yeah, it's one of my favorite series even though the science is way, way out of date (written at a time when bigger technology was automatically better technology). I think it's a great read from a history of science fiction view point. Skylark even more so.
What are the best Sci-Fi books to recommend to a novice?
- Thread starter ImaginalDisc
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yeah, it's one of my favorite series even though the science is way, way out of date (written at a time when bigger technology was automatically better technology). I think it's a great read from a history of science fiction view point. Skylark even more so.
TragicMonkey
Poisoned Waffles
Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin is pretty good.
Cheap Thrills
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I've always recommended Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination. Written in 1956, it hasn't aged in the slightest; this is the visionary book that kick-started the modern science fiction genre as we know it today.
lofgoernost
Muse
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Here's a similar thread from a couple of years ago with some good stuff.
Anything by H. Beam Piper. For a starter look for "The Complete Paratime" or "Federation", both story collections that give a good overview of his writing style. The "Fuzzy" books are quite popular, they gave us (for good or ill) the Ewoks.
My personal favorite is "The Cosmic Computer".
Robert Klaus
My personal favorite is "The Cosmic Computer".
Robert Klaus
slingblade
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A really good anthology by a really good writer (always a plus):
"Science Fiction 101 : Where to Start Reading and Writing Science Fiction"
by Robert Silverberg.
it not only has some classic authors and stories (Cordwainer Smith, Pohl, Aldiss, Damon Knight, James Blish), but Silverberg also offeres analysis of each story. "Scanners Live in Vain," "Fondly Fahrenheit," and Phil Dick's "Colony" ("I trusted the rug completely!") are just three good examples.
"Science Fiction 101 : Where to Start Reading and Writing Science Fiction"
by Robert Silverberg.
it not only has some classic authors and stories (Cordwainer Smith, Pohl, Aldiss, Damon Knight, James Blish), but Silverberg also offeres analysis of each story. "Scanners Live in Vain," "Fondly Fahrenheit," and Phil Dick's "Colony" ("I trusted the rug completely!") are just three good examples.
Fungrim
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NB: I think the hard/soft definition isn't very useful. However. As many classics have already been mentioned (see for example c4ts excellent previous post) here's some "newer" books.
Soft SF + (New) Space Opera:
In-betweens:
Hard SF:
Soft SF + (New) Space Opera:
- The Hyperion Cantos - Dan Simmons (literary far future classic)
- Kiln People - David Brin (social engineering / cloning)
- The Gap Cycle - Stephen R. Donaldsson (pure space opera)
In-betweens:
- A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernon Vinge (singularity classic)
- The Star Fraction - Ken MacLeod (politics, science and great fun)
- Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds (dark, semi hard cyber-punk-ish)
Hard SF:
- Darvins Children - Greg Bear (biology /evolution)
- The Algebraist - Iain Banks (far future straight SF)
- Singularity Sky - Charlie Stross (singularity)
Morrigan
Crone of War
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Soft: Dune series.
Hard: Space Odyssey series.
Hard: Space Odyssey series.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Avoid, avoid, avoid like the plague. This book is an insult to people with intelligence.
Mojo
Mostly harmless
I've read all of these apart from the Stross, and of the ones I've read I can recommend all but the Donaldson: of that, the nicest thing I can say is: AVOID!
Mojo
Mostly harmless
Loads of good science fiction is about society rather than science. The science is often just a deus ex machina.
Kevin_Lowe
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Nobody's mentioned CJ Cherryh, which is great injustice. Downbelow Station, Cyteen, and Rider at the Gate are all very good. The Chanur series a bit less so, in my humble opinion, but still good.
I also think a previous poster got their Vinge muddled. Marooned In Realtime is his singularity novel, A Fire Upon The Deep is based on a cosmology where the laws of physics get wackier the further away from the galactic core you get. Both are very good too.
I also think a previous poster got their Vinge muddled. Marooned In Realtime is his singularity novel, A Fire Upon The Deep is based on a cosmology where the laws of physics get wackier the further away from the galactic core you get. Both are very good too.
stupid razzafraggin memory. That's what I meant to type instead of Delany's the Stars in my Pocket... Not sure why I always confuse them. great book.
Yeah, Ender's Game (in fact Card's stuff in general) is very vague on the science. Most fans split the real sciency stuff into a Hard Science sub-genre.
Niven, Heinlein are big in this area, although I really like Robert L. Forward's stuff (and just realized on reading his wikipedia page that he died 4 years ago. bummer). I really liked his Dragon's Egg and Starquake.
heh, I thought those were great, but his Stainless Steel Rat are more popular. And hey, the Rat is an atheist thief that doesn't kill people.
Only boring science fiction is about the science. The good stuff is about the effects of science. Even the hard sf stuff is mostly about the story, not the ins and outs of the devices.
But I don't consider Stranger in a Strange Land to be one of Heinlein's better stories. Not bad though.