Saturday, August 2, 2014

Discover A New Genre With The Best Science Fiction Books

By Annabelle Holman


If you love great literature, you probably prefer reading novels that have won many prizes and are critically acclaimed. You may also prefer works that are considered literary classics. It's very possible that you've never even considered reading science fiction because you may think that this genre can't produce quality reading matter. However, the best science fiction books are often great works of literature too.

Science fiction, or sci-fi as most people call it, usually describes an imaginary world where science and technology feature prominently. Sometimes they focus on that science and technology but some sci-fi books tend to focus more on the structure of the society they're about. There are many different types of novel within the genre, from space fiction to fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world. The authors come up with highly imaginative ideas but there have been instances where these books were actually predictions of the future.

Ancient works from as early as the 2nd century started exploring themes that could be classified as sci-fi. A work from the first half of the 17th century, 'Somnium' by Johannes Kepler, is often cited as the first truly sci-fi novel. Other early works in this imaginative genre include the classic 'Gulliver's Travels' by 18th-century writer Jonathan Swift and 'Frankenstein' by 19th-century author Mary Shelley.

Sci-fi gained popularity later in the 19th century, especially since technological advances paved the way for new ideas. One of the most influential authors from this period was H. G. Wells, who focused on technology such as a time machine and was one of the first to write about an attack by aliens. Jules Verne's great adventure novels, especially those that took readers down volcanoes or deep underneath the sea, also had a profound influence on later writers.

Two famous sci-fi authors are Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. George Orwell's thought-provoking 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' can be classified as sci-fi too, falling under the subgenre of dystopian novels. Aldous Huxley's ideas in 'Brave New World' begin to sound less like fiction and more like science when you look at advances in cloning technology.

Many writers who aren't normally known for sci-fi have written classics in the genre. Mark Twain did it with 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court', featuring time travel. Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote some sci-fi poems. Among the Nobel Prize laureates who explored sci-fi themes are British writer Doris Lessing, Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges and Portuguese writer Jose Saramago.

The highly imaginative nature of sci-fi makes it perfect for the movies. There have been numerous film adaptations of 'Frankenstein' and of the works of Wells and Verne, or instance. Other sci-fi books that became popular movies include 'A Clockwork Orange', 'Dune', '2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Jurassic Park', 'Planet of the Apes' and Douglas Adams' comical sci-fi novel 'A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe'.

The sci-fi section of your local bookstore or library will have great novels to try. You'll also find some works in the 'Classics' section. If you don't know where to start, it's also useful to search online and read the reviews of novels that might appeal to you.




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