books: Ring of Swords by Eleanor Arnason culture clash. humanity and a very alien culture, with little no common frames of reference on acceptable behavior
War for the Oaks by Emma Bull one of the very earliest of Urban Fantasy, this one still stands out. Minneapolis rocker meets the Fae and becomes embroiled in their battles
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis like her Doomsday Book this involves Oxford time travelers, and covers some of the same ethical ground, but is much lighter - the title is a riff off the excellent Victorian travelogue Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome. it includes trips to 1940 as well as Victorian England, and the search for a bird stump (a fabulous McGuffin).
series: The Faded Sun trilogy by C.J. Cherryh another exploration of alien/human interactions, and what happens when there's little common ground
Liaden series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller a fabulous space opera series, where Terra is just one minor planet among many and Clan Korval of Liaden (specialty - pilots) takes center stage. there are a number of novels and short stories with multiple recurring characters
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis more Oxford time travel folks who're studying WW II, but end up trapped and scrambling to survive events instead of being able to return to safety in 2060. Their individual stories eventually intersect - I loved the look at ordinary life in various locales, and the unexpected twists throughout
Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh she's the best at creating really *alien* aliens, whose beliefs/behaviors don't depend on human patterns. this long-running series is a look at communicating and creating bridges between two very different peoples, and the problems that arise therein
TV Primeval (first two seasons) dinosaurs! a group of scientists/soldiers deal with dinos & other oddities from prehistoric (and future) eras popping through 'anomalies'.
X-Files conspiracies/aliens/monster-of-the-week - this show had it all. quality veered wildly, but at its best episodes challenged audiences to think "what if".
Eureka a small town where science is truly weird, and everywhere! we're offered a great 'outsider' POV on the denizens, who are odd in very interesting ways.
no subject
Ring of Swords by Eleanor Arnason
culture clash. humanity and a very alien culture, with
littleno common frames of reference on acceptable behaviorWar for the Oaks by Emma Bull
one of the very earliest of Urban Fantasy, this one still stands out. Minneapolis rocker meets the Fae and becomes embroiled in their battles
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
like her Doomsday Book this involves Oxford time travelers, and covers some of the same ethical ground, but is much lighter - the title is a riff off the excellent Victorian travelogue Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) by Jerome K. Jerome. it includes trips to 1940 as well as Victorian England, and the search for a bird stump (a fabulous McGuffin).
series:
The Faded Sun trilogy by C.J. Cherryh
another exploration of alien/human interactions, and what happens when there's little common ground
Liaden series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
a fabulous space opera series, where Terra is just one minor planet among many and Clan Korval of Liaden (specialty - pilots) takes center stage. there are a number of novels and short stories with multiple recurring characters
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
more Oxford time travel folks who're studying WW II, but end up trapped and scrambling to survive events instead of being able to return to safety in 2060. Their individual stories eventually intersect - I loved the look at ordinary life in various locales, and the unexpected twists throughout
Foreigner series by C.J. Cherryh
she's the best at creating really *alien* aliens, whose beliefs/behaviors don't depend on human patterns. this long-running series is a look at communicating and creating bridges between two very different peoples, and the problems that arise therein
TV
Primeval (first two seasons)
dinosaurs! a group of scientists/soldiers deal with dinos & other oddities from prehistoric (and future) eras popping through 'anomalies'.
X-Files
conspiracies/aliens/monster-of-the-week - this show had it all. quality veered wildly, but at its best episodes challenged audiences to think "what if".
Eureka
a small town where science is truly weird, and everywhere! we're offered a great 'outsider' POV on the denizens, who are odd in very interesting ways.