Quote from: flyingmice;390755Cordwainer Smith invented catgirls. Geeks everywhere owe him a debt they can never repay.

-clash

"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" IIRC. Haven't thought of that story in a long time.

Quote from: jeff37923;390757"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" IIRC. Haven't thought of that story in a long time.

Actually, C'Mell was also in "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard", published the year before "Ballad of Lost C'Mell", and also in Norstrilia, his only novel.

-clash

I tend to overlook Linebarger's inadvertent donation to those fucking furries and instead focus on stuff like No No Not Rogov! and Scanners Live In Vain.

Quote from: thedungeondelver;390788I tend to overlook Linebarger's inadvertent donation to those fucking furries and instead focus on stuff like No No Not Rogov! and Scanners Live In Vain.

I'm not a huge Anime fan, but I have always found it fascinating how catgirls went from a minor bit in the works of a rather obscure - though brilliant - SF author to staples of the anime world. Uplifts in my SF games are pretty much smart upright animals with hands, not at all humanoid.

-clash

I like Cordwainer "I must cranch!!" Smith, but I wouldn't have thought of his work filling in one of the blanks from the OP.  His stuff is too weird, out somewhere on the 'new wave' vector in the direction of Ellison or Delany.

I'm not that familiar with Traveller beyond the core of the original version, but it always seems to have the feel of postwar, American, magazine SF (especially Analog). Beyond that, it's a really good question. Maybe SF adventure was such a broadly developed field by the time Traveller was created, that it's impossible to boil the list down to two representative titles. Also, are Conan or LotR really any more representative of D&D than, say, Three Hearts and Three Lions, or Stormbringer?  But the question is about the instant recognition factor, I guess, so that's not important.

H. Beam Piper is a good fit, but could you call him Traveller's Tolkien?  

Niven was the first writer I thought of when I saw the question, and specifically his Beowulf Shaeffer stories.

'Doc' Smith's Lensman stuff isn't really apparent, looking at Traveller.  Koltar mentioned GURPS: Traveller, and there was GURPS: Lensman, but could classic Traveller do a mind-reading eugenic Superman like Kinnison?  Also, in the Lensman stories, the tech level increases by orders of magnitude with each installment.  At least the levels of firepower, shield power, and PSI power do, to keep the ultraviolent action exciting.  In a Traveller game, there may be no ship in the galaxy that can get you there in time, but in a Lensman game, you should be able to spend a story point to have a buddy from the academy design and construct the incredible engine you need overnight, or at least within five pages.

For the 'Doc' Smith PSI flavor, but with a more sensible, Traveller appropriate feel, try James Schmitz.

Quote from: TAFMSV;390804I like Cordwainer "I must cranch!!" Smith, but I wouldn't have thought of his work filling in one of the blanks from the OP.  His stuff is too weird, out somewhere on the 'new wave' vector in the direction of Ellison or Delany.

Agreed. Not a Traveller inspiration, by any means, but awesome in his own way. I would also put him as a precursor to Ellison and Delany

QuoteH. Beam Piper is a good fit, but could you call him Traveller's Tolkien?  

Probably the closest single-author fit. I've been reading a lot of Piper lately.

QuoteNiven was the first writer I thought of when I saw the question, and specifically his Beowulf Shaeffer stories.

Good call. The Shaeffer stories are closer to the Traveller zeitgeist than the rest of his Known Space series.

-clash

Quote from: TAFMSV;390804I like Cordwainer "I must cranch!!" Smith, but I wouldn't have thought of his work filling in one of the blanks from the OP.  His stuff is too weird, out somewhere on the 'new wave' vector in the direction of Ellison or Delany.

Well I guess you and I would just have very different views of Traveller then! (where's that smug arms-crossed emoticon that Somethingawful's forums has when I need it?)

No no, I see where you're coming from, in all seriousness.

"I tell you, I must cranch. I have to cranch. It's my worry, isn't it?"

...cordwainer smith is still awesome and I'd still find a way to fit the Lords of Insturmentality in there, dammit...

Wouldn't Foundation be Traveller's LoTR? And thus Asimov its Tolkien?

The guys you're all naming here are more akin to Traveller's "jack vance".

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;390888Wouldn't Foundation be Traveller's LoTR? And thus Asimov its Tolkien?

The guys you're all naming here are more akin to Traveller's "jack vance".

RPGPundit

Fair enough, but I prefer to think of Jack Vance as Traveller's Jack Vance.

Foundation is too obvious, I guess.  But, yeah.

Quote from: TAFMSV;390891Fair enough, but I prefer to think of Jack Vance as Traveller's Jack Vance.

Foundation is too obvious, I guess.  But, yeah.

The Foundation Books are obvious - because Pundit is right about that one.

I remember reading that trilogy when I was in Junior High School - which right around the same time or just before I discovered classsic TRAVELLER. At the time Ballantine/Pocketbooks had themed covers for the Foundation books that I think were blue, green, and orange - one color for each.

The first book especially has the feel of the Third Imperium in several places. The second and third books, where the Empire is falling apart are likely an inspiration for the "Long Night" parts of TRAVELLER's backstory.

Yep, if anyone ever asked for an RPG adaptation of Asimov Empire/Foundation stories I'd use either classic TRAVELLER or GURPS:TRAVELLER to do it.

- Ed C.

Quote from: RPGPundit;390888Wouldn't Foundation be Traveller's LoTR? And thus Asimov its Tolkien?

The guys you're all naming here are more akin to Traveller's "jack vance".

RPGPundit

No, Asimov and Foundation was an influence, but not the same.

If anything, Niven and Pournelle's The Mote in God's Eye is Traveller's LotR. There is more in common with the OTU and the CoDominion background of Pournelle then there ever was with Asimov.

Ooh, I just thought of another: what about Laumer's Retief stories (and, to parallel, the BOLO stories by Laumer et al)?

Quote from: thedungeondelver;390902Ooh, I just thought of another: what about Laumer's Retief stories (and, to parallel, the BOLO stories by Laumer et al)?

Certainly great stories. (as is The Mote in God's Eye)
=

Quote from: thedungeondelver;390902Ooh, I just thought of another: what about Laumer's Retief stories (and, to parallel, the BOLO stories by Laumer et al)?

Dang.  My dad has the Retief books.  

Boy there'd be a powergamer's wet dream: dice up "personalities" in the Traveller ruleset, then tell the players they're BOLO Mk. XXX Continental Siege Unit AIs!