should we separate this out? i mean a lot of people here are into sci-fi more than other kind of books.
i'm reading this. good stuffs so far. we'll see. we'll see.
should we separate this out? i mean a lot of people here are into sci-fi more than other kind of books.
i'm reading this. good stuffs so far. we'll see. we'll see.
Cool. I just started a thread like this at another forum.
That cover to Behold the Man is awesome.
I am about half way through A Case of Conscience, and it is pretty good so far. Not as elegant or poetic as Bester or Sturgeon, but at its core is a very interesting concept.
Basically, it is about a planet called Lithia. A group of 4 scientists have been sent there to determine whether or not Earthlings could colonize the planet without disrupting its ecology in a negative way. One of the scientists is a biologist, and a Jesuit priest. The planet, and its inhabitants, are utterly perfect. The have no crime, no violence, no thievery, no selfishness, nothing bad at all. They don't even have words for these acts or ill feelings.
The ecosystem is perfect as well, as everything on the planet shares a one-on-one relationship with something else. The Lithians, lizard-like beings, are totally moral and totally logical. Their offspring evolve outside of a womb. They evolve in the ocean into fish, then onto land as amphibians, then as marsupial-reptiles. By the time they are adults they have experienced every kind of terrain and habitat and have built up immunities to anything that could harm them.
So yes - Lithia is a perfect planet. Too perfect. Except for one thing: the Lithians have no concept of God, faith, or religion. This leads the biologist priest to believe that the planet has been created by Satan as a kind of temptation for mankind. However, according to dogmatic law, Satan cannot create tangible things, only illusion. Because the priest testifies that Lithia is a trap created by Satan, he is also in danger of heresy for putting forth a hypothesis that goes against dogmatic law.
At the half way point the scientists have returned to Earth, and now the priest must come to terms with his questions of faith, God, Satan, a moral society without faith, and a heretical hypothesis that could undo thousands of years of Church doctrine.
It was written in 1953, and it is considered one of the first sci-fi books to tackle religious themes in a serious way. James Blish, the author and an agnostic, won the Hugo award for it. I highly recommend it even if it the actual execution is not quite up to par with some of the other greats.
Allow me to use this opportunity to once again pimp out "I Am Legend".
Especially to D.
The last sci-fi I read was Dick's "Galactic Pot-Healer" - my first Dick-experience (hahaha) and I really enjoyed it.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I'll get around to it. Just not in a horror mood right now.Quoting megladon8 (view post)
Allow me to use this opportunity to once again pimp out "I Am Legend".
Especially to D.
Well, it's horror/sci-fi.
I definitely wouldn't say that the book's main goal is to scare.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Oh I know. I don't think of horror as exclusively "scarry."
I've already got my reading planned out for the next couple of months. IAL will be in the next batch.
I read this book the other week. It was pretty good.
Glad you liked it.
I thought the ending was brilliant.
Well, I think the whole damn thing is brilliant, but that ending's a definite punch in the gut.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I liked the bit with the dog the best.
I wasn't blown away by the book or anything, but it was solid.
this book is awesome. i'm skeptic at first since the story is nothing short of predictable. (it's written in 1969, so i guess i have to cut moorcock some credit on originality.) and i dislike the way he portrays psychological turmoil by stringing a bunch of semi-random quotations. the first half is slow. yet much better past the midpoint. once rolls the last third, the novel really comes together thematically. moorcock presents this beautiful study of religion, faith, and sacrifice.
A Case of Conscience (1959) - James Blish
I've always been interested in the exploration of religious themes in fiction, especially in science fiction. This is one of the main reasons why I am so drawn to the work of Philip K. Dick. When I first read about James Blish's Hugo award winning novel A Case for Conscience, it sounded like the perfect book for me. It tells the story of Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez, a man of the cloth and a man of science; in addition to being a priest, Father Ramon is also a distinguished biologist. He is sent, together with a small group of scientists, to the distant planet Lithia to measure the social and ecological impact of an Earthmen colonization. What Father Ramon discovers is something that may be far too sinister to ignore, and something that may, in fact, challenge his own faith and thousands of years of church dogma.
At its core, A Case of Conscience offers up an interesting premise while it also asks some important questions. It deals with the discovery of an alien society that is totally moral; they have no crime, no violence, they do not lie, and they are not bad in any way, as a matter of fact, they completely lack the words and references for these things. The planet, too, is a representation of perfection; its biology, geology, and ecology all work in tandem to form a perfect ecosystem. Everything on the planet is perfect, too perfect, at least as far as Father Ramon is concerned.
Father Ramon discovers what he perceives to be a singular flaw: the Lithians have no concept of faith, God, or religion of any kind. It is Father Ramon's hypothesis that the planet has been created by Satan to ensnare humanity in some kind of trap. However, according to dogmatic law, Satan can only create illusion and cannot create anything tangible. Ramon's hypothesis is not only controversial to the secular scientists, but it also leads him down a road paved with heresy towards his church's dogmatic law.
As I sit here and pound out the above description, it is with some disappointment. Unfortunately, Blish never really delivers on the incredible premise he sets up in the first third of his novel, and by the midpoint he almost lost me completely. One of the first problems is with the writing itself. Now, this may not be fare to Blish, but I have recently been spoiled by Theodore Sturgeon and Alfred Bester, two masterclass wordsmiths. A Case for Conscience simply lacks the poetic prose needed to convey such an emotional and spiritual topic.
The prose is not necessarily bad but it is only serviceable, and when an idea as ambitious as Blish's is conveyed in a less than remarkable way, it accentuates the drabness. The biggest problem with the novel's execution is the dialog: it's too on the nose. The characters always seem to say exactly what they mean, and most of the narrative's mystery is told rather than shown. Plot points that should have been revelatory discoveries full of majesty are simply told to the reader through uninteresting dialog and exposition, like utterances of little importance. Imagine being told how amazing Yosemite is after passing up a chance to see it for yourself.
Another major problem is chapter eleven. Alright, maybe I should back up a bit to give some perspective. First of all, let me give some praise, because there are some things beyond the premise that I really do like. It all starts out brilliantly with the central characters already on Lithia. That we don't have to wait for the excursion to get underway, nor do we have to sit through pages of exposition waiting for the alien planet to arrive, is a welcome turn of events. This is good, the plot gets rolling from the first chapter, and pushes right along until about chapter ten, but then by chapter eleven I feel as though the book gets derailed, in a bloody, gory, massive train-wreck kind of way.
Chapter ten is the first chapter of the second part of the book, and its almost as if this part was written by a different author who forgot what the first part was about. Unimportant new characters are introduced, Father Ramon is forgotten about for a long passages, and nothing interesting or of note happens. But chapter eleven is the worse! It's one of my least favorite things I have ever read. It introduces a totally insipid situation that just doesn't make any sense, and offers up nothing in terms of believable character development or engaging narration. You could probably rip this chapter out of the book and not miss a thing. It's as if Blish switched gears in between the two parts of his book, and decided to focus on a different premise than the one he initially set off with, one that is not nearly as interesting or well developed.
Unfortunately, the book never regained my interest after this crucial juncture. This book is like a roller-coaster with only one hill. It starts off great, and then, with each passing chapter, it becomes less and less interesting. I could hardly bring my self to finish the last fifty pages because I simply didn't care about anything that was happening or anyone it was happening to. So yeah, this review turned out really negative, and it saddens me in a way. However, I am only this down on the novel because of how great it's premise and beginning are. It was like being promised a cake and then finding that the cake was a lie (sorry Portal, but I had to do it). I will say this about James Blish though - his imagination has piqued my interest, and even though I cannot recommend A Case of Conscience, I am looking forward to reading more from this author.
Awesome write ups Davis-I'll have to check out some of those books.
Some of the sci-fi novels I've read:
2001: A Space Odyssy by Sir Arthur C. Clarke
Jurassic Park-Micheal Crichton
The Lost World-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Ender's Game-Orson Scott Card
Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury
1984-George Orwell
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-Douglas Addams
BLOG
And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
Thanks. If I could suggest one, it would be The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.
I have not read 2001 yet, but today I ordered Childhood's End by Clarke. This will be my first Clarke book.
Just today, I started my first Asimov book, The Gods Themselves. It is awesome.
I've never heard of Bester or that book. I'm intriegued though. I regretfully haven't read Childhood's End, especially since I've liked everything I've read from Clarke. And I must confess I have yet to read any of Asimov either despite hearing really great things about this books.
BLOG
And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
Yeah, it is pretty weird. I've always considered myself a fan of science fiction, but once I started this Hugo project I quickly realized that I've only ever explored a very, very small niche of the genre. I tend to do this with things. With sci-fi, I've gotten into a few authors, and only focused on them while turning my back on others. Usually this is for the best, because as Sturgeon's law states: 90% of all science fiction is crud, but then 90% of everything is crud.
It's hard to find that 10% worth reading, and so I've always played it safe and only read the bona fide masters that I know I like:
Bester, Ballard, Bradbury, Sturgeon, Dick, Moorcock, Rucker, and Harrison.
But now I am forcing myself to branch out by using the Hugo award as a map. I've now read my first Blish book, I just started my first Asimov, and then I will be reading some Le Guin, Silverberg, and Delany among others. It's going to be awesome.
Here is a link to a review for the Bester book. Just read it man, it is a masterpiece. Bester was one of the most important figures in the pantheon of science fiction - he acted as the bridge between the golden era and the new wave, and planted the seeds for the cyberpunk movement. He is considered one of the grandfathers of literary science fiction.
http://genrebusters.com/print/review_demoman.htm
*liked*
As I mentioned in D's A Canticle for Liebowitz thread, I have several sci-fi books on my shelf which have been there for quite a long time - in fact, a few of them I have had for 10 years.
Anyone read any of these?
"Earth is Room Enough" - Isaac Asimov
"Foundation and Empire" - Isaac Asimov
"The Planet That Wasn't" - Isaac Asimov
"Isaac Asimov's 'Ghosts'" - a collection of shorts, compiled by Asimov
"2010: Odyssey Two" by Arthur C. Clarke
"3001: The Final Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke
"Rendezvous With Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke
"The Alien Dark" by Diana G. Gallagher
"Burning Chrome" by William Gibson
"Count Zero" by William Gibson
"Neuromancer" by William Gibson
"Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein
"The Jesus Incident" by Frank Herbert & Bill Ransom
"The Ark" by Ben Jeapes
"Outbanker" by Timothy A. Madden
"Ringworld" by Larry Niven
"The Tarnsall Saga" by Gary Paulsen
"Armor" by John Steakley
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
I can't help but feel that the sci-fi elements of TW,tWaB actually lessen the impact of the book. They almost feel like they were added in as an afterthought in order to fit the requirements of the genre.
Imagine if in Daisy Miller, at the end of certain chapters, there were log entries written by Randolph, who was really an alien in disguise, in which he was examining Daisy's relationship with Winterbourne.
The sci-fi stuff in Sturgeon's book could easily be ripped out, and this would not hurt the novella at all. In fact, I think it would actually make the narrative more powerful because it would lessen the feelings of the infodump.
Found a copy of Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land at Goodwill for a buck. Ten pages in and I am loving it.
:fresh:
I really dug that one.
Man, "Jack Glass" is something else. Less than 100 pages to go now.
Wish D_Davis was still around, I think he'd dig the heck out of it.
Anyone looking for a great sci-fi read, look no further. Read "Jack Glass" immediately.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
"Jack Glass" was pretty wonderful. A mystery whose answer is simultaneously as large as a supernova, and as small and personal as the most base human emotions.
Really great stuff. Loved the world it built, and the story it told within that world.
No worries! I hope you enjoy it!
I actually have a small pile of new sci-fi to read on my bed table. "Ancillary Justice" and "Bald New World" are the top 2
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
Going to read this next...
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
Won a bunch of awards last year.
"All right, that's too hot. Anything we can do about that heat?"
"Rick...it's a flamethrower."
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