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There are a lot of good science fiction stories out there, and a lot of them are either set in the USA or are clearly influenced by the predominant US culture. We love those, but it can be a bit hard to find stories set in or inspired by other great places around the world.
I have stopped work on this list, because the librarians are hesitant to delete books that do not fit the premise - which I do understand, there are a lot of potential pitfalls, it just makes it hard to actually find what this list is looking for.
I have transferred the list to a google spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
So let's highlight those stories that are not US-centric.
This list is a place for Science Fiction books, audiobooks or short stories, that
- are either set in a country on Earth that is not the USA
- or are set in space and/or in a fictional place and are clearly influenced by a country or culture other than the USA
- or focus on a minority culture in the USA.
If there are several worlds depicted in the story, more than one third of the story should bet set in a place as described above.
Examples for non applicable books:
The Alien Universe, Stars Uncharted or the Murderbot Universe, because there is no clear cultural reference.
Please DO NOT vote Star Wars, generic science fiction or fantasy books on this list!
For a list of books that have been removed from the list, look in the comments.
You can add books without an English translation, but a comment explaining why the book fits this list would be highly appreciated.
I have stopped work on this list, because the librarians are hesitant to delete books that do not fit the premise - which I do understand, there are a lot of potential pitfalls, it just makes it hard to actually find what this list is looking for.
I have transferred the list to a google spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
So let's highlight those stories that are not US-centric.
This list is a place for Science Fiction books, audiobooks or short stories, that
- are either set in a country on Earth that is not the USA
- or are set in space and/or in a fictional place and are clearly influenced by a country or culture other than the USA
- or focus on a minority culture in the USA.
If there are several worlds depicted in the story, more than one third of the story should bet set in a place as described above.
Examples for non applicable books:
The Alien Universe, Stars Uncharted or the Murderbot Universe, because there is no clear cultural reference.
Please DO NOT vote Star Wars, generic science fiction or fantasy books on this list!
For a list of books that have been removed from the list, look in the comments.
You can add books without an English translation, but a comment explaining why the book fits this list would be highly appreciated.
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Beige
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Sep 29, 2020 08:15AM
Great idea, Ines! Thanks for the invite. I'll definitely look through my various groups soon to see if I can find anything to add 😉
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Question - are you looking to focus on SciFi set in the far future and other planets? Or are you open to the other subgenres of SciFi such as dystopia, apocalyptic, alternative history, time travel etc?
Open to all subgenres as long as the majority of the story can be considered as science fiction!Thank you so much Beige, I'm excited to see what you add to the list.
So no fantasy? Also, are books with British culture also out? (It seems like they could technically be included, but would still be going against the spirit of the list.) I'm a bit leery of The Windup Girl being on the list. Technically it is set in Asia, but it isn't very respectfully done. One reviewer noted the constant reference to "Malaya" which is an incorrect name hearkening back to colonial days. And woof...the sexual violence against women.... technically it fits the parameters of the list, but if you're looking for progressive, respectful, wholesome, mind-expanding reads...this isn't one of them.
Kristenelle wrote: "So no fantasy? Also, are books with British culture also out? (It seems like they could technically be included, but would still be going against the spirit of the list.) I'm a bit leery of [book..."
We already included [book:Space Opera|24100285], which is predominantly british, so british or any other european culture is all right. :)
I didn't read The Windup Girl, but it does not sound like something I would like to have on the list. My intention was definitely only respectful representation.
Does anyone else have an opinion on this book? In the meantime, I am going to find out if and how I can delete books from the list. I think only the goodreads moderators can do that.
Ines wrote: "Kristenelle wrote: "So no fantasy? Also, are books with British culture also out? (It seems like they could technically be included, but would still be going against the spirit of the list.) .."Unfortunately, only Goodreads librarians can remove books from listopias. I think it's because they are posted in the public sphere.
However, they are pretty fast at processing requests. You just need to go to the official librarian group and make a request.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Campbell's Who Goes There is very culturally American or at least English-speaking.And the description of the list should say "American or British" or "US or UK" should it not? There is a *lot* of British SF that is almost indistinguishable from US-American SF.
I am going to have the following books removed from the list. Anybody have any thoughts or more information on them and why they should stay?- The Windup Girl (see discussion above)
Is not/does not seem to be inspired by any real-earth country or culture other than the US:
- Solaris (#25)
- Shards of Honour (#29)
- Fahrenheit 451 (#30)
- Leia, Princess of Alderaan (#36)
- Dark Force Rising (#44)
- Heir to the Empire (#49)
- The Courtship of Princess Leia (#53)
- Return to Ord Mantell (#57)
- Trouble on Cloud City (#60)
- On Basilisk Station (#61)
- Heirs of the Force (#61)
- An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (#64) (also, only 40 people filed this as "science fiction")
- The Lost Ones (#64)
- The Call of Earth (#72)
- The Memory of Earth (#75)
- The Moon and the Other (#81)
Not Science Fiction:
- The Hobbit: Graphic Novel (#28)
- The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (#30)
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (#32)
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (#32)
- The Magician's Nephew (#35)
- Shadow and Bone (#41)
- The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth (#67)
- Till We Have Faces (#79)
The librarians are hesitant to delete the books I've listed, which I understand, but it makes this list a lot less helpful than I intended. I will probably create a spreadsheed instead and ask that this list is deleted. Sorry to everyone, but a list with every random book that could be considered sci-fi in some interpretation of the word and does not clearly name a city in the US as its central location was never my intention and it's not something I want to invest time in.
That's disappointing to hear. In my opinion, not having the ability to maintain a list's integrity really devalues them.I have an alternative solution for you to consider.....Keep this list, but also create a group with a bookshelf. You don't need to make it an active discussion group, but you could link to it in the comments above and invite people to join and collaborate
You can make the group public and the bookshelf collaborative to members, and as a mod you could edit/delete. This is actually how "Women of the Future" originally started. 😁
The Windup Girl is totally a good example to have on this list. It’s a really interesting story and makes for a great book club discussion. I agree with Kristelle about disliking the graphic violence against ‘women’- I have quotes because it is a robot, not a living human. I too, was disgusted and bothered by it. But that doesn’t negate the non US-centric science fiction. Also, I don’t believe the novel was disrespectful. One man, who only read 42 pages of the book, made a comment about taking offense at use of the word Malaya (and it is not constant) and quit reading. He’s upset bc the novel is not historically accurate. It’s Science FICTION and set in a dystopian future; all/most names have been changed. There is much discussion about it in comments on his post.
The book has won best novel for hugo, nebula, and locus awards. That speaks for itself.
I have decided against a group and for a spreadsheet, because it's easier to maintain and I can send it to people outside of gr. :) Since I can't post it here, please refer to the link in my profile to find it or scroll to the top of the list and find it there.
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