Into the Genre: Sci-Fi

By Scot Morgan

Welcome to the gateway of imagination, where the boundless realms of science fiction unfold before you. In this comprehensive guide, we embark on a journey that transcends the boundaries of reality and explores the vast cosmos of speculative storytelling. This book serves as both an homage to the illustrious heritage of science fiction and a guiding light for aspiring writers navigating the uncharted territories of the genre.

 

Our odyssey begins with a profound discussion on the essence of science fiction itself—an exploration of its origins, evolution, and the distinctive characteristics that have shaped it into a genre of boundless possibilities. Aspiring writers will find invaluable insights into the art of crafting compelling science fiction narratives, delving into the nuances of world-building, character development, and the delicate balance between scientific rigor and creative invention.

 

Dive deeper into the genre's kaleidoscopic landscape with an illuminating essay on the distinctions between scientifically grounded science fiction and the more fantastical realms of speculative storytelling. Uncover the threads that weave through the tapestry of sci-fi, from hard science fiction to space opera, exploring the rich spectrum of possibilities that captivate readers and writers alike.

In contemplating the future of science fiction, we peer ahead into the next century, forecasting the trajectory of a genre that has continually reinvented itself.

 

What tales will unfold, and what imaginative landscapes will capture the minds of readers in the years to come? Join us in pondering these questions and envisioning the future of speculative storytelling.

 

Navigate the well-trodden paths and uncharted territories of science fiction tropes and themes, discovering the narrative elements that have become the building blocks of countless memorable tales. Our curated list of 102 influential science fiction novels spans the decades, showcasing the literary giants who have shaped the genre and left an indelible mark on its legacy.

 

For those seeking inspiration, we offer a treasury of science fiction story ideas, places, spaceships, and alien species, along with a catalog of possible sci-fi items to invigorate your narratives. Venture into linguistic innovation with a collection of made-up words tailor-made for sci-fi contexts, and let your imagination take flight with sample story beginnings designed to spark creativity and ignite the storytelling engines of future science fiction masters.

 

Embark on this odyssey through the cosmos of imagination—a guide, an exploration, and an invitation to forge your own path among the stars of science fiction storytelling.

 

Get Into the Genre: Sci-FI, A Guide for Readers and Writers today!

 

Here's what you'll find in the book:

 

• The History
• The Genre
• A Guide for Aspiring Writers
• How Much Science?
• The Future
• Tropes and Themes
• Synopses of 105 Influential Science Fiction Novels (1818-2021)
• Sci-Fi Story Ideas — for you to use
• Alien Species — for you to use
• Spaceships— for you to use
• Sci-Fi Items— for you to use
• Sci-Fi Places— for you to use
• Sci-Fi Words— for you to use
• Story Beginnings— to fuel your creativity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thrillaris
• Release date: Jan 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224648153

Book preview

105 Influential Science Fiction Novels

This collection is not by any means exhaustive. No doubt some of your favorites might be left out. If a book you feel should be included here is not in this list, it doesn't mean that book isn't great or worthy. The scope is limited to keep the collection more digestible.

Note, when an author’s works are listed contiguously, due to publication date, only a single biographical entry for that author will appear among those entries. Whenever an author’s work is listed non-contiguously, due to publication dates, a duplicate entry for the author’s bio will be included in each instance, for convenience of the reader.

The list of novels is below. The summaries of those novels, along with brief biographies for each author, follow this list.

Part 1 : 1818 - 1979

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870 )

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (1884)

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells (1896)

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (1897)

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis (1938-1945)

1984 by George Orwell (1949)

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950)

Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1951)

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)

'Alas, Babylon" by Pat Frank (1959)

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (1962)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1966)

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968)

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton (1969)

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (1971)

The Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (1972)

The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe (1972)

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1974)

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1974)

The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)

Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1977)

The Stand by Stephen King (1978)

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (1979)

Part 2 : 1980 - 2005

The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (1980)

The Uplift Trilogy by David Brin (1980-1983)

Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)

Contact by Carl Sagan (1985)

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1986)

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (1987)

The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (1988)

Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)

Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks (1990)

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (1992)

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)

China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh (1992)

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1992)

Permutation City by Greg Egan (1994)

The Windup Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (1994)

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1995)

The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer (1995)

The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton (1996)

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (1996)

The Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1997)

Diaspora by Greg Egan (1997)

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (1999)

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (2000)

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)

Neanderthal Parallax trilogy by Robert J. Sawyer (2002-2003)

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)

Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005)

Accelerando by Charles Stross (2005)

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)

Part 3 : 2006 - 2021

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2006)

Blindsight by Peter Watts (2006)

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (2008)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2009)

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi (2010)

Embassytown by China Miéville (2011)

The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey (2011-2022)

Neptune's Brood by Charles Stross (2013)

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2014)

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (2015)

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (2015)

The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2015)

Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman (2015)

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson (2015)

The Power by Naomi Alderman (2016)

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (2016)

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin (2016)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (2016)

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (2017)

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017)

The Water Will Come by Jeff Goodell (2017)

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz (2017)

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)

The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken (2018)

The Quantum Garden by Derek Künsken (2019)

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley (2019)

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (2019)

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (2020)

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson (2020)

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021)

Part 1: 1818-1979

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)

Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley and first published in 1818, is a seminal work that stands at the crossroads of gothic horror and science fiction. The novel revolves around Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist with a fervent desire to unlock the secrets of life. Driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge and the quest for immortality, Victor embarks on a daring experiment: the creation of a living being from lifeless matter. Through a series of scientific pursuits and unholy experiments, Victor succeeds in bringing his creature to life.

However, the consequences of Victor's actions are profound and tragic. The creature, shunned by its creator and society at large, grapples with its existence and seeks solace and understanding. The novel delves into themes of ambition, responsibility, and the ethical implications of scientific discovery. As the creature confronts its own alienation and the rejection it faces from humanity, it becomes a symbol of the monstrous consequences of unchecked scientific ambition.

The narrative unfolds through a series of letters and recounts from multiple perspectives, providing a nuanced exploration of the moral and existential dilemmas faced by both Victor and his creature. The novel's gothic elements, including atmospheric settings and a sense of impending doom, contribute to its enduring status as a classic in the horror genre. It is also widely considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction literature.

Mary Shelley, born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797, in London, England, was the daughter of political writer and philosopher William Godwin and feminist thinker Mary Wollstonecraft. Tragedy struck early in Shelley's life when her mother died shortly after giving birth to her. Her father remarried, introducing Mary to the literary circles of the time. In 1814, at the age of 16, Mary met the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the two fell in love.

The couple faced scandal and hardship, including Percy's abandonment of his wife and child to be with Mary. In 1816, during a summer spent with Lord Byron and others in Switzerland, Mary conceived the idea for Frankenstein in response to a challenge to write a ghost story. The novel was published anonymously in 1818 but was later revealed to be Mary's work.

Tragedy continued to shadow Mary's life. Percy Shelley drowned in 1822, leaving Mary a widow with their young son. Throughout her life, Mary wrote novels, short stories, and essays, but Frankenstein remains her most enduring and influential work. She navigated the challenges of being a woman in the male-dominated literary world, contributing to the development of science fiction and gothic literature. Mary Shelley passed away on February 1, 1851, leaving behind a legacy that has profoundly shaped the literary landscape.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic adventure novel written by Jules Verne and first published in 1870. The story follows the protagonist, Professor Pierre Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and a Canadian whaler named Ned Land, as they embark on a harrowing journey aboard the submarine Nautilus, commanded by the mysterious and enigmatic Captain Nemo. The Nautilus, an advanced and technologically groundbreaking vessel, is capable of navigating the ocean depths, providing the crew with unparalleled access to the wonders and mysteries hidden beneath the waves.

The narrative unfolds as the characters find themselves in the clutches of the Nautilus after their ship is sunk by the submarine. As prisoners aboard this underwater vessel, they witness incredible marine life, explore the wonders of the deep, and discover the dark and mysterious nature of Captain Nemo. The novel is known for its meticulous attention to marine biology, presenting readers with detailed and accurate descriptions of the diverse creatures encountered during the journey.

Throughout the voyage, the characters face various challenges and adventures, including encounters with giant squids, exploration of lost civilizations, and the dangers of the undersea world. As the narrative unfolds, the true identity and motivations of Captain Nemo become central to the plot, adding layers of complexity to the story. The novel explores themes of discovery, isolation, and the consequences of unchecked technological advancement.

Jules Verne, born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France, was a pioneering French author known for his contributions to the adventure and science fiction genres. Inspired by his love of travel, science, and exploration, Verne's works often blended scientific knowledge with imaginative storytelling. Besides Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne's notable novels include Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873).

Verne's writing captured the spirit of the 19th-century fascination with scientific progress and exploration. He had an uncanny ability to envision technological advancements, and many of his predictions, such as submarines and space travel, later became reality. Despite facing initial skepticism from the literary establishment, Verne's works gained widespread popularity and have since become timeless classics.

Jules Verne passed away on March 24, 1905, in Amiens, France. His legacy endures, and his contributions to literature continue to influence generations of readers and writers. Verne's imaginative storytelling and exploration of the possibilities of science fiction laid the groundwork for the genre's future development and solidified his place as one of the most significant literary figures of the 19th century.

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (1884)

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott is a satirical novella published in 1884. The story is set in a two-dimensional world inhabited by geometric shapes, where the protagonist, A Square, recounts his peculiar experiences and encounters. As a resident of Flatland, A Square represents the highest order in a strictly hierarchical society based on the number of sides each shape possesses. Circles are the social elite, followed by triangles, squares, and so on.

The narrative takes a fantastical turn when A Square is visited by a Sphere from the third dimension. Initially skeptical of the existence of a dimension beyond Flatland, A Square is gradually enlightened about the concept of height and depth. The Sphere's attempts to convey the notion of three-dimensional space to the two-dimensional inhabitants of Flatland lead to various challenges and misconceptions.

As A Square's understanding expands, he discovers the limitations and prejudices inherent in Flatland's social structure. The narrative serves as a commentary on societal hierarchy, class distinctions, and the resistance to unconventional ideas. Abbott uses this imaginative allegory to criticize rigid social norms and promote open-mindedness to alternative perspectives.

Flatland is not only a mathematical satire but also a philosophical exploration of perception, knowledge, and the resistance to change. The novella remains a classic in literature, appreciated for its unique blend of mathematical concepts, social commentary, and imaginative storytelling. Abbott's work challenges readers to question their own perspectives and consider the limitations imposed by societal structures.

Edwin Abbott Abbott was born on December 20, 1838, in Marylebone, London, England. He was the eldest son of Edwin Abbott, a barrister, and his wife, Jane Abbott. Abbott received his education at the City of London School and later attended St John's College, Cambridge, where he excelled in mathematics and classics. He graduated with honors in 1861 and continued his studies, eventually becoming a fellow at his alma mater.

Abbott's career in education and literature took shape as he served as a teacher and later as the headmaster of the City of London School. His passion for mathematics and logic influenced much of his writing. In addition to Flatland, Abbott wrote numerous works, including textbooks on geometry, theology, and philosophy. He also contributed to various periodicals, showcasing his diverse intellectual interests.

Published pseudonymously as A Square, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions was Abbott's most well-known work. The novella, published in 1884, is a satirical exploration of higher dimensions, but it also serves as a social commentary on the rigid Victorian society of Abbott's time. The book gained recognition for its unique blend of mathematical concepts, humor, and social critique.

Edwin Abbott Abbott's legacy extends beyond Flatland. He continued to write and publish throughout his life, delving into topics such as theology and philosophy. Abbott passed away on October 12, 1926, leaving a lasting impact on literature and mathematics with his imaginative and thought-provoking contributions.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, published in 1895, is a classic work of science fiction that explores the concept of time travel and its societal implications. The narrative begins with the Time Traveller, an unnamed protagonist, presenting his invention, a time machine, to a group of friends. Eager to demonstrate its functionality, the Time Traveller embarks on a journey into the distant future.

As the Time Traveller hurtles through time, he witnesses the gradual transformation of Earth. The world evolves from the Victorian era into a distant period where the landscape is dominated by two distinct races: the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Eloi are a gentle and childlike species living above ground, while the Morlocks, dwelling below, are a more sinister, subterranean race. The Time Traveller discovers that these two species are the eventual descendants of humanity, and their stark differences represent a social and evolutionary divide.

The Eloi, though physically frail, live a carefree existence, lacking intellectual curiosity. In contrast, the Morlocks have become adept at survival in the subterranean darkness, but they have also evolved into a predatory and more sinister form. The Time Traveller realizes that the future Earth is a dystopian landscape marked by social decay and the loss of technological knowledge.

Amidst these discoveries, the Time Traveller encounters challenges and dangers, and he grapples with the ethical implications of tampering with the course of time. Wells uses The Time Machine not only as a vehicle for speculative fiction but also as a platform to explore social and philosophical themes, including the consequences of unchecked technological progress, the potential future trajectory of human society, and the dangers of class division.

The Time Machine remains a seminal work in the science fiction genre, appreciated for its imaginative storytelling and its exploration of complex ideas about time, society, and the human condition.

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells (1896)

The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells, published in 1896, is a science fiction novel that delves into themes of ethics, morality, and the consequences of unchecked scientific experimentation. The story begins with Edward Prendick, the protagonist, who survives a shipwreck and finds himself stranded on a mysterious island. There, he encounters Doctor Moreau, a disgraced scientist who fled England due to the controversial nature of his experiments.

As Prendick explores the island, he discovers that Doctor Moreau is engaged in gruesome and ethically dubious experiments, attempting to transform animals into human-like beings through vivisection and other surgical procedures. The island is populated by these Beast Folk, creatures that exhibit a grotesque combination of human and animal characteristics. The novel follows Prendick's horrified and increasingly desperate attempts to make sense of the island's bizarre inhabitants and to escape the nightmarish consequences of Moreau's scientific