This is based on one of Mary's comments:
"I really liked your recommendation of Ender's Game. It was a fun coming of age story and didn't contain too much crapnobabble (which I think can turn a good plot idea into a bunch of nonsense). Are there other books like this you could recommend?" - Marydell
(Rich, I hope I'm not stepping on your toes by answering a query addressed to you! :-)
Here's a quick list of some SF that I love:
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper - This isn't hard SF; in fact the science is pretty soft but Piper wrote all his novels allegorically and Little Fuzzy has some connections to race, religion and what makes us intelligent.
Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem - Lethem doesn't write SF. He's a modern lit. kind of author (Motherless Brooklyn was absolutely, stare-at-the-wall-in-a-blank-daze-'cause-it-hits-so-hard brilliant) but Gun is definately SF. It's one of my favorites that I re-read every couple of years.
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer - This book stopped me cold. It starts off being a straight-forward "the aliens have landed" type of book and ends up being the authors thoughts on death and what happens after. Good stuff.
The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter - A simple, quick read, but it makes you think.
Those are just a few quick SF favs. of mine. If you have a chance, I wouldn't mind knowing what you all think of these books...you know, if you're like me and think they're fantastic, or if you think I'm a complete loon with no grasp of good fiction. :-)
