Science Fiction Anyone?

I enjoy reading Science Fiction or SF, as it is abbreviated.

I won't say I'm an expert, but I usually know a bit more than the other librarians I'm with when we start talking about SF.  Science Fiction is a sub-genre of Speculative Fiction which includes Fantasy, Alternate History, Utopian/Dystopian fiction, Paranormal and Horror.

In general, SF appeals to the reader's intellect. It is often described as the left brain reaching out to the right brain--logical toward artistic. These novels imagine worlds and technologies that could exist. Science, rather than magic, drives these stories, and often ethical implications of the choices characters make is at the heart of the tale.

Science Fiction is not all space battles and aliens. If you care about character, there is some SF for you. If you like being immersed in another time or place, there is SF for you. If you like action or prefer a leisurely exploration of ideas, there is some SF for you. As Joyce Saricks writes in The Reader's Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, "this is a genre rich in both physical and intellectual adventure...From Romance to Mystery and beyond, Science Fiction is an unexpected treasure trove of crossover authors and titles." (p. 244)

I usually recommend a few sure bets to new readers of Science Fiction, trying to match the SF title with things they like about the current books they read. If you want to stretch your reading and go out of your comfort zone, I've read and enjoyed the following books and I think you might enjoy them, too!

If you like books in which characters and their experiences are important, you might try Mindscan by Robert J. Sawyer.  Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she's no longer constrained by a worn-out body either. But suddenly Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance. Even worse, the original version of Jake, consigned to die on the far side of the moon, has taken hostages there, demanding the return of his rights of personhood. A quick read with a conversational tone, and the added bonus of making you wonder if you’d make the same choice as Jake and Karen did, make this book a good read.

If you like books with quirky humor, eccentric characters and satire, you might try The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Set in an alternate London, literature is so important that it is a crime to forge verse and it's possible to travel into novels and poems. When someone starts kidnapping literary characters it's up to Special Operative Thursday Next to catch and punish the perpetrator. Clever word-play and satire make this a fun read, and best of all, it's the first in the "Thursday Next" series.

If you like action and adventure, you might try Old Man's War by John Scalzi. John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave, then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and aliens willing to fight for them are common. Seventy-five-year-old John Perry joins the Colonial Defense Force because he has nothing to keep him on Earth. Suddenly installed in a better-than-new young body, he begins developing loyalty toward his comrades in arms as they battle aliens for habitable planets in a crowded galaxy. As bloody combat experiences pile up, Perry begins wondering whether the slaughter is justified; in short, is being a warrior really a good thing? Humor and action abound in the first book in the Old Man's War series.

If you like fables and parables, you might like The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach.  A barren, isolated planet's whole economy funtions around weaving carpets, allegedly for the emperor's palace, out of the hair of the weavers' wives. Although a weaver must have several wives to make his particular carpet, he may have only one son, who becomes his successor when he finishes his carpet and dies. But what if you don't want to be a carpet maker, and why are all these carpets needed anyway? Soon ships from the new government arrive with officials wondering the same thing. The new interstellar government learns why the ousted emperor secretly maintained thousands of carpet-making planets--and so will you! Eschbach's parable-like writing style as well the mystery we watch unfold are the primary appeals for this book.

One last...
If you enjoy more literary books you might enjoy The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist, heads a team of scientists and explorers on an expedition to the planet Rakhat, where first contact has been established with two sentient races. Fr. Sandoz is the only survivor of the mission. The narrative shifts back and forth between 2016, when the mission began, and 2060, during a Vatican inquest into the failed mission. Through Fr. Sandoz's tale we learn the terrible story of the mission and the reasons he came back maimed and broken in spirit. An excellent choice for book groups and, like most literary novels, can be read on many levels.

There are many more authors and books to explore in this genre. Have you read any SF novels? What would you recommend to readers new to the genre?