20th Century Sci-Fi Reading List
> May. 18, 2024 by Anthony H Frisby
My reasoning on the 20th centrury scifi stuff is that those scifi authors didn’t predict the future, they effectively created it, it is it’s own force and they propelled it further into existance, inspiring young minds who are now working full time to make these ideas a reality. Art replicating life, replicating art ad infinitum.
Next on list sci-fi
- The City and the Stars, Arthur C. Clarke, 1956
- Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick, 1974
- Neuromancer, William Gibson, 1984
- The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith, 1993 (collection)
- The Forever War, Joe Haldeman, 1974
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein, 1966
- Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, 1961
- The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester, 1953
- A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick, 1977
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick, 1968
- Against the Fall of Night, Arthur C. Clarke, 1953
- High Rise, J. G. Ballard, 1975
- Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson, 1992
- Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson, 1995
- I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison, 1967
- Second Variety, Philip K. Dick, 1953
- Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang, 2002
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Becky Chambers, 2014
- Prey, Michael Crichton, 2002
Series
- Foundation series, Isaac Asimov, 1942-1950
- Culture series, Iain M. Banks, 1987-2012
- SF Masterworks, Various Authors, Various
- Revelation Space series, Alastair Reynolds, 2000-2024
Next on non-fiction list
- Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down, J. E. Gordon, 1978 (physics)
- Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson, 2007 (biog)
- Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, Walter Isaacson, 2003 (biog)
- Howard Hughes: His Life and Madness, Donald L. Barlett & James B. Steele, 2004 (biog)
- Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, 1946 (philosophy)
- The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch, 2011 (physics)
- Secrets of Sand Hill Road, Scott Kupor, 2019 (investing)
- The Singularity Is Nearer, Ray Kurzweil, 2024 (AI)
- Deep Utopia, Nick Bostrom, 2014 (AI)
- The Atomic Human, Neil Lawrence, 2024 (AI)
- Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to.., Shannon Vallor, 2016 (AI ethics)
- Winning, Jack Welch, 2005
- A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life, J. Craig Venter
can i put a paragrah in here?
Books have read
- Tao of Jeet Kune Do
- Dune
- X-Files
- Brave New World
- 1984
- Super Intelligence
- Sapiens
- Tipping Point
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- Thinking Fast and Slow
- Zero to One
- The Book of 5 Rings
- The Water Knife
- Blitzscaling
- Meditations
50 most influential sci-fi authors of the 20th and 21st centrury, courtesy of Le Chåt.
| Author | Years Active | Sci-Fi Novels | Most Notable Work or Collection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Asimov | 1939–1992 | 38 | Foundation series |
| Arthur C. Clarke | 1937–2008 | 30 | 2001: A Space Odyssey |
| Philip K. Dick | 1952–1982 | 44 | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? |
| H.G. Wells | 1895–1946 | 34 | The War of the Worlds |
| Jules Verne | 1863–1905 | 54 | Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea |
| Frank Herbert | 1952–1986 | 20 | Dune series |
| Robert A. Heinlein | 1939–1988 | 32 | Stranger in a Strange Land |
| Ray Bradbury | 1938–2012 | 27 | Fahrenheit 451 |
| William Gibson | 1977–present | 12 | Neuromancer |
| Ursula K. Le Guin | 1966–2018 | 23 | The Left Hand of Darkness |
| Stanisław Lem | 1946–2006 | 17 | Solaris |
| Orson Scott Card | 1977–present | 25 | Ender’s Game |
| Neal Stephenson | 1984–present | 14 | Snow Crash |
| Kim Stanley Robinson | 1984–present | 19 | Red Mars |
| Alastair Reynolds | 2000–present | 18 | Revelation Space |
| Larry Niven | 1964–present | 30 | Ringworld |
| Joe Haldeman | 1969–present | 13 | The Forever War |
| Greg Bear | 1979–2022 | 24 | Darwin’s Radio |
| James S.A. Corey | 2011–present | 9 | The Expanse series |
| Liu Cixin | 1989–present | 9 | The Three-Body Problem |
| Brian Aldiss | 1955–2017 | 40 | Helliconia Trilogy |
| Alfred Bester | 1940–1987 | 7 | The Stars My Destination |
| Frederik Pohl | 1940–2013 | 26 | Gateway |
| Anne McCaffrey | 1967–2011 | 23 | Dragonriders of Pern series |
| Michael Moorcock | 1961–present | 50 | Elric of Melniboné series |
| Jack Vance | 1945–2009 | 60 | The Dying Earth series |
| Robert Silverberg | 1954–present | 78 | Lord Valentine’s Castle |
| Poul Anderson | 1947–2001 | 77 | Tau Zero |
| John Brunner | 1951–1995 | 60 | Stand on Zanzibar |
| Harry Harrison | 1951–2012 | 35 | The Stainless Steel Rat series |
| Samuel R. Delany | 1962–present | 16 | Dhalgren |
| Roger Zelazny | 1962–1995 | 26 | The Chronicles of Amber |
| Clifford D. Simak | 1931–1986 | 29 | City |
| Philip José Farmer | 1946–2008 | 75 | Riverworld series |
| Harlan Ellison | 1955–2018 | 2 | Dangerous Visions (Editor) |
| James Blish | 1940–1975 | 25 | Cities in Flight series |
| Octavia Butler | 1971–2006 | 12 | Kindred |
| Theodore Sturgeon | 1938–1985 | 11 | More Than Human |
| A.E. van Vogt | 1939–1985 | 32 | Slan |
| Dan Simmons | 1982–present | 24 | Hyperion Cantos |
| Vernor Vinge | 1965–present | 9 | A Fire Upon the Deep |
| Charles Stross | 2000–present | 16 | Accelerando |
| Iain M. Banks | 1984–2013 | 14 | The Culture series |
| John Scalzi | 2005–present | 14 | Old Man’s War |
| C.J. Cherryh | 1976–present | 80 | The Chanur novels |
| Gene Wolfe | 1967–2013 | 30 | The Book of the New Sun |
| Andre Norton | 1934–2005 | 53 | Witch World series |
| Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1953–1999 | 28 | Darkover series |
This table provides an overview of each author’s activity period, the number of sci-fi novels they have written, and their most notable work or collection, with their names linked to their respective Wikipedia pages.
| Author | Anthony H Frisby |
| Date | Saturday, May 18, 2024 |
| Categories | Science Fiction, Literature. |
| Tags | Sci-Fi Classics, Book Recommendations, 20th Century. |