Answers to Quiz

My Best/Worst List

My Favorite SF Novels

Liturature is far too subjective a thing for anyone to propose their picks are the only picks. Still, all good stories should have in common believable, three-dimensional charectors, consistent universes, and realistic motives. We as readers have to care about the characters, and live with them across every page. All of these book meet these criteria in spades.

(Not in any particular order.)

   "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress."
One of Heinlein's most exciting.

   "The Crystal Cave"
Mary Stewart at her very best. More historical fiction than fantasy, it puts the most human face on Merlin of any Aurthurian novel I have ever read.

   Cyteen
No one builds a detailed unviverse like C. J. Cherryh, and this trilogy is no exception. These three novels are filled with more insight into the human mind than most psych manuals.

   Dune
Pull on your still-suit and call a Maker, this is Frank Herbert's masterpiece.

   The Lord of the Rings
What list would be complete without it? If you haven't read the trilogy, read it. If you have, read it again!

   The Mote In God's Eye
Often imated, seldom surpassed. Messiers Niven and Pournelle team up to create one of the most interesting universes imagionable.

   Ganwold's Child
Diann Thornley's exciting first novel. Perhaps not as well known as the other's on my lists, it is definatly worth the time. Military SF at it's best.

   The Dragonriders of Pern
What list would be complete without mentioning Anne McCaffrey's infamous world of Thread and telepathic dragons. Call it science fiction, call it fantasy, I call the series one of my favorites.

   The Shining
What's that you say? Stephan King on a SF list? I don't care if it's fantasy or horror, it's a great read. (And it will scare the hell out of you on long, dark nights!)

   Tao Zero
Poul Anderson's far reaching novel of a starship doomed to outlive the galaxy itself. The concept is remarkable, but it is the charectors that will draw you in.

   The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula LeGuin gives us a remarkable look at ourselves through the eyes of an alternate humanity.

   Dying Inside
Robert Silverberg's classic novel of telepathy and despair.

   "Finity's End" by C.J. Cherryh.

   "The Case For Mars" by Robert Zubin

   "Creating Short Fiction" by Damon Knight

   "The Ascent of Wonder" edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

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And now it's time for...

The Movies!

My own take on the best, and worst, in sci/fi cinema.

   Twelve Monkeys
This dark, moody film portrays time travel at it's most confusing best. Well acted, well written, and thought provoking, the show leaves only one question unanswered. How is it possible that director Terry Gilliam was a member of Monty Python?

   Alien
The movie that set the feel of science fiction for the last twenty years. A superb cast plus an origional story line levitate this origional far above its many imatators. And it scared the hell out of me on the big screen. (If you want a real ride, rent "Dark Star" and compare writer/director Dan O'Bannon's first attempt to "Alien."

   The Star Wars Trilogy
George Lucas takes a story line as old as humanity, and makes it something new and wonderful. This is our culture's version of the epic poem.

   2001: A Space Oddyssey
Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke team up to prove that you can make serious science fiction that appeals to a broader audiance. This movie was ground breaking in it's time, and the story line still holds up.

   Contact

Perhaps the most intelligent science fiction movie ever filmed. Enthralling.

   Blade Runner
Time has proven this dark masterpiece deserved better than it's initial release warrented.

(Major release only. I'll leave the B list to MST 3K. They do a much better job, anyway.)

   Battle Beyond The Stars
John Boy Walton in a moose shaped starship. A real stinkeroo!

   Dune
Dino DeLaurentis tries his comic book approach on serious science fiction, and falls flat on his still-suited arse.

   2001: A Space Oddyssey
Yes, it is on both of my best AND worst lists. It was such a ground breaking film, and had such a wonderful story line, that we tend to forget how tedious it could be in places. Kubrick's one shot camera technique during so much of the space station scenes, and aboard Discovery, drag on longer than needed.

   The Abyss
Abyssmal.

   Star Trek V
The Search For Santa Clause. A dissapointment, even for hard core Trekkers.