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"Must-Read" Sci Fi books

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onewheelwizzard:

--- Quote from: Praeserpium Machinarum ---
I also ordered Tom Robbins - Villa Incognito, is that a good place to start?
--- End quote ---


Villa Incognito is actually my least favorite of his.  I mean, it's still quite good indeed, and I expect you'll enjoy it.  But definitely get a different one after you're done with it.  I think you'll be more impressed.

It doesn't really matter what order you read them in, but here's a list of how I'd rank them.

Jitterbug Perfume
Skinny Legs and All
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Still Life With Woodpecker
Another Roadside Attraction
Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates
Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
Villa Incognito

ChaosTriangle:
Recently came across Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom.  The basic concept: set in the 22nd century, Earth now lives under the Bitchun Society.  Technology has made death, labor, and currency obsolete, the closest thing to money being 'Whuffie," which is a measure of how much people admire and respect you.  Most of the book takes place in Disneyland, where the narrator lives.  It's interesting, and better still, available for free.

You can pick it up here, if you're so inclined.

Sixleaf:
I can't believe no one has mentioned Dawn by Octavia E. Butler.  I couldn't get into the rest of the trilogy, but this one is great.  I've heard some of her other books, outside the trilogy, are good, too, but I haven't read them.

Also, someone mentioned Vonnegut, and someone said "he's not sci-fi."
The Sirens of Titan is very sci-fi, and very very good.  Cat's Cradle has some sci-fi elements, too.  It probably depends on the book.

Someone else mentioned Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.  More fantasy than sci-fi, but very good!  These books changed my life.

mot83:
I would recomend The Forever War by Joe Halderman its best described as Starship Troopers meets catch 22. I havent read any of his other books though.

Dr. ROFLPWN:
I second the nomination of Cat's Cradle as sci-fi. It's got even more elements of the stuff than Slaughterhouse-Five, which kind of was even though it didn't want to be.

Now, for unmentioned ones:

Armor, by John Steakley: This is what Starship Troopers would be if instead of focusing on the political, it looked at one person and the effects of a future war on his poor little mind. It also has a wonderful plot arc that seems to go all over the place but, in reality, is neatly connected.

The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle: Humanity's first contact with really alien aliens. With lots of very realistic politics and double-dealing. Dialogue isn't the best, but that does not detract from the overall quality.

First Contract, by Greg Costikyan: If aliens were to integrate Earth into the galactic economy...well, this might occur. Wildly amusing, and just as interesting to read.

Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan: The definitive cyberpunk novel of the 21st century. No, really. This guy gives Gibson the run of his life for his accumulated moneys. He manages to make a novel where people who die can just be resurrected thrilling and attention-grabbing.

Agreed on Reynolds, Gibson, Herbert, etc...though I have mad beef with Arthur C. Clarke. I also do not like Dan Simmons. He wrote a wonderful story of interlocking tales and then at the end he hit it with a hammer marked PERSONAL POLITICS. And that made me very sad. Then he went insane and made the Saga of the Evil Catholic Church #392.

...and the Space Trilogy. Oh, I remember those. I read the end of That Hideous Strength and I wanted to find that dead man and light him on fire. And then light the ashes on fire. And so on.

For a dead man I actually like, however...plenty of people have referenced "-ian" things of his, but Howard Phillips Lovecraft is a sci-fi author indeed, good sirs/madams, and one of some repute in my book.

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