Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
Top 100 Sci Fi Short Stories
Topic Started: Jul 21 2008, 06:46 AM (484 Views)
QuirtEvans
Member Avatar
I Owe It All To John D'Oh
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...rt_stories.html
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John D'Oh
Member Avatar
MAMIL
Ender's Game (the novel, I've never read the original short story) is absolutely wonderful. I've never understood the fuss made over Asimov's 'Nightfall'.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Qaanaaq-Liaaq
Member Avatar
Senior Carp
I don’t see Stephen King’s short sci-fi story “The Langoliers” included in the list. It should be. Great story and the film also.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Aqua Letifer
Member Avatar
ZOOOOOM!
Freaking great list.

Flowers for Algernon was really good. He had a hard time publishing it without chaninging the ending, but what you read online is what the original story called for. Never read the novel, though.

I didn't like The Green Hills of Earth. Just wasn't my thing I guess.

A Sound Of Thunder is THE time travel story. I really like how they dealt with the rules of time paradox.

I dunno if Robbie should be in that list. I think it's regarded so highly because it was one of the first to break the "evil robot" scheme, but nothing too ground-breaking in my opinion.

Blood Music's pretty deep but I liked it a lot. Biological nanotech turning self-aware is a pretty cool idea.

We Can Remember It for You Wholesale is a pretty standard issue Dick story. IMO not very well written but great freaking idea. Anybody see Total Recall? Yeah, it came from this story.

Johnny Mnemonic was great too of course, and also much better than the movie that was based on it.

There Will Come Soft Rains is pretty freaky. Ghost towns in the future will be ten times worse than ghost towns of today.

Both The Man Who Sold The Moon and Requiem were pretty darn good but I liked Requiem more. Good head nod to Robert Louis Stevenson.

Nightwings was freaking great, I'm surprised it wasn't higher on the list.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
sue
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Aqua Letifer
Jul 21 2008, 08:28 AM
Freaking great list.

Flowers for Algernon was really good. He had a hard time publishing it without chaninging the ending, but what you read online is what the original story called for. Never read the novel, though.

I didn't know it started as a short story. I'll have to check it out; I thought the book was great

Funny, I never thought of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' as sci-fi, but I guess it fits. That's a story you never forget.

Great list, thanks Quirt.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
greg
Member Avatar
Middle Aged Carp
The Last Question is amazing.
"What do you think it is, stupid? It's a string for my lute."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
bachophile
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
also like the top books list

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html

i read 30 of the top 100.
"I don't know much about classical music. For years I thought the Goldberg Variations were something Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg did on their wedding night." Woody Allen
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Aqua Letifer
Member Avatar
ZOOOOOM!
bachophile
Jul 21 2008, 09:48 AM
also like the top books list

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html

i read 30 of the top 100.

Me too exactly!
I cite irreconcilable differences.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
QuirtEvans
Member Avatar
I Owe It All To John D'Oh
Aqua Letifer
Jul 21 2008, 12:52 PM
bachophile
Jul 21 2008, 09:48 AM
also like the top books list

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html

i read 30 of the top 100.

Me too exactly!

Only 25 here.

All the Heinlein, none of the Vonnegut.
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John D'Oh
Member Avatar
MAMIL
QuirtEvans
Jul 21 2008, 02:01 PM
Aqua Letifer
Jul 21 2008, 12:52 PM
bachophile
Jul 21 2008, 09:48 AM
also like the top books list

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html

i read 30 of the top 100.

Me too exactly!

Only 25 here.

All the Heinlein, none of the Vonnegut.

28 for me. The great thing about that is, it leaves me 72 good books to read, with the obvious exception of Battlefield Earth. I read some stuff by Hubbard when I was younger, and it's total crap. I may be biased, admittedly, by his cult status, if you'll forgive the pun.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
George K
Member Avatar
Finally
39 (!) here. :woot:

(and I counted "Foundation," "Dune," and "I Robot" as one book, even though there are 3 listed for "Foundation" and "Robot.")

Never read Enders Game - is it really better than Dune?
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Aqua Letifer
Member Avatar
ZOOOOOM!
George K
Jul 21 2008, 10:26 AM

Never read Enders Game - is it really better than Dune?

IMHO not really. A lot of people who are really into Ender's Game are, in my opinion, into the politics of the book. They like Ender's Game more because they agree more with the theme, not necessarily because it's a better read.

But hey don't get me wrong, I think both are great books.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John D'Oh
Member Avatar
MAMIL
Aqua Letifer
Jul 21 2008, 02:28 PM
George K
Jul 21 2008, 10:26 AM

Never read Enders Game - is it really better than Dune?

IMHO not really. A lot of people who are really into Ender's Game are, in my opinion, into the politics of the book. They like Ender's Game more because they agree more with the theme, not necessarily because it's a better read.

But hey don't get me wrong, I think both are great books.

I think it is. I always thought Dune was rather pretentious. I liked Ender's Game not for the politics (which I actually found rather annoying) but for the description of strategic thinking within wargames, and the character of Ender, who to my mind was a far more interesting individual than Paul Atreides.

Orson Scott Card is a great writer when he forgets the message and concentrates on the story. Too much of his stuff is namby-pamby white guilt masquerading as fiction, but this one isn't, right up until the end.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
John D'Oh
Jul 21 2008, 10:50 AM
... for the description of strategic thinking within wargames...

That's why I like it. It takes an extremely intelligent writer to be able to write well about strategy and leadership, and "Ender's Game" does it better than almost any other fiction book I've read.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Aqua Letifer
Member Avatar
ZOOOOOM!
Red Rice
Jul 21 2008, 10:56 AM
John D'Oh
Jul 21 2008, 10:50 AM
... for the description of strategic thinking within wargames...

That's why I like it. It takes an extremely intelligent writer to be able to write well about strategy and leadership, and "Ender's Game" does it better than almost any other fiction book I've read.

Not to downplay the novel, but... all fiction writing's like that. He certainly did his research but really that's all you have to do to make something detailed and believable. What he did with military strategery was very good but I don't think that doing so is more difficult than with other subjects.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John D'Oh
Member Avatar
MAMIL
Aqua Letifer
Jul 21 2008, 03:00 PM
Red Rice
Jul 21 2008, 10:56 AM
John D'Oh
Jul 21 2008, 10:50 AM
... for the description of strategic thinking within wargames...

That's why I like it. It takes an extremely intelligent writer to be able to write well about strategy and leadership, and "Ender's Game" does it better than almost any other fiction book I've read.

Not to downplay the novel, but... all fiction writing's like that. He certainly did his research but really that's all you have to do to make something detailed and believable. What he did with military strategery was very good but I don't think that doing so is more difficult than with other subjects.

Since we're doing odious comparisons with Dune, I'd say that Frank Herbert did a much less effective job of describing realistic war in a fantasy context. The deus ex machina of turning Paul into a superhero is really very tiresome, and continues throughout the series, which gets more and more silly.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Red Rice
HOLY CARP!!!
No, it's more than just a matter of nailing down detail. Writing about strategy so that it's complex, believable, creative and surprising is pretty rare in both science and military fiction. Ender is a genius among geniuses, and the strategies he comes up with have to be worthy of that intelligence in order to impress the reader, and I think Card succeeds in this brilliantly. In fact, I think it's the primary reason why "Ender's Game" is held in such high regard.
Civilisation, I vaguely realized then - and subsequent observation has confirmed the view - could not progress that way. It must have a greater guiding principle to survive. To treat it as a carcase off which each man tears as much as he can for himself, is to stand convicted a brute, fit for nothing better than a jungle existence, which is a death-struggle, leading nowhither. I did not believe that was the human destiny, for Man individually was sane and reasonable, only collectively a fool.

I hope the gunner of that Hun two-seater shot him clean, bullet to heart, and that his plane, on fire, fell like a meteor through the sky he loved. Since he had to end, I hope he ended so. But, oh, the waste! The loss!

- Cecil Lewis
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Frank_W
Member Avatar
Resident Misanthrope
For some truly KICK-ASS short sci-fi stories, get William Gibson's, "Burning Chrome." Even if you don't like sci-fi... Mindblowing, high octane stuff... :thumb:
Anatomy Prof: "The human body has about 20 sq. meters of skin."
Me: "Man, that's a lot of lampshades!"
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
John D'Oh
Member Avatar
MAMIL
For longer stuff, I would highly recommend Iain M Banks. His non sci-fi stuff (writing as Iain Banks without the M) is even better, IMHO.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Dewey
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
One of my favorite SF short stories (magazine-level "short story") is Frederic Brown's "Puppet Show." If you haven't read it, I'd recommend it. You just don't know what you think you know...
"By nature, i prefer brevity." - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, p. 685.

"Never waste your time trying to explain yourself to people who are committed to misunderstanding you." - Anonymous

"Oh sure, every once in a while a turd floated by, but other than that it was just fine." - Joe A., 2011

I'll answer your other comments later, but my primary priority for the rest of the evening is to get drunk." - Klaus, 12/31/14
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
George K
Member Avatar
Finally
Dewey
Jul 21 2008, 04:04 PM
One of my favorite SF short stories (magazine-level "short story") is Frederic Brown's "Puppet Show." If you haven't read it, I'd recommend it. You just don't know what you think you know...

"The Ship Who Sang" was my 2nd favorite short story (later made into a book). For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the 1st ... "Dandelion..." Something.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
George K
Member Avatar
Finally
AHA! Found it!


"Dandelion Girl."
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jolly
Member Avatar
Geaux Tigers!
bachophile
Jul 21 2008, 11:48 AM
also like the top books list

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/to...ooks_rank1.html

i read 30 of the top 100.

38.

Noticed that 3 of the 4 Ender Quartet novels are in there.
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Jolly
Member Avatar
Geaux Tigers!
But only 24 of these:

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/fa...ists_books.html
The main obstacle to a stable and just world order is the United States.- George Soros
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Aqua Letifer
Member Avatar
ZOOOOOM!
Jolly
Jul 21 2008, 01:17 PM

Weird. 30 of those too, I've read.

Great list as well. :smile:
I cite irreconcilable differences.
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic »
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1