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Must-Read Science Fiction Authors and Some of Their Best Works
I am a writer who is passionate about classic science fiction. There is a list of authors who are considered to be the best. So, if you are looking for incredible science fiction novels, then these five, who happen to be some of my favorites, are included in that list and I would highly recommend them. I’ve given you a short version of their content and what I thought about each one. Whatever you choose to read, I don’t believe you’ll be disappointed. Happy Reading!
Robert Heinlein – Glory Road
This novel was written in first person and talks to the fourth wall on several occasions. The leading character is a down and out, unemployed man in serious need of a job. He answers an ad in the paper for “Hero for Hire” and stumbles his way to success. It was very inciteful and hilariously realistic to today’s social climate.
– The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
A computer becomes sentient in a prison located on the moon and teaches the inmates how to fight back the oppressors on earth by launching large rocks. Heinlein made it sound plausible and added just enough sound technical data to seem real.
John Varley – Titan
One of my favorite characters in this book was the mighty Cirocco Jones and her sidekick, Gaby. On an expedition to Saturn, they discover an unknown satellite orbiting the planet, they crash into it, and attempt to find their missing crew members. The narration was so vivid I could see what they saw as if I was there with them.
– Millennium
Because of a thousand years of war, the Earth has been polluted beyond repair and humanity’s gene pool has become irreparably damaged. Scientists decide on a desperate plan; time travel into the past, collect healthy humans, and transport the populace to an uncontaminated planet to rebuild civilization. The only downside is each person selected can’t have changed the future by disappearing. I found the plot to be interesting, original, and deeply disturbing at the same time.
Piers Anthony – Macroscope
Macroscope is a love story that surrounds the theft of a new kind of telescope that employs an infinite resolution while observing the space time continuum. The machine can look into anywhere at anytime, making it the most dangerous tool in the universe. The two protagonists fall in love while they attempt to keep the macroscope away from those who would misuse it.
– A Spell For Chameleon
The lead character, Bink, must learn his magical talent before he comes of age or suffer the banishment of the country in which he lives. Bink learns he has a talent but there is no way to discover what it could be. He is banished to our world, one without magic, and eventually makes it back to Xanth, his world. Bink ultimately learns his talent is that no other talent will work against him. It is also determined to be the strongest talent in his world. I liked this book primarily because Bink was so naïve and nicer than those around him. It also proved that decency wins out.
Arthur C. Clarke – The Sands of Mars
This book was released in 1951 and shows a much more wholesome view of science and space travel. The leading characters find kangaroo – like creatures on mars and vegetation that will eventually produce air on mars. The protagonist is so taken with the planet that he volunteers to stay and help with the migration of people from earth.
– The City and the Stars
I found the concept of this book fascinating and different from most science fiction of the time. The setting is in the distant future when the earth’s oceans have dried up, and mankind lives in one remaining city on the edge of extinction. The leading character discovers a second group of people that have once again learned how to live off the land, and they teach him the procedures needed to thrive.
Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars
This is my favorite book and was the one that caused me to become a writer. John Carter is whisked off to the red planet, a place the natives call Barsoom. He meets a beautiful princess and has to defend her from a race of people that want her dead. The formula is constant with Burroughs books and involves finding the girl, losing her to kidnapping, and spending a herculean amount of effort finding and saving her.
– The Land that Time Forgot
The main character, Bowen Tyler, is on a ship that sinks during World War 1 and through a series of misadventures finds himself on what he thinks is a deserted island. Exploring the island for food shows Bowen that the island is inhabited by dinosaurs and prehuman people that know nothing of the 20th century. Lys La Rue, a companion from the sunken ship must find a way to survive and ultimately leave the island.
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5 Authors to read if you enjoyed the works of Sci-Fi/Fantasy author Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Edgar Rice Burroughs – (1875 to 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific writing in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. He is best-known for creating the character Tarzan, and John Carter from the Barsoom series, but also the Pellucidar series, the Amtor series, and the Caspak trilogy. His book, A Princess of Mars, was the one that started everything for me as a young boy. I have had a love of science fiction/fantasy since the day I read his book. His Tarzan books and movies are quite well known, and all his books can be found on Amazon today. He is known as the master of adventure.
I highly recommend the following authors if you enjoyed Edgar Rice Burroughs. They are some of my favorites as well.
Piers Anthony – an American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, best known for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, and he claims one of his greatest achievements has been to publish a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover.
Roger Zelazny – Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult Fantasy – The fantasy sequence The Amber Chronicles, which started with Nine Princes in Amber, deals with the ruling family of a platonic realm at the metaphysical heart of things, who can slide, trickster-like through realities, and their wars with each other and the related ruling house of Chaos. His works were very loved, and he was a strong influence on such younger writers as George R. R. Martin and Neil Gaiman. He won the Hugo award six times and the Nebula award three times.
Michael Moorcock – Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published several well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worked as an editor and is also a successful musician. Born in London in 1939, he is a prolific and award-winning writer with more than eighty works of fiction and non-fiction to his name, he is the creator of Elric, Jerry Cornelius and Colonel Pyat, amongst many other memorable characters.
Robert Heinlein – Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the “dean of science fiction writers”, he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. He had a writing career that spanned forty-nine years. He published 32 novels, 59 short stories and 16 collections during his lifetime. Four films, two TV series, several episodes of a radio series, at least two songs (‘Hijack’ by Jefferson Starship and ‘Cool Green Hills of Earth’ on the 1970 album Ready to Ride and as the B-side of a single by Southwind) and a board game were derived directly from his work.
Algis Boudrys – Algirdas Jonas “Algis” Budrys was a Lithuanian American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, and Paul Janvier. He is known for the influential 1960 novel Rogue Moon. He is the author of ten novels, three short story collections, and five non-fiction works. He has taught at Columbia (Chicago), Harvard, Brigham Young University, CalTech, the Charles Dickens House in London, Pepperdine University, the Taos experimental Writers of the Future workshop, and the Library of Congress, to name a few, as well as several annual workshops in Moscow, Idaho. He was the editor and publisher of Tomorrow Speculative Fiction magazine.
If you love science fiction and fantasy, all these authors are certainly worth reading and may become some of your favorites. There is nothing quite like the world of science fiction. It has the ability to instantly transport you to another world, leaving Earth behind. You also get to explore the capabilities of time travel, interact with androids, and consider artificial intelligence all while imagining what the future might be like.
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Solitaire Parke - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books 