Pick a theme. Make a list. Share it with us. An amateur chef, bibliophile, movie buff, gnome warlock, and manager of the Grant Road Bookmans - Ed V shares his favorite sci-fi reads.
What is this HANDPICKED thing?
I've always been a huge sci-fi fantasy fan, both books and movies. I've leaned more towards sci-fi because it seems to be within the realm of the possible, as opposed to fantasy which typically seems to be about a time or place that has gone by or could never exist. In other words, regardless of how "out there" sci-fi is, I can (on some level) lose myself in the illusion that what is being written is only a certain amount of technological leaps into the future. Yeah, I realize a Star Wars/Trek future is unlikely, but it is a possibility, as opposed to a "Tolkien-esque" future. A big part of me enjoying fiction is seeing myself in the narrative, and sadly, I have trouble doing that with "classic" fantasy.
The list of books I'm submitting for your consideration are some of my favorite sci-fi reads. They are books that, in many cases, I have read multiple times. They are books that entertained and engaged me, filling my head with images of quantum futures, over-the-top space operas, thought exercises on the nature of the universe and other things that, for one reason or another, grabbed my attention and kept me coming back. Some of these are fluff, some discuss science that I don't understand but sounds good, and others are classic fantasy tales with a sci-fi skin (whether fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary or mythology, most stories are all pretty similar with different cosmetic elements; just ask Joseph Campbell or Claude Levi-Strauss). Basically, I chose them because they're fun for me, and allowed me to escape to a different world, full of new or familiar things, but most importantly, a sense of wonder.
Ed Valado's Handpicked
"Sci-Fi Reads"
The Deathstalker Series
by Simon R. Green
Okay, yeah. There's a guy in tights on the cover. We past that yet? I can't remember when I first read this book and the subsequent sequels, but once I got past the tights, I discovered the most crazy, over-the-top space opera I've ever read. It's about Owen Deathstalker, a foppish historian/aristocrat and heir to the Deathstalker Legacy (badass warrior type family) and his quest to overthrow the dictatorial Empress ("The Iron Bitch") and bring freedom to the galaxy. Sound familiar? Well, don't dismiss it out of hand. Green creates a cast of characters with ever increasing powers and abilities fighting against insurmountable odds, with tons of gore, humor and cliched excellence. By the time you get to the later books in the series, Owen, his friends and their enemies are doing crazy shit, like wiping out solar systems with their minds. I know it sounds goofy, but Green's voice is so obviously poking fun at his own story and ideas, that it all just works, and makes for a humorous and entertaining read. Trust me on this one. Get past the tights.
Pandora's Star
by Peter F. Hamilton
Hamilton is a British author I discovered a few years back via his "Neutronium Alchemist/Reality Dysfunction" series (another excellent, if meandering read). Much like that first series, "Pandora's Star," and its sequel "Judas Unchained," is a hefty read with dozens of characters and a bunch of interweaving plot lines that all converge at the end in a rousing climax. Another space opera type book, it begins in the near future and continues through man's colonization of the galaxy. Humans are able to live for an extremely long time (almost indefinitely) through technological means, and travel throughout their network of inhabited worlds via wormholes that link everything up. Space flight, while it exists, has atrophied due to the availability of these wormholes, at least until the discovery of Pandora's Star. The star, first noticed by an amateur astronomer, has a shell of some type that completely covers its solar system. The mystery spurs the powers that be to create a space craft to go explore the system to see what's up. Their discovery and their reaction to it has massive ramifications to all humanity. I don't want to say too much more about that, since its one of the coolest aspects of the book, and I don't want to spoil it. One of the things I love about this book and all of Hamilton's books (that I've read) is his character building. His books are huge; this one and its sequel are a few thousands pages, and much of it is spent following the lives of his characters and their view on the larger events that are unfolding around them. The characters are from all walks of life; simple farmers and housewives all the way up to leaders. It's full of drama, horror, action, love and simple human activity, written in a very interesting and compelling manner that kept me and my wife up way to late at night reading it (and while I may be indiscriminate about what I read, my wife isn't, which is the best endorsement I can give any book). I've read some reviews that call Hamilton long-winded and unnecessarily verbose, and while I agree to some extent, I have to say that I enjoyed every second of it, and it's on my reread rotation.
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