[vg]

My kindle has opened new doors to me - I'm about to take a leap.  I've never read scifi/fantasy but know there are alot of you who devour the stuff.  What would be a good book for a beginner?

 

[sherylb]

Well VG-

First thing you need to know is that SciFi and Fantasy are two different genres. I probably won't be able to explain this very well, but here goes.

SciFi is generally about outerspace and all things related to space, quantum physics stuff like time travel and such, aliens, hard science, etc.

Where Fantasy generally encompasses things like vampires, werwolf and, fairies, and that whole group; paranormal, psi capable characters; Kingdomes with Knights, damsels in distress and swords...lots of swords, dragons, magic, etc.

Not complete by any means but think about the difference between Star Wars and The Hobbit. Star Wars is SciFi and The Hobbit is Fantasy. So first you need to think about which genre you are intersted in and let us know.

Hope this helps.

Sheryl

 

[Snapcat]

My kindle has opened new doors to me - I'm about to take a leap. I've never read scifi/fantasy but know there are alot of you who devour the stuff. What would be a good book for a beginner?

What genre of novels do you usually read? There are a lot of different types of fantasy and sci fi- so maybe it would be good to ease into something similar to what you read.

I think "Dune" is a good science fiction book, and "The Hobbit" a good example of a fantasy novel.

 

[Guest]

You should probably read both my and jmiked's "Favorite novels" threads.  We both mention several sci-fi novels and discuss the genre.

 

[Kindled Spirit]

My kindle has opened new doors to me - I'm about to take a leap. I've never read scifi/fantasy but know there are alot of you who devour the stuff. What would be a good book for a beginner?

vg...u might want to check out a new post made by member kreelanwarrior. he has a new book called In Her Name that blends sci-fi with fantasy. It sounds good.

 

[vg]

thanks to all - I'll check out the recommendations.  I've read the Hobbit, so I guess I've touched on the fantasy side.  I'd like to try scifi, but am really nervous

 

[Vegas_Asian]

Blood and Chocolate the book is a really quick and easy read (if you have watched the movie...the only thing the book and the movie have in common is the character names). My friends and a couple of my classmates say that "Dune" is really good. I haven't read it and I downloaded it because it only costs 1.95 and the second book costs 1.25

 

[Mike D. aka jmiked]

Well VG-

First thing you need to know is that SciFi and Fantasy are two different genres.
Sheryl

Not to mention that many people consider SciFi and Science Fiction to be two different genres.

 

[Snapcat]

thanks to all - I'll check out the recommendations. I've read the Hobbit, so I guess I've touched on the fantasy side. I'd like to try scifi, but am really nervous

Well I'm more of a fantasy fan typically- but as far as science fiction I've enjoyed:

Dune, 1984, Journey into the Center of the Earth, Brave New World, Slaughterhouse Five, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Foundation, Dragonriders of Pern (more the earlier books). I'm not so much a fan of "hard" sci fi.

 

[Michael R. Hicks]

vg -

In Her Name sort of crosses the bridge between fantasy and sci-fi (and some romance thrown in for fun!); several of the readers I've heard from aren't sci-fi *or* fantasy readers and still enjoyed it. And the beauty of the Kindle is that checking out a book is risk free - just download the preview and check it out. My wife has eight pages of samples!

And for anyone who doesn't have a Kindle, the first four chapters are in a free PDF.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[marianneg]

thanks to all - I'll check out the recommendations. I've read the Hobbit, so I guess I've touched on the fantasy side. I'd like to try scifi, but am really nervous

If you want to try it on the cheap, baen.com has lots of books you can read for free - click on "Free Library Books" on the left side of the homepage.

 

[Mike D. aka jmiked]

Here are several Kindle books in the science fiction area I would throw out for newbies:

The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein

Double Star by Robert Heinlein

Camouflage by Joe Haldeman

Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin

Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt

Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffery

There are large number of books suitable for introducing people to SF that aren't ported to the Kindle yet.

Kindleboards links:

Rite of Passage

 

[Guest]

jmiked: I'm shocked! You forgot City!

It isn't on Kindle yet either, However it is on Audible.

 

[Mike D. aka jmiked]

jmiked: I'm shocked! You forgot City!

It isn't on Kindle yet either, However it is on Audible.

Well, I actually went and checked to make sure all those on my list were officially on the Kindle, heh.

 

[Guest]

Audible counts as Kindle-ready, right?   (Though I linked to the pb version.)

 

[Mike D. aka jmiked]

Audible counts as Kindle-ready, right? (Though I linked to the pb version.)

Not to me. Maybe if I still had a morning commute, I might change my mind. I have a hard enough time trying to listen to the podcasts that accumulate on the iPod.

 

[hazeldazel]

You'll love Heinlein unfortunately there's not a ton of his stuff on Kindle format yet. There's a few on Amazon and a few on Webscription.net. His SciFi is more great-story-that-just-happens-to-be-in-space/future type of scifi. My favorites of his are Stranger in a Strange Land and The Menace from Earth. Starship Troopers was great too - actually, I really like most of his stuff.

Other great SciFi to try is Sassinak by Elizabeth Moon, available at Webscription.net. Moon also wrote The Deed of Parksenarrion trilogy which is in the Fantasy category. And of course, you've read The Princess Bride by William Goldman right? I mean, not reading The Princess Bride, would be... inconceivable.

L. Spraque DeCamp (sp?) is great, Anne McCaffrey is great, Andre Norton, gosh there's so many... But really, you *have* to read The Princess Bride.

 

[Snapcat]

But really, you *have* to read The Princess Bride.

Agreed!

 

[Tarma]

My favorite Heinlein is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". Unfortunately no ebook format yet. 

 

[vg]

Wow - I go to dinner and come back to all these choices!  I'm going to take each one and check out the reviews and samples to pick something.  I've got to ask jmiked - what is the difference between SciFi and Science Fiction?

I have a sample of "Hitchhiker's Guide" that I forgot I had downloaded, so maybe I will start with that, and since In Her Name seems to be a mix, I will download that sample right away also.

I'm kind of excited to see if I like this - I know it should make for some interesting reading!

Hazeldazel - I haven't read The Princess Bride, but I've seen the movie - bet it doesn't even come close.  Okay - add that to the list...