by Professor » Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:55 am
Are you shooting for "deep and heavy" sci-fi? Or "light and entertaining"? Also, strictly "sci-fi" or also "fantasy"?
I've heard of most of the books here, and heartily concur. Also, added the others to my Kindle list.
One author that I find odd that no one mentioned is Michael Crichton. Google his works, and start from the beginning (never read his alias "John Lange", so you might want to skip those):
Andromeda Strain, Terminal Man, Great Train Robbery, Eaters of the Dead, Congo, Sphere, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure, The Lost World, Airframe, etc. Airframe got weird, but I can't remember why I didn't like it.
If you want some easy reading that is great, but doesn't tax any brain cells, and want to give fantasy a shot, grab Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Then, follow it up with the rest of the Chronicles trilogy, and then the Legends trilogy. Easily my favorite 6 books, ever. I've read them over a dozen times. Not gonna win you any points in conversation at a literary conference or in a bar - but damn, they're just good.