Dan Simmons' Hyperion series is a 'must read'. I've recently finished his newest 'foray' into Science Fiction: Ilium and Olympos. These two books are incredibly ambitious, well-written (with the exception of some plot 'hiccups' at the end), and thoroughly enjoyable.

Aside from these books, I, too, have recently started reading Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn series. Hamilton's writing style is different--more erratic and 'omniscient'--but the sheer scope of his work is staggering and inventive enough to keep me reading.

I bow down to Neil Stephenson; "Snow Crash" is great fun and intriguing social commentary, "Cryptonomicon" is a vast work about information theory, and his "Baroque Cycle" is incredibly ambitious (not to my taste, though).

I've just started reading "Ilium" by Dan Simmons and love it, the reimagining of "god powers" as nanotech is wonderful. I plan to read his other works also.

Post -Apocalypse....that reminds me of Fallen Angels by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Michael Flynn. It is not quite apocalyptic, but it is a a fun read.

http://www.larryniven.org/reviews/fallen_angels_review.htm

Ok, I have 2 authors that were not mentioned.

For Space Opera (think Star Wars) Try EE "Doc" Smith.
For an great series about the comman man in the wrong (right?) place, try the Heechee Saga by Fred Pohl.

The Schu

The ultimate series of books for Sci-Fi was written years ago by the doctor of science fiction.

E.E. "DOC" Smith - The Lensman Series

(although Kat Lord Niven is hailed as Earths greatest author on Prydean)

W/R
Suralle Straykat
Kat Lord @ Large

Argh! It’s almost 3am, must promise myself a SHORT post of not mentioned but should be, imo.

First off gotta say, Heinlein v. Asimov, I finished the debate with myself the day I.A. followed R.A.H. into the where ever. I THINK I’ve read all of both, except the newly published letters of R.A.H. and they both are near and dear…

Someone mentioned space opera and didn’t mention Lensman by E.E. “Doc” Smith. I bit dated, but it is the granddaddy of all space opera, I’m not sure one can actually “get” space opera until you’ve read it, but that’s just an opinion.

Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon. Only one already listed I’m going to mention cause I think it’s his best, or at least as good as Snowcrash.

O.K. skip that, Ben Bova’s Colony gets over looked way too much.

Strike two, Philip K. Dick, “A Scanner Darkly” his “doper period novel”, and “Man in a High Castle”

(That’s it, I promise.)

Some military S.F. named so gotta include David Drake.

Gordon R. Dickson The Childe Cycle, make sure you start with Neromancer it gets missed sometimes but it is the origin point.

Jack Chalker Well of Souls, etc.

John Bunner Stand on Zanzibar

Niven and Barnes Dream Park and Barsoom Project.

David Gerrold “When Harlie Was One”, one of the great A.I. novels, and “Chess with a Dragon.”

Fritz Leiber “Gather Darkness”

Walter J. Miller A Canticle etc etc etc

Robert Sheckley “Journey of Joenes”

Cordwainer Smith “The Instrumentality of Mankind”, TRULY AWESOME!!

ZELAZNY, Just go to the book store, go to Z, go directly to Z, match the last name and simple buy one of each, you won’t be sorry.

C.J. Cheryth

Spider Robinson

Harry Turtledove

Kinky Friedman (OK, not on topic but he’s plenty enough off in space all by himself.)

AND

If you’ve actually read this far,

Kurt Vonnegut,

BUT

If you can find him writing as

Kilgore Trout in the book “Venus on a Halfshell” you’re gonna be so happy!


P.S. Believe it or not this is a SHORT post, well on this topic at any rate.

Here also is a good series if you have not read it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat

"Alastair Reynolds - "Revelation Space""

I'll second that, brilliant read, innovative and engrossing too. Oh, and it's pretty atmospheric for reading in conjunction with playing GC II.

Though I'm afraid it'll expose the inadequacies of the generic content of the GC premise .

Best space epic ever - read it ( and then read the rest of the series ) !

Fachen

Kim Stanley Robinson is a great hard scifi author. I've read the Mars Trilogy and now I am hooked on another trilogy that he is writing, "Science in the Capital"...The first book is "Forty Signs of Rain" and the second is "Fifty Degrees Below", I think he is still writing the third (he better be). The series deals with global warming in the near future, I love the books, but many people have said they are a little dry...especially the first one. I like them anyway though.

The Asimov Robot books are awesome Never managed to find the last one in the series though . . .

. . . and so to are his Foundation novels. In later novels he tied together the two series.

Asimovs Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Foundations Edge. If you like them, read also Predlude to Foundation and the Robot Novels: I, Robot, The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn.

You forgot the Foundation novels: Forward the Foundation, Second Foundation, and Foundation and Earth, then the Robots novels: Robots and Empire, The Positronic Man, and finally the Galactic Empire novels: Pebble in the Sky, The Stars Like Dust, and the Currents of Space.

Isaac Asimov is my favorite SF author!

Ok The best books to read are simply:

Starship Troopers, Its one of the best political and science fiction books i have ever read! The part when they start talking in class about how dumb it was to be fearing going to a park at night, or in the daytime, because of gangs. And how dumb the prison system is right now, genius!

Enders game, then enders shadow, then shadow of the hegemon, then shadow puppets, and anything with Bean being the man character was amazing! You have to read those and in that order! they are amazing. Im sorry but i could never get into speaker for the dead. The whole alien thing with talking and wierd stuff going on just made me confused and bored.

Finally the Halo series. Now i know i know... Some people hate halo, but! There are the amazing parts where the captain has to destroy 3 advanced ships, with his weapons that mosly have no effect on the first try because of its shelds. Oh my god there is a part! where he shoots a nuke at the start of battle at the first two ships, uses his MAC cannon (Rail gun) to hit the other ship the first time, and then ram into it , pushing it down into the planet, where it starts to burn up in atmosphere. Then he detonates the nuke after his MAC cannon is charged, and the emp blast takes care of the shelds for the other two and he shoots them with his cannons. HALO: The Fall of Reach is the first one, then there is HALO: The Flood, then HALO: First Strike.

HALO: The Fall of Reach - Eric Nylund
HALO: The Flood - William C. Dietz
HALO: First Strike - Eric Nylund

The Eric Nylund stuff is better, but the flood gives a very good interpertation of the original game. Its actually well done.

Eric Nylund lives for the space combat! He makes its sound so great with the commands and the battles. Also the ground combat is amazing! Totally worth the read! Please at least read this!


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Oh yes....

DO read any Anne McCaffrey books - especially the Dragons of Pern (even if these are science fantasy)

+ Discworld books

Oh, number of the beast might actually be a Heinlin book. Sorry - I have it somewhere !!!!! My dad, god bless him, has a stonkin huge collection of sci-fi - sci-fant books in a cupboard - I think there is something like 200 - 350 books at a minimum guess. I have started to work my way through these.