Sci-Fi Favorite Type of Sci Fi

[Maarkean]

I like good old fun space opera. Spaceships and aliens. Extraordinary technologies. Good fun.

Though, fredelon has a nice point about BSG. Firefly would fit in that category. Both don't focus on the science, but are reasonably realistic. No aliens, just people in a different setting. That can be fun too.

 

[Darkwood]

I think a lot depends on the story as much as the "type". Take post apocalyptic for instance - the original BBC Survivors series (1970s, Terry Nation) was a timeless classic but the recent spate of zombie apocalypse themed stories have become a bit tedious.

I think the odd experiments with "SciFi Drama" (for want of a better word) where people have tried to say "this a serious drama that just happens to be set in a SciFi setting" tend not to work that well. I have yet to come across anything half decent of that sort yet anyway. I think Barry Letts had it right when he said he didn't think that sort of thing worked because SciFi fans want aliens and ray guns & won't watch SciFi drama because they are afraid there won't be any aliens or ray guns in it. On the other hand he didn't think serious drama fans would watch it because they were afraid that it WOULD have aliens and ray guns in it.

 

[charleshudgen]

I have no favorite because I like every book series that release in Sci-Fi and everytime they published it and sell it in market and If I think that the story is interesting I would read it and give my thoughts about it.

 

[darkfilms]

Hey guys

Check this short out

 

[LatinumHeart]

I love Space Opera. Time Travel....."sara, conner? Yessss? BOOM!" lol and of course Cyperpunk (had no idea it was called that) but whatever it is I loved Blade Runner!

 

[actionavenue]

I know I've posted on this thread before, but I suppose another post will do no harm. Space Operas/Inter Planetary are my favorites. I have favorites movies in probably every scifi category.

 

[MadaBidyoni]

well i like them all
but i most like space & time travel

 

[gravie3282]

Space Opera... I also enjoy some in the Alternate Universe as well.

 

[Oshikuru]

I like most-anything 'Hard' Sci-fi, where they go the extra mile to rationalise the fi elements of the sci with some amount of credibility. The moment the protagonist is waving a sonic screwdriver around to get him/herself out of a plot hole the writers dug him/her into, I'm out!

 

[IntentionalAlien]

Great poll, and a difficult choice!

You forgot about diesel punk though


I generally agree with Oshikuru- I usually prefer the harder science fiction, no matter the style. Real science (or something close to it) keeps me more interested, with less fridge logic.

 

[fredelon]

I think a lot depends on the story as much as the "type". Take post apocalyptic for instance - the original BBC Survivors series (1970s, Terry Nation) was a timeless classic but the recent spate of zombie apocalypse themed stories have become a bit tedious.

I think the odd experiments with "SciFi Drama" (for want of a better word) where people have tried to say "this a serious drama that just happens to be set in a SciFi setting" tend not to work that well. I have yet to come across anything half decent of that sort yet anyway. I think Barry Letts had it right when he said he didn't think that sort of thing worked because SciFi fans want aliens and ray guns & won't watch SciFi drama because they are afraid there won't be any aliens or ray guns in it. On the other hand he didn't think serious drama fans would watch it because they were afraid that it WOULD have aliens and ray guns in it.

Interesting point of view. Indeed Ronald D. Moore Battlestar Galactica, as Naturalistic Sci-fi joined together both stream, Its sci-fi, but a serious drama too. That's why a lot of Scifi fans got their wives watching BSG with them. But at the same point It seems that syfy channel was quite not satisfied with TV rating of BSG... Maybe Its because It was hard to satisfy both category of fans at once...

 

[Virgil Tracy]

Steelpunk.

Steelpunk is all about the technologies of the last decades of the last millennium. Where Steampunk celebrates the 19th century, Steelpunk loves the tech of the late 20th. It harks back to the days of the space race and the jet age, when everything was chrome-plated, needle-nosed and rocket-powered.

The only problem is, I don’t know if it actually exists. I kind of made it up.

I was thinking about the kind of science fiction I’d enjoy and Steelpunk is what I came up with. Can anyone suggest examples of Steelpunk-style stories I could check out?

 

[Tom]

Since you made it up I guess its really up to you.

There are many scifi storylines dealing with the Y2k thing.

Strange Days (1995) comes right to mind.

Nearly anything with a rocket fits your description, additionally, anything involving atom/nuclear wars or bombs, genetic abberations, hell, just pick a subject and it should fit into your classification.
I mean, we are only 17 years into the 2000s. Not many scientific breakthrus with scifi stories yet.

 

[Virgil Tracy]

Strange Days (1995) comes right to mind.

Script by James Cameron, directed by Kathryn Bigelow - have to check out Strange Days. Thanks Tom.

 

[sci-fi-dude]

Space Opera, gets my vote!

Gotta love Bill!

 

[Boreas]

I like all SF, but my two favourite types are hard SF and space opera. And if you're going to shove me into a corner, then I'll choose hard SF. Best option would be 'hard space opera'. Luckily, Alastair Reynolds exists and writes exactly that.

 

[Boreas]

I like most-anything 'Hard' Sci-fi, where they go the extra mile to rationalise the fi elements of the sci with some amount of credibility. The moment the protagonist is waving a sonic screwdriver around to get him/herself out of a plot hole the writers dug him/her into, I'm out!

What are some of your favourite hard SF novels?

 

[sci-fi-dude]

What is a hard novel? I know of hard cover books, and soft cover books. I know of youthful sci-fi books, and adult, Giggity, lol, sci-fi books, but I have never heard of a hard sf novel?

 

[Tom]

Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy.

Arthur C Clarke

(Arthur Charles Clarke)

(1917 - 2008)
aka E G O'Brien, Charles Willis
Rama
1. Rendezvous with Rama (1972)
2. Rama II (1989) (with Gentry Lee)
3. The Garden of Rama (1991) (with Gentry Lee)
4. Rama Revealed (1993) (with Gentry Lee)
Rama: The Omnibus (omnibus) (2011) (with Gentry Lee)

Alastair Reynolds

(1966 - )
Revelation Space
1. Revelation Space (2000)
2. Chasm City (2001)
3. Redemption Ark (2002)
4. Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days (2003)
4. Absolution Gap (2003)
5. The Prefect (2007)
aka Aurora Rising
Diamond Dogs (2001)
Galactic North (2006)
The Revelation Space Collection (omnibus) (2011)
The Revelation Space Trilogy (omnibus) (2017)

Vernor Vinge

(Vernor Steffen Vinge)

(1944 - )
Queng Ho
1. A Deepness in the Sky (1999)
2. A Fire upon the Deep (1992)
3. The Children of the Sky (2011)
Zones of Thought (omnibus) (2010)
After the Battle on Starship Hill (2011)

Kim Stanley Robinson

(1952 - )
Capital Code
1. Forty Signs of Rain (2004)
2. Fifty Degrees Below (2005)
3. Sixty Days and Counting (2007)

Nancy Kress

(Nancy Anne Kress)

(1948 - )
Wife of Charles Sheffield
aka Anna Kendall
Sleepless
1. Beggars in Spain (1991)
2. Beggars and Choosers (1994)
3. Beggars Ride (1996)

A few examples of many...

 

[sci-fi-dude]

Star Trek, Star wars, Space 1999, any thing pre 2000'sGreat stories, made sense, every one can enjoy....