Happy birthday to Ray Bradbury. To my knowledge, he's the only sci-fi writer who has managed to get put on high school required reading lists. It's too bad so many people never get past Fahrenheit 451, because the catalog of science fiction has some even better offerings. Unfortunately, the literary elite has an inherent bias against sci fi, apparently forgetting that half of the great English literature is little more than the pulps of the day, and the rest is so gawdawful that were it not for pretentious literature classes, it would have died the quick death it deserved. The best sci fi has always been, front and center, about the essence of humanity. That's why I enjoy writing it so much.
If you are looking for some of the most entertaining way to ponder your place in the universe beyond Fahrenheit 451, here are a few of my recommendations:
"The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke. Read this around Christmas.
The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter.
Come to think of it, you really can't go wrong with anything by Arthur C. Clarke.
"I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison
Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin. This one occasionally makes required reading lists, too.
This is far from exhaustive, and feel free to leave a comment to add your own recommendations.
1 comment:
Harlan Ellison wrote "The City on the Edge of Forever" for the original Star Trek series. So, if you don't want to read his work, you can watch his work.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he wrote some Outer Limits stuff too, no need to nag.
Can't you at least pretend to be amazed??
Tough crowd here
Signed: The Guillemot, who looks similar to a penguin, but flies.
Post a Comment