Any Sci-Fi fans here?

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:21 pm

Speak now or for ever hold your peices

kronz · Post by **kronz** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:22 pm

Hardy · Post by **Hardy** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:22 pm

Your sci-fi is my reality. Submit or die.

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:32 pm

Yeah man, I read http://www.io9.com every day. I'm not so much into real mindbending hard far-future sci-fi, I like mine a little more grounded.

By design · Post by **By design** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:23 pm

guilty as charged. I'm probably going to get shit for this but I'm hooked on stargate. I know nerd of freaking doom.

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:49 pm

I'm into Sci-Fi anime. I got this Dvd called Spriggan the other night. It was allright but so much Sci-Fi anime is so cliche now. Allways the same themes and scenarios. I'm a bit bored of it. I haven't read a good sci-fi book in a long time either. I think the last one was Quarantine a few years ago.

kronz · Post by **kronz** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:52 pm

Voyager FTW!!!

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:00 pm

Any recomendations for good Sci-Fi anime or movies? Not Akira, or Ghost In The Shell, or Battle Angel Alita, or Spriggan, or Macros Plus, something new and different. I'm dieing for a good new sci fi anime movie. And not fucking, Appleseed either with that, 3d animation stuff where it looks like a barbie show.

nic · Post by **nic** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 7:05 pm

And not fucking, Appleseed either with that, 3d animation stuff where it looks like a barbie show.

Nano Nano, Dr. Spock tbh.

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:57 pm

battle star galactica the best sci fi output in years yanno

space epic. very good scripting, characters etc

nice corrupted dirtied humanity as well

By design · Post by **By design** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:09 pm

dig that battle star's rad

Polecat · Post by **Polecat** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:16 pm

A S I M O V .

apophenian · Post by **apophenian** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:26 pm

Ya to Asimov - must read the foundation series again, before they ruin the movie version...

FunkyJ · Post by **FunkyJ** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:00 pm

Zerotonine wrote:Yeah man, I read http://www.io9.com every day. I'm not so much into real mindbending hard far-future sci-fi, I like mine a little more grounded.

Big fan of io9!

I'm not as big a sci-fi fan as I used to be...

As a kid I watched just about every sci-fi possible - Blakes 7, Space 1999, Original BSG, Buck Rodgers, Thunderbirds, Jetsons

Loved William Gibson/Cyberpunk too.

I'm not such a big nerd anymore though.

*hides videogame collection*

Stray · Post by **Stray** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:36 am

FoundationStepper wrote:battle star galactica the best sci fi output in years yanno

space epic. very good scripting, characters etc

nice corrupted dirtied humanity as well

Stray · Post by **Stray** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:38 am

NakedAge wrote:I'm into Sci-Fi anime. I got this Dvd called Spriggan the other night. It was allright but so much Sci-Fi anime is so cliche now. Allways the same themes and scenarios. I'm a bit bored of it. I haven't read a good sci-fi book in a long time either. I think the last one was Quarantine a few years ago.

If you want some good sci-fi reading get into Peter F Hamilton. Epic.

hybryd · Post by **hybryd** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:39 am

Stray wrote:
FoundationStepper wrote:battle star galactica the best sci fi output in years yanno

space epic. very good scripting, characters etc

nice corrupted dirtied humanity as well

fk yeah, speshly season 3....last episode, cliff hanger.

Then I watched the whole season 4 in one sitting, lol...insomnia can be good at times.

William Gibson rocked it for so many years. Give his last book (Spook Country) a miss, a bit weak, but then again he is like 80 sumfing.

Now reading Anathem - Neal Stephenson.

Was also looking for new writers.. a couple out there, but nothing seemed solid enough.

NakedAge wrote:Any recomendations for good Sci-Fi anime or movies? Not Akira, or Ghost In The Shell, or Battle Angel Alita, or Spriggan, or Macros Plus, something new and different. I'm dieing for a good new sci fi anime movie. And not fucking, Appleseed either with that, 3d animation stuff where it looks like a barbie show.

Don't hate on Macross. Give Macross 7 (tv series) a miss and head straight for Macross Frontier, just finished watching. good stuff!

Not exactly sci fi, more paranormal..kinda Check out Ghost Hound created by Production I.G and Shirow Masamune.

You could always check out http://www.veoh.com/ an run a search, gives you a preview* lot's of fan subs.

sci fi escapism.

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:12 pm

so what does the other macross have to do with macross plus (the only ones ive wtached - with sharon apple etc)

bsg back in the new year, not too long now! (feb/march?)

Stray · Post by **Stray** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:25 pm

The 3min webisodes start on the 12th December.

And the series returns in Jan!

Also, the prequel series Caprica has been given the go ahead.
Caprica is set 50 years before Battlestar and traces the feud between two families, the Graystones and the Adamas, of the 12 Colonies and the creation of and development of the Cylons. Season one has been set for 20 hours.
Kicks off in 2010

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:27 pm

Stray wrote:The 3min webisodes start on the 12th December.

!

Not so sure about the caprica thing - seems too dynastic. Like how r2d2 and c3po turned up with anakin skywalker

By design · Post by **By design** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:43 pm

last good piece of scifi I read was a book called axiomatic by an aussie writer greg eagan. Awesome short stories.

hybryd · Post by **hybryd** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:56 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:so what does the other macross have to do with macross plus (the only ones ive wtached - with sharon apple etc)

bsg back in the new year, not too long now! (feb/march?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross#Series_chronology

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:58 pm

got to admit im a sucker for the new dr who

which is best appreciated from the beginning, there are some brilliant long strands of plot in there

youthful_implants · Post by **youthful_implants** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:37 pm

william gibson, orson scott card, jeff noon, neal stephenson, neil gaiman, iain m banks, frank herbert, asimov

have read nearly everything by these writers.

I didn't like battle star galactica or star trek on the TV - too anodyne and bland imo.

my favourite sci fi novels are the diamond age by neal stepehenson and mona lisa overdrive by gibson.

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:47 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:got to admit im a sucker for the new dr who

which is best appreciated from the beginning, there are some brilliant long strands of plot in there

David Tennant was absolutely brilliant in that role. He's being replaced, but there's so many rumours on who is replacing him. I'd like to see a black Doctor (who could very well be Paterson Joseph if you believe the rumourmongers) or a ginger Doctor. He's always wanted to be ginger.

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 2:55 pm

youthful_implants wrote:I didn't like battle star galactica or star trek on the TV - too anodyne and bland imo.

You cant be talking about the new BSG then...

best thing about new dr who is that the main writer is going to be steven moffat! (blink, girl in the fireplace, the library...)

but not till 2010... except for 2 specials... we might see the next doctor in this years xmas special

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:00 pm

youthful_implants wrote:william gibson, orson scott card, jeff noon, neal stephenson, neil gaiman, iain m banks, frank herbert, asimov

have read nearly everything by these writers.

I didn't like battle star galactica or star trek on the TV - too anodyne and bland imo.

my favourite sci fi novels are the diamond age by neal stepehenson and mona lisa overdrive by gibson.

Duuuuuuuuuuude, good selections. I have every William Gibson novel, although I've kind of lost interest in his story telling as of late. Wasn't that impressed with Spook Country.

I've always been happy with Neal Stephenson's writing though, however he does get a little self indulgent. I haven't picked up Anathem though, any recommendations? I must say that it took me about 5 attempts to actually finish Cryptonomicon though

hybryd · Post by **hybryd** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:42 pm

Zerotonine wrote:
FoundationStepper wrote:got to admit im a sucker for the new dr who

which is best appreciated from the beginning, there are some brilliant long strands of plot in there

I'd like to see a black Doctor (who could very well be Paterson Joseph if you believe the rumourmongers) or a ginger Doctor. He's always wanted to be ginger.

LOL.
This just made me think of Samuel L. Jackson and snakes on a Tardis!

which possibly could be a thread all on it's own....lame

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:59 pm

Zerotonine wrote:[
Duuuuuuuuuuude, good selections. I have every William Gibson novel, although I've kind of lost interest in his story telling as of late. Wasn't that impressed with Spook Country.

I've always been happy with Neal Stephenson's writing though, however he does get a little self indulgent. I haven't picked up Anathem though, any recommendations? I must say that it took me about 5 attempts to actually finish Cryptonomicon though

same here, nice list youthful!
i havent read anathem either, though i think someone here recommended it to me a while ago...

cant seem to find jeff noon at any normal bookstores though? have read most of them but need copies to pass onto other peoples!

i have read cryptonomicon twice, and liked it though i get lost in the coding lingo.,.
is one of those books ill go back to again and again im sure...Snow Crash is about my favorite book EVER in the cyber fiction genre...

and yes to Dr Who. Its all about the rustling cellophane aliens and daleks and great plot lines as opposed to big $$$ CGI and some puppet with a big name....

Post by **system** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 4:46 pm

By design wrote:last good piece of scifi I read was a book called axiomatic by an aussie writer greg eagan. Awesome short stories.

greg egan is a fantastic and very under appreciated sci fi writer.

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:17 pm

ghetto kitty wrote:
i have read cryptonomicon twice, and liked it though i get lost in the coding lingo.,.
is one of those books ill go back to again and again im sure...Snow Crash is about my favorite book EVER in the cyber fiction genre...

In relation to Cryptonomicon, all the coding stuff was the perfect example of Neal being self indulgent

I also enjoyed Zodiac quite a lot, stupid punk/skinheads thinking hidden PCBs was actually a hidden cache of PCP

As for Snow Crash.

Such great humour, pacing and techno-geekery. Perfect blend.

Stray · Post by **Stray** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:24 pm

I recommend the Nights Dawn Trilogy of books by Peter F Hamilton;

The Reality Dysfunction (1996)
The Neutronium Alchemist (1997)
The Naked God (1999).

But try not to read anything about these books from wikipedia as they give a lot of the story away!

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 6:38 pm

system wrote:
By design wrote:last good piece of scifi I read was a book called axiomatic by an aussie writer greg eagan. Awesome short stories.
greg egan is a fantastic and very under appreciated sci fi writer.

He wrote the last Sci-Fi book I read as well I think, Quarantine I think it was called, hang on I'll check.

Yeah Quarantine.

See, my dad was always into Sci-Fi and mythology, and his take on it was always stuff like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Hercules, Dune, Star Wars etc.

But our common ground was, Marvel & Dc comics because he was a big Phantom fan. So, I don't know if it classes as Sci-Fi/Fantasy, but stuff like Marvel movies/cartoons/comics I really love. (I know it sounds very uneducated), and so from that artistic format, Anime. Ie: Akira etc.

Macross Plus, with Sharon Apple, I have on Dvd. It's great. Theres a line tho in Anime where shit just becomes cool, but stupid. Ie: Eurosikidoji: Legend of the Overfiend & Legend of the Demon Womb. You can tell it's some guys wet dream worked into a animation, with demons and shit to try and add some scale of context so it can be classed as Sci-Fi/ Fantasy, and a bunch of violence for the sake of it. Which is fine, I love that shit, but I don't think it translates well into good story telling. Macros Plus does. Akira does, but then, you have Spriggan. Which is basically Akira but instead of finding Akira, they find Noahs Arc. So thats why all these anime are wearing thin on me because they're so similar as far as the story goes to one another. Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell etc.

The quality is so far gone now days. The ninja ones are great tho. Ninja Scroll is awsome, and I brought the whole series of Samurai Shamploo. (If I told you why you'd think I'm a dick.)

How many times can you write Fist Of The North Star? How many appocolypses can the Earth have? How many new cyber cities can we live in?

What I used to find as really good, kind of Fantasy/Sci-Fi, were the stories or scenarios dreamed up surrounding the WarHammer 40K board games. It was a whole new world.

The board game itself, forget it. But that whole concept was so simple. "Future at war", yet the detail in it all made it so exciting.

Now days the best Sci-Fi thrill I get is watching quantum physics documentaries on ABC. .. And it REALLY interests me. But I miss the quality of Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Cult media that used to be available. I just feel like the standard has dropped and I'm wanting something more. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough, but, thats why I'm here

FoundationStepper · Post by **FoundationStepper** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 8:13 pm

for animation, the bar is set by miyazaki, mostly fantasy rather than sci fi

i fully recommend nausicaa and the valley of the wind for a good taste of scifi/fantasy from him.

after watching his output its really hard to watch poorly animated anime again

and Eurosikidoji! lol (its urotsukidoji) eurosikidoji sounds like some kind of demonic pop talent quest with spandex and diamontes...

apophenian · Post by **apophenian** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:51 pm

Yeah Greg Egan is great!

A.A. Attanasio is another favorite of mine - My favorite of his, 'Radix' is a complete mind bender.

So is his website, but not in a good way - http://www.aaattanasio.com/

spazz · Post by **spazz** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:02 pm

system wrote:
By design wrote:last good piece of scifi I read was a book called axiomatic by an aussie writer greg eagan. Awesome short stories.
greg egan is a fantastic and very under appreciated sci fi writer.

Absofuckinlutely. Greg Egan is frankly farkin genius. Diaspora is a personal fav.

Highly recommend the Mars Trilogy by Kim Robinson. Utterly realistic imo of colonising Mars.

Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Michael Moorcock, Frank Herbert are legends have read most of them.

Would also recommend some slightly older ScFi stuff that deals with far future fiction. A Clarke did it in Childhood's End (and City and the Stars), even H G Wells was a brilliant writer. Gene Wolfe is another old school writer that is quite good.

Speculating on a million years in the future or more, where humans have evolved really floats my boat.

Another pick is a series by Stephen Baxter who talks about human beings subjected to the hive mentality and a series he did stretches from Ancient Rome until a billion years into the future. Very interesting. Its the Destiny's Children series. HIs series of short stories called Evolution I guarantee will rock your boat.

Fuck I could rant for hours on Sci-Fi. Dont get me started on fantasy genre books either.

spazz · Post by **spazz** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 10:04 pm

apophenian wrote:Ya to Asimov - must read the foundation series again, before they ruin the movie version...

WHAT???????????????????????????????

ok GOOGLING.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:48 am

Zerotonine wrote: In relation to Cryptonomicon, all the coding stuff was the perfect example of Neal being self indulgent I also enjoyed Zodiac quite a lot, stupid punk/skinheads thinking hidden PCBs was actually a hidden cache of PCP

As for Snow Crash. Such great humour, pacing and techno-geekery. Perfect blend.

totally @ self indulgent. zodiac, never heard of it! is that by him too? sounds right up my alley!

im getting some greg egan too after reading all this...

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:16 pm

FoundationStepper wrote:for animation, the bar is set by miyazaki, mostly fantasy rather than sci fi

i fully recommend nausicaa and the valley of the wind for a good taste of scifi/fantasy from him.

after watching his output its really hard to watch poorly animated anime again

and Eurosikidoji! lol (its urotsukidoji) eurosikidoji sounds like some kind of demonic pop talent quest with spandex and diamontes...

lol you are correct.

I think I've seen Nausica, but, I need more violent stuff. Sci-Fi and violence go hand in hand.

I don't want to watch some little girl fly on a dragons back, I wanna watch the dragon bite her head off

a1studmuffin · Post by **a1studmuffin** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:32 pm

I highly recommend Frederik Pohl's work... "Gateway" would have to be my favourite. Also I enjoyed Larry Niven's stuff ("Ringworld" in particular... although he seems to be a bit of a crazy now).

Post by **system** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:30 pm

Zerotonine wrote:
ghetto kitty wrote:
i have read cryptonomicon twice, and liked it though i get lost in the coding lingo.,.
is one of those books ill go back to again and again im sure...Snow Crash is about my favorite book EVER in the cyber fiction genre...

In relation to Cryptonomicon, all the coding stuff was the perfect example of Neal being self indulgent

he got the info (and perl snippet) from other people tbh.
</pedant>

Gliding High · Post by **Gliding High** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:20 am

Yeah man - bigtime sci-fi boy here

Love reading the old classics - but have a real soft spot for William Gibson. Love the simple, yet effective, stacatto way in which he writes.
I like that time between the early 70's and early 80's where sci-fi took on that whole new look - droids, computers, mods, implants, etc, etc

Am reading 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman right now. Not essentially sci-fi - but sort of crosses a few genre's. I dig the authors who somehow tap into something new, then run with it.

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:04 pm

neil gaiman is a bit 'young adult fiction' for me....

Gliding High · Post by **Gliding High** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:33 pm

Not American Gods.
It's won the Nebula, Bram Stoker, Hugo, and Locus awards for being best book in each awards respected genre.
About as far from a kids book as you get.
I haven't read any of his other books, so I'm guessing there's some young adult there?

ghetto kitty · Post by **ghetto kitty** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:35 pm

oh okay...i didnt know that..
i read 'neverwhere', and it had some good concepts but was kinda 14 year old in its delivery...

Gliding High · Post by **Gliding High** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:39 pm

Not read it - but will try it on next. If it's too 'Harry Potter' for me, I will give it to my little bro.

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:40 pm

Neil Gaiman can get pretty damn dark, but his work does smack of young adult. But that's not necessarily a bad thing

Neverwhere is a young adult book, same as Stardust. His collection of short stories Fragile Things I wouldn't really rate as a young adult collection though.

I just read this again http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/ ... /I_Cthulhu

At least he has a good appreciation for humour

Post by **system** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:43 pm

neil gaiman also wrote the 'sandman' series of graphic novels. definitely not directed at teenagers.

Zerotonine · Post by **Zerotonine** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:56 pm

system wrote:neil gaiman also wrote the 'sandman' series of graphic novels. definitely not directed at teenagers.

How could I forget those? Damn!

NakedAge · Post by **NakedAge** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:31 pm

I GOT NEW ANIME!