Science Fiction Books I Loved Before the Challenge
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - This book is considered to be one of the first science fiction books. It is about the dangers of reckless scientific ambition and the ethical implications of creating life. The book questions science without ethics. What happens when humans, who are flawed and not divine, try to create life? We see the monstrous results. The book is a classic and one I need to read again.
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury - The Illustrated Man is a collection of short stories framed by the story of a tattooed man whose tattoos come to life and tell each story. Some of these stories are my favorite short stories of any genre. I thought I wasn't going to be able to reread the story "The Veldt", a story about children obsessed with their virtual reality nursery. But I recently reread it and it is even more terrifying in the age of iPad kids.
I still reference the story "The Long Rain" when I haven't seen the sun in a while. I think Bradbury's use of children is what makes some of these stories scary.
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - These are also a collection of short stories. Each of the stories is a little thought experiment testing out The Three Laws of Robots.
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its oen existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
I thought the stories were sometimes funny, sometimes cute but I didn't feel moved until the last story where robots are more like advanced AI's and rule the Earth. This story disturbed me because I could see it happen in real life. I didn't rank this book highly until I got to that last story.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - I have recently seen book reviewers tear this book apart but when I read it 10 years ago, I really liked it. I loved the story of the moon colonists and the space battles which I thought were realistic. The politics didn't bother me as they gave the main characters motivation to fight for their independence. The sentient computer, Mike, was also interesting. I liked how at the end, the Lunar government slowly lost their libertarian values and were slowly turning into what they hated on Earth. I think the world building makes the book impactful as I see its influence in movies, TV shows, and books to this day.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - This book was my favorite book in high school. It is a dystopian novel where the people are genetically engineered and pacified by a drug called Soma. In many ways, I think this book predicted the future. One odd thing that stood out to me was how the citizens in this future do not mend socks or sew buttons, when clothes wear out, they just throw them away. I noticed how people in our society so the same thing. Most young people don't even know how to sew! It's those details that make Brave New World a classic in the dystopian genre.
The Time Machine by HG Wells - Middle Schools in America used to require this book in the 8th grade but now they assign The Outsiders instead. It is a shame, because The Time Machine is a classic that society still references in the 21st Century. A scientist from the 1890's travels far into the future, to the year 802,701 A.D. It is a world where humans have devolved into either the child-like Eloi or the montrous Morlocks. HG Wells combines science, fantastic world building, and social commentary effortlessly. The book was written in 1895 but is timeless.
I have, of course, read many other science fiction and fantasy books, but these are the ones that I consider to be my favorites.
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