Imagine I could only choose 5 sci fi books for a brand new sci fi reader – what would they be?
Imagine I could only choose 5 sci fi books for a brand new sci fi reader – what would they be?
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
That should be a nice cross section, though I completely ignored cyberpunk, near future apocalyptic (unless you include Hitchhiker’s Guide!), alternate history, and a few others!
Oooh, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a good choice, even though the tech now feels anachronistic (except Mike). I used to put it in my starter pack too.
The Martian is an excellent starter kit choice – extremely approachable while still being largely representative of what sci fi can be! Nice!
Tangent: I originally read The Martian while weathering a summer windstorm in the high arctic. My tent was threatening to blow away, bouncing down the tundra with me and all our supplies. It really added to the experience :)
Foundation ❤ Foundation and Empire ❤❤❤ (The Mule 😍)
By Isaac Asimov should be in the package in my opinion 😎
Oddly enough, the Mule drove me mad. I don’t like this old notion that “we only use 10% of our brain – imagine what we could do if we unlocked the other 90%” that was prevalent in sci fi of the era. So if you gave Foundation and Empire to me in your starter kit, and I reviewed it thus, what would you recommend as a followup knowing that I enjoyed it, but didn’t like the psychic (telepathic) elements?
Oh hi Troy, what an interesting question. Over the years I’ve had a lot of thoughts about this and think the optimal set of books should be both highly approachable, but also cover a wide varieties of genres. Such that the prospective newbie can sample a bunch of different things and tell you what they liked best. Thus forming a nice basis for additional recommendations. To that effect, here’s my current list.
(1) Ender’s Game (it’s a very approachable read with a good payoff and a lot of nice concepts)
(2) The Left Hand of Darkness (largely to show that sci fi can be beautiful and contemplative, and by placing these ideas in a sci fi setting, you can abstract from all the baggage of modern politics)
(3) Snow Crash (yes, it’s ridiculous, but it’s also super fun and somewhat pop-culturey and scratches the cyberpunk itch - it’s also the only earth-only book on the list)
(4) Hyperion and Fall of Hyperon (because it touches on so many ideas and genres, one can ask “what was your favourite part” and it’ll form the basis for so many other recommendations)
(5) The Player of Games (need something optimistic to balance some of the others - but also something where the tech level is indistinguishable from magic)
What do you think?
That’s a great list. With the exception of Iain Banks. I have bounced off every book by him I’ve tried. Really should make another effort at Player of Games.
Hyperion was actually one of the very first scifi books I read, and I almost regret it. It’s absolutely brilliant, but because I had no frame of reference, nothing to compare it to, so I didn’t appreciate it at the time. I’m waiting until my memory fades so I can reread it :-)
Snow Crash…ok you’ve got me interested… Adding it to the list
I took a bit of a time off from reading so when I started again this is what I gleaned as recommendations from the other printsf:
Three body problem - Liu Cixin Bobiverse - Dennis Taylor Daemon - Daniel Suarez Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds
Honorable mention: Blindsight - Peter Watts
If I were to go with a mix of old and new: Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson I, Robot - Issac Asimov Dune - Frank Herbert
Mix of old and new, short and far future.
If you’re going to include a Michael Crichton book in a sci-fi list, Sphere is a far better choice IMO.
I guess I’d try to give as broad a view as possible, kind of to show that sci-fi can be literary as well as purpose-built to explore specific ideas.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Sparrow
Player of Games
The Quantum Thief