94 books like 334

Welcome to a world where the inhabitants are androgynous, able to manifest both male and female genitalia. A world where you can be both a mother and a father of your children, where gender roles and expectations make no sense. I was absolutely astounded by this book when I read it many years ago. In a beautifully told sci-fi tale of political intrigue and adventure, I found myself constantly confronted by my limitations in terms of gender equity. 

For what LeGuin called her “social science fiction” and “thought experiments,” LeGuin created worlds—canvases really—where human foibles, conflicts, values, and ideas could be played out to their logical conclusion. This is one of her best.

LeGuin writes, “All science fiction is a metaphor,” and that is certainly the case with her books. Brilliant metaphors that shine light not so much on other worlds but on our own. I taught TLHOD in high… show more.

Jo Walton is a wonderfully humanistic storyteller with a deep knowledge of history and art who excels at creating alternate societies, and I was fascinated to see her work on a deliberately smaller, more intimate scale in this novel. The text is made up of the diary entries of Morgana, a precocious teenager who is a voracious science fiction and fantasy reader, as is Jason Velez in my novel. Though published in 2011, the book begins at the end of the 70s and perfectly captures the period.

Among Others excels at character development. It feels like a literary mainstream novel about a young person–imagine, say, the best of Judy Blume–smartly mixed in with glimpses of the fantastic. It wears its love for 70s science fiction on its sleeve and won the Hugo and Nebula awards. 

When I discovered this book as a teenager, it exploded my understanding of what science fiction could do. After revisiting it recently, I found its absurdism, dark humor, and satire to be as fresh, funny, biting, and original as ever.

Voice is probably the most distinctive literary characteristic of Malzberg’s vast short fiction output, of which this collection contains a number of 70s gems. This work showcases some of Malzberg’s obsessive interests, like alienated astronauts, hallucinating patients, assassinations, and the deconstruction of genre tropes. Malzberg’s commentary on science fiction and fandom–the recursive strand in his work–links it directly to my novel, which mentions his work explicitly.

The stories in this collection are short but savage, genius, offensive, and maniacal. You’ve been warned! 

As a teen in the 90s, I bought a lot of used science fiction paperbacks from the 70s; I loved this tribute to that era’s key artists and their signature styles. I found this book to be much more than a pretty exercise in nostalgia, however, weaving in smart historical commentary and creating an interesting context for works through subject-related groupings like “Life in the Future(s)” and “Cryptozoology and the Paranormal.”

By chronicling the science fiction art of the time during which Jason Velez in Equimedian is active in fandom and builds his collection, this thorough, gorgeous survey doubles as a kind of extended universe artifact for my novel! It’s a beautiful resource that includes full-page reproductions of stunning covers (including some by authors on this list, like Malzberg), and I find that it inspires me to continue exploring the strange byways of 70s science fiction.

“The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldridge” is the most horrifying and terrifying novel I’ve ever read. A terran psychedelic drug begins being supplanted by one from another star system. The latter compound never lets you come down—just when you think you have, you start tripping again. And so on…

When Tegan dies, she wakes up a hundred years later, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened. As she tries to make sense of this future world, it starts to feel as if something is very wrong. Should she keep her head down and just live out her life, or should she fight to make the future better for all? An excellent story from a world-class writer. “Accessible, thoughtful and compelling — science fiction done right.” – Kirkus Reviews

This book is a really fun investigation by a brilliant journalist who leads readers through a thorough yet skeptical look at the Silicon Valley-based movement known as “radical life extension” or “transhumanism.”

From hobbyists, to hackers, to scientists, to venture capitalists, a broad contingent of people in and around the “tech” space are convinced today that techno-scientific advancement will eventually allow humanity—or at least a certain small cadre of the wealthiest and savviest humans—to live forever.

There are heavy ideas here, and the book will give you a lot to think about, but it manages to be a breezy read despite the often troubling subject matter.  

This book combines time travel, computer games, and some very thorny puzzles as a group of friends are trapped in a virtual reality game from the future. This isn’t just a simple ‘solve the puzzles to get home’ story, though: there’s something darker going on behind the scenes and as more and more was revealed, I found myself dying to know what was happening. The story is fast-paced, great fun, and different from anything I’d read before.

Cyberpunk Noir isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (sorry), and this story is dark and downbeat, with two female protagonists who aren’t especially sympathetic, so readers tend to love this book or hate it. For me, the kinetic writing style, crackling dialogue, and richly-detailed descriptions of cyberspace—as well as the fresh take on the “locked-room murder” (a virtual reality parlor in this case)—makes it a highly-recommended read.

Awaken Online: Catharsis was actually the very first LitRPG/GameLit book I ever read, and from the opening chapters, I was hooked.

It follows the story of Jason, a player in the VRMMO Awaken Online who becomes a powerful necromancer and is positioned as the game’s villain. I think what drew me in the most was how Jason explored his various abilities, always seeking new ways he might be able to modify or use them to his advantage.

He’s also not afraid to push back against what seems to be the established order within the system, utilizing his powers in a variety of awesome and surprising ways. I definitely drew inspiration from how the magic is described here for my own story, even though my story features less overt game elements.