Elgaroo Brenza's Reviews > Foundation

Wendy wrote: "I was hoping to get around to reading this soon. I'm surprised you gave it such a low rating, as it's supposed to be a great classic. Should I just avoid it altogether? Maybe read the Robot seri..."

a lot of people find it very important, it was quite a long time ago, and i thought it started out quite solid, but really lost me in the direction it took the very interesting fundamental concepts.....P i probably should give it another try some day, it could have just been where i was at the time, but i have my doubts that's really changed... but i would personally consider the Robot stories more fundamental sci-fi indeed.

for some reason, as an alternate to this i feel compelled to recommend "Ender's Game", or some other "BIG" stories such as "Dune" (one of my ALL-TIME faves) or Niven's "Known Space" continuity (oh wait right you are!P go back and check out some of the earlier, shorter stories some time though, they fill in some interesting gaps and are a lot of fun!)

i can't really think of a better alternative, but def check out my sci-fi shelf for more suggestions; have you tried LeGuin yet? i'd start with "The Left Hand of Darkness"! and it's hard to go wrong with Clarke.....) if you liked the film "2001" at all, reading the book opens the story up in a truly awe-inspiring way..... it is MUCH deeper than it may appear on film alone.....

and if you want to try out SUPER old-school, see if you can dig up a copy of Conklin's "Treasury of Science Fiction"...D

Wendy wrote: "I actually wrote a paper on "The Left Hand of Darkness" in college. I love reading Le Guin. I just picked up a copy of "The Dispossessed", so that's on my reading list too. I read Dune years ago..."

sweet, yeah, i've read "Dune" over and over, pretty much religiously, since middle school. VERY dense, always more to read into it...) the sequels go pretty steadily downhill from there, and never really resulted in anything satisfying me, but they promise so much, so it's kind of interesting for a little while, until it just sort of settles into meaningless mush as far as i'm concerned. the PRE-quels are sort of interesting in an academic sort of way, as some sort of interpretation of the history of "Dune", but i really don't consider them canonical, and they are pretty silly, fluffy, and kinda trashy...P

"The Dispossessed" didn't do too much for me despite all its praise, i'd go more for something like Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" if you want more political sci-fi, even though it's a tad dated... "The Lathe of Heaven" is my other super-favorite LeGuin...!!D

if you're considering something more recent, you might really dig "A Fire Upon the Deep" etc.....)

ever tried cyber-punk...?

try "The Diamond Age", you may find it a more palatable introduction, and it's my personal favorite for sure...)

hey, could i see your paper on "The Left Hand of Darkness" if you still have it...? i might end up in an experimental, underground theatrical version here in Baltimore.....!P