Maya Ben David
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My favourite science fiction books:
🕑 Added 2021-11-15 16:56:06 +0000 UTCAhem, I am more than just a rat making art, I am also...an intellectual with ideas about SPACE. This is not in order of preference. If you are about to recommend an iconic early sci fi book like Foundation by Isaac Asimov, just know that I will be polite to you but I really prefer contemporary sci fi novels. Not because i'm edgy and cool, I can just relate to them more and they usually have more female characters.
1) A Song For Lya - George R. R Martin
A story about two telepaths that are hired to figure out why humans are converting to an alien religion that allows a parasite to consume them at middle age. It has been speculated that this novella has huge connections to the ASOIAF series ( The Game of Throne series). After reading both I agree!
2) Lilith's Brood - Octavia Butler
I can't write a catchy intro to this book series because I will give away the mystery. Just know that the aliens in this book are incredibly interesting and non like i've ever seen depicted before.
3) The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson
This book is described as "hard science fiction" meaning it's very concerned with being scientifically accurate. It takes place 4 years from now in 2025. It follows an organization that advocates for the rights of human's from future generations as if they were as valid as human's that are alive presently. The book gives a very harrowing depiction of the state of the earth due to global warming and existential risks. I would not read the first chapter at night because it is very disturbing. This book feels too real! Which is why it is amazing.
4) Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
I really like stories about plagues, biological warfare and have characters with god complexes so this series just ticked a lot of boxes for me. Not only that but it is very cleverly written and by far the sexiest of all the books I mentioned. She decorates all her characters with hyper specific details that make them feel realistic and lovable.
Recent read: The Power by Naomi Alderman
This story follows a couple different women around the world who suddenly wake up and are able to conduct electricity through their hands. It explores what the world would be like if women were suddenly much more physically powerful than men. The premise is exciting but has a great plot hole. That is, it never address what happens to non binary and trans people, and anybody on the gender spectrum. We only get the perspective from cis women. I think the author did this because otherwise she would have to investigate the science behind the mechanism that makes women's bodies electric and make her plot hole even more explicit. Besides it's oopsie it's an interesting idea and it's written very well.
I am currently reading: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson and a sexy fantasy fairy series called "A Court of Thorns and Roses".
I hope you liked my list!
Comments
Maya Ben David
I have read Dying of the Light. I think the whole Kavalar culture is really interesting and I love the strange and scary bro culture that's emerged out of them living underground. It's inspired me too.
Gwenivere the Ponderous
GRRM is so good at scifi, if you haven't already I recommend reading The Dying of The Light by him. It's very melancholy and the one female character is kinda difficult in addition to her relationship to the MC who is a sad boy stereotype, but as sci-fi plots go it's one of my very favorite setups. It actually inspired me a lot with world building.
Maya Ben David
So much of how the Oryx and Crake series developed is so realistic to how it would happen in our world.
Jerfling
'Oryx and Crake' was a harrowing read - the bit about the GMO coffee bean still haunts me, because she depicted precisely how its introduction would go our current world. You might enjoy the 'Fifth Season' trilogy, by N K Jemisin. It's got world-ending calamities, dynamic female leads, and a blend of fantasy and science so deftly handled that it becomes its own thing. I'm normally a pludgy reader but I DEVOURED these books, and can't recommend them enough.
