Last week, we took a look at some fantasy books that just
deserve a little more attention than they've been getting. Today, we turn to
the science fiction side of the spectrum, throw out a few more books to make
your to-be-read pile all the larger.
7: Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel
Remember when sci-fi was fun? Aliens and technology and
adventure? That's Can of Worms. It rose to popularity during the era of Disney
Channel Original Movies, and that's how I discovered it. A TV movie. I
proceeded to read it ten or fifteen time. In a row. It's the story of Mike
Pillsbury and his attempts to move through the sea of the public school system,
all the while dealing with a cavalcade of aliens drawn by the signal he sent
out into the universe, all ready to 'rescue' him from his family. And of
course, things take a turn for the worse. But as far as sci-fi goes nowadays,
it's a nice, light read.
6: Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott
Flatland does have a certain level of popularity, but will
that last? As we, unfortunately, lose our oldest generation of sci-fi readers,
more and more classics fall by the wayside. Already, enough people haven't read
Flatland. But I think it deserves attention, if only because of how completely
groundbreaking it was at the time. In 1884, Edwin Abbott published Flatland
under the pen name A. Square as the memoirs of a resident of Flatland, a
two-dimensional world. But our noble square is not your average square. He
receives a message from another world. A sphere who descends into flatland from
our world to show him the truth. An allegory to it's core, the very fact that a
work in such a time period, one that not subtly suggests that God may, in fact,
be quite fallible, astounds me to this day. And you can't beat the price—under
two dollars for an ink and paper copy.
5: Hopscotch by Kevin J. Anderson
Now, Kevin J. Anderson is hardly a name to be forgotten in
the world of modern speculative fiction. But try to talk to someone about
Hopscotch. How many people have read it? I've been to numerous sci-fi and
fantasy cons, both as a fan and as a panelist, and I have yet to run across a
single other soul who has read the book, or even heard of it.
It tells the story of a group of young people in a world
where body-swapping is not only prevalent, but quite normal. An artist who
switches out with another to avoid exhaustion. A young woman seeking some sort
of spiritual truth. A government officer without the ability to swap, but unfooled
by the mutable outward appearance of the world's population. I read it first in
middle school, and it's stuck with me since then.
4: Manta's Gift by Timothy Zahn
Jupiter: the great, inscrutable gas giant. What lies beneath
the surface? What could possibly withstand the gravitational force of such a
massive stellar body? Timothy Zahn, well known to fans of the Star Wars
Extended Universe as the creator of Mara Jade and Admiral Thrawn, answers that
question—the Qanskas. They travel from gas giant to gas giant throughout the
universe, floating about and just surviving. Our main character, injured, is
given the chance to join his consciousness with the body of one of the Qanska
(I know, Avatar… but this came first. Remember that.). They accept him… kind
of. As he moves deeper into the Qanska society, he learns the truth. Whether he
wants to or not.
3: Ultra Fuckers by Carlton Mellick III
Dystopian fiction has always been one of my favorites. Now,
technically, Ultra Fuckers is considered bizarro fiction, which is a relatively
new genre that sprung out of splatterpunk and magical realism, but it reads
exactly life sci-fi. Weird sci-fi, but sci-fi. It begins innocently enough: a
dinner party with a woman's new boss. It's in this brand new housing
development, but the GPS isn't working. Before too long, she abandons her
husband, the story's main character, and he has to try and find his way out.
But that won't happen. This housing development keeps growing. Constantly. It's
computer programmed for perfection, but the computer has a bug. Of course it
does. Soon enough, the whole world is one big housing development, complete
with the ubiquitous goldfish mohawked robot cyclops.
I told you it was weird.
As with most dystopian fiction, it's not particularly
hopeful, but it's a hell of a read. And you can finish it, cover to cover, in a
few hours. Great for a gray and rainy day off.
2: This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
God, this list is starting to look familiar. Any regular
reader probably recognizes half of these books, including This Perfect Day.
It's one of my favorites. Now, I love The Giver, I do, but this is better. So
much better. It's very clear about the whole thing rather than leaving it to
imagination like The Giver. You meet the people in charge. You see the
escapees. You understand the full and complete level of the treachery committed
in the name of keeping society peaceful. Chip doesn't quite fit in. Chip's
genetics are flawed, leaving him with heterochromia, one brown eye and one
blue. Chip questions the way things are done, and he isn't the only one. There
are others around him, people who appreciate art and smoking and sex that isn't
shortened by chemical injection. He gets in with them, but he's not happy with
their small victories. He wants more. He wants true, actual freedom, and he's
willing to fight for it.
1: The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem
You had to see this one coming, didn't you? It's my favorite
book. No one's ever read it. I want them to read it. It's sci-fi. This list is
about sci-fi. It may not be the least popular sci-fi book ever written, but
it's not exactly popular, either. At least not in the states. It got quite a
bit of notice when it was released in Poland. It's not a single narrative,
rather a collection of vignettes about the illustrious constructors, Trurl and
Klapaucius. From a run-in with a pirate desperate to collect information to a
trip hunting dragons through the phases of probability, the stories are just
fun, which is what this list seems to come down to. The science is… well, there
really isn't any science. It's very heavy on the fiction. But it's brilliant.
Completely and utterly brilliant, and a lot of the credit goes to the
translator, Michael Kandel. Not only the text but the poetry was translated,
rhyming intact.
So there it is. We did seven fantasy books, and now seven
sci-fi books. So again, I turn to you: which books did I miss. What can I add
to my bookshelf? Let me know, and subscribe up at the top, if you want to keep
the dialogue open. I always like to hear from other readers.
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