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Joined: 4/4/2011
Posts: 1
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I'm relatively new to the Science Fiction genre. I've been told that Asimov's FOUNDATION trilogy is a great intro to the genre. Are there any other must-reads?
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Joined: 5/2/2011
Posts: 59
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"Ender's Game" is a good intro to science fiction, although I would stick to that and maybe a few of the sequels when it comes to this author. I can't stand most of Card's later works. They get a bit too political, and I don't care for his politics.
Depending on what level of science fiction you want, here are my suggestions.
A good light story is "The Iron Man", by Ted Hughes. It almost reads like a fairy tale, except about a giant robot during the Cold War. They made an animated film of this one called The Iron Giant (likely to avoid any connection with the comic book hero), and it is one of the greatest animated features of all time.
My favorite science fiction novel is Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash", which is part of the cyberpunk subgenre. It may not have created it, but it definitely played a role in popularizing it, and it established a lot of the genre norms. Also, the main character is named Hiro Protagonist. Classic.
Another favorite and a good example of New Weird (a fantasy-science fiction hybrid) comes from the ultimate example of the genre, China Miéville, specifically from "The City & The City", which is almost a police procedural novel, except horrific and in a fictional European setting. Also, in America, his new (more straight science fiction) book is coming out in a week, "Embassytown" - it sounds good from the description and early reviews I've read. Great author, no matter what you read from him.
And, of course, in terms of the classics, where to start?
Isaac Asimov's "Foundation", definitely.
H.G. Well's "The Time Machine" would be my choice.
Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five".
Robert Heinlein's "--All You Zombies--" (a short story).
Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".
Anything by those last six authors, though, is as good a way to start as any. They're the masters of the genre. I would probably also add in Arthur C. Clarke; I can't say any one of his works in particular stands out, but he is a prolific author of the genre.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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EVERYTHING by H.G. wells, Jules Verne, and Robert Heinlein. Also, EE Smith's Lensman series.
Piers Anthony's Bio of a space tyrant is pretty good of an intro to "hard" SIFI. Lots of jerry pournelle's stuff. Oh, you can't say you've read scifi until you've read at least some of Andre Norton's stuff.
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Joined: 5/8/2011
Posts: 13
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The books that got me hooked on SF are The Forever War and Starship Troopers (I always enjoyed military reading, so it was a short jump) From there, the Dune series and Orwell's stories -- Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. But it was Weber's Honorverse series that gave me the desire to put the stories in my head to paper. I loved the way he developed such a rich and diverse universe instead of just a planet or two.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 10
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I agree with some of those that have already been mentioned. Namely Asimov, Heinlein and Anthony.
You might also enjoy...
"The Flying Sorcerers" - David Gerrold
"For Love of Mother-Not" - Alan Dean Foster
"Ringworld" - Larry Niven
"Parable of the Sower" - Octavia Butler
And surprisingly, the first "Halo" book by Eric Nylund.
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Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
It's a famous sci-fi work so you can Google it but read what others say with skepticism.
Dhalgren is unique as Finnegans Wake. It is poetry organized by quantum mechanics. If you like it, you'll never forget it.
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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Personally, I'd recommend the following:
E. E Doc Smith's Lensman series: Pretty much the original space opera. The physics is occasionally hilariously inaccurate, but the story's solid and engaging. Is also probably the high watermark for excessive firepower.
Starship Troopers (Heinlein): If you've only seen the film, this is a whole different story. Lots of ruminations on politics and citizenship, as well as a solid, thrilling war story.
Crown Of Slaves (Weber & Flint): A spin-off of David Weber's Honorverse series, this is less galactic war and more galactic intrigue. Full of delightful characters and unique scenes, it's completely unpredictable.
Decipher (Stel Pavlou): Less a full sci-fi novel and more the ultimate crypto-thriller, Decipher's a hugely inventive look at religion and the messages hidden within. It's also the only novel I've ever read with six pages of references at the end.
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Joined: 4/27/2011
Posts: 6
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Although sometimes a mixed bag, I would recommend, Banks' Culture series, though the later ones tend to be a bit lacking.
Ian Whates's the noise is getting good reviews lately too, as is Neal Ashers Spatterjay books, I mention them because they are also on my friendslist.
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