About this List.

I created this list out of sheer lazyness, so that when discussing sci-fi with someone, I can simply point them to this page for recommendations. It also serves to satisfiy my sense of order; so as the French would say: voi-la.

The works listed here are in no particular order, other than that in which they came to mind. I couldn't place them in order of preference as they are all excellent in different ways. But you'll find that many of the works listed here have the following attributes: fast-paced, multi-threaded stories with conceptual depth, complex settings, and strong character development. While not all of the books here have all those attributes, they are all outstanding for different reasons.

I make no claims whatsoever in regards to the quality, merits, or worth of the works listed here, other than my personal opinion, however most have received critical and widespread acclaim within the genre. There are many, many more books that I could wholeheartedly recommend, and many big name writers missing from this list. Some I may not remeber at the time I made this list, some I may ad later; this is a work in progress..

What Makes Science-Fiction Special?

For starters, science fiction is appealing -to me- becasue it is heavy on science -not the science you find in a geolgy thesis (my apologies to any geologists), but the sexy science you find in a hyper-drive, a Dyson sphere, or that ingenious device that saves us from the alien armada in the nick of time. Note that I am not talking about the techno-gibberish you find on sci-fi TV shows, but reasonable extrapolations based on real science or existing theories, which you can find on serious science-fiction -much of which is written by actual scientists who do know what they are talking about.
I like science because it is at the root of who we are as humans. Science -and its sibling, technology- is what allows me to use this tamed collection of electrons to shape the piece of information you are now reading. It is the direct result of our natural curiosity and problem-solving instincts, which made us use fire instead of running from it, and develop agriculture, and written language. And when we make Mars into a second Earth, or bring back the dinosaurs, or cure cancer, or travel to the stars, it will be because of our mastery of science and technology.

Secondly, I like science fiction because it has more to offer. I saw an interview of an argentinian naval aviator once. With typical arrogance, he was saying that navy pilots are better than air force pilots because they do everything air force pilots do, plus they have to take off and land from a ship, which is a whole other skill. I see sci-fi as the navy pilot of fiction. In it, you can find virtually everything you can find in any other fiction genre, plus a whole other conceptual dimension on top of that, which allows the writer that much more freedom to create a richer story, and a richer world for the story to develop in. Take the Night Dawn Trilogy, or the Hyperion Saga. Now try to find a story in a different genre that is similar in scope, complexity, diversity of environments, and sheer number of cutting-edge ideas. I don't think you will find any.