At Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowan posted his ten favorite science fiction novels. A very interesting list that includes some of my favorites. I have read 9 out of those top ten. (I have not read the highly rated The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin, of which I have only heard rave reviews. I hope to read it soon).
I doubt that I will ever be able to read all Science Fiction that I would like to read. But, the list made me think of what my favorites would be. For the list, I am considering books I have loved reading when I read them (some in early-teens), and books that I have continued to come back to and enjoy, with no illusions about critical literary value. I also did not consider books that I think are primarily in fantasy genre.
Here are my dozen (sorry!) favorites in no particular order, with very short accompanying notes.
- The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. For its truly breathless beginning, and psychedelic ending. Count of Monte Cristo in Space.
- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. The best alien invasion book. (Wyndham’s The Midwich Cuckoos is not far behind in its foreboding sense of impending nightmare).
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. See more on Le Guin on my blog. Lyricism in Science Fiction.
- Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Deep mystery of space exploration brought alive.
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein. Ruggedness of the Wild West, libertarian hope, and sense of joy.
- Ringworld by Larry Niven. Best “hard” Science Fiction. Physics of world-building, and the luckiest Teela Brown.
- A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller Jr. Nothing is cool and all Tech is ephemeral.
- Dune by Frank Herbert. A beautiful and contemplative blending of religion, culture, and science.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Humor in space. Vogon Poetry, Depressed Robots, Dolphins, and Being Drunk. And thanks for all the fish!
- Gateway by Frederick Pohl. A brilliant exploration of memories, and the angst of the past.
- Neuromancer by William Gibson. The book that birthed Cyberpunk and the Sprawl, where I now live.
- Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. First meeting with an alien is truly beyond our imagination.
Notes:
I left Fantasy (and short stories) out. Perhaps, for a future (rainy) day on the blog.
The list has only one woman writer, Le Guin. I suppose this is also a function of reading many of these books when I was younger. However, Le Guin is a better writer than the rest of the authors on the list.
In recent years, reading Science Fiction has taken a backseat, giving way to research work and reading papers. Recently, I have enjoyed the works of Lois McMaster Bujold and Anne McCaffrey, which I consider more in a fantasy vein.
The Last Book I did not add (13):
Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. Loved the Mule, more than Harry Seldon. I would skip the latter Foundation novels where Asimov tries to enmesh all his works into the same “universe”. The main reason that made me take Foundation off of the list, was the fact that I enjoyed Asimov’s short stories, and his “I, Robot” significantly more. Asimov’s exploration of the three laws of robotics, and the world of robot-human interactions was prescient, impactful, and delightful. Those ideas still influence my thoughts about AI research and the future of work. Asimov was also a much better writer of non-fiction, which he wrote at a prodigious pace of output.
What SF Books almost made the list?
- Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Player of Games by Iain Banks (which is now being made into a series by Amazon),
- Heliconia Series by Brian Aldiss
- Star Tide Rising by David Brin
- The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick.
- Forever War by Joe Haldeman
- Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
- A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
- Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (A much better book than Ender’s Game, which is terribly over-rated).
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons (interesting, but I think belongs in Fantasy).
- The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut.
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