To the newbie Sci-Fi reader, all science fiction is spaceships, robots, lasers, alien planets, and strange worlds. All of that is in the Hitch-Hiker’s Guide. It’s being parodied, but it’s still recognisably science fiction for the beginning reader, and it’s not some dark tale of a far off universe where everyone is miserable and the Space Theocracy suppresses all [del]heresy[/del] original thought or something.
More importantly, the only knowledge of SF themes you need to read HHGTG is stuff you’ll have absorbed via pop culture osmosis anyway. It’s probably the most accessible science fiction book for a new reader and they should enjoy it immensely as they read it and laugh at the silliness.
And then leave it and never read other SF. It’s not a good introduction because it’s shallow and, while funny, really not much by way of a story. I’ve read it. It made me laugh. It never inspired me to do anything else.
Chiang’s a great writer. The problem is his work is very inaccessible - physically not metaphorically. Stories of Your Life and Others is out of print and copies are very hard to come by - you’ll probably pay fifty dollars for a used copy.
The good news is that a new edition is scheduled to be released in October.
Well shizzle, I had no idea my 1st run hardcover could be worth that! I was involved in marketing “Stories of My Life…” when it came out and I really, really tried to sell the hell out of it. I sometimes (often) wondered what the hell Tor was thinking with that heinous cover art, though. It’s like… perfectly calculated to not appeal to the sort of people that would enjoy reading the book.
The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide was one of the books that got me into Science Fiction as a young teenager. I’d always thought Sci Fi was boring stodgy stuff, but after seeing that there was a fun side to it, I developed an interest in reading more of the “proper” SF stuff- knowing full well that it wasn’t humorous, but at least being able to see that it wasn’t all Serious Business.
The other book I’d recommend for the OP’s friend is Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers. That is science fiction, but also comedy (based on the TV series, but the books are still excellent) and very readable.
If my first introduction to SF had been HHGG, I’d have read about half of it, and then found something else to read. Something that engaged me. Now this is probably just a case of different personality types, but I’m generally not looking for a book that’s a laugh a minute, but something that makes me think as well.
Good Omens is a hilarious book, and it’s a great introduction to fantasy, because the authors took the time to actually think the book through. I enjoy humorous books, but they have to work well as stories as well as being funny. Adams just threw together a bunch of funny situations and tried to bridge them into stories, his books really don’t work well as stories, but only as funny anecdotes.
My friend, who happens to be gay, also enjoys a little sci-fi from time to time, and she originally recommended his books to me. The experience taught me a valuable life lesson:
If a lesbian enjoys some Dick from time to time, it’s got to be something special.
Sadly true, so it may not be the best for the OP’s friend, but if anyone else is interested, a lot of his stories are available online–some of them in podcast form (all strictly legal, as far as I know.) Of course, support him when the book comes out, etc. but if you just want to check him out, you can find a lot of links here. I thought the EscapePod reading of “Exhalation” was particularly impressive. The PodCastle version of “Hell is the Absence of God” is also great.
It was a book that utterly failed to get me into science fiction, as a young teenager or as an adult.
It seems a lot of people are answering this question coming from the perspective of sci-fi fans. I’m coming from the perspective of a female non sci-fi fan who can still point out books that I’ve found worth reading.
If I’m going to recommend “a good sci-fi book”, I recommend a book because it’s good sci-fi.
Likewise, if I recommend a funny book, I recommend a book because it’s funny.
I’d recommend Hitchhiker’s Guide because it’s funny. Not because it’s good sci-fi. Even though it is sci-fi, if you squint at it sideways. But mostly, it’s funny. You don’t put it down and say “Wow, what a good sci-fi book that was”. You say “Heh, that was funny.”
Anyway, the better recommendation for funny book with familiar subject matter that’s sci-fi if you squint at it sideways is How Much For Just The Planet?, by John M Ford.
What is wrong with Sheep? For PKD it is pretty accessible. The movie was only loosely based upon the book so even if they have seen the movie they are in for a different experience.
UBIK would be a good choice if only
there weren’t so many other entertainments with the guy being dead all along.
As soon as I was able to read more than “See Spot run”, my maternal grandfather started handing me science fiction magazines and books. Not fantasy, and DEFINITELY not sci-fi, but science fiction.
I have to say, I found the Foundation Trilogy hard to grasp when I was eight, so he had to give me something a bit simpler at first. Grandpa loved me best of all his grandkids, but he wasn’t really a person who was good with kids. Or a person who was good with adults. And he had problems with teens, too. But he did try his best to instill a love of SF in me, and he mostly succeeded.
It involves a future invention that alters every aspect of life as we know it today. Imagine the internet in the 4th dimension. My sister enjoyed it and she is not a sci-fi buff.