What Sci Fi Books Would You Recommend?
Here's an article that dares to answer that question: "Great Sci Fi For People Who Think They Don't Like Sci Fi".
It lists only five books, however. I'm sure many will ask, "Where's Dune?"; or "What about a Vonnegut or Clarke novel?".
If you met someone who can't seem to grasp or understand science-fiction, what books would you recommend to get them to see beyond their biases?
That's a question I should ask myself regarding some other genres (*romance*--cough cough).
It lists only five books, however. I'm sure many will ask, "Where's Dune?"; or "What about a Vonnegut or Clarke novel?".
If you met someone who can't seem to grasp or understand science-fiction, what books would you recommend to get them to see beyond their biases?
That's a question I should ask myself regarding some other genres (*romance*--cough cough).
posted by pgenrestories at 2:44 PM
8 Comments:
I plug Flowers for Algernon by daniel keyes. It helps that i think it's one of the mundane scifi books.made me happy to learn that not all scifi has spaceships.
hmm i normally make recs lists based on people's preferences... but here's a general list, off the top of my head:
the doomsday book by connie willis - neat writing, adorable protagonist, engaging story. feels more like a historical fantasy than SF, but the SF groundwork of this piece is actually rather solid. great research work on it, too.
emergence by david palmer
fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury
brave new world by aldous huxley
a canticle for leibowitz by walter m. miller, jr.
hyperion by dan simmons - has everything! it's been referred to as "Canterbury Tales in space" and i can comfortably agree. it's hard not to get hooked for the characters and their individual stories.
the left hand of darkness by ursula le guin - recommended out of loyalty because this title was life-changing for me, but i don't suppose people who are into folklore or sociology (which counts as a "soft" science, yes?) would find this easy to appreciate.
...i actually wouldn't recommend dune because i think the setting, while solid, is much too alien - jarring for someone who probably needs to be eased into the concept of new religions, interstellar monarchies and intergalactic cartels.
@ ek - i thought about flowers for algernon too! i think it's a good choice, but i reread it recently and i'm... not sure the writing style would catch the attention of readers with... is the right term "contemporary tastes"? it's still pretty awesome and deserves to be recommended, though.
...eep sorry for the grammatical lapses. net sucks and am on borrowed time, couldn't edit (and grammar sucks anyway XD)
Here's what my teachers gave us (that's not in the list) and then some:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (albeit a short story)
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate by Ted Chiang (albeit a short story again)
Wooden Horse by John Grant (short story)
The Star by Arthur C. Clarke (short story)
the sparrow - mary doria russel
the last defender of camelot - roger zelazny (short fiction collection)
zodiac - neal stephenson
oryx and crake - margaret atwood
the companions - sheri s. tepper
i sing the body electric - ray bradbury (short fic collection)
mrs. frisby and the rats of nimh - robert o'brien
the twenty-one balloons - william pene du bois
Thanks, kilawinguwak!
A Scanner Darkly, Philip K Dick
Thanks, skinny!
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