armpit said:

PurpleJedi said:

..."Terminator" fan?

I was REALLY into the first one (as a teen) then the second one blew my mind. The third one was...well...underwhelming.

But the concept is great. I like all of those "intelligent machines try to obliterate mankind" storylines (which DUNE deals with as well).

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

the first time I've seen a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek

I personally think ST is unwatchable...I mean, I liked the Patrick Stewart era, but that's all...

JoeTyler said:

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

the first time I've seen a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek

I personally think ST is unwatchable...I mean, I liked the Patrick Stewart era, but that's all...

Yeah...there's not too many of us out there.

Honestly though, I'm more immersed in the Star Wars universe, as I've read almost every book from Truce at Bakura (immediately follows Return of the Jedi) all the way through the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. I'm having a really, really hard time with the Legacy of the Force series...after Jason Solo turned to the dark side and now he's taking over the galaxy (a la Palpatine) I'm like, .

I am a fan of the original Start Trek TV show, and watched Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager religiously. The last two Patrick Stewart movies I skipped. The "reboot" with Chris Pine was awesome! But I have YET to pick up a Star Trek related book.

• Star Wars (The original 3 only)
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Aliens (all 4) Looking forward to the prequel. Not a fan of Predator vs Aliens.
• Star Trek (Although I enjoy Star Trek, I would no call myself a Trekkie.)
• Batman (with Bale)

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

let's see.....

lord of the rings - jrr tolkien

taran of caer dallben series by lloyd alexander

narnia series - c.s. lewis

harry potter series - j.k. rowling

amber chronicles - roger zelazny

dune - frank herbert

tarzan and barsoom series - edgar rice burroughs

ringworld series - larry niven

discworld - terry pratchett

majipoor series - robert silverberg

Xanth series - piers anthony

Foundation series - Isaac asimov

star trek series - gene roddenberry

dresden files - jim butcher

hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy - douglas adams

anything by:

anne mccaffrey

jack chalker

piers anthony

jack vance

i know i've forgotten some .. .

XxAxX said:

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

let's see.....

lord of the rings - jrr tolkien

taran of caer dallben series by lloyd alexander

narnia series - c.s. lewis

harry potter series - j.k. rowling

amber chronicles - roger zelazny

dune - frank herbert

tarzan and barsoom series - edgar rice burroughs

ringworld series - larry niven

discworld - terry pratchett

majipoor series - robert silverberg

Xanth series - piers anthony

Foundation series - Isaac asimov

star trek series - gene roddenberry

dresden files - jim butcher

hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy - douglas adams

anything by:

anne mccaffrey

jack chalker

piers anthony

jack vance

i know i've forgotten some .. .

The cover art on a few of those have gotten my attention.

What's the premise of the series? (too lazy to google it)

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

"The Illustrated Man", a vagrant with a tattooed body whom the unnamed narrator meets. The man's tattoos, allegedly created by a woman from the future, are animated and each tell a different tale.

Made into a film in 1969

Set in the backroads of America, the film told three of Bradbury's stories set in the future, starring Rod Steiger as the man telling the tales for each tatoo he has on his body.

book is very worth reading as well as seeing the film.

PurpleJedi said:

JoeTyler said:

the first time I've seen a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek

I personally think ST is unwatchable...I mean, I liked the Patrick Stewart era, but that's all...

I'm more immersed in the Star Wars universe, as I've read almost every book from Truce at Bakura (immediately follows Return of the Jedi) all the way through the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. I'm having a really, really hard time with the Legacy of the Force series...after Jason Solo turned to the dark side and now he's taking over the galaxy (a la Palpatine) I'm like, .

Curious. I'm a BIG fan of the Expanded SW Universe, but only during the centuries BEFORE the Six official movies. You know, The Old Republic Stuff, including comics and videogames...

but I couldn't care less about the expanded universe stuff they did in the 90s, you know, the post-Return of the Jedi stuff I read the comics of the New Republic Saga (where Mara Jade was introduced) and I thought there were just ok. Dark Empire was A BIG PILE OF SHIT, lol, for me that story never happened, I can't believe that Lucas himself green-lighted that shit

I tried to get into the Yuuzhan Vong saga but when I found out that it was just novels (not comics) I said A SW novel is a bad idea, comics is the ideal format: you need to visualize the Universe, for fuck's sake. The Legacy series is an ABERRATION

I only cared about the stories of Kyle Katarn, have you played those games? (the Jedi Knight series, set 5-15 years after the Battle of Endor)

JoeTyler said:

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

the first time I've seen a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek

Really? That is odd, I figured lots of people liked both. I do.

JoeTyler said:

PurpleJedi said:

I'm more immersed in the Star Wars universe, as I've read almost every book from Truce at Bakura (immediately follows Return of the Jedi) all the way through the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. I'm having a really, really hard time with the Legacy of the Force series...after Jason Solo turned to the dark side and now he's taking over the galaxy (a la Palpatine) I'm like, .

Curious. I'm a BIG fan of the Expanded SW Universe, but only during the centuries BEFORE the Six official movies. You know, The Old Republic Stuff, including comics and videogames...

but I couldn't care less about the expanded universe stuff they did in the 90s, you know, the post-Return of the Jedi stuff I read the comics of the New Republic Saga (where Mara Jade was introduced) and I thought there were just ok. Dark Empire was A BIG PILE OF SHIT, lol, for me that story never happened, I can't believe that Lucas himself green-lighted that shit

I tried to get into the Yuuzhan Vong saga but when I found out that it was just novels (not comics) I said A SW novel is a bad idea, comics is the ideal format: you need to visualize the Universe, for fuck's sake. The Legacy series is an ABERRATION

I only cared about the stories of Kyle Katarn, have you played those games? (the Jedi Knight series, set 5-15 years after the Battle of Endor)

OK...big confession here...I haven't read ANY of the graphic novels and/or comics. Only the novels. I didn't need graphics to visualize the agony following Chewbacca's death.

Also, I haven't played any of the games.

Lammastide said:

I love narratives that have to do with created beings struggling with their identity in relation to their creator; stuff like The Golem, Frankenstein, Pinnochio, AI, Blade Runner, the Velveteen Rabbit, most android or self-aware computer stories, etc.

If you haven't seen it, I heartily recommend Forbidden Planet. One of the best sci-fi movies of the 50s, it's basically Shakespeare's The Tempest set in deep space.

His Dark Materials series (Golden Compass was the first book)

Lord of the Rings & Hobbit

Chronicles of Narnia

Ender (so far, I am through book 3)

The Dark Tower--suffered a lot in Book 6 IMO, but came back nicely in Book 7.

Genesia said:

Lammastide said:

I love narratives that have to do with created beings struggling with their identity in relation to their creator; stuff like The Golem, Frankenstein, Pinnochio, AI, Blade Runner, the Velveteen Rabbit, most android or self-aware computer stories, etc.

If you haven't seen it, I heartily recommend Forbidden Planet. One of the best sci-fi movies of the 50s, it's basically Shakespeare's The Tempest set in deep space.

I've seen that movie a few times.

I can't get over the part where Leslie Nielsen comes across the alien writing and, with genuine surprise, says;

"It's not Summerian, or Egyptian or even Chinese hierogplyphics...!"

The movie's good...that line kills it for me.

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

If you haven't seen it, I heartily recommend Forbidden Planet. One of the best sci-fi movies of the 50s, it's basically Shakespeare's The Tempest set in deep space.

I've seen that movie a few times.

I can't get over the part where Leslie Nielsen comes across the alien writing and, with genuine surprise, says;

"It's not Summerian, or Egyptian or even Chinese hierogplyphics...!"

The movie's good...that line kills it for me.

Oh, there's a high cheese quotient, for sure. But it's pretty entertaining.

Mmmkay, let's see...

Star Trek :spock:

Harry Potter

Twilight...yes I know....don't hate...I've moved on and I must admit it got me into many of the following that I had never looked at before and probably wouldn't have.

True Blood

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Walking Dead

I've never considered myself a Sci-Fi/fantasy type person. I've always loved Star Trek, but that was the odd one out.

I read Twilight out of sheer boredom. My oldest had read it and I wanted to see why she liked it. I do love the series, the first book in particular, but recognize it's weaknesses and as I've said, moved on.

I plan to start The Dresden Files, but really hesitate to start another series.

In no particular order, really. But I would pick Star Trek if I was forced to choose one.

Star Trek - I could break it down quite a bit further, but nobody would care. In general my favorites are canonical and further the storylines from the movies or tv shows.

Cerebus, duh.

Tolkien. All of it.

Dragonlance - All the core Weis/Hickman books, even though a couple of those missed the mark imo.

Harry Potter

The Foundation books by Isaac Asimov

Elfquest - comic books, to this day STILL the only comic book series to EVER make me shed a tear

The Ender books by Orson Scott Card - I love those things with a passion, even the overwrought, convoluted (some would say confusing) ones

The Pern books by Anne McCaffrey

The Temeraire books by Naomi Novik

Eh, I could post a bunch more, but I guess those are my clear favorites.

SUPRMAN said:

Anyone read the 'The Sword of Truth' series by Terry Goodkind?

Very good books but by the end of the saga, I was ready for it to end.

Very good imagery though.

There is a crappy tv series based on the books but I can't name it right now.

I started them but I don't think I got past the second or third book. I should probably try to get back into them at some point.

peedub said:

asimov's foundation series, classic.

My grandfather had me reading these before I had any real idea what Star Trek was all about.

Cerebus said:

SUPRMAN said:

Anyone read the 'The Sword of Truth' series by Terry Goodkind?

Very good books but by the end of the saga, I was ready for it to end.

Very good imagery though.

There is a crappy tv series based on the books but I can't name it right now.

I started them but I don't think I got past the second or third book. I should probably try to get back into them at some point.

Something about the first book Wizard's First Rule bugged me. Maybe it was just so fucking violent. There were like 100 pages of Richard being tortured.

But the book had something that i did like, too. It was fairly interesting, and I did finish it even though a lot of it was not terribly enjoyable.

NDRU said:

Ender (so far, I am through book 3)

Awesome. The next couple are the hardest reads, imo. But really worth the effort if you're digging the series thus far. I was addicted to these books for a minute. I actually read the entire series and then went right back to book one and read the entire series again. I think its interesting that he keeps adding new bits and pieces/alternate views at the story, but those original five books will always hold the most value for me in relation to this work overall.

NDRU said:

Cerebus said:

I started them but I don't think I got past the second or third book. I should probably try to get back into them at some point.

Something about the first book Wizard's First Rule bugged me. Maybe it was just so fucking violent. There were like 100 pages of Richard being tortured.

But the book had something that i did like, too. It was fairly interesting, and I did finish it even though a lot of it was not terribly enjoyable.

I don't mind, eh, lets call them dark themes, so long as the story moves along and holds my interest. I read plenty of "dark" fantasy, though.

I know I have Blood of the Fold here and I think I read it, but that's only the third book. But its been a good long while since I read them, so I don't actually remember what it was about his writing style that grabbed me. Now there's at least ten of them and I'm not sure I could do seven more along the same line. I guess I'll just have to re-read the first three and see what I think.

My brother-in-law is possibly the worlds biggest fantasy fiction geek. He reads pretty much everything he can get his hands in that genre and he loved 'em.

Brandon Sanderson- The Mistborn Trilogy

R.A. Salvatore- The Dark Elf Trilogy

G. R. R. Martin- A Song of Fire and Ice

The first few books of the Wheel of Time series was good, but I lost interest. Brandon Sanderson took over after the author, Robert Jordan, passed. Brandon is a very good writer so I would be interested to see what he did with the series.

Shawnt27 said:

Brandon Sanderson- The Mistborn Trilogy

R.A. Salvatore- The Dark Elf Trilogy

G. R. R. Martin- A Song of Fire and Ice

The first few books of the Wheel of Time series was good, but I lost interest. Brandon Sanderson took over after the author, Robert Jordan, passed. Brandon is a very good writer so I would be interested to see what he did with the series.

My aforementioned brother-in-law is a complete GEEK about all of Salvatore's Drizzt books. He keeps telling me I have to read them and I keep telling him no.

I lost interest in the Wheel of Time books WAY early in the series. TOO. DAMN. LONG. I mean, really, there is a point when a single book is too big, when too much is happening, too slowly, and for me those books were it. Grand scope can be very rewarding (like with Tolkien, or even GRR Martin), but Jordan's books lacked focus for me. I would find myself drifting off to other thoughts as I read, then realize that I had no clue what happened over the last twenty pages.

JoeTyler said:

PurpleJedi said:

Seems like we are blessed on the org with plenty of fiction/fantasy/sci-fi fans.

I take that to include all types of popular stories such as;

• Star Wars
• True Blood
• Lord of the Rings
• Harry Potter
• Star Trek
• Marvel (Spiderman/Hulk/Captain America/et.al.)

What are your favorite stories that you would recommend for others to get into?

the first time I've seen a fan of both Star Wars and Star Trek

I personally think ST is unwatchable...I mean, I liked the Patrick Stewart era, but that's all...

WHAT?!

Star Trek is very watchable. Every iteration through Star Trek:Voyager.

Deep Space Nine, I couldn't get into.

I like them both. I've never met anyone who liked one and not the other.

NDRU said:

His Dark Materials series (Golden Compass was the first book)

Lord of the Rings & Hobbit

Chronicles of Narnia

Ender (so far, I am through book 3)

The Dark Tower--suffered a lot in Book 6 IMO, but came back nicely in Book 7.

The Ender trilogy was great!

There is another series of books that I can't name right now.

A world with tall robots who kept people confined in "cities."

NDRU said:

Cerebus said:

I started them but I don't think I got past the second or third book. I should probably try to get back into them at some point.

Something about the first book Wizard's First Rule bugged me. Maybe it was just so fucking violent. There were like 100 pages of Richard being tortured.

But the book had something that i did like, too. It was fairly interesting, and I did finish it even though a lot of it was not terribly enjoyable.

That was veryh graphic torture too. The Mord Sith's (?) in red leather.

I think it's the third book, Richard spends most of it being tortured while in the care of these witches who are allegedly training him.

Cerebus said:

Shawnt27 said:

Brandon Sanderson- The Mistborn Trilogy

R.A. Salvatore- The Dark Elf Trilogy

G. R. R. Martin- A Song of Fire and Ice

The first few books of the Wheel of Time series was good, but I lost interest. Brandon Sanderson took over after the author, Robert Jordan, passed. Brandon is a very good writer so I would be interested to see what he did with the series.

My aforementioned brother-in-law is a complete GEEK about all of Salvatore's Drizzt books. He keeps telling me I have to read them and I keep telling him no.

I lost interest in the Wheel of Time books WAY early in the series. TOO. DAMN. LONG. I mean, really, there is a point when a single book is too big, when too much is happening, too slowly, and for me those books were it. Grand scope can be very rewarding (like with Tolkien, or even GRR Martin), but Jordan's books lacked focus for me. I would find myself drifting off to other thoughts as I read, then realize that I had no clue what happened over the last twenty pages.

I read the first Wheel of Time book too. I liked it quite a bit, but it seems like the Everquest of books; being something to get absorbed by seems more important than the story itself

I pointed out one of the recent ones to my friend (Book 12 or something) and he says "It's called 'The Gathering Storm.' I would hope the storm is finally gathering after 12 books!"

Nothinbutjoy said:

Mmmkay, let's see...

Star Trek :spock:

Harry Potter

Twilight...yes I know....don't hate...I've moved on and I must admit it got me into many of the following that I had never looked at before and probably wouldn't have.

True Blood

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Walking Dead

I've never considered myself a Sci-Fi/fantasy type person. I've always loved Star Trek, but that was the odd one out.

I read Twilight out of sheer boredom. My oldest had read it and I wanted to see why she liked it. I do love the series, the first book in particular, but recognize it's weaknesses and as I've said, moved on.

I plan to start The Dresden Files, but really hesitate to start another series.

YES!! Absolutely! Based on your picks above, it's right up your alley!

You'll get hooked after the first book or 2. Trust me!

Cerebus said:

Star Trek - I could break it down quite a bit further, but nobody would care. In general my favorites are canonical and further the storylines from the movies or tv shows.

I care! I don't knwo WHY I've never had the urge to pick up a Star Trek novel, whle I eagerly consumed everything George Lucas threw our way.

How expansive is the Star Trek universe? Do the (older) movies tie-in seamlessly?