Nine Sci-Fi Books That Deserve To Be Films

Iain Banks is an interesting and talented writer but either he has not decided what sort of a writer he should be or he has too cleverly decided to include amidst his lyrical prose repeated screwball hommages to Asimov, Harrison, and Heinlin. Once maybe, but on and on?

Use of Weapons is a perfect example of Banks' hodge-podge of styles.

It has some very satisfying moments (in particular the chapter where the protagonist finds poetry by stuffing the mouth of a torturer of slaves with their dessicated tongues and slips of paper), but do we really need corny humor concerning advanced beings and their petulant artificially intelligent beings?

As for those who are seeking HARD science-fiction - Banks is, by no means, the author to recommend.

If you are interested in authors who are able to create narratives around cutting edge scientific theory seek out works by Greg Egan.

In particular:

Permutation City
Diasporia
AND
Schild's Ladder

I said that you had only responded to a thread about science fiction for a political motive, and so far, you've proven that to be true. You have responded to this thread three times, and the first to have been examples of you whining about my opinion of Card. Offering opinions is all that any of us are doing here, what do you expect? Do you think anyone here can prove that someone is or is not a good writer? What criterion would you apply? You just pissing and moaning as usual. Your third contribution to this thread is to make a recommendation that someone else had already made for Thomas' reading list. I see no reason not to continue to point out that you only jumped into this thread when i made a comment you didn't like about an author's political ravings.

I've read five of Card's novels, and although i don't regret having done so, i remain unimpressed. Hell . . . i even read detective fiction often just for something to do to pass the time before i drift off to sleep. I suspect someone wound as tightly as you appear to be won't understand that, though . . .

What bee flew up your butt?

When you're discussing movies or books or politicians with your friends do you preface everything with "in my opinion" or "I think"?

Can't you find a real controversy to troll about?

Egan's a good writer - but not as good as Banks, whose stories are consistently more enjoyable.

As for sci-fi, I would recommend -

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy
Stephen Baxter's Manifold series
Neal Stephenson, pretty much anything he's done, but I like Anathem, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age the best
Niven, anything

Cycloptichorn

Not contending anything about Banks vs Egan other than the latter is a writer of "hard" sci-fi and the former is not.

Fair enuff. It's quite clear that you have excellent taste in books, please feel free to share any other recommendations in the genre that you have enjoyed.

Cycloptichorn

None until now.

Piss off Jonnie Come Lately and Stupidly