Many reading this have never read a science fiction novel.
I know this to be true because over the years I've asked people if they've read any science fiction and many say "No."
If you're willing to dip a proverbial toe in the sci-fi water but have no idea where to start, I'm gonna make it easy for you: below, a list of 11 great sci-fi novels I've enjoyed over the years, most of which I've read more than once.
A book that thrilled me when I was kid, if it's a classic, will enchant me once again, in a different way, 60 years later.
Note: They're in no particular order; these are the first ones that came to mind when I decided to create this post.
• The Demolished Man — Alfred Bester (1953)
• Neuromancer — William Gibson (1984)
• Snow Crash — Neal Stephenson (1992)
• The Martian Chronicles — Ray Bradbury (1950)
• Dragon's Egg — Robert L. Forward (1980)
• Mission of Gravity — Hal Clement (1954)
• Flowers for Algernon — Daniel Keyes (1959)
• Childhood's End — Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
• Darker Than You Think — Jack Williamson (1948)
• A Canticle for Liebowitz — Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1959)
• The Stars My Destination — Alfred Bester (1956)
antares
ReplyDeleteGood list, Joe. Walter Miller, Jr, A Canticle for Liebowitz, and Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon, stand out. I note the lack of Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Poul Anderson, Philip Dick, Andre Norton, Cyril Kornbluth, H Beam Piper, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Frank Herbert, Ursula LeGuin. You included Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles, which is a collection of short stories. This is good. SF lives more in short stories than in novels. My additions to your list:
Robert Heinlein, The Green Hills of Earth
Isaac Asimov, The Last Question
Poul Anderson, No Truce with Kings
Philip Dick, I Can Remember It for You Wholesale
Andre Norton, The Beastmaster
Cytil Kornbluth, That Share of Glory
H Beam Piper, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
Larry Niven, Inconstant Moon
Jerry Pournelle, A Spaceship for the King (better in serialized version in Analog, Dec71-Feb72)
Frank Herbert, Dune (the best-selling sf novel of all time; its publication history shatters the notion that curated is better)
Ursula LeGuin, The Word for World Is Forest
antares
ReplyDeleteHad to come back to add C. J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station. I have not read it, but the title is too cool to ignore.