The best scifi books1. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke LARRY NIVEN Niven specializes in "hard" science fiction that stresses interesting scientific concepts over social ideas. The best book to start with is 'Three Books of Known Space'. From there any of the know space novels are excellent. While 'Ringworld' is excellent, I found that it made the most sense only after I read most of the other Known Space novels and short stories. WILLIAM GIBSON William Gibson is one of the fathers of "cyberpunk" writing and is said to be the inventor of the term cyberspace. Gibson's books are definitely more about the setting of the story than the plot or the characters. The setting is usually fascinating, however. Without a doubt, the book to start with is 'Neuromancer'. ORSON SCOTT CARD Orson's novel's are very character and morallity driven. They are thought provoking and engaging. He is not tied to any one genre, however, so you may be surprised at what you will find in his catalog. By far his best science fiction book is 'Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)' and he has written an outstanding fantasy/alternative history series that starts with 'Seventh Son (Alvin Maker)'. An incredible survey of Card's writing skills and genre hopping expertise is his collection of short stories: 'Maps in a Mirror (Maps in a Mirror)'. Philip K. Dick Best known for writting the stories that inspired "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," and "Minority Report," Phillip K. Dick writes stories that explore the nature of reality and our degree of free will. I am admittedly new to his work, but I have yet to read a story of his that I did not like. A good place to start is the "Blade Runner" inspiring 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'. Robert Heinlein Heinlein has two fairly distinct writing styles. His early work is geared more toward young adults, but remains great reading for all ages. Two good examples of this phase of his writting are 'Red Planet' and 'Tunnel in the Sky'. Themes throughout his works include the nature and rights of governments, loyalty and honor among friends and family, and the nature of social mores and religion. His later, adult oriented novels focus heavily on trying to break down social mores. The best book from this phase of his writting is probably 'Time Enough for Love', although the most counter-cultural is 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. Two of his more politically oriented novels are 'The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress' and 'Starship Troopers'. Please, whatever you do, don't judge Heinlein by the movies made of his books...they are almost universally bad. FRANK HEBERT Much more of a philisophical and character driven author, his best work is 'Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)'. This one book explores concepts of religion, science, politics, and environmentalism in one compelling and tight story. The entire DUNE series is superb, although the new novels by his son and another writer are not nearly as good. ISAAC AZIMOV Another "hard" science fiction author. I find Asimov's stories good, but somewhat dry. A good place to start is with the Robot novels, beginning with 'I, Robot'.
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