XPost: alt.usage.english, rec.arts.books, rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   On Thu, 29 Jan 2026 16:08:45 +1100, Peter Moylan    
   wrote:   
      
   >PS For just about any SF author I can think of, I would recommend   
   >starting with short stories. Getting the author in bite-sized chunks is   
   >an excellent way of finding out whether you like his writing.   
      
   Agreed.   
      
   There are very few full-length SF novels I've really liked. Out of   
   curiocity I checked and found I'd read more than a thought I had -- I   
   thought I'd mostly read short stories. But these are the ones I've   
   given a 5-star rating to:   
      
   Lewis, C.S. 1960. That hideous strength.   
   Lewis, C.S. 1952. Out of the silent planet.   
   Miller, Walter M. 1993 [1959] A canticle for Leibowitz.   
   Niffenegger, Audrey. 2005. The time traveler's wife.   
   Lewis, C.S. 1953. Voyage to Venus Perelandra.   
   Huxley, Aldous. 1994 [1932] Brave new world.   
   Orwell, George. 1984.   
   James, P.D. 1992. The children of men.   
   McCarthy, Cormac. 2009. The road.   
   Willis, Connie. 1992. Doomsday Book.   
   Wyndham, John. 1961. The Midwich Cuckoos.   
   King, Stephen. 2011. 11.22.63.   
   Stewart, George R. 1977. Earth abides.   
      
      
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa   
   Web:  http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm   
   Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com   
   E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)