point. Thank you.

I'm not reading anything at the moment as I'm being artistic at the moment.

However Judas Unchained(Peter Hamilton) was published last month and I intend getting it as a Christmas pressie to myself...Oh and the latest TP just for relaxation.

I enjoyed the Confluence series by Paul J. McAuley. "Child of the River", "Ancient of Days", and "Shrine of Stars". The settings and characters are interesting and he does a good job pacing the narratives. I also like that he uses a lot of dialog to move the story along.

Phil, there is also "The Martians" by Robinson. It's a much smaller book, but is worth a read.