Boy, I hope I've got some sci-fi fans out in my audience. So, what have you read recently? What would you recommend? What should I avoid at all costs?

-- Brad (brad@scriptbrads.tv), February 21, 2001

Answers

Just read three that I enjoyed, all very different from one another.

The (probably now-classeic) Neverwhere was great. It was the grittiest of the three I just read. Very imaginative, wonderfully other-worldish.

For a more haunting, lyrical (more s/f/fantasy-ish) story, The Wood Wife was quite remarkable.

Also, for a very British caper-esque story, To Say Nothing of the Dog was a good romp.

I'm sure Amazon or something has better synopses that I can muster.

-- toni (toni@la-lagniappe.com), February 22, 2001.

I am in the midst of reading all the Dune books (by Frank Herbert) - the first time for all of them except _Dune_ itself. They're awfully good, despite some painfully obvious 'outdated attitudes'. Gripping though. And wonderfully complex.
I recently read _Prospero's Children_ by Jan Siegel (modern fantasy) and it was much better than I expected it to be [it's a good book, not just 'more fantasy crap']. I didn't like the protagonist at first, but she quickly became more engaging.
John Crowley is always good (eg _Little, Big_, _Love & Sleep_, Daemonomania).
Vonda N. McIntyre's _Dreamsnake_ was lovely, just as I anticipated. Those will do for now:).

-- Marianne (marseillaise@hotmail.com), February 22, 2001.

I haven't read it recently, but "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban (I believe -- can't find the book right now to confirm). It's about an itinerant puppeteer after nukes have destroyed all but a few inhabitants of Earth. And it's written in a bizarre but wonderful post-apocalyptic English -- bits and pieces of words scrambled together. Takes three or four pages of hard reading to figure it out, but from there on, you're totally fluent -- and you're hoo

-- Reginald Squirrel (rsquirrels@prodigy.net), February 24, 2001.

and you're hoo...

should have read: and you're hooked.

What's with this server, Brad?

-- Reginald Squirrel (rsquirrels@prodigy.net), February 26, 2001.