Been out of work for a while so buying books is out the question (yeah, I get there’s always the library, but I don’t like it for a lot of reasons).
I like how PG has free books. I realize I’m not going to find top-tier modern writers on PG, but I’m open to suggestions of good reads.
What I look for in sci fi:
- An idea to chew on; something that stays with me even after I turn the last page.
- Some emotional intrigue; I want to feel what the characters feel.
What I like to avoid:
-
Technobabble. I like a good story; I don’t want to spend half the book understanding how the ship works. (I found Frank Herbet was good with avoiding technobabble…he often obeyed the rule of “show don’t tell”)
-
Stock characters. Gimme some depth.
A few I’ve read so far that I’d consider “passable” are Off on a Comet by Jules Vern (I only listen to about 2/3 of this on librivox) and Space Prison by Tom Godwin (although the plot is pretty simplistic).
I just finished Frankenstein. A lot of people think its The Greatest Novel. It was kinda meh. I see why people would get excited about it, but it didn’t grab me like it does other people.
Any suggestions?
Project Gutenberg has a pretty good science fiction selection, quite extensive in fact that I think it’s better to go by author than by individual works.
For the “classics” there’s H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs, aside from Verne and Shelley whom you’ve already mentioned.
There are some surprising names, too, like Jack London, E.M. Forster, and Rudyard Kipling.
For golden age scifi: Frederic Brown, E.E. “Doc” Smith, CM Kornbluth, Jack Williamson, Frederic Pohl, Olaf Stapledon, and Andre Norton. Also, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft.
For your criteria, though, I would recommend looking for the works of Philip K. Dick and H. Beam Piper.
Thanks, I’ll look into those.
Three books I can happily recommend:
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs One of the many influences on Star Wars https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62
Gladiator by Philip Wylie Supposedly an influence on the creation of Superman and modern superheroes https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42914
Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott Philosophical and mathematical and kinda touching all at once https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/201
And while not sci-fi, if you’re into superheroes, Scarlet Pimpernel and Zorro are fun early secret-identify stories:
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60
Mark of Zorro https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61620
This is one of my favorites. I leave it to you to decide if it is really science fiction.
It’s been a long time since I read it, but I remember liking City of Endless Night.
Bookmarked!
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books are public domain. They’ve got those on Project Gutenberg, but they may be too much “stock characters” for you.
Would some of the Lewis Carroll stuff scratch the “science fiction” itch?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court at least has the character development. And, strictly speaking, it is time travel. ;)
Finally, if quasi-fantasy and mythopeia do anything for you, there are things like George Macdonald’s Phantastes and G. K. Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday. Both those authors were influences on C. S. Lewis. But we’re really straying away from anything that’s strictly science fiction there.
Good suggestions! Yeah, I’m one of those folks that likes nuance, so anything that science fiction-y is totally fine. One thing I like to read (and write, since I also write short stories) is exploration of the fantastical. Something out of the ordinary to give a different perspective on the human experience.
Isaac Asimov is great. His stuff isnt really on project Gutenberg, but it is on the internet archive: https://archive.org/details/the-complete-asimov-by-isaac-asimov
Thanks. I did read one of his novels a while ago (not i-robot, but I forget the name of it). I was kind of bored by his novel, TBH. But if I may give it a second go at some point.
Thats fair, it might not be your thing. asimov definetly has a unique flavor to his writing.
Good luck on the search :)
Space Viking by H. Beam Piper. Ignore the pulpy sounding title. It’s a good novel with real scope.
I have not read this yet thanks. I did not realize PG has a bunch of H. Beam Piper
Thanks. Downloaded it to my library.
Can we talk more about your aversion to libraries? You can get great digital and audio books, and I don’t see a big difference getting a digital book from the library versus downloading one from PG. Is it an app issue?
I’m not against libraries. It’s just that I prefer reading physical books. But with a library it’s a lot of stress to remember the due date (although I usually finish books long before the due date), and it does make me slightly uncomfortable that the library keeps a record of every book read (I’m sure it sounds paranoid, but I also know on here I’m in good company. lol). While my reading material isn’t anything noteworthy it just makes me uncomfortable.
So I prefer raiding Good Will or bargain book stores for secondhand books. No due date, no record that I bought it (since I pay in cash, although I’m sure if you’re really desperate you can look at security cam footage when I bought the books and cross-reference). But since I can’t afford that I figured I could make do with digital books until I can afford to buy books again.
