Ok ok, I might not get a lot of support with this list, but SciFi is actually what turned me into an avid reader…now it’s not just SciFi but also non fiction (gasp!). So the list below is somewhat the path I followed, with some mods
Ready Player One
Project Hail Mary
Murderbot
Bobiverse
Pandora’s Star
The list starts off with some quick, punchy brain candy then graduates into big ol’ operas :-)
Pandora’s Star really is just part one of a two part book. That said, there’s a chapter in there where MLM is introduced that, if read alone without any context, might be the single best chapter ever written in sci fi. If that doesn’t hook a reader, I don’t know what will.
Agreed, that intro to MLM is pretty epic. I also found the prologue to the first book super memorable…basically an intro to the gateways. The whole series is around 7 books, but I had a tough time with the few Judas books. A friend and I were reading them at the same time, and he just skipped all Judas chapters, hehe.
Project Hail Mary is so good! It’s a great example of sci fi that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but has a lot of actual science involved. I was just getting the itch to re-read it the other day!
Imagine I could only choose 5 sci fi books for a brand new sci fi reader – what would they be?
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
That should be a nice cross section, though I completely ignored cyberpunk, near future apocalyptic (unless you include Hitchhiker’s Guide!), alternate history, and a few others!
Oooh, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a good choice, even though the tech now feels anachronistic (except Mike). I used to put it in my starter pack too.
The Martian is an excellent starter kit choice – extremely approachable while still being largely representative of what sci fi can be! Nice!
Tangent: I originally read The Martian while weathering a summer windstorm in the high arctic. My tent was threatening to blow away, bouncing down the tundra with me and all our supplies. It really added to the experience :)
I took a bit of a time off from reading so when I started again this is what I gleaned as recommendations from the other printsf:
Three body problem - Liu Cixin Bobiverse - Dennis Taylor Daemon - Daniel Suarez Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds
Honorable mention: Blindsight - Peter Watts
If I were to go with a mix of old and new: Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson I, Robot - Issac Asimov Dune - Frank Herbert
Sphere is a wonderful choice. I read it as a teenager and it was one of my first non-StarTrek sci fi novels. Picked it up at a truck stop on a road trip and read it in the passenger seat haha
I’m not the most prolific reader, and pretty new to sci-fi books in general, but I came here to mention The Book of the New Sun (mentioned in another comments as Shadow and Claw, the first half of the series), as well as Dune. Both these books really drew me in with their world building.
In that case, I recommend CJ Cherryh (maybe start with Downbelow Station) as she is one of the master worldbuilders. And given your selections, I’d specifically also recommend Hyperion (and Fall of Hyperion); Gnomon by Harkaway; and Anathem by Stephenson.
Oh hi Troy, what an interesting question. Over the years I’ve had a lot of thoughts about this and think the optimal set of books should be both highly approachable, but also cover a wide varieties of genres. Such that the prospective newbie can sample a bunch of different things and tell you what they liked best. Thus forming a nice basis for additional recommendations. To that effect, here’s my current list.
(1) Ender’s Game (it’s a very approachable read with a good payoff and a lot of nice concepts)
(2) The Left Hand of Darkness (largely to show that sci fi can be beautiful and contemplative, and by placing these ideas in a sci fi setting, you can abstract from all the baggage of modern politics)
(3) Snow Crash (yes, it’s ridiculous, but it’s also super fun and somewhat pop-culturey and scratches the cyberpunk itch - it’s also the only earth-only book on the list)
(4) Hyperion and Fall of Hyperon (because it touches on so many ideas and genres, one can ask “what was your favourite part” and it’ll form the basis for so many other recommendations)
(5) The Player of Games (need something optimistic to balance some of the others - but also something where the tech level is indistinguishable from magic)
That’s a great list. With the exception of Iain Banks. I have bounced off every book by him I’ve tried. Really should make another effort at Player of Games.
Hyperion was actually one of the very first scifi books I read, and I almost regret it. It’s absolutely brilliant, but because I had no frame of reference, nothing to compare it to, so I didn’t appreciate it at the time. I’m waiting until my memory fades so I can reread it :-)
Snow Crash…ok you’ve got me interested… Adding it to the list
When reading it, remind yourself that it was conceived in the late 80s, so the tech is simultaneously amazingly well predicted, but also completely off the mark at times. I re-read it last year and I think it still holds up. Enjoy!
Oh wow, Gene Wolfe for a new reader – maybe if they are the type that thinks sci fi is lasers and blue babes and needs to be shown that some sci fi can be serious business, haha! What would you recommend as the followup, aside from more Gene Wolfe, if they said that was their favourite? I might select Anathem and Gnomon.
Oh yea I was kinda blanking on Stephenson. There’s a lot to choose from. Anathem is a masterpiece, I guess I’d swap Wolfe out for that. Maybe Fall as well.
And I guess I didn’t really think of “first time sci-fi reader”. I would have to throw Silo on there.
Oddly enough, the Mule drove me mad. I don’t like this old notion that “we only use 10% of our brain – imagine what we could do if we unlocked the other 90%” that was prevalent in sci fi of the era. So if you gave Foundation and Empire to me in your starter kit, and I reviewed it thus, what would you recommend as a followup knowing that I enjoyed it, but didn’t like the psychic (telepathic) elements?
Add comment