The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

This month we are looking for nominations from the 1970's. The only exclusions are the books we have already read which can be found here

Current Nominations:
Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin
Candy Man by Vincent King
The Faded Sun Trilogy by C. J . Cherryh
Dreamsnake by Vonda N Mcintyre
Gateway by Frederik Pohl

Are we allowed to nominate more than one? If so then I'd like to nominate Candy Man by Vincent King (1971), and The Space Machine by Christopher Priest (1976).

Candy Man is a rather obscure dystopian novel, but it's attracted a bit of a cult following and I've heard it's rather good. I've been meaning to read it for a while.

The Space Machine is one of Priests earlier and lesser known works but as an H.G. Wells fan I'd like to read it as it serves as a sort of sequel to both The Time Machine and The War Of The Worlds.

Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny. It's an SF murder mystery with a really wild form of story telling. Every chapter starts in the middle, look back to the beginning, & then conclude on a cliff hanger. We then start the next chapter without the cliff hanger being resolved - it must be, but we don't know how. We get caught up in the new situation, only to be brought back to resolving the original situation & then work ourselves back into the next cliff hanger & start it all over again.

It's very effective for keeping the suspense up & not as confusing as you might think to read. The story isn't that complex, so it is easily followed. It's just a really fun ride. Told in a standard fashion, the story would be above average, but not one of his better works. Told this way, it adds so much more character & dimension that it's a charm.

I nominate _The Lathe of Heaven_ by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Wikipedia says:
"The Lathe of Heaven is a 1971 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. The plot revolves around a character whose dreams alter reality, including past events. The story was first serialized in the American science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. The novel received nominations for the 1972 Hugo[1] and the 1971 Nebula Award,[2] and won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 1972.[1] Two television film adaptations have been released: the acclaimed PBS production, The Lathe of Heaven (1980); and Lathe of Heaven (2002), a remake produced by the A&E Network."

The Forever War bt Joe Haldeman, great book

Forever War is good - not in a hurry to reread it though. I only recently discovered that it spawned 2 sequels: Forever Peace and Forever Free. I'd be interested to read those at somepoint (assuming they're any good).

The Lathe of Heaven is also good. It isn't really like anything you've read by LeGuin before though. It reads very much like a Philip K. Dick novel.

Joel, I wasn't impressed by either of them, although I really liked "The Forever War". It's best to remember it as a standalone, IMO. Have you read All My Sins Remembered? It's great.

Joel wrote: "The Lathe of Heaven is also good. It isn't really like anything you've read by LeGuin before though. It reads very much like a Philip K. Dick novel. "

I just finished Among Others by Jo Walton, in which a SF book club discusses whether Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven is like Dick.

Joel wrote: "Are we allowed to nominate more than one? If so then I'd like to nominate Candy Man by Vincent King (1971), and The Space Machine by Christopher Priest (1976).

Candy ..."

Joel sorry only one nomination allowed so which would you prefer? Maybe someone else will nominate the other instead.

I read Forever Peace recently, I enjoyed it although it's not really a sequel as such. I' picked that and Forever Free up at the same time so I plan to read it shortly.

Jim wrote: "Joel, I wasn't impressed by either of them, although I really liked "The Forever War". It's best to remember it as a standalone, IMO. Have you read All My Sins Remembered? It's great."

Hi Jim - I'm afraid I haven't read that one. The Forever War is the only book I have read by Joe Haldeman. In fact, I haven't read much military science fiction at all.

Jo wrote: "Joel sorry only one nomination allowed so which would you prefer?"

Shame! In that case I'd like to nominate Candy Man by Vincent King, please.

'Sins' isn't military, it's about a guy that the state turns into an assassin on the face. It's about a future state using its intelligent resources. Give it a shot if you get a chance. Mindbridge & There Is No Darkness are 2 other favorites.

Hey! I would like to nominate The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. Cherryh. It has been on my 'to read' shelf for ages, and is very highly rated (currently 4.09 on goodreads).

I nominate Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1978). This book won a slew of awards: Hugo, Nebula, Locus. The publisher's blurb:

"They called the healer Snake, and she bore the name proudly, for the medicine she distilled from the venom of the viper she carried with her was a potent cure; and the soothing power of her other companion, the alien dreamsnake, banished fear. But the primitive ignorance of those she served killed her dreamsnake and wrecked her career - for dreamsnakes were dreadfully rare, and Center would not grant her another. Snake's only hope was to find a new dreamsnake - and on her quest, she was pursued by two implacable followers, one driven by love, one by fear and need."

An unusual book that is sci fi but has a dreamlike quality of fantasy. McIntyre seems to cross that border in her writing. My favorite book from this author, The Moon and the Sun (1997) is described as both an alternative history sci-fi and a fantasy, and that one won the Nebula award also.

Jill wrote: "Hey! I would like to nominate The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. Cherryh. It has been on my 'to read' shelf for ages, and is very highly rated (currently 4.09 on goodreads)."

For Jill's same reasons, I second/nominate The Faded Sun Trilogy by C.J. Cherryh.

Another good selection of nominations, the only one I have already read is Gateway which I liked a lot. There are quite a few i'd like to read.

Just recived a notification that the club is about to read City of Illusions, and I'm still reading I, Robot :)

This discussions follow along the line of a Coursera course I took last year: Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World. There were 10 biger books, one every week; and there were also a lot of other book mentioned and discussed, including City of Illusions

If you are interested, you can find the course here:
https://www.coursera.org/course/fanta...
There are no future sessions announced right now, but I'm sure there'll be one next autumn.

Thank you Anna for the coursea information. I love to find new ways of learning.

Years ago, I listened to Science Fiction: The Literature Of The Technological Imagination, an 8 part lecture by Eric S. Rabkin & enjoyed it very much. It's part of The Great Courses series & each part was about an hour, IIRC.

Thank you Jim, I enjoy listening to The Great Courses, there are so many fabulous teachings and you're right they are divided into short segments for ease of learning. I've purchased several...and so far have not been disappointed. Really liked the discussion on The Art of War and The Inexplicable Universe. Am about to start the Lit series.