Best coming of age science fiction

**KEU** · March 17th, 2008, 08:53 AM

What are some of your own favorite coming of age books, SF or or fantasy?

I happened to recently read a few coming of age SF books (Tunnel in the Sky, Warchild - which I found to be pretty mediocre, Jumper, Spin, Beyond the Veil of Stars etc); though a lot of these books are aimed at teens or young adults, it seems to me that the formula they usually employ (growing up, education/training, making your mark on the galaxy) has a certain charm to it - probably because we can all sympathize, at least with the growing up part.

(I was surprised at not being able to find an existing thread on this topic; if I missed one, I would appreciate a pointer. Thanks.)

**psikeyhackr** · March 18th, 2008, 12:55 PM

Rite of Passage by Alexi Panshin

http://www.adherents.com/lit/bk_Pans_RiteOfPassage.html

This is so much better than Catcher in the Rye it isn't funny.

How many millions of dollars have schools made students spend on that book?

That is curious, it never occurred to me to compare Ender's Game to Rite of Passage. As a personal growth story Ender's isn't as good as Rite in my opinion because the plot of the war with the Bugger's consumes too much of Ender's attention. The potential use of computers in education may be more appropriate from Ender's considering the technology we have now.

I suppose the psychological manipulation of children by AUTHORITY could be viewed as part of the lesson of Ender's Game. What was all that "duck and cover" crap about in the 50's and 60's?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...815608&pl=true

http://www.sntp.net/education/gatto.htm

http://www.motivation-tools.com/youth/index.htm

Here is the thread:

http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19168

psik

**Colonel Worf** · March 18th, 2008, 10:43 PM

The Dark Beyond the Stars by Frank M. Robinson

Sparrow is a crew member on the Astron , a multigenerational ship sent from earth on an unavailing, 2000-year search for other life-bearing worlds. On the last planet, Seti IV, Sparrow fell off a cliff and nearly died, losing his memory in the process. While recovering in sick bay and also while back on the job, he is beset by more accidents. Eventually he decides that someone is trying to kill him. Trying to find out who and why, Sparrow is plunged into an ever-deepening mystery; nobody will discuss his past with him, the computer has restricted his data, and the little he does discover about his history leads only to further secrets.

I read this when I was 17 or 18, and it quickly became one of my favorites. I loaned a copy out and never got it back, and recently bought a new one. It's a GREAT novel.

**anansi** · March 20th, 2008, 01:33 PM

Check out the Jupiter series of novels. They are self-contained novels, but they are all written in the style of the oldschool "juvenile" scifi (think Heinlein, Asimov, etc).

**Farm Ur-Ted** · March 21st, 2008, 12:55 PM

Well, Ender's Game is a good one, if you're looking for the coming of age of a super-brainiac. Personally, I kind of hated the little twerp, although I liked the book at the time I read it.