The Sci-Fi Discussion Thread

[D_Davis]

Wonderful, thank you. I saved that post.

For "The Three Stigmata..." does this require other reading prior to attempting this read, will I be OK having only read one other book by PKD?

I would probably save the VALIS trilogy for reading until you have read some more.

The Three Stigmata... is one you could read at any time. It is amazing.

[megladon8]

I would probably save the VALIS trilogy for reading until you have read some more.

The Three Stigmata... is one you could read at any time. It is amazing.

Awesome, thank you. I appreciate it

[D_Davis]

So I should be wrapping up Philip Jose Farmer's To You Scattered Bodies Go tonight. It is pretty good. He takes historical figures like Alice Hargreaves (the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland) and Sir Richard Francis Burton (an English explorer, translator, scholar, writer and so on - he once disguised himself as a Muslim and made the journey to Mecca) and mixes them up with an alien, and a Neanderthal, and then sends them a a journey up a great river to discover the source of their resurrection. Pretty fascinating. It's speculative, historical fiction mixed with a journey of intense discover set against a backdrop of science fiction.

[megladon8]

Hmmm...speaking of speculative/altered historical fiction, have you ever read anything by Harry Turtledove?

[D_Davis]

Hmmm...speaking of speculative/altered historical fiction, have you ever read anything by Harry Turtledove?

I've tried, many years ago, but I just couldn't get into his stuff. I tried to start his Civil War series, but it kind of bored me.

[megladon8]

I've tried, many years ago, but I just couldn't get into his stuff. I tried to start his Civil War series, but it kind of bored me.

Yes, pretty much everyone I know who likes his work is also deeply interested in war and the tactics used in historical battles, so I suppose his works attract a certain type of reader.

Just when you mentioned "speculative historical fiction", that's the name that came to mind right away.

Though I always thought his idea of injecting aliens into WWII was interesting.

[D_Davis]

Yes, pretty much everyone I know who likes his work is also deeply interested in war and the tactics used in historical battles, so I suppose his works attract a certain type of reader.

Just when you mentioned "speculative historical fiction", that's the name that came to mind right away.

Though I always thought his idea of injecting aliens into WWII was interesting.

Almost everyone I've ever known who likes Turtledove also likes and reads a ton of books about war and history. I'm just not that interested. Like I said in my review for The Forever War, I just don't care about military tactics and all that stuff.

The only hardcore speculative fiction novel I've ever liked, and finished, is PKD's The Man in the High Castle, and it doesn't ever deal with the military.