My friend Paul at Backcountry Musings has presented a personal challenge that he is going to try at least 6 new classic Sci-Fi authors in the next 12 months. Paul is the main influence on my new reading habits!! I read my first ever "Science Fiction" novel in December of this past year. It was Clifford D. Simek's They Walked Like Men. I followed this up with the wonderful John Wyndham novel The Chrysalids. Lately I have found a calling in fantasy and science fiction. But since I am new to the genre almost ALL of the authors are new to me!! I guess that would make it an easy challenge to complete! So I'm going to take Paul's list and maybe add a few of my own to it. (I figure I should probably read a little Heinlein while I'm at it!)
- Lest Darkness Fall - L Sprague de Camp
- The Voyage of the Space Beagle - AE van Vogt
- A Mirror for Observers - Edgar Pangborn
- The Best of Stanley Weinbaum - Stanley Weinbaum
- Earthman's Burden - Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson
- Triplanetary - EE "Doc" Smith
The alternates that he has chosen :
- Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg
- Tales of the Dying Earth - Jack Vance
- Cities in Flight - James Blish
And the few that I would like to maybe add to my list:
- The Puppet Master's - Robert Heinlein
- This Perfect Day - Ira Levin
- I, Robot - Issac Asimov
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
So....anyone have any burning recommendations? I'm open to the all!! Would anyone like to join us on this quest? Just let me know!
Later!
10 comments:
Hey! I know, I owe you an email. This challenge sounds interesting, but I am not sure I have the time to take it on. I used to read more sci-fi than fantasy, but I have sort of moved away from it... Interesting choices, though. :)
I thought you had Outlander on your TBR List. Gabaldon won a Sci-Fi award last year for the latest in her series. I would have thought it was historical fiction but apparently it falls into the Sci-fi category (Time travel, I guess). So, you could put it on both lists!
I'm so bogged down in challenges right now, I wish I could join you, but all I can do is wish you luck.
I'm sort of new to sci-fi myself, but I really enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, so I'd suggest 'Earth Abides' by George Stewart and 'Alas, Babylon' by Pat Frank. Those two, along with 'The Stand' are the creme de la creme of that genre. (Of course, an argument can be made for 'The Road' being worthy of one of those spots. )
I haven't read much scifi but I know I would love it. I wish I could join in the challenge, but I'm having a hard time keeping up with my list of TBRs already! Dang! When I do though, I'll be coming back here to see what you've read and liked. Have fun.
Everyone should read Robert Heinlein's classic Stranger in a Strange Land. And my vote for best post-apocalyptic fiction would be A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. I've got to admit I haven't read Cormac McCarthy's The Road yet, but I hope to read it soon ... our friend Donna is reading it now.
One second too late I thought about The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. I highly recommend it to you.
What a challenge! I'm not much of a sci-fi reader myself. I remember one Heinlein book eons ago, which I really liked. This is a field of literature I'm not at all familiar with, so I'm going to come back here to see if I find any books you recommend to my liking. One is never too old to learn new things hey?
I would definitely recommend Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. For some reason I don't often think of them as Sci-Fi but I guess they are.
Hi, Stephanie:
Wanted to recommend that you check out:
http://www.abebooks.com/sciencefiction
They seem to carry all of the titles that we talked about at very reasonable prices.
I can highly recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar (You can also get them in 1 volume called Cordelia's Honor). These 2 books were really outstandingly enjoyable. They are the fore-runners of her immensely popular Miles Vorkisogan Novels.
Gavin
http://digitalife.wordpress.com
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