What are some good sci-fi books (new and old) for a sci-fi newb to get started with?
- Thread starter krazydawg005
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I resemble that remark. Though I've been spending more time here in the SF forum than I have in the past.
Expendable
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Dragonriders of Pern is Science Fiction, not fantasy.
I suggest reading widely within the genre; you're not going to know your likes & dislikes until you're tried a few things.
There are some excellent resources on the web. For example the NESFA Hugo recommended readling list has a bunch of stuff, both SF & Fantasy, short stories and novels that are worthwhile.
A good way of sampling a range of writers is to read a few short story anthologies. Gardner Dozois edits an excellent year's best collection as does David G. Hartwell. They are excellent samplers, you'll get a taste of different writing styles and writers.
Below are books I'd recommend to the sci-fi newb. Many of them are classics of the genre but I think they should be read because they are all relatively easy to get into, you don't need to be familiar with genre conventions, they cover a range of different sorts of SF and they are all good reads. Some are the first book of a series but they can all be read as stand-alones.
SNOWCRASH by Neal Stephenson.
It's a rollicking rollercoaster of a ride. This was his 'breakout' book. It's fast paced, entertaining, and has enough neat concepts to fill ten books.
The MILES VORKOSIGAN books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Start with "THE WARRIOR's APPRENTICE" or you could get the omnibus volume "YOUNG MILES" which contains "THE WARRIOR's APPRENTICE" and two other stories.
DUNE by Frank Herbert
This one's a classic. It's the first of a series but can be read as a stand-alone. Not to be confused with the prequel books written by his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
PLAYER OF GAMES by Iain M. Banks.
I'm putting this one with a caveat. I didn't like his writing the first time I tried reading him; I was probably too young at the time. Now, I think he's one of the best writers around.
RINGWORLD by Larry Niven.
Another classic. Also the first of a series.
THE HITCHHIKER's GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams.
This is more lighthearted and humourous. Also the first of a series.
NEUROMANCER by William Gibson.
Computers, hacking and gritty near-future scenarios. This cyberpunk classic caused a huge buzz when it was released. "NEUROMANCER" and the two sequels, "COUNT ZERO" and "MONA LISA OVERDRIVE" comprise the SPRAWL trilogy.
THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert A. Heinlein.
Yet another classic. This is from Heinlein's earlier period. As he got older, his writing got, er, eccentric.
The FOUNDATION trilogy by Issac Asimov.
Yet another classic. The trilogy comprises: "FOUNDATION", "FOUNDATION & EMPIRE" and "SECOND FOUNDATION".
THE SPEED OF DARK by Elizabeth Moon.
This is a more recent publication. The main character is autistic and the story is told from his point of view.
By the time you've got through these, you should have a much better idea of your likes and dislikes.
There are some excellent resources on the web. For example the NESFA Hugo recommended readling list has a bunch of stuff, both SF & Fantasy, short stories and novels that are worthwhile.
A good way of sampling a range of writers is to read a few short story anthologies. Gardner Dozois edits an excellent year's best collection as does David G. Hartwell. They are excellent samplers, you'll get a taste of different writing styles and writers.
Below are books I'd recommend to the sci-fi newb. Many of them are classics of the genre but I think they should be read because they are all relatively easy to get into, you don't need to be familiar with genre conventions, they cover a range of different sorts of SF and they are all good reads. Some are the first book of a series but they can all be read as stand-alones.
SNOWCRASH by Neal Stephenson.
It's a rollicking rollercoaster of a ride. This was his 'breakout' book. It's fast paced, entertaining, and has enough neat concepts to fill ten books.
The MILES VORKOSIGAN books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Start with "THE WARRIOR's APPRENTICE" or you could get the omnibus volume "YOUNG MILES" which contains "THE WARRIOR's APPRENTICE" and two other stories.
DUNE by Frank Herbert
This one's a classic. It's the first of a series but can be read as a stand-alone. Not to be confused with the prequel books written by his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
PLAYER OF GAMES by Iain M. Banks.
I'm putting this one with a caveat. I didn't like his writing the first time I tried reading him; I was probably too young at the time. Now, I think he's one of the best writers around.
RINGWORLD by Larry Niven.
Another classic. Also the first of a series.
THE HITCHHIKER's GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams.
This is more lighthearted and humourous. Also the first of a series.
NEUROMANCER by William Gibson.
Computers, hacking and gritty near-future scenarios. This cyberpunk classic caused a huge buzz when it was released. "NEUROMANCER" and the two sequels, "COUNT ZERO" and "MONA LISA OVERDRIVE" comprise the SPRAWL trilogy.
THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert A. Heinlein.
Yet another classic. This is from Heinlein's earlier period. As he got older, his writing got, er, eccentric.
The FOUNDATION trilogy by Issac Asimov.
Yet another classic. The trilogy comprises: "FOUNDATION", "FOUNDATION & EMPIRE" and "SECOND FOUNDATION".
THE SPEED OF DARK by Elizabeth Moon.
This is a more recent publication. The main character is autistic and the story is told from his point of view.
By the time you've got through these, you should have a much better idea of your likes and dislikes.
Expendable
infomaniac
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Soon Lee said:
Eccentric's a nice word for it.
Heinlein's I Will Fear No Evil, Time Enough for Love, The Number of the Beast, Friday, Job: A Comedy of Justice, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls & To Sail Beyond the Sunset should wait until later. Much later.
krazydawg005
Registered User
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Wow I completely forgot I had this thread going. Sorry for getting back well....2 months later...lol.
Anyways, the sci-fi books I've read is rather short. So far I've read Asimov's I, Robot (which I felt was excellent), Card's Ender's Game, and I'm either going to read Authur C Clarke's Rendevous with Rama, Card's Speaker of the Dead or Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio next.
Heres my lame attempt at trying to explain what kind of sci-fi novels I "think" I'll enjoy. First off, the science fiction that I'm afraid will go over my head is stuff with such hard science that I won't really have a clue about what is going on. I figure novels like that get a little easier to understand once I get the hang of sci-fi on down the road. Some hard science isn't bad, as I am very intrigued by the ideas of scientific discovery and how it will play out in future generations. Some good novels about space exploration and aliens is fun, but at the same time I don't want novels that are so engrossed in it that I can't really keep track. One problem I think for a newbie is getting used the idea of having to completely create the sci-fi world the author creates in your imagination, since you often have very little to base off of (esp. if the novel doesn't take place on Earth). Of course, I also wouldn't mind reading your typical space opera, yet I dont know of any aside from the Star Wars novels, which are fun but average reads. I also really enjoy alternate history (i've read several Turtledove novels and Newt Gingrich's 1945).
So as you can see, I really don't have much of a clue of what kind of sci-fi really interests me the most yet. I do know I want to stay away from books that are so deep in hard science that I can't follow along at all (something that I think might scare me away from Darwin's Radio for a bit), or books that are just hard to really hard for a sci-fi newbie who isn't used to the genre to follow along. Aside from that, I'm open to anything.
Also, aside from space opera, I really have no idea what the different sci-fi subgenres are (cyberpunk etc...).
Thanks for all your help so far!
Anyways, the sci-fi books I've read is rather short. So far I've read Asimov's I, Robot (which I felt was excellent), Card's Ender's Game, and I'm either going to read Authur C Clarke's Rendevous with Rama, Card's Speaker of the Dead or Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio next.
Heres my lame attempt at trying to explain what kind of sci-fi novels I "think" I'll enjoy. First off, the science fiction that I'm afraid will go over my head is stuff with such hard science that I won't really have a clue about what is going on. I figure novels like that get a little easier to understand once I get the hang of sci-fi on down the road. Some hard science isn't bad, as I am very intrigued by the ideas of scientific discovery and how it will play out in future generations. Some good novels about space exploration and aliens is fun, but at the same time I don't want novels that are so engrossed in it that I can't really keep track. One problem I think for a newbie is getting used the idea of having to completely create the sci-fi world the author creates in your imagination, since you often have very little to base off of (esp. if the novel doesn't take place on Earth). Of course, I also wouldn't mind reading your typical space opera, yet I dont know of any aside from the Star Wars novels, which are fun but average reads. I also really enjoy alternate history (i've read several Turtledove novels and Newt Gingrich's 1945).
So as you can see, I really don't have much of a clue of what kind of sci-fi really interests me the most yet. I do know I want to stay away from books that are so deep in hard science that I can't follow along at all (something that I think might scare me away from Darwin's Radio for a bit), or books that are just hard to really hard for a sci-fi newbie who isn't used to the genre to follow along. Aside from that, I'm open to anything.
Also, aside from space opera, I really have no idea what the different sci-fi subgenres are (cyberpunk etc...).
Thanks for all your help so far!
DragonReader
Registered User
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I think Asimov is a safe bet. His foundation series is really good as is his Robots series. I also like his short fiction.
As for space operas. I am not sure if it counts but I have heard good things about Kevin Anderson's Seven Suns series. I have not read this though so I cannot say if I'd recommend it. Has anyone out there read it? Opinions?
As for space operas. I am not sure if it counts but I have heard good things about Kevin Anderson's Seven Suns series. I have not read this though so I cannot say if I'd recommend it. Has anyone out there read it? Opinions?
Great Zamfir
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I wouldn't worry about this. Almost all science in sf is "descriptive": the writers tells what it does, not how it's supposed to work. Often there is a lot of mumbo-jumbo with technical terms that are completely meaningless, like in star trek. Sometimes the science really is an extrapolation from current science, with technical terms that do make sense ( i guess Darwin's Radio is like that, with biology and chaos theory) , but if you don't get it, it looks just like the normal Star Trek mumbo.
I think Asimov and Ender's game are excellent starting points. I wouldn't advice Darwin's Radio, because it's very non-typical science fiction: after you're finished, you still wouldn't know whether you like sf or not.
Instead, you could try Eon, by the same writer. This starts as very regular science fiction ( it's few years in the future, a mysterious astroid comes in orbit around earth and astronauts from the US and USSR investigate). Then it becomes more strange, and by the end it's very "hard" sf, with new kinds of physics and people that download their minds and stuff like that. So it's a very nice book to test how "scientific" you like your SF.
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I've been thinking on this for a while, and there are many good recommendations here. I really don't think you can go too wrong with whatever you read, but some of the easier and more fun things that I've read recently that might be nice to try out are:
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
Startide Rising and The Uplift War by David Brin
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Wreck of the River of Stars by Michael Flynn
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut (or my favorite work of his, Cat's Cradle)
Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (or Ilium and Olympos by the same, though Olympos isn't out yet)
The Dark Wing by Walter H. Hunt
These are just some of the more fun, less science-heavy SF that I've read recently. Though, again, you can't go too far wrong with anything. Just dive in. Some things you'll like some you may not. I've read plenty that I thought I would like that I didn't and plenty that I thought I wouldn't that I did. Say that ten times fast. Good luck, though, whatever you choose.
Strangely enough, I notice looking at the list now that almost all of them have been book club discussion books at one time or another. Funny that coincidence.....
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
Startide Rising and The Uplift War by David Brin
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Wreck of the River of Stars by Michael Flynn
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut (or my favorite work of his, Cat's Cradle)
Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (or Ilium and Olympos by the same, though Olympos isn't out yet)
The Dark Wing by Walter H. Hunt
These are just some of the more fun, less science-heavy SF that I've read recently. Though, again, you can't go too far wrong with anything. Just dive in. Some things you'll like some you may not. I've read plenty that I thought I would like that I didn't and plenty that I thought I wouldn't that I did. Say that ten times fast. Good luck, though, whatever you choose.
Strangely enough, I notice looking at the list now that almost all of them have been book club discussion books at one time or another. Funny that coincidence.....
I've seen Neuromance listed twice on this thread. I'm a veteran sci fi reader and that is the only book I can remember that I just gave up on. I was put off by what I guess is called cyperpunk style writing. So I think any newbies should be forewarned.
ArthurFrayn
the puppet master
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I think Rendezvous With Rama is a good pick. Not a character driven novel by any means(keep that in mind if that's what you're looking for), but nonetheless, a very convincing and compelling tale of the investigation of an enormous, seemingly deserted, in flight alien ship. It's a simple, beautifully realized story.You really feel like you're there!
Let me add these. They're high on fun, smartly paced, low on in yer face tech and science, and relatively SHORT!
Ringworld-Larry Niven
Andromeda Strain-Michael Crichton
Gateway-Frederick Pohl
The Time Machine -HG Wells
The Dragonmasters -Jack Vance
The Glass Hammer -KW Jeter
The Paradox Men -Charles Harness
If you're starting out, stay away from the multi-volume tomes everyone loves (unless this is what you crave). There are plenty of great stand alone novels to go through that'll you give you a taste of the different kinds of SF out there. If you want an overview, what's the point of reading 1,000-2,000 pages of Herbert or Asimov when for the same amount of pages you could have read 5-8 books by as many different authors? Tackle those guys later.
Sometimes it's worth it.
Let me add these. They're high on fun, smartly paced, low on in yer face tech and science, and relatively SHORT!
Ringworld-Larry Niven
Andromeda Strain-Michael Crichton
Gateway-Frederick Pohl
The Time Machine -HG Wells
The Dragonmasters -Jack Vance
The Glass Hammer -KW Jeter
The Paradox Men -Charles Harness
If you're starting out, stay away from the multi-volume tomes everyone loves (unless this is what you crave). There are plenty of great stand alone novels to go through that'll you give you a taste of the different kinds of SF out there. If you want an overview, what's the point of reading 1,000-2,000 pages of Herbert or Asimov when for the same amount of pages you could have read 5-8 books by as many different authors? Tackle those guys later.
Sometimes it's worth it.
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It's actually a fairly tough question. To answer re sub-genres -- there aren't that many, but it doesn't hurt to have an idea. They are:
Hard sf -- stories that focus on the hard sciences such as astrophysics, chemistry, biology, etc. The amount of science in them varies greatly. For instance, "I, Robot" is hard sf, but you followed it okay, right? "Darwin's Radio" is pretty easy to follow as well. Others may be more choked with graphs. But hard sf titles are worth checking out.
Soft/sociological sf -- stories that focus on the social sciences -- culture, sociology, psychology, politics, history. Card's "Ender's Game" would be considered soft sf. Obviously, though, there's a lot of overlap between hard and soft -- it's just which science is being focused on that puts them loosely in one big group or the other.
Then there are a few sub-genres that are seen as distinct from the two big groups above:
Military sf -- stories that specifically focus on soldiers and war
Comic sf -- stories meant to be satirical or comic in nature (Calahan's
Crosstime Saloon would be one of those)
Cyberpunk -- stories about young people involved in some type of rebellion
involving technology and computers (Snow Crash, Neuromancer)
Space opera -- tales of swashbuckling adventure and dramatic situations
(Buck Rogers)
Space opera is usually not an actual sub-genre in the market, but rather a lable that gets placed on some stories by fans, often in a derogatory manner. Besides the two that you've already read, some I'd suggest because they are considered seminal (and may have been suggested already in the thread):
Isaac Asimov -- Foundation
Ray Bradbury -- The Martian Chronicles, Farenheit 451
Ursula Le Guin -- The Left Hand of Darkness
Robert Heinlein -- Stranger in a Strange Land
Arthur C. Clarke -- 2001
Phillip K. Dick -- The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep
William Gibson -- Neuromancer
Alfred Bester -- The Stars My Destination
David Brin -- Startide Rising
Joe Haldeman -- The Forever War
Harry Harrison -- The Stainless Steele Rat
Barry B. Longyear -- Enemy Mine
Walter M. Miller Jr. -- A Canticle for Leibowitz
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle -- The Mote in God's Eye
Frank Herbert -- Dune
Vernor Vinge -- A Deepness in the Sky
John Wyndham -- The Day of the Triffids
Douglas Adams -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Octavia Butler -- Parable of the Sower
Vondre McIntyre -- Dreamsnake
Dan Simmons -- Hyperion
That's just a few, mostly the classic, older authors whose styles might seem less familiar, but most of these titles are pretty accessible on the science front. Quite a few are short. Some I have not read. There are many more. There are all the award winners, of course. SF has a long history and there are so many new good ones out there, you'll be reading forever if you like. But you can wander among the suggestions made in this thread and see what sounds good to you.
Hard sf -- stories that focus on the hard sciences such as astrophysics, chemistry, biology, etc. The amount of science in them varies greatly. For instance, "I, Robot" is hard sf, but you followed it okay, right? "Darwin's Radio" is pretty easy to follow as well. Others may be more choked with graphs. But hard sf titles are worth checking out.
Soft/sociological sf -- stories that focus on the social sciences -- culture, sociology, psychology, politics, history. Card's "Ender's Game" would be considered soft sf. Obviously, though, there's a lot of overlap between hard and soft -- it's just which science is being focused on that puts them loosely in one big group or the other.
Then there are a few sub-genres that are seen as distinct from the two big groups above:
Military sf -- stories that specifically focus on soldiers and war
Comic sf -- stories meant to be satirical or comic in nature (Calahan's
Crosstime Saloon would be one of those)
Cyberpunk -- stories about young people involved in some type of rebellion
involving technology and computers (Snow Crash, Neuromancer)
Space opera -- tales of swashbuckling adventure and dramatic situations
(Buck Rogers)
Space opera is usually not an actual sub-genre in the market, but rather a lable that gets placed on some stories by fans, often in a derogatory manner. Besides the two that you've already read, some I'd suggest because they are considered seminal (and may have been suggested already in the thread):
Isaac Asimov -- Foundation
Ray Bradbury -- The Martian Chronicles, Farenheit 451
Ursula Le Guin -- The Left Hand of Darkness
Robert Heinlein -- Stranger in a Strange Land
Arthur C. Clarke -- 2001
Phillip K. Dick -- The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep
William Gibson -- Neuromancer
Alfred Bester -- The Stars My Destination
David Brin -- Startide Rising
Joe Haldeman -- The Forever War
Harry Harrison -- The Stainless Steele Rat
Barry B. Longyear -- Enemy Mine
Walter M. Miller Jr. -- A Canticle for Leibowitz
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle -- The Mote in God's Eye
Frank Herbert -- Dune
Vernor Vinge -- A Deepness in the Sky
John Wyndham -- The Day of the Triffids
Douglas Adams -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Octavia Butler -- Parable of the Sower
Vondre McIntyre -- Dreamsnake
Dan Simmons -- Hyperion
That's just a few, mostly the classic, older authors whose styles might seem less familiar, but most of these titles are pretty accessible on the science front. Quite a few are short. Some I have not read. There are many more. There are all the award winners, of course. SF has a long history and there are so many new good ones out there, you'll be reading forever if you like. But you can wander among the suggestions made in this thread and see what sounds good to you.
NoneShallPass
You make me sad.
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I definetly agree with the Bradbury. Any Bradbury is good. Beyond The Martian Chronicles and Farenheit 451, try S Is For Space, Golden Apples Of The Sun, and even though it isnt SF, Dandelion Wine is a fabulous book. It does sort of fit in with fantasy though. I would also recommend some good utopian/ distopian lit. such as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Anthem by Ayn Rand and The Giver by Lois Lowery.
NoneShallPass
You make me sad.
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- Mar 16, 2005
- Messages
- 47
I just thought of a few more. To get a sense of SF history and grow some roots, I suggest these.
The War Of The Worlds and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. And also Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (my personal favorite book of all time)
The War Of The Worlds and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. And also Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (my personal favorite book of all time)
Elise Jones
New Member
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- Mar 22, 2005
- Messages
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Sci/Fi authors
My son actually got me interested though he states I sold him long ago by reading him DUNE at bedtime...he likes Frances Farmer, any comments?
My son actually got me interested though he states I sold him long ago by reading him DUNE at bedtime...he likes Frances Farmer, any comments?
KrullSlayer
Sci-Fi Addict
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- Mar 23, 2005
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The Best Choice
The best thing you can do is get "The Hard SF Renaissance" edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. It is an anthology of hard sf short stories from arthors such as Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Haldeman, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Charles Sheffield, Bruce Sterling and more.
If you cannot find something to enjoy in this book ... you must be brain dead.
The best thing you can do is get "The Hard SF Renaissance" edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. It is an anthology of hard sf short stories from arthors such as Poul Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Haldeman, Alastair Reynolds, Kim Stanley Robinson, Charles Sheffield, Bruce Sterling and more.
If you cannot find something to enjoy in this book ... you must be brain dead.
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