science fiction books

carolinespring

I am a member of a book club and I have to pick next Months book which has to be science fiction. I never read science fiction so I don't have a clue where to start or what to pick. I am loving the book club as it is making me read outside of my comfort zone. Have read a number of books I never normally would.

So I am hoping some of you good people can help out with ideas. I am looking for something that will be a fairly easy read and with a good story. So please let me know any ideas you might have for a suitable book.

Queen-Mise

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game.

This book constantly comes up on the classics to be read. It is a great book & not particularly long. It is an easy-ish read. It will definitely raise some debate , as the central character is a child (at beginning is six) and goes to a Battle School for brilliant children.

The book is set at an unspecified time in the future. I read it only recently and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Prenderb

Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" might be one to consider?

Nody

Second vote for Ender esp. if your reading group is young; you can also look at "Dune" by Frank Hubert or "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov which are both great introductions to wonderful series on their own. Going for stand alone you have "The Man in the High Castle" by Phillip K. Dick, "Moon is a harsh mistress" or "Stranger in Strange Land" both by Robert Heinlein.

All of the above are classical Sci fi that should spark discussion and are not heavy reads or taking long to start up

Ormus

1984

indough

thre are some good suggestions here, but i would suggest something like 'flowers for algernon'. it's sci-fi but with the potential to still appeal to people who aren't particularly fans of the genre. plus it's not too long a read.

dots03

some of personal favorite sci-fi books which might be good options for a book club would be...

Matter by Iain M. Banks (a modern master of the genre)

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (one of the 'best written' sci-fi books I've read)

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (an absolute sci-fi classic and so much more than the film made it out to be)

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood (she would argue that she does not write science-fiction, but this book tells a great story set in the future in which society has collapsed)

Sideshow Mark

Cloud Atlas, good book, not all set in the future, plenty of big ideas to talk about and you'll be in the know for when the film comes out next year.

MagicMarker

I second Ender's Game, I'm half way through it atm and I think it's fantastic.

InvisibleBadger

Arthur C Clarkes' Rendezvous With Rama is a nice 'science expedition in space' kind of story. It has science, adventure and characters, with no heavy handed deeper meanings.

Denerick

The I, Robot series by Isaac Asimov. First read them when I was twelve, re-read them a couple of years ago and they are an absolute joy. Its a study of ethics, and the limits of rules and how we find ways to get around them. There are also robots and space, which is really cool

--Kaiser--

For someone who has never read science fiction, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke are not good places to start. They had good ideas, but were bad writers.

As above Ender's Game is a good place to start, an imaginative sci-fi world, but a very human book

juan.kerr

Philip K Dick

RDM_83 again

Ok since its for a book club I presume you might want something you can talk about (never been a member of one).

I'd recommend The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursala Le Guin, its so highly rated for a reason, its a good story, Le Guin can really write and has a lot of ideas about gender and other things (I'm not a huge fan of Margaret Atwood who's work has similar ideas but reading her stuff it just feels less organic IMO)

My personal favourite sci-fi/fantasy book is The Iron Dragons Daughter by Micheal Swanwick but its probably too far on the fantasy side (but the genres are lumped together by a lot of people anyway) and worked for me because it rebels against a lot of "fantasy" cliches so may not be as powerful some one unfamiliar to the genre

For a Sci-Fi book that is massively influential on the modern genre (remember its written before the internet and "cyberspace" became big) try William Gibsons Neuromancer

A less well known recommendation would be Life During Wartime by Lucius Sheppard well written but not necessarily the easiest read

I'd also recommend most stuff by China Mieville


a lot of recommendations been meaning to start a thread on Sci-Fi authors that can actually write

Andy-Pandy

RDM_83 again wrote: »

I'd also recommend most stuff by China Mieville

"The City and The City" would be a good place to start. Not my favorite Mieville book (Perdido Street Station has that honour), but it's his most accessible.

ixoy

"Dune" would be my recommendation. It's original and has some interesting themes in it as well, which could be useful for discussions afterwards.

--Kaiser--

ixoy wrote: »

"Dune" would be my recommendation. It's original and has some interesting themes in it as well, which could be useful for discussions afterwards.

A masterful book and very influential on fantasy novels that followed (The Wheel of Time owes it a lot)

Nody

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

A masterful book and very influential on fantasy novels that followed (The Wheel of Time owes it a lot)

Honestly I found the final three pages (which strictly speaking are not part of the Dune story) was among the most moving pages I've read and I'll for ever regret reading his son's "finish" (or more properly known as a butchered, black and white with out any finesse, icon, symbol or story to speak off) of the whole arc (two books in total).

Dades

Nody wrote: »

Honestly I found the final three pages (which strictly speaking are not part of the Dune story) was among the most moving pages I've read and I'll for ever regret reading his son's "finish" (or more properly known as a butchered, black and white with out any finesse, icon, symbol or story to speak off) of the whole arc (two books in total).

I made a conscious decision to not read the sequels. I loved Dune so much and a mate of mine bitched so much about what followed.

coffee_cake

I didn't think they were *that* bad

Nody

bluewolf wrote: »

I didn't think they were *that* bad

Problem is it's like going out from a three star Micheline restaurant were you've been eating all week into a McDonalds; your taste buds expects so much more then what they get...

ixoy

bluewolf wrote: »

I didn't think they were *that* bad

Which sequels do you mean? Frank Herbert's two Dune trilogies (which I enjoyed) or the abomination that his son produced?

"Dune" is one of the most influential science fiction novels written and quite rightly so. "Star Wars" was influenced by it and, as above, Aes Sedai from "The Wheel of Time" are basically the Bene Gesserit from "Dune".

Queen-Mise

ixoy wrote: »

Which sequels do you mean? Frank Herbert's two Dune trilogies (which I enjoyed) or the abomination that his son produced?

Frank Herbert's trilogies are very good - I read three or four of the books before I stopped. They had gotten exceptionally complicated & I was reading them as a very young teenager.

Thinking about them - I can still remember imagery from the books & that says a lot bearing in mind that I read them over 20 years ago.

On that note - I might re-read them (obviously bar the abomination) & finish them.

Ostrom

Asimov's 'Caves of Steel' reads well enough as a standalone - the foundation books really do need to be read in series. This one introduces the laws of robotics well, and I find it a bit better contextualised than his others (Asimov tended to write quite bland and with minimal detail).

Some older works might be worth a look - anything by H.G. Wells, or Jules Verne perhaps?

carolinespring

Thank you to everyone, I went with Dune in the end and s far I am loving it.

Nody

carolinespring wrote: »

Thank you to everyone, I went with Dune in the end and s far I am loving it.

Good choice; the spice must flow!

Andy-Pandy

Dune is the book that really got me into reading, I love it.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain"

CrowWoman

Andy-Pandy wrote: »

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain"

Heh. I read Dune at such a young age that I was still afraid of the dark. I used to repeat this mantra over and over to myself in bed at night -- and it worked.

As a teen I read all of the original series, up to Chapterhouse Dune. When I re-read as an adult I stuck to that first book. The others don't compare IMO.

cuilteanna

Really must re-read this... It's been decades, but that quote is one that always stuck with me.

Andy-Pandy

CrowWoman wrote: »

Heh. I read Dune at such a young age that I was still afraid of the dark. I used to repeat this mantra over and over to myself in bed at night -- and it worked.

As a teen I read all of the original series, up to Chapterhouse Dune. When I re-read as an adult I stuck to that first book. The others don't compare IMO.

Yea, i've used it before as well. It works.

I even remember hearing it on an episode of earthworm jim when i was younger, Peter Puppy used to say it all the time, the only other time i've been that surprised by TV was when i saw The Violent Femmes on Sabrina The Teenage Witch.