Science Fiction is my favorite form of imaginative writing; I've been into it for almost 25 years. This page lists some of my favorite works in a number of media, and provides links to more comprehensive sci-fi resources on the web.

Sorry, but this page is still under construction.

To jump to one of this page's subsections, just click on a link:

• My Top 100 Sci-Fi Authors
• Best Sci-Fi Movies and TV Shows
• Cool Sci-Fi Games
• Links to WWW Sci-Fi Sites

For reviews of fairly new sci-fi and other books, visit my books and reviews page.

My Top 100 Science Fiction Authors

The table below is a compilation of my favorite books by a wide variety of science fiction authors. (The authors are just given in alphabetical order, and some of the authors' names are links to web pages about them. If no book names appear with that author, it means that all my favorite material by that author are short stories, essays, or novelizations of other works. Marked in boldface are authors who were, IMHO, important contributor to the field. Almost all of the book titles are links that search for that book by name at Books-A-Million.)

See also The Internet Scifi/Fantasy Top 100 List.

Author	Titles
Douglas Adams (1952-)	Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The (1985)
Kevin J. Anderson (1962-)
Poul Anderson (1926-)	The Shield of Time (1990) Fire Time (1974)
Piers Anthony (1934-)	Macroscope (1969)
Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)	The Caves of Steel (1954) Foundation (1951) The Robots of Dawn (1988)
Robert Aspirin (1946-)	The Cold Cash War (1977) The Bug Wars (1979)
Wilhelmina Baird (1935-)	CrashCourse (1994) Chaos Come Again (1996)
Iain M. Banks (1954-)	Against a Dark Background (1993) Feersum Endjinn (1994) Excession (1996)
John Barnes (1957-)	A Million Open Doors (1992)
Stephen M. Baxter (1957-)	Timelike Infinity (1992) Flux (1993)
Greg Bear (1951-)	Hegira (1979) Blood Music (1985) Eon (1985)
Gregory Benford ( )	Heart of the Comet (1986) Furious Gulf (1994)
Alfred Bester (1913-1987)	The Stars My Destination (1957) The Demolished Man (1953) Golem^100 (1980)
James Blish (1921-1975)	The Seedling Stars (1957) Cities in Flight (1970) The Quincunx of Time (1973)
Ray Bradbury (1920-)	The Martian Chronicles (1953) Farenheit 451 (1953)
Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930-)	The Mists of Avalon (1983)
David Brin (1950-)	Sundiver (1980) Startide Rising (1985) Infinity's Shore (1996)
Fredric Brown (1906-1972)
John Brunner (1934-)	The Crucible of Time (1984) Stand on Zanzibar (1968)
Orson Scott Card (1951-)	Ender's Game (1977) Wyrms (1987)
Terry Carr (1937-1987)
Jeffrey A. Carver (1949-)	Strange Attractors (1995)
Jack L. Chalker (1944-)	Midnight at the Well of Souls (1977) Soul Rider: Spirits of Flux and Anchor (1984)
C.J. Cherryh (1942-)	Downbelow Station (1981) The Pride of Chanur (1982)
Arthur C. Clarke (1917-)	Childhood's End (1950) Rendezvous with Rama (1973) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Mona Clee	Branch Point (1996)
Hal Clement (1922-)	Mission of Gravity (1950) Fossil (1993)
Michael Crichton (1942-)	The Andromeda Strain (1971) Jurassic Park (1990)
Samuel R. Delany (1942-)	The Einstein Intersection (1967) Dahlgren (1975)
Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1966)
Gordon R. Dickson (1923-)	Dorsai! (1976) Timestorm (1977)
Gardener Dozois (1947-)
David Drake (1945-)	Northworld (1990) The Jungle (1991)
Harlan Ellison (1934-)
Philip Jose Farmer (1918-)	To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) The Unreasoning Mask (1981)
Robert L. Forward (1932-)	Dragon's Egg (1980) Rocheworld (1990) Timemaster (1992)
Alan Dean Foster (1946-)
David Gerrold (1944-)	A Day for Damnation (1984)
William Gibson (1948-)	Neuromancer (1984) Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) Idoru (1996)
Joe Haldeman (1943-)	The Forever War (1974) All My Sins Remembered (1977) Forever Peace (1998)
Harry Harrison (1925-1995?)	The Stainless Steel Rat (1961) One Step from Earth (1970) Planet Story (1979)
Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)	Waldo (1942) Starship Troopers (1959) Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966) Time Enough for Love (1973)
Frank Herbert (1920-1986)	Dune (1965) The Godmakers (1972)
James P. Hogan (1941-)	Giant's Star (1981) Entoverse (1991) Code of the Lifemaker (1983)
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)	Brave New World (1932)
Damon Knight (1922-?)
C.M. Kornbluth (1923-1958)	The Space Merchants (1952)
Keith Laumer (1925-1993)	Worlds of the Imperium (1962) Retief of the CDT (1971) A Plague of Demons (1965) Dinosaur Beach (1970) Bolo (1976)
Tanith Lee (1947-)	Drinking Sapphire Wine (1977)
Ursula K. LeGuin (1929-)	The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) The Lathe of Heaven (1971) Tehanu (1990)
Stanislaw Lem (1921-)	Memoirs of a Space Traveler (1982) Futurological Congress (1974)
Madeline L'Engle (1918)	A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
George R.R. Martin (1948-)	Windhaven (1981) Tuf Voyaging (1986)
Julian May (1931-)	Many-Colored Land, The (1981) Surveillance (1988)
Anne McCaffery (1926-)	Pern Novels (1971-) The Ship Who Sang (1969)
Jack McDivett (1935-)	The Engines of God (1994)
Vonda N. McIntyre (1948-)	Dreamsnake (1978) Starfarers (1989)
Walter M. Miller (1922-1997)	A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960) St. Leibowith and the Wild Horse Woman (1997)
L.E. Modesitt (1943-)	The Hammer of Darkness (1985) The Timegod (1993)
Michael Moorcock (1939-)	The Cornelius Chronicles (1977) Dancers at the End of Time (1981)
Larry Niven (1938-)	Protector (1967) Ringworld (1970) Mote in God's Eye, The (1974) A World Out of Time (1976) The Integral Trees (1984) Dream Park (1981) The Legacy of Heorot (1987)
Alan Nourse (1928-1992)	Star Surgeon (1960)
Steve Perry (1947-)	The Man Who Never Missed (1985) Dome (1987)
Donald Pfeil	Voyage to a Forgotten Sun (1975)
H. Beam Piper (1904-1964)	Little Fuzzy (1962)
Frederik Pohl (1919-)	Wolfbane (1959) Gateway (1977) JEM (1979)
Jerry Pournelle (1933-)	Mote in God's Eye, The (1974) Lucifer's Hammer (1977)
W.T. Quick ( )	Systems (1989)
Lester del Rey (1915-1993)
Spider Robinson (1948-)	Stardance (1979)
Rudy Rucker (1946-)	White Light (1980) Freeware (1997)
Eric Frank Russell (1905-1978)
Fred Saberhagen (1930-)	Berserker (1967) Berserker Man (1979)
Robert J. Sawyer (1960-)	Far-seer (1992) Starplex (1996)
James Schmitz (1911-1981)	The Witches of Karres (1966)
Carol Severance (1944-)	Reefsong (1991)
Robert Scheckley (1928-)	Mindswap (1966)
Charles Sheffield (1935-)	Godspeed (1993)
Lucius Shepard (1947-)	Green Eyes (1984)
Robert Silverberg (1935-)	Lord Valentine's Castle (1980) Kingdoms of the Wall (1992)
Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)	Project Pope (1981) The Goblin Reservation (1968) Highway of Eternity (1986)
E.E. Smith (1890-1965)	Galactic Patrol (1950)
Christopher Stasheff (1944-)	The Warlock In Spite of Himself (1969)
Neal Stephenson (1959-)	Snow Crash (1992) The Diamond Age (1995)
Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985)	More Than Human (1953)
Somtow Sucharitkul (1952-)	The Darkling Wind (1985)
Michael Swanwick (1950-)	Iron Dragon's Daughter, The (1994)
A.E. VanVogt (1912-1996?)	The Weapon Shops of Isher (1951)
John Varley (1947-)	Titan (1979)
Jules Verne (1828-1905)	Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1872) Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1872)
Joan Vinge (1948-)	The Snow Queen (1980) Psion (1982)
Vernor Vinge (1944-)	A Fire Upon the Deep (1992)
Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935)
H.G. Wells (1866-1946)	The War of the Worlds (1898) The Time Machine (1895)
James White (1928-)	Federation World (1988)
John Wyndham (1903-1969)	Re-birth (1955)
Gene Wolfe (1931-)	Lake of the Long Sun (1994)
Timothy Zahn (1951-)	Conqueror's Pride (1994) Heir to the Empire (1991)
Roger Zelazny (1937-1995)	Nine Princes in Amber (1970) Lord of Light (1967) Doorways in the Sand (1976) Roadmarks (1980)

If you find an error in this table, please notify me.

Sci-Fi Movies and TV Shows

Here are my favorite science fiction shows, with comments and links to web pages or information about them. Note that in some cases, I'm not trying to say that the show was great, just that I liked it.

Star Trek

A wonderful legacy - the television show, the movies, more TV shows, and more movies! There is a great deal of Star Trek material on the Web, you can look at Yahoo's Listings or see also the star trek nexus and the mother of all star trek sites.

Star Wars

Wow, there must be more Star Wars stuff on the web than any other set of movies. The Star Wars Trilogy Official Web Site is a good place to start, and you can also check the New Republic and also Yahoo's listings.

Lost in Space

This campy mid-60s TV show exhibited many bona-fide science fiction themes, and despite it's lame acting and low-budget special effect, I used to watch it all the time as a kid. Check out the The Irreverent Guide, complete with capsule reviews of all the episodes.
Soon to be a movie! Visit dangerwillrobinson.com.

Starlost

This Canadian TV show had everything going for it back in 1973, but it turned out to be just as campy as most other made-for-TV science fiction. Despite that, I still think it is one of the more thorough explorations of the "generation ship" idea in popular entertainment. Not must stuff on the web about this short-lived show; try the Fox's Starlost Page.

Logan's Run

This 1976 adaptation of the 1967 novel by Johnson & Nolan starred none other than Michael York! The film lost some of the sweep of the original book, and also added a few extraneous themes, I believe it was more successful than the book in some respects. There was also a TV show, but it wasn't as good. Check out the Unofficial Logan's Run FAQ as well as the Fox's Logan's Run Page.

Repo Man

In 1984, Emilio Estavez starred in a bizarre, campy, and hilarious semi-SciFi film named Repo Man. Don't open the trunk...

Independence Day

Well, this movie alone made 1996 a relatively good year for SciFi at the theatre. With a pretty good cast, vintage 1950s themes rewarmed for 1990s sensibilities, and awesome special effects, ID4 kicked alien butt. There are lots of web sites about this blockbuster - check out the Official Web Site as well as Geoff's ID4 Page.

The Fifth Element

This one was an explosive, space-opera kind of flick. Bruce Willis, in a SF reprise of his 'Die Hard' roles, just rocked as the protagonist, and Milla Jojovich was a treat as the heroine and title character. Gary Oldman was a cool villian, too! The special effects were mostly routine, but very well done. Visit the the official Sony site or a good fan site.

Doctor Who

Possibly the most intelligently written, and certainly one of the most long-lived, science fiction TV show ever, the Doctor has attracted a loyal cult following. A good web site to start with is Out of Time.

Barbarella

Jane Fonda probably regrets starring in this classic of campy science fiction movies. Released in 1968, this film was loosely based on the comic strip of the same name. The Barbarella Homepage gives lots of information and is worth a visit, in some sense.

Jurassic Park

When I first read Michael Crichton's 1990 book Jurassic Park I commented: "What a great movie this would make." And it sure did! Directed by Stephen Spielberg himself, and starring beautifully rendered CG dinosaurs, Jurassic Park made 1993 a really good year at the movies. The tale of genetically engineered reincarnated dinosaurs (most of whom actually populated the cretaceous, not the jurassic era) was reasonably transferred to the big screen. Oh, I think some people were in the movie, also. There are lots of WWW resources for this popular film; try Steve's Unofficial Jurassic Park Site or the Jurassic Park Club site. (Note: sequel will be out soon - look for Lost World in spring of 1997.)

2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick's classic stands alone as, in my opinion, the epitome of science fiction in film. Based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 tells a sweeping story, with excellent special effects for its time (1968) as well as solid acting and great music. The best information can be found at the 2001 Internet Resources Archive.

Bladerunner

Harrison Ford, and a strong screenplay based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, made this movie a real thriller. Great flick and plenty of good web sites - start with Los Angeles, 2019, or try the Devo Bladerunner page, or use Yahoo's listings.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai

This camp romp starts with its hero driving specially equipped car through a mountain and across the 8th Dimension! Featuring some of the funniest lines in sci-fi cinema, Buckaroo Banzai has a lot of cool dialog and very campy special effects. Stop by the Banzai Institute for information, or read the screenplay.

Alien

The original "Alien" is a great mix of horror and science fiction. The sequels, "Aliens" was a little more action-oriented, while the third in the series, Alien3, was the darkest and probably the weakest of the trilogy. All three movies star Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, a gutsy character who stands up to the alien horror with bravado and panache. Somehow, despite the conclusive ending to Alien3, Oops, Weaver also portrays Ripley in the 4th movie, "Alien Resurrection". There are plenty of Alien-oriented sites on the web, try ALIEN Legacy for pictures and stuff, and use the ALIEN FAQ for detailed information.

Outland

This western transported to a Jovian moon has two things going for it: very cool sets, and Sean Connery as the beleaguered good guy. In some respects, Outland is one of the most realistic science fiction films of I've ever seen: the harsh Io industrial colony scenario as well as the corporate corruption and even the travel physics are all disturbingly plausible.

Planet of the Apes

The original short novel by Pierre Boulle was a pretty cool piece of sci-fi irony; the film was overdone and heavy-handed, but it did star Charleton Heston. It also featured some really great make-up and a really great ending. This film spawned four sequels, some better than others. Check them all out at: The Forbidden Zone.

Rollerball

An odd mix of movie themes: corporate corruption, future of sport, self-discovery, and action. Nice performances by James Caan and John Houseman. This may have been the only science fiction movie ever to have its trailer run in ABC's Wide World of Sports.

Silent Running

A rather peculiar but poignant 1971 movies about the last plants and animals in the solar system. Features some cutie robots, and a neat trip through Saturn's rings.

Sleeper

Woody Allen's brief foray into sci-fi humor remains one of his funniest and most endearing films (IMHO). Just rent it!

Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a killer robot from the future, dropped into our our time for a little action and mayhem. Underneath the explosive and bloody vision of these movies is a serious science fiction plot, and Arnold does a superb job with the role. The visual effects are great, too. Check out The Terminator Movies page or the Terminator/T2 FAQ List.

Total Recall

Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, a screenplay based on a Philip K. Dick novel, and award-winning special effects -- Total Recall is a great sci-fi action film.

Tron

First animated movies generated entirely with computer graphics. Really campy plot about a computer nerd sucked into a virtual reality.

Metropolis

A classic 1926 science fiction silent movie, with shades of Karl Capek and Aldous Huxley. Pretty neat sets and effects for that time. For information, check out Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

DARK CITY

Pensive conspiracy film about an alien race playing with human memories in a mutable metropolis. Great special effects, brooding cinematography, and even pretty good acting. Visit the official web site or see the trailer at the videodome

Video and Computer Games

The video game and computer game genre is a mixed bag for sci-fi fans. Most games either present attractive sci-fi visuals, or a real plot, but only the very best have both. The list below describes a few of the best interactive sci-fi games I've played extensively -- to avoid embarrassing myself too much, the (much larger) list of lamers is not described.

DOOM

This scifi-fantasy action game just about define its genre, and it is still an obsession for folks world-wide. Tons of web pages about DOOM exist, including mine, but start with DOOMGATE.

Stars!

From relatively humble beginnings, Stars! has become a polished, deep, and sophisticated interstellar conquest strategy game. It can be played against the computer, or in long coordinated matches with over a dozen human players. Stars! is a masterpiece of science fiction strategy gaming. Check out also the official web site of the commercial version at Empire, UK.

XCom - UFO Defense

Earth under attack by aliens! The premise behind the strategy game XCom is an old friend to sci-fi fans. The good mix of strategy and tactics made this game a classic. For more information about XCom and its sequel, Terror from the Deep, check out the Gamespot XCOM page.

More recently, the third game of the series has been a hit, XCOM: Apocalypse.

Master of Orion, Master of Orion II

MicroProse helped define the genre of galactic conquest strategy games on the PC with their Master of Orion (affectionately known as MOO). The sequel, Master of Orion II · Battle at Antares is somewhat different, but graphically superior and just as challenging. Check out Take2's MOO Page or the MOO2 Universe. See also my detailed comparison MOO2 v. Stars!.

Super Metroid

This game is a side-platform action/shooter with sci-fi decor and story line. The scenery, action, control, and music are all good. Even though the platform is deprecated, the game is still a lot of fun.

Descent, Descent II

This PC game is a first-person fly-and-shoot action-fest, set in a futuristic realm of mad mining robots and bizarre underground mines. The storyline is solid sci-fi, as is the scenery. Beautiful graphics, especially at hi-res.

Chrono Trigger

For the Super Nintendo, no other sci-fi RPG even comes close to Squaresoft's Chrono Trigger. The storyline contains several classic time-travel sci-fi themes, and the gameplay is good, too. With the Super Nintendo platform now superseded, this game is probably a great value, too. Check out the Unofficial Squaresoft Homepage for more information.

Quake II

With this game, iD software's powerful rendering engine finally has a storyline and characters worthy of its appearance. The plot is a conventional invade-the-alien-homeworld sequence, and the cyborg-ish alien enemies are excellently constructed. [Note: don't play this without fast hardware or a board capable of supporting OpenGL.]
For more info, check out the unofficial Ultimate Quake 2 Site.

I need to add a few more, second-tier favorites here.

Links to Science Fiction Sites on the WWW

General SF Sites

Here are some links to general science fiction web sites and newsgroups. I checked out all of these personally, and believe them to be stable and useful.

Yahoo! Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror - Yahoo's topic tree for SF etc.

Science Fiction Writers of America - Home base of the SFWA

Internet Speculative Fiction Database - Comprehensive information base

eXcite Science Fiction & Fantasy - Links to other good sites, reviewed

Northwest Science Fiction Resources - SF resources for fans and writers in the NW of NA

Science Fiction Omnicon - Bibliography of Sci-Fi terms

eXcite Sci-Fi Movies listings

The SF Site - Well-organized site for SF-oriented stuff

Sci-Fi Channel - The Dominion - Web site of the popular cable network, mucho info.

Sci-Fi Links at Visionaries - links to regular and unusual sci-fi sites

rec.arts.sf-lovers - The main Usenet Sci-Fi group

 

Vendors

Here are direct links to the Science Fiction browse areas of some movie and book vendors.

BigStar.com - Science Fiction/Fantasy category (videos)

Reel.com - Science Fiction category (videos)

Amazon.com - Science Fiction/Fantasy category (books)