From IO9:
Whether it's because they've altered the course of science fiction writing, or simply provide a genuinely alien perspective on ordinary life, these are novels that will rearrange how you think. Check out our list below.
Frankenstein (1818), by Mary Shelley
The Time Machine (1895), by H.G. Wells
At the Mountains of Madness (1931), by H.P. Lovecraft
I, Robot (1955), by Isaac Asimov
The Dispossessed (1974), by Ursula LeGuin
Kindred (1979), by Octavia Butler
Wizard (1979), by John Varley
Consider Phlebas (1987), by Iain M. Banks
He, She, and It (1991), by Marge Piercy
Sarah Canary (1991), by Karen Joy Fowler
A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), by Vernor Vinge
The Bohr Maker (1995), by Linda Nagata
The Sparrow (1996), by Mary Doria Russell
Cryptonomicon (2000), by Neal Stephenson
The Mount (2002), by Carol Emschwiller
Perdido Street Station (2002), by China Mieville
Pattern Recognition (2003), by William Gibson
Newton's Wake (2004), by Ken MacLeod
Glasshouse (2006), by Charles Stross
Click here for a synopsis of each book
Whether it's because they've altered the course of science fiction writing, or simply provide a genuinely alien perspective on ordinary life, these are novels that will rearrange how you think. Check out our list below.
Frankenstein (1818), by Mary Shelley
The Time Machine (1895), by H.G. Wells
At the Mountains of Madness (1931), by H.P. Lovecraft
I, Robot (1955), by Isaac Asimov
The Dispossessed (1974), by Ursula LeGuin
Kindred (1979), by Octavia Butler
Wizard (1979), by John Varley
Consider Phlebas (1987), by Iain M. Banks
He, She, and It (1991), by Marge Piercy
Sarah Canary (1991), by Karen Joy Fowler
A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), by Vernor Vinge
The Bohr Maker (1995), by Linda Nagata
The Sparrow (1996), by Mary Doria Russell
Cryptonomicon (2000), by Neal Stephenson
The Mount (2002), by Carol Emschwiller
Perdido Street Station (2002), by China Mieville
Pattern Recognition (2003), by William Gibson
Newton's Wake (2004), by Ken MacLeod
Glasshouse (2006), by Charles Stross
Click here for a synopsis of each book
Off the top of my head, quickly, I would have included (in my own list):
ReplyDeleteFoundation (Asimov)
Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)
The Boat of a Million Years (Poul Anderson)
Forever War (Haldeman)
The City and the Stars (Clarke)
Paul, what say you?
Also, I'd be interested (perhaps in a future separate blog entry) to list favourite short storties and novellas...
I will do that Shaun, we get a couple more people weighing in and I will split it off.
ReplyDeleteFor Me? Pretty close to you.
Foundation....(that wasnt in the original list? whats up with that?
Martian Chronicles (for sure, would even add The Illustrated Man but thats a hard call for SciFi.
Tau Zero, Brian Aldiss
Cities in Flight James Blish
Forever War Jack Haldeman
DUNE Frank Herbert
Dalegren Samuel R. Delaney
Now yes, some of my favorites...but these novels changed how I thought about Science Fiction