Any old-school science fiction recommendations?

1275 Views 22 Replies 18 Participants Last post by MGalloway, Jun 27, 2011

41419

Discussion Starter · Jun 22, 2011

Hey,

I'm looking for SF recommendations - shorts, novels, or anything inbetween.

I'm not crazy about space operas, hard sci-fi, YA, or military sci-fi. Technothrillers can be very hit-and-miss with me. I like old-school sci-fi, but more from the Bradbury/Dick end of the spectrum rather than Heinlein/Asimov.

Dystopia is fine, as is psychological stuff.

Any tips?

Dave

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

NogDog

· #2 · Jun 22, 2011

Have you tried any Samuel R. Delany? I see that Trouble on Triton has recently been released for Kindle. It was one of those rare SF novels that really moved me -- even though I don't think I ever understood why it moved me. It is definitely not space opera.

Casper Parks

· #3 · Jun 23, 2011

Try CS Lewis' "Space Trilogy"

1) Out of The Silent Planet
2) Perelandra
3) That Hideous Strength

(not seeing these books in Kindle)

Julia444

· #4 · Jun 23, 2011

If you're going old school, you have to try Robert Heinlein. I remember really enjoying STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. When I looked him up on Wikipedia, they said he was known as "the Dean of Science Fiction writers."

Also, Marion Zimmer Bradley was more fantasy than Sci Fi, but she had (and has) a huge following and was a truly prolific writer.

Julia

OldGrumpy

· #5 · Jun 23, 2011

1. Now wait for last year. Philip K. Dick for kindle.
2. Whipping Star, Frank Herbert for kindle

Tony Rabig

· #6 · Jun 23, 2011

ROGUE MOON, by Algis Budrys. Not on kindle, unfortunately, but well worth finding. Novel version has been through lots of printings. You can probably find the novella version at your local library -- it was included in THE SCIENCE FICTION HALL OF FAME, VOL 2A (or maybe 2B -- I forget which) edited by Ben Bova.

If you like short fiction, the SF Hall of Fame anthologies are a gold mine, as is ADVENTURES IN TIME AND SPACE, edited by Raymond Healy and J. Francis McComas (also not on kindle, but worth the trip to the library).

MASTERPIECES, edited by Orson Scott Card, which IS on kindle has some excellent classic short sf.

kurzon

· #7 · Jun 23, 2011

If you like space adventure, try Andre Norton. Particularly "Catseye" or "Sargasso of Space".

An old favourite of mine is Ben Bova's "The Duelling Machine".

And Harry Harrison's "Deathworld" series is always worth a look.

CoolMom1960

· #8 · Jun 23, 2011

Anything by Nevil Schute. The Far Country, A Town Like Alice, On the Beach, No HIghway...

Todd Young

· #9 · Jun 23, 2011

Anything by John Wyndam, famous for The Triffids, but all his books are good - Midwich Cuckoos, The Chrysalids. I think there's six or so.

Alain Gomez

· #10 · Jun 23, 2011

Dune by Frank Herbert is pretty darn classic. Also, there's all those Asimov short stories.

gatehouseauthor

· #11 · Jun 23, 2011

If you like old school, Jack Chalker wrote some great sci-fi, and melded sci-fi and fantasy (or rather, explained his fantasy ideas with science fiction). The Soul Rider books and the Well of Souls books are his best, and most well known. Not a lot of Chalker's books seem to be available on kindle, but you can search around.

Piers Anthony also delved into sci-fi quite a bit, and is one of my all-time favorite authors of fantasy, sci fi, and every combination thereof. And a lot of his books are on Kindle, with more coming.

Some of the best sci-fi I've read are the early Ender books by Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow are my faves, and are both available on Kindle.

Anne McCaffrey's To Ride Pegasus, Pegasus in Flight, and Pegasus in Space are three good books that basically create the universe that she later follows up on a great deal. To Ride Pegasus, the first, is my favorite of the three... and yep, it's also on Kindle.

And one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series is the Gaea trilogy by John Varley. Titan, Wizard, and Demon are the three books, and they're excellent. Unfortunately, none of the three seem to be available on Kindle.

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NogDog

· #12 · Jun 23, 2011

Alain Gomez said:
Dune by Frank Herbert is pretty darn classic. Also, there's all those Asimov short stories.

Well...the OP did say:

dgaughran said:
...I'm not crazy about space operas, hard sci-fi, YA, or military sci-fi. Technothrillers can be very hit-and-miss with me. I like old-school sci-fi, but more from the Bradbury/Dick end of the spectrum rather than Heinlein/Asimov....

R. M. Reed

· #13 · Jun 23, 2011

I'm very fond of the Heechee books by Frederick Pohl, starting with Gateway. Ringworld by Larry Niven. Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg. Just a few off the top of my head.

41419

Discussion Starter · #14 · Jun 23, 2011

Wow.

These are some great recommendations everyone, thank you very much. I've a summer's worth of reading here!

Dave

Alain Gomez

· #15 · Jun 23, 2011

NogDog said:
Well...the OP did say:

Oops.

Yay for skimming.

Geoffrey

· #16 · Jun 23, 2011

gatehouseauthor said:
If you like old school, Jack Chalker wrote some great sci-fi, and melded sci-fi and fantasy (or rather, explained his fantasy ideas with science fiction). The Soul Rider books and the Well of Souls books are his best, and most well known. Not a lot of Chalker's books seem to be available on kindle, but you can search around.

His Well World series - the initial books and then a few stand alone novels are at Baen (http://www.webscription.net/s-17-jack-l-chalker.aspx) for about $4 a pop ...

gatehouseauthor

· #17 · Jun 23, 2011

Geoffrey said:
His Well World series - the initial books and then a few stand alone novels are at Baen (http://www.webscription.net/s-17-jack-l-chalker.aspx) for about $4 a pop ...

Suh-weet! Payday tomorrow, time to go DL some Nathan Brazil! Unfortunately, I noticed the Soul Rider books aren't there. sigh.

Geoffrey

· #18 · Jun 24, 2011

gatehouseauthor said:
Suh-weet! Payday tomorrow, time to go DL some Nathan Brazil! Unfortunately, I noticed the Soul Rider books aren't there. sigh.

I would LOVE a set of the Soul Rider eBooks ....

Budo von Stahl

· #19 · Jun 26, 2011

Fredrick Pohl is one of my favorites in SF. Man Plus and Lifeship probably my favorites of his.

M Ramberg

· #20 · Jun 26, 2011

Larry Niven did a lot of cool stuff with lost words. Ringworld is pretty good. Alfred Bester did a few nice novels too, and, oh, Clifford Simak is pretty amazing. All very old school. Good luck.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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