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<\/p>\nScience fiction is one of literature\u2019s richest genres, using space, alien life and technology to comment on the world, society and the human condition.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also a vast genre, with hundreds of novels released every year. Here are 8 essential sci-fi books to help you get to grips with this daunting yet hugely rewarding genre.<\/p>\n
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The Forever War<\/i> is a sci-fi military novel set during a major conflict between humanity and a distant race named the Taurans. It follows a soldier named William Mandella, who suffers severe time dilation as a result of his intergalactic travels to the battlefield. Returning home after duty, Mandella finds that the world has changed beyond recognition and struggles to adapt to the occasionally dystopian future.<\/p>\n
Like most good sci-fi, The Forever War<\/span><\/i> is a mirror on real life; in this case, the Vietnam war. Haldeman served during the conflict and Mandella\u2019s difficulties in adapting to modern society, and the isolation it causes, are reflective of the treatment Vietnam vets received on their return.<\/p>\n The Forever War<\/i> was critically acclaimed on release, receiving the Nebula, Hugo and Locus awards. It still stands up over 40 years later too!<\/p>\n To call Dune<\/i> influential is something of an understatement. Frank Herbert\u2019s classic sci-fi epic has inspired a legion of novels and movies, one of which you might have heard of: Star Wars<\/i>.<\/p>\n Dune<\/i> takes place on Arrakis (also known as Dune), a desert planet that hosts a rare and extremely valuable substance called \u201d\u02dcspice\u2019. The Artimedes family are sent to govern the planet, but are soon overthrown by the villainous Harkonnens in a brutal coup.<\/p>\n Paul Artimedes and his mum Jessica survive, however, and head to the desert to plot their revenge; a plan that involves the planet\u2019s massive, ravenous sandworms.<\/p>\n Fun fact: Dune<\/i>, which won both the Nebula and Hugo awards, was rejected by over 20 publishers. We imagine quite a few people lost their jobs over that one…<\/p>\n Neuromancer<\/i> is a hugely influential cyberpunk novel, inspiring a whole movement with its potent mix of grungy hackers and heady technological concepts like cyberspace (it was written a while ago, alright?).<\/p>\n The book follows a lowly hacker named Case who is banned from the world\u2019s computer network after stealing from his employer. Addicted to drugs and penniless, Case considers ending it all\u201d\u00a6 until a shady figure offers him renewed access to the network in exchange for completing some seriously dodgy hacking work.<\/p>\n Without Neuromancer<\/i>, movies like The Matrix<\/i> probably wouldn\u2019t exist. Log out of cyberspace for a few hours and enjoy.<\/p>\n Kurt Vonnegut\u2019s Slaughterhouse-Five<\/i> follows a soldier named Billy Pilgrim, who is captured and sent to Dresden, where he endures the notorious Allied firebombing that killed countless citizens.<\/p>\n Faced with the horrors of conflict, Pilgrim becomes \u201d\u02dcunstuck in time\u2019 and reflects on his past, present and future (reflected by the novel\u2019s non-linear structure) and is later abducted by a race of aliens, the Tralfamadorians, who can perceive all time at once.<\/p>\n Vonnegut strikes the balance between reality and sci-fi masterfully, using the philosophies of the Tralfamadorians to convey a weary, resigned but oddly uplifting response to the hardships of life. He even manages to sum it up in just three infamous words (which appear every time someone dies): so it goes.<\/p>\n Nominated for both the Nebula and Booker prizes in 1986, The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/i> is set in a dystopian future where a fringe Christian group has overthrown the US government and established a totalitarian patriarchal society. Women are stripped of their names and forced to serve their male masters as \u201d\u02dchandmaids\u2019, leading to some truly harrowing events.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve probably heard a lot about The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/i> this year thanks to the critically acclaimed TV adaptation starring Elisabeth Moss. The book is equally powerful and feels particularly relevant given recent developments in entertainment and politics.<\/p>\n Ubik<\/i> is set in a future where humanity has colonised space and psychic powers are the norm, protagonist Joe Chip is sent to Mars to deal with a group of psychics who are invading the minds of \u201d\u02dchalf-lifers\u2019 – people who are kept alive after death with minimal consciousness.<\/p>\n An explosion during the mission sets off a dramatic spiral of events in which some of Chip\u2019s team are killed and the rest are sent back in time and afflicted with a condition that causes them to age rapidly and die. The only cure to this affliction is a mysterious product named Ubik.<\/p>\n Ubik<\/i> is arguably Philip K. Dick\u2019s most difficult and disturbing novel, delivering a disorientating yet gripping tale of life and death with a flexible interpretation of reality.<\/p>\n Stranger in a Strange Land<\/i> is the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human born and raised on Mars, and his return to Earth. Blessed with psychic powers and wealth, Smith soon amasses a following and establishes his own religious movement based on free love and communes (before you ask: yes, hippies loved this book). This doesn\u2019t go down well with Earth\u2019s elite, however\u201d\u00a6<\/p>\n Snow Crash<\/i> takes place in a dystopian United States controlled by a series of private interests after a massive financial crash. That\u2019s not the worst of it, though: a computer virus named Snow Crash has got loose and, somehow, it\u2019s infecting humans too. It\u2019s up to a freelance hacker called Hiro Protagonist (yes, really) to save the day.<\/p>\n Need some extra space to start your sci-fi adventure? Sell books<\/a> with musicMagpie today! It\u2019s easy: just get an instant price, send your items for FREE and we\u2019ll pay you the same day they arrive. Why wouldn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n
\nDune – Frank Herbert<\/h3>\n
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\nNeuromancer – William Gibson<\/h3>\n
![\"Neuromancer\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/neuromancer-1.jpg\")
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\nSlaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut<\/h3>\n
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\nThe Handmaid\u2019s Tale – Margaret Atwood<\/h3>\n
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\nUbik – Philip K. Dick<\/h3>\n
![\"Ubik\"](\"http:\/\/192.168.3.178\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/ubik.jpg\")
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\nStranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein<\/h3>\n
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\nSnow Crash – Neal Stephenson<\/h3>\n
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