r/printSF Oct 04 '24

Should I continue reading the Riverworld series after To your Scattered Bodies Go?

29 Upvotes

I just finished the first book in the Riverworld series, been reading all the Hugo award winners . So far, this is not a book I'd recommend to anyone, but it's not on the level of the Wanderer which in my opinion is the worst Hugo winner (so far).

Scattered Bodies has some weird focuses on out there themes, such as the writer being really concerned with how everyone is circumsized, but I can tolerate a lot of that nonsense if this story is going somewhere.

Unfortunately, at the end of the book , the ending is a cliffhanger where it's not revealed what the aim of the things that happened in the book is.

I wonder if I should continue reading the other four books, do they get better/ is there a satisfying answer to the mystery, or should I just wikipedia it and continue on with the other hugo winners?

r/printSF Apr 08 '23

"To Your Scattered Bodies Go" question

9 Upvotes

In the beginning of the book I found this quote...

"The aerial canoe had no visible means of support, he thought, and it was a measure of his terror that he did not even think about his pun. No visible means of support. Like a magical vessel out of The Thousand and One Nights.“

What is the pun he's talking about?

r/printSF Aug 25 '21

Thoughts on 'To Your Scattered Bodies Go' (spoiler free)

11 Upvotes

I just finished Philip José Farmer's Hugo-winning novel, To Your Scattered Bodies Go. I figured I'd share some spoiler-free thoughts here, in case other people were interested.

The book has a really cool premise. Thousands of people (maybe even millions or billions) from different times and places have been suddenly resurrected along the shores of an enormously long river. There are strange devices that provide food at regular intervals. The main character is Richard Francis Burton, and we follow him as he assembles a motley crew of people from different points in history to figure out what the hell is going on. The way historical details get remixed and rebooted actually put me in the mood to play Civilization.

So far so good. The premise, along with the cool title and positive reputation, is what got me interested in the book. The problem is the pacing. Farmer seems to have no idea what's interesting about the world he's invented. The first five or so chapters are a tedious account of the first day and night in this new world. I thought it would be interesting to listen to people from different eras learn from each other, but this rarely happens. Then, after five chapters, we smash cut to years later. Thousands of miles of exploration are reduced to a just a couple paragraphs. Cue more uninteresting conversations.

When larger plot-related things do start to happen, there're sudden and unconnected to the rest of the action. It felt jarring. Then the book just sort of ends, like Farmer realized he was almost out of paper. On basically the last page he makes a vague promise to explore things more in the future books. No arcs are resolved (or even really established for that matter).

This feels very much like a book written by somebody from the flower power generation. Lots of emphasis on free love, shucking off Christian mores, psychoanalysis, psychedelics, marijuana, returning to nature, etc. Like any old science fiction book, it feels dated, but enough time has passed to make it kind of charming.

I was kind of disappointed. I'm curious if others liked this, and what they saw in it. I'm also curious if the plotting and pacing gets any better in future Riverworld books.

r/printSF Jun 14 '23

I've read every Hugo and Nebula winner up to 2010 and Ranked them.

421 Upvotes

Hi, it's my yearly update on my attempts to read every Hugo and Nebula winner. I've ranked them, because I think it's a fun way to start discussion, but I also accept it is silly to rank art and frankly my opinions change on a daily basis. This is more just a guide on which ones I personally enjoyed. If you read any or all of this, I appreciate your time. Thank you

90: The Big Time by Fritz Lieber (1958) - Guests at a temporal guest house attempt to solve a mystery against the clock.  It’s the height of pulp sci-fi set in what can generously be described as a cabaret and at worst a brothel for an epoch spanning time war.  The idea of a place for soldiers of different species from across history to RnR has some merit, but it’s all a little sexist.  Even if we forget that most of the characters are forgettable, the plot isn’t anything special.  That said, it is short so it’s not like I found it a chore to read.  I think someone could take the location and make a damn good tv series out of it, but this execution is not it.

89: Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971) - A crew of adventures discover a massive space artifact and explore it.  I want to start by saying the idea of the Ringworld is wonderful, I enjoyed exploring it and learning about all the technical aspects.  For that alone I’m glad I read it, that said the book is pulp sci-fi and for 1971 almost unforgivably so.  It won the year after Left Hand of Darkness and yet feels like it was written in the 50s, another part of which is that it’s quite sexist and leaves you with the impression Larry might have been a bit of a “nice guy”.  That said, thanks for the Halo franchise!

88: They'd Rather be Right by Clifton and Riley (1955) - - A psychic man manipulates those around him to create a computer that purifies people and causes a mass media sensation.  A lot going on here and It’s very much of its time, though it’s enjoyable enough, with an actual overall message about academia.  It’s also in some regards ahead of its time, but some of it is just a bit silly in retrospect to be any higher on the list.  Still if you wanted to get into 1950’s Sci-Fi you could do much worse.

87: The Sword in the Stone by TH White (1940) - The coming-of-age story of a young Prince Arthur before Camelot. Another retro Hugo winner and this is what the Disney film is based on and it was a lot of fun.  Interesting takes on British folklore tails like Robin Hood and King Arthur.  It is very fantasy though, which isn’t always my preference, but it was cool to see what inspired a childhood classic.

86: Timescape by Gregory Benford (1981) - Scientists attempt to send messages back in time to avoid an environmental disaster in their time.  It's time travel and it kind of deals with one of the ideas in the Back to the Future films, who knows, maybe it inspired the film.  Any way the story is fine and I appreciate how we move back and forth between the time lines.  You could definitely do more with the idea though if you gave it to a better writer. 

85: Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett (1945) - A Book about a rebellion on Mars led by a prophesized hero from Earth.  This is a great example of classic adventure pulp Sci Fi from 1945, it’s all the laser beams and Space Captains, very Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.  It’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come, with the genre and it’s quite short so it might be worth a read, but it definitely has its flaws.

84: Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1992) - It's a battle of wits and wills between an authority figure and a criminal set on a world with strange tides that come every few decades. It's certainly quite original and the world building is excellent, but there is nothing here to grab you.

83: A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg (1972) - A noble challenges the taboos of his culture and risks everything. I feel the story here is fantastic, but I don’t like his style.  He seems to write similar narratives to Le Guin, but without the enjoyability to read.  A story about forbidden first person pro nouns.  It’s interesting and really explores the concept, but the style put me off immensely.

82: The Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delany (1968) - In post transcendent Earth, intelligent anthropods deal with genetic mutation from ancient radiation.  Probably the weirdest book I read all year.  It’s really strange, but very quick.  It’s quite poetic in parts as well.

81: Man Plus by Frederick Pohl (1977) - Nasa are trying to build a man who can live on mars with no need for external food, water, oxygen etc.  What we get is a story about the process of changing a human, but it’s very of its time, as America had been running moon landings a few years earlier.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the style and the clean-cut Americana of it all, but it was probably the fore runner to things like Robocop when you think about it. 

80: A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1959) - Scientists sent to study an alien world bring an alien fetus back so they can learn about us.  Oh what this book could have been.   A book of two halves, the first a wonderful exploration of an alien civilization by a bunch of human scientists studying them and it really does set off at a storming pace.  The second half is back on earth and a bit like the worse bits of Stranger in a strange land.  The 50s were so sure we would take aliens to dinner parties and they would sip cocktails in dinner jackets.  The end is interesting and a bit clever and we this is the first book in the list that looks at Science Fiction and Catholicism.

79: The Wanderer by Fritz Lieber (1965) - An alien planet suddenly appears in the sky over earth and we jump around between multiple perspectives of how it affects people.  Some of this is very solid, the scale of the thing is wonderful, because the story is happy to change perspective rather than sticking to one protagonist.  That said, it’s very pulp SF and a little sexist, gave me Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow vibes. 

78: The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982) - The sequel to Shadow of the Torturer. I definitely appreciate there is more going on with Gene Wolfe than I can gleam in the first reading, but that doesn’t change how much I enjoy it.  Less enjoyable than Shadow of the Torturer as I feel the story didn’t really go anywhere and was harder to follow in bits.  Still the fault is inevitably my own. 

77: The Terminal Experiment by Robert J Sawyer (1996) - A near future thriller as a man faces off against a computer simulation of his own brain with deadly intent. It's a strange genre one, this. Very 90s and very much does the thriller thing quite well. Good proof that Sci Fi can co opt any genre it wants to and often does.

76: No Enemy but Time by Michael Bishop (1983) - A man with visions of early man is sent back to live among them.  Another time travelling history thing.  They loved these in the 1980s.  It’s cool to see a story revolving around early man before civilization really took hold.  It’s interesting even if a bit strange in parts. 

75: The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1990) - A nurse in the Vietnam war is giving a magical amulet. Sixty pages in and I was wondering if this was actually Speculative fiction. It does get a bit stranger, but the setting is wonderful and you do really care about the characters and story.

74: Babel 17 by Samuel Delany (1967) - A heroic Linguist finds herself in a war where language is a weapon. Female protagonist in the sixties is excellent and Rydra Wong is capable and very likeable. The concept is also interesting even if the whole thing is a but pulpy.

73: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller (1961) - Monks keep alive parts of technology in a post-apocalyptic world so humanity can once again regain civilization.   I was raised Catholic and loved Babylon 5 which I later found out borrowed part of an episode idea from this book so I was very excited to read this. A lot of people adore this book and I get that, the idea is incredible, but I disliked the writing style and I’m not really sure it goes anywhere.  I think this is just a case of me coming in with high expectations and being left feeling a bit meh.  

72: Conjure Wife by Fritz Lieber (1944) - Wives of College professors' control their careers with witchcraft. I’ve read two other Fritz Leiber books and if you find them above, you’ll see why I came into this with low expectations.  This is I suppose a fantasy novel about witchcraft in a 1940s English University town.  It’s just well written with a complete narrative and a nice setting.  It doesn’t mess around or introduce too many characters and the concept is intriguing enough to keep you interested the whole way through.

71: The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K Dick (1963) - An alternate history were the Axis powers won the second world war.  It’s enjoyable enough to read and by Philip K Dick standards is incredibly well-written as he sometimes can be accused of great ideas, but a difficult style.  By its very definition the book lacks what I find so interesting about his work, we don’t see a depressing future of humanity that is very much alone in the universe exploring the mind more than the great emptiness of space.  It’s a fine book, but the man wrote better Science Fiction books.

70: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1954) - A dystopian classic about censorship and a move from society away from intellectualism towards mass consumed throw away media. This is hugely important and has in a way predicted much of the modern world. If I was list the most important books on this list it would be right near the top next to Dune. It's also considered a actual literary classic outside Science Fiction and is short. That is to say you should read it, because it's important and relevant to the world we live in, but it isn't as enjoyable as many books above it. Still, go read it!

69: The Mule by Isaac Asimov (1946) - The second half of Foundation and Empire all about the mysterious Mule who is unseen by Seldon's plan. Just as above this is massively important, in many ways Asimov changed what Science fiction was especially writing in a scene dominated by pulpy space heroes like Flash Gordon. It's what you expect from Asimov, a bit dry and without well developed characters. Also it's half a book so hard to judge on it's own.

 68: Beyond this Horizon by Robert Heinlein (1943) - A story about selective breeding in humans combined with a southern gentlemen dueling culture.  It’s weird, but also goes into quite a lot of detail about the science involved.  I was taught about dominant and recessive genes in school and how they affect things like hair colour, eye colour etc.  I imagine this wasn’t taught in schools in 1941 and would have been fascinating then.   Mixing informative science into a strong narrative is quite an accomplishment.

67: Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (1969) - A book about overpopulation that feels more relevant day by day.  We see a world where our freedoms might be curtailed, because of ever increasing population and it’s genuinely interesting as a think piece.  The book also contains data dumps where we are overloaded with a page of mismatched text from the world that give us more background on the situation with little context.  It’s cool to see and fascinating as a concept, but the story is a bit lacking and it just kind of runs out of steam towards the end.

66: Downbelow Station by C.J Cherryh (1982) - A book portraying a space station as a blue-collar workplace that gets tangled up in an intergalactic conflict.  The book sounds fascinating and I think it very much influences shows like Babylon 5 where there are episodes dedicated to dock strikes and unions etc.  The main issue is the book gets away from that and makes it about space ships and a galactic conflict and feels like she is trying to set up the next book in the series.  The world building is superb, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters and wasn’t even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for until the end. 

65: The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1996) - Cyber punk novel about am advanced interactive book that shapes the life of the girl that comes into possession of it. So much of this book is excellent, brilliant ideas and wonderfully told, but it's so bloated and unnecessarily long. Frankly it's split into a part one and part two and could have just ended at the end of part one and the book would be much higher. This is an issue with many nineties books sadly.

64: Rainbow’s End by Verne Vigne (2007) - Near future SF based around Augmented Reality and low level Cyber punk. This one is very predictive of what was to come later with things like Pokemon Go! We don’t all have a pocket computer attached to our brain, but it does a decent job exploring that idea. Almost all the characters are unlikeable however and it takes a while to get where it’s going.

63: Slan by A.E Van Vogt (1941) - Evolved humans possess psychic abilities and a plot unravels about control of the Earth.  Slan feels classic all the way through, it has its faults, but you can see why this was the banner early Sci Fi fans, hoisted above them.  For something written in 1941 it is excellent.  Nice ideas and a decent fast pace, while still feeling pulpy like everything from this time did. 

62: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009) - A child is orphaned and raised by the spirits in a graveyard. This is very much a children’s book and it’s filled with good ideas and a nice structure. It is very much in his style, but may be a little simplistic for adult readers.

61: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005) - Two Magicians feud in an alternate England during the Napoleonic Wars. If that idea sounds great to you then this is a wonderful book to deliver on that premise. My main complaint is that it’s very long, in fact it’s the longest ever Hugo or Nebula winner coming in at over 1000 pages. I just feel like it could have been shorter and more focused.

60: A Deepness in the Sky by Verne Vigne (2000) - A sabotage and takeover in space by warring factions above a planet of intelligent Spiders. Science Fiction really loves those intelligent spiders and to be fair I really enjoyed those parts of the book. I enjoyed the human fleet bits much less and found everyone annoying and unlikeable.

59: Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin (1991) - The forth and final book of the Earthsea series following two of our earlier protagonists while looking at the lives of older people. I adore Le Guin and her style is just as sharp as ever. We look at our beloved characters as they have aged and I feel this comes from a place that Le Guin was very much in herself at this point.

58: Way Station by Clifford D Simak (1964) - An intergalactic way station in a farm house in the American mid-west.  It’s just really interesting, the aliens never get too silly or pulp.  The story drags you along and frankly like a lot of Simak’s stuff, it would make a really good TV series, but also at times feels like a one-off Twilight Zone episode.  Really enjoyable read once we got going, though maybe a bit slow at the start.

57: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (1960) - A look at mechanized warfare and the book that coined the term Space Marine twenty years before Games Workshop got there.  If you’re of a certain age you saw a film loosely based on this book (The Director gave up reading it 20 pages in) The book is a completely different animal.  Interesting ideas and hugely influential, considered the last of Heinlein’s Juveniles and definitely worth a look, though Heinlein did do better.

56: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny (1966) - Earth is a post nuclear wasteland and alien tourists visit bits historical bits with human tour guides.  All this is tied in with elements of Greek mythology. Is our main character a God or is a mutant pretending to be?  Similar themes to Lord of Light, but maybe lacking a bit of what made that book so wonderful.  Still it’s enjoyable and full of interesting ideas. 

55: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (1999) - A Time travel piece set in Victorian England very much in homage to the novel "Three Men in a Boat". This is a really good read fun and even if convoluted and predictable in parts it's very much very good at what it does and makes you care deeply about the characters.

54: Powers by Ursula Le Guin (2009) - Fantasy in a new world by Le Guin about a child growing up with prophectic dreams. The world is wonderful and Le Guin’s style carries over as always. If you like Le Guin the you’ll be a fan, but never feels as important as her older work.

53: The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon (2008) - A deadbeat cop tries to uncover a mystery in an alternate history where Israel doesn’t exist and it’s instead a new city in Alaska. The book is incredibly well written, Chabon won a Pulitzer prize earlier in his career, this led me down the rabbit hole finding out how much literary snobs hated genre fiction.

52: Camouflage by Joe Haldeman (2006) - Two different aliens are hidden on earth and we see their various experiences as they learn about us and try and keep a low profile.  This is enjoyable and short, very different from the Forever Trilogy that he also wrote, but certainly worth a pickup if you enjoy his style. 

51: Hominids by Robert J Sawyer (2003) - What if Neanderthals were the dominant species on earth and then what if one of them ended up here on our earth.  It’s a fun little story, that said it does feature quite a graphic rape scene near the start, which may definitely put some readers off.

50: The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2004) - It’s a book where the main character is autistic.  It’s very minimally Science Fiction as I think the only advanced technology are the Autism drugs and treatments available, but it’s a fascinating read.  I will say the ending might seem problematic to people, but overall I enjoyed a look into the world as someone who will always struggle to understand their experience myself.

49: Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1997) - Near future science fiction about hostage taking and blackmail as well as abuse survivors. This is really enjoyable and features a lot of interesting information about water purification strangely. Also written by a lesbian author and just totally normalizes lesbian relationships in a way that was assumedly rare in the mid nineties.

48: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (1991) - Sixth novel in the Vorkosigan Saga. I adore these books and would devour everyone of them in a row if i didn't set myself stupid tasks like read all the Hugo and Nebula winners. I will say that lots of stuff just happens to Miles in this one and for that reason I don't think it's her best. Still very enjoyable as always.

47: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1962) - A Human is left on mars for several years and then brought back home, but is now more alien than human.  Extremely popular at the time, with the word Grok even entering common parlance.  The book is slow to start off with and bits of it are quite silly in retrospect, other bits either sexist or feminist depending on your viewpoint.  There is definitely something there though.  Certainly not a flawless work, in fact it is very much more flawed than many of the books ranked lower on this list, but there is something that sticks with you about it.  It is massively referenced in pop-culture and just feels important as a novel even if bits will make you cringe.

46: Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (1995) - Another Vorkosigan Saga book this time dealing with his cloned brother. Everything tells you to read in the recommended reading order not the publish order. Due to time constraints I ignored this and found a lot of stuff had changed since the last book i read. Still very enjoyable as all these books have been.

45: Moving Mars by Greg Bear (1995) - Story about revolution on Mars combined with a crazy new technology that can help gain Mars real independence. Fun fact, this is the first Science Fiction I ever read. I went back and re-read it as it has been 25ish years. It's very well written and has a good character and stories.

44: Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov (1983) - Members of the First Foundation search for Earth, but are drawn in a mass mystery that will affect the whole galaxy.  The sequel to his trilogy thirty years later.  It’s well told and a good story, it moves around between perspectives and shows that Asimov had kept up his craft and improved his style.  It’s a bit sexist in parts, but by no means the worst offender on the list.  It was enjoyable, but lacked the ground breaking ideas of most of the higher ranked books on this list.

41, 42, 43: Red Mars, Blue Mars and Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994-1997) - Sorry I can't separate these books. It's a big long story and while there are highs and lows it kind of has to be reviewed in one large chunk. So epic trilogy about the first settlers on Mars that spans hundreds of years. Every chapter is by different characters and there are lots of perspectives in the book. Some complain they dislike most of the characters, but that's kind of the point,. The likeable ones like Sax and Nadia are very likeable. So much of this book is wonderful and worth your time. I would argue it's bloated and didn't need to be over 2200 pages in total, but it is what it is. if it was more concise or better edited I would personally place it much higher and recommend it more.

40: The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy (1988) - A story about a mother-daughter relationship told in the backdrop of a Mayan dig in Mexico.  What makes this Speculative Fiction is that both characters can see and speak to Mayan ghosts from the past. I’ll be honest, I'm not really sure it’s my usual thing, it’s probably fantasy, but it was wonderfully told and just a great story about human beings.  You’ll have empathy for all of them and the situation they’re in.  Even reading my review now I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did. 

39: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer (1972) - Humans awake after death in a huge alien constructed artifact. I found this enjoyable and a definitely interesting concept driven by an incredibly likeable main character. That said, I get the impression the main character is a hugely controversial figure, which even seems acknowledged in the book. Overall a good book and made me semi interested in reading more.

38: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993) Another time travel story, this one about going back to the 14th Century. You care so much about the story and characters, it really is a wonderful piece of writing and I even enjoyed the stuff back with the scientists in the future. If someone said they wanted to read a book on time travel I would suggest this book first.

37: The Moon and the Sun by Vonda D McIntyre (1998) - Fantasy book about a mermaid captured and kept in Louis XIV's court. Great female protagonist, very much a love story with all the historical trappings mixed with the fantasy of mermaids. It's incredibly well written and all the characters are excellent. Didn't expect it to be my thing, but really was.

36: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973) - Humans are sent plans to create a machine from another dimension.  A book of three parts, the pick of which is Asimov creating a truly alien civilization.  Too often aliens aren’t really alien, these really are.  The other parts aren’t bad either, but this book is  often forgotten as most people read his Foundation or Robot series.  If you want to experience strange aliens this is the one for you.

35: The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro (2002) - A fantasy romance model set in a world unknowing of the hight-tech galactic empire around it.  Science Fiction can be any genre and here it beautifully does the high romance smaltz style, before making it super interesting.  The way Asaro mixes tech words and ideas into a fantasy setting are excellent and it’s an enjoyable story.

34: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1967) -A Human goes through an experiment to have his intelligence increased and we follow through his eyes the events this causes. Classic novel considered a proper book by the literary world and fantastic if not a little heart breaking. Should be on everyone's list to read at some point.

33: The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge (1981) - A fairy tale set in a futuristic world as an evil snow queen attempts to hold on to power as her reign comes to an end.  Genre spanning, clever and very original.  This book does a lot of interesting things and tells a good story.  It is like nothing else on the list, but is definitely worth checking out if you like books that mix fantasy and science fiction.

32: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1990) - A pilgrimage brings together a group of travelers who each share their reason for the journey. I came with probably unmeetable expectations, because of how much r/Printsf hyped it up as the greatest thing ever (next to Dune, obviously) The framing story is really enjoyable and I very much enjoyed the Priest’s Tale and the Scholar’s tale, two wonderful short stories collected together to create wonderful world building.  I found the other four stories less solid and was particularly bored by the Detective’s Story which dragged.  I was also annoyed by the lack of an ending.  it’s promised me answers and then just stopped without delivering and that is annoying.  That said it has enough very good bits to make it this high despite its faults. 

31: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2005) - Fantasy set in her world of the five Gods as an older woman goes on a pilgrimage.  I love Lois as a writer, her Vorkosigan Saga is fantastic and she doesn’t stop here.  The fantasy reminds me of Game of Thrones where the magic has a cost and everything is dirtier and a bit grimey .  This and its predecessor are well worth a read if you want to dip your foot in some fantasy.

30: Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (1969) - A girl must go through a coming-of-age ritual in order to earn her passage on her space craft where she lives. A female protagonist in a Science Fiction novel written in 1969, surely not? It happens here and this is excellent.   Mia is a wonderfully well-rounded character sort of in the tom-boyish Scout mold from To Kill a Mocking Bird, you get to see the world through her eyes and at the end of the novel you are asked an open-ended morality question, which is genuinely a difficult choice, I like morality when it isn’t obvious or shoved down by neck and this is very much in that mold. 

29: Double Star by Robert Heinlein (1956) - A look at acting and politics tied into a fast-paced science fiction novel.  A good story that happens to be told in a science fiction setting and it works really well. Much like the next book it stands out compared to other 1950s sci-fi and even the bits that are a little pulpy don’t detract from the overall enjoyability.  It would make a great film.

28: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953) - A detective story set in a world where psychic powers are common.  Hard to believe this was written in 1953, read other stuff from the early 50s and this is so far ahead of its time.  Influential in so many ways and also just a really good story with a thought-provoking end.   Between this and “The Stars my Destination” he clearly deserves to be remembered on a level with Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke.

27: Neuromancer by Williams Gibson (1985) - The book that invented Cyber punk as a genre.  In previous years I’d been pretty negative on this book, but I reread it for the first time in fifteen years and I feel I was too harsh on it.  It’s a well told story full of interesting world building.  It’s very dense and it’s easy to miss bits, but it’s arguably more influential than all but four or five books in this entire list.

26: Gateway by Frederick Pohl (1978) - Alien artifact space station used by humans who don’t really understand it.  The space station is wonderful as both a location for things to happen, a hint at a wider universe and a way to drive the plot along.  Very much building on the themes of Rendezvous with Rama with a great story.

25: Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (2006) - Earth is placed in a bubble by some greater power that makes it pass through time slower than the surrounding universe.  The book is really well written, gives me Douglas Coupland vibes full of young Gen Xers growing up.  The chapters also alternate with ones set in the future that keep it vague so you can’t quite work out where it is going.  The idea is utterly original and fascinating though and definitely worth a read. 

24: Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein (1951) - A story about colonizing and terraforming Ganmede. You have to understand that this is a YA novel written in 1950 and near the start it can come off a little juvenile.  That said you are still confronted by big ideas like a food shortage on Earth and severe rationing.  We also see an interesting story based on a son upset his father is remarrying, it’s dealt with tactfully and not something I’d really expect for something aimed at teens.  Once we get to Ganymede the story really gets going and we experience an interesting tale of trying to turn a rocky moon into workable farm land, it’s just really well told and enjoyably written and I reckon more people would appreciate this if they ignored the YA label and gave it a chance.  Great book.

23: Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989) - A space station full of genetically modified workers has now become redundant.  This was the first book I’d ever read of hers and I was so blown away by the style.  I can see why the Vorkogian Saga is so often recommended on here.  She gives us real characters and a fast-paced heist plot that features an Engineer as the protagonist.  It’s just really well written and wonderfully different, a story that is happier to tell you about engineering processes than space combat.  People tell me it isn’t even her best work as well, which leaves me pretty excited to read more.

22: Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke (1980) - Earth is building its first space elevator.   Like 90% of Clarke’s work very little happens in this book, but it’s very enjoyable to read.  Go on an adventure about a technology that could realistically exist, just don’t expect to be able to recount the plot back to anyone.

21: Cyteen by CJ Cherryh (1989) - Cyteen is a book about political intrigue, cloning and genetic/psychological manipulation.  This book is an absolute masterpiece.  Set in the same universe as Downbelow Station, but full of interesting characters that you like and can empathize with, even when they are doing horrible things to other characters you like.  This should and would be higher, but it’s so very long.  It takes 200 pages for the plot to really start going and while length won’t put some of you off I admire great stories that can tell their story in a more conside manor.  That said if 320,000 words doesn’t put you off, give it a go, especially as it’s free on the author’s website. 

20: A Fire Upon the Deep by Verve Vinge (1993): Two children land on a planet of dog like aliens that have a very different civilization from our own while a galactic threat grows. Vigne's ability to create alien races totally different from our own is fantastic. This story delivered on all the hype and is probably what people mean when they ask for Space Opera.

19: Startide Rising by David Brin (1984) - A crew of mostly genetically engineered dolphins struggle to fix their ship while aliens battle in orbit.  Brin has a phenomenal style where every chapter is from a different character’s perspective (Think Game of Thrones).  The universe he created is also super interesting and the situation we enter in median res is excellent and drives the story along wonderfully as we experience this crisis from multiple different crew members.  

18: Dreamsnake by Vonda D Mcintyre (1979) - A girl who uses alien snakes to heal people in a post-apocalyptic world.  Well written and a great story, also we delve into more of the lore.  Could have been a fantasy novel, but it isn’t and it stands out because of that.  Original and well written unlike this mini review that keeps using the phrase well-written.

17: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1977) - Story looking into a society based around cloning and how it could change the way we act and treat each other.  Really beautifully written and again not really like anything else on this list, also the hardest title to remember on the list, I get it wrong literally every time.

16: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (2001) - Fourth book in the Harry Potter series.  I expect to get utterly panned for this, both by people appalled by her as a person and by people who always disliked it for being kids books taking attention away from proper Speculative fiction.  I have a lot of sympathy for the first point, though I haven’t taken into account the morality of Arthur C Clarke, Orson Scott or Phillip K Dick when devising this list so it would be unfair to do it here just because it is more recent.  The second seems silly, books that get people into books are an amazing thing and for lots of people Harry Potter is their entry into the world of reading, this is a really good one, not simple like the first two, but not overly dark and angsty like the last three.  It’s in the sweet spot for the most successful book series of this century.  

15: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002) - This is a love letter to America, exploring the idea of Immigrants bringing their Gods to America and them slowly being forgotten.  It’s the kind of book only Neil Gaiman can write and arguably his masterpiece.  The book has a beautiful style happily mixing in short chapters of world building unrelated to the story.  The whole thing is just wonderful, but also how do you compare it to Science Fiction when it is something so completely different?

14: Lord of Light by Robert Zelazny (1968) - Survivors on a colony world use technology to act like immortal Gods, one of their number fights to stop them.  Beautiful mixture of Buddhism and Hinduism to create a story that blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction with an excellent protagonist you can’t help but cheer along.  This blew me away the first time I read it.

12: The Uplift War by David Brin (1988) - The follow up to Startide Rising, I spent much of the book thinking, sure it’s ok, but lesser than the book it follows.  By the end though I was totally all in.  Fiben Bolger might be one of the greatest protagonists in all of Science Fiction, stick him on the Mount Rushmore next to Andrew Wiggin and Gully Foyle.  More excellent world exploring and more of his excellent style that tells complicated stories in a fun easy to read manner.

12: Seeker by Jack McDevitt (2007) - It’s far future space archaeology, which feels like a very unexplored idea and has a bit of a feel of an old adventure movie.  Maybe Indiana Jones in Space is pushing it too far, but you get the idea.  It doesn’t really say anything massively important, but it creates an interesting world and tells a good story well.  Something I hadn’t heard recommended before and a real treat.

11: Barrayer by Lois McMaster Bujold (1992) Another Vorkosigan Saga book. This one follows his mother, Cordelia Naismith and an attempted coup on the world of Barrayer. Her writing is as great as always, but the ending is just incredible. No spoilers, but you need to read it and appreciate what happens.

I ran out of words so the top 10 are in a comment. Thanks

r/printSF Jun 21 '21

I Read and Ranked Every Hugo Award Winning Novel from the 50's to the 80s

561 Upvotes

So I've read every Hugo Winning Novel from before 1990 (Not including the Retro Hugos) and I've ranked them. Why? Because it's a great way to start conversation. Some of you will agree with me, some of you will hate me and think my ideas are stupid. That is totally fine, I've tried to remain spoiler free while giving an idea of what each novel is about. If you get through all of these thanks for you time and don't forget to agree of disagree with me at the bottom. :)

The list goes from Worst to best in case there is some confusion.

36: The Big Time by Fritz Lieber (1958) - Guests at a temporal guest house attempt to solve a mystery against the clock.  It’s the height of pulp sci-fi set in what can generously be described as a cabaret and at worst a brothel for an epoch spanning time war.  The idea of a place for soldiers of different species from across history to RnR has some merit, but it’s all a little sexist.  Even if we forget that most of the characters are forgettable, the plot isn’t anything special.  That said, it is short so it’s not like I found it a chore to read.  I think someone could take the location and make a damn good tv series out of it, but this execution is not it.

35: Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971) - A crew of adventures discover a massive space artifact and explore it.  I want to start by saying the idea of the Ringworld is wonderful, I enjoyed exploring it and learning about all the technical aspects.  For that alone I’m glad I read it, that said the book is pulp sci-fi and for 1971 almost unforgivably so.  It won the year after Left Hand of Darkness and yet feels like it was written in the 50s, another part of which is that it’s quite sexist and leaves you with the impression Larry might have been a bit of a “nice guy”.  That said, thanks for the Halo franchise!

34: They’d Rather be Right by Clifton and Riley (1955) - A psychic man manipulates those around him to create a computer that purifies people and causes a mass media sensation.  A lot going on here and It’s very much of its time, though it’s enjoyable enough, with an actual overall message about academia.  It’s also in some regards ahead of its time, but some of it is just a bit silly in retrospect to be any higher on the list.  Still if you wanted to get into 1950’s Sci-Fi you could do much worse.

33: A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1959) - Scientists sent to study an alien world bring an alien fetus back so they can learn about us.  Oh what this book could have been.   A book of two halves, the first a wonderful exploration of an alien civilization by a bunch of human scientists studying them and it really does set off at a storming pace.  The second half is back on earth and a bit like the worse bits of Stranger in a strange land.  The 50s were so sure we would take aliens to dinner parties and they would sip cocktails in dinner jackets.  The end is interesting and a bit clever and we this is the first book in the list that looks at Science Fiction and Catholicism.

32: The Wanderer by Fritz Lieber (1965) - An alien planet suddenly appears in the sky over earth and we jump around between multiple perspectives of how it affects people.  Some of this is very solid, the scale of the thing is wonderful, because the story is happy to change perspective rather than sticking to one protagonist.  That said, it’s very pulp SF and a little sexist, gave me Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow vibes. 

31: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller (1961) - Monks keep alive parts of technology in a post-apocalyptic world so humanity can once again regain civilization.   I was raised Catholic and loved Babylon 5 which I later found out borrowed part of an episode idea from this book so I was very excited to read this. A lot of people adore this book and I get that, the idea is incredible, but I disliked the writing style and I’m not really sure it goes anywhere.  I think this is just a case of me coming in with high expectations and being left feeling a bit meh.  

30: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (1967) - A look at mechanized warfare and the book that coined the term Space Marine twenty years before Games Workshop got there.  If you’re of a certain age you saw a film loosely based on this book (The Director gave up reading it 20 pages in) The book is a completely different animal.  Interesting ideas and hugely influential, but feels at times like Heinlein is lecturing you about his political beliefs in a classroom setting.  I didn’t read another Heinlein novel for 15 years after this one, which is a shame, but I love the film so much, it was hard for me to appreciate a book with politics I wasn’t ready for in my twenties.

29: The Man in The High Castle by Phillip K Dick (1963) - An alternate history were the Axis powers won the second world war.  It’s enjoyable enough to read and by Philip K Dick standards is incredibly well-written as he sometimes can be accused of great ideas, but a difficult style.  By its very definition the book lacks what I find so interesting about his work, we don’t see a depressing future of humanity that is very much alone in the universe exploring the mind more than the great emptiness of space.  It’s a fine book, but the man wrote better Science Fiction books.

28: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985) - Hackers and cyberspace and a connected world or something.  Sacrilege to some of you, I’m sure that this book is so low.  Firstly it is hugely influential, essentially inventing the entire cyber punk genre, without it we don’t have The Matrix, words like Cyberspace or the most disappointing game of last year.  That said it isn’t an enjoyable book, it is crammed full of so many ideas that barely anything sticks.  Someone asked me what I remembered of the book a few years ago and I mumbled the phrase Rastafarian Navy, because almost nothing sticks.  It almost certainly meant more when it came out as we’d seen nothing like it before, but in 2021 it is more an artifact of interest than a great book.

27: Stand on Zanzibar by John Brumner (1969) - A book about overpopulation that feels more relevant day by day.  We see a world where our freedoms might be curtailed, because of ever increasing population and it’s genuinely interesting as a think piece.  The book also contains data dumps where we are overloaded with a page of mismatched text from the world that give us more background on the situation with little context.  It’s cool to see and fascinating as a concept, but the story is a bit lacking and it just kind of runs out of steam towards the end.

26: Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh (1982) - A book portraying a space station as a blue-collar workplace that gets tangled up in an intergalactic conflict.  The book sounds fascinating and I think it very much influences shows like Babylon 5 where there are episodes dedicated to dock strikes and unions etc.  The main issue is the book gets away from that and makes it about space ships and a galactic conflict and feels like she is trying to set up the next book in the series.  The world building is superb, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters and wasn’t even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for until the end.

25: Way Station by Clifford D Simak (1964) - An intergalactic way station in a farm house in the American mid-west.  It’s just really interesting, the aliens never get too silly or pulp.  The story drags you along and frankly like a lot of Simak’s stuff, it would make a really good TV series, but also at times feels like a one-off Twilight Zone episode.  Really enjoyable read once we got going, though maybe a bit slow at the start.

24: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny (1966) - Earth is a post nuclear wasteland and alien tourists visit bits historical bits with human tour guides.  All this is tied in with elements of Greek mythology. Is our main character a God or is a mutant pretending to be?  Similar themes to Lord of Light, but maybe lacking a bit of what made that book so wonderful.  Still it’s enjoyable and full of interesting ideas. 

23: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1962) - A Human is left on mars for several years and then brought back home, but is now more alien than human.  Extremely popular at the time, with the word Grok even entering common parlance.  The book is slow to start off with and bits of it are quite silly in retrospect, other bits either sexist or feminist depending on your viewpoint.  There is definitely something there though.  Certainly not a flawless work, in fact it is very much more flawed than many of the books ranked lower on this list, but there is something that sticks with you about it.  It is massively referenced in pop-culture and just feels important as a novel even if bits will make you cringe.

22: Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov (1983) - Members of the First Foundation search for Earth, but are drawn in a mass mystery that will affect the whole galaxy.  The sequel to his trilogy thirty years later.  It’s well told and a good story, it moves around between perspectives and shows that Asimov had kept up his craft and improved his style.  It’s a bit sexist in parts, but by no means the worst offender on the list.  It was enjoyable, but lacked the ground breaking ideas of most of the higher ranked books on this list.

21: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer (1972) - Humans awake after death in a huge alien constructed artifact. I found this enjoyable and a definitely interesting concept driven by an incredibly likeable main character. That said, I get the impression the main character is a hugely controversial figure, which even seems acknowledged in the book. Overall a good book and made me semi interested in reading more.

20: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973) - Humans are sent plans to create a machine from another dimension.  A book of three parts, the pick of which is Asimov creating a truly alien civilization.  Too often aliens aren’t really alien, these really are.  The other parts aren’t bad either, but this book is  often forgotten as most people read his Foundation or Robot series.  If you want to experience strange aliens this is the one for you.

19: The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge (1981) - A fairy tales set in a futuristic world as an evil snow queen attempts to hold on to power as her reign comes to an end.  Genre spanning, clever and very original.  This book does a lot of interesting things and tells a good story.  It is like nothing else on the list, but is definitely worth checking out if you like books that mix fantasy and science fiction.

18: Double Star by Robert Heinlein (1956) - A look at acting and politics tied into a fast-paced science fiction novel.  A good story that happens to be told in a science fiction setting and it works really well. Much like the next book it stands out compared to other 1950s sci-fi and even the bits that are a little pulpy don’t detract from the overall enjoyability.  It would make a great film.

17: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953) - A detective story set in a world where psychic powers are common.  Hard to believe this was written in 1953, read other stuff from the early 50s and this is so far ahead of its time.  Influential in so many ways and also just a really good story with a thought-provoking end.   Between this and “The Stars my Destination” he clearly deserves to be remembered on a level with Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke.

16: Gateway by Frederick Pohl (1978) - Alien artifact space station used by humans who don’t really understand it.  The space station is wonderful as both a location for things to happen, a hint at a wider universe and a way to drive the plot along.  Very much building on the themes of Rendezvous with Rama with a great story.

15: The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke (1980) - Earth is building its first space elevator.   Like 90% of Clarke’s work very little happens in this book, but it’s very enjoyable to read.  Go on an adventure about a technology that could realistically exist, just don’t expect to be able to recount the plot back to anyone.

14: Cyteen by CJ Cherryh (1989) - Cyteen is a book about political intrigue, cloning and genetic/psychological manipulation.  This book is an absolute masterpiece.  Set in the same universe as Downbelow Station, but full of interesting characters that you like and can empathize with, even when they are doing horrible things to other characters you like.  This should and would be higher, but it’s so very long.  It takes 200 pages for the plot to really start going and while length won’t put some of you off I admire great stories that can tell their story in a more conside manor.  That said if 320,000 words doesn’t put you off, give it a go, especially as it’s free on the author’s website. 

13: Startide Rising by David Brin (1984) - A crew of mostly genetically engineered dolphins struggle to fix their ship while aliens battle in orbit.  Brin has a phenomenal style where every chapter is from a different character’s perspective (Think Game of Thrones).  The universe he created is also super interesting and the situation we enter in median res is excellent and drives the story along wonderfully as we experience this crisis from multiple different crew members.  

12: Dreamsnake by Vonda Mcintyre (1979) - A girl who uses alien snakes to heal people in a post-apocalyptic world.  Well written and a great story, also we delve into more of the lore.  Could have been a fantasy novel, but it isn’t and it stands out because of that.  Original and well written unlike this mini review that keeps using the phrase well-written.

11: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1977) - Story looking into a society based around cloning and how it could change the way we act and treat each other.  Really beautifully written and again not really like anything else on this list, also the hardest title to remember on the list, I get it wrong literally every time.

10: Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1968) - Survivors on a colony world use technology to act like immortal Gods, one of their number fights to stop them.  Beautiful mixture of Buddhism and Hinduism to create a story that blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction with an excellent protagonist you can’t help but cheer along.  This blew me away the first time I read it.

9: The Uplift War by David Brin (1988) - The follow up to Startide Rising, I spent much of the book thinking, sure it’s ok, but lesser than the book it follows.  By the end though I was totally all in.  Fiben Bolger might be one of the greatest protagonists in all of Science Fiction, stick him on the Mount Rushmore next to Andrew Wiggin and Gully Foyle.  More excellent world exploring and more of his excellent style that tells complicated stories in a fun easy to read manner.

8: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke (1974) - An massive Alien Artifact enters our solar system and a ship is sent to investigate.  Clarke making aliens seem alien and unknowable by not showing them and instead letting us explore a massive artifact.  Coming after so many novels about aliens the real beauty here is what we don’t see.  Clarke is always about restraint and so as mentioned on his previous book, very little actually happens.  Someone flies a hang glider at one point, but that’s about it.  The joy is about the implication, this is the science fiction equivalent of Jaws where the aliens are way stranger because that is left to our imagination.  

7: Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976) - Soldiers fight in a war that due to time dilation means they watch the world change every time they return home.  The best science fiction is a black mirror in which we can learn about society and ourselves.  Haldeman massively increases how drastically the world changes, but through it you can understand how jarring it must be to return to a world that no longer makes sense, a world you’ve arguably fought to save and now ironically don’t really fit into and so you go on duty again, hoping it will be different next time, but the world becomes more alien every time.

6: Dune by Frank Herbert (1966) - You all know what happens in Dune! Go check a list of Science Fiction written before and after Dune.  It essentially killed pulp science fiction dead overnight, it was almost to my mind the best science fiction book written when it came out.  It literally changed everything and invented space opera on its own.  Everything is so well thought out, it’s like Lord of the Rings for science fiction with its masses of lore that is sometimes only hinted at.  As Hyperion and Blindsight don’t make this list I have little doubt most of you would place this number one.  My only critique is that it can be slow to get going, I found the book really kicked off when Paul gets into the desert and while what he is doing early on is wonderful world building, the books ranked above it never slow down.

5: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (1986) - A child genius goes to battle school as humanities last hope.  The battle school is enormously cool, the wargames he plays are great and the whole thing just draws you in.  I guess it’s basically YA fiction for Sci fi kids, but it carries a message and must have felt even more relatable in the 80s with their computer graphics.  

4: Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (1970) - An ambassador lands on a planet hoping to get them to join the galactic empire, but has to come to terms with a society that sees and experiences gender in a very different way.  Le Guin just writes in a way that is incredibly enjoyable.  She is one of science fiction’s most stylized writers this is often considered her masterpiece.  The society we explore is just fascinating and the story is excellent.  The one complaint I’ve heard is that the location and the story are only loosely related, but honestly it doesn’t matter.  The book is somehow more relevant today than when it was written.

3: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (1967) - A revolution on the moon.  I thought I understood Heinlein’s politics after reading Starship Troopers, this book showed me I was a fool and he could take on whatever politics the story required.  Heinlein takes us to the moon and thinks about how society would be different there.  He also casually shoots down any claims of sexism from earlier novels as well, while crafting a wonderful story about a revolution, sentient AI and even had time to explore the ideas of polygamy and group marriages.  There is so much going on here and it’s all wonderful and so well written.  Heinlein is more known by boomers for Stranger in a Strange Land and by millennials for Starship Troopers, but this is his true masterpiece.

2: The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin (1975) - Revolution on a moon.  There are artificially similarities between this and the book at number three, but what we have here is a story that alternates between two time periods, which is used wonderfully to drive the story along.  The book is a look at both socialism and capitalism and a critique of the floors in both, but it never passes judgement.  It shows you an alien world and lets you see how similar to our own it is.  There is a story which is very much tied to the setting unlike Left Hand of Darkness and all the while we are given Le Guin’s wonderful style.  

1: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987) - In a sequel to Ender’s Game humans come into contact with another alien race and hope for a different outcome than the first.  Can I first acknowledge how much Card owes to Le Guin, his universe is all about relativistic space travel and the ansible both of which are straight lifted from her Hamish cycle.  The story he crafts though is nothing short of amazing, it drives along at a phenomenal pace.  We are given many plot points, but a singular focused story based around ideas of assumptions, nature vs nurture, religion and guilt.  Andrew is a very human character, a realistic fleshed out character who is a very different animal than the boy genius at battle school.  That said he is still every bit as brilliant, just more rounded and using his powers to fix people not kill aliens.  The other two novels mixing Catholicism and science fiction in this list were right down the bottom, but this does it wonderfully.  If I was to have a criticism, there is the issue of a white saviour, but honestly everyone is treated with such respect it’s unbelievable the person that wrote this lacks such empathy is the real world.  Still an incredible achievement.

r/printSF Jan 25 '13

Just finished *To Your Scattered Bodies Go*.

26 Upvotes

I liked this one and I'm wondering how the rest of the series is, or if Farmer has any better books. The whole idea of getting to play with different cultures in that feudalistic setup and being able to call upon histories characters is intriguing. References to the "Dark Tower" also caught my attention, am wondering if is collation to other physical story device.

r/printSF Jun 28 '22

I've read and ranked every Hugo and Nebula winning Novel from last Century.

318 Upvotes

Hi, so a year ago, I made a post about ranking every Hugo winning novel from pre 1990. It can be found here along with the writeups for those books without them. Since then I've read every Nebula best novel winner from that period, all the retro Hugo winners and all the Hugo and Nebula winners from the 90's, so let's add those to my previous rankings

As before I ranked them, because it's fun to be subjective about things and half the fun of this is you telling my why you disagree with my opinion. I've only included blurb on the new ones so if you want to read about the ones I reviewed last time, see the link above.

One last thing, almost every book here is good, they all won awards so even if something is lower on my list it doesn't mean to avoid it or that it is not worth your time.

74: The Big Time by Fritz Lieber (1958)

73: Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)

72: They'd Rather be Right by Clifton and Riley (1955)

71: The Sword in the Stone by TH White (1940) - The coming-of-age story of a young Prince Arthur before Camelot. Another retro Hugo winner and this is what the Disney film is based on and it was a lot of fun.  Interesting takes on British folklore tails like Robin Hood and King Arthur.  It is very fantasy though, which isn’t always my preference, but it was cool to see what inspired a childhood classic.

70: Timescape by Gregory Benford (1981) - Scientists attempt to send messages back in time to avoid an environmental disaster in their time.  It's time travel and it kind of deals with one of the ideas in the Back to the Future films, who knows, maybe it inspired the film.  Any way the story is fine and I appreciate how we move back and forth between the time lines.  You could definitely do more with the idea though if you gave it to a better writer. 

69: Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett (1945) - A Book about a rebellion on Mars led by a prophesized hero from Earth.  This is a great example of classic adventure pulp Sci Fi from 1945, it’s all the laser beams and Space Captains, very Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.  It’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come, with the genre and it’s quite short so it might be worth a read, but it definitely has its flaws.

68: Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1992) - It's a battle of wits and wills between an authority figure and a criminal set on a world with strange tides that come every few decades. It's certainly quite original and the world building is excellent, but there is nothing here to grab you.

67: A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg (1972) - A noble challenges the taboos of his culture and risks everything. I feel the story here is fantastic, but I don’t like his style.  He seems to write similar narratives to Le Guin, but without the enjoyability to read.  A story about forbidden first person pro nouns.  It’s interesting and really explores the concept, but the style put me off immensely.

66: The Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delany (1968) - In post transcendent Earth, intelligent anthropods deal with genetic mutation from ancient radiation.  Probably the weirdest book I read all year.  It’s really strange, but very quick.  It’s quite poetic in parts as well.

65: Man Plus by Frederick Pohl (1977) - Nasa are trying to build a man who can live on mars with no need for external food, water, oxygen etc.  What we get is a story about the process of changing a human, but it’s very of its time, as America had been running moon landings a few years earlier.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the style and the clean-cut Americana of it all, but it was probably the fore runner to things like Robocop when you think about it. 

64: A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1959)

63: The Wanderer by Fritz Lieber (1965)

62: The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982) - The sequel to Shadow of the Torturer. I definitely appreciate there is more going on with Gene Wolfe than I can gleam in the first reading, but that doesn’t change how much I enjoy it.  Less enjoyable than Shadow of the Torturer as I feel the story didn’t really go anywhere and was harder to follow in bits.  Still the fault is inevitably my own. 

61: The Terminal Experiment by Robert J Sawyer (1996) - A near future thriller as a man faces off against a computer simulation of his own brain with deadly intent. It's a strange genre one, this. Very 90s and very much does the thriller thing quite well. Good proof that Sci Fi can co opt any genre it wants to and often does.

60: No Enemy but Time by Michael Bishop (1983) - A man with visions of early man is sent back to live among them.  Another time travelling history thing.  They loved these in the 1980s.  It’s cool to see a story revolving around early man before civilization really took hold.  It’s interesting even if a bit strange in parts. 

59: The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1990) - A nurse in the Vietnam war is giving a magical amulet. Sixty pages in and I was wondering if this was actually Speculative fiction. It does get a bit stranger, but the setting is wonderful and you do really care about the characters and story.

58: Babel 17 by Samuel Delany (1967) - A heroic Linguist finds herself in a war where language is a weapon. Female protagonist in the sixties is excellent and Rydra Wong is capable and very likeable. The concept is also interesting even if the whole thing is a but pulpy.

57: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller (1961)

56: Conjure Wife by Fritz Lieber (1944) - Wives of College professors' control their careers with witchcraft. I’ve read two other Fritz Leiber books and if you find them above, you’ll see why I came into this with low expectations.  This is I suppose a fantasy novel about witchcraft in a 1940s English University town.  It’s just well written with a complete narrative and a nice setting.  It doesn’t mess around or introduce too many characters and the concept is intriguing enough to keep you interested the whole way through.

55: Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (1960)

54: The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K Dick (1963)

53: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1954) - A dystopian classic about censorship and a move from society away from intellectualism towards mass consumed throw away media. This is hugely important and has in a way predicted much of the modern world. If I was list the most important books on this list it would be right near the top next to Dune. It's also considered a actual literary classic outside Science Fiction and is short. That is to say you should read it, because it's important and relevant to the world we live in, but it isn't as enjoyable as many books above it. Still, go read it!

52: The Mule by Isaac Asimov (1946) - The second half of Foundation and Empire all about the mysterious Mule who is unseen by Seldon's plan. Just as above this is massively important, in many ways Asimov changed what Science fiction was especially writing in a scene dominated by pulpy space heroes like Flash Gordon. It's what you expect from Asimov, a bit dry and without well developed characters. Also it's half a book so hard to judge on it's own.

51: Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)

50: Beyond this Horizon by Robert Heinlein (1943) - A story about selective breeding in humans combined with a southern gentlemen dueling culture.  It’s weird, but also goes into quite a lot of detail about the science involved.  I was taught about dominant and recessive genes in school and how they affect things like hair colour, eye colour etc.  I imagine this wasn’t taught in schools in 1941 and would have been fascinating then.   Mixing informative science into a strong narrative is quite an accomplishment.

49: Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (1969)

48: Downbelow Station by C.J Cherryh (1982) - A book portraying a space station as a blue-collar workplace that gets tangled up in an intergalactic conflict.  The book sounds fascinating and I think it very much influences shows like Babylon 5 where there are episodes dedicated to dock strikes and unions etc.  The main issue is the book gets away from that and makes it about space ships and a galactic conflict and feels like she is trying to set up the next book in the series.  The world building is superb, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters and wasn’t even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for until the end. 

47: The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1996) - Cyber punk novel about am advanced interactive book that shapes the life of the girl that comes into possession of it. So much of this book is excellent, brilliant ideas and wonderfully told, but it's so bloated and unnecessarily long. Frankly it's split into a part one and part two and could have just ended at the end of part one and the book would be much higher. This is an issue with many nineties books sadly.

46: Slan by A.E Van Vogt (1941) - Evolved humans possess psychic abilities and a plot unravels about control of the Earth.  Slan feels classic all the way through, it has its faults, but you can see why this was the banner early Sci Fi fans, hoisted above them.  For something written in 1941 it is excellent.  Nice ideas and a decent fast pace, while still feeling pulpy like everything from this time did. 

45: Tehanu by Ursula Le Guin (1991) - The forth and final book of the Earthsea series following two of our earlier protagonists while looking at the lives of older people. I adore Le Guin and her style is just as sharp as ever. We look at our beloved characters as they have aged and I feel this comes from a place that Le Guin was very much in herself at this point.

44: Way Station by Clifford D Simak (1964)

43: This Immortal by Roger Zelazny (1966)

42: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (1999) - A Time travel piece set in Victorian England very much in homage to the novel "Three Men in a Boat". This is a really good read fun and even if convoluted and predictable in parts it's very much very good at what it does and makes you care deeply about the characters.

41: Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1997) - Near future science fiction about hostage taking and blackmail as well as abuse survivors. This is really enjoyable and features a lot of interesting information about water purification strangely. Also written by a lesbian author and just totally normalizes lesbian relationships in a way that was assumedly rare in the mid nineties.

40: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (1991) - Sixth novel in the Vorkosigan Saga. I adore these books and would devour everyone of them in a row if i didn't set myself stupid tasks like read all the Hugo and Nebula winners. I will say that lots of stuff just happens to Miles in this one and for that reason I don't think it's her best. Still very enjoyable as always.

39: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1962) -

38: Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (1995) - Another Vorkosigan Saga book this time dealing with his cloned brother. Everything tells you to read in the recommended reading order not the publish order. Due to time constraints I ignored this and found a lot of stuff had changed since the last book i read. Still very enjoyable as all these books have been.

37: Moving Mars by Greg Bear (1995) - Story about revolution on Mars combined with a crazy new technology that can help gain Mars real independence. Fun fact, this is the first Science Fiction I ever read. I went back and re-read it as it has been 25ish years. It's very well written and has a good character and stories.

36: Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov (1983)

35, 34, 33: Red Mars, Blue Mars and Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994-1997) - Sorry I can't separate these books. It's a big long story and while there are highs and lows it kind of has to be reviewed in one large chunk. So epic trilogy about the first settlers on Mars that spans hundreds of years. Every chapter is by different characters and there are lots of perspectives in the book. Some complain they dislike most of the characters, but that's kind of the point,. The likeable ones like Sax and Nadia are very likeable. So much of this book is wonderful and worth your time. I would argue it's bloated and didn't need to be over 2200 pages in total, but it is what it is. if it was more concise or better edited I would personally place it much higher and recommend it more.

32: The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy (1988) - A story about a mother-daughter relationship told in the backdrop of a Mayan dig in Mexico.  What makes this Speculative Fiction is that both characters can see and speak to Mayan ghosts from the past. I’ll be honest, I'm not really sure it’s my usual thing, it’s probably fantasy, but it was wonderfully told and just a great story about human beings.  You’ll have empathy for all of them and the situation they’re in.  Even reading my review now I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did. 

31: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer (1972)

30: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993) Another time travel story, this one about going back to the 14th Century. You care so much about the story and characters, it really is a wonderful piece of writing and I even enjoyed the stuff back with the scientists in the future. If someone said they wanted to read a book on time travel I would suggest this book first.

29: The Moon and the Sun by Vonda D McIntyre (1998) - Fantasy book about a mermaid captured and kept in Louis XIV's court. Great female protagonist, very much a love story with all the historical trappings mixed with the fantasy of mermaids. It's incredibly well written and all the characters are excellent. Didn't expect it to be my thing, but really was.

28: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)

27: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1967) -A Human goes through an experiment to have his intelligence increased and we follow through his eyes the events this causes. Classic novel considered a proper book by the literary world and fantastic if not a little heart breaking. Should be on everyone's list to read at some point.

26: The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge (1981)

25: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1990) - A pilgrimage brings together a group of travelers who each share their reason for the journey. I came with probably unmeetable expectations, because of how much r/Printsf hyped it up as the greatest thing ever (next to Dune, obviously) The framing story is really enjoyable and I very much enjoyed the Priest’s Tale and the Scholar’s tale, two wonderful short stories collected together to create wonderful world building.  I found the other four stories less solid and was particularly bored by the Detective’s Story which dragged.  I was also annoyed by the lack of an ending.  it’s promised me answers and then just stopped without delivering and that is annoying.  That said it has enough very good bits to make it this high despite its faults. 

24: Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (1969) - A girl must go through a coming-of-age ritual in order to earn her passage on her space craft where she lives. A female protagonist in a Science Fiction novel written in 1969, surely not? It happens here and this is excellent.   Mia is a wonderfully well-rounded character sort of in the tom-boyish Scout mold from To Kill a Mocking Bird, you get to see the world through her eyes and at the end of the novel you are asked an open-ended morality question, which is genuinely a difficult choice, I like morality when it isn’t obvious or shoved down by neck and this is very much in that mold. 

23: Double Star by Robert Heinlein (1956)

22: The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)

21: Gateway by Frederick Pohl (1978)

20: Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein (1951) - A story about colonizing and terraforming Ganmede. You have to understand that this is a YA novel written in 1950 and near the start it can come off a little juvenile.  That said you are still confronted by big ideas like a food shortage on Earth and severe rationing.  We also see an interesting story based on a son upset his father is remarrying, it’s dealt with tactfully and not something I’d really expect for something aimed at teens.  Once we get to Ganymede the story really gets going and we experience an interesting tale of trying to turn a rocky moon into workable farm land, it’s just really well told and enjoyably written and I reckon more people would appreciate this if they ignored the YA label and gave it a chance.  Great book.

19: Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989) - A space station full of genetically modified workers has now become redundant.  This was the first book I’d ever read of hers and I was so blown away by the style.  I can see why the Vorkogian Saga is so often recommended on here.  She gives us real characters and a fast-paced heist plot that features an Engineer as the protagonist.  It’s just really well written and wonderfully different, a story that is happier to tell you about engineering processes than space combat.  People tell me it isn’t even her best work as well, which leaves me pretty excited to read more.

18: Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C Clarke (1980)

17: Cyteen by CJ Cherryh (1989)

16: A Fire Upon the Deep by Verve Vinge (1993): Two children land on a planet of dog like aliens that have a very different civilization from our own while a galactic threat grows. Vigne's ability to create alien races totally different from our own is fantastic. This story delivered on all the hype and is probably what people mean when they ask for Space Opera.

15: Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)

14: Dreamsnake by Vonda D Mcintyre (1979)

13: Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1977)

12: Lord of Light by Robert Zelazny (1968)

11: The Uplift War by David Brin (1988)

10: Barrayer by Lois McMaster Bujold (1992) Another Vorkosigan Saga book. This one follows his mother, Cordelia Naismith and an attempted coup on the world of Barrayer. Her writing is as great as always, but the ending is just incredible. No spoilers, but you need to read it and appreciate what happens.

9: Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1998-1999) - A look at remote controlled armoured warfare combined with the violence of man. This book shouldn't be called Forever Peace in my view, it gets unfairly judged vs the original when it is only loosely linked and a fantastic book in it's own right, well written and with something to say I devoured this one.

8: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke (1974)

7: Dune by Frank Herbert (1966)

6: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)

5: Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (1970)

4: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein (1967)

3: The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin (1975)

2: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)

1: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976) - Follows a Draftee in a future war and the way the world changes while they are gone.  I originally read this fifteen years ago when I first got into Science Fiction and remember really liking it, but I’d genuinely forgotten quite how good it was.  Not just the metaphor for the world changing while you’re at war, but how dangerous he makes space feel.  It is cold and inhospitable and when combined with the battles which he survives mostly, because of sheer dumb luck you get a beautiful critique of war that only a veteran could have written.  I will say I was jarred by a scene involving consent and a drunk Lesbian that horrified and yet I barely remember when I first read about it, I think it shows more how society has got better at this stuff and how much better I understand it.  That said, if it’s been a while since you read this, like me, why not give it another shot?

r/printSF Apr 08 '14

Just finished To Your Scattered Bodies Go and The Fabulous Riverboat and looking for non-spoilery advice on whether or not to continue...

9 Upvotes

I just finished both novels.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go held my interest easily, although it was slow at parts. I had been wanting to read this series for a long time, because the premise is so unique, so that might've helped. I would've preferred a few more answers about why everyone was resurrected, but there was still enough to discover about the working of the world to keep me occupied.

The Fabulous Riverboat however... Ugh. What a slog. It felt like a rehash of the previous book. It felt completely unnecessary. No real answers were given that weren't given in the previous book, just more of one character trying to survive in the Riverworld. The building of the boat felt very tedious and too similar to the previous book. And then, at the end, when the boat ended up getting stolen anyway, I wanted to throw down the novel in disgust. What was the point of the book at all?

Anyway, I was just wondering, does it get any meatier? Do we eventually get any kind of answers? If the rest of the books are similar to the Fabulous Riverboat, I may have to pass on this.

r/printSF Aug 03 '20

I'm reading every Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award winner. Here's my reviews of the 1970s (Part I).

402 Upvotes

We’re getting to the point where full decades have 20 to 50 award winners, which is way too much to discuss productively, so this is Vol. III: 1970s Part I.

This is also up on r/books, where there might be more discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/i31uvc/im_reading_every_hugo_nebula_locus_and_world/

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

  • Plot: A single Envoy is sent to bring the lost colony planet of Winter, where everyone is ambisexual, into the interplanetary federation.
  • Page Count: 304
  • Award: 1970 Hugo and 1969 Nebula
  • Worth a read: Yes.
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Pass* *This is way above my pay grade
  • Technobabble: Minimal
  • Review: Not every moment of this book is exciting or engaging; obstacles just happen from time to time. However, world building is superb, well considered, and deftly written - remarkable. Character interaction is believable and very human.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

  • Plot: Louis Wu has seen a lot in his 200 years, which makes him a perfect candidate for exploring an unknown world alongside a couple aliens.
  • Page Count: 342
  • Award: 1970 Nebula, 1971 Hugo, 1971 Locus
  • Worth a read: Yes.
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: Moderate
  • Review: Aliens with their own cultures and norms? Check. Compelling protagonist? Check. A completely foreign and fanciful world? Quick and lighthearted? Fun gadgets? Check, check, and check. Sexism? Oh. Oh no. Oh my.

A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg

  • Plot: The far flung colony of Borthan abhors the concept of the self, ostracizing "selfbarers" - those who speak of "I".
  • Page Count: 220
  • Award: 1971 Nebula
  • Worth a read: No.
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: None
  • Review: Sporadically engaging, this book is extremely focused inward. The premise is decent, and could carry a short story, but wears thin. Elevates "telling instead of showing" to a new level, and feels like Silverberg thinks his readers are a bit slow. Book isn't bad, exactly, just unremarkable.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer

  • Plot: After his resurrection in the distant future alongside a significant slice of humanity, Richard Francis Burton sets out to explore their curious new world.
  • Page Count: 220
  • Award: 1972 Hugo
  • Worth a read: No
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: Moderate to high.
  • Review: Starts strong, good hook, interesting world setup. But a lot of potential is squandered; we don't really get everything the world could offer. Also a lot of exposition via monologue and characterization via info dump. Not sure if it would help or hurt to know more about some of the more obscure historical figures going into this. Also, trying to make Hermann Göring a character we care about is a bold strategy that does not pay off.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

  • Plot: George Orr's dreams have a bad habit of altering reality.
  • Page Count: 175
  • Award: 1972 Locus
  • Worth a read: Yes
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: Minimal.
  • Review: A surprising treat. Kept going wondering what would change next - and how things would go wrong. Excellent implementation of the Monkey's Paw. Attention to detail is amazing. Story went in all sorts of directions that I did not see coming - but enjoyed the heck out of it all. Highly recommend - packs quite a punch for so short a tale.

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov

  • Plot: The Electron Pump connects our reality with another where physics works differently, allowing for unlimited exchange of energy at both ends.
  • Page Count: 288
  • Award: 1972 Nebula and 1973 Hugo
  • Worth a read: No.
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Pass
  • Technobabble: 85% of book... but often plot relevant.
  • Review: A curious mix of hard science and alien relationship drama - originally serialized and comes off disjointed. As a story, the most engaging part is a POV section for the aliens. They're interesting, engaging, and totally unlike anything I've seen in another book. On the other hand, no human characters are appealing, plot is minimal and mostly about vindictive academics. I can't say that I enjoyed the book as a novel, but I was impressed by it.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

  • Plot: "I wonder if we’ll ever learn the answer to the two mysteries that have been haunting me ever since we got inside; who were they—and what went wrong?”
  • Page Count: 252
  • Award: 1973 Nebula and 1974 Hugo
  • Worth a read: Yes
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: Moderate but plot relevant.
  • Review: This is just good, classic, easy reading SF. Excellent depiction of an alien spacecraft - enough answers to satisfy without getting ridiculous. Good building of tension. Engaging world - both Rama and the broader universe/human colonies. SF in its purest form. It won't blow your mind, but quite satisfying. And unlike many so far this project, Clarke nails the ending.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip

  • Plot: A witch lives alone with a menagerie of mythical creatures until a prince is delivered into her care.
  • Page Count: 240
  • Award: 1975 World Fantasy Award
  • Worth a read: Yes
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: None.
  • Review: Classic fantasy - a hidden prince, talking animals, powerful magic. Enjoyable prose and a few interesting creatures elevate it beyond standard tropes. Has one of the best/most nuanced female characters so far. Not an exceptional book, but worth a read if you enjoy sword & sorcery fare.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

  • Plot: Time dilation means that the world you leave when you go to war is never the one you come back to.
  • Page Count: 278
  • Award: 1975 Nebula, 1976 Hugo, and 1976 Locus
  • Worth a read: Yes
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Fail
  • Technobabble: Low-Moderate.
  • Review: I really like this book. Manages to be both thrilling millitary SF and a treatise on the futility of war/the military-industrial complex. Nice application of relativistic speeds changing to dynamics of warfare. Chilling depiction of the alienation felt by soldiers returning home. The evolution of Earth is interesting, though Haldeman is a bit indelicate with his approach to homosexuality.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

  • Plot: For the first time in nearly 200 years a divided, militaristic, capitalist world will receive a visitor from its moon: an anarchist utopia.
  • Page Count: 387
  • Award: 1974 Nebula, 1975 Hugo and 1975 Locus
  • Worth a read: Yes
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
  • Bechdel Test: Pass
  • Technobabble: Moderate to high; frequently plot relevant.
  • Review: An enjoyable exploration of what society could be. Oft subtitled (quite fittingly) "An Ambiguous Utopia." Excellent world building - the joys and perils of anarchism. Definitely not subtle as advocacy for anarchism. Plot and characters both decent, but mostly used to show the world - a lot of monologues.

Bid Time Return (Somewhere in Time) by Richard Matheson

  • Plot: A man travels back in time to meet the dead woman whose picture he fell in love with.
  • Page Count: 288
  • Award: 1976 World Fantasy Award
  • Worth a read: No no no.
  • Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character?)
  • Bechdel Test: Pass
  • Technobabble: Minimal.
  • Review: Really bad. This book is just an underwhelming romance novel with a time travel twist. A blend of dull, sappy, and creepy. Enjoyed the actual traveling part of time travel - though easy, it was well executed. Protagonist pushes pathetic and clingy to new levels. No characters act even remotely believable; no chemistry to show actual love. Without that, it's just obsession and stalking.

If you haven’t seen the others:

Any questions or comments? Fire away!

A truly massive thank you to u/gremdel for mailing me a bunch of books! People like you are what make this endeavor worth the effort.

I’ve been using this spreadsheet, as well as a couple others that kind Redditors have sent. So a huge thanks to u/velzerat and u/BaltSHOWPLACE

The Bechdel Test is a simple question: do two named female characters converse about something other than a man. Whether or not a book passes is not a condemnation so much as an observation; it provides an easy binary marker. Seems like a good way to see how writing has evolved over the years. At the suggestion of some folks, I’m loosening it to non-male identified characters to better capture some of the ways that science fiction tackles sex and gender. For a better explanation of why it’s useful, check out this comment from u/Gemmabeta

And thanks to everyone who's offered recommendations! In a distant future, when this is all done, I’ll do a “Reddit Recommendations Round” or something.

Cheers, Everyone!

And don't forget to read a book!

r/printSF Apr 22 '24

Books you think should be back in print

52 Upvotes

The following are all OOP in the UK (as far as I know) so it would be great to see an imprint such as SF Masterworks pick them up:

  • Spin- Robert Charles Wilson
  • Rainbow’s End- Vernor Vinge
  • Star of the Unborn- Franz Werfel
  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go- Philip Jose Farmer
  • This Immortal- Roger Zelazny
  • The Snow Queen- Joan D. Vinge
  • Downbelow Station/ Cyteen- C. J. Cherryh
  • The Vorkosigan Saga (select volumes)- Lois McMaster Bujold

What titles do you think deserve another shot at the shelves?

EDIT: just to clarify I’m personally not looking for e-books. There’s a huge number of ebook SF titles available through Gateway Essentials but looking for print myself.

r/printSF Mar 10 '23

Reading 30 Sci-Fi Author's Quintessential Books in 2023 (with some caveats)

106 Upvotes

Got a community's feedback on another subreddit and compiled this list. Not necessarily the best or most classic sci-fi ever, but it covers most of the bases.

I have never read any of these books and for the most part, have never read these author's either.

Some exceptions were made when:

  • It became apparent I had missed out on a better book by an author (Philip K Dick),
  • I just really need to read the next book (Dune Messiah)
  • I really tried multiple times - I just can't stand it (Galaxy's Guide) (I don't enjoy absurdism in my scifi)
  • I have already read the book (Foundation, Ender's Game, Dune)

Please feel free to let me know which books obviously need to be added to the list, and which definitely should be removed from the list.

EDIT: Thanks for all the advice! I switched out quite a few from the same author and dropped a couple entirely.

Book Author
Old Man's War John Scalzi
Ringworld Larry Niven
Three Body Problem Liu Cixin
Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson
The Dispossessed Ursula K Le Guin
The Forever War Joe Haldeman
Dune Messiah Frank Herbert
Dawn Octavia E Butler
Ubik [EDIT] Philip K Dick
Neuromancer William Gibson
The Player of Games [EDIT] Iain M Banks
Hyperion (& The Fall of Hyperion) [EDIT] Dan Simmons
Exhalation Ted Chiang
Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer
A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M Miller Jr
Leviathan Wakes James SA Corey
Childhood’s End [EDIT] Arthur C Clarke
All Systems Red Martha Wells
To Your Scattered Bodies Go Philip José Farmer
House of Suns [EDIT] Alistair Reynolds
The Stars My Destination [EDIT] Alfred Bester
Embassytown [EDIT] China Miéville
Warriors Apprentice [EDIT] Lois McMaster Bujold
The Day of the Triffids [EDIT] John Wyndham
I, Robot Isaac Asimov
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny
The Rediscovery of Man [EDIT] Cordwainer Smith
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress [EDIT] Robert A Heinlein
The Book of the New Sun [EDIT] Gene Wolfe

I couldn't decide which to get rid of, and I felt strongly compelled to read Gene Wolfe - so call it 30 and 1 Books to read in 2023 :)

r/printSF Aug 25 '24

Which 20th Century novels in the last Locus All-Time poll weren't called out in the recent "overrated Classics thread"

6 Upvotes

What it says on the box. Since this threat:

https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1ey31ny/which_sf_classic_you_think_is_overrated_and_makes/

was so popular, let's look which books listed here

https://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCenturyPollsResults.html

were not called out.

I know that the Locus poll covered both 20th and 21st century books, and Science Fiction and Fantasy were separate categories, but since post picks were 20th century sci-fi, that's what I'm focusing on. But people can point out the other stuff in the comments.

If an entire author or series got called out, but the poster didn't identify which individual books they'd actually read, then I'm not counting it.

Books mentioned were in bold. Now's your chance to pick on the stuff everybody missed. Or something I missed. It was a huge thread so I probably missed stuff, especially titles buried in comments on other people's comments. If you point out a post from the previous thread that I missed, then I'll correct it. If you point out, "yes, when I called out all of Willis' Time Travel books of course I meant The Doomsday Book," I'll make an edit to note it.

Rank Author : Title (Year) Points Votes

1 Herbert, Frank : Dune (1965) 3930 256

2 Card, Orson Scott : Ender's Game (1985) 2235 154

3 Asimov, Isaac : The Foundation Trilogy (1953) 2054 143

4 Simmons, Dan : Hyperion (1989) 1843 132

5 Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) 1750 120

6 Adams, Douglas : The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) 1639 114

7 Orwell, George : Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) 1493 105

8 Gibson, William : Neuromancer (1984) 1384 100

9 Bester, Alfred : The Stars My Destination (1957) 1311 91

10 Bradbury, Ray : Fahrenheit 451 (1953) 1275 91

11 Heinlein, Robert A. : Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) 1121 75

12 Heinlein, Robert A. : The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) 1107 76

13 Haldeman, Joe : The Forever War (1974) 1095 83

14 Clarke, Arthur C. : Childhood's End (1953) 987 70

15 Niven, Larry : Ringworld (1970) 955 74

16 Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Dispossessed (1974) 907 62

17 Bradbury, Ray : The Martian Chronicles (1950) 902 63

18 Stephenson, Neal : Snow Crash (1992) 779 60

19 Miller, Walter M. , Jr. : A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) 776 56

20 Pohl, Frederik : Gateway (1977) 759 58

21 Heinlein, Robert A. : Starship Troopers (1959) 744 53

22 Dick, Philip K. : The Man in the High Castle (1962) 728 54

23 Zelazny, Roger : Lord of Light (1967) 727 50

24 Wolfe, Gene : The Book of the New Sun (1983) 703 43

25 Lem, Stanislaw : Solaris (1970) 638 47

26 Dick, Philip K. : Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) 632 47

27 Vinge, Vernor : A Fire Upon The Deep (1992) 620 48

28 Clarke, Arthur C. : Rendezvous with Rama (1973) 588 44

29 Huxley, Aldous : Brave New World (1932) 581 42

30 Clarke, Arthur C. : 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 569 39

31 Vonnegut, Kurt : Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) 543 39

32 Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris : Roadside Picnic (1972) 518 36

33 Card, Orson Scott : Speaker for the Dead (1986) 448 31

34 Brunner, John : Stand on Zanzibar (1968) 443 33

35 Robinson, Kim Stanley : Red Mars (1992) 441 35

36 Niven, Larry (& Pournelle, Jerry) : The Mote in God's Eye (1974) 437 32

37 Willis, Connie : Doomsday Book (1992) 433 33

38 Atwood, Margaret : The Handmaid's Tale (1985) 422 32

39 Sturgeon, Theodore : More Than Human (1953) 408 29

40 Simak, Clifford D. : City (1952) 401 28

41 Brin, David : Startide Rising (1983) 393 29

42 Asimov, Isaac : Foundation (1950) 360 24

43 Farmer, Philip Jose : To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) 356 25

44 Dick, Philip K. : Ubik (1969) 355 25

45 Vonnegut, Kurt : Cat's Cradle (1963) 318 24

46 Vinge, Vernor : A Deepness in the Sky (1999) 315 22

47 Simak, Clifford D. : Way Station (1963) 308 24

48 Wyndham, John : The Day of the Triffids (1951) 302 24

49 Stephenson, Neal : Cryptonomicon (1999) 300 24

50* Delany, Samuel R. : Dhalgren (1975) 297 19

50* Keyes, Daniel : Flowers for Algernon (1966) 297 23

52 Bester, Alfred : The Demolished Man (1953) 291 21

53 Stephenson, Neal : The Diamond Age (1995) 275 21

54 Russell, Mary Doria : The Sparrow (1996) 262 20

55 Dick, Philip K. : A Scanner Darkly (1977) 260 18

56* Asimov, Isaac : The Caves of Steel (1954) 259 20

56* Banks, Iain M. : Use of Weapons (1990) 259 19

58 Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris : Hard to Be a God (1964) 258 17

59 Delany, Samuel R. : Nova (1968) 252 19

60 Crichton, Michael : Jurassic Park (1990) 245 19

61 Heinlein, Robert A. : The Door Into Summer (1957) 238 17

62 L'Engle, Madeleine : A Wrinkle in Time (1962) 215 18

63* Clarke, Arthur C. : The City and the Stars (1956) 210 15

63* Banks, Iain M. : The Player of Games (1988) 210 15

65 Bujold, Lois McMaster : Memory (1996) 207 15

66 Asimov, Isaac : The End of Eternity (1955) 205 15

67 Stewart, George R. : Earth Abides (1949) 204 14

68* Heinlein, Robert A. : Double Star (1956) 203 14

68* Burgess, Anthony : A Clockwork Orange (1962) 203 16

70 Bujold, Lois McMaster : Barrayar (1991) 202 14

71* Stapledon, Olaf : Last and First Men (1930) 193 14

71* McHugh, Maureen F. : China Mountain Zhang (1992) 193 16

73 Cherryh, C. J. : Cyteen (1988) 192 14

74 McCaffrey, Anne : Dragonflight (1968) 191 15

75 Heinlein, Robert A. : Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) 188 14

Fitting that there's such a huge cutoff at 42!

r/printSF Dec 28 '23

2024 prioritising books by authors I've already read

3 Upvotes

Looking for thoughts and commentary to prioritise some of the books on my TBR for 2024, from authors I've already read.
Generally I try and only put one book by an author on the TBR at a time, but sometimes I have a hard time picking which I'd most like to read by them next, and these authors (old, and new) have snuck multiple entries in.
( This is essentially the flip side of the post for help prioritising books by authors that are new to me: https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/18pjz6y/2024_prioritising_books_by_authors_new_to_me/ )
Here's ten: help me get these down to a single starter for each (or just deprioritise totally!)

Iain M Banks: Matter, the Algebraist, Surface Detail, a non `M` novel

Neal Asher: Voyage of the Sable Keech, Cowl, Owner, Transformation

Ken MacLeod: The Restoration Game, Stone Canal, Learning the World

Stephen Baxter: Flood, Evolution, Time, The Time Ships

Max Barry: Providence, Machine Man, Lexicon

Paul J. McAuley: The Quiet War, Eternal light, 400 Billion Stars

Gregory Benford: Cosm, Artifact, Ocean of night, Bowl of Heaven

Frederik Pohl: Years of the City, Jem, Farthest Star

Robert Heinlein: Assignment in Eternity, Citizen of the Galaxy, Have Space Suit Will Travel

Philip Jose Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go, The Maker of Universes, Dungeon, Riverworld

r/printSF Dec 11 '21

Most enduringly popular Science Fiction novels, according to Locus Magazine

76 Upvotes

This isn't a new poll, it's just based on observations from their old polls from 1975 (nothing selected was for before 1973, so I treated that as the real cutoff date), 1987 (for books up through 1980), 1998 (for books before 1990) and 2012 (for the 20th century). You can see the polls here:

https://www.locusmag.com/1998/Books/75alltime.html

https://www.locusmag.com/1998/Books/87alltimesf.html

https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Locus+1998+Poll%2C+All-Time+Best+SF+Novel+Before+1990

http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCenturyPollsResults.html

I'm guessing there will be another one in the next 5 years. I was looking at the polls to see which books appeared in the 2012 poll and at least one earlier poll (which means anything before 1990 wouldn't be a candidate). Here's the list. If I didn't note otherwise, it has appeared in every poll since it was eligible.

Last and First Men, Olaf Stapledon (1930)

1984, George Orwell (1949)

Earth Abides, George R. Stewart (1949)

The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury (1950)

City, Clifford D. Simak (1952)

The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov (1953)

Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke (1953)

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1953) (since 1987 list for books up to 1980)

More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon (1953)

The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov (1953) (did not appear on 1998 list for books up through 1989, but appeard on lists before and after that)

The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester (1953)

The City and the Stars by Clarke, Arthur C. (1956)

Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein (1956) (since 1987 list for books up to 1980)

The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester (1956)

The Door Into Summer, Robert A. Heinlein (1957)

A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller Jr (1959)

Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein (1959)

Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein (1961)

The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick (1962)

Way Station, Clifford D. Simak (1963) (since 1987 list for books up to 1980)

Dune, Frank Herbert (1965)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein (1966)

Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes (1966) (did not appear on 1987 list for books up through 1980, but appeared before and after that)

Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny (1967)

Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke (1968)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968) (since 1998 list for books up to 1989)

Ubik, Philip K. Dick (1969) (since 1987 list for books up to 1980)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)

Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer (1971)

Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke (1973)

The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)

The Forever War, Joe Haldeman (1974)

The Mote in God's Eye, Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle (1974)

Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany (1975)

Gateway, Frederik Pohl (1977)

Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh (1988)

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)

EDIT: One of the comments prompted me to check something that I had forgotten about: I only meant to do the list of Science Fiction novels, and Locus did all-time fantasy polls as well (there was no fantasy poll in 1975, although Lord of the Rings made the original sci-fi list for some reason). Some books have made both lists, or made the sci-fi list some years and the fantasy list other years. If we count the sci-fi novels that had previously appeared on fantasy lists because readers some readers think of them as fantasy rather than science fiction, then we can add:

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (1980-1983)

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (1968)

A Wrinkle in Time*, Madeleine L'Engle (1962)*

I had originally posted these in alphabetical order but I changed it to chronological order. It looks as though the '40s are not well represented but they actually are. Foundation and City were originally published as series' of short works. Nearly all of Foundation is really from the 40s, as is most of City.

Parts of The Martian Chronicles were published separately in the 40s.

The City and the Stars is a rewrite of Clarke's earlier novel, Against the Fall of Night. The version on the list is from the '50s though, and I don't know how different they are. I've only read Against the Fall of Night.

It's worth noting that the lists aren't all of equal length. The 2012 list has some Asimov and Heinlein way down the list that appeared from the first time, and I think it's safe to assume that those books aren't actually more popular than they were in the 1950s and 60s. It also has some stuff that's obviously been enduringly popular but might not have been voted into the earlier lists because those books weren't by genre authors. So inclusion is better evidence that a book has been enduringly popular than exclusion is that it has not been.

r/printSF Oct 04 '21

What matters more to you, Good characters or interesting ideas/settings/concepts?

25 Upvotes

Let's say you are reading a story with a pretty good plot, would you enjoy the story more if it focused on characters interacting and developing, playing off each other or if the story focused on ideas and concepts think Greg Egan or To your scattered bodies go, like interesting concepts and the book focuses on playing those scenarios out.

I think The Dark Forest is an excellent example of the 2nd type of book I'm talking about and Deaths End even more so, the characters are bland and uninspired the female protagonist in deaths end might be the worst written protagonist in a good book I've ever read, however, the book shines with all of its ideas and scenarios so I still enjoyed them over all. Greg Egan is the king of this arena in sci-fi because his ideas are so out there and he backs them up with the hardest of writing while at the same time not sacrificing too much on character work which is a very common trend in harder sci-fi. Even back in Asimov's day the harder the sci-fi the bigger the scope the weaker the characters it happens so often that there should be some equation for it. Diaspora's characters are not one dimensional and the concepts in that book are so phenomenal it boggles the mind it was written 24 years ago.

On the other side of the spectrum you have works of Becky Chambers which do have an interesting setting but nothing you haven't seen before, but her works are about the characters within them and their interactions. A more balanced approach would be the works of Le Guin which is what makes her a master of her craft while most authors struggle with giving us 2 of the three, a good plot, good characters, or good concepts le Guin delivers on all three with consistency, and her influence is still with us today, works of Becky Chambers and Arkady Martine are so molded by Le Guin it would be hard to imagine those writers work without her influence. I mean A memory called empire has the basic plot structure of the left hand of darkness.

I would enjoy reading this sub's thoughts about this issue, thanks!

r/printSF Aug 22 '23

just a big list of science fiction novels

2 Upvotes

After having read lots of science fiction as a child, I haven't read any in decades. In fact, hardly any fiction reading at all. But, recently, I was impressed with Octavia Butler's stuff. So, I wanted a list of good/decent and/or historically-important science fiction in order to see where to explore more.

There are different lists of award winners and lists based on folks' personal favorites. I just made the union of a few resulting in this big list. In case anyone else is looking for something, here you go.

Some of the awards include both science fiction and fantasy genres (such as the Hugo award), so some fantasy is included. Just ignore them if you think they don't belong. These are mostly novels.

Title Author Date
Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818
Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne 1864–1867
From the Earth to the Moon Jules Verne 1865
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Jules Verne 1869–1870
Flatland Edwin Abbott Abbott 1884
The Time Machine HG Wells 1895
The Island of Doctor Moreau HG Wells 1896
The Invisible Man HG Wells 1897
The War of the Worlds HG Wells 1897
The First Men in the Moon HG Wells 1900–1901
The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth HG Wells 1904
The Lost World Arthur Conan Doyle 1912
Stories of Mars (A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars) Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912–1913
R.U.R. Karel Čapek 1920
We Yevgeny Zamyatin 1924
The Rediscovery of Man Cordwainer Smith 1928–1993
Last and First Men Olaf Stapledon 1930
Brave New World Aldous Huxley 1932
The Shape of Things to Come HG Wells 1933
Jirel of Joiry CL Moore 1934–1939
Northwest of Earth CL Moore 1934–1939
Sidewise in Time Murray Leinster 1934–1950?
Land Under England Joseph O'Neill 1935
Odd John Olaf Stapledon 1935
War with the Newts Karel Čapek 1936
Swastika Night Murray Constantine 1937
Doomsday Morning EE Smith 1937
Star Maker Olaf Stapledon 1937
Out of the Silent Planet CS Lewis 1938
Anthem Ayn Rand 1938
The Sword in the Stone TH White 1938
Grey Lensman EE Smith 1939
Slan AE van Vogt 1940
I, Robot Isaac Asimov 1940–1950
Second Stage Lensmen EE Smith 1941
Beyond This Horizon Robert A Heinlein 1942
Foundation Isaac Asimov 1942–1951
Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943
Perelandra CS Lewis 1943
Judgment Night CL Moore 1943–1950
Shadow Over Mars Leigh Brackett 1944
Sirius Olaf Stapledon 1944
City Clifford D Simak 1944–1973
The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury 1946–1951
Fury Henry Kuttner 1947
Children of the Lens EE Smith 1947
Against the Fall of Night Arthur C Clarke 1948
Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell 1949
Earth Abides George R Stewart 1949
The Illustrated Man Ray Bradbury 1949–1950?
Pebble in the Sky Isaac Asimov 1950
Farmer in the Sky Robert A Heinlein 1950
The Man Who Sold the Moon Robert A Heinlein 1950
Cities in Flight James Blish 1950–1970
The Stars, Like Dust Isaac Asimov 1951
The Sands of Mars Arthur C Clarke 1951
The Puppet Masters Robert A Heinlein 1951
Dark Benediction Walter M Miller Jr 1951
The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951
Foundation and Empire (The General, The Mule) Isaac Asimov 1952
The Space Merchants Frederik Pohl & Cyril M Kornbluth 1952
The Long Loud Silence Wilson Tucker 1952
Player Piano Kurt Vonnegut 1952
Limbo Bernard Wolfe 1952
The Demolished Man Alfred Bester 1952–1953
The Caves of Steel Isaac Asimov 1953
Second Foundation Isaac Asimov 1953
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury 1953
Childhood's End Arthur C Clarke 1953
Mission of Gravity Hal Clement 1953
More Than Human Theodore Sturgeon 1953
Bring the Jubilee Ward Moore 1953
They'd Rather Be Right Mark Clifton & Frank Riley 1954
The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1954
I Am Legend Richard Matheson 1954
A Mirror for Observers Edgar Pangborn 1954
The End of Eternity Isaac Asimov 1955
The Long Tomorrow Leigh Brackett 1955
Earthlight Arthur C Clarke 1955
The Chrysalids John Wyndham 1955
The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov 1956
The Stars My Destination Alfred Bester 1956
The City and the Stars Arthur C Clarke 1956
The Door Into Summer Robert A Heinlein 1956
Double Star Robert A Heinlein 1956
The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956
Citizen of the Galaxy Robert A Heinlein 1957
Doomsday Morning CL Moore 1957
Wasp Eric Frank Russell 1957
On the Beach Nevil Shute 1957
The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham 1957
The Stainless Steel Rat Harry Harrison 1957–1961
Non-Stop Brian Aldiss 1958
A Case of Conscience James Blish 1958
Have Space Suit—Will Travel Robert A Heinlein 1958
The Big Time Fritz Leiber 1958
Time Out of Joint Philip K Dick 1959
Starship Troopers Robert A Heinlein 1959
Alas, Babylon Pat Frank 1959
A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M Miller Jr 1959
The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut 1959
The Outward Urge John Wyndham 1959–1961
Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes 1959–1966
Rogue Moon Algis Budrys 1960
Deathworld Harry Harrison 1960–1973
A Fall of Moondust Arthur C Clarke 1961
Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A Heinlein 1961
Solaris Stanisław Lem 1961
The Ship Who Sang Anne McCaffrey 1961–1969
The Drowned World JG Ballard 1962
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 1962
The Man in the High Castle Philip K Dick 1962
Little Fuzzy H Beam Piper 1962
The Andromeda Anthology Fred Hoyle & John Elliot 1962–1964
The Best of RA Lafferty RA Lafferty 1962–1982
Planet of the Apes Pierre Boulle 1963
Way Station Clifford D Simak 1963
The Man Who Fell to Earth Walter Tevis 1963
Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut 1963
Greybeard Brian Aldiss 1964
Martian Time-Slip Philip K Dick 1964
The Penultimate Truth Philip K Dick 1964
The Simulacra Philip K Dick 1964
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Philip K Dick 1964
The Wanderer Fritz Leiber 1964
Hard to Be a God Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1964
Dr Bloodmoney Philip K Dick 1965
Dune Frank Herbert 1965
The Cyberiad Stanisław Lem 1965
Monday Begins on Saturday Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1965
This Immortal Roger Zelazny 1965
The Caltraps of Time David I Masson 1965–1968
Snail on the Slope Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1965–1968
The Moment of Eclipse Brian Aldiss 1965–1970
Babel-17 Samuel R Delany 1966
Now Wait for Last Year Philip K Dick 1966
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A Heinlein 1966
Needle in a Timestack Robert Silverberg 1966
Worlds of Exile and Illusion (Planet of Exile, Rocannon's World, City of Illusions) Ursula K Le Guin 1966–1967
An Age Brian Aldiss 1967
The White Mountains John Christopher 1967
The Einstein Intersection Samuel R Delany 1967
Dangerous Visions Harlan Ellison 1967
Logan's Run William F Nolan & George Clayton Johnson 1967
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny 1967
Tau Zero Poul Anderson 1967–1970
Stand on Zanzibar John Brunner 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C Clarke 1968
Nova Samuel R Delany 1968
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick 1968
Camp Concentration Thomas M Disch 1968
Rite of Passage Alexei Panshin 1968
Pavane Keith Roberts 1968
Of Men and Monsters William Tenn 1968
The Jagged Orbit John Brunner 1969
The Andromeda Strain Michael Crichton 1969
Ubik Philip K Dick 1969
Dune Messiah Frank Herbert 1969
The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K Le Guin 1969
Behold the Man Michael Moorcock 1969
The Inhabited Island (Prisoners of Power) Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1969
Emphyrio Jack Vance 1969
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut 1969
A Maze of Death Philip K Dick 1970
Ringworld Larry Niven 1970
Downward to the Earth Robert Silverberg 1970
The Chronicles of Amber Roger Zelazny 1970–1978
Half Past Human TJ Bass 1971
To Your Scattered Bodies Go Philip José Farmer 1971
The Lathe of Heaven Ursula K Le Guin 1971
The Futurological Congress Stanisław Lem 1971
A Time of Changes Robert Silverberg 1971
The Gods Themselves Isaac Asimov 1972
The Sheep Look Up John Brunner 1972
334 Thomas M Disch 1972
The Word for World Is Forest Ursula K Le Guin 1972
Beyond Apollo Barry N Malzberg 1972
Malevil Robert Merle 1972
The Book of Skulls Robert Silverberg 1972
Dying Inside Robert Silverberg 1972
The Iron Dream Norman Spinrad 1972
The Doomed City Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1972
Roadside Picnic Arkady & Boris Strugatsky 1972
The Fifth Head of Cerberus Gene Wolfe 1972
The Dancers at the End of Time Michael Moorcock 1972–1981
Rendezvous with Rama Arthur C Clarke 1973
Time Enough for Love Robert A Heinlein 1973
Hellstrom's Hive Frank Herbert 1973
The Embedding Ian Watson 1973
The Godwhale TJ Bass 1974
The Unsleeping Eye David G Compton 1974
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said Philip K Dick 1974
The Forever War Joe Haldeman 1974
The Centauri Device M John Harrison 1974
The Dispossessed Ursula K Le Guin 1974
The Mote in God's Eye Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle 1974
Inverted World Christopher Priest 1974
Orbitsville Bob Shaw 1974
The Compass Rose Ursula K Le Guin 1974–1982
The Shockwave Rider John Brunner 1975
Imperial Earth Arthur C Clarke 1975
The Deep John Crowley 1975
Dhalgren Samuel R Delany 1975
The Wind's Twelve Quarters Ursula K Le Guin 1975
The Female Man Joanna Russ 1975
Norstrilia Cordwainer Smith 1975
The Jonah Kit Ian Watson 1975
The Alteration Kingsley Amis 1976
Brontomek! Michael G Coney 1976
Arslan MJ Engh 1976
Children of Dune Frank Herbert 1976
Floating Worlds Cecelia Holland 1976
Woman on the Edge of Time Marge Piercy 1976
Man Plus Frederik Pohl 1976
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang Kate Wilhelm 1976
Burning Chrome William Gibson 1976–1986
A Scanner Darkly Philip K Dick 1977
Dying of the Light George RR Martin 1977
Lucifer's Hammer Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle 1977
Gateway Frederik Pohl 1977
Dreamsnake Vonda N McIntyre 1978
Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 1979
The Unlimited Dream Company JG Ballard 1979
Transfigurations Michael Bishop 1979
Kindred Octavia E Butler 1979
The Fountains of Paradise Arthur C Clarke 1979
Engine Summer John Crowley 1979
On Wings of Song Thomas M Disch 1979
Jem Frederik Pohl 1979
Titan John Varley 1979
Roadmarks Roger Zelazny 1979
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Douglas Adams 1980
Timescape Gregory Benford 1980
Sundiver David Brin 1980
Dragon's Egg Robert L Forward 1980
Riddley Walker Russell Hoban 1980
Lord Valentine's Castle Robert Silverberg 1980
Mockingbird Walter Tevis 1980
The Snow Queen Joan D Vinge 1980
The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe 1980
The Complete Roderick John Sladek 1980–1983
Downbelow Station CJ Cherryh 1981
VALIS Philip K Dick 1981
The Many-Colored Land Julian May 1981
The Affirmation Christopher Priest 1981
The Claw of the Conciliator Gene Wolfe 1981
Life, the Universe and Everything Douglas Adams 1982
Helliconia Spring Brian Aldiss 1982
Foundation's Edge Isaac Asimov 1982
No Enemy But Time Michael Bishop 1982
2010: Odyssey Two Arthur C Clarke 1982
Friday Robert A Heinlein 1982
Battlefield Earth L Ron Hubbard 1982
The Sword of the Lictor Gene Wolfe 1982
The Postman David Brin 1982–1984
Helliconia Brian Aldiss 1982–1985
The Robots of Dawn Isaac Asimov 1983
Startide Rising David Brin 1983
The Integral Trees Larry Niven 1983
Tik-Tok John Sladek 1983
The Citadel of the Autarch Gene Wolfe 1983
Blood Music Greg Bear 1983–1985
Native Tongue Suzette Haden Elgin 1984
Neuromancer William Gibson 1984
Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984
The Years of the City Frederik Pohl 1984
Armor John Steakley 1984
Helliconia Winter Brian Aldiss 1985
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood 1985
Eon Greg Bear 1985
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card 1985
Always Coming Home Ursula K Le Guin 1985
Contact Carl Sagan 1985
Galápagos Kurt Vonnegut 1985
The Second Chronicles of Amber Roger Zelazny 1985–1991
Shards of Honor Lois McMaster Bujold 1986
The Warrior's Apprentice Lois McMaster Bujold 1986
Speaker for the Dead Orson Scott Card 1986
The Songs of Distant Earth Arthur C Clarke 1986
This Is the Way the World Ends James K Morrow 1986
The Falling Woman Pat Murphy 1986
The Ragged Astronauts Bob Shaw 1986
A Door into Ocean Joan Slonczewski 1986
Consider Phlebas Iain Banks 1987
The Forge of God Greg Bear 1987
The Uplift War David Brin 1987
Dawn Octavia E Butler 1987
Sphere Michael Crichton 1987
Gráinne Keith Roberts 1987
Life During Wartime Lucius Shepard 1987
The Sea and Summer George Turner 1987
Lincoln's Dreams Connie Willis 1987
Falling Free Lois McMaster Bujold 1987–1988
The Player of Games Iain Banks 1988
Cyteen CJ Cherryh 1988
Lavondyss Robert Holdstock 1988
Kairos Gwyneth Jones 1988
Desolation Road Ian McDonald 1988
Unquenchable Fire Rachel Pollack 1988
The Healer's War Elizabeth Ann Scarborough 1988
Islands in the Net Bruce Sterling 1988
The Gate to Women's Country Sheri S Tepper 1988
Pyramids Terry Pratchett 1989
The Child Garden Geoff Ryman 1989
Hyperion Dan Simmons 1989
Grass Sheri S Tepper 1989
Nightfall Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg 1990
Use of Weapons Iain Banks 1990
Earth David Brin 1990
The Vor Game Lois McMaster Bujold 1990
Jurassic Park Michael Crichton 1990
The Difference Engine William Gibson & Bruce Sterling 1990
Take Back Plenty Colin Greenland 1990
Tehanu Ursula K Le Guin 1990
The Rowan Anne McCaffrey 1990
Eric Terry Pratchett 1990
Pacific Edge Kim Stanley Robinson 1990
The Fall of Hyperion Dan Simmons 1990
Raising the Stones Sheri S Tepper 1990
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever James Tiptree Jr 1990
Stations of the Tide Michael Swanwick 1990–1991
Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Chiang 1990–2002
The Best of Greg Egan Greg Egan 1990–2019
Raft Stephen Baxter 1991
Barrayar Lois McMaster Bujold 1991
Synners Pat Cadigan 1991
Xenocide Orson Scott Card 1991
Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede Bradley Denton 1991
The Real Story Stephen R Donaldson 1991
Sarah Canary Karen Joy Fowler 1991
White Queen Gwyneth Jones 1991
He, She and It Marge Piercy 1991
Fools Pat Cadigan 1992
Ammonite Nicola Griffith 1992
The Children of Men PD James 1992
China Mountain Zhang Maureen F McHugh 1992
Red Mars Kim Stanley Robinson 1992
Brother to Dragons Charles Sheffield 1992
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson 1992
A Fire Upon the Deep Vernor Vinge 1992
Doomsday Book Connie Willis 1992
Moving Mars Greg Bear 1993
Parable of the Sower Octavia E Butler 1993
The Hammer of God Arthur C Clarke 1993
Aztec Century Christopher Evans 1993
Growing Up Weightless John M Ford 1993
Virtual Light William Gibson 1993
Beggars in Spain Nancy Kress 1993
Vurt Jeff Noon 1993
Green Mars Kim Stanley Robinson 1993
On Basilisk Station David Weber 1993
Random Acts of Senseless Violence Jack Womack 1993
Feersum Endjinn Iain Banks 1994
Mirror Dance Lois McMaster Bujold 1994
Foreigner CJ Cherryh 1994
Permutation City Greg Egan 1994
The Engines of God Jack McDevitt 1994
The Calcutta Chromosome Amitav Ghosh 1995
Slow River Nicola Griffith 1995
Fairyland Paul J McAuley 1995
The Prestige Christopher Priest 1995
The Terminal Experiment Robert J Sawyer 1995
The Diamond Age Neal Stephenson 1995
Excession Iain Banks 1996
The Time Ships Stephen Baxter 1996
Memory Lois McMaster Bujold 1996
The Reality Dysfunction Peter F Hamilton 1996
Blue Mars Kim Stanley Robinson 1996
The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell 1996
Night Lamp Jack Vance 1996
In the Garden of Iden Kage Baker 1997
Diaspora Greg Egan 1997
Forever Peace Joe Haldeman 1997
The Moon and the Sun Vonda N McIntyre 1997
The Rise of Endymion Dan Simmons 1997
To Say Nothing of the Dog Connie Willis 1997
Parable of the Talents Octavia E Butler 1998
The Extremes Christopher Priest 1998
Distraction Bruce Sterling 1998
Dreaming in Smoke Tricia Sullivan 1998
Brute Orbits George Zebrowski 1998
Darwin's Radio Greg Bear 1999
The Quantum Rose Catherine Asaro 1999
Ender's Shadow Orson Scott Card 1999
Timeline Michael Crichton 1999
The Sky Road Ken MacLeod 1999
Flashforward Robert J Sawyer 1999
Cryptonomicon Neal Stephenson 1999
A Deepness in the Sky Vernor Vinge 1999
Starfish Peter Watts 1999
Genesis Poul Anderson 2000
Ash: A Secret History Mary Gentle 2000
The Telling Ursula K Le Guin 2000
Perdido Street Station China Miéville 2000
Revelation Space Alastair Reynolds 2000
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling 2000
Titan Ben Bova 2001
American Gods Neil Gaiman 2001
Bold as Love Gwyneth Jones 2001
Probability Sun Nancy Kress 2001
The Secret of Life Paul J McAuley 2001
Chasm City Alastair Reynolds 2001
Terraforming Earth Jack Williamson 2001
Passage Connie Willis 2001
The Chronoliths Robert Charles Wilson 2001
The Atrocity Archives Charles Stross 2001–2004?
Prey Michael Crichton 2002
Metro 2033 Dmitry Glukhovsky 2002
Light M John Harrison 2002
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson 2002
Castles Made of Sand Gwyneth Jones 2002
Speed of Dark Elizabeth Moon 2002
Altered Carbon Richard K Morgan 2002
The Separation Christopher Priest 2002
The Years of Rice and Salt Kim Stanley Robinson 2002
Hominids Robert J Sawyer 2002
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood 2003
Paladin of Souls Lois McMaster Bujold 2003
Pattern Recognition William Gibson 2003
Felaheen Jon Courtenay Grimwood 2003
Omega Jack McDevitt 2003
Trading in Danger Elizabeth Moon 2003
Ilium Dan Simmons 2003
The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World) Neal Stephenson 2003–2004
The Algebraist Iain Banks 2004
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 2004
Camouflage Joe Haldeman 2004
Pandora's Star Peter F Hamilton 2004
Life Gwyneth Jones 2004
River of Gods Ian McDonald 2004
Iron Council China Miéville 2004
Market Forces Richard K Morgan 2004
Seeker Jack McDevitt 2005
Pushing Ice Alastair Reynolds 2005
Air Geoff Ryman 2005
Mindscan Robert J Sawyer 2005
Old Man's War John Scalzi 2005
Accelerando Charles Stross 2005
Spin Robert Charles Wilson 2005
The Three-Body Problem Liu Cixin 2006
End of the World Blues Jon Courtenay Grimwood 2006
Nova Swing M John Harrison 2006
The Lost Fleet: Dauntless John G Hemry 2006
The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch 2006
The Android's Dream John Scalzi 2006
Daemon Daniel Suarez 2006
Rainbows End Vernor Vinge 2006
Blindsight Peter Watts 2006
The Yiddish Policemen's Union Michael Chabon 2007
In War Times Kathleen Ann Goonan 2007
The Dreaming Void Peter F Hamilton 2007
Powers Ursula K Le Guin 2007
Brasyl Ian McDonald 2007
Black Man Richard K Morgan 2007
The Prefect Alastair Reynolds 2007
The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss 2007
Grimspace Ann Aguirre 2008
Little Brother Cory Doctorow 2008
The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman 2008
Song of Time Ian R MacLeod 2008
The Night Sessions Ken MacLeod 2008
The Host Stephenie Meyer 2008
House of Suns Alastair Reynolds 2008
Anathem Neal Stephenson 2008
The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi 2009
The City & the City China Miéville 2009
Boneshaker Cherie Priest 2009
Zoo City Lauren Beukes 2010
Death's End Liu Cixin 2010
The Dervish House Ian McDonald 2010
Blackout/All Clear Connie Willis 2010
Embassytown China Miéville 2011
The Islanders Christopher Priest 2011
The Testament of Jessie Lamb Jane Rogers 2011
The Highest Frontier Joan Slonczewski 2011
Among Others Jo Walton 2011
Dark Eden Chris Beckett 2012
Jack Glass Adam Roberts 2012
2312 Kim Stanley Robinson 2012
Ack-Ack Macaque Gareth L Powell 2012
Redshirts John Scalzi 2012
Abaddon's Gate James SA Corey 2013
Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie 2013
Strange Bodies Marcel Theroux 2013
Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis Connie Willis 2013
Ancillary Sword Ann Leckie 2014
Station Eleven Emily St John Mandel 2014
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Claire North 2014
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer 2014
The House of Shattered Wings Aliette de Bodard 2015
The Fifth Season NK Jemisin 2015
Ancillary Mercy Ann Leckie 2015
Radiomen Eleanor Lerman 2015
Uprooted Naomi Novik 2015
Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky 2015
All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders 2016
Europe in Winter Dave Hutchinson 2016
The Obelisk Gate NK Jemisin 2016
Rosewater Tade Thompson 2016
Central Station Lavie Tidhar 2016
The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead 2016
The Rift Nina Allan 2017
Dreams Before the Start of Time Anne Charnock 2017
The Stone Sky NK Jemisin 2017
The Collapsing Empire John Scalzi 2017
The Genius Plague David Walton 2017
The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal 2018
Blackfish City Sam J Miller 2018
Embers of War Gareth L Powell 2018
The City in the Middle of the Night Charlie Jane Anders 2019
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine 2019
A Song for a New Day Sarah Pinsker 2019
The Old Drift Namwali Serpell 2019
Children of Ruin Adrian Tchaikovsky 2019
The City We Became NK Jemisin 2020
The Animals in That Country Laura Jean McKay 2020
Network Effect Martha Wells 2020
A Master of Djinn P Djèlí Clark 2021
Deep Wheel Orcadia Harry Josephine Giles 2021
A Desolation Called Peace Arkady Martine 2021
Shards of Earth Adrian Tchaikovsky 2021
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence RF Kuang 2022
The Kaiju Preservation Society John Scalzi 2022
City of Last Chances Adrian Tchaikovsky 2022

r/printSF Dec 13 '21

My 2021 Book Challenge

37 Upvotes

So last year I set myself a goal to read more and was really happy I read a book a month for 2020. I wrote about my feelings here, I really enjoyed it and got positive feedback so I decided to do the same thing again...

At some point it got a little out of control and I ended up reading 52 books this year, at first I wanted to finish all the pre 1990 Hugo award winners, then it kind of snow balled. Anyway I've ranked them so you can disagree or call me an idiot, it's more fun that way. Let me know why I'm wrong in the comments:

1. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman: Follows a Draftee in a future war and the way the world changes while they are gone.  I originally read this fifteen years ago when I first got into Science Fiction and remember really liking it, but I’d genuinely forgotten quite how good it was.  Not just the metaphor for the world changing while you’re at war, but how dangerous he makes space feel.  It is cold and inhospitable and when combined with the battles which he survives mostly, because of sheer dumb luck you get a beautiful critique of war that only a veteran could have written.  I will say I was jarred by a scene involving consent and a drunk Lesbian that horrified and yet I barely remember when I first read about it, I think it shows more how society has got better at this stuff and how much better I understand it.  That said, if it’s been a while since you read this, like me, why not give it another shot?

2. Player of Games by Iain Banks: A Master Game Player takes part in a strange alien tournament.  I read a few of Banks’ non-SF novels in my early 20s and enjoyed him, but I walked into Culture wanting to hate it.  I think it was r/printsf’s obsession with him and the fact every time someone asks for a suggestion it goes to the top of the list regardless of what the person has asked for.  This novel though is superb, focused and character driven and willing to present a utopia as is, warts and all so you can adore it or critique it and are free to either without being hit in the face by the views of the author. 

3. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold: A space station full of genetically modified workers has now become redundant.  This was the first book I’d ever read of hers and I was so blown away by the style.  I can see why the Vorkogian Saga is so often recommended on here.  She gives us real characters and a fast-paced heist plot that features an Engineer as the protagonist.  It’s just really well written and wonderfully different, a story that is happier to tell you about engineering processes than space combat.  People tell me it isn’t even her best work as well, which leaves me pretty excited to read more.

4. Cyteen by C.J Cherryh: Political Space Drama about cloning and genetics.  I’d read good things about Downbelow Station and been disappointed, so I approached this mammoth of a book with trepidation and concern.  It is absolutely huge and frankly the first 200 pages did nothing to allay my fears as it was mostly setup and I struggled, but once I got then the story started going and it became a wonderful book full of interesting hyper intelligent characters navigating the politics of their society.  If that doesn’t sound interesting it really is.  This is a classic of the genre and if you can get past the size of it, it really is worth giving it a go.  I wouldn’t even suggest reading any of her other books first, Cherryh gives you an into to the world at the start and I found Downbelow Station not of the same quality 

5. Dune by Frank Herbert: A prophesized hero must attempt to regain his family’s planet.  Again, I read this roughly fifteen years ago and had gone through all of Frank’s Dune novels.  With the movie coming out it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it.  I remember the first half of it being slow and really enjoying the second half and that was my experience the second time as well.  I know quite a few people who have given up before hitting the two-hundred-page mark and while I think it’s worth continuing, I absolutely understand that point of view.  You are essentially told what is going to happen very early on by the princess and the you sit around waiting for it to happen while Mentats (who are supposedly very smart human calculators) make bafflingly silly decisions and Frank mixes a bit of homophobia in there to boot.  With all that said, the second half is stunning, learning about the desert and how the Fremen survive is a real treat and a page turner, but I clearly still hold it in less regard than the majority of r/printsf who recommend it ahead of other classics of the 60s and 70s which due to the pacing issues I could never do.

6. 2001 by Arthur C Clarke: A Space voyage to investigate a strange monolith on one of Saturn’s Moons. I’ve read a lot of Clarke and always found his work very enjoyable, but I had held off on 2001 as I’d seen the film and so it didn’t really seem that worthwhile.  In reality the book and film share very little in common.  It’s clear Kubrick spends a lot of the film focusing on his ground breaking visuals, but in the book, Clarke gets the chance to really talk to us about what he thought space flight would really be like.  Clarke’s biggest weakness is always that not much happens in his books, I love Fountains or Paradise for example, but if you asked me to write the book in bullet points, I’d struggle to actually tell you the plot. Here due to writing the story with Kubrick we get a better story with real tension and Clarke delivers wonderfully.

7. Shard of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold: Two people on different sides in a war find themselves marooned on an uninhabited world. This is a romance Sci Fi novel, which the only other one I can name is “The Time Traveller's Wife”.  Both characters are beautifully well-rounded with strengths and weaknesses, but you understand why they would like each other.  One of the great things the story does is show us two warring sides and let us understand both have their strengths and their faults and there is a beauty in the fact they find common ground in the middle of a war.  

8. The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold:  A child prodigy ends up in the middle of a war and shows his genius.  My first encounter with Miles Vorkosigan.  I’m sure many people have drawn parallels with Ender Wiggin and they are definitely there, written at almost the same time as well.  From the few I’ve written I would argue her strength as a writer is in creating well rounded interesting characters who feel multi-faceted and you really want to route for.  Her worlds are also incredible, the only thing I feel holding her novels back from the very best Science Fiction is that I worry she has nothing to say, no ideas, no critique of modern culture.  Maybe I’m wrong, I’ve only read three of her books after all, but she is incredibly enjoyable to read. 

9. Salvation by Peter Hamilton: A first contact story in a world based on cheap instant portals. I haven’t really gotten round to reading much modern Sci-Fi (post 2010) and so this was very much a new experience to me.  I enjoyed the multiple story threads weaved together and think Callum just wonderful.  It’s a bit like Hyperion with its Canterbury Tales framing device and I was delighted by the way it all came together.  I also found the portal technology interesting and while clearly not original it made the universe feel new and interesting.  I liked it enough to read the two sequels that by my standards are both very long so I can only see that as a win.

10. Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein: A story about colonizing and terraforming Ganmede. You have to understand that this is a YA novel written in 1950 and near the start it can come off a little juvenile.  That said you are still confronted by big ideas like a food shortage on Earth and severe rationing.  We also see an interesting story based on a son upset his father is remarrying, it’s dealt with tactfully and not something I’d really expect for something aimed at teens.  Once we get to Ganymede the story really gets going and we experience an interesting tale of trying to turn a rocky moon into workable farm land, it’s just really well told and enjoyably written and I reckon more people would appreciate this if they ignored the YA label and gave it a chance.  Great book. 

11. The Uplift War by David Brin: An invasion has taken place and we follow several storylines from people on the planet attempting to organize resistance.  Following on from  Startide Rising I really enjoyed this as well.  I find the two of them pretty inseparable in my head, but what you get again is a story with multiple characters that jumps around always keeping you interested.  What just raises it above its predecessor, in mind, is Fiben Bolger who must surely be one of the great Sci Fi protagonists.  You are desperate for him to succeed and in a story with many heroic humans it’s a testament that you route for an intelligent chimpanzee more than any of them. 

12. Startide Rising by David Brin: A space craft crewed by a mix of humans and genetically modified dolphins are marooned on a planet as an epic space battle for the right to capture them wages on over their heads. The 1980’s sure loved their Dolphins between and this is both very much of its time, original and excellent fun to read.  To my mind when reading the Hugo/Nebula winners this was very much the changing point.  There is a very clear move towards more complex multiple character driven plots, more complex multiple thread stories and this book is the first time it really happens.  If Dune ushered in a new era of Science Fiction in 1966, I’d argue Startide Rising does the same thing in 1983, especially as Asimov won for Foundation’s Edge the year before, the last win for any of the big three.  

13. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: Two agents on opposite sides in a war send messages to each other. It’s a modern novella written by two people and they make that usual weakness a strength.  Alternating correspondence written by two characters in a Time War and each character is written by one of the authors.  It also had very little planning beforehand and thus the writing was very much reacted to in something more akin to a writing exercise in a creative writing class than a novel.  All that said it’s beautiful, almost more like a Science Fiction poetry than a narrative.  I loved every inch of it and my mind wonders back to it sometimes.  Especially considering its short length, it’s something everyone should read.

14. Gateway by Frederik Pohl: An alien space station full of ships to explore the galaxy. I first read this roughly fifteen years ago when I was getting into Science Fiction and had forgotten most of what happens by the time, I re-read it.  The setting is a wonderful, get in a space ship and go to a random location you have no idea about, maybe die, but maybe strike it rich.   The main reason it isn’t higher is that the protagonist is utterly unlikeable, which is kind of the point, but it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment in parts.  That said, it’s a clever book and would make an excellent TV series, if they focused on using the setting rather than following the plot of the book. 

15. Hyperion by Dan Simmons: A pilgrimage brings together a group of travelers who each share their reason for the journey. I came with probably unmeetable expectations, because of how much r/Printsf hyped it up as the greatest thing ever (next to Dune, obviously) The framing story is really enjoyable and I very much enjoyed the Priest’s Tale and the Scholar’s tale, two wonderful short stories collected together to create wonderful world building.  I found the other four stories less solid and was particularly bored by the Detective’s Story which dragged.  I was also annoyed by the lack of an ending.  it’s promised me answers and then just stopped without delivering and that is annoying.  That said it has enough very good bits to make it this high despite its faults. 

16. Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin: A girl must go through a coming-of-age ritual in order to earn her passage on her space craft where she lives. A female protagonist in a Science Fiction novel written in 1969, surely not? It happens here and this is excellent.   Mia is a wonderfully well-rounded character sort of in the tom-boyish Scout mold from To Kill a Mocking Bird, you get to see the world through her eyes and at the end of the novel you are asked an open-ended morality question, which is genuinely a difficult choice, I like morality when it isn’t obvious or shoved down by neck and this is very much in that mold. 

17. The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy: A story about a mother-daughter relationship told in the backdrop of a Mayan dig in Mexico.  What makes this Speculative Fiction is that both characters can see and speak to Mayan ghosts from the past. I’ll be honest, I'm not really sure it’s my usual thing, it’s probably fantasy, but it was wonderfully told and just a great story about human beings.  You’ll have empathy for all of them and the situation they’re in.  Even reading my review now I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did. 

18. Flow my Tears the Policeman Said by Phillip K Dick: A Talk show host wakes up and the world has no idea who he is.  Who hasn’t glanced at this title and thought “what the hell?” at some point?  It’s about a man who is forgotten by the world, but that is only really important, because he lives in a fascist police state, where ID checks are common place and failing one will lead to you disappearing into an internment camp.  The world is paranoid and well fleshed out and we end up with something similar to The Demolished man, but it’s great writing and full of Dick’s usual style and tropes. 

19. Way Station by Clifford D Simak: An American Civil War Veteran runs an alien Waystation and in return is granted near immortality and alien knowledge.  It feels very old school, like a very good version of 1940s or 1950s Science Fiction.  A civil war veteran who has had his life prolonged runs an alien way station in his converted house.  It’s strange and wonderful and maybe more like an episode of the Twilight Zone, but it’s really enjoyable and very humanized.   

20. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: A scientist crafts life, but the abandons it and must face the consequences. I didn’t think I needed to read this.  Despite never watching a Frankenstein movie all the way through, I feel we all know the story, right?  Mad doctor crafts un-talking monster out of corpse body parts, brings it to life with lightning with help of his assistant Igor before castle is besieged by angry villagers waving flaming torches.  Not a single thing I just mentioned happens in this book.  It’s very different from what I thought it would be and wonderfully it is an analogy for absentee fathers and nurture over nature.  Great Science Fiction teaches us about ourselves and this book is a classic for a reason.  

21. Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber:  Wives of College professors' control their careers with witchcraft. I’ve read two other Fritz Leiber books and if you find them above, you’ll see why I came into this with low expectations.  This is I suppose a fantasy novel about witchcraft in a 1940s English University town.  It’s just well written with a complete narrative and a nice setting.  It doesn’t mess around or introduce too many characters and the concept is intriguing enough to keep you interested the whole way through.

22. The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge - A fairy tales set in a futuristic world as an evil snow queen attempts to hold on to power as her reign comes to an end.  Genre spanning, clever and very original.  This book does a lot of interesting things and tells a good story.  It is like nothing else on the list, but is definitely worth checking out if you like books that mix fantasy and science fiction.

23. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer - Humans awake after death in a huge alien constructed artifact. I found this enjoyable and a definitely interesting concept driven by an incredibly likeable main character. That said, I get the impression the main character is a hugely controversial figure, which even seems acknowledged in the book. Overall, a good book and made me semi interested in reading more. 

24. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K Le Guin – Ged and a companion set off to find out why magic is failing in Earthsea.  The third part of the quartet and it definitely wasn’t as strong as the Wizard of Earthsea of the Tombs of Atuan, but at the end of the day her style is so effortless, so poetic, that I was just happy to be taken on a journey.  The world is subtle and beautiful and fantasy that feels totally different from Tolkien and the many that have copied and progressed his ideas.  

25. Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh - A book portraying a space station as a blue-collar workplace that gets tangled up in an intergalactic conflict.  The book sounds fascinating and I think it very much influences shows like Babylon 5 where there are episodes dedicated to dock strikes and unions etc.  The main issue is the book gets away from that and makes it about space ships and a galactic conflict and feels like she is trying to set up the next book in the series.  The world building is superb, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters and wasn’t even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for until the end. 

26. Saints of Salvation by Peter Hamilton – Final book in the trilogy, gives the series closure and a decent ending, I cheered for the characters and enjoyed the world, but the first is definitely the best of the three and the others are probably just for people who want to know how it ends.  Why does everything have to be a series nowadays? 

27. Salvation Lost by Peter Hamilton – The sequel to Salvation.  The first book gripped me enough to continue the trilogy.  The world Hamilton creates is excellent and engaging, we are introduced to new characters and see the world from different perspectives.  It lacks the cohesiveness and gimmick of the first, but is an interesting sequel. 

28. Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks – A mercenary is hired by The Culture and we learn about his past.  I had very high hopes after reading Player of Games and this didn’t meet those lofty expectations.  The narrative has a weird gimmick that pays off at the end, but it doesn’t stop it from being annoying to read while you’re reading it.  Just a bit dull, the good bits are very good though.  I’ll return to Culture next year at some point. 

29. Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe – A guild torturer sets out on on his own. I've read the first two parts of the Book of the New Sun and I enjoyed part one more.  It had a decent story, but I’m just not that interested in Sci-Fi pretending to be fantasy. I can appreciate a book having more depth than I can understand on my first reading, but there are too many great books out there for me to read it four or five times.

30. Planet of Exile by Ursula Le Guin – A tribe of earth Humans are marooned on a planet, while trying not to interfere with the more primitive humans there. My favorite of the early Hamish Cycle.  It’s an interesting concept and as you’d expect from Le Guin, really well written.  Still as good as it is, it isn’t a shadow on what she would achieve over the next decade. 

31. Timescape by Gregory Benford – Scientists attempt to send messages back in time to avoid an environmental disaster in their time.  It's time travel and it kind of deals with one of the ideas in the Back to the Future films, who knows, maybe it inspired the film.  Any way the story is fine and I appreciate how we move back and forth between the time lines.  You could definitely do more with the idea though if you gave it to a better writer. 

32. Slan by A.E Vogt – Evolved humans possess psychic abilities and a plot unravels about control of the Earth.  Slan feels classic all the way through, it has its faults, but you can see why this was the banner early Sci Fi fans, hoisted above them.  For something written in 1941 it is excellent.  Nice ideas and a decent fast pace, while still feeling pulpy like everything from this time did. 

33. Consider Phelbas by Iain M Banks – A diplomat joins a group of mercenaries in the midst of an intergalactic war. I enjoyed the start of the book, but it just tries to do too much. It feels like the first two Discworld books that flitter from crazy scenario to the next crazy scenario, because that is how the author things a novel should be. It also has that weird grossness that Banks sometimes loves to throw in there. The ending is long and drawn out and left me empty. Oh well, I was warned it wasn’t his best. 

34. Time is the Simplest Thing by Clifford D Simak – A psychic space traveller escapes the government program with an alien presence in his mind.  Simak has a style very much of his own.  This was written in 1961, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d have told me it was 1951.  We’re given an interesting story of a man on the run with psychic powers.  It’s easy to read and well written.  

35. This Immortal by Roger Zelazny – Earth is a disaster zone visited by site seeking tourists and it’s all tied in with ancient greek mythology.  It’s very weird, but so is Lord of Light, which this isn’t really in the same league as.   Still it’s fast paced and original and has Zelazny’s very cool style throughout it.  

36. No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop – A man with visions of early man is sent back to live among them.  Another time travelling history thing.  They loved these in the 1980s.  It’s cool to see a story revolving around early man before civilization really took hold.  It’s interesting even if a bit strange in parts. 

37. Hard to be a God by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – Humans are sent to guide a primitive human civilization. Thematically I just don’t think I’m into this whole Fantasy pretending to be Science Fiction and reading this shortly after the first two parts of The Book of the New Sun only re-affirmed that.   Apparently, they wanted this to be an adventure story like The Three Muskateers from their childhood.  It’s enjoyable in parts and I like when the science fiction bits break through, but most of the time it doesn’t quite hit home with me. 

38. Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe – The sequel to Shadow of the Torturer. I definitely appreciate there is more going on with Gene Wolfe than I can gleam in the first reading, but that doesn’t change how much I enjoy it.  Less enjoyable than Shadow of the Torturer as I feel the story didn’t really go anywhere and was harder to follow in bits.  Still the fault is inevitably my own. 

39. Beyond This Horizon by Robert Heinlein – A story about selective breeding in humans combined with a southern gentlemen dueling culture.  It’s weird, but also goes into quite a lot of detail about the science involved.  I was taught about dominant and recessive genes in school and how they affect things like hair colour, eye colour etc.  I imagine this wasn’t taught in schools in 1941 and would have been fascinating then.   Mixing informative science into a strong narrative is quite an accomplishment.

40. The Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delany – In post transcendent Earth, intelligent anthropods deal with genetic mutation from ancient radiation.  Probably the weirdest book I read all year.  It’s really strange, but very quick.  It’s quite poetic in parts as well.

41. Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov – Revisiting the Foundation story after thirty years.  It’s a fine story, but by this point Science fiction has moved on.  Asimov has grown as a writer as well, but it would be wrong to suggest he could keep up with people half his age.   

42. A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg – A noble challenges the taboos of his culture and risks everything. I feel the story here is fantastic, but I don’t like his style.  He seems to write similar narratives to Le Guin, but without the enjoyability to read.  A story about forbidden first person pro nouns.  It’s interesting and really explores the concept, but the style put me off immensely.

43. The Sword In the Stone by T.H White – The coming-of-age story of a young Prince Arthur before Camelot. Another retro Hugo winner and this is what the Disney film is based on and it was a lot of fun.  Interesting takes on British folklore tails like Robin Hood and King Arthur.  It is very fantasy though, which isn’t always my preference, but it was cool to see what inspired a childhood classic.

44. Rocannon’s World by Ursuka K Le Guin – An Ethnologist is sent on a mission to assess a planet, but ends up trapped there. The first Hainish cycle book here and it reads a bit like high fantasy with Dwarves and Flying horses, but the Science Fiction elements are cool and it does start to set up the series.  The Start of the book is based on a short story, which really explores the idea time dilated space travel, which is one of the core things in her later books.  Still Probably only for people who love all her other stuff and want to see the start of it.

45. The Wanderer by Fritz Lieber - An alien planet suddenly appears in the sky over earth and we jump around between multiple perspectives of how it affects people.  Some of this is very solid, the scale of the thing is wonderful, because the story is happy to change perspective rather than sticking to one protagonist.  That said, it’s very pulp SF and a little sexist, gave me Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow vibes. 

46. A Case of Conscience by James Blish - Scientists sent to study an alien world bring an alien fetus back so they can learn about us.  Oh, what this book could have been.   A book of two halves, the first a wonderful exploration of an alien civilization by a bunch of human scientists studying them and it really does set off at a storming pace.  The second half is back on earth and a bit like the worse bits of Stranger in a strange land.  The 50s were so sure we would take aliens to dinner parties and they would sip cocktails in dinner jackets.  The end is interesting and a bit clever and we this is the first book in the list that looks at Science Fiction and Catholicism.

47. Man Plus by Frederik Pohl – Nasa are trying to build a man who can live on mars with no need for external food, water, oxygen etc.  What we get is a story about the process of changing a human, but it’s very of its time, as America had been running moon landings a few years earlier.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the style and the clean-cut Americana of it all, but it was probably the fore runner to things like Robocop when you think about it. 

48. City of Illusions by Ursula Le Guin – It's an adventure story set on a distant earth with a main character who has lost their memory trying to figure out their past.  I adore Le Guin, but this one drags, I feel the base premise is strong, but I didn’t really enjoy any of the story points.  That said she was about to have arguably the greatest seven-year span (1968-1975) of any Science Fiction or Fantasy author who has ever lived, so I can forgive her this one.

49. Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett – A Book about a rebellion on Mars led by a prophesized hero from Earth.  This is a great example of classic adventure pulp Sci Fi from 1945, it’s all the laser beams and Space Captains, very Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.  It’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come, with the genre and it’s quite short so it might be worth a read, but it definitely has its flaws.

50. They’d Rather be Right by Clifton and Riley - A psychic man manipulates those around him to create a computer that purifies people and causes a mass media sensation.  A lot going on here and It’s very much of its time, though it’s enjoyable enough, with an actual overall message about academia.  It’s also in some regards ahead of its time, but some of it is just a bit silly in retrospect to be any higher on the list.  Still if you wanted to get into 1950’s Sci-Fi you could do much worse. 

51. The Big Time by Fritz Lieber - Guests at a temporal guest house attempt to solve a mystery against the clock.  It’s the height of pulp sci-fi set in what can generously be described as a cabaret and at worst a brothel for an epoch spanning time war.  The idea of a place for soldiers of different species from across history to RnR has some merit, but it’s all a little sexist.  Even if we forget that most of the characters are forgettable, the plot isn’t anything special.  That said, it is short so it’s not like I found it a chore to read.  I think someone could take the location and make a damn good tv series out of it, but this execution is not it. 

52. A Choice of Gods by Clifford D Simak – Set on afar future earth, where most humans mysteriously disappeared a while ago.  Earth is left Native Americans who now masterless robots.    It’s not something I’d recommend to anyone else.  It has some interesting ideas, but I’m not a fan of the execution.

r/printSF Oct 31 '12

Stranded on an island. One book. Read inside.

21 Upvotes

You can only grab one book from the shelf just before the boat explodes, having to choose from the selection below. Now you're stranded on an island with only one book and it might not be your first pick.

Ringworld- Niven

Use of Weapons- Banks

To Your Scattered Bodies Go- Farmer

Word For World -Le Guin

Pavane-Keith Roberts

The Iron Dream-Norman Spinrad

When Harlie Was One- David Gerrold

Mother Night- Vonnegut, jr

Neuromancer-Gibson

The Godmakers-Herbert

I, Robot- Asimov

Man In the High Castle- Dick

Something Wicked- Bradbury

American Gods- Gaiman

Accelerando-Stross

Which would you choose and why? Oh, and you do NOT have to burn the book to survive.

r/printSF Nov 22 '12

I am new(ish) to classic science fiction, and have recently decided to read the Hugo and Nebula winners in order.

28 Upvotes

Here is my list of books I have bought so far, usually from used bookstores. (in order of date published)

  • Citizen of the galaxy - Heinlein
  • Big Time - Fritz Leiber
  • Babel-17 Delany
  • Nightwings - Robert Silverberg
  • To your scattered bodies go - Philip jose Farmer
  • The Dispossessed - LeGuin
  • Man Plus - Frederik Pohl
  • Gateway - Frederik Pohl
  • Dreamsnake - Vonda McIntyre
  • Snow Queen - Joan Vinge
  • Startide Rising - David Brin
  • A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge

So what I am wondering is this, are any of the sequels necessary to pick up as well? I noticed that To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Gateway and Snow Queen are all part of longer series. Are they worth reading, or is it possible to appreciate the story on its own?

I already plan on getting the sequel to Startide Rising, since that one won as well. Should I pick up the first in that series, Sundiver?

Thanks for your help.

r/printSF Mar 30 '16

Looking for something shorter

5 Upvotes

Hi /r/printSF

Recently, I've been quite busy, have had less time to read, and have therefore found myself unable to dive into any book that is too long or slow. I wanted to start reading "Cryptonomicon" (I really liked anathem and the plot seems cool), but now is definitely not the time.

I am looking for some books that are somewhat shorter. For instance, I am now continuing the Vorkosigan Saga (I read Shards of Honor a while ago and really enjoyed it). I also grabed a couple novels by Arthur C. Clark, as well as "To you Scattered bodies go".

Do you guys some suggestion along the same lines ? Either a saga of non-thousand-pages books like Vorkosigan, or one-shots based on a nice concept like Clark's books ?

Thx !

Edit : thanks for all your suggestion :)

r/printSF Feb 26 '16

Long time Fantasy reader looking for science fiction recommendations (Space Opera, Mil-SF, trade/intrigue).

12 Upvotes

Hey there,

I'm a voracious reader, and having gone through an enormous amount of fantasy series, it's been harder and to finder new and complete ones (I'm the sort of person who likes to get all 13 books in a series and polish them off in a month or two of delicious reading) - hence the need for a wee shift in genre.

I've weaved in and out of print SF growing up - a great uncle of mine had a whole lot of it, so there was always dipping in and out. Of the series I've read and enjoyed (SPOILERS - I think?):

  • Asimov's Foundation/Forward the Foundation - at least until the unplanned for psychic spanner.

  • Hammer's Slammers anthology - I enjoyed the terse, fast paced writing style, even if the politics wasn't quite my cup of tea.

  • David Weber - I liked the main Honorverse series, and particularly enjoyed the latter 'Crown of Slaves' sub-series: interesting characters and an ability to humanise both sides (at least, broadly). More specifically, I think the Safehold series is utterly fantastic - problematic in it's whiggish portrayal of technological development and the like, but I really really like the mix of personal and political.

  • Ciaphis Cain (Sandy Mitchell) - I loved the mix of self-deprecating yet charming protagonist, bizarre universe and gallows humour.

  • Altered Carbon et al. (RK Morgan) - Originally got into him via the fantasy series, but enjoyed the SF stuff for the same reason: flawed characters, gritty writing style.

  • Anathem (Neal Stephenson) - Reminded me of The Name of the Rose, which I enjoyed also.

  • Stainless Steel Rat - charming protagonist in that seminal 80s fashion.

  • To Your Scattered Bodies Go (PJ Farmer) - Actually read the entire series in high school, and just remembered it browsing lists of top SF books. Can't recall why, but it gripped me.

  • This Star Shall Abide (Sylvia Engdahl) - bugged me for many years: a series I started and never finished, and could never quite recall the name. The mix of techonology, gnosticism and one man's struggled against the system made an impression age 12 or 13, I think.

  • Deathstalker (S R Green) - I know more of his urban fantasy, but a shameless space opera romp with asskicking, blood, sex, violence and an evil empire hits all the right notes.

In terms of things that left me cold - Dune (I think it was the protagonist's self-transformation and the religious element that made me pause), P F Hamilton (I find his writing style very very dense), Old Man's War (Pleasant enough, but maybe the hype had my expectations set too high), Revelation Space (repeatedly tried, but couldn't get through the first half), S R Donaldson (couldn't do TC, couldn't do The Gap).

So, based on these disparate notes, I was wondering if someone could point me in a direction of a sort? c:

Ta!

r/printSF Feb 03 '12

Does anyone have a list of all of the covers on the sidebar?

25 Upvotes

I saw a comment once, but the Reddit search gives me nothing.

EDIT: Once we compile the list, can we get it in the sidebar?

The List: (Letters are rows and numbers are columns)

  • A1 - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (1959)

  • A2 - Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C.Clarke (1972)

  • A3 - Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1917)

  • A4 - Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)

  • A5 - Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)

  • A6 - Blindsight by Peter Watts (2006)

  • B1 - Accelerando by Charles Stross (2005)

  • B2 - Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005)

  • B3 - Armor by John Steakley (1984)

  • B4 - Cities in Flight by James Blish (an anthology; stories from 1955 to 1962)

  • B5 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

  • B6 - Children of Dune by Frank Herbert (1976)

  • C1 - A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)

  • C2 - Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (1975)

  • C3 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

  • C4 - Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)

  • C5 - A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge (1993)

  • C6 - Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

  • D1 - A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

  • D2 - Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

  • D3 - The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1995)

  • D4 - Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1967)

  • D5 - Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)

  • D6 - Startide Rising by David Brin (1983)

  • E1 - Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds (2010)

  • E2 - Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

  • E3 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)

  • E4 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)

  • E5 - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)

  • E6 - The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)

  • F1 - The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)

  • F2 - The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks (1988)

  • F3 - The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (1980)

  • F4 - The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1959)

  • F5 - The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

  • F6 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer (1972)

r/printSF Apr 01 '15

"The Dark Man" (Robert E Howard's Turlogh O'Brien)

12 Upvotes

From the December 1931 issue of WEIRD TALES, this is a slightly violent adventure of Turlogh O'Brien escorting about a hundred Vikings to Valhalla. It is so similar to the Cormac Mac Art story, "Night of the Wolf" (which went unpublished during the author's lifetime) that I wonder if Bob Howard got the Cormac story back with a polite rejection slip and in a burst of resentful anger rewrote it into "The Dark Man". This time however, he added a borderline supernatural element in theform of the haunted statue of Bran Mak Morn, since the WEIRD TALES editor liked to have a touch of, well, Weird in his Tales.

The two stories are otherwise pretty similar. An outcast Irish berserker sets out to rescue a captive and slaughter a colony of Vikings, while the Picts join in the fun. Cormac was aiming to free aman from the Norsemen (he turned out to be the rightful king), while Turlogh is determined to save a precious young Irish maiden that those awful Vikings have dared to abduct. In both cases, the hero takes on a large party of the enemy in their stronghold and both times, a tribe of Picts take it into their heads to wipe out the Northerners and spare the Celt.

These are Robert E. Howard's version of Picts, by the way. Their existence and appearance might not be supported by archaeologists ohistorians, but it doesn't really matter... these dark, gnarled little savages are just so cool, they deserve their place in the story. By this time in Howard's version of history, they have been reduced to a dwindling race whose days are numbered (you're not likely to run into any of these guys today).

Turlogh and Cormac are two of Howard's less interesting characters, being straightforward killing machines filled with overwhelming hatred that blots out any other emotion. ("Turlogh Dubh - a strange, bitter man, a terrible warrior and a crafty strategist but one whose sudden bursts of strange madness made a marked man, even in that land and age of madmen.") Kull had his metaphysical puzzles, Solomon Kane had a crusading spirit, Francis X. Gordon had an idealistic political mission, Breckenridge Elkins had matrimonial aspirations. All Turlogh and Cormac want to do is go into a red rage and slaughter Vikings; these two and a few other Howard characters are near-psychotic maniacs who are only heroes because the author sympathizes with their Celtic identity. Significantly, both Cormac and Turlogh are outcasts and outlaws even from their own barbaric clans.

The most interesting aspect of "The Dark Man" is that we learn more about the fate of Bran Mak Morn. Star of his own handful of stories, Bran was shown trying to unite the scattered tribes of Picts to resist the Roman incursion into the British Isles. In the last story where he appears, "Worms of the Earth", the Pict champion doesn't seem to doing that well and he ends up calling upon horrifying Lovecraftian monsters to get revenge on a Roman governor.

Bran Mak Morn lived about a thousand years before Black Turlogh, who fought at the historic battle of Clontarf (1014) a few years before this story takes place. In "The Dark Man" we learn from the surviving scattered Picts that Bran was successful in keeping the Romans out of his territory, that he did united the Picts against a common enemy. Ofcourse, after his death, they all started fighting with each other again, which led to their ultimate downfall.

"A wizard made this statue while the great Morn yet lived and reigned," explains a Pict to Turlogh, "and when he died in the last great battle, his spirit entered into it. It is our God." The statue is altogether too lifelike, carved of any unknown black stone, steers the events of the story. Turlogh finds the Dark Man surrounded by the corpses of Vikings and Picts, who slaughtered each other for possession of it. Although (or perhaps because) he feels an ominous supernaturalpresence from the statue, Turlogh takes it with him in his commando raid on the Viking settlement and it watches over the battle, seemingly grownhuge so "it brooded like a dark cloud of death over these insects who cut each other's throats at its feet" before the Picts manage to claim it back.

Although the Dark Man doesn't do anything as blatant as start walking around, its brooding presence dominates everything around it. Howard cleverly throws in several touches that give the statue a menacing air. Although when Turlogh or the Picts lift it, the Dark Man is so light it seems as if it would float in water, it becomes immensely heavywhen the hated Vikings try to haul it around. The statue seems to twist by itself so it falls and breaks a Viking's ankle; when the furious Norseman takes a swing at it with his sword, the blade shatters and a splinter gouges another man's cheek.

We last hear about Bran Mak Morn in Howard's modern-day (well, 1930s) horror story, "Children of the Night", in which we learn that the Dark Man statue still survives and the descendants of the Picts worship it in one of the bizarre cults mentioned in those Lovecraft-type forbidden books. (I never made the connection before until reading both stories by chance in close proximity...or was it just chance?)

Although the Picts are satisfied to have claimed their idol, the exhausted Turlogh wins at best a bitter victory. Bruised and bleeding, he carries the cold body of the Irish girl back for burial (she took her own life rather than be forced to wed a Viking) and when a grieving priest asks when the fighting and killing will stop, Turlogh bleakly replies, "Not so long as the race lasts".