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Towards a Canon of Science Fiction Literature

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Christophe Witz

What I'm trying to do here is to provide a list of valuable science fiction books that can be used as a recommendation list for people who don't know anything about it but are interested and willing to read into this suject. And also as a starting point for a heated debate of Sci-Fi geeks, of course.

However, I'll leave out Star Wars and Matrix because that's all to popular already, and also I'm not interested in film and TV series like Star Trek or Battle Star Galactica. (Sorry Corey ;-). Only good ole books. You know, these rectangular things with pages made of paper.

Here goes a subjective list of the most awesome Sci Fi authors of the last century:

Short List (= Hall of Fame)

- Isaac Asimov (1920 - 1992): A russian immigrant to New York, with a strong scientific background. He is most famous for his Robot Stories. He's the inventor of the 'positronic brain' and the 'Three laws of Robotics'. His late 'Foundation' books pretty much sucked, so I'd recommend his short stories about the robotic theme instead.

- Stanislav Lem (1921-2006) Actually the only book I know by Lem is 'Solaris', but that was awesome enough to deserves a place on the list. Don't watch the movie! George Clooney obviously never read the book, neither did the director of this sorry effort.

-Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) Another classic. Heinlein coined the term 'to grok' for the ability to grasp something slowly, but surely (at least that's the meaning that I groked). It's from 'Stranger in a strange land', a true Sci-Fi classic. His best book (by far, some say). I read also 'The second Book Hiob', and it's good, but how can you beat 'Stranger...'? it's just not possible. There's a film adaption of 'Starship Troopers' which is quite fun also.

- Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008) famous for writing the novel '2001- A Space Odyssey', spectacularly adapted to film by Stanley Kubrick. I must admit I never read the book, but it's plain obvious that Clarke belongs on this list. So here he is.

-Frank Herbert (1920-1986) Best known for Dune, a tale about space-faring species who rely on Spice, a special resource that can only be found on the Desert Planet, Arrakis. Without Spice, no Space Travel is possible. Thus, it is crucial for the Guild to have access to an continous reply of Spice. It's impossible to describe the rich background here in a nutshell. Suffice to say that Dune inspired lots of authors and musicians and other people :) Also there was a film adaption featuring Sting from The Police.

- Phillip K. Dick (1928-1982): Best known for the film adaption of his books like 'Blade Runner' or 'Minority Report'. But there is still lots of his books that cannot be viewed on DVD, you have to actually read them. (Exception here). This is amazing stuff, really. Take 'The Man in the High Castle' for example, a story about alternate realities, in which the Japanese & German forces won WW2 and control the world. Also 'Ubik' , in which God speaks to us through TV commercials. And I do hardly dare to mention VALIS.

- William Gibson (1948-) is the father of the 'Cyberspace'. He wrote about the WWW long before it was reality, on a typewriter. Can you believe that? 'Neuromancer' (1984) was the foundation of the 'Cyberpunk' SF subcategory, which some of you RPG nerds might have heard already. He's still publishing books, i.e. the 'Bridge Trilogy' (which was adapted to film as 'Johnny Mnemonic'). One of the craziest inventions (in Idoru, if I recall correctly) is a  genetic mutant who develops an immunity to the AIDS virus and thus becomes the saviour of the gay culture (because he heals everyone he has sex with). I had no time to read his latest output, though, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

Special List: Political Science Fiction

- Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) for 'Brave New World'. In the year 2540 (the year of the Ford 632, Clones have replaced humans. There are different Castes, the Alphas who do the thinking and Epsilons who do the work on the assembly line. Everybody is happy on Eversmile(TM) pills, and there are no problems whatsover. Cough. The title of the novel stems from a Shakespeare quote.

- George Orwell (1903-1950) Anti-Totalitarian at its best. The Adult Cartoon Movie Animal Farm describes the Revolution of the Animals on a peasant's farm. After the humans are gone, the pigs take over the Farm and form a totalitarian regime even worse than the human's. Ah yeah. Animal tales are always a great way to get subversive messages across (see La Fontaine). And then of course 1984 the novel about Big Brother and the insane quality of [deleted for security reasons].

plus: Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 251, B.F. Skinner: Walden 2 (coming soon)

 

Long List: (Authors worth mentioning in the light of the Short List)

- Tad Williams (1957-). He began with Tolkien-like fantasy (The Dragonbone Chair), but has finished a Four-Volume Sc-Fi Saga as well. 'Otherland', as it is called, tells the story of Renie Sulayewo, a South African (black) woman who tries to rescue her brother who fell in a coma while surfing in the Net via a direct plug-in device connected with his brain. (This brain plug-in is quite common at the time in the future. Who needs monitor screens?). A big part of the Saga takes place in the Virtual Cyberspace, with the protagonists plugged in to the Computer, but they also interact in various places in the real world.

- Dan Simmons (1948-) (suggested by Robb Smith) Simmons is best known for the Hyperion Cantos, an epic Space Saga, taking place on several planets. He includes influences from Homer's Illias, Marcel Proust 'A la recherche du temps perdu' and Shakespears 'Storm' and weaves it all into a fascinating, knowledgable Space Narrative.

- Neal Stephenson (1959-) (suggested by Ambo Suno) Like Simmons, he wrote also books in other genres, like Historical novels, but always with the sensitivity of an SF author. With his latest book 'Anathem' he returns to classic Cyberpunk Science Fiction. He draws on the latest scientific and philosophical findings and includes them in his work, all the while going one step beyond them, as should do every good SF writer.

- Charles Stross (1964-) (suggested by me) He is pretty young, but he won a prize in 2006 and so I read his book (Accelerando) and it's promising. Not superbe, yet; but let's wait what he can do. He writes about Time Travel and Singularity. And such. You digg?

- Orson Scott Card (1951-) (suggested by david titterington) Winner of both the Nebula and the Hugo Award. The End's Game Saga takes place in the future of Earth when an insectoid alien race, the Formics, try to conquer the planet. Humankind quickly forms a international Space Ship fleet to enter War with the Formics. The main protagonists find themselves in a Space Ship Pilot School where they are trained to fight and kill. Reminds me a bit of those Manga 'Gundam' settings, but I'd have to actually read it first and not just paste and copy from WIkipedia.

(Something's missing? Something on the list is not justified in your eyes? Post it.)

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And one more...

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Robb Smith

Hey Christophe, nice list.  I have to admit I hated the Other series from Tad Williams and finally gave up on it into the 3rd book.  But Asimov's Foundation series was spectacular, though admittedly I read it when I was a teenager.  I think this list is missing at least one exceptional series:

Dan Simmons - One of my sci-fi favorites, his Hyperion Cantos left me in tears, literally.  One of the best sci-fi novels (actually a series of four novels) I've ever read. Breathtaking.

Robb Smith

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Short List vs. Long List

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Christophe Witz in response to And one more...

Hi Robb,

thanks for your comment.

You hated 'Otherland'? Give me a pause... For real? I mean yes, it's lenghty, long-winded, and the author seems to have difficulties to get to the point, but - hey that's no reason not to read a book, right? ;-)

But yes, I heard from other people that they didn't like the fourth volume and how it all turned out. Too bad. I liked it all the way. At least I know how the story ended. (he he)

And for Asimov's Foundation - yeees it's arguable. IMO the inventiveness per page ratio was pretty low. But I agree that for teens and young adults it might be approriate enough. Anyway, the Robot stories alone qualify Asimov being on the List.

I never heard about Dan Simmons, though. I guess he's less known in Europe. The Wiki article was promising, so I'll have a look at it.

Obviously the preferences of SF Fans vary to a degree; thus, a canon will enable Fans to identify recent hits, and newbies will find it easier to begin with.

But: the problem with both Simmons and Williams is that their work is relatively new, given that the most authors on the List are dead already. And they're still writing, so we cannot ultimately judge their output, can we?

For that very reason, I propose to get both Simmons and Williams on the Long List. (The Short List will contain the other six remaining persons noted above). Yes I know Gibson also still continues writing. But he is another league, you know. Gibson is on the Short List. Already. I can't see how this can be debated.

There are two more writers that I forgot: The political Sci Fi writers Aldous Huxley (Brave New World) and George Orwell (1984). I hold them as candidates for the Short List. Any other opinions?

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Categories and lists

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Kamm in response to Short List vs. Long List

Hi!

I am mulling over the very idea of lists and categorizing this  week:  boundaries and such.

good to step over to  the lighter side,  I like the idea of a literary type of thread. I have not read a lot of Science Fiction, I may have selected poor offerings, for many didn't hold my interest. Neither Dune, or Foundation did   much for me; must have put out my sci-fi fire.

How about Ray Bradbury?  He wrote the Martian Chronicles, and that was a book I went back and read again a few years ago. I  admit, I missed the real important one: Fahrenheit 451, which was, as Bradbury states:  "not about censorship;  Fahrenheit 451 is a story about how television destroys interest in reading literature, which leads to a perception of knowledge as being composed of "factoids", partial information devoid of context, e.g., Napoleon's birth date alone, without an indication of who he was."

Cool? I like commentary on culture... yet, does that have me making boundaries again? 

Thanks C.W.

--

I don't know anything.

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Fahrenheit 451

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Christophe Witz in response to Categories and lists

From Wikipedia:

The novel presents a future American society in which the masses are hedonistic, and critical thought through reading is outlawed. The central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a "fireman" (which, in this future, means "book burner"). The number "451" refers to the temperature (in Fahrenheit) at which the books burn when the "firemen" burn them "for the good of humanity".

~~~

It seems Ray Bradbury fits in the same category as Houxley and Orwell. Boy I already learned a lot since starting the thread! (Example: There is a earlier film version of 'Solaris' done by Andrei Tarkovsky, a praised avant-garde director. I didn't know this! Why did nobody tell me this!?)

I guess I have to revise the whole List. You mention Dune, yes that's another one I missed. What about Kurt Vonnegut? ... How many more do I not see?!!

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Neal Stephenson needs to be on the list!

Posted March 24th, 2009 by Ambo Suno

Anyone read any Neal Stephenson? I'm slowly making my way through Anathem at the moment. It's a slow builder but getting very good. Complex, sophisticated, creative, with stashes of philosophy and science tucked in the alcoves of his writing - alcoves in a futuristic &/or parallel monastery.

The Baroque Trilogy (not quite Sci Fi) is a serious fictional tour of the Europe of major scientific minds during the time of Isaac Newton and Leibnitz. I loved Snow Crash for fun and weirdness. This man can write. His site: http://www.nealstephenson.com/ ambo

Here is one of 179 Amazon customer reviews: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061474096/ref=s9_intb_c2_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=14J4Y7DQM5SSTSAX7NV5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

 

100 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book About Everything., September 15, 2008
By Dmitry Portnoy (Woodland Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

"Is Neal Stephenson a science fiction author? His two earliest novels, "The Big U" and "Zodiac" are contemporary satire; his masterpieces, "Cryptonomicon" and "The Baroque Trilogy" are historical romances. Take away the two Crichtonesque thrillers he collaborated on under the pseudonym "Stephen Bury," and what's left is a pair (could this be a pattern?) of books, "Snow Crash" and "The Diamond Age," that combine the near-future info-tech milieu of 80's cyberpunk with the irony and social consciousness of 60's sf. These two, and only two, indisputably science fiction novels came out back to back within a couple of years of each other in the early 90's.

Now, thirteen years later, we get a third: "Anathem." It is the first time Neal Stephenson returned to a genre. I think it's significant that genre is science fiction. I wanted to know, does he revive the tradition of those previous two works, or has he created something new?

Actually, he has reinvented the wheel. Shockingly, it is a bigger, better wheel. And it's about time.

"Anathem" is a work of Hard SF, meaning that everything that's weird or new in it is a rigorous extrapolation of science, mathematics and philosophy. It's the kind of book Arthur C. Clarke used to write in the 40's and 50's. He wrote about rockets and satellites because scientists were working on rockets and satellites.

Most (I would argue all) recent Hard SF, however, is about "rockets" and "satellites." Science Fiction has become an exclusively literary genre, with books inspired less by new scientific research than by previous science fiction books, and, regrettably, movies. Ideas turn into tropes, and instead of extrapolation, we get variation: of the generation star ship, the space alien, the artificial brain, the parallel universe.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Writers like Ted Chiang and Gene Wolfe write brilliant books by breathing new literary life into these old tropes. But their concerns are ultimately moral. They're not interested in New Ideas About Everything as much as in the problems and choices those ideas pose.

In the last thirty or so years, the only sub-genres of Science Fiction willing to take on new science and technology have been cyberpunk and its cousin ribofunk (addressing respectively info- and bio-tech.) But recently, both these sub-genres have been petering out because, I would argue, real-world progress in both those areas has been both too fast and too gradual: fast enough to make most writing obsolete shortly after, or even before, publication; too gradual to produce anything truly transformative for the long view (we're still waiting for AI, immersive VR, and genetically modified humans.)

(This is probably why Stephenson left the field.)

Well, now he's back with his big fat (wonderful) book, and what he's done is pretty startling, because it's been done before, but not in a very long time. Instead of borrowing tropes from existing science fiction, he started from scratch. He went to the source, to the work of physicists, mathematicians, philosophers, and even French literary theorists, and produced a nineteen-forties-style SF book of Big New Ideas About Everything.

The result feels both fantastic and oddly non-fictional, or non-literary. "Anathem" often reads more like a book by William Gladwell or Douglas Hofstadder, or Jared Diamond. But that's okay. The ideas are real and new, and developed in exciting ways. And Hard SF is supposed to be chunky. (After all, it was Arthur C. Clarke who came up with the idea of the geosynchronous satellite.)

Don't get me wrong: Neal Stephenson can write. And so "Anathem" is also a cool, funny, and exciting read. (Intriguingly, aspects of it greatly resemble Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun" and "Book of the Long Sun" and Ted Chiang's "The Tower of Babel," which could be a case either of convergence or descent. But I don't care.)

And best of all, if Neal Stephenson sticks to his pattern, there's going to be a second one soon."

 

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Included!

Posted March 25th, 2009 by Christophe Witz in response to Neal Stephenson needs to be on the list!

Hi Ambo,

long time no see :-)

Great to hear your suggestion. I updated the List and included Stephenson on the Long List. O my, why do today's SF authors always write more than 1000 pages per volume? Who do they think is gonna read all this stuff? Well apparently, there are still some guys around to take the challenge. ;-)

Hm.. that makes me think... why are there no books by female writers on the list? Am I not seeing them? Or are they hiding away from me?

Hey Anne, do you know any female SF writers? Or are women just not interested in this heady, cold, technological (robotical) Science Fiction Subgenre?

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Good to see you - continuing to incarnate.

Posted March 25th, 2009 by Ambo Suno in response to Included!

'Witz' - it is really good to see you and your comments, and your comings and goings (as, too, I come and go). I don't think I ever congratulated you on finishing your psychology program - cool - maybe, hallefrigginluya, eh. (I hope I have that right that you did finish one.)

I was trying to remember the fantastic Ursula Le Guin so I googled and found this list of women sci-fi writers. Wow; long list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women_writers

I very much enjoyed many of her books, quite a while ago. Stephenson is really quite rare.

See ya, ambo

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friggin'

Posted March 26th, 2009 by Christophe Witz in response to Good to see you - continuing to incarnate.

Ambo,

Yes, actually I finished it. (Phew). Now I'm on the safe side of the sanity street. Thanks for your congrats.

Boy, that's a loong list of female writers. But only very few of them are into SF; as is indeed Ursula Le Guin, I'll check her out.

@Anne: I know about Mary Shelley, she is definitely a milestone, but not really SF. It's more like a Horror or Fantasy Story. Just like Joanne K. Rowling or Cornelia Funke. And there are no Robots in women's SF stories; most of them seem to write books for children, while my Short List above seems to aim at teens and young adults. That's kinda interesting, no? 'cause every baby needs Mommy at first, and only years later Daddy becomes important (if so at all). Fantasy seems to be about myth and magic, while Science Fiction is more about Orange and beyond.

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Ender's Game

Posted March 27th, 2009 by david titterington

Anyone? --