Science Fiction

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Updated 8.4. 2003

This is mainly a Science Fiction page because I have been sorely disappointed by a majority of the fantasy "literature" which mostly consists of copies of either The Lord of the Rings, Elric of Meldibone or Conan the Barbarian. Therefore fantasy may be mentioned as an exception that proves the rule.

Mainstream? Click this.

I usually like specific books instead of authors but there are some I have found rather good. They include:

Iain M.Banks: Master of modern space opera. There's a short description of his Culture background. Culture series consists of Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Use of Weapons, Excession and Look to Windward. Other science fiction books by Banks (he also writes so-called mainstream) may or may not be connected to the Culture.

You could also waste your time reading much worse stuff than that of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series...

Octavia Butler: One of the rare African-American writers. Exogenesis series (Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago) seem to be the best

Pat Cadigan: Labeled as the Queen of Cyberpunk, her books are possibly the only cyberpunk worth reading, Mindplayers is my favorite. Her homepage is apparently maintained by her husband.

Ursula K.LeGuin: Thought reputedly retired from the SF field, her works are still good. I can recommend The Word for World is Forest and The Left Hand of Darkness anytime. And Rocannon's World is still a good read. Always Coming Home is more an anthropological study of a future community than a novel but LeGuin is one of those rare people who can write it without making it boring.
Oh yes; Earthsea Trilogy is one of those rare fantasy trilogies I can recommend with a clear conscience.

Stanislaw Lem: Polish veteran of science fiction but not recommended for those who can enjoy only action; Or then you are better off with reading Invincible. Solaris is a classic, of course, but I really cannot recommend the movie - too artsy to my taste. Look also this.

Barry B.Longyear: Many outside the field may only know the movie Enemy Mine, based of his short story. Any reader is well advised to dig up a collections Manifest Destiny or The Enemy Papers to get the rest of the story.

Fred Saberhagen: Creator of Berserker series and lots, lots more besides.

Robert Silverberg: Silverberg has written many other interesting tales from Nightwings, a "far future"-tale to Dying Inside which is more low-key. Latter tells about the days of an aging telepath; if there were telepathy, I think that would be close to reality.

Cordwainer Smith: Or, to be exact, Paul Linebarger. Most of his tales are collected into anthologies and the only "novel" Nostrilia is in fact two shorter tales published together. These tales have more than their share of symbology with Underpeople, people made of animals, and strange planets that literally change people. The site apparently maintained by his daughter.

John Varley: Not for prudes, this man. Barbie Murders (okay, Picnic in Nearside)-anthology could be a good starting point but letīs not forget Ophiuchi Hotline, Steel Beach or Golden Globe. On the other hand, trilogy fans could prefer the Gaea-trilogy - Titan, Wizard and Demon - though it still has the normal trilogy-related problems...
Other relevant site is here.

Ian Watson: It has been claimed that all Watson's stories are about transformation or communication. Embedding is not an easy read but still worth crawling through. And then there's the Books of Mana, Lucky's Harvest and The Fallen Moon; probably the only Kalevala-inspired SF worth reading. The page is rather graphic-heavy...

H.G.Wells: Classic worth reading even in these days; we still haven't invented cavorite ;-) Stop watching those stupid movie adaptations who mangle Time Machine, War of The Worlds and Invisible Man; buy the books (second hand is just fine) and read them ! List of works here.

James White: Writer of the Sector General-series, now unfortunately deceased. I actually get to meet him back in 1987.

Marion Zimmer Bradley: Late veteran of fantasy writing, who died in 1999. There's a page of her Darkover-series. Mists of Avalon is not liked or even understood by everyone, but give it a shot.

Robert Holdstock: Mythago Wood and its sequels could be classified as borderline SF but I classify this as good fantasy. Seems to have stuck to a certain path, though...

Guy Gavriel Kay: This Canadian writer can be described as the "Great White Hope of Fantasy Literature". Even the more formulaic stories did not arouse deja vu-irritation in my bones.

Mind you, not everything these people write is pure gold (they are/were just a human beings after all) but the pearls can be found from their work.

Now, some specific books I consider worth reading. Most of this is not world-class literature but I like it.

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart: Humorous fantasy about a mythic China that never was. Don't bother with the sequels.

Cabal by Clive Barker: Tale about the underground city of monsters - and some people worse than them. The only book of Barker worth reading - ketchup content is relatively low.

Changeling by Chris Kubasik: Most of the "novels" written in the background worlds of roleplaying games are less than adequate. But in this case, there is some heart in this story of a man turning into a troll and trying to find his place in the world of Shadowrun.

Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt: A nerd finds a ring of Brisingamen. This story has a certain drawback; you have to know something about certain operas of Wagner to understand all the jokes.

Fine and Private Place by Peter S.Beagle: Tale of a man living in a cemetery and then some. If this is afterlife, I am not particularly worried.

Illegal Aliens by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio. Absolutely slapstick comedy about sort-of-a First Contact and how it is not what everyone would expect. And then some...

Wormwood by Terry Dowling: Really weird aliens have taken over the Earth - but their motivations are more than a mystery An anthology by an Australian writer - hard to find outside cons, it seems.