Best Science-Fiction Novel?

[jkwest]

The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons

[jedidaniel]

Dune by Frank Herbert. A truly epic masterpiece.

[Forehead_of_Security]

I would go with Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.
It's not my favourite, far from it. But it is undeniably brilliant in this genre.

[Feed.Me.Moore]

Originally Posted by quexos

I say the Foundation books by Isaac Asimov.

Anyone who dares disagree should be thrown into that big black hole that lies in the center of our galaxy

+1 with a caveat: the pre-80s stories are hands down some of the best science fiction ever written. Foundation's Edge is not in the same league as its predecessors, but it's still enjoyable enough. After that, Asimov (whom I dearly love and consider one of my heroes) jumped the shark. Just my humble opinion, but I thought there was no need to unify his work into a single universe, and I truly believe the quality of Asimov's work took a hit in part because of those unification efforts. Still, the later novels cannot diminish the brilliance of the original stories, which I have to say are the standard bearer for great science fiction.

Originally Posted by DeeChizzle

I don't read too much scifi but before Killobyte I read The Sphere multiple times which is SUPERIOR to the film. I know that's so cliche to say but it's true.

It's cliche because it's been said so many times. And it's been said so many times because so many crappy movie adaptations come from great books. It's always a nice surprise when a film version of a novel doesn't completely crap all over the source material.

Originally Posted by Brandon

I agree... although I have heard some from some people that some of the later books are even better than the original.

WUT?! Are these the same people who prefer the new Star Wars trilogy to the original one?

Originally Posted by Brandon

I myself couldn't make it through the second one, what was it, Children of Dune?

Dune Messiah (Children is the third novel). It's been years since I've the books (can't believe I read all six that Frank Herbert wrote considering they kept varying in quality) but from what I recall {mild spoilers ahead}, Paul Atreides was much less in control of the goings-on in the second novel than he was in the original book. Things seemed to happen around him without much involvement from Atreides, which was probably a tough sell for people who looked forward to the adventures of the hero he had become by the conclusion of the first book. {/end spoiler alert}

[HotRats]

Neuromancer by William Gibson, as influential as the best works of Wells and Asimov.