Authors I Am Not Reading...

[Gillianren]

I'm just not terribly into hard science fiction, myself. The Stephen Baxter book I read was, in fact, co-written by Terry Pratchett and was disappointing to me in that it didn't have a lot of what I like in Terry Pratchett in it, so I haven't felt terribly inclined to seek out any more of his work.

[Van Rijn]

Curious; he's one of my favourites. Admittedly his characters are often underdeveloped, but his research is exemplary. On the other hand I can't say I like all of his stuff; there is a lot of it out there, some worse than others.

I'm kind of mixed about Baxter. His stories are often quite dark, and while I can handle that up to a point, it can get tiring. Some just go too far, like Titan. Also, he can get into lectures that go on a bit.

On the other hand, for me he's one of the more approachable recent science fiction authors and I can't think of any recent science fiction authors I would recommend without reservation. Some have grand ideas, but I can't get interested in the stories. Others can keep a story hopping, but they're unoriginal. He's managed to come up with some very interesting ideas and stories.

[otakenji]

1. Richard Hoagland
2. Eric Von Daniken
3. Charles Berlitz

[KaiYeves]

1. Richard Hoagland
2. Eric Von Daniken
3. Charles Berlitz

Seconded, seconded. When I read The Bermuda Triangle back when I was (I want to say 14 or so), I had horrible nightmares.

[Gemini]

I was very disappointed when I saw one of Hoagland's books for sale in the gift shop at the USSRC.

[KaiYeves]

Did you complain?

[Gemini]

I suppose I should have, but I ended up just letting it go. At the time, I wasn't really sure who to complain to.

[jrkeller]

I was very disappointed when I saw one of Hoagland's books for sale in the gift shop at the USSRC.

At the Space Center Houston store, the were selling Graham Hancock's The Mars Mystery: A Tale of the End of Two Worlds. I asked for the store manager, but since it was Sunday, she wasn't in. I called a few days later and told her that the Space Center Houston store shouldn't be selling books that promote pseudo-science. I did not get much of a response until I hinted that a letter to the editor of our local newspaper might also be in order. I think I might have also mentioned that this area being the Bible belt, a book like this might not be very popular. About two months later the books disappeared.

[TJMac]

Curious; he's one of my favourites. Admittedly his characters are often underdeveloped, but his research is exemplary. On the other hand I can't say I like all of his stuff; there is a lot of it out there, some worse than others.

I will heartily admit to having not given him a fair shake. Actually, for all I know, I have read his works in the past and enjoyed them.

I began reading Ark a short while ago, and within a few chapters, could not make myself continue. My impression was this:All characters were either mega-rich, or refugees with nothing. For unexplained reasons, and against any understanding I have (very possibly erroneous!), extremely large underground pockets of water suddenly have began spewing forth and covering the globe. Life is over as we know it and all that....

I surmise they are training to get on a space ship and leave the planet, I had not read far enough to know the destination. There is a brief and uncomfortable brush with pedophilia, which may or may not be part of the greater plot. If not, I feel it was unnecessary, but hey, that's just me.

I agree, the characters were quite bland, and I already didnt care about any of them. Mainly though, I couldnt get past the idea of unknown reserves of water that began spewing for no particular reason other than to make our hero's life miserable.

YMMV

TJ