February 25, 2025: Formative Sci-Fi Reads!

What was the first science fiction novel you remember reading?

For me, it was this book….

A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke (1974 edition)

It was part of a stack of science fiction books my mother bought me ion an effort to steer me away from comic books which were my then passion.  Among the other titles she got me, which I also read around them same time….

Childhood’s End.  Still my favorite Clarke book and one of my favorite classic SF novels.

Monkey Planet by Pierre Boulle.  The inspiration for The Planet of Apes with a memorable twist ending all its own.

Dangerous Visions (and its sequel, Dangerous Visions II), edited by Harlan Ellison.  A phenomenal collection of SF short fiction assembled by one of the genres greatest authors.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.  I checked this one out of my school library and had my adolescent mind blown.

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Foundation by Isaac Asimov.  My mother bought be the whole series and, to be honest, these books didn’t do it for me back in the day.  I found them a bit of a struggle to get through in comparison to the Clarke books.

What were your first sci-fi reads?

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