Must-read books

[Antonio]

Hello, I've been reading fantasy and sci-fi for a short period. I would appreciate recommendations for must-read books for someone new to the genre. Essential works that every beginner should read. I would greatly appreciate the information.

P.S.: Please excuse any errors in my message; English is not my native language.

[CBRetriever]

Dune

[Kaladin]

Hi Antonio,

I'd be happy to recommend some books.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Not a classic but a fun entry to sci-fi, especially if you are new to the genre.
Dune Now that's a classic. 😀 Space Opera at its finest.
The Forever War. Easy to read while exploring some more complex concepts.

[Antonio]

CBRetriever wrote: "Dune"


Thanks, I will read it this year.

[Antonio]

Kaladin wrote: "Hi Antonio,

I'd be happy to recommend some books.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Not a classic but a fun entry to sci-fi, especially if you are new to the genre.
[book:Dune..."


Thank you very much, seriously. I was only aware of Dune; I hadn't heard of the others. Thanks, I'll add them to my list.

[Ian]

A classic time travel story is L. Sprague de Camp's "Lest Darkness Fall," most readily available at the moment in a collection with sequels by other writers, Lest Darkness Fall & Related Stories. It is very realistic about the kind of technological changes possible in Italy about 530 AD. A sort of reply to Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, which puts a whole industrial revolution into motion.

Rivers of Time collects de Camp's shorter works on the Time Travel theme. He is also known for the Viagens Planetarias series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viagens...), and a lot of very good fantasy. He was a major figure in the revival of Robert E. Howard's Conan (and other) stories in the 1960s, which for some people has overshadowed his other contributions.

[Ian]

Andre Norton may be a good place to start for a beginner. Her books were often published in hardcovers as juveniles or Young Adult, but the paperbacks were mostly marketed to general or more adult science fiction and fantasy readers. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_N...

I won't suggest titles: I am biased in favor of books I read as a child and which held up to re-reading decades later. Maybe others will add their favorites.

[Trude]

I'd like to recommend Project Hail Mary as a modern, good introduction to Science Fiction.

When it comes to what you have to read, there is no such thing. The best is to find what kind of genre you like and then search for authors and books based on that. For instance, are you into battles, wars, strategic planning, do you prefer character driven books, do you like space travel more, or first encounters. When you discover where you prefer to rest your eyes, it is only a matter of looking for the earlier "classics" in that area.

I was very found of Isaac Asimov at a young age and loved his Foundation series.
Recently I read Way Station by Clifford D. Simak, and also a collection of some of his short stories, and he writes in an easy to access style.

I wish you luck on your SciFi journey!

[Kaladin]

Antonio wrote: "Kaladin wrote: "Hi Antonio,

I'd be happy to recommend some books.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Not a classic but a fun entry to sci-fi, especially if you are new to the g..."

You are welcome. 😀 Happy reading!
Ps: I find sample chapters on Amazon super helpful for figuring out if I like an author's style, if the story graps me etc. When you unsure with which book to start, that might help you too.

[DivaDiane]

The group is “rereading” a number of books by Ursula K. LeGuin in the next couple of months. I can highly recommend starting with The Lathe of Heaven. We are also discussing it during the next Virtual Book
club meeting. It’s short and relatively easy (for Le Guin) with a really interesting premise that won’t age.