Top Quality Science Fiction

[Mr.lucifer]

Could you guys reccomend me some top quality sci-fi novels?

[Drkshadow03]

Could you guys reccomend me some top quality sci-fi novels?

You couldn't go wrong by starting with the Sci-fi masterworks collection.

[dfloyd]

the novels of HG Wells and Jules Verne. For modern, Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury. There are other modern, but since I am not a big fan of this genre, I'll let others recommend.

[TheFifthElement]

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's The Mote in God's Eye is pretty good. Philip K Dick is also good and Isaac Asimov's robot novels are good too. Then there's Frank Herbert's Dune which is sci-fi/fantasy, and my husband always enjoyed the Riverworld series but I couldn't take to it. It starts with To My Scattered Bodies Go.

[Night_Lamp]

A must-read sci/fi is William Gibson's Neuromancer. This the novel that invented cyber-punk (like Bladerunner) and Gibson also was the first to use the term 'cyberspace'. An amazing classic.

[aliengirl]

You may check out Arthur Clarke's works if you are really interested in top quality sci-fi. His 'The Last Theorem' is among my favorites. 'A Fall of Moondust' is also great.

[Nikhar]

Thanks for reminding me about neuromancer. I wanted to read it for so long. I guess I'll be reading neuromancer before the funny ones.

[The Book]

Im reading Dune By Frank Herbert right now.....

[milktea]

I wasn't a fan of science fiction until I took an SF course at uni. These works were phenomenal and changed my opinion entirely of genre. We were required to read what my prof termed 'hard SF' which requires 'science' to be the driving element of the story as opposed to a story set in 'space' or perfunctorily in 'the future' which my professor termed as 'sci-fi', 'space opera', and 'science fiction fantasy'

Here are some of the books which I read which made me a fan of SF.

Hard SF (favorites of the course)
He, She, and It by Marge Piercy
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
R.U.R. by Karl Capek
Nightfall by Isaac Aismov
No Woman Born by C. L. Moore

There was also a short story I read about how murders could be recreated by sound wave impressions left in walls or something along that line and a murderer who if I can recall tries to figure out how to outsmart this technology while repeatedly flashing back to the times when as a child he was abused by his Christian zealot of a mother (she would lock him a closet with a picture of 'eye of god' tacked in the small space to watch him). It was an amazing psychological thriller and powerful short story. If anyone here knows it, hopefully they will recommend the author and the title.

General Science Fiction/Sci-Fi (not in my course but I enjoyed these works well enough)
Dune by Frank Herbert
Stranger in a Strangeland by Robert Heinlein
random Philip K. Dick short stories (can't list off hand as I don't care for a lot of works)
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

[Modest Proposal]

A must-read sci/fi is William Gibson's Neuromancer. This the novel that invented cyber-punk (like Bladerunner) and Gibson also was the first to use the term 'cyberspace'. An amazing classic.

A few quick notes, just because I've been doing some work in SF...

Neuromancer, while brilliant, is not the first cyber punk novel. The distinction usually is credited to 'Shock Wave Rider' or 'True Names'.

Also Bladerunner preceeds Gibson's work and is not considered cyber punk.

[Mr.lucifer]

You guys do know that henlein is known for his mary sues?

[OrphanPip]

Heinlein used to like to engage in openly inserting himself into his novels, especially in his later career. I think he even has a novel where he used his own name.

I would take the root of looking at the sci-fi canon.

Begin with Proto Sci-Fi
Wells, Verne, Hawthorne's "The Birthmark"

Move onto Golden Age
Bradbury - Martian Chronicles (Fahrenheit is overrated)
Heinlein - "All You Zombies" and Stranger in a Strange Land
Arthur C. Clarke - "The Nine Billion Names of God"
Isaac Asimov
Theodore Sturgeon

Second Wave
Ursala K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness
Harlan Elisson

Cyberpunk
Gibson's Neuromancer didn't create cyberpunk, but did popularize it.
Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash is considered to be post-cyberpunk.

Then there's the contemporary stuff that I'm not really familiar with.

I've never really been into the whole world-building space opera things, so my little list is very narrow.

Edit: I'm going to add some just random titles.

Card's Ender Game is a fun story for young people who grew up in the age of video games, though I'm not always fond of Card and hate all of his other stuff.

Dan Simmons - Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion
The first two are a sci-fi take on the Canterbury tales, with a group of people from various planets and walks of life are on a pilgrimage and each tells their story. The other two are just OK adventure stories.

Gene Wolfe's New Sun books are an interesting Sci-fi/fantasy mix.

China Mieville's "Steam Punk" novels are kind of fun too, mixing fantasy with sci-fi again.

That's all I've got for now.

[Night_Lamp]

Okay, I stand corrected; I alway forget how old the Dick novel is. I would still classify it as cyberpunk in my opinion- but my sci/fi knowledge is very limited. The other term associated often with Gibson is : 'Urban Noir'.

Has anyone read the crazy 'Steam-punk' novel? Something engine... I'd be interested in hearing their thoughts on it.

[OrphanPip]

I've read Mieville's three steam punk novels: Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council.

I haven't read the Difference Engine by Gibson, not enough time in the world. The volume of sci fi that gets published is frustrating.

[Kotetsu1442]

You guys do know that henlein is known for his mary sues?

Its definitely fair to say that he did have plenty Mary Sues in his works, and in my opinion was almost obsessed with lauding the 'benefits' free sex would have on society, but that by no means proves that he isn't a good author and I would say it is only among those that dislike him that that is what he is 'known for.' What he is being among the first "Big Three" to write sci-fi that was popular among a mainstream audience, exploring and challenging controversial social, political and religious issues, and setting strong and inventive standards for scientific plausibility (as opposed to taking something that is essentially fantasy and saying "then there was a device that could do this fictional thing, but with vague and often contradictory methods of operating."

Along with the aforementioned 'Stranger in a Strange Land', I would say that 'The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,' 'Friday,' and 'The Number of the Beast' are all must-reads for sci-fi fans.

Additionally, any of Heinlein's juveniles are great as stand-alone quick reads that are still highly imaginative in setting and quite thought provoking in ideology (I would say that 'Tunnel in the Sky' is a sci-fi equivalent to 'Lord of the Flies' for any fans of it).

Other recommendations:

'2001: A Space Odyssey' has always been among my favorite sci-fi books and movies.

You really can't go wrong with Asimov, but specifically my favorite of his is the original Foundation trilogy. Also, Asimov's original Robot series (before it blended with his other writings to make up his larger fictional universe) makes for a really interesting blend of sci-fi and mystery.

Piers Anthony does a great job of blending sci-fi and fantasy settings in general, but for one that leans much more to the sci-fi side the "Bio of a Space Tyrant" series is some of the best in modern sci-fi.

Orson Scott Card also has very few duds in my book (though yes OrphanPip I do agree that some of his stuff isn't worth the time), but if you're looking for 'must-reads' go for 'Ender's Game' and the novels that follow it.