# What is the quintessential science fiction novel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022 "2005-01-28T00:37:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/1 "2005-01-28T00:37:10Z")
[url=http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=5771632]This post got me thinking about sf, and if there is a book that most fans can agree epitomizes the genre. We need to decide on a book that can be our flagship to the literary universe, one that we can proudly point to when people say, “science fiction? Isn’t that, like, robots 'nd stuff?” While it doesn’t necessarily have to be hard sf, I think we need to stay away from cyberpunk, alternate histories, utopian/dystopian literature, and speculative fiction. Since each of these is a sub-genre, I don’t think they can represent the breadth of the whole sf genre. I nominate Isaac Asimov’s _Foundation_ series, because of the fame of the author, the epic scope of the novels, and the accessibility of the novels. My second choice would be one of Orson Scott Card’s _Ender_ series, because Card does a great job of keeping his characters human, and his books lack the “cold” feel of some more classic sf. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/2 "2005-01-28T00:49:01Z")
If you’re talking traditional literary quality, it’ll be Ursula K. LeGuin’s _The Left Hand of Darkness_. For a great read, it’s Alfred Bester’s _The Stars My Destination_. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/3 "2005-01-28T00:49:32Z")
I agree with Heinlein… **The Mote in God’s Eye** is spectacular in all the right Science Fictional ways. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/4 "2005-01-28T00:55:10Z")
**Ringworld** No, wait… **Farmer In The Sky** Or maybe **Double Star** **Dune?** **Grey Lensman** , perhaps? No, the only possible choice is… **Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers**! ---
**Author:** ![sweetfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@sweetfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweetfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/5 "2005-01-28T01:08:32Z")
Okay, go ahead and smack me for this one if you wanna…but I gotta say **Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy** for two reasons: 1. It’s a “guide” for all lonely space travellers. 2. It’s logically sound. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/6 "2005-01-28T01:12:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > **Ringworld** > > No, wait… **Farmer In The Sky** > > Or maybe **Double Star** > > **Dune?** > > **Grey Lensman** , perhaps? > > No, the only possible choice is… > > **Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers**! I dunno about Heinlein stories. They are so embarassingly sexist, that I kinda want to hide him in my “guilty pleasures” section, not wave him about. _Stranger in a Strange Land_ was revolutionary and all that, but… really? **Dune** is perfect - I could vote for that. I’ve never been able to finish a Larry Niven book, so I can’t say anything about **Mote** or **Ringworld**. Of course, the last time I tried to read him was in 7th grade, so maybe I should give him another chance, cos I’m a big softie and all that. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/7 "2005-01-28T01:52:41Z")
I think Heinlein’s _The Rolling Stones_ would be a fine choice. And R.A.H. does not require apology, because he **isn’t** sexist! His female characters aren’t weak, they’re _strong_! The kind of women most men would respect & admire. They may follow “traditional” roles, but they’re gutsy as hell, & I’d rather read about one of the mothers Heinlein wrote about than some allegedly modern woman, who may be in a profession, but turns into a sniveling whiner when the going gets tough. ---
**Author:** ![sweetfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@sweetfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweetfreak)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/8 "2005-01-28T02:02:21Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > And R.A.H. does not require apology, because he **isn’t** sexist! > > His female characters aren’t weak, they’re _strong_! The kind of women most men would respect & admire. They may follow “traditional” roles, but they’re gutsy as hell, & I’d rather read about one of the mothers Heinlein wrote about than some allegedly modern woman, who may be in a profession, but turns into a sniveling whiner when the going gets tough. Female, and love R.A.H. And…just for the record…what woman in her right mind would NOT want to stay at home while the man goes off to toil the day away? Lemme just prop my feet up, pop a weepy love story into the DVD, and gorge myself on chocolates. Ahhhh…sweet, sweet power! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/9 "2005-01-28T02:11:12Z")
> [@sweetfreak](#): > > Female, and love R.A.H. > And…just for the record…what woman in her right mind would NOT want to stay at home while the man goes off to toil the day away? Lemme just prop my feet up, pop a weepy love story into the DVD, and gorge myself on chocolates. Ahhhh…sweet, sweet power! 😛 Heh. But Heinlein’s women aren’t really strong women, they are average men in well-endowed women’s bodies, as far as characterization goes. I realize that this is the best he could do, and I appreciate his efforts, but I can only read the books that don’t have women as central figures. It’s just too distracting otherwise. YMMV and IMO, of course. Sorry for the hijack… of my own thread… ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/10 "2005-01-28T02:11:28Z")
> [@sweetfreak](#): > > Female, and love R.A.H. > And…just for the record…what woman in her right mind would NOT want to stay at home while the man goes off to toil the day away? Lemme just prop my feet up, pop a weepy love story into the DVD, and gorge myself on chocolates. Ahhhh…sweet, sweet power! 😛 If you tried that stuff with Grandma Hazel Meade around, she’d kick your ass. 😃 ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/11 "2005-01-28T02:14:17Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > Heh. But Heinlein’s women aren’t really strong women, they are average men in well-endowed women’s bodies, as far as characterization goes. I realize that this is the best he could do, and I appreciate his efforts, but I can only read the books that don’t have women as central figures. It’s just too distracting otherwise. YMMV and IMO, of course. > > Sorry for the hijack… of my own thread… BULL! Heinlein’s women were classic Frontier Women. Read a little history of the American West & you’ll find many that could & probably were models for the characters. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/12 "2005-01-28T02:15:12Z")
If I for one minute thought Julia Roberts had named her daughter Hazel after RAH’s wonderwoman, I’d stop giving her so much flak about the choice! 😃 But there is no excuse for Phineas! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/13 "2005-01-28T02:16:52Z")
**Childhood’s End** ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/14 "2005-01-28T02:23:25Z")
I’m on board with **Mote** and **Dune**! Some of my candidates: **Rendezvous with Rama** by A. C. Clarke **A Deepness in the Sky** by Vernor Vinge **Way Station** by Clifford Simak (I really wish his other works were of this book’s calibre!) **The Disposessed** by Ursula LeGuin **Hyperion** by Dan Simmons **Gateway** by Fred Pohl ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/15 "2005-01-28T02:34:23Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > BULL! > > Heinlein’s women were classic Frontier Women. Read a little history of the American West & you’ll find many that could & probably were models for the characters. I have read plenty of American Western history, and I also have first hand experience in female thought (being a Genuine Female myself), and no woman would be able to shrug off a gang rape (_Friday_) or the abandonment by her husband for a younger woman (_to Sail Beyond the Sunset_) within a paragraph. Maybe I’m just a big old prude, but the incest and orgies really tend to get in the way of the stories. RAH was just a dirty old man. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/16 "2005-01-28T02:50:23Z")
I will put forth the proverbial dark horse and nominate Alan E. Nourse’s _The Mercy Men_. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/17 "2005-01-28T04:16:02Z")
> [@SusanStoHelit](#): > > I have read plenty of American Western history, and I also have first hand experience in female thought (being a Genuine Female myself), and no woman would be able to shrug off a gang rape (_Friday_) or the abandonment by her husband for a younger woman (_to Sail Beyond the Sunset_) within a paragraph. Maybe I’m just a big old prude, but the incest and orgies really tend to get in the way of the stories. RAH was just a dirty old man. You’re reading the wrong Heinlein. His later stuff is vastly inferior to his early books. If you want to read Heinlein books with strong female figures, try **Citizen of the Galaxy** , which depicts a very strong matriarchal society. Or many of his juveniles, in which the female character is often more mature and level-headed than the protagonist. You do, however, have to remember that these books were written mostly in the 1950’s, and reflect those stereotypes (for example, in **Have Space Suit - Will Travel** , the protagonist’s mother is a brilliant scientist - but she gave up her career to stay home and have a child, and is now a housewife). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/18 "2005-01-28T04:25:26Z")
It’s a tough call, but I’d go with **Player of Games** by Iain M Banks. [ul] [li]It’s well written with intersting characters[/li][li]It’s accessible to folks who don’t like SF[/li][li]The plot requires lots of futuristic but belieable science[/li][li]It’s fun[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![SusanStoHelit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SusanStoHelit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SusanStoHelit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/19 "2005-01-28T04:32:04Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > You’re reading the wrong Heinlein. His later stuff is vastly inferior to his early books. If you want to read Heinlein books with strong female figures, try **Citizen of the Galaxy** , which depicts a very strong matriarchal society. Or many of his juveniles, in which the female character is often more mature and level-headed than the protagonist. You do, however, have to remember that these books were written mostly in the 1950’s, and reflect those stereotypes (for example, in **Have Space Suit - Will Travel** , the protagonist’s mother is a brilliant scientist - but she gave up her career to stay home and have a child, and is now a housewife). First part: I read five of his books, and that is more of a chance than I would give most authors. I dunno, if I run out of new books to read, I’ll go back and give him another try. I don’t mind the women-in-traditional roles thing much - most stories from the “golden age of sf” (ie the 50’s) have that to some extent, and it has been a male-dominated field. What makes me mad (and I’ll admit that I am probably overreacting) is that when Heinlein wants to write a strong, positive, and sympathetic female character, he makes her act _just like a man_, like it’s the ultimate compliment, something that every woman should strive to do and be. It is gender equality of sorts, but it misses the point entirerly. That said, I did enjoy _Double Star_ enough to buy my own copy, so maybe I shouldn’t be talking too loudly. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022/20 "2005-01-28T04:38:31Z")
The male chauvinist pig in me could have a field day here… Heinlein’s early works are some of the most influential SF ever written. Not necessarily influential on other authors…but they hooked more of us on SF than any other author. And that effect can never be understated. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-quintessential-science-fiction-novel/287022.md?page=2)