vendredi 5 septembre 2014

The Best Sci Fi Novels Ever

By Mattie MacDonald


Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is considered a literary classic and one of the fist science fiction novels. The book is one of best sci fi novels ever written is set in a near future dystopia and human beings are manipulated and controlled using psychological techniques to serve the powers that be.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is also set in a near-future dystopia. The title refers to the temperature at which paper spontaneously ignites and the firemen in the novel burn books. The plot revolves around fireman Guy Montag who lives a lonely and desolate existence where people never read, enjoy nature or think independently. Montag slowly begins to question the meaning of his life and finally discovers the value of literature and moves boldly to save the books and his own life.

Dune by Frank Herbert is set on a fictional planet far far away called Arrakis, Arrakis is the sole source of a drug called melange, that provides immortality to anyone that takes it. The planet is also the stage for an epic power feud between the two ruling families and the quest of the young Duke Paul Atreides to gain his rightful place on the throne.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This classic novel by Phillip K Dick is a post apocalyptic tale set in 1992, where many plant and animal species are extinct and most of the surviving humans have abandoned the dying Earth to live on Mars. On Mars they are allowed to own androids, which serve as slaves, but many of these robots became discontented and fled to Earth. However, back on Earth, bounty hunters search for the androids and "retire" them. The bounty hunter Rick Deckard finds himself on a quest to find eight androids that recently arrived in San Francisco after they killed their human masters on Mars. Sound familiar? It is because the classic movie Bladerunner is based on the novel.

Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars is a must-read for any science fiction fan. It is set in the near future where humans have begun to colonise Mars. Back on Earth, arguments erupt regarding whether to make another Earth via terraforming or to leave the planet as it is.

Contact by the renowned astro-physicist, Carl Sagan blends hard sci fi with a fantastic story line. It is the story of a woman who works for SETI who discovers noise coming from an earth like planet via a radio telescope.

Issac Asimov is one the most important authors in sci fi and his hard science fiction Foundation Trilogy is an essential read for any fan of the genre. It is set in the far distant future and humanity has colonized the galaxy. An empire has been established but it is breakdown under the weight of political infighting, corruption and bureaucracy. Hari Seldon is a historian who decides to bring to together the galaxies most eminent scholars and historians to create a vast encyclopedia and launch a new era for humanity.

No science fiction novel list is complete without War of the Worlds by HG Wells. The story is well known; Earth is invaded by Martians operating giant tripod like vehicles using total war to subdue humanity because they covert the Earth's resources. When Orson Wells first read the story on the radio in 1938 many listeners began to panic, thinking that it was actual breaking news!




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