The well read SF/F fan
Posted June 25, 2011
on:Which I’m not.
Well, not yet, at any rate*.
If you’ve been following the big guys on Twitter, you’ve probably seen this link to NPR’s article about their work-in-progress “100 best SF/F titles ever written list”. Nominations are closed, but that is just the first in this series of articles. Recently, Patrick Rothfuss hopped on the bandwagon as well of discussing SF/F books that a fan new to the genre should seek out. I highly suggest checking out the NPR article and Rothfuss’s blog, but beware, you’ll be kissing your afternoon goodbye, as there is pages upon glorious pages of comments to read.
Now it’s our turn. What books would you recommend to someone who is just getting into scifi, fantasy, epic fantasy, sci-fantasy, etc? What do you consider “must reads” for any SF/F who wants to become more well read in the genre?
here is a small handful of my most recommended SF/F for new fans. These are at/near the top of my list for a very simple reason: they made me want to read more SF/F. Because of these books, I fell in love with the genre over and over and over again.
Last Call, by Tim Powers
The Scar, by China Mieville
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Sideshow, by Sheri S Tepper
Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson
Yes, I know, the comments this post may generate is going to make my “books I want to read” list explode, again. The timing is not good for that. But I like torturing myself. Even better, my favorite part of the blogosphere is the opportunity to share information just like this, and it’s always fun to have those “you love Tim Powers? I love Tim Powers too!!!” or the “You love Dune but don’t care for the prequels? omg, me too!” conversations.
*btw, I consider myself a decently well read SF/F fan. There are a handful of favorite authors whose discographies I’ve read extensively. There is a much, much larger list of authors I’ve never read, and in some cases, never heard of.
28 Responses to "The well read SF/F fan"
One thing I’ve noticed, with so many new titles hitting the bookshops, new-comers to sf rarely seem have the time to read what were previously must-reads. Sad state of affairs.
OK. Suggestions:
Neuromancer – William Gibson
A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller
The Chrysalids – John Wyndham
The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula LeGuin
Doomsday Book – Connie Willis.
Got lots more if you need them.
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Of the books you list I’ve actually only read one, which is Dune.
For those new to Scifi I think Gateway by Frederick Pohl is a great place to start as well as Bujold’s Miles series and, of course, The Ender Games books. But that’s probably because I don’t enjoy the hard scifi.
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I would not yet consider myself “well read” in SFF, but I’m certainly better read over this last decade then I was. Over the last 10-12 years I’ve read a bunch of Heinlein and Asimov, read Pohl, Niven, Bester, Clarke, Tolkien, Burroughs, Howard, Cordwainer Smith, Poul Anderson, Vance, Card among others. And thanks to John Scalzi I’ve spent the last several years reading more contemporary stuff: Huff, Reynolds, Ian McDonald, Vandermeer, Wolfe, Greg Bear.
Plus I’ve spent time with ol’ favorites: Harry Harrison, Brian Daley, Patricia A. McKillip.
I’ll take a stab at answering both questions. And before I do, let me say right now: I’m sorry. 😉
I’ll start with the
MUST READS in SFF:
1. Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination
2. Robert A. Heinlein: The Puppet Masters
3. Isaac Asimov: Foundation Trilogy
4. John Scalzi: Old Man’s War series
5. Harry Harrison: Deathworld (first book)
6. Larry Niven: A World Out of Time
7. Gene Wolfe: The Knight and The Wizard (2 books)
8. Yevgeny Zamyatin: We
9. Steven Millhauser: Enchanted Night
10. Fritz Leiber: Lankhmar Book 1: Swords & Deviltry
MUST READ SFF short story collections/Anthologies:
1. Robert A. Heinlein: The Green Hills of Earth
2. Cordwainer Smith: Space Lords
3. Isaac Asimov: I, Robot
4. Robert E. Howard: The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian
5. Ian McDonald: Cyberabad Days
6. Peter S. Beagle: Sleight of Hand
7. Robert Sheckley: The Masque of Manana
8. James P. Blaylock: Thirteen Phantasms and Other Stories
What I would give to new people wanting to get into SFF. Please keep in mind that these are all MUST READS in my opinion as well and with perhaps only one exception I tried to keep these lists from having repeats:
Fantasy/Fairy Tale:
1. Neil Gaiman: Stardust
2. Neil Gaiman: Neverwhere
3. Terri Windling: The Wood Wife
4. Widdershins: Charles de Lint
5. Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind
6. The Sword-edged Blonde: Alex Bledsoe
7. The Alchemy of Stone: Ekaterina Sedia
Science Fiction:
1. John Scalzi: Old Man’s War
2. John Scalzi: Fuzzy Nation
3. Kristine Kathryn Rusch: Diving into the Wreck
4. Cherie Priest: Boneshaker
5. Paolo Bacigalupi: Ship Breaker
6. Orson Scott Card: Ender’s Game
7. Orson Scott Card: Speaker for the Dead
SFF short story/anthology collections:
1. Susanna Clarke: The Ladies of Grace Adieu
2. Neil Gaiman: Smoke and Mirrors
3. Neil Gaiman: Fragile Things
And just because I can’t stop, here are a few I would recommend to starters who like a more challenging read:
1. Alastair Reynolds: Chasm City
2. Jeff Vandermeer: Finch
3. Jeff Vandermeer: The Third Bear and Other Stories
4. Patricia A. McKillip: Ombria in Shadow
5. Haruki Murakami: Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
6. Liz Williams: The Snake Agent
I can’t imagine I’ll be able to stop here, but I’ll try for now. 🙂
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Well, that’s the great thing! A long reading list just gives you the more (very frequently enjoyable) experiences to get through. 😛 And I even avoided an inevitable pun… Gosh, I’m proud.
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I’m not the best read SF/F fan either, but I would definitely say Dune is a classic and just a fantastic read (the original six anyway) and I would also recommend Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land because it’s a cult classic. I read Foundation, but it was a little too bare-bones for me, I wouldn’t recommend it to adults.
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[…] the meantime, I was made aware of this list because of this post from Little Red Reviewer regarding the well read SFF fan. In it she posits a couple of questions that will stir the […]
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Childhood’s End
I, Robot
Martian Chronicles
The Hobbit
Original Conan stories
Dune
Dangerous Visions
Left Hand of Darkness
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
The Forever War
Neuromancer
MirrorShades
Valis
Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser Book 1
At the Mountains of madness
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Looked over list and remembered a few more:
The Time Machine
Dracula
A Mote in God’s Eye
After they get the foundations under their belt, then I’d introduce them to more modern masters like Shepard, Wolfe, Powers, Mieville, etc.
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I”m not going to put any recommendations up as such, but say that I encountered a similar thing a while back. I bought this book called: 100 Must Read Fantasy Novels. I considered myself relatively well read in the field and was horrified to discover I’d only read a 3rd of the listed works. I decided to read the entire 100 (including the ones I’d already read) and blog them along with the other stuff I was reading. I’m up to ‘F’, I’m a little stalled a present trying to whitle down the ever growing TBR pile before it eats the house. It’s fun exercise to try, though.
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1 | Jacob @ Drying Ink
June 25, 2011 at 12:44 pm
There are so many series I could recommend, but just for myself: Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay. It’s a beautiful novel, sacrifices have to be made, and we’re sympathising with both sides in the conflict – it’s a tragedy done -really- well.
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