comic Science fiction

[azelismia]

I have a love of comic science fiction
I've read Tom holt
pratchett
adams
asprin
James Blaylock
dechancie


does anyone here have any other worthy authors of the genre ( or a similar genre) for consideration?

[Victoria Silver]

This is a sub-genre which is very hard to do well, in my opinion. I think it needs a light touch, in most cases. One humorous SF novel I like is The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, in which some technologically advanced aliens arrive in medieval England, ready to conquer the local primitives; only to have the locals defeat them, and set off in their starship to carry their crusade to the stars.

The absolute master of satiric SF was Robert Sheckley. Novels such as Journey Beyond Tomorrow belong on the same shelf as Swift and Voltaire.

[acrossthefourthwall]

I agree; I think that it's an unnatural pairing. In my opinion, this is because sci-fi and philosophical/ethical questioning often go hand-in-hand, and it's really hard to make philosophy/ethics funny for extended intervals without trivialising them. So it makes a lot of sense that for a sci-fi comedy you'd either have to go easy on the heavier issues (in the way that Adams does), or focus on them through satire. I just looked through the books I have that I'd consider sci-fi comedies, and they correspond to these subcategories very tidily.

Haven't been able to get into Pratchett yet. Any recommendations for a starting-point?

[notoppings]

I have a love of comic science fiction
I've read Tom holt
pratchett
adams
asprin
James Blaylock
dechancie


does anyone here have any other worthy authors of the genre ( or a similar genre) for consideration?

Great list. If you enjoyed Asprin you may enjoy, Harry Harrison's series "The stainless Steal Rat. Also Rob Grant (Red Dwarf) works well for Adams fans. Then There is Kilgore Trout (Vonnegut) Venus on the Half Shell. Not always funny but a great read.

[azelismia]

Great list. If you enjoyed Asprin you may enjoy, Harry Harrison's series "The stainless Steal Rat. Also Rob Grant (Red Dwarf) works well for Adams fans. Then There is Kilgore Trout (Vonnegut) Venus on the Half Shell. Not always funny but a great read.

well I love red dwarf the tv series. is it book form too? I read the stainless steel rat years ago but totally forgot how it goes or if I liked it. I should give it another spin

I had the same problem you had with pratchett, I was recommended to start with small gods and mort as his first books were actually his worst. it's true. I had started trying to read the series from the beginning and while that's normally a sound strategy in pratchetts case it's really not.





azelismia added to this post, 1 minutes and 48 seconds later...

This is a sub-genre which is very hard to do well, in my opinion. I think it needs a light touch, in most cases. One humorous SF novel I like is The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, in which some technologically advanced aliens arrive in medieval England, ready to conquer the local primitives; only to have the locals defeat them, and set off in their starship to carry their crusade to the stars.

The absolute master of satiric SF was Robert Sheckley. Novels such as Journey Beyond Tomorrow belong on the same shelf as Swift and Voltaire.

Sheckley has been added to my list to read. thanks!

[notoppings]

well I love red dwarf the tv series. is it book form too? I read the stainless steel rat years ago but totally forgot how it goes or if I liked it. I should give it another spin

I had the same problem you had with pratchett, I was recommended to start with small gods and mort as his first books were actually his worst. it's true. I had started trying to read the series from the beginning and while that's normally a sound strategy in pratchetts case it's really not.

Grant has two books out under science fiction comedy the name escapes me. As for Pratchett have you read "Guards" it might help to introduce the characters more so you can understand the story lines better. I forgot to mention Alan Dean Foster, try the Pip and Flinx series or the Taken trilogy you will laugh at most of the story lines.

[Szarra]

Alan Dean Foster is excellent. I would recommend Glory Lane and the Spellsinger series, though the setting of the latter is actually fantasy rather than science fiction. I'm going to have to go out and find the Pip and Flinx books. I haven't read those in years! Glory Road is a good one by Robert Heinlein. (It's a cross between fantasy and science fiction.)

[azelismia]

This is a sub-genre which is very hard to do well, in my opinion. I think it needs a light touch, in most cases. One humorous SF novel I like is The High Crusade by Poul Anderson, in which some technologically advanced aliens arrive in medieval England, ready to conquer the local primitives; only to have the locals defeat them, and set off in their starship to carry their crusade to the stars.

The absolute master of satiric SF was Robert Sheckley. Novels such as Journey Beyond Tomorrow belong on the same shelf as Swift and Voltaire.


So I've picked up Sheckly, and I have to say I don't get him. i've read a couple of his books now and they seem more like a drug addicts meanderings than comic fiction? did he only have a couple good books or something? is he hit and miss?