Science Fiction Books

[NotASlayer]

@CardboardGhost and @Joan the Vampire Slayer (and anyone else!) Here we go so we don't derail the other thread!

 

[Cohen]

SF?

 

[NotASlayer]

SF?

Science fiction! 😀

 

[Cohen]

Science fiction! 😀

Ohhh now I'm glad I'm in the know. I am trying to branch out beyond the thrillers I normally read. I am currently reading a horror novel, Road of Bones, by Christopher Golden, one of my favorite Buffy authors!

 

[NotASlayer]

Ohhh now I'm glad I'm in the know. I am trying to branch out beyond the thrillers I normally read. I am currently reading a horror novel, Road of Bones, by Christopher Golden, one of my favorite Buffy authors!

I read quite a lot of thrillers, often because they are cheap, though Kindle Unlimited has allowed me to get a lot of books in a range of genres, including science fiction. Some of which are better than others. One I recently read, Europa, was technohorror, but it tried to have hard SF elements. And hard SF is often read by people who have the knowledge that controlling a robot on Europa in real time from Earth is not possible. That was not remotely the worse, though. Across the Void was a remaindered book I got, which was trying to be hard SF but was done by a scriptwriter who clearly had the knowledge of hard SF imparted by such films as Moonfall. Namely, none. It didn't help that the protagonist was both unlikeable and incompetent.

Christopher Golden, I'd read some of his books before even watching Buffy, so his name was familiar when I heard he was involved in Slayers.

 

[Cohen]

Christopher Golden, I'd read some of his books before even watching Buffy, so his name was familiar when I heard he was involved in Slayers.

So… I finished this last night. It was an amazing start! The characters were interesting, the initial horror setup was interesting… abandoned town in the Siberian subzero cold.. gruesome first kill…

And then it just floundered at the end. Way too long of a “how am I going to get out of this situation” trope. And kind of hopeless in the last third.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Long time SF fan here...I mean from probably before most of your parents were born 😉. My current fave authors are John Scalzi and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Scalzi is best known for his Old Man's War series and having a sense of humour/fun that I like, and Tchaikovsky is the author of The Children of Time, Shadows of the Apt and other series. Favourite SF authors from the before times include Harlan Ellison, William Gibson, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, AE Van Vogt, Frank Herbert, Iain M Banks and many more.
I've always preferred Harlan Ellison's approach to SF...that is that it stands for Speculative Fiction rather than Science Fiction, which widens the genre to include fantasy, horror, supernatural and as many other fictions that you can shake a stick at...

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Here are my recs from my own bookshelf, all classics of course! I took a science fiction class in college, and we read all these. All these can easily be found in paperback.

Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson - a really cool book!

Fahrenheit 451 (1950) by Ray Bradbury - one of my all time favorite books in general. Bradbury was a true visionary who was writing about stuff that hadn't happened yet, like virtual reality. Also, his collection of short stories, The Martian Chronicles is really good.

A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess - a strange read but worth reading alone just for the weird slang (Real Horrorshow!)

Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley - I argue this is technically a science fiction novel, some argue the first even - though most people mistakenly classify it as gothic horror.

And lastly, The Last Unicorn (1968) by Peter S Beagle - I guess this is more fantasy, but I recommend it none of the less. 😉

 

[NotASlayer]

I've read some Gibson, but oddly not Neuromancer, given how significant it really is. I've also read Fahrenheit 451 and other books by Bradbury. Not read A Clockwork Orange or The Last Unicorn either.

Frankenstein, I started but didn't manage to finish it (from what I recall of the book, the latest film is truer to the novel). I struggled with the language for some reason; I'm not certain why. I've certainly read other 19th century books - H.G. Wells' of course! - and earlier ones. Including one written at the same time as Frankenstein. Literally at the same time; John Polidori's The Vampyre. Which is admittedly shorter. Perhaps it was Shelley's style of writing I struggled with.

 

[Cohen]

One of my favorite YA science fiction books is Tattoo Atlas by Tim Floreen.

A year ago, Rem Braithwaite watched his classmate Franklin Kettle commit a horrific crime.

Now, apart from the nightmares, life has gone back to normal for Rem. Franklin was caught, convicted, and put away in juvenile detention for what he did. The ordeal seems to be over.

Until Rem’s mother selects Franklin as a test subject for an experimental brain procedure intended to “cure” him of his cruel and violent impulses. Suddenly Rem’s memories of that day start coming back to the surface. His nightmares become worse than ever. Plus he has serious doubts about whether his mother’s procedure will even work. Can evil really just be turned off?

Then, as part of Franklin’s follow-up testing, he and Rem are brought face to face, and Rem discovers…Franklin does seem different. Despite everything, Rem finds himself becoming friends with Franklin. Maybe even something more than friends.

But when another of their classmates turns up dead, Rem’s world turns upside-down yet again. Franklin insists that he’s innocent, that he’s cured, but Rem doesn’t know what to believe. Is someone else responsible for this new murder, or is Franklin fated to stay a monster forever? And can Rem find out the answer to this question before the killer, whoever it is, comes after him too?

He also wrote another YA SF book called Willful Machines, which was a lovely queer romance story.

In the near future, scientists create what may be a new form of life: an artificial human named Charlotte. All goes well until Charlotte escapes, transfers her consciousness to the Internet, and begins terrorizing the American public.

Charlotte's attacks have everyone on high alert—everyone except Lee Fisher, the closeted son of the US president. Lee has other things to worry about, like keeping his Secret Service detail from finding out about his crush on Nico, the eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed new boy at school. And keeping Nico from finding out about his recent suicide attempt. And keeping himself from freaking out about all his secrets.

But when the attacks start happening at his school, Lee realizes he's Charlotte’s next target. Even worse, Nico may be part of Charlotte’s plan too.

As Lee races to save himself, uncover Charlotte’s plan, and figure out if he can trust Nico, he comes to a whole new understanding of what it means to be alive ... and what makes life worth living.

 

[NotASlayer]

@thrasherpix Oddly, I didn't have any issues with Lovecraft's writing style; I first came across a reference to him in Heinlein's The Number of the Beast (as I mentioned elsewhere, that is probably not a book suitable for a pre-teen!). I do think it can be a specific author problem, even when books are written in the same time period.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

SF is sometimes used for speculative fiction, to encompass sci-fi, horror and fantasy inclusive, as well as trying to bypass some of the arguments about what sci-fi actually is.

 

[CardboardGhost]

My current fave authors are John Scalzi and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

I've had Scalzi's Lock In on my shelf for several years now but haven't had the chance to read it. I'm working my way through a lot of classic literature at the moment (I'll be starting War and Peace soon!) but want to circle back to a lot of the SF I already own and haven't read.

Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley - I argue this is technically a science fiction novel, some argue the first even - though most people mistakenly classify it as gothic horror.

This is my favorite novel of all time, though it's been several years since I've actually read it. I agree that it is the first science fiction novel (another strong contender is Cavendish's The Blazing World, although I would consider that to fall more under the realm of utopian fiction, which is a related genre but different), but I don't think that means it isn't also gothic horror; the themes of Frankenstein, especially in regards to interpersonal relationships, are very much a part of the same movement as other gothic classics, which is a movement Shelley would have been very familiar with. She originally came up with the idea as a scary story to tell to friends while they were snowed in, so horror seems like a pretty self-explanatory categorization. What else do you call a book that is meant to be scary and unsettling?

Frankenstein, I started but didn't manage to finish it (from what I recall of the book, the latest film is truer to the novel). I struggled with the language for some reason; I'm not certain why. I've certainly read other 19th century books - H.G. Wells' of course! - and earlier ones. Including one written at the same time as Frankenstein. Literally at the same time; John Polidori's The Vampyre. Which is admittedly shorter. Perhaps it was Shelley's style of writing I struggled with.

Have you tried an audiobook? I generally do prefer to actually read, but for books with difficult language I find it can help to be hearing aloud what I'm reading.

I just watched the recent film and really enjoyed it! Some purists may dislike the changes made, especially with the character of Elizabeth, but overall I do think it's the best adaptation of Frankenstein I've seen and preserves a lot more of the novel's tone than anything else I've seen. It has that blend of gothic and SF that makes the novel so iconic in the first place. The costumes are not at all historically accurate, but they were clearly sacrificing accuracy for symbolism and I think it worked really well. I'd recommend it!

 

[NotASlayer]

This is my favorite novel of all time, though it's been several years since I've actually read it. I agree that it is the first science fiction novel (another strong contender is Cavendish's The Blazing World, although I would consider that to fall more under the realm of utopian fiction, which is a related genre but different), but I don't think that means it isn't also gothic horror; the themes of Frankenstein, especially in regards to interpersonal relationships, are very much a part of the same movement as other gothic classics, which is a movement Shelley would have been very familiar with. She originally came up with the idea as a scary story to tell to friends while they were snowed in, so horror seems like a pretty self-explanatory categorization. What else do you call a book that is meant to be scary and unsettling?

Well, something that falls under the categories of science fiction and horror also fits nicely into technohorror (I'm currently reading a book called Spores, which is technothriller/technohorror).

Have you tried an audiobook? I generally do prefer to actually read, but for books with difficult language I find it can help to be hearing aloud what I'm reading.

I hadn't thought of that! I don't tend to listen to many audiobooks, first because I also prefer a physical book and second because I generally listen to spoken word in the car, and most weeks I'm only doing 10 minute journeys at a time. Which doesn't let you listen to much of the book. But something to consider, thanks.

I just watched the recent film and really enjoyed it! Some purists may dislike the changes made, especially with the character of Elizabeth, but overall I do think it's the best adaptation of Frankenstein I've seen and preserves a lot more of the novel's tone than anything else I've seen. It has that blend of gothic and SF that makes the novel so iconic in the first place. The costumes are not at all historically accurate, but they were clearly sacrificing accuracy for symbolism and I think it worked really well. I'd recommend it!

I did feel, going to about where I got to in the novel (Adam was at the farm), that it was probably truer to the novel than most adaptations. But I've only watched I, Frankenstein and Victor Frankenstein, so this was more going by feeling than being sure.