If you've ever smelled me, you know that I'm something of a human. And as a human child who enjoys human things like reading and fingers, I'm here to tell you why your opinions are wrong. As such, this list should not be taken as a gentle guideline for some books that I personally really enjoyed and thought impacted the genre, but should rather be seen as high truth, as my words from atop the ivory tower are ultimate gospel.
Number 3: Neuromancer
A world of neon and fog cements this outstanding work by William Gibson into a view of a future eerily similar to the present. For a book written 40 years ago, when the World Wide Web wasn't even publicly available, it gets a shocking number of things right. Megacorporations have a chokehold on the economy, swaying consumers with digital probes. The story follows a hacker who, after a mafia attack irreperably damaged his nervous system, is no longer able to access the digital world- the one thing he craves. If these things sound cliché to you, they should. This book basically invented the genre of cyberpunk. The cherry on top of this knockout piece is the prose. It can be disorienting at first, but once you get used to it, it really is a delicious sugary frosting on the plot cupcake.
Number 2: Dune
Whereas Neuromancer was set in a grounded projection of the present, Dune, by Frank Herbert, is a dreamlike fusion of incredible technology and feudal politics. Secretive mystics and princes spar with blade and energy shield across the hostile sands of Arrakis. The book boasts some of the most deep fantasy worldbuilding I've seen since I read the Silmarillion. And you didn't read that wrong- I said fantasy. Despite the presence of star frigates and lasguns, I still believe that Dune has more in common with the themes of fantasy than of science fiction. I might touch on this in a later post, but it's too long to fit here.
A necessary disclaimer for readers- there are a lot of made up proper nouns. Usually you can figure them out through context clues, but if not, there is a glossary in the back, as well as a condensed history of the universe and the ecology of Arrakis. Frank doesn't take his worldbuilding lightly.
Number 1: The Three-Body Problem
Whereas the previous two books are somewhat old and crusty, this bestseller from Cixin Liu was published in 2008. It's endorsed by Obama, who is the ultimate lifeform, and I can see why. I believe this story will go down in history as a landmark piece of science fiction, with a delicious blend of incredibly novel and fascinating ideas and a good story.
This story has two main plot threads- one set in a secretive observatory in the midst of the Cultural Revolution, and one set in modern day China. There's a third, more minor one, but getting into that would involve desperately navigating a spoiler minefield.
Put simply, this is a unique take on the played out "alien invasion" plotline. It explores the rate of technological advancement and the response of humans through the lens of game theory. Unlike Neuromancer, the story isn't embellished by the prose, and unlike Dune, the wonder is not in strange new worlds, but here on Earth. It's a good book. Go read it.
-Marco
I've read a few excerpts from Dune and get the gist of the plot, but never got around to reading it. The view of Dune being a sort of "Science Fantasy" is really interesting, and if the world building is anywhere near Tolkien level I think I'll give the book a shot
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this article: the language was really entertaining, and I appreciate the metaphors. I've never read any science fiction outside of The Lunar Chronicles- and I'm pretty sure those don't count- but your article has convinced me that I should give these a try. Great job!
ReplyDeleteWow, this article is written very well! I've read The Three-Body Problem and I would definitely agree that it is a very good book. I really like the good concise summary of the plot. The other two books seem very interesting and I think that I will read them sometime in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your reviews on these books; it was engaging and fun to read! The way you wrote and described these books really makes me want to read all of them. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI think I will give the Three Body Problem book a shot, because it seems engaging and intense at the same time. Thanks for the reviews!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard or read anything that has Dune's mix of fantasy and sci-fi! Your description of it sounds like a science-fiction Lord of the Rings, which is pretty interesting. I'll have to try it out sometime in the future!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy Sci-Fi, but I've never really delved into the cyberpunk genre. The summary of Neuromancer you gave sounds similar to Orwell's 1984, which I really enjoyed. I'm sure that the ending isn't as depressing as 1984's, so it sounds like an engaging read.
ReplyDeleteDune seems cool, but I think I won't like it. I've never read something that fuses Sci-Fi with fantasy, but I have watched the first season of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica. The show starts off extremely strong, but starts incorporating weird unreal, mythical, and religious elements into the story which turned me off to watching the next season. You also mentioned that Dune's worldbuilding is similar to the Silmarillion's, which I'm pretty sure is part of The Lord of the Rings story. I've tried to read The Lord of the Rings before but I always felt like it never got to the story and kept explaining things.
On the other hand, The Three-Body Problem sounds like a very interesting book. I almost always watch or read stories where humans are already incorporated into the alien word, like Star Wars. The book also seems to have an interesting take on the alien invasion formula where instead of the humans defeating the invaders, they get subjugated like in Half Life or assimilated.