Science Fiction Books

Nineteen Eighty-Four
By George Orwell
1949
Big Brother is watching you! This classic novel darkly portrays a future society completely controlled by an autocratic government. The force of the government is strong. Fueled by double-think, thought police and telescreens, the "Party" controls every facet of life. Winston Smith falls in love, a forbidden situation. Orwell is a fantastic writer who paints this future so vividly, it's scary.

Dune, Dune Messiah, Children Of Dune
by Frank Herbert
These books make up the first trilogy of the Dune saga. The power of the spice permits the universe to function and interstellar communication and trade to continue. When Paul Atreides becomes Maud'dib he begins a revolution on planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Paul changes the planet and becomes emperor of the known universe. The quest for power corrupts those around him as Paul tries to hold the empire and his family together.

God Emperor Of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune
by Frank Herbert
The second trilogy of Herbert's Dune universe takes place hundreds and thousands of years after the first. These books introduce many new and compelling characters and show how the Atredies legacy and heredity continue to influence future generations. Herbert is a masterful storyteller with a fresh and vivid imagination. His attention to detail gives fiction a new dimension of realism.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
By Douglas Adams
1987
Dirk Gently is a detective like no other: time travel is his forte. Adams, author of the celebrated Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series, puts Gently is situations that are . . . well . . . really weird.

Fahrenheit 451
By Ray Bradbury
1953
Montag, the hero of the book, is a fireman. This means he starts fires; specifically, he burns books. In Bradbury's future world, houses are fireproof and have "TV walls." Books are illegal. Montag begins to broaden his mind, and then gets himself into trouble.

Stranger In A Strange Land
By Robert A. Heinlein
1961
"Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith." When this Martian/man comes to Earth, his strange powers are both revered and feared. This entertaining book describes the idea of Martian spirituality.

Neuromancer and Mona Lisa Overdrive
By William Gibson
These are the books that first coined the term "cyberspace" and cyberpunk." Any fan of science fiction writing will love these fast-paced cyber-books. Gibson is a master of his craft and breathes life into the world of a computer matrix dominated by omniscient artificial intelligences and clever human hackers.

Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
This is a must-read for, well, anyone. Visionary Huxley delineated in 1932 the future of humanity, where we seem to be now. A drug (soma) is given out and taken freely and passivity is the dominant philosophy. As for the dominant religion. . . Powerful, complex, and horrifyingly real. Arm thyself with a good dictionary.
-- reviewed by Thomas K. Breslin
Ender's Game
by Orsen Scott Card
Ender's Game is about a child prodigy (Ender Wiggin by name) who lives in a futuristic world.  The human race has already been attacked by insect-like aliens twice, and the second time were saved only by a military genius who won a crucial battle.  Now, all children (like Ender) are bred to be military geniuses.  Ender, the brightest yet found, leaves home at a very young age to train in a battle school in space.
-- reviewed by Paul Johnson

Stand on Zanzibar
by John Brunner
Back in the late 60's, movie-makers experimented with split-screen cinematography. This book is written in a literary split-screen format, that actually works. This is arguably the greatest piece of science fiction ever written because it is an enthralling story written in a superb manner.

That main character of this novel is an undercover spy, who is "activated" and sent into training and out to complete a mission. The book follows a cast of characters including a sociologist who had dropped out, a black executive in a multinational firm, and a scientist remaking the gene pool of his native country.
-- reviewed by Antony Van der Mude

Microworlds
by Stanislav Lem
Written by one of the most consistently original and thought provoking SF authors around, this is that rare object, a critique of science-fiction.

Lem wrote this after becoming disillusioned with SF. The book deconstructs the often hollow and repetitive nature of the vast majority of science-fiction. In the context of this site, it depicts a genre which is bankrupt, the television of literature. I would say this is required reading for anyone who reads a lot of SF.
-- reviewed by Dominic

Star Maker
By Olaf Stapledon
Slotted in the science fiction category, but it is very much a masterpiece of philosophy too. This is the book that Arthur C. Clark credits with turning him on to the greater possibilities of Life and technology. He names his two literary "gods" as being H. G. Wells and Olaf Stapledon. It is a history of the evolution of consciousness in this Universe.
-- reviewed by Frank Szot/Dr. Lightning

The Postman
By David Brin
In order to survive in post-apocalyptic America, Gordon Krantz takes on the persona of a local postman. The small outpost communities and lone survivalists he encounters throughout his travels all doubt Gordon's dedication to the postal service which make his work part psychological and part confrontational. Overall, this is an outstanding book that shares only one scene with the awful Kevin Costner movie of the same name.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner)
By Philip K. Dick
There are not too many humans left on Earth, but it's Rick Deckard's job to hunt down the robots who try to act like humans. The classic sci-fi movie Blade Runner takes the basic story from this novella, although Philip K. Dick's story is more surreal and intriguing.

Vurt
By Jeff Noon
In order to enter the Vurt, you have to suck on a feather. Sound weird? Vurt is about alternate worlds and crazy collective consciousness experiences. Look out for Shadow Cops and dogmen. One piece of advice, always listen to the Game Cat: "Be very, very careful. This ride is not for the weak. It's a psycho. A bit like real life. . . . Well maybe not quite that bad."

Logan's Run
by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson
1967
Similar to the movie of the same name, but not identical. The 1976 movie was based on this book and includes the same characters and settings, but Logan's adventure in the original book is much different. Fans of the movie will enjoy the book and discover more adventures of Logan and Jessica as they try to escape "the system." This book has been out of print for some time, so used book stores or eBay may be the best places to find a copy.

On A Pale Horse
by Piers Anthony
1983
Zane kills Death and then becomes Death -- forced to travel across the world ending the lives of others. Anthony creates a unique world which blends futuristic technology with fantasy of the past. A fun, strange and creative book.

Do you have a favorite book that you would like to review? Submit one-paragraph book reviews to comments@turnoffyourtv.com.