# Help me build a classic science fiction reading list! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986 "2017-07-11T06:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/101 "2017-07-17T22:02:47Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Check these images of the various covers. They all say “A Novel.” In publishing a novel is not science fiction; it’s a literary work. In the case of “Contact,” “A Novel” may merely be distinguishing “Contact” from the works that Sagan was better known for (non-fiction). The starscape on the cover certainly hinted at its SF nature. A better example might be John Fowles “A Maggot” - it’s an SF novel of a sort, but you’d never know it from the cover. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/102 "2017-07-17T22:15:35Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > In the case of “Contact,” “A Novel” may merely be distinguishing “Contact” from the works that Sagan was better known for (non-fiction). The starscape on the cover certainly hinted at its SF nature. That doesn’t explain the thousands of examples on books from people who were not scientists. > [@](#): > > A better example might be John Fowles “A Maggot” - it’s an SF novel of a sort, but you’d never know it from the cover. Of course not. John Fowles write good. He no genre maggot. As I said earlier, [slipstream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slipstream_(genre)). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/103 "2017-07-17T22:48:04Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > That doesn’t explain the thousands of examples on books from people who were not scientists. Fair enough. I checked a few other likely cases (“Riddley Walker,” “The Marriage of Zones 4 and 5” “The Children of Men”) and while none of the first edition covers showed any indication of being science fiction, none of them were labelled “A Novel” either (they weren’t labelled as anything at all (which does look pretty “literary” to my eyes - much like the cover of “Rabbit, Run” ). Herbert’s “The White Plague” was labelled “A Novel by the Author of Dune.” As you implied “Player Piano” just said “A Novel”. Interestingly, Iain Banks SF novels started out being labelled “A Science Fiction novel” but eventually became “A Culture Novel” (or “The New Culture Novel”) > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Of course not. John Fowles write good. He no genre maggot. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/104 "2017-07-17T23:54:14Z")
Actually, come to think of it, I _am_ in the category of people the “a novel” designation is for. I’m a librarian. An amateur one, but still a librarian. And when books come into my library, I need to know the right shelf to put them on. When I see “A novel” on the cover (or any variant of the same), I know right away that it goes in the “fiction” section. When it doesn’t say anything at all, sometimes it takes quite a while to figure it out. As it happens, I do have a separate “science fiction” section, separated out from the rest of the fiction, but that’s mostly just because it’s me organizing the library, and I like to showcase science fiction. And I put books into that category based on what they actually are, based on my knowledge. I think we might currently have a copy of _Contact_, in fact, and if we do, that’s where it is. I also have separate sections for mysteries, thrillers, and romance, just because we have so many of each of those that it makes sense to separate them out. There, I’m not always so sure (being less familiar with those genres), and often have to read through the dust-jacket blurb to figure them out, and occasionally notice that a book that’s been in general fiction for a year should actually be in one of those genres. Of course, sometimes the publishers make it easy there, too, and put the genre on the spine, or say something like “A new thriller from the author of…”, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Blurt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Blurt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blurt)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/105 "2017-07-19T13:46:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Blurt** , I beg of you: Please do not make _Stranger in a Strange Land_ the sole Heinlein on your list. List another Heinlein instead, or list it together with another one, but don’t make it the only one. There are already too many people who read it as their first exposure to Heinlein, and get the wrong impression of his work as a whole. 😛 Your begging has touched me, Chronos. _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_, then. This being said, if there exist people out there who expect to form an opinion of an author’s corpus based on the reading of a single book, well, may they have no mouth when they need to scream. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/106 "2017-07-19T14:15:39Z")
_Contact, Limitless_ and _Patriot Games_ are three of the very few movies that I think are actually better than the books they’re based on. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/107 "2017-07-19T18:16:12Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Contact, Limitless_ and _Patriot Games_ are three of the very few movies that I think are actually better than the books they’re based on. Plus “Bladerunner” ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/108 "2017-07-20T00:01:30Z")
Continuing the highjack… Goldfinger and Last of the Mohicans. Vastly better than the books. Also Barry Lyndon. The movie has a lot of faults…but the book is worse. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/109 "2017-07-20T01:08:52Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > Plus “Bladerunner” Agreed. Good one. > [@Trinopus](#): > > Continuing the highjack… Goldfinger and Last of the Mohicans. Vastly better than the books. > > Also Barry Lyndon. The movie has a lot of faults…but the book is worse. Haven’t read the books, but I’ve seen all three movies, and what I’ve heard, you’re probably right. ---
**Author:** ![danhanegan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb9ed0/32.png) [@danhanegan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danhanegan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/110 "2017-07-23T13:24:49Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > _Dangerous Visions_, edited by Harlan Ellison. > > And you need something by E.E. Smith, either _Skylark of Space_, the first of the _Skylark_ series or _Galactic Patrol_, which is from the _Lensman_ series. > > Regards, > Shodan Beat me to it. There’s a reason Doc Smith is referred to as the father of space opera. If you’re on a budget, Skylark of Space is out of copyright and available free on Gutenberg. Reading both Skylark and Lensman is an interesting exercise in seeing how the genre and Smith’s writing evolved. ---
**Author:** ![BuckChongo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@BuckChongo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckChongo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/111 "2017-07-24T01:35:33Z")
Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Like all of his work the writing can be terrible at times and the science way off, but the story and characters are very engaging and if you read it on the john you can make it last through a long winter. Lords Of The Psychon by Daniel Galouye. Perhaps unintentionally the story embodies a lot of the crazy Buddhist teaching of Padmasambhava, there is an apocalyptic war, an alien invasion, and the Earth is about to be ripped out of our universe. What to do? 1st, one must tame the subconscious… Hard to find, usually a few copies floating around Amazon, it would make a killer movie. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/112 "2017-07-24T02:20:25Z")
> [@BuckChongo](#): > > Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Like all of his work the writing can be terrible at times and the science way off, but the story and characters are very engaging and if you read it on the john you can make it last through a long winter. > Lords Of The Psychon by Daniel Galouye. Perhaps unintentionally the story embodies a lot of the crazy Buddhist teaching of Padmasambhava, there is an apocalyptic war, an alien invasion, and the Earth is about to be ripped out of our universe. What to do? 1st, one must tame the subconscious… > Hard to find, usually a few copies floating around Amazon, it would make a killer movie. Yeah, just…no. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/113 "2017-07-24T02:44:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _Contact, Limitless_ and _Patriot Games_ are three of the very few movies that I think are actually better than the books they’re based on. Try reading _The Godfather_ some time. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/114 "2017-07-24T04:35:34Z")
Or :“The Devil’s Advocate”. > **[The Devil's Advocate](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248760.The_Devil_s_Advocate)** > > DEFENDER OF THE DAMNED... When Kevin Taylor joins the M… ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/115 "2017-07-24T07:02:38Z")
> [@Blurt](#): > > 😛 > > Your begging has touched me, Chronos. > > _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_, then. > > 😃 You are wise in the ways of Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/116 "2017-07-24T14:25:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **BuckChongo** : > > Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard. Like all of his work the writing can be terrible at times and the science way off, but the story and characters are very engaging and if you read it on the john you can make it last through a long winter. I suppose that it would make an adequate replacement for the venerable Sears Roebuck catalog. Thank you; you’ve expanded my list of good uses for that book to one. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/117 "2017-07-24T15:33:27Z")
I read Hubbard’s _Mission Earth_ the same way I read _Fifty Shades of Gray_. I picked up a copy in a bookstore, read a random page, and laughed so hard that I still have nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/118 "2017-07-24T15:54:53Z")
I wouldn’t put these in a top 12 or 15 classic SF books to read list, but since everyone is mentioning everything anyway, I’m gonna toss in the Sector General books by James White. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/119 "2017-07-24T16:45:33Z")
Harrison Bergeron. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/120 "2017-07-24T23:13:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [This](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks) may make a good guide. A lot of Philip K Dick on it last I checked, but it checked out ok here last I asked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986.md?page=7)