# Recommend a sci-fi book for a female non sci-fi fan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688 "2010-05-07T22:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/41 "2010-05-08T12:27:53Z")
I think that Sheri S. Tepper is really quite the feminist’s writer. Personally, I have to re-read _The Gate to Women’s Country_ every now and then, but I know that many SF readers don’t like Tepper’s message. _Time Enough for Love_ really should not be given to someone who hasn’t read a lot of Heinlein before. However, _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ might be more accessible to a novice SF reader. John Scalzi is my newest favorite author. I think that _Old Man’s War_ or _The Android’s Dream_ would be great for her. Spaceships, aliens, and deathrays in War, and a very odd, but hilarious weapon in Dream. On the fantasy side, give her Barbara Hambly’s _Dragonsbane_. Magic, dragons, and an Evil Sorceress, as well as a Good Sorceress. ---
**Author:** ![snowmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@snowmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowmaster)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/42 "2010-05-08T13:45:02Z")
Agree, definitely Robert Heinlein’s Friday. Sci-Fi meets Harlequin Romance. Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, then sequels. Perhaps the most accessible sci-fi ever written. Also, Ken Grimwood’s Replay. Sc-fi in an only sort-of kind of way, and one of the most compelling stories I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/43 "2010-05-08T13:54:19Z")
_In the Garden of Iden_, by Kage Baker. Cyborgs and time travel and Bloody Mary! _Spin_, by Robert Charles Wilson. _Shards of Honor_, by Lois McMaster Bujold I’m female and not a huge reader of SF, and these are the books I’d suggest. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/44 "2010-05-08T13:54:58Z")
My opinion is that you don’t want to throw a reader trying SF for the first time into the deep end of the pool. Those of use who are familiar with the genre can accept a lot of the common SF ideas without a problem but a first-timer might get overwhelmed by it all. So I wouldn’t recommend anything set in some radically different far future or alien background - stick with something set in the near future where there’s a lot of similarities to our world. I’d also avoid a lot of the classics. Those of us who are into SF can overlook the clinkers in them but let’s face facts - books written in the forties, fifties, and sixties are going to have some parts that are going to be off to a modern reader. Stick with something that was written recently enough that the author won’t seem dated. Avoid anything that’s part of a series. Nobody wants to be introduced to a new genre by being told they should read this one great book - but to really appreciate it, they need to read the four books that came before it in the series to explain who the characters are and then read the three books that came after it that wrap up the loose ends. And finally, target your audience. A person who reads Tom Clancy might enjoy S.M. Stirling. A person who reads Heather Graham might enjoy Lois McMaster Bujold. A person who reads Umberto Eco might enjoy Gene Wolfe. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/45 "2010-05-08T14:00:07Z")
What about Neal Stephenson’s [Snowcrash](http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/neal-stephenson/snow-crash.htm)? I remember a couple of friends who aren’t into science fiction enjoyed it… ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/46 "2010-05-08T14:44:29Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > _Shards of Honor_, by Lois McMaster Bujold Look, this is the right answer for a female non-sf reader. Some of the suggestions a kinda far out–c’mon, _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_? That is crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/47 "2010-05-08T15:03:03Z")
Larry Niven. Ringworld. Easy, fun, imaginative. And given that she enjoys historical fiction, Farmer’s Riverworld series might be fun for her. And Andre Norton has hooked a lot of women on SF. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/48 "2010-05-08T15:21:27Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > As a female SF ex-fan who’s mostly moved on to other stuff, I’d strongly concur with _Ender’s Game_, anything by McMaster Bujold, _Left Hand of Darkness_,_The Disposessed_ and _The Sparrow_. > > Not Heinlein. Please, for the love of all that’s holy, not Heinlein. Awesome suggestions and I agree triple with that last part. Seriously. Between his peculiar ideas about women’s sexuality, and apparent desire to paddle the behinds of 13 year old girls, many of Heinlein’s books can be a bit distasteful on some level to an adult, female, reader. “Friday” is so bad it’s embarassing. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/49 "2010-05-08T15:29:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > How about some Philip K. Dick? I was gonna suggest slipping her some Dick as well. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/50 "2010-05-08T15:54:19Z")
_Rendezvous with Rama_, which I would recommend for any non s.f. fan. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/51 "2010-05-08T16:09:28Z")
Robert Silverberg is another of my favourite, very accessible writers. I can’t think of any reason to not recommend the Majipoor series. I’ll third Orson Scott Card as being extremely accessible (and also very entertaining). I’ll throw something else into the mix here - how about a little post-apocalyptic fiction (my favourite type)? _The Stand_ by Stephen King is one of the best examples of the genre, and extremely readable. ETA: I forgot to say, but for God’s sake, not _A Canticle For Liebowitz_ - if she gets her hands on that, she’ll never try another sci fi or post-apocalyptic book. The thing is dry as dust and virtually incomprehensible. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/52 "2010-05-08T17:13:55Z")
I’ve realized that while I’ve discussed what kinds of recommendations I’d make, I haven’t actually made any. So, subject to the caveats I’ve already mentioned, I suggest these: _Buying Time_ by Joe Haldeman - People can buy life extension but it costs a fortune. This creates a two-tier society. The book is a little dated by some cold-war references. _Conquistador_ by S. M. Stirling - WWII veteran discovers a portal to a parallel universe and sets up his own country. _Gateway_ by Frederik Pohl - Story about an alien artifact. Can be something of a downer because Pohl loves flawed protagonists. _The Harvest_ by Robert Charles Wilson - A surprisingly upbeat end of the world story. _Millennium_ by John Varley. A one-volume book rather than Varley’s more usual series. A time travel story. _The Practice Effect_ by David Brin - Borderline fantasy. A light read that verges into comedy. _Rendevous with Rama_ by Arthur C. Clarke - Somebody else suggested it and it’s a good idea. Discovery of an alien spaceship passing through the solar system. _Resurrection Day_ by Brendan DuBois - Alternate history. The Cuban Missile Crisis turned into an actual limited nuclear war. _Tuf Voyaging_ by George R.R. Martin - A series of short stories that were revised into a novel. Space opera about a guy who discovers a highly advanced starship. To echo what some others have said I would specifically not recommend Heinlein - he undeniably had his talents but he also undeniably had his quirks. I’d also be iffy on Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, or Spider Robinson - their styles can be hit or miss. And Bujold is great but her best work is multi-volume series - not recommended for a first timer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/53 "2010-05-08T18:14:21Z")
**Disposable Hero** —Feedback on our suggestions, please? On Zenna Henderson– > **[Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson: Zenna Henderson,...](https://www.amazon.com/Ingathering-Complete-People-Stories-Henderson/dp/0915368587)** > > Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson \[Zenna Henderson, Mark Olson, Priscilla Olson, Elizabeth Finney\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/54 "2010-05-08T18:27:02Z")
Bradbury is an excellent idea. I wonder if it might be wise to first get her into being a Bradbury fan, by starting with _The Halloween Tree_. Not science fiction, by any means, but Lordy, can that man grab you by the throat and set you down in his world. _A Wrinkle in Time_, anyone? _A Wind in the Door_, is also kinda good, but I wouldn’t bother with _Many Waters_ of _A Swiftly Tilting Planet_. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/55 "2010-05-08T19:16:24Z")
As I’ve said, I don’t recommend Bradbury. I think he’s pretty far out of the SF mainstream - a person might like or dislike Bradbury without it saying anything about whether they like or dislike SF as a whole. Personally, I love science fiction but find Bradbury tolerable at best. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/56 "2010-05-08T19:47:48Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **Disposable Hero** —Feedback on our suggestions, please? Plenty of good suggestions in there, couldn’t begin to comment on them all but suffice to say I’ll be picking some of them up myself. Just to comment that the first Heinlein I ever read was ‘Number of the Beast’ and it was so embarrasingly bad that its one of the few books of any kind that I haven’t finished reading after starting, if it hadn’t been for picking of ‘Starship Troopers’ I’d have avoided him altogether. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin That books sitting about two feet away from me but as I haven’t read it myself yet I don’t think I can give it to her… David Brin is a good choice, I find his work optimistic and uplifting _(hah!)_ unlike so much of the bitter and cynical work so common in the genre these days _(Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter I’m looking at you)_. ‘The Forever War’ is another good choice. > [@Tanaqui](#): > > I actually agree that Banks would be a good choice, but maybe nothing too terrifyingly gory or war-centered. I would say “Look to Windward” (fascinating alien cultures), “Inversion” (admittedly, the main thing I remember is how funny the ships are) and “Player of Games” (brutal but fascinating) would all be good choices. They really aren’t hard science fiction in the traditional way–and if your friend likes police novels I doubt she’ll be bothered by violence. > > Personally I would put the kibosh on anything too hard (Vernor Vinge) anything too horrifically depressing (The Sparrow, et al) and anything too much in a specific niche (the Stainless Steel Rat, John Carter, Elizabeth Moon, etc.) As much as I love Iain Banks I’m a little reluctant to use him as her first taster of science fiction, I lent my dad ‘Consider Phlebas’ and while he said he enjoyed it he hasn’t picked up any of the others… Didn’t find ‘The Sparrow’ to be depressing myself, maybe I missed the point of the story, which is entirely possible. Again, thanks for the suggestions everyone! ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/57 "2010-05-08T20:12:17Z")
> [@](#): > > David Brin is a good choice, I find his work optimistic and uplifting (hah!) unlike so much of the bitter and cynical work so common in the genre these days (Alastair Reynolds and Stephen Baxter I’m looking at you). I read this and my first thought was “better sat away from Joe Haldeman then.” And then this: > [@](#): > > ‘The Forever War’ is another good choice. Seriously I love Haldeman’s work but he’s one of the bitterest and most cynical writers in SF. Which makes him atypical of SF. Most SF follows the theme that you can deal with your problems by facing them squarely and rationally. Haldeman has his heroes facing their problems squarely and rationally in typical SF fashion - and then having the universe crush them. In my opinion, _The Forever War_ was a good example of this. Mandella’s life just kept getting worse and worse despite any attempts he made to improve things. Yes, there was a happy ending but it was almost literally tacked on to the last page (and Haldeman wrote a sequel to make sure everyone saw that it hadn’t been all that happy anyway). And, yes, I realize I recommended a Haldeman book in a previous post. Like I said, he’s a really good writer. And occasionally, he shakes off his bitterness and writes a novel or story that doesn’t have a depressing ending. _Buying Time_ was one of these works. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/58 "2010-05-08T21:29:06Z")
I bought Friday strictly for the [cover.](http://verypleasure.tumblr.com/post/225546950/the-cover-of-robert-a-heinleins-friday-lookin) I wasn’t disappointed. I would suggest _Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep_ by Phillip K Dick or give her a good short story collection. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/59 "2010-05-08T21:30:58Z")
To pipe up again as a non-sf reading female (for the most part), what I know of the little Heinlein I’ve been exposed to isn’t particularly positive. I wouldn’t dream of speaking for other women or the OP’s friend, but I wince a little when I see his name suggested for a new reader of sf. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/60 "2010-05-08T22:04:43Z")
A better intro to David Brin might be _The Practice Effect_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688.md?page=4)