I honestly haven’t read too many sci-fi novels yet, but my favorite so far is probably Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein. **It’s not like the movie!** It’s a much more intelligent look at a soldier and his society.

I haven’t read Jules Verne yet, but from what I hear he’s done, I’d say he’s definitely science fiction.

Of Arthur C. Clarke’s works, I’ve only read 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was also not like the movie–the book made sense!

On the recommendation of friends, I was about to read Ender’s Game, but in the introduction Orson Scott Card said he was inspired by Issac Asimov’s Foundation series. I was about to read that, when I got diverted to Asimov’s Robot series. So, I’m now reading that, hoping to work my way back to Ender’s Game, eventually I’m definitely enjoying Asimov, at the moment!

Although Jules Verne does not seem much like science fiction to us, in his day much of his science was fictional. Indeed, he is credited with the idea of the first portable breathing apparatus for underwater diving, not to mention several others which had not been put into print. This will give you just a few of the original ideas he had which became actual inventions years or even decades later.

Arthur C. Clarke *does* have some excellent scifi books. “2001″ and “Rendezvous with Rama” are both excellent (though, like most of his work, they leave many things unexplained).

Recommendations:

Jules Verne is without a doubt my favorite scifi author, and is free online (although more accurate modern translations are available now)
..Journey to the Center of the Earth – the best of a really good author’s work
..20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
..Mysterious Island (sequel to 20,000)
..Around the World in 80 Days (more adventure than scifi, but still excellent. I have 3 translations and hope to determine which is the best in Sep)

H G Wells – also free online, also very good
..War of the Worlds – excellent
..The Time Machine – often required reading in school
..The Invisible Man – ditto

Asimov – possibly the greatest scifi author of all time – superior to Verne in some ways, but not free
..I, Robot – Asimov’s exploration of his 3 laws of robotics, excellent, main character is a woman, and without a doubt *the* single most essential-to-read scifi book
..Elijah Baley books – - scifi mysteries in which a human detective has to team up with a robot. Excellent follow-up to I, Robot, and excellent both as scifi and as detective novels.
..Foundation trilogy – Asimov’s classic, and worthy. Excellent – actually explores the power of advanced sociology! (possibly the most cretinous subject in the universe)

Orson Scott Card
..Ender’s Game – excellent with an outstanding twist at the end

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – great book, just read it a few months ago, the sequel is “very good” and the 3rd struggles for a rating of “good”

My favorite “what great scifi haven’t I read” site . I don’t necessarily agree with his reviews. Ender’s Game, for example, I thought excellent, while Dune was a piece of crap (it had some neat ideas, but it was still a piece of crap). I also thought “Flowers for Algernon” only very good. Still, these are the books that have won *both* the Hugo and the Nebula, so you won’t find *much* crap here.

There’s a whole slue of others that I like, but aren’t really “excellent” – Anne McCaffrey, Andre Norton and E C Tubb, to name a few.

I hope this helps.

Jim,

Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Anson Heinlein. It set somewhat in out future, but it makes us look at how our own society is developing. Also Starship Troopers which was way more insightful than the movie.

R. K DICKS(read the book!!) It is brilliant. He was a genius!!!! Read BLADE RUNNER!Do men Dream of electric sheepEtc?

The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury. I liked it because it is a series of short stories, each of which stand on their own, but are still connected. Ray Bradbury was way ahead of his time.

Jules Vernes is most certainly a Sci Fi Writer, and quite possibly the first of the Sci Fi genre. Arthur C. Clarke is a great writer.

I would reccommend any book by Ray Bradbury or Kurt Vonnegut.

Dune by Frank Herbert because of the whole ecology story and the wonderful Paul/Channi love story.

Yes I consider Jules Verne science fiction.
Clarke is a great writer–one of the top three
Asimov Clarke Heinlein

I would recommend that you read Uglies, Pretties and Specials by Scott Westerfeld and the Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey.

Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
&
Dune, by Frank Herbert