Here are some of my favorite sci-fi short stories and novels. Many of these are high up the sci-fi hardness scale, and may be quite demanding on the reader (e.g. require that they pay attention to several pages of infodumps). Several of these were written a fairly long time ago, but they should, for the most part, still stand up to the test of time.
You can read this fantastic short story in just a few minutes, whilst you're on the toilet. If you've never read any sci-fi, and especially if you think sci-fi is just overly masculine starship captains with funny-sounding laser pistols, start with this to get a modernist view on what sci-fi can mean and do as a literary style.
This short story clocks down at a little under 5 thousand words; more than enough for Asimov to create a fascinating, thought-provoking story. It is my #2 recommendation for people who think they might want to start reading sci-fi, but aren't sure yet.
What would you do if, one day, you realized that this night on earth would be the last night a human being would ever be able to experience? That you'd never see the light of day again? Perhaps you'd do something similar as the protagonist in this short story. Inconstant Moon is very accessible to people who haven't ever read any sci-fi, as there's hardly any sci-fi in there, and should - for most people - feel pretty relatable.
This murder mystery revolves around the murder of an inventor. There's a catch, though: the murderer couldn't possibly have escaped the scene of the crime without being seen! And yet, nobody noticed him or her escape. If you think about the evidence and the technology described in this short story enough, you might be able to figure out who did it and how. I wasn't able to, myself, but I really enjoyed the surprising outcome.
This excellent novel, which is often (wrongly?) considered to be Young Adult, is splendid in the way it's written. Easy to read, yet heavy in scope, it's been one of the most un-put-downable books I've ever read. Its pseudo-sequel, Ender's Shadow, is also definitely worth reading. Actually, I believe that Ender's Shadow is better, yet would still recommend reading Ender's Game first.
Snow Crash is a cyberpunk novel about computer science, cryptography, linguistics, anthropology, history and philosophy. It's one of the nerdiest, geekiest books I've ever read. It's also ridiculous fun. There's not many things I can say about Snow Crash without spoiling some of the fun of it. I guess I could say that the protagonist is named Hiro Protagonist. If that doesn't make you smile a bit, perhaps you should give this book a pass.
A great novel about first contact between mankind and an intriguing alien civilisation. What makes 'Mote' especially interesting is that the technology in the book's universe is actually very relevant to the plot of the book; even small details have huge impacts. Unfortunately, this novel suffers from a plot that isn't always the best.
Mankind notices a big spacecraft thing floating in space; mankind investigates big spacecraft thing floating in space. Mankind learns about alien culture that created big spacecraft thing floating in space. Setting, realism and the feeling of exploration take center-stage in this awesome novel, so don't go reading this if you'd like to see some character development.
This novel about an alien invasion has four pages of dramatis personae. After reading it, you'd have heard about more than 125 named characters, some of which are central to this book's branching and merging storyline. A true epic which I absolutely loved reading.
I find it hard to describe exactly why Dune is such a good book to read. I would definitely recommend reading it, though! A true epic; a true classic.
One of the best game-players in the universe, Jernau Gurgeh, is coerced into travelling to a spacefaring empire where they play a game so complex that the winner is crowned emperor. This novel has many great things going for it. The alien empire is fascinating both biologically and politically, and the plot feels very... holistic? It's hard to describe exactly what makes The Player of Games great without potentially spoiling it. Nevertheless, this is a great read. One of many great books in Banks' Culture series.
The cultural significance of this novel can not be understated. The technology, plot structure and many of this novel's concepts have been used succesfully in other media ever since. The gateway drug to Niven's Known Space universe.
This novel follows the life of Mark Watney, a botanist-astronaut stuck on Mars after his crew unwittingly abandoned him there following a catastrophy. Watney must use science and his intellect to not only survive, but also to call for help. This novel's movie adaptation nails the feeling of the book, but omits some of the harder science that you can read about in the book. A true love-letter to the greatness of science and engineering.
My favorite novel in the Reynolds' Revelation Space universe has one of the best opening chapters in any book I've ever read. Chasm City is a dark and atmospheric revenge novel that seems simple at first, but gets more and more complex and intriguing with each chapter.
This epic novel discusses some of the problems one might face when attempting to create an interstellar (trading) culture. It also deals with software archaeology, and has some pretty interesting characters. Weirdly enough, I don't remember much about the actual plot of this book, but I do remember liking it a lot!
- The Forever War - Joe Haldeman (a novel about special relativity and its effects on individual humans as well as human culture)
- Rainbows End - Vernor Vinge
- A Fire upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge
- The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi (dark and depraved)
- Use of Weapons - Iain M. Banks (this one is fairly difficult to read and understand due to its unusual narrative structure, but said structure is the thing that proves that Banks was a truly exceptional author)
- Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson (think the colonization is Mars is a neat idea? read this)
- many, many, MANY of the short stories written by Larry Niven that take place in the Known Space universe. Niven wrote so many great short stories!