What SF to recommend to non-genre readers?

[j d worthington]

The two Women of Wonder anthologies published in 1995, Women of Wonder: The Contemporary Years and Women of Wonder: The Classic Years, have completely different tables of contents to the original three anthologies, Women of Wonder, More Women of Wonder and The New Women of Wonder. Other similar anthologies include Millennial Women (1978) - which was published in the UK as The Eye of the Heron as if it were a Le Guin collection - Aurora: Beyond Equality (1976) and more recently Daughters of Earth (2006).

Ah, thank you for the correction. I was going on information given me some time back (or at least the way I remembered that information), rather than having the later books themselves. Now I'll have to add these to my "to buy" list....

 

[iansales]

Ah, thank you for the correction. I was going on information given me some time back (or at least the way I remembered that information), rather than having the later books themselves. Now I'll have to add these to my "to buy" list....

The Women of Wonder anthologies are definitely worth getting. I've reviewed both the 1995 and 1974 versions - see here, here and here - and my review of More Women of Wonder will be appearing on SF Mistressworks this coming Wednesday. And here's my review of Millennial Women.

 

[Toby Frost]

I'm not much of a one for quotas. Here are some good books that I've heard of which I think would entertain a non-SF reader. As to whether there are other books that I ought to have heard about and never have, that's a different and pertinent issue.

Readers who know about politics or 20th century history might enjoy the following:

1984
The Handmaid's Tale
Brave New World
Fatherland
Farenheit 451
The Dispossessed
The Island of Doctor Moreau

All of which are either satires or political discussions.

Readers who enjoy older war films might like:

The War of the Worlds
Starship Troopers (I don't like it, but loads of people do)
The Forever War
(and on a slightly less weighty level)
Dan Abnett's Warhammer books
David Gunn's Death's Head novels

I think a lot of it depends on the interests of the person asking the question. Someone with an interest in Victorian engineering might like The Difference Engine but feel that the wilder steampunk novels are just silly.

You said "political correctness". Your argument is invalid.

I really hope you're kidding.

 

[iansales]

I really hope you're kidding.

Partly. A little off-topic, but... The term "political correctness" is just a stupid right-wing smear, chiefly used to shut down discussion on certain subjects. If a person uses it, chances are they're not contributing sensibly to the conversation. (Incidentally, the word "quota" is used pretty much the same way as well.)

Back on topic... I'm not sure why you'd assume someone new to the genre likes war films. Seems a weirdly... specific liking. Personally, I see no reason to suggest sf which caters to the prejudices of our mythical newbie, since science fiction is supposed to challenge people. Why give them something just like the stuff they already read? How does that demonstrate what sf has to offer? How would that convince them to stop reading whatever it is they're reading and swap to sf?

Admittedly, you included both the execrable Starship Troopers and The Forever War in your suggestions, which document entirely opposite reactions to war. But they're still about combatants. It's more likely that our newbie knows just as much of war as the general population - ie, they've seen it on the news on telly, in the newspapers, etc. It's something that happens to other people in a distant land, and the nearest they've probably come to it is some great uncle who died in World War II decades before they were born. Yet, offhand, I can't think of a single sf novel which treats war the way it is experienced by the bulk of the population of the West in the twenty-first century. Most mil sf novels are just refighting WWII or the Vietnam War, and it's pretty damn likely our newbie was born long after either of those ended...

 

[Fried Egg]

Back on topic... I'm not sure why you'd assume someone new to the genre likes war films.

Er, he didn't. He said someone who likes war films might like the following SF...

Not that I think you need to be into war films to enjoy books like "Starship Troopers" and "Forever War". I've never seen a war film as thought provoking as either of those books. Although both of these are from a soldier's perspective, they are about far more than the their own personal experiences, going beyond these to look at the implications and effects of war on society as well.

I don't know about recommending "Starship Troopers" to a SF newbie though...

 

[j d worthington]

The Women of Wonder anthologies are definitely worth getting. I've reviewed both the 1995 and 1974 versions - see here, here and here - and my review of More Women of Wonder will be appearing on SF Mistressworks this coming Wednesday. And here's my review of Millennial Women.

I have -- or rather had, as I don't have the complete set any longer, part of it having vanished during one of my moves -- the original Women of Wonder books and, as you say, they are definitely worth getting. In the post to which you so kindly responded, I was referring to the 1995 versions, which I really do need to get -- and again, I thank you for the information on this.

Back on topic... I'm not sure why you'd assume someone new to the genre likes war films. Seems a weirdly... specific liking. Personally, I see no reason to suggest sf which caters to the prejudices of our mythical newbie, since science fiction is supposed to challenge people. Why give them something just like the stuff they already read? How does that demonstrate what sf has to offer? How would that convince them to stop reading whatever it is they're reading and swap to sf?

If I may put in a thought or two.... I think the first question goes to the idea of a "gateway" book to introduce people to not only sf, but any field about which they are curious, but not yet committed to exploring. Giving them something which is related to interests they already have is a good way to get them to look further and learn more, and eventually broaden their interests -- as an example: if they are interested in stories about war, then there are any number of good sf books using that as a theme or basis for a story (even if the actual thrust of the work is about something else); should they like that, they may seek out other books by the same author and if, as is not infrequently the case, that writer has a variety of types of stories to their credit, then it may get the new reader to explore a wider assortment of what sf has to offer.

Which, I suppose, goes toward a hint of a response to your second question -- in itself, it doesn't, but it may prove a way of introducing that variety. And I'm not sure the point is to get them to switch, but simply to be aware that science fiction is a much broader mode than most people -- even most fairly well-read people -- think. Let's face it, any field which can cover things as diverse as Neil R. Jones' Professor Jameson series, Ellison's "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", Slonczewski's A Door Into Ocean, and Connie Willis' Doomsday Book, let alone all the other things sf does, can seem a bit overwhelming to those used to genres which are a bit more restricted (as a general rule, at least) in scope. Why attempt to get them to "stop" reading that which they already enjoy, instead of simply adding sf to the list....?

 

[Toby Frost]

I really came at that thinking that there are lots of different angles to SF, and that our theoretical newbie might be a fan of some other type of non-SF writing. I suppose I'd add The Caves of Steel for a fan of crime (although it's really quite flawed), the way that someone who liked noir might enjoy Blade Runner just because they overlap a fair bit. I'd have liked to include Westerns and Romance in that list as well as War and History, but I can't think of anything immediately.

I agree that SF should challenge people, but I'm thinking of easing them in gently... I have run into a few people in the past who have serious difficulty in accepting any sort of SF element in a story at all, and I suppose I was thinking of them. Terrible characters, wooden dialogue, cheesy romances are all fine, but show them a spaceship, and suddenly it's just silly nonsense. Likewise, there are people who are surprised to find that, say, 1984 is SF. I suspect a fair few non-readers think SF is all 1950's pulp, and that sooner or later a bug-eyed alien will carry a swooning woman through a ruined city to its saucer, probably while dressed in tin foil.

But I'm sure that there are plenty of other people who could be dropped in at the deep end. I can remember reading The Traveller in Black by John Brunner when I was about 12, and thinking "Wow! I've never seen anything like this!" and I'm sure a lot of other people would enjoy that feeling too.

Slightly off topic, you're right about the refighting WW2 and Vietnam, especially WW2. Given the clear good and evil sides and the proliferation of short-ranged gunfights, it does lend itself to that. Also, there are a lot of standard SF army "types" that seem to originate (or at least crystalise) in WW2: tough as old boots commando, brutish stormtrooper, crazed fanatic and all that sort of thing. Of course it's all old hat and ripe for parody, but I think a good writer like Joe Haldeman could make something good out of those very recognisable elements (after all, the 'Nam veteran who can't fit in with civilian life is almost a stock character).

And I'm really in two minds about mentioning Starship Troopers, especially because I've never been convinced by the whole "he's just raising the issue" defence. Someone doesn't write a 200-page hectoring polemic just to "raise an issue".

But anyway...

 

[Fried Egg]

So, after deciding to read the five books Ian recommended as "gateway" SF, the first one I came across was "Dark Eden" by Chris Beckett.

I enjoyed it a lot and I can't argue with it as being a good suggestion for a reader new to SF. Although I did feel that it seemed like it was aimed at young adults, despite the sexually explicit content.

 

[antiloquax]

But, avoiding the obvious choices like Le Guin or Russ, here goes:

The three Women of Wonder anthologies, edited by Pamela Sargent (1975 - 1978)
Islands, Marta Randall (1976)
The Wanderground, Sally Miller Gearhart (1979)
The Sword of Rhiannon, Leigh Brackett (1953)
Memoirs of a Spacewoman, Naomi Mitchison (1962)
Sunburst, Phyllis Gotlieb (1964)
The Book of Morgaine, CJ Cherryh (1976 - 1979)
Any random Andre Norton book
Judgement Night, CL Moore (1952)

... I'll see if I can think of any more.

Thanks Ian, I've just recently started a blog to chart a year in which I plan to read only women writers. These suggestions will be a great addition to my list of books.

It's probably pretty obvious that I agree with Ian's comments on gender. On reflection, I realised my reading choices were very gender-biased. I decided to correct that bias with my plan to read female writers for a year.

I am doing this solely for selfish reasons as I feel that my biased choices in the past have stopped me picking up and reading many books that I would have enjoyed.

 

[Randy M.]

Ummmm ... coming at this from a slightly different angle ...

Depending on what the reader ordinarily enjoys, I'd suggest,
"The Sea Raiders" & "The Crystal Egg" by H. G. Wells
"Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester
"The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin
"Vintage Season" by C. L. Moore
"Mimsy Were the Borogroves" by Moore & Henry Kuttner
"Passengers" by Robert Silverberg
"The Veldt" and/or "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury
"It" or "Baby is Three" by Theodore Sturgeon
"Huddling Place" by Clifford D. Simak
"Bloodchild" by Octavia Butler
"Nine Lives" by Ursula K. Le Guin
"--And He Built a Crooked House" by Robert Heinlein

Off the top of my head, these are among the stories I'd consider suggesting. On the other hand, I haven't read a lot of recent s.f. short stories, so my suggestions are somewhat limited.

If really pressed for a novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Forever War, Gateway, The Lathe of Heaven, and The Stars My Destination are my go-to books.


Randy M.

 

[mistri]

Recently I've recommended to SF newbies:

Ender's Game by OSC. I do it less often now as I dislike the author's political views, but it is such an accessible book...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - hugely accessible YA SF

Wool by Hugh Howey - not the most finely written book, but pulls readers in

Feed by Mira Grant - zombies! This counts as SF, right?

I find it hard to rec books I read a long time ago. I read Asimov and Arthur C Clarke in my teens and loved them - but not sure I'd feel the same way today.

Sidebar: I'm trying to make it a mission to read more female authors too, across fantasy and SF. I'm not the world's biggest fan of urban fantasy or it would be a lot easier to find prospective reads, but I've still got a huge list to get through.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - hugely accessible YA SF

My niece has just told me this is a good book. Must give it a go.

 

[Fried Egg]

I've now read "Intrusions" by Ken Macleod, another of Ian's recommendations for readers new to SF.

I thought this was very good book that readers generally interested in modern social/political issues should find of particular interest. However, I couldn't help feeling that inclusion of Hugh's genetic anomaly; that allowed him to see visions of the the future an unwelcome distraction from the central premise and one that I imagine readers not used to SF will find quite implausible.

 

[Boreas]

The more accessible books I would recommend to newer readers would be:

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
• Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• 2001: A Space Odyssey and/or Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• The Demolished Man and/or The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
• The Forever War by Joe Haldman
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

If they enjoyed these, then I'd start suggesting the following:

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• Patternmaster by Octavia E. Butler
• In Conquest Born by C. S. Friedman
• The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller
• Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh
• The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge
• Geta by Donald Kingsbury
• Neverness by David Zindell

If they enjoyed all, or most, of these, then they're already science fiction fans.

 

[wam]

There are books that are SF first and foremost and something else kind-of by co-incidence. These are the ones to avoid. Those are the things that a non-genre reader will put down very quickly.
You could try outsider stuff. Think of Brave New World, 1984, Clockwork Orange - that sort of thing. There's also the very naturalist novels (Flowers for Algernon, Fahrenheit 451, Wyndham's Trouble with Lichen, a lot of late Chris Priest - esp The Prestige as there's a movie). For someone who reads other genre try spy thrillers from the 60s/70s with imaginative technology (Manchurian Candidate, Ipcress File). Try slipstream. If you're going to include Iain Banks don't use the M (The Bridge, Walking on Glass). Try the sort of thing that the SF community complains about because people say it isn't SF. Try the stuff that is obviously something else first - a romance like Time Traveller's Wife.

Avoid "Hard SF", Anything with Aliens, Robots or Ray Guns, Space Opera, anything with that sort of cover.

 

[nightdreamer]

You mean besides my own? Seriously...

Joan D. Vinge The Snow Queen

Alexei Panshin Rite of Passage

Sydney J. van Scyoc Daughters of the Sunstonetrilogy

Isaac Asimov Bicentennial Man

Lois Lowry Gathering Blue A children's dystopian social science fiction story, but still a good intro.

 

[psikeyhackr]

I don't see any mention of the age of the person being given recommendations.

I started reading SF when I was 9.

I like Bujold now but I don't think I would have cared for her very much back then. For me science fiction was mind expanding. But I think that is easier to do with a kid trying to grasp what the universe is about, both physically and socially, then an adult.

Orphans of the Sky was eye opening. It introduced the idea that most of society could believe a certain thing and they could all be wrong. So a basic idea being communicated is "Think for Yourself". But it is probably wasted on someone over 40. If they don't do it already they probably never will.

But plenty of stuff called SF is just entertainment and not to get people to THINK.

psik

 

[psikeyhackr]

Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore (1953). Good introduction to alternate history, with a premise that SF readers might consider overdone (what if the South won the American Civil War) but which might be fresh to non-SF readers. There's also an "explanation" as to why we have an alternate history (time travel) so the reader doesn't just have to accept it as a given. The alternate reality is at a technological level not much different from our own (except the time machine) so there aren't any gadgets to turn off the non-SF reader.

It has entered the public domain:

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Bring The Jubilee , by Ward Moore.

gutenberg.org

 

[BAYLOR]

Earth Abides by George R Stewart
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller Jr
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
The Naked Sun by Issac Asmov

 

[Rodders]

Trouble is that so many modern books are written as a part of a series, or are about 500 pages long. Quite a commitment for someone who may just be dipping their toe into our lovely genre. My recommendations:

A second for Flowers for Algernon. A great book which doesn't require you to suspend belief.
I'd always suggest Iain M. Banks and The Player of Games is accessible enough, i think.
I also think that Joe Haldeman's The Forever War is a good one for non-genre readers.
Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is still a wonderful read and i think many non-genre readers would love the humour.