# Who loves Sci-Fi? What good books/movies you recommend?



## SciFi Rules (Aug 9, 2015)

A friend recommended Contact by Carl Sagan and The Day earth stood Still (Original)
Both are awesome!

_sorry -- self promotion not allowed outside the Book Bazaar -- Ann_


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

My recommendations would be depend on what your interests are. Mine tend to run to "classic" SF*, i.e., older stuff. That said...

Movies:

_Forbidden Planet
Moon
Dark City_
_Blade Runner
Minority Report_

Books:
Really, too many to list, but here are a few (leaving out borderline fantasy):
Almost anything by Jack McDevitt (particularly his two series)
The _Vatta's War_ series and the _Serrano Legacy_ series by Elizabeth Moon
The _Vorkosigan_ series by Lois McMaster Bujold
The _Wool_ series by Hugh Howie

Some oldies:
_City_ and _Way Station_ by Clifford Simak
The original _Foundation_ series and _I, Robot_ by Isaac Asimov
_Citizen of the Galaxy_ and _Double Star_ by Robert Heinlein
_Rite of Passage_ by Alexei Panshin
_Dune_ by Frank Herbert

Mike

*I maintain there's a difference between science fiction and sci-fi, but that's for another thread.


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Movies:
Alien
Aliens
Blade Runner
Looper (time travel)
Primer (time travel but modern day and one you have to pay attention to)
Terminator
12 Monkies
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Gattaca
The Thing (sci-fi/horror)
The Dead Zone (more paranormal/horror than sci-fi, but has excellent elements, and Christopher Walken!)

Books:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman 
Hyperion (4-book series) by Dan Simmons
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
pretty much everything Philip K. Dick ever wrote (including the stories that became Blade Runner, Minority Report, etc.)
Starship Troopers (book is very different than movie but both are great as long as you recognize the movie is campy fun)
Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos

TV Shows:
Black Mirror (modern "Twilight Zone" from UK, very adult and very, very good)
Sense8 (Netflix, Wachowskis from Matrix movies basically made a 12 hour movie broken into 1 hour episodes)
X-Files (plenty of alien / conspiracy episodes)
Orphan Black (Netflix, from UK)


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

1. Watch "2001: A Space Odyssey".
2. Read the book, by Arthur C. Clarke.
3. Watch the movie again, now that you really understand what's happening.

There are so many other possibilities, and I would agree with many/most of the preceding suggestions. ("12 Monkeys" is easily somewhere in my top 10 favorite movies list.) I didn't notice anyone yet mentioning Ian M. Banks' "Culture" series, of which _Excession_ is probably my favorite (and it's really a milieu, not a series, so you can read them in any order).

And, of course, how could I not mention Roger Zelazny's _Lord of Light_, though it's not yet available for Kindle, but at least the recent release of _Nine Princes in Amber_ leaves me hopeful that it may eventually happen. (It's a bit genre-bending, as it can feel at times a bit like a fantasy novel, though it's definitely(?) science fiction.)


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

NogDog said:


> 1. Watch "2001: A Space Odyssey".


Hmm. _2001_ was on my list, but somehow disappeared in my process of my (normal) over-editing process.


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## shaunduke (Feb 2, 2015)

It really depends on what you already like, but some of my favorites include:

Film:
John Carter
District 9
Ex Machina
Cloud Atlas
28 Days Later
Another Earth
Mad Max: Fury Road
Elysium
Every James Bond Movie
The Dark Knight Trilogy
Blade Runner
Alien
Aliens
Alien 3
Terminator 1 and 2
Star Wars (duh)
The entire Star Trek movie series (the original cast, though some of the newer ones are OK)
Enemy Mine

Books:
Tobias S. Buckell's Xenowealth Saga
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
Anything by Karen Lord
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Dust or Carnival by Elizabeth Bear
Eon by Greg Bear
The Nomad of Time series by Michael Moorcock
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Anything by Poul Anderson (except the Flandry stuff for some reason)

And a billion other things I don't have time to mention.  Besides, that's more than enough to get you started


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## lmroth12 (Nov 15, 2012)

Movies
Star Wars (original trilogy, that is)
2001 A Space Odyssey
The Astronaut Farmer

Books
Anything by Isaac Asimov
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

My list is short as several that I would recommend have already been mentioned.


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## German_Translator (Jul 26, 2015)

Movies:
_Metropolis_
_Gataca_
_Blade Runner_

Books:
_Ubik_ by Philip K. Dick
_The Star Diaries_ by Stanislaw Lem
_The Guns of the South_ by Harry Turtledove


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## AdamDavidCollings (Aug 14, 2015)

I just finished To Honor You Call Us (Man of War Book 1) by H. Paul Honsinger, which was fantastic.


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## SteveHarrison (Feb 1, 2015)

I watched the movie, PREDESTINATION (time travel) last week and it messed with my head. Highly recommended.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

AdamDavidCollings said:


> I just finished To Honor You Call Us (Man of War Book 1) by H. Paul Honsinger, which was fantastic.


I read all 3 of those, very good!

if you liked those you might like:


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

SteveHarrison said:


> I watched the movie, PREDESTINATION (time travel) last week and it messed with my head. Highly recommended.


If you haven't read he short story it was based on, you should rack it down. _It's All You Zombies_, by Robert Heinlein.


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## Genevieve Mckay (Jan 19, 2015)

The Last Mimsy is a YA movie but was really, really well done. Brought back memories of the great movies of my youth; movies like ET and The Last Starfighter


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## bohemianedu (Jul 24, 2014)

Movies:

Contact
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T.
Mac & Me
The Abyss
Alien
Prometheus
Star Trek Reboot (Part One)
Star Ship Troopers
Deep Impact
Armageddon
Minority Report
Back To the Future Part Two
War of the Worlds
The Happening
Terminator Part One & Two
Cone Heads
Interstellar
Jupiter Ascending
The Running Man
AI
Avatar
Gattaca
Planet of the Apes
Solaris 
Total Recall
The Fly
Demolition Man
Blade
Jurassic Park

That's All I could Think of...for now on the movies

Book Wise- These are the ones I have really liked...

Contact by Carl Sagan
Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Friday by Robert Heinlein
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
Station Eleven by Emily St. John
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson (cross between sci-fi and horror)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Stepford Wives (I consider this sci-fi)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
Fledgling by Octavia Butler
Breakfast for Champions by Kurt Vonnegut


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## Seneca77 (Aug 17, 2015)

I didn't think I'd like the movie "Interstellar", especially after my 24-year-old son called it "his generation's '2001: A Space Odyssey'" and that it was better than "2001". Kubrick's masterpiece is my all-time favorite movie, so was kind of pre-disposed against "Interstellar". But I was pleasantly surprised by the film. There were a few allusions/homages to "2001", which I appreciated. 

Glad to see it made it on someone's list above.

- Bob

P.S. Since this is a book forum, I should probably throw in one of my favorite science-fiction novels: "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman. Excellent book which, although I may be wrong, started the military SF thriller genre. I'm no expert, so please let me know if there was a predecessor in this sub-genre to Haldeman's work.


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## AdamDavidCollings (Aug 14, 2015)

Chad Winters said:


> I read all 3 of those, very good!
> 
> if you liked those you might like:


Thanks for the recommendations. I've listened to Quarter share and Half Share on Podiobooks. I haven't come across the others though.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Seneca77 said:


> Since this is a book forum, I should probably throw in one of my favorite science-fiction novels: "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman. Excellent book which, although I may be wrong, started the military SF thriller genre. I'm no expert, so please let me know if there was a predecessor in this sub-genre to Haldeman's work.


Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_?


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

jmiked said:


> Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_?


Armor by John Steakley? 1984, not sure when troopers was pubbed



Addendum:

1987 for Troopers so Armor was first and I have to admit I liked it better

The top review actually compared the three which I thought was cool:

------
122 of 125 people found the following review helpful
Science Fiction's Best
By EV on May 15, 2005
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Of the two dozen or so sci-fi titles I've read over the last two years (while enjoying the longest advanced training the Army offers) John Steakly's Armor has been certainly my favorite. At first I expected the book to be a meld of Starship Troopers and The Forever War, but the introduction of Steakly's second major character, Jack Crow, turned the story completely around -- and into a tale that transcends its dystopian future setting.

As a reader you may be at first a little confused about the change of perspective in Armor. Half of the novel is written in the third person following the story of Felix, our power-armored soldier, and the other half is told by space adventurer/pirate/prisoner Jack Crow in the first person. This element is essential to understanding the story, and is reconciled later on as we learn more about Felix's story. So give it a chance even if you're at first put off by the shift in perspective.

As many other reviewers have mentioned, the combat sequences in Armor are indeed exceptional. As Felix flung himself into combat against his alien foes there was no way for me to remain outside the battle. Steakly believingly portrays brutal hand-to-hand combat through the eyes of a frantic soldier as he loses himself in the struggle to survive a terrible war on a bleak world.

If you're a science fiction fan or military fiction fan, you can't afford to pass up Armor. It's one of those few stories that pick you up and take you along an exciting 400-page ride, but still leaves you with a simple moral at the end.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Chad Winters said:


> Addendum:
> 
> 1987 for Troopers so Armor was first


_Starship Troopers_ was first published in 1959.

Mike


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## Seneca77 (Aug 17, 2015)

Forgot about _Starship Troopers_. Haldeman's _The Forever War_ was published in 1974 so _Troopers_ definitely pre-dated that.

- Bob


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

jmiked said:


> _Starship Troopers_ was first published in 1959.
> 
> Mike


crap that's what I get for reading the pub date on Amazon, funny thing was I thought before I read that it was in the 60s at least

"Product Details
File Size: 1129 KB
Print Length: 292 pages
Publisher: Ace (May 15, 1987)
Publication Date: May 15, 1987"


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

There was H. Beam Piper's _Uller Uprising_ in 1952. Of course, you could go back to H.G. Wells' short story "The Land Ironclads" from 1903.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

PS: For me, military SF started with Gordon R. Dickson's _Dorsai!_, first in his "Childe Cycle" series and first published as a magazine serial in 1959. (I read the novel maybe a decade and a half later, I'd guess?)


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

NogDog said:


> PS: For me, military SF started with Gordon R. Dickson's _Dorsai!_, first in his "Childe Cycle" series and first published as a magazine serial in 1959. (I read the novel maybe a decade and a half later, I'd guess?)


Loved those, the Final Encyclopedia was my favorite

I never read the Cycle in order and actually missed several....maybe I should go back and do that


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

Masque. A pretty good sci-fi book I read every few years. I'd love to see a movie of it but doubt it was ever successful enough to warrant the attention.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446606766/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0446606766&linkCode=as2&tag=thiworlif-20&linkId=LEXJX6EQSRYTUR5G


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## A. S. Warwick (Jan 14, 2011)

Blade Runner has been mentioned a few times, but in case you missed it I'll fifteenth it 

Starship Troopers the book is one of my favourites. There was a movie of the same name but it had _nothing_ to do with the book. It wasn't just a bad adaption - it wasn't even an adaption to start with.

For TV shows, I go with Babylon 5, Farscape and Stargate. Never got into Star Trek and much preferred the older Battlestar Galactica to the newer version.


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## Henry Sugar (Aug 21, 2015)

I just read "The Vorrh" by B. Catling and thought it was pretty interesting, if as impenetrable as the forest from which the book takes its name.

It's about a guy navigating his way through a gigantic, primeval forest in an alternate reality version of Earth, seeking out the Garden of Eden. It blends sci-fi and fantasy with a Heart of Darkness-like storyline.

Worth checking out at least!


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## Doglover (Sep 19, 2013)

Stargate - the only Sci-fi film I have ever enjoyed and actually have on DVD. Love the tv series as well, but the film is A1. I just wish they had put Richard Dean Anderson into the part of Jack O'Neil instead of Kurt Russell, whom I detest.


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## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Movie:

Moon

Author:

C.J. Cherryh


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## German_Translator (Jul 26, 2015)

_Dark Universe_ by Daniel F. Galouye










Imagine a post-apocalyptic world where light has been forgotten....


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Heinlein's _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_. Asimov's _I, Robot_ is bogglingly clever in the way it develops.

Movies? _The Man Who Fell to Earth_ (the novel, by Walter Tevis, is also very good). And I liked _The Abyss (Director's Cut)_ a good deal better than some critics did.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Movies:
Cube.
Dark City.


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## Seneca77 (Aug 17, 2015)

Matthew Stott said:


> Movies:
> Cube.
> Dark City.


I love "Cube"! I don't think it gets a lot of appreciation, but I really enjoyed it.

- Bob


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## AngryGames (Jul 28, 2013)

Seneca77 said:


> I love "Cube"! I don't think it gets a lot of appreciation, but I really enjoyed it.
> 
> - Bob


I've been trying to find Cube on Netflix/Amazon/HBONow but it is nowhere to be found! I've been bugging the wife about how she needs to watch it just to understand the humor or even pop culture-y references that she always hears (like the dude getting sliced into cubes haha, classic!).

I could always buy a DVD, I guess... but who the hell uses DVD players anymore? (I only have one because you can't buy an Xbox One / PS3-4 without one).


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## Seneca77 (Aug 17, 2015)

AngryGames said:


> I've been trying to find Cube on Netflix/Amazon/HBONow but it is nowhere to be found! I've been bugging the wife about how she needs to watch it just to understand the humor or even pop culture-y references that she always hears (like the dude getting sliced into cubes haha, classic!).
> 
> I could always buy a DVD, I guess... but who the hell uses DVD players anymore? (I only have one because you can't buy an Xbox One / PS3-4 without one).


I haven't found it streaming anywhere...but Netflix does have it on DVD, along with Cube 2: Hypercube (the sequel) and Cube Zerio (the prequel).

- Bob


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## bohemianedu (Jul 24, 2014)

I forgot to add Tron. Love Tron!


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

1) Read _The Martian_ by Andy Weir. It's a bit like _Apollo 13_ or _Gravity_, but takes place on Mars. It's great.
2) If the trailer for the film of the same name appears, close your eyes and plug your ears. It shows too much.
3) Go see _The Martian_ on October 2nd. It's directed by some guy named Ridley Scott.


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## bohemianedu (Jul 24, 2014)

Geoff Jones said:


> 1) Read _The Martian_ by Andy Weir. It's a bit like _Apollo 13_ or _Gravity_, but takes place on Mars. It's great.
> 2) If the trailer for the film of the same name appears, close your eyes and plug your ears. It shows too much.
> 3) Go see _The Martian_ on October 2nd. It's directed by some guy named Ridley Scott.


I really like Apollo 13...


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

bohemianedu said:


> I really like Apollo 13...


Although that was really (science) history, not science fiction.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

NogDog said:


> Although that was really (science) history, not science fiction.


Yes . . . .but there's a similar feel and tension, I'd say . . . . .


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress _ is one of my favourites, though I enjoy Heinlein generally. Anything by Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury. Andy Weir's _Martian _ is a recent good one.

Two recent films: _Moon _ and _Ex Machina_. I was surprised by both films. _Predestination _ wasn't bad either; it was based on a short by Heinlein.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

WHDean said:


> _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress _ is one of my favourites, though I enjoy Heinlein generally. Anything by Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury. Andy Weir's _Martian _ is a recent good one.
> 
> Two recent films: _Moon _ and _Ex Machina_. I was surprised by both films. _Predestination _ wasn't bad either; it was based on a short by Heinlein.


I love to read me some Phillip K. Dick or some Samuel R. Delaney when I feel the need to stretch my brain a bit.


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## Eva Chase (Aug 8, 2015)

I'd have to second (third/fourth/etc.) some faves already mentioned--12 Monkeys, Blade Runner, Terminator 2, Dune (the book), The Vorkosigan Saga.

Movies to add: I'm surprised no one has mentioned Terry Gilliam's Brazil, which I don't love quite as much as 12 Monkeys but is generally higher regarded. If you like comedy mixed with your sci fi, I've got a soft spot for the original Men In Black (the sequels, not so much). And anyone who's into time travel should check out the Spanish film Time Crimes--_so_ mind-bendingly good!

Books (I've got a bunch of these--apparently my tastes are more divergent when it comes to books than movies):

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (note: only some portions are SF)
The Hitchhiker's Guide trilogy by Douglas Adams (stop after the third book)
anything by Connie Willis
The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer (caveat: I haven't read the third book yet, but the first two are great)
The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
Feed by M.T. Anderson
House of Stairs and Singularity by William Sleator


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

Yes, to THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir. I just finished it and was totally caught up in the story, and the witty, smart, ingenius character of Mark Watney. I can't wait for the movie, but I think I'll take the advice of the poster who advised avoiding the trailer.


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

NogDog said:


> I love to read me some Phillip K. Dick or some Samuel R. Delaney when I feel the need to stretch my brain a bit.


One of my favourites by PKD is a short called "The King of the Elves." It's not really SF, but I loved it. I haven't looked lately, but I read one time that a film of that one was in the works.

ETA: Can we PKD fans call ourselves "Dick-heads"?  Just wondering.


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

WHDean said:


> One of my favourites by PKD is a short called "The King of the Elves." It's not really SF, but I loved it. I haven't looked lately, but I read one time that a film of that one was in the works.
> 
> ETA: Can we PKD fans call ourselves "Dick-heads"?  Just wondering.


I'm not sure if I would like to be called a dickhead (though I have been referred as this a few times!) but Deckard is my name on K-Boards.

Big fan of PKD.

Deckard


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

deckard said:


> I'm not sure if I would like to be called a dickhead (though I have been referred as this a few times!) but Deckard is my name on K-Boards.
> 
> Big fan of PKD.
> 
> Deckard


There's just no good option.... D!ckfans....D!cklovers....


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## Guardsix (Sep 4, 2015)

I know this getting to be a very long topic, but I wanted to step in and say, I LOVE SCIENCE FICTION!

I am an avid reader and reviewer of science fiction books. I have my own website devoted to reviewing science fiction books Science Fiction Book Reviews.

I would really like for more people to visit my web site and especially would like authors to come and ask me to review their science fiction books. I've had a number do so just from my Amazon reviews, but not nearly enough. Still, I'm finding plenty of books to read even though I concentrate on military science fiction. I'm not into fantasy or alternate universes or altered histories. Those just don't get me going like a good space warfare battle or a good ground skirmish against an Android army!

Ok, just thought I'd put my 2cents worth in. Thanks.

_sorry -- self promotion not allowed outside the Book Bazaar -- link removed -- Ann_


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

Chad Winters said:


> There's just no good option.... D!ckfans....D!cklovers....


There's always "Philophile," but that's easily mistaken for other -_philes_, good and bad. I'm leaning toward "Philbro," but I still think "D!ckhead" is probably the way to go. We just have to cowboy-up and accept our moniker.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

PKD-votees?


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