Science Fiction Books


AranniHK's avatar
Hello,

Since I'm a huge fan of Science Fiction movies and artwork (I'm drawing myself some), I wanted to know if you know some really nice books in that genre. 
For example I heard of Dune. Should be interesting. 
Can you suggest me some books? 

Thanks,
AranniHK
Comments32
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crocodilerocker's avatar
1984 is my favorite sci-fi. I'm more into dystopias than sciencey, spacey stuff, but dystopias count. 1984 is too much of a classic to be considered overrated. Some people don't like it because reading it in school ruined it, but since I read it on my own I had the opportunity to think for myself and enjoy it more. There's lots of things in it that would inspire fan art, but that's coming from a photographer, not an illustrator. Read it, though, even if it doesn't inspire your artwork! It's a masterpiece!
There are also two movie versions if you're a little too lazy. I haven't seen the first one from the 50s because everyone hates it. The more recent one, which was actually released in 1984, was pretty true to the book and would be a good source.
JZLobo's avatar
I second the suggestion for C. J. Cherryh; primarily The Chanur Saga, which is mostly a political thriller series from the aliens' POVs. They are fantastic reads.
Niponkarma's avatar
Dear all, I can suggest my science fiction novel. The world of Karma. karma.over-blog.com. Please leave a comment or a message. Best regards.
KaizenKitty's avatar
silent-ebb's avatar
You should read Robert A. Heinlein.
He's written tons of short stories and novels. Some of his works have been turned into movies (Red Planet & Starship Troopers are two, but the books are quite different) 


One of his books I really liked is "Tunnel in the Sky". Its isn't very long but I remember being sucked in and finishing it in one day.
If you don't want to read novels try to find one of his short story anthologies because they are also good. 
 
AranniHK's avatar
Oh wow, I could look that up, thanks =)
Mr-Timeshadow's avatar
If you are checking out Heinlein, I would suggest you seek out Waldo and Universe, which are slender works and often joined with other stories to flesh out a book. Both are very incentive pieces with especially strong characters, showcasing Heinlein at his best.
Harryeagle's avatar
I'll be surprised if you haven't already read them yet, but I'll suggest them anyway.
Any and every Star Wars novel written by Timothy Zahn. Clever and fun.
AranniHK's avatar
Yeah, they're great =) Thanks anyways! Might even reread them in some time. 
midnightgravedigger's avatar
Wow, I'm surprised no one's recommended anything by Isaac Asimov to you yet. He was a very talented and prolific sci-fi writer who was also a professor of bio chemistry.
His Foundation Series and Robots Series books are terrific. Even though they were written years ago, they still stand up quite well today. I would also highly recommend some of his short story collections; like his book Nine Tomorrows, an excellent read. 
You might also like to check out Ray Bradbury's Martin Chronicles or Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers, great books that are also well worth reading. Nod 
AranniHK's avatar
Thanks, I will check it out =)
M1n1dr10d-Y0D0's avatar
Jules Verne and H.G. Wells used as much science as possible in their Science Fiction books, and at the same time, they were very good authors, who did not suffer the same issues that many Hard Sci-Fi authors face today. They were also among the first Science Fiction authors to ever live, so it will give you a good look at what the standards of Sci-Fi was back in the mid-to-late 19th Century.

You might already be familiar with some of their works, most likely 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The War of the Worlds, and A Journey to the Center of the Earth.
AranniHK's avatar
Yes, I'm familiar with their work. It's really great. Such work is very hard to find today.
TheCunningCondor's avatar
A Scanner Darkly
Ender's Game
And absolutely anything by Douglas Adams. His books are hilarious.

Seriously, I HIGHLY recommend Douglas Adams seeing as you like space travel books.
AranniHK's avatar
Thanks, my books list gets bigger by the day :D
Mr-Timeshadow's avatar
Well, one of the kings of "space opera" is Edmond Hamilton. His novel Return to the Stars is a classic. Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars is about the dark side of utopia. Stanislaw Lem's dark, disturbing The Investigation isn't a dystopia, but it is an intense book in which corpses keep disappearing, then reappearing later and at some distance -- with no sign of being dragged or the like. If you want to relax, try instead his Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. It is narrated by a guy trapped inside a future Pentagon. He gets shuffled around by people who all speak in codes and secret messages and all of whom think he is a spy. As he gets dragged deeper and deeper into this mindset where nothing means what it means and only a sucker decrypts a secret message and thinks they are done (you need to decrypt the decryption as well, and maybe once more for good measure...
Phillip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly and its cultish movie are set in a world where a new designer drug has hooked about 1 in 5 people, and cameras are hidden everywhere to seek out the source of the drug. It is very, very dystopian but also funny at times, and with a great ending. Keanu Reeves delivers one of his best performances in this one.
AranniHK's avatar
Thanks for the suggestion, already made a list.La la la la 
Mr-Timeshadow's avatar
You're welcome, and I hope at least some of them wind up working for you.
TheCunningCondor's avatar
Loved Scanner Darkly.
Mr-Timeshadow's avatar
The book, the movie, or both? Either way, great taste! ;)
Hestia-Edwards's avatar
You could try C.J. Cherryh's stuff. I think she has aliens on various planets and such. I've been meaning to try some of her stuff myself.
JZLobo's avatar
YES. I was just about to suggest her myself.
AranniHK's avatar
Thanks, so many things to read  =)