Which scifi book should i start reading, as a beginner
That's a weird cover. Haunting, even.
>>23534125The killing star.
Science fiction fans are people who have a passing interest in technology but are too lazy to learn about actual scientific subjects.
>>23534125that is a much better cover than the garbage paperback i bought. Androids dream of electric sheep is a very short, pleasant read.
>>23534125I'll recommend you some relatively accessible stuff. >MMAcevedo by qntm>https://qntm.org/mmacevedoAn epistolary story about an uploaded mind. Cold, clinical sci-fi horror. Honorable mention should go to the SCP Wiki which has a lot of entries that are competent sci-fi horror although they tend to be a mixed bad and lurch more in the direction of fantasy horror. >The Last Question by Isaac AsimovIt's a classic sci-fi short story for good reason. It's a bit cheesy but for a lot of people it's their first intro to Asimov and midcentury speculative fiction in general. It's about entropy, otherwise just read it for yourself. >The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams>http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/It's not by Asimov but runs using Asimov's technoethics. By contemporary standards, this focus on Asimov's Laws of Robotics makes it seem dated and clunky especially since there's been a lot of other "post-Singularity" work that delves deeper. Nonetheless, if you've got a strong stomach for violence (sexual and otherwise) and moral ambiguity this is a good short story. There are other stories by Williams that take place in this universe.>Twig by Wildbow>https://twigserial.wordpress.com/Web serial about a world where Dr. Frankenstein-style biotechnology is mainstream and used to create a New British Empire. It focuses on children who're created to be the superhuman slaves of this regime, keeping renegade researchers in check. Wildbow in general has only improved greatly as a writer since Worm.
>>23534197seconding. if you like it go on to rendezvous with rama.
>>23534222I read it this weekend. PKD has a unique style that is oddly endearing after you get used to it.
Tiger Tiger / The Stars My Destination
>>23534294Great suggestion. A ridiculously fun book that's also packed with cool ideas.
>>23534209You can actually do both, read sci-fi and learn cool science. Don't be a faggot
Stranger in a Strange Land
>>23534125That oneIts my fav
>>23534209Many decent scientists have pointed to sci fi as how they got to where they were.
ender's game
>>23534125Hyperion is great
>>23534243I remember being a teenager and going through all sorts of webfiction and public domain sci fi. You brought back good memories, Anon.
>>23536217It really is a touching memory, also develops better taste than reverting to the mean through paypigging or piracy.
>>23534336This. It is kinda long though. Ghost by Piers Anthony is nice and fairly short.
>>23534125Really depends on where you're coming and what you're looking for. I can recommend some Hard Sci-Fi:> Solaris (Stanislaw Lem)> Starfish (Peter Watts)> Culture Series (Ian M. Banks)
>>23534516>Manyname two
>>23534243>The Last Question by Isaac AsimovJust read it thanks to this post. Great story. I feel like I may have read it ages ago and didn't remember, something about it seemed familiar, but regardless, so much meat to it in so few pages.
>>23534125the robot books my asimovI, Robot (collection of short stories), caves of steel, the naked sunheinlein starship troopers, stranger in a strange land, the moon is a harsh mistress
>>23535798>Hyperion is greatEh. It's 5 ok short stories. Epic in scale, well written for the most part.
>>23536304>Solaris (Stanislaw Lem)After bouncing hard off the boring movie adaptions, I was surprised how tense and interesting this was.
I didn't know if Something Wicked This Way Comes counts but it's a really good book
>>23534243>>MMAcevedo by qntm oh, I saw his work on Amazon. Are his collections and other stories worth picking up? I know they'll be print on demand, but I like reading paper.
>>23534125Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. Nice writing, short stories, some fun, some sad. Bradbury's always worth a read.
As a beginner, you should try something more easy and yet funny.Starship TroopersA Fall of MoondustProject Hail MaryLeviathan WakesPhilip K Dick shorty stories. >>23534209This is a bait, right? The best sci-fi books out there aren't even about technology.
>>23534125the one you posted and this. after that you can move on from the genre as nothing comes close to topping these two
>>23534516The greatest scientists found their inspiration in actual literature and scripture, not adolescent genre fiction
>>23534209They enjoy literature and idea more than boring practical logistical work. If a reader likes science then he'll read textbooks you dope.
>>23538601>Source: my putrid asshole
>>23536268Ghost is terrific, and I've never heard it mentioned by anyone. You have patrician taste, anon.
I started with 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke when I was fourteen. Food for thought.
>>23534291Dick is great, but if you're starting out you should read the two gentlemen he regarded as mentors. The great A. E. Van Vogt (Slan, Null-A) and Clifford D. Simak (Way Station, City),Simak: "Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not I have struck a hopeful note ... I have, on occasions, tried to speak out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our purpose in the universal scheme – if we have a purpose. In general, I believe we do, and perhaps an important one."
>>23535798>>23536304>Hyperion>SolarisThese are bad recommendations for someone who isn't used to sci-fi and wants to get started in the genre. The books are good, but it's the same as if someone asked "I want to start with fantasy, what should I read?" and someone recommended Earthsea and The Book of The New Sun.
>>23540325If you want really simple, then start with Heinlein's juveniles. But your observation is off. There isn't anyone not used to sci-fi after decades of being saturated by decades of Star Trek, Doctor Who and capeshit. Hell, we're living in a sci-fi dystopia right now.
>>23541076I doubt anyone who isn't used to actually read heavy physiological texts, only comics or young fantasy can handle Solaris. Or any weird PKD or dry and hard sci-fi. Even Neuromancer makes lots of readers very confused and frustrated.
>>23540325Book of the New Sun I get, but what's wrong with Earthsea for a new fantasy reader? For what it's worth I've only read (and only intend to read) A Wizard of Earthsea.
>>23540325So if I’ve read Stein, Joyce, Lima, and Gass I’ll struggle with Solaris?
>>23534125
>>23541924Give it a shot, anon, but it also depends on whether you like lengthy descriptions of strange geometric shapes mixed with a lot of nihilism.
>>23538438Yes, at least in my opinion they are.
>>23534125Star Maker
