2004/10/01

Top Ten Science Fiction Novels I Have Read
Somebody is compiling a list. Well, somebody is always compiling some kind of a list somewhere on the planet, but that notwithstanding the question was: "What were your Top 10 Science Fiction Books? Come on, you used to write Top ten lists all the time, Rob Gordon. Are you in or are you out?"
Hey, the point of being a 'Rob Gordon' is that you're always in for lists. And Yet...!
Oh man. I've not thought much about Science Fiction books for a good decade and a bit. I kind of gave it away in favour of reading weird medieval literature where axe-murder is an acceptable form of social transaction (but mainly in Iceland). So I'm digging into my memory, racking my brain, thinking about the memorable books of my teenaged-wasteland-years here. You'd better read this list to 'Baba O'Reilly':

10. 'Starship Troopers' by Robert A. Heinlein
9. 'A Canticle For Leibowitz' by Walter M. Miller Jr.
8. 'The Lathe of Heaven' by Ursula K. LeGuin
7. 'Phases of Gravity' by Dan Simmons
6.' Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' by Philip K. Dick
5. 'Number of the Beast' by Robert A. Heinlein
4. 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson
3. 'Dune' by Frank Herbert
2. 'The Fiction Fleet' by Yasutaka Tsutsui
1. 'VALIS' by Philip K. Dick.

What a boring list! Did I ever really read Science Fiction? Amazing!
Some excuse-making notes...:

I liked Heinlein. I don't know why, but his libertarian attitude (or as some of my Sci-Fi buff friends call him, 'Just a Dirty Old Man') fit into my outlook on sex, I think. i.e., we all should get laid more often as often as we can by people we love.
Heinlein used to write huge tomes filled to the rafters with his suspect philosophies but I think 'Number' is the best out of a generally same-y lot. It's this or 'Stranger in a Strange Land', but I ain't a hippy. 'Number of the Beast' (a.k.a. 'Number of the Breast') is also filled with action, smart-ass dialogue, and horny people. It's funny in retrospect how politically unsound Robert Anson Heinlein was, but I'm still generally fond of his books. 'Starship Troopers' was also, a kick-butt adventure book with copious amounts of political incorrectness, for which it gets my vote.

'Lathe of Heaven' makes the list because I can't actually remember what 'The Disposessed' is about, but I certainly can remember 'Lathe'. I like LuGuin's work; but for some reason, so much of it has slipped my mind as to what it was about.

'Canticle For Leibowitz' is just one of those books that your read and then you start thinking about the nature of History, and then it leads to historiography. Good fun.

'Phases of Gravity', I remember because it was so 'Space Freaks'. Seeing that this is the Space Freaks Blog, it should be number 1, but it's not. In fact I read it as it came out, and thinking back, I wasn't a teenager by then. I can't say why it's not No. 1 except that in the days that I regularly read Science Fiction, I wasn't all that interested in NASA's working because I trusted them to be doing the right thing. Of course as it turns out it was misplaced, but this is a very well written book to boot.

'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep'. Look, I love Blade Runner, but this has little to do with it making the list. 'Do Androids...' is a haunting, sombre, existentialist book that hit home hard when I was 16. It was like nothing else I'd read until that point. Then of course I read VALIS and it warped my mind forever. Dick was a writer with few nuggets in his idea bags, but the few he had were gold. Then, he sort of 'fesses up that he got them because he had a generaly loose grip on reality in 'VALIS', and you start to think, "Hey metaphysics is cooooool".
It also got me reading the Pre-Socratic philosophers which eventually got me reading Plato's Republic and so on. Today I'd tell you, metaphysics is also filled with the refuse of unprovable bad notions and isn't worth wading through, but 'VALIS' opened the door for me. Some days I do think maybe it would have been better if it never got opened, but that's just me being kind of mean-spritied. It's a great book even outside the context of Science Fiction.

'Dune' was just wonderful. I know some people hate it, that it's style is obtuse and cranky, but it's still a great book.
'Neuromancer' makes the list because it's the Cyberpunk bible. It's really dated now, but I still like it Actually, I like 'Count Zero' more, but 'Neuromancer' was the first.

My favourite Science Fiction writer in Japan is Yasutaka Tsutsui whose works range far and wide into avantgarde and experimental fiction. His magnum Opus is 'The Fiction Fleet', which is a meta-fictional master work about history, character, plot, existence... 'The Fiction Fleet' is a mind-boggling account of how a bunch of stationery objects run a fleet towards a fictional planet inhabited by warring weasels, stoats, minks and skunks; and because "it's their job", the pens, compasses, glues and rulers land an invasion force, going to war. Very strange, and I have to say, strangely relevant today with the war in Iraq.
It is yet to be translated into English as far as I know. Somebody ought to do it. Maybe I ought to do it. :)

- Art Neuro
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3 comments:

DaoDDBall said...

Top Twenty Foundational Books for DDBall
1. Watership Down by R Adams
2. To Serve Them All my Days by RF Delderfield
3. To Hell and Back by A Murphy
4. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
5. Stand by for Mars! By T Rockwell
6. The Illiad by Homer
7. Greek Myths and Legends by R Graves
8. The Bloody Sun by M Zimmer Bradley
9. The Wizard of Earthsea by U Le Guin
10. Jurgen by JB Cabell
11. The Broken Sword by P Andersen
12. The War Hound and the World’s Pain by M Moorcock
13. A Spell for Chameleon by P Anthony
14. Auto Da Fe by E Cannetti
15. Catch 22 by J Heller
16. Dorsai by GR Dickson
17. The Stainless Steel Rat by H Harrision
18. Foundation by I Asimov
19. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Adams
20. Wisden’s Cricketer’s Almanac (1982)
Reasoning; The more I’ve read the more difficult I find distinguishing between fiction, biography, science fiction and fantasy. I have seen WJ Clinton’s autobiography and I describe it as ‘fantasy.’ On the other hand, Wisden is brilliant for its fictional aspect, hidden in its facts. So because I didn’t know if the following were ‘Science Fiction’ or not, I’ll provide you with my foundational top 20; the books that taught me to read.
1. Watership Down by R Adams. I fell in love with the theme song to the movie about the time my sister died. I went to see the movie but wasn’t finished with trying to absorb the song (a good mate had talked incessantly and I could’nt distinguish between rabbits). Then I read the book and it opened the world of love I had denied myself in punishment for not grieving over my sister’s death.
2. To Serve Them All my Days by RF Delderfield. This is the best written book by Delderfield that I have read. Same lively writing style and characters, but the story telling has matured for his last book.
3. To Hell and Back by A Murphy. I couldn’t read this book. I didn’t know how to read. I had a book report due. So in year five I read aloud every single word on each page, and taught myself to read. Upset my teacher and mother who were pacifists (so was Mr Murphy, but that detail wouldn’t interfere with a good rant from a lefty pacifist)
4. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein. My year four teacher read it to my class. I only read it six years later. I kept thinking it was something I should do.
5. Stand by for Mars! By T Rockwell. Tom Corbett Space Cadet annd Rick Brandt Science Adventures were the first books I read. Dated, but kids don’t mind that if you don’t tell them.
6. The Illiad by Homer. I wanted to know how Troy was sacked. A frustrating book for a person in year seven.
7. Greek Myths and Legends by R Graves. Still looking for Troy, after I’d finished the Odyssey and Illiad I ventured into the beautiful prose of a WWI veteran and academic.
8. The Bloody Sun by M Zimmer Bradley. All of these novels had a cute girl in stages of undress. Captivating to a thirteen year old. Now I’m captive. Writer is better than her technique of writing.
9. The Wizard of Earthsea by U Le Guin. True magic. A fable. Timeless.
10. Jurgen by JB Cabell. I learned how to break rules thanks to this writer.
11. The Broken Sword by P Andersen. Any book by Mr Anderson is good. I also like Tau Zero and his time travelling stories. The Broken sword is set in the same milieu as Tolkein’s LOTR, but from an earlier more deadly time. Elves are powerful and not very nice.
12. The War Hound and the World’s Pain by M Moorcock. A well told story. Comic book imagery.
13. A Spell for Chameleon by P Anthony. First of brilliant series.
14. Auto Da Fe by E Cannetti. I never completed it, but learned a lot by trying to read it over two years. Thanks for the extended loan, Chris, I had to give it back because I would never finish it. A better book than I am a reader.
15. Catch 22 by J Heller. Like number 14, only I mastered this work.
16. Dorsai by GR Dickson. Books 16 to 19 speak for themselves. Read them. I read them to my brother, now he is a manager somewhere.
17. The Stainless Steel Rat by H Harrision
18. Foundation by I Asimov
19. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Adams
20. Wisden’s Cricketer’s Almanac (1982) Sparked my interest in all things to do with the sport, Cricket.

1:10 pm
DaoDDBall said...

There are lots of reasons why Australia should go to the expense of getting involved with space.

1. Long term returns for scientific effort are well known. Australia will never profit from what it is not involved in.

2. Short term profits for national expenditure can be very high. We could make billions through having a spaceport. It would cost a lot up front, but we could have immediate short term returns.

3. We have the isolation and environment that could make it safer to experiment in Australia than anywhere else in the world.

4. We have the technological expertise to achieve many goals.

5. We have the money to achieve these goals.

6. Related expenditure on things like Solar Power and desalination plants seems essential to Australia's future well being, including the immediate future.

7. Because if we don't go to space, we will die (as a race) and there will never be a good time to get started, only feasable times, in which we live.

BTW if you like good music check out Yes (self titled, 1969) or the best of Emerson Llake and Palmer or King Crimson's Islands.

4:14 pm
Art Neuro said...

Hi Jamiebarber.
Thanks for dropping by to our blog. I know I often stray away from space topics and my cohorts hardly ever post now as they lead busy lives.

The best reason that Australia should consider space exploration comes from 2 factors. The first is, we have significant asset strengths suited for this pursuit; and not utilising them seem to be a form of mismanagement. Yes, financially speaking there are monies better spent on saving lives or more hospitals or overseas aid. However without ruling those things out (becuase they are not strictly either/or propositions as you imply), Australia could set up policies that support a private industry that is directed to an industry *in* space or *of* space. Heaven knows we have real estate assets, technological asstes, skill-base assets that could be put to good industrial use, that is not getting the opportunity for principally a lack of vision.

Secondly, the long term future of humanity demands we go to space. It's not a fanciful conjecture, but more like a dire prediction that eventually, humanity will use up the available resources; and after that, ther will be a steep decline in our technological civilization. It's just onoe of those things, as depressing as it is. however, a space industry could offer options for people down the track whereby we are not locked to the resourcess of the planet alone.

Both these reasons are, I imagine rather vague and nebulous in comparisons to the immediate needs of today and tomorrow. Yet, we think it is pretty sensible to start thinking about whathappens decades down the track as well as what happnes today, tomorrow, next week, next year or even 3 years' time leading up to the next election only. Part of the problem of politics seems to be that long term vision is hard to carry out. And thatis why we originally thought it might be a good idea to start a blog where we discussed these ideas.

The really short answer why we should think about it apart from anything else, is becuase we are human and we are capable, and surely there is an uniquely Australian vision of how we could and should approach space exploration.
I mean, who said we can't/shouldn't do it?

7:45 pm

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