scifi - clean, classic, 50's 60's type suggestions

[zespectre]

Tom Swift and the <fill in the blank> - Victor Appleton.

I can't think of any Heinlein that wasn't at least some sort of political commentary.

Oh wait...Glory Road. (well still some commentary <sigh>)

On the other hand you could locate the "Bureau 13" books (edit: By Nick Pollatta). Not 50s-60s but still fun.

[1611mac]

Originally Posted by queentess

When I read your initial request, the first thing I thought was "Wow, I hope he stayed FAR away from Heinlein!" Everything you listed as "don'ts" are spot-on Heinlein, so it's hilarious that you listed him as an example of what you're looking for. -snip-

It's been years but I just don't remember any foul words in ANY of the early Heinlein that I read. (nor in pre- 50's or 60's print). I did start and then stop reading one of his works (forget the Title) about a man who wakes up in womans body.... too weird for me.... - And I did have some problems getting thru "Grok" -

I'm going to have to read "Moon.... Mistress" again to see if I completely missed the political aspects or if they weren't that prominent. I loved that book.

Also loved "R w Rama" by Clarke. I vaguely remember some "scenes" that I passed over very quickly, but again, I don't remember a lot of vulgarity. Am I wrong? Have I just forgotten?

Thanks for the suggestion of Resnick.

[1611mac]

Originally Posted by zespectre

Tom Swift and the <fill in the blank> - Victor Appleton.

I can't think of any Heinlein that wasn't at least some sort of political commentary.

Oh wait...Glory Road. (well still some commentary <sigh>)

On the other hand you could locate the "Bureau 13" books. Not 50s-60s but still fun.

Again I'll say... political commentary does not bother me at all when it belongs properly in a good story... it's when the purpose of the book is to drive a political agenda that I don't care for it.

[1611mac]

Originally Posted by queentess

Ooo! And Clarke! Rendezvous with Rama, Childhood's End, 2001.

yep.. love clarke! 2001 movie is on my tv right now! Never realized how annoying all that space suit "heavy breathing" is, minute after minute!

[ATDrake]

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is pretty much a how-to-do-it libertarian takeover tract. Don't get me wrong, I still liked it anyway. But Heinlein's non-juveniles do tend to be on the agenda-pushing side from time to time.

Robert J. Sawyer is pretty much a modern-day Canadian Asimov*. Lots of optimistic sf exploration on how technology and discovery will shape humanity, hopefully for the better.

While not exactly squeaky, his works are reasonably "clean", I'd say. The profanity in them is not used often and tends to be of the theological rather than the bodily function variety, and I can only recall two even moderately-described actual sex scenes in all his books†, and I've read them all except for the very latest one.

He's a multiple Hugo/Nebula nominee/winner and he's put up some of his award-winning novellas and short stories to try out for free on his website.

I'd say that Just Like Old Times, You See But You Do Not Observe, The Hand You're Dealt, and Identity Theft are most representative of his usual novel-length work, as well as the level of social commentary and language explicitness he tends to put into his stories.

Give them a whirl and maybe you'll end up with a fairly reliable "safe" author you'll mostly be able to depend on for good sf stories that will often fit your criteria.

Also, second the rec for Mike Resnick, who often has fun, slightly retro stories.

But you'll have to be a bit selective, I think, in order to fit your list of requirements. Resnick's perfectly willing to swear up a storm and put in no-holds-barred sexual description if the story premise calls for it (cf. one of the stories I can't remember the title of from Will the Last Person to Leave the Planet Please Turn Off the Sun?, from the viewpoint of a stalker/voyeur).

I also really liked the Bureau 13 books mentioned above, if they're the ones written by Nick Pollotta. They're available DRM-free via Fictionwise, who occasionally have deep-discount coupons you could apply to bring the price down quite a lot.

No real sex scenes in them (though definitely a Heinleinian level of suggestive teasing between couples), but I won't swear that they're profanity free. But I think I recall them mostly being fairly light and mild on the swearing when it occurs. If you're interested but concerned, I could run a word-check on my e-book copies for any terms you'd think you'd find offensive enough to want to avoid if they occur more than X times per book.

* For anyone keeping track, I'd say that Peter Watts comes closest to being the Canadian Clarke (albeit an angry punk Clarke) and Tanya Huff is closest to being the Canadian Heinlein.

† In case you want to absolutely avoid them, they are somewhere in the Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, about dinosaurs discovering science, and in the Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, about encountering a parallel world where it was Cro-Magnon man who went extinct.

[straygator]

You might try Roger Zelazny's Isle of the Dead, written in the mid-60s. Classic early Zelazny order/form vs. chaos theme pitting a Worldscaper against a failed-Worldscaper-gone-bad on a 'Scaped planet called the Isle of the Dead. His This Immortal, from the same period, is good as well.

Other mid-60s options worth a look are Piers Anthony's first two: Chthon and Phthor.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by straygator

Other mid-60s options worth a look are Piers Anthony's first two: Chthon and Phthor.

Speaking of Anthony, he should give the Bio of a Space Tyrant books a try.

(Shhhhh.... nobody say anything! )

[1611mac]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Speaking of Anthony, he should give the Bio of a Space Tyrant books a try.

(Shhhhh.... nobody say anything! )

Never let a good missile crisis go to waste.....

[Penforhire]

Hmm, given your clarification about agendas, perhaps the works of Roger Zelazny? I could be wrong but I don't recall much swearing in Lord of Light, for example.

[GlennD]

I second the H. Beam Piper recommendation, and would also add E.E. "Doc" Smith. He's primarily known for the Lensman series, some of which is at Project Gutenberg (the magazine versions of what later become the novels). Squeaky-clean, Boy Scout type heroes, classic space opera. They're a fun read.

[gollu]

I'll give my recommendations too.
First of all - Ursula K LeGuin Hanish cycle books and particularly:


c.2684 AD - Rocannon's World
c.3755 AD - Planet of Exile
c.4370 AD - City of Illusions
c.2368 AD - The Word for World is Forest
c.4670 AD - The Left Hand of Darkness

in that order.

[jkeene]

Possibly Charles Sheffield's books would work. I've read Godspeed, that certainly meets your criteria, and a couple others whose names escape me. They can be rather light at times, but when that's what you need, they're spot on.

[1611mac]

Originally Posted by jkeene

Possibly Charles Sheffield's books would work. I've read Godspeed, that certainly meets your criteria, and a couple others whose names escape me. They can be rather light at times, but when that's what you need, they're spot on.

Thanks... after a rough day of study and such LIGHT is good...... again.. appreciate all the suggestions.

[Fiacha]

I noticed that Brian Stapleford's series has just been rereleased.

I like E E Cole and his public domain stuff is here.

Some of Frank Herbert's stories are here as well.

Look on Baen for Keith Laumer (I just read A Trace of Memory from the Legions of Space compendium). He may be better known for the Bolo stories but he wrote a lot of other stories that aren't bad.

[ebusinesstutor]

Originally Posted by straygator

You might try Roger Zelazny's Isle of the Dead, written in the mid-60s. Classic early Zelazny order/form vs. chaos theme pitting a Worldscaper against a failed-Worldscaper-gone-bad on a 'Scaped planet called the Isle of the Dead. His This Immortal, from the same period, is good as well..

I am a big fan of both Isle of the Dead and This Immortal. Two great ones by Roger Zelazny.