Yes, the first book of the series is definitely the best one. The later ones deteriorate a little bit into the soap opera territory (including gratuitous sex scenes). They still form an interesting whole, so they deserve to be read.
Science Fiction and Science
- Thread starter Thargon
- Start date
T.j hasn't got time for reading - he's too busy compiling the Xmas Jumbo Elite Cryptic Crossword.
Total Recall
"We're going to Mars
How?
Spaceship I guess, never mind.
Fair enough."
Total Recall reboot
"We're going to Australia
How?
Screw you stupid audience that's how."
I admit I don't know what happens when you drop an elevator the size of an ocean liner through the centre of the Earth but I'm pretty sure it isn't this. The last act was awful for lots of reasons but I could have at least enjoyed the set up more if it wasn't for this contraption gnawing at me throughout and waiting for the inevitable reverse gravity
action scene. Am I wrong or is "The Fall" sheer .
"We're going to Mars
How?
Spaceship I guess, never mind.
Fair enough."
Total Recall reboot
"We're going to Australia
How?
Screw you stupid audience that's how."
I admit I don't know what happens when you drop an elevator the size of an ocean liner through the centre of the Earth but I'm pretty sure it isn't this. The last act was awful for lots of reasons but I could have at least enjoyed the set up more if it wasn't for this contraption gnawing at me throughout and waiting for the inevitable reverse gravity
action scene. Am I wrong or is "The Fall" sheer .a thousand years ago the technology you used to make this post was just fantasy...
A thousand years ago most of our modern technology would be seen as witchcraft, magic or a miracle. State of the art transport was probably the long ship. The fastest way to travel over land was by horse. The majority of people were unable to read or write.
exactly.....fantasy
Was a good movie though.
Science Fiction - I think the key word here is Fiction, just saying
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fiction
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fiction
Jenner
I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Science Fiction - I think the key word here is Fiction, just saying
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fiction
And here I thought ED was a documentary....
Gordon Bennet, where does one start re genre's ??
Anyone remember The Flintstones movie getting panned it was based on a cartoon arghhhhhhhhhhh
Alastair Reynolds great scifi, got his latest on my kindle, but still re-reading the Rama series by that other great Sci-Fi Author Arthur C Clarke, Terry Pratchett has revisited his roots with the Long Earth. And the first books I consciously found myself hooked on - the works of H G Wells.
Away from books indeed not even getting into film yet but I couldn't pass and not mention Journey into Space epic Sci-Fi taken in context of when it was written and performed. One of my all time favourite radio plays.
TV - Continuum - Fringe - X-Files (Gillian Anderson what can I say?) BSG - B5 - Space Above and Beyond - Earth 2.
Films - I like the Alien films - not sure why but I don't find my self picking holes in those.
MOON a great watch.
DREDD
In Time.
District 9
Pitch Black
Blade Runner
Dark Star
BTTF 1,2,3 - Who cares to pick holes in this, just great fun.
Close Encounters
2001/2010
Fifth Element
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original)
One of my all time favourites yup that Nielsen classic - The Forbidden Planet
I could go on and on, I find the fantastic none earth bound easier to get wrapped up in as you obviously can't compare it to reality, I sometimes have to consciously switch off and just enjoy the spectacle, otherwise I would go nuts, the latest Star Trek movie's although I enjoyed had my pick holes in it part of my brain quivering especially the daft bit with Scotty in the huge water pipe system the alternate time line is giving me to many questions.
Sometimes as well the Sci-Fi isn't really the actual main part of the film more so the characters set in a Sci-Fi back drop social injustices etc blah blah blah.
Military films have me picking holes more than Sci-Fi my missus just roles her eyes when I start!
Anyone remember The Flintstones movie getting panned it was based on a cartoon arghhhhhhhhhhh
Alastair Reynolds great scifi, got his latest on my kindle, but still re-reading the Rama series by that other great Sci-Fi Author Arthur C Clarke, Terry Pratchett has revisited his roots with the Long Earth. And the first books I consciously found myself hooked on - the works of H G Wells.
Away from books indeed not even getting into film yet but I couldn't pass and not mention Journey into Space epic Sci-Fi taken in context of when it was written and performed. One of my all time favourite radio plays.
TV - Continuum - Fringe - X-Files (Gillian Anderson what can I say?) BSG - B5 - Space Above and Beyond - Earth 2.
Films - I like the Alien films - not sure why but I don't find my self picking holes in those.
MOON a great watch.
DREDD
In Time.
District 9
Pitch Black
Blade Runner
Dark Star
BTTF 1,2,3 - Who cares to pick holes in this, just great fun.
Close Encounters
2001/2010
Fifth Element
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original)
One of my all time favourites yup that Nielsen classic - The Forbidden Planet
I could go on and on, I find the fantastic none earth bound easier to get wrapped up in as you obviously can't compare it to reality, I sometimes have to consciously switch off and just enjoy the spectacle, otherwise I would go nuts, the latest Star Trek movie's although I enjoyed had my pick holes in it part of my brain quivering especially the daft bit with Scotty in the huge water pipe system the alternate time line is giving me to many questions.
Sometimes as well the Sci-Fi isn't really the actual main part of the film more so the characters set in a Sci-Fi back drop social injustices etc blah blah blah.
Military films have me picking holes more than Sci-Fi my missus just roles her eyes when I start!
Watched it last night based upon your post.
I wouldn't say it was the "best" but it's certainly thought provoking
If your interested in this stuff i recommend trying to get a copy of the lectures from Professor Eric S. Rabkin's course titled 'Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature’s Most Fantastic Works'. The course can be purchased here and found in other places on the web.
Rabkin goes into depth on the origin of fantastic works and in Lecture 13: Defining Science Fiction, he claims 'Science Fiction is the branch of fantastic literature that seeks plausibility against a background of science'. In other words SF allows all the unbridled speculation that purely fantastic works afford; things like exploring the human condition or dystopian warnings and cultural criticism, but is grounded by the reason of science. So he proposes that SF is a modern form of fantasy in the purest sense, i.e not just a publishers genre.
You can hear Rabkin give a brief introduction to a similar course here.
And this clip is taken directly from his Masterpieces lecture, though it's only a snippet and he clearly defines his terms in the lecture proper (diametric etc). He is a very good talker imo, and his 'Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature’s Most Fantastic Works' course is both excellent and entertaining. Highly recommended for aspiring writers and SF fans alike.
Rabkin goes into depth on the origin of fantastic works and in Lecture 13: Defining Science Fiction, he claims 'Science Fiction is the branch of fantastic literature that seeks plausibility against a background of science'. In other words SF allows all the unbridled speculation that purely fantastic works afford; things like exploring the human condition or dystopian warnings and cultural criticism, but is grounded by the reason of science. So he proposes that SF is a modern form of fantasy in the purest sense, i.e not just a publishers genre.
You can hear Rabkin give a brief introduction to a similar course here.
And this clip is taken directly from his Masterpieces lecture, though it's only a snippet and he clearly defines his terms in the lecture proper (diametric etc). He is a very good talker imo, and his 'Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature’s Most Fantastic Works' course is both excellent and entertaining. Highly recommended for aspiring writers and SF fans alike.
Watched it last night based upon your post.
I wouldn't say it was the "best" but it's certainly thought provoking
Hi! I hope you don't feel like you wasted 90 mins of your life like my brother said he did after watching it lol.
Yeah 'Best' may not be the right word. It's probably an acquired taste that one as it's a bit weird and arty. I'm glad if you where provoked by it though
I'm updating my original claim and now stating that Cloud Atlas is the best sci-fi film. Or perhaps just my favourite
It's a tough thing to define, this genre. Star Wars, BSG, B5, Star Trek, (and pretty much any sci-fi shows on TV) to various or lesser extents completely tear up and throw away the laws o' physics at some point for story telling reasons or 'comfort' factors for the audience (Visible beam weapons and engine noise being two of the most obvious examples)
Some films have tried to do it right - 2001 having been mentioned previously.
Elite Dangerous is another world where some things are realistic (inertia, lack of anti-gravity tech) and some are pure fantasy (visible beam weapons, hyperspace, FTL comms etc)
There's a school of thought that says anything less than 'hard' science fiction isn't really science fiction at all, it's science fantasy.
Personally, I don't really mind if it's a thumping good read. For me it's all about the characters, not the spaceships - you'll see that in my story.
Cheers,
Drew.
Some films have tried to do it right - 2001 having been mentioned previously.
Elite Dangerous is another world where some things are realistic (inertia, lack of anti-gravity tech) and some are pure fantasy (visible beam weapons, hyperspace, FTL comms etc)
There's a school of thought that says anything less than 'hard' science fiction isn't really science fiction at all, it's science fantasy.
Personally, I don't really mind if it's a thumping good read. For me it's all about the characters, not the spaceships - you'll see that in my story.
Cheers,
Drew.
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original)
One of my all time favourites yup that Nielsen classic - The Forbidden Planet
2 of my absolute Fav's.