# 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:** 5\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/121 "2017-07-24T23:35:50Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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. As a shout-out, that’s a good one. Very fine books, thoughtful and morally gentle. “Good” books in more than one sense. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/122 "2017-07-25T01:11:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > 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. > [@Trinopus](#): > > As a shout-out, that’s a good one. Very fine books, thoughtful and morally gentle. “Good” books in more than one sense. Never heard of these before. Do they have to be read in order? ---
**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 25, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/123 "2017-07-25T01:49:59Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Never heard of these before. Do they have to be read in order? They are each more or less stand-alone, but there are mild character arcs–for instance, one if the last books is about one if the main characters going into retirement. Looks like you can get them pretty cheap as ebooks [in Omnibus editions](https://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Operations-Sector-General-James-ebook/dp/B004ULPL86)- 3 or so novels at a time for eight bucks. (Might be some of the dead tree omnibuses for a penny plus shipping, I didn’t check.) ---
**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 25, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/124 "2017-07-25T01:54:46Z")
[Here](http://www.tor.com/2016/05/05/lonely-hospital-at-the-edge-of-space-a-return-to-sector-general/) is a good article on the series. (I have one or two of those hardback omnibuses–the rest in vintage paperbacks. And all as ebooks from–um–years before official versions were available.) ---
**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 25, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986/125 "2017-07-25T02:20:20Z")
I have all the omnibus editions and recommend them highly! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-build-a-classic-science-fiction-reading-list/790986.md?page=6)