Broadening someone's sci-fi horizons
- Thread starter IanBruntlett
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Anstett
Emperor Mongoose
There is also an audio book of the Third Imperium book is she likes that format @IanBruntlett
Traveller: The Third ImperiumStreaming .mp3
Audiobook The Third Imperium is the greatest interstellar empire in the history of Charted Space. Its Emperors have reigned for a thousand years, building a utopian society based upon the pillars of duty, honour, free trade and a powerful navy that protects its worlds and enforces its laws...
audiorpg.net
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Turtledove's Earthgrip.
Beautiful blue eyed (natural) blonde with a literature degree wants to be a professor of Middle English literature (20th century, SciFi specialty), but anyone looking at her subtracts her bust measurement from her IQ and refuses to hire her. She decides she needs an edge and gets a Free Trader that needs an apprentice Trader to keep their license to hire her as she will be able from experience to show how close/far the various authors were from the reality she got to live. She then proceeds to use that SciFi (and Sherlock Holmes) knowledge to solve problems for the ship. She is a full Trader when she gets her dream job. She has one more flight afterwards where she gets promoted to Master Trader and makes the courses she teaches REALLY popular.
I need to get another copy of that.
Beautiful blue eyed (natural) blonde with a literature degree wants to be a professor of Middle English literature (20th century, SciFi specialty), but anyone looking at her subtracts her bust measurement from her IQ and refuses to hire her. She decides she needs an edge and gets a Free Trader that needs an apprentice Trader to keep their license to hire her as she will be able from experience to show how close/far the various authors were from the reality she got to live. She then proceeds to use that SciFi (and Sherlock Holmes) knowledge to solve problems for the ship. She is a full Trader when she gets her dream job. She has one more flight afterwards where she gets promoted to Master Trader and makes the courses she teaches REALLY popular.
I need to get another copy of that.
summerdown
Mongoose
If you want to play more slice of life (and why wouldn't you?), then The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is really good.
Alternatively, All Systems Red by Martha Wells (the first of the Murderbot series) has a really engaging protagonist and is loads of fun.
Sorry, just noticed it was dvds you wanted, not books. I'll recommend Firefly, Dark Matter or Killjoys then!
Alternatively, All Systems Red by Martha Wells (the first of the Murderbot series) has a really engaging protagonist and is loads of fun.
Sorry, just noticed it was dvds you wanted, not books. I'll recommend Firefly, Dark Matter or Killjoys then!
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OriginalCaruso
Cosmic Mongoose
Films are an easier media to consume but often screenplays lack the depth of the originating novels. If the consumer is willing to invest a little more time and effort, IMHO books offer a broader and deeper immersive experience than film.
Always good to have options…
Always good to have options…
FreeTrav
Emperor Mongoose
On the strength of this posting, I asked the bingleduck about it, and discovered I have a copy, because I have a copy of "3×T".
Oh, John Scalzi's stuff is good. A bit of humour, sometimes absurd, but always an easy read. He mixes up his tone a bit too - some are outright military science fiction, others are pure people based ones. Kaiju Preservation Society is more or less Jurassic Park with Godzilla.
Old Man's War as a series outlasted it's worth for me (first novel is still good), but he's an excellent one-off writer. Especially reccommended are Lock In and Head Off, which are solid police procedurals with the conceit that the FBI agent main character and a sizable chunk of humanity are paralyzed-in-a-tank-on-life-support after an epidemic, but can interface with the internet and operate remote mechanical bodies. Lock In is the first book, but I happened to read them out of order and it made no difference; the plots are self-contained cases.
Old Man's War as a series outlasted it's worth for me (first novel is still good), but he's an excellent one-off writer. Especially reccommended are Lock In and Head Off, which are solid police procedurals with the conceit that the FBI agent main character and a sizable chunk of humanity are paralyzed-in-a-tank-on-life-support after an epidemic, but can interface with the internet and operate remote mechanical bodies. Lock In is the first book, but I happened to read them out of order and it made no difference; the plots are self-contained cases.
Hi,
In my Traveller campaign I have a player whose exposure to Science-Fiction has been limited to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I'm looking for recommendations for DVDs to watch that might broaden those horizons. I'm thinking of Serenity or Firefly but I am open to other suggestions.
Thank you
Ian
The Schlock Mercenary Web Comic at https://www.schlockmercenary.com/ The art and first stories are a bit silly, but it gets deeper as it goes on with some great sci-fi.
mavikfelna
Emperor Mongoose
Been a fan of Howard's for long time. Lived close enough I've played some D&D with him, may years ago.
But I highly recommend picking up his paperbacks, as the bonus stories add even more to the overall universe.
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Then there is Eric Frank Russel for some odd ball worlds. His "The Great Explosion" has several.
IanBruntlett
Emperor Mongoose
I gave her a DVD of Gravity at Christmas and she said that it was a good film.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
CordwainerFish
Emperor Mongoose
(insert Obi-wan encouraging Luke clip here)
To Tha Moon!
Cosmic Mongoose
Starship Troopers. The movie is different from the novel.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact if they like the first one.
ALLIEN if they don't have a problem with scary movies.
ALIENS if they survive the first one.
DUNE I like the 1984 version, but the more recent one is closer to the book.
Forbidden Planet
The Star Wars series in the order they were filmed.
The Star Trek movie series if they watched the TV show. Otherwise, just Wrath of Khan.
A good novel is Star Rangers by Andre Norton
For fun Sci-Fi stories there is Asimov's Mysteries.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2010: The Year We Make Contact if they like the first one.
ALLIEN if they don't have a problem with scary movies.
ALIENS if they survive the first one.
DUNE I like the 1984 version, but the more recent one is closer to the book.
Forbidden Planet
The Star Wars series in the order they were filmed.
The Star Trek movie series if they watched the TV show. Otherwise, just Wrath of Khan.
A good novel is Star Rangers by Andre Norton
For fun Sci-Fi stories there is Asimov's Mysteries.
AndrewW
Emperor Mongoose
Yup, due to budget reasons they left out the MI suit, the reason he got in trouble in boot camp is a lot different as well. Other changes of course, but then movies based on books do tend to differ a bit.
mavikfelna
Emperor Mongoose
I detest the movie. Vanderhoven didn't read the book and pretty much wrote a screenplay that is the exact opposite. Then proceeded to not have any military advisors for a military movie and finally hired one of the worst cinematographers in the industry. Oh, and did his best to make 90210 in space, which is one of the main reasons I also lothe the Battlestar Galactica remake, despite the awesome casting job they did
The only good things I can say about the movie is the visual design of the Rodger Young is appealing as is the space dock and they did a decent job on the History and Moral Philosophy classroom scenes.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Heinlein wasn't wrong about society, service, and sacrifice; but he feels weirdly Ayn Rand, especially in his other works.
Verhoeven wasn't wrong that a society without safeguards, tends towards authoritarianism and fascism.
Galactica revisioned, I'm guessin', suffers from making it up as it went along.
Verhoeven wasn't wrong that a society without safeguards, tends towards authoritarianism and fascism.
Galactica revisioned, I'm guessin', suffers from making it up as it went along.
actionman
Emperor Mongoose
Very. The director of the movie didn't read the novel, and the movie was a satirical criticism of his experiences under occupation during WW2. All the complaints about the books so-called politics are unfounded.
