Need book reccomendations, especially for SF

[Axolotl]

Now I'm sure you can guess the gist of the thread from the title, I need some book reccomendations, but I have a few somewhat unusual requirements for the books I want to read.

Firstly, I want Science Fiction books that are on the cutting edge, using the latest scientific concepts and with fresh takes on the genre. I'm thinking of works like the The Quantum Theif here, post-singularity, transhumanism and so on.

Secondly, I want essentially the opposite, the softest, pulpiest and strangest the genre has, along the lines of Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon. I'm willing to accept straight up fantasy here to an extent.

And thirdly, any horror novels that have Cronenberg style body horror or splatterpunk type stuff. Not just the same old ghosts or Lovecraftian type stuff.

Finally it's a bit of a long shot asking here but I'm going to try anyway, I'm trying to find a good book on or of Dadaism, if anyone knows of any it would be appreciated.

 

[Esotera]

For SF, try getting some of the 'Best New SF' anthologies, as they've got about 20 stories in each one for about £10 new, or you can get them for about £3 on amazon. Obviously you won't like all of them but it's a good way to discover new talent & pass the time.

And if you haven't already, try reading all of The Culture novels by Iain M. Banks...absolutely brilliant.

 

[cerealnmuffin]

I recommend the 'accidental time traveler'. It is a fresh spin on the time machine story as the machine can only jump into the future but never back. When the situation is bad, he has to decide is it worth jumping further into the future.

Anything by William Gibson who along with Asimov kind of 'predicts' the future. Neuromancer was written before the internet and features an internet in its world. If you like cyber punk you will enjoy his stuff.

 

[Yopaz]

If you haven't read Hitchhiker's Duide To The Galaxy do that. Though I'm not sure if that is science fiction...

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I'll parrot the recommendation of Gibson, dude's pretty interesting, as far as these things go. Not sure whether he was just particularly astute at predicting the course of things from the way things were heading, or if we've altered our designs to inadvertently prove him right, but either way, he's had a pretty good grasp of the shape of things to come.

If you haven't read Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy do that. Though I'm not sure if that is science fiction...

Well, it is about as ficitony as soft science can get. Though, it is peppered with helpful messages about how to react to certain situations, so I suppose it could also be a DIY or self help book.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

Dune, Brave New World, and Stranger in a Strange Land are probably my favorite Sci Fi books ever.

 

[Freechoice]

I recommend the Bible. It's full of ancient historic trolling and a vengeful deity smiting people because fuck yeah.

Not quite sci-fi, but still pretty lulzy.

OT: There's a book that was basically Mass Effect, but I can't for the life of me remember the name. I'd like confirmation that the thing is in fact ME.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

If you haven't read Snow Crash, read it. It may not be that new or on the cutting edge (it was '92) but it will blow your mind with some of it's concepts for tech and then will rape the bits of brain with it's amazing plot, plus it's extremely fun. Cyberpunk at it's best, and more than worth a read.

 

[Zeema]

'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'

i hear thats suppose to be pretty rad

 

[chaosbedlam]

the seven sons books are fantastic as far as SF goes i fully recommend them.

 

[thiosk]

Ol Ciaphas [http://www.amazon.com/Ciaphas-Cain-Imperium-Sandy-Mitchell/dp/1844164667/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334732270&sr=8-1] can't be beat

I'm a nerd and im rereading it. Never so much as touched a warhammer model.

 

[ajemas]

Anything by Kurt Vonnegut is a great choice. I also recommend Red Mars, Ender's Game, and the novelization of 2001: A Space Oddysey (it actually explains what happens at the end). Also, and I can't recommend this enough, you simply MUST check out Snow Crash. It was so far ahead of its time that it's not even funny. You know how we refer to our online personas as "avatars"? That book actually coined the term.

 

[Pegghead]

By your second desire, if it's soft science-fiction/borderline fantasy you want then I highly reccomend The Dark Tower series by Stephen King or the Mortal Engines books by Phillip Reeve.

 

[oktalist]

"Roadside Picnic" by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky, the book which inspired the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

Anything by Isaac Asimov will always be relevant. I don't think that guy will ever stop being cutting edge.