Classic SF Primer

[chrispenycate]

Really nasty sadistic grin smiley
It was the Capëc that did it: should I start an equivalent thread on the "movies" forum for the classic SF (well, we could add fantasy, since there are far fewer films than books ) films. what limit? nothing in colour, nothing after 1960?
R.U.R., Forbidden Planet, Metropolis; things that get put on TNT at two in the morning.

[tiny99]

Originally Posted by chrispenycate

Liked JD’s list. Disagreed (of course) with some of the books, none of the authors. Still, I’d add some of the very olds : H.G.Wells (The Time Machine, War of the worlds) Jules Verne (20,00 leagues under the sea) and Aldous Huxley (Brave new world) and George Orwell (1984) (for conspicuous erudition)
Some Fred Pohl ? “Man plus“, or “†he space merchants“ perhaps ? (never forgetting that with most of these writers, if you like the book you can look for more of that author’s work, and with a few exceptions (Bester and Spinrad from the previous list) will probably not be disappointed.
Since this is under “classic“ I’m not going to fill in any of the newerworks ; indeed I question the Kim Stanley Robinson entries (not as books, merely from age) and question if we shouldn’t put some of the unashamed space opera romps in (EE “Doc“ Smith’s Lenseman series) or some of Simac’s nostalgia for an America that never existed…
Ransack your local library for that lot, then come back when you’ve read them. There will be plenty more suggestions waiting (and so many short stories, too)

Chrispy makes a good point here, HG Wells is an absolute must as far as I'm concerned, I've just finished War of the Worlds and The Time Machine and they're both excellent, couldn't believe I hadn't bothered with them before.

[j. d. worthington]

I'm afraid I must disagree that the older writers don't have much to offer to modern readers. I think that's more a matter of preference than anything else. While by no means wishing to disparage the more recent writers of sf (or fantasy), many of those I've dipped into are indeed quite good, some I'd say are excellent. But quite a few of the older writers also offer less strictured ways of thinking, and more imaginative play with concepts, as well as no few actually having a rather richer prose style than some (by no means all) of the better-known modern sf writers. As noted, sf, as any viable branch of literature, tends to be a cornucopia; I'd suggest sampling a wide variety, find what appeals, and jumping in with both feet (or however many pedal extremities one may have....). Enjoy!

And Chris: TNT has shown R.U.R.? When the heck was this??? I've always wanted to see that film!