If you've never read science fiction, but are curious....Lois McMasters Bujold is a great start. After a recommendation from a friend (thank you Cathy!) I read Falling Free and instantly became an addict of the "Miles Universe" as I come to think of it. Falling Free is technically the first in a not-so-chronologically-written series about Miles Vorkosigan Naismith. Miles is a wonderful character, and yet Falling Free is set about 300 year before Miles is born. This book is about an engineer who is working with a large group of "quaddies"--people who were genetically engineered to work in space, and therefore do not need legs. Instead of legs, quaddies have arms, their second set, of course. The plot is exciting and the characters are interesting, but the best part of the book is that it stages the questions for the rest of the series to continue to explore. Questions about who we value and how we show value to others are only a few that are implied. Ms. Bujold is a fantastic writer and I don't think a person has to be a sci-fi geek to appreciate her. My only caveat....don't look at the cover of her books because they are as corny as most other sci-fi novels.
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Hey Mel: I just finished LMB's latest book, Horizon, and I'm so sad that it's the last new book of hers I'll get to read for a while. I read on her site that she has a new Miles book coming out, thank goodness, but I'm not sure when. I totally agree with you that her covers are almost always TERRIBLE! It's so unfair. Lots of other writers with much less talent get much better covers.
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