Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Authors You May Have Missed
Come with me, my friend. I'm going back, way back, to some of my first grownup reads. I was crazy about fantasy and science fiction in those early read-whatever-you-want-you're-done-with-school years. It's all I read.
I'm writing this post with you in mind. You are young-ish, right? Maybe in your late teens, twenties, maybe early thirties? You grew up on Harry Potter and you are wild about the Hunger Games series?
You might have missed some fabulous reads, I think. Now remember that I read them a long time ago (Whew! Has it really been---gulp!---forty years?) But I remember them. Vividly. And that's the important thing.
So if you are feeling brave and want to try some older, fabulous fantasy and science fiction, try these:
Ray Bradbury. Anything Ray Bradbury.
Mind you, I have a deeply sentimental place in my heart for Ray. I was reading a Bradbury book when I met my husband. And he was reading the same Bradbury book. Yes. Fate, I suppose.
I highly recommend The Martian Chronicles, I Sing the Body Electric, A Medicine for Melancholy, R is for Rocket, and Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow. These all still sit on my shelf. And I don't keep many books these days.
Here are more that I remember fondly:
Come with me, my friend. I'm going back, way back, to some of my first grownup reads. I was crazy about fantasy and science fiction in those early read-whatever-you-want-you're-done-with-school years. It's all I read.
I'm writing this post with you in mind. You are young-ish, right? Maybe in your late teens, twenties, maybe early thirties? You grew up on Harry Potter and you are wild about the Hunger Games series?
You might have missed some fabulous reads, I think. Now remember that I read them a long time ago (Whew! Has it really been---gulp!---forty years?) But I remember them. Vividly. And that's the important thing.
So if you are feeling brave and want to try some older, fabulous fantasy and science fiction, try these:
Ray Bradbury. Anything Ray Bradbury.
Mind you, I have a deeply sentimental place in my heart for Ray. I was reading a Bradbury book when I met my husband. And he was reading the same Bradbury book. Yes. Fate, I suppose.
I highly recommend The Martian Chronicles, I Sing the Body Electric, A Medicine for Melancholy, R is for Rocket, and Timeless Stories for Today and Tomorrow. These all still sit on my shelf. And I don't keep many books these days.
Here are more that I remember fondly:
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
Little, Big by John Crowley
I was so mad for fantasy and science fiction that I belonged to the Science Fiction Book Club (does it still exist?) It was my lifeline. I bought and read a whole series of "The Best of" short stories from the SFBC. They were amazing. The Best of Fritz Leiber. The Best of Henry Kuttner. The Best of Frederik Pohl. The Best of Murray Leinster. The Best of Cordwainer Smith. I loved these books. I read them over and over.
Have you read any of these? Any thoughts? Are there any you've read and think I should reread? Any suggestions to revive my love for fantasy and science fiction?
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Lovely list! I've read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and though it's been hyped everywhere, the book was really boring and disappointing to me. :( But oh well! The other books you have look so interesting. I might want to read them soon <3
ReplyDeleteJillian @ Jillian's Books
I read it before the hype and that may have been the difference!
DeleteGreat list! Thanks for stopping by my TTT
ReplyDeleteHope it helps.
DeleteThis list is awesome! I'm kind of disappointed in myself because I've only read Fahrenheit 451. Apparently I need to read more Bradbury, stat.
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely Bradbury.
DeleteGreat list. I'm sure didn't know of any of this titles!
ReplyDeleteMost of these books are pretty old.
DeleteI read Ender's Game back in the day, too, and re-read it recently because of the hype. Still love the characters in that book. The rest I haven't read, which makes me feel like the worst sci-fi geek, ever. I'm definitely adding these to my goodreads. The good 'ole classics never get old.
ReplyDeleteYes, you must catch up. Lol.
DeleteI love Bradbury! So awesome that you met your husband that way :D I was electrified by Fahrenheit 451, and I also read The Illustrated Man. Other than that, some of the titles sound familiar but I haven't read them. I've been meaning to get to Philip K. Dick for a while though... but there are so many of his that I don't know where to start.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
I'm sad that people forget the old fantasy writers.
DeleteI love the old-school Sci-Fi covers. So awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog! Great list I haven't heard of most of these!
ReplyDeleteFahrenheit 451 was one of the best book I had to read for school! I loved it!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I followed ~ follow back?
Brittany @ http://www.spacebetweenthespines.com/
There was a time when 90% of what I read was science fiction, the other 10% was imposed on me by high school reading lists. That was many, many years ago and I've branched out quite a bit, but I still love scifi. I haven't read a few in your list but I'm familiar with most of the authors.
ReplyDeleteGreat list. I've read everything on it and still have copies of just about all of them. The "Best of" collections from Ballantine Books were great introductions to writers that are now almost forgotten. I have all those collections. All great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI once had copies of them all. In my forties, I cleared shelves of almost everything, including all of these.
DeleteClearing shelves? I don't understand the meaning of that statement. My house is like the roach motel for books. The check in, but they don't check out. Unless I move them to the storage units.
Delete