The Sword and Laser discussion

I just finished Monster Island by David Wellington and thought it was a very fun Zombie/Apocalypse read. It was a very quick read or me (about a week) and its part of a trilogy, so for anyone looking for a little light summer reading, this gets the nod from me!

Anyone else got summer reading recs they want to throw in?

You really can't go wrong with reading anything by John Scalzi if you're looking for some fun, light summer science fiction. Summer is also a good time to delve into the classics from the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Think Asimov, etc.

I'll look into Andy's zombies and agree with Sandi -- Scalzi is great good fun. I'd add: The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross which is a light-hearted science fiction/urban fantasy horror story collection (2 stories). It helps a bit if you studied computer science or engineering because of the inside jokes (NP-Complete problems, Hilbert's theorems, Zork (! yes!), dysfunctional programmers).
Also, I think io9 just highlighted John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar; that is well worth one's time. And try out his The Sheep Look Up and The Shockwave Rider. I read them all back when they came out -- they are classic and very "today", and pretty darned good, too.

Paul wrote: "And try out his The Sheep Look Up"

I've heard that that book was really potent when it came out, because some of the news clippings interlaced with the story were actual news clippings from the papers of the day.

The Sheep Look Up is a fantastic book, I highly recommend it.

Y'all beat me to it, but here's my summer scifi series recommendations.

I have to echo Dune. Always pulls you through.

Songs of Ice and Fire would go in there to. especially if you have a nice empty summer with lots of time.

Hitchhiker's Guide would be next. Doesn't matter if you've read it before or not.

Then Lord of the Rings, and include Simlmarillion, the Hobbit and maybe even one or two of the Tales collections.

Finally, The Chronicles of Narnia. Light but ever so enjoyable.

Tom wrote: "Finally, The Chronicles of Narnia. Light but ever so enjoyable. "

Ever try Lewis's Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength)? The Christian themes are more heavy-handed, but it's still great fun.

The series I'd recommend would be:

Dread Empire's Fall by Walter Jon Williams (The Praxis, The Sundering, and Conventions of War), which is just good, dumb exploding spaceship fun, without the annoyingly detailed descriptions about how missiles work.

The Alliance-Union series by C.J. Cherryh (too many to mention, but Downbelow Station is a good place to start)

Revelation Space by Alatair Reynolds (a main trilogy consisting of Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Absolution Gap, along with the standalone novels Chasm City, and The Prefect). Imagine Battlestar Galactica if the Cylons were the Replicators from the Stargate Universe.

I recommend anything BUT Dune. It makes me want to put hot pokers through my eyelids, because it would be more fun.

If you haven't all ready, I recommend H.G. Wells "The Time Machine" and "The Island of Dr. Moreau," both are very quick but fun reads and its good to get into the forefathers, as it were.

I am def a fan of the Stardoc series by S. L. Viehl. Loved it, read the first 8 books, and couldnt get ahold of the rest :( but I highly recomend it!

Matt wrote: "I recommend anything BUT Dune. It makes me want to put hot pokers through my eyelids, because it would be more fun.

Well, at least if you'd read Dune, you'd know to respond with "I must not fear....."

I'm reading the Warded Man by Peter V. Brett. It's very good. I highly recommend it.

I also read Monster Island online a few years back, great stuff as well.

Stephen King's summer picks from last year, including Stephenson & Simmons. Although I like the sound of doggy noir.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20278...

Android Down is a quick read. Well paced with interesting characters and a nice twist toward the end. Full disclosure, I wrote it. :)