Friday, September 5, 2014

The Best Sci Fi Novels Ever

By Mattie MacDonald


Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931 and is considered one of the first real science fiction novels and a classic work of literature. Set in a dystopian future, the people are manipulated in a variety of psychological ways for the benefit of The World State. The novel shares many similarities with Orwell's 1984 and is considered one of the best best sci fi novels ever written.

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is another science fiction classic. The story is set in a dystopian near future where "Firemen" burn books. One such Fireman is Guy Montag who lives a desolate and lonely existence in a world where people do not read, enjoy their natural surroundings or think for themselves. Montag begins to question his life before eventually discovering literature. He then decides to bravely save all the books and restore his life. The title is names after the temperature at which paper spontaneously ignites.

Frank Herberts Dude is set in a far off planet known as Arrakis. The planet is the source of melange, which is a drug that grants immortality. The planet is the stage for a major family feud over power and the plot follows the quest of a Duke called Paul Atreides to attain his rightful place on the throne.

Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep? Was make into a cult movie called Bladerunner. Another dystopia the plot is set in a post apocalyptic Earth where the majority of animals and plants are extinct and most humans have colonized Mars. The humans on Mars have Android slaves but many of them have fled to Earth. Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter on Earth with a task of finding eight androids that murdered their masters back on Mars.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson's is a must-read for any fan of science fiction. The book is set in the not too distant future where human beings have started to colonize Mars. Arguments erupt back on Earth as to whether to create another Earth by terraforming or to leave Mars as it is.

The famous astro-physicist, Carl Sagan's novel Contact is set in the near future. The protagonist, Ellie Arroway works for SET and discovers radio signals from a planet 25 light years away, indicating that the planet contains intelligent life. The novel explores how humans may react when they make first contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence.

Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy is set in the far distant future and humans have now colonized the galaxy. However, their empire is about to collapse due to bureaucracy, corruption and political turmoil. Historian Hai Seldon sets about starting a new dawn for humanity by bringing together scientists and scholars to produce a vast encyclopedia.

No list of science fiction novels is complete without HG Wells War of the Worlds. The plot is well known; Earth is invaded by Martians that operate huge tripod like vehicles. They use total war to subdue humans because they want to get hold of the Earth's resources. In 1938, Orson Wells read the first chapter of story on the radio, which sent many listeners into a panic because they thought the story was a news flash!




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