A Syllabus and Book List for Novice Students of Science Fiction Literature

Brainphart · 09-02-2010, 12:38 PM

A Wired Magazine article found here.

bill_mchale · 09-03-2010, 03:24 PM

Ummm.. no Jules Verne? I know the list is not aiming to cover everything, but no Jules Verne? Particularly when we are talking about Genre foundations?

Also, the Sparrow for Space Travel? Its a good Alien Contact novel, but it sucks in how it describes space travel!

Speaking of which, what sort of syllabus on Science Fiction doesn't even go for any Hard Science Fiction? The closest I see on this list is I Robot, but that only barely qualifies (in my opinion).

--
Bill

queentess · 09-03-2010, 04:34 PM

Very cool! Since my visit to the SF Museum in Seattle, I've been reading books off their 'recommended' list.

jaxx6166 · 09-04-2010, 08:39 PM

Wait - there's a SF museum?

socal9 · 09-07-2010, 01:22 AM

I took a look at Wired's recommended reading list and while I did read a few of the books and enjoyed them, there was one that just frustrated me. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick just left me flat. I remember finishing the book and thought that someone had rippped out the last few pages of my copy of the book. The ending for me was terrible. Evidently the vast majority of people who read the book loved it so I guess it was just me.

ctol · 09-07-2010, 02:25 AM

Might I add the following books by James Gunn to the list for anyone interested in the history of science fiction. These books are all outstanding.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...SIN=0810844141

This site is also quite good as well. Don't recall exactly how I ran across it but I think it is really good.

http://www.sf-foundation.org/

And I would also suggest this site for people looking to get into reading and learning about science fiction. Something for almost everyone can be found here.

http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/SF-Index.html

Enjoy if you will.

queentess · 09-13-2010, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctol

Might I add the following books by James Gunn to the list for anyone interested in the history of science fiction. These books are all outstanding.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...SIN=0810844141

Oh yes! The only one I've read is Volume 3, and it was fantastic.

queentess · 09-13-2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Wait - there's a SF museum?

Indeed. It's not terribly large, but I thought it was fun. See page 2 here (pdf).

I visited... about 2 years ago. The thing that sticks with me the most is this holographic display that showed you a handful of different planets from famous works and talked about them. It was brief, but cool. Arrakis was my favorite.

rlparker · 09-13-2010, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

Indeed. It's not terribly large, but I thought it was fun. ...

Just checked out their website. In addition to the SF museum, they are also the "Experience Music Project". Quite a combination!

09-02-2010, 12:38 PM	#1
Brainphart Compost Power Posts: 79 Karma: 62238 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee Device: Nook ST-1 Sony Reader PRS500(retired but still kicking)	A Syllabus and Book List for Novice Students of Science Fiction Literature A Wired Magazine article found here.

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09-03-2010, 03:24 PM	#2
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Ummm.. no Jules Verne? I know the list is not aiming to cover everything, but no Jules Verne? Particularly when we are talking about Genre foundations? Also, the Sparrow for Space Travel? Its a good Alien Contact novel, but it sucks in how it describes space travel! Speaking of which, what sort of syllabus on Science Fiction doesn't even go for any Hard Science Fiction? The closest I see on this list is I Robot, but that only barely qualifies (in my opinion). -- Bill

09-03-2010, 04:34 PM	#3
queentess Reading is sexy Posts: 1,303 Karma: 544517 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: none	Very cool! Since my visit to the SF Museum in Seattle, I've been reading books off their 'recommended' list.

09-04-2010, 08:39 PM	#4
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	Wait - there's a SF museum?

09-07-2010, 01:22 AM	#5
socal9 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southern California Device: waiting for kindle	I took a look at Wired's recommended reading list and while I did read a few of the books and enjoyed them, there was one that just frustrated me. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick just left me flat. I remember finishing the book and thought that someone had rippped out the last few pages of my copy of the book. The ending for me was terrible. Evidently the vast majority of people who read the book loved it so I guess it was just me.

09-07-2010, 02:25 AM	#6
ctol Groupie Posts: 152 Karma: 303523 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Arizona Device: Nook, Fire Tablet, Windows RT Tablet Windows Phone	Might I add the following books by James Gunn to the list for anyone interested in the history of science fiction. These books are all outstanding. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081...SIN=0810844141 This site is also quite good as well. Don't recall exactly how I ran across it but I think it is really good. http://www.sf-foundation.org/ And I would also suggest this site for people looking to get into reading and learning about science fiction. Something for almost everyone can be found here. http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/SF-Index.html Enjoy if you will.

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