I have to heartily second the recomendations for the Hyperion novels by Dan Simmons. These books got me into Romantic poetry(ie Keats) and religious studies, which is quite impressive for a science fiction book imho. especially since they both figure in as main topics and are quite important to the plot. I would also like to recommend Kurt Vonnegut(sp?). especially Slaughterhouse 5 and the Sirens of Titan. He discusses many interesting points of the human experience, and he has the bizarre ability to make even the funny and ridiculous sad, he can have a very dark view of human existence, but definitely worth reading, esp Slaughterhouse 5.
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I have to heartily second the recomendations for the Hyperion novels by Dan Simmons. These books got me into Romantic poetry(ie Keats) and religious studies, which is quite impressive for a science fiction book imho. especially since they both figure in as main topics and are quite important to the plot. I would also like to recommend Kurt Vonnegut(sp?). especially Slaughterhouse 5 and the Sirens of Titan. He discusses many interesting points of the human experience, and he has the bizarre ability to make even the funny and ridiculous sad, he can have a very dark view of human existence, but definitely worth reading, esp Slaughterhouse 5.