Sci-fi Bookshelf

My Bookshelf

The main reason I write is to explore ideas and the hope that my writing may encourage others to explore ideas. This drive is spurred by the many great minds that have done the same for me.

Below is my bookshelf, divided into themes and subjects that the genre is forever expanding upon. I am only putting up books I have read and recommend.

Intergalactic War

Forever War

Enders Game

Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers.

Robots, Artificial intelligence and the replacement of mankind Universal Basic Income

This is the concept of establishing a baseline income for all citizens that in theory will promote health, well-being and ultimately eliminate poverty and the detrimental effects it has on all levels of society. Opponents predict it will lead to a lazy humanity, proponents to a releasing of the shackles of wage-slavery. Either way, the game has begun…

Canadian province to introduce pilot program – The IndependentFinland to trial UBI – The New Daily, News.com.auIndia on the brink of UBI after interesting pilot program results – Business InsiderWhy we should all have a basic income – WeForum

“The most striking thing which we hadn’t actually anticipated is that the emancipatory effect was greater than the monetary effect. It enabled people to have a sense of control. They pooled some of the money to pay down their debts, they increased decisions on escaping from debt bondage. The women developed their own capacity to make their own decision about their own lives. The general tenor of all those communities has been remarkably positive,” Professor Guy Standing (Business Insider).

Keynes believed that ‘a point may soon be reached, much sooner perhaps than we are all of us aware of, when these [economic] needs are satisfied in the sense that we prefer to devote our further energies to non-economic purposes.’ — Zero Marginal Cost Society

Social Currencies

Google creates liquid democracy voting system

a form of democratic control whereby an electorate vests voting power in delegates rather than in representatives

China ‘social credit’: Beijing sets up huge system [BBC]

The Chinese government is building an omnipotent “social credit” system that is meant to rate each citizen’s trustworthiness.

Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens [Wired]

Imagine a world where many of your daily activities were constantly monitored and evaluated: what you buy at the shops and online; where you are at any given time; who your friends are and how you interact with them…

Professor David Harvey – ‘The Contradictions of Capital’

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The Contradictions of Capital – David Harvey

Angry Aliens

Some aliens have so much unexplained anger. The very sight of another intelligent species sets them off and all the humans can do is fight.

It possibly began with The War of the Worlds, the classic HG Wells that depicts the invasion of Earth by martians. Written in 1898? it still conveys the paranoia of the period, where other countries were as mysterious as beings from another planet. (free ebook)

Futurologies

Star Trek, of course, has built a long and detailed futurology with much to be admired. I will save discussing Star Trek for a more focused posting. 

Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. This is a whole series which has a prequel but I’d start where the author started and read until you get bored.

Cowboy Bebop. Not only the slickest animation of its time, the Cowboy Bebop universe is a primary example of sustained character and story arcs while exploring a universe of possibilities. I recommend the series, the film and the music if you can get it.

The Futurological Congress (From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy), by Stanislaw Lem.