[winged_dreams]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

I can heartily concur on the earlier comments about Poe and Lovecraft. When it comes to gothic literature, they continue to exert an influence today.

Some non-gothic thoughts here. First, some sci-fi:

Ender's Game / Speaker For The Dead by Oson Scott Card - Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. Thinking the third time may be the end of the human race, the Earth government drafts very young geniuses to learn military strategy by playing elaborate simulation computer games. Ender Wiggins is the brightest of the bright, and the future of the Earth may rest on his young shoulders. The vivid characterization of Ender, the action packed pacing and the surprise twist ending make book one well worth reading. But I recommend it to set up book two, "Speaker For The Dead." This beautiful, mutli-layered book details how Ender deals with the aftermath of his terrible war. When humans encounter another alien race whose ways are strange, frightening and lethal, it is up to Ender Wiggin, 'Xenocide' and 'Speaker For The Dead' to discover the truth.

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison - When I read this story the first time I was too young and it scared the bejeebus out of me. Let me quote Wikipedia on this one: "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a dystopian science fiction short story by Harlan Ellison. This is a nightmarish tale of the evil that man can unleash from himself through science. It won a Hugo award in 1968, went on to become one of the ten most reprinted stories in the English language, and is taught and lectured about in hundreds of universities.

Ender's Game was awesome and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is an awesome short story. Yay for your good taste in sci fi.