The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

This month we have a change to our nominations. We are going to nominate by era. This month is the Golden Era which we are considering as 1940-1959. We are looking for any nomination from this period which has not previously been read by the group (see bookshelf.) One nomination per person please.

I'll nominate Brain Wave by Poul Anderson, one of the grand masters of SF, & yet this group hasn't read a single book by him.

A fascinating 'what if novel, Brainwave is an exploration into the ways human society is organized and the assumptions that are made about how life is valued. It is also a novel about equality and what happens when the hierarchical structures by which we arrange our daily lives disappear.

I nominate the classic Starship Troopers by Heinlein.

I'll nominate Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.

Won the inaugural International Fantasy Award in 1951. Considered a classic of Post-Apocalyptic fiction. Similar to Nevil Shute's later post-apocalyptic On the Beach, this science fiction novel was a one-off for author George R Stewart.

David wrote: "I'll nominate Earth Abides by George R. Stewart.

Won the inaugural International Fantasy Award in 1951. Considered a classic of Post-Apocalyptic fiction. Similar to Ne..."

Hi David - sorry I can't accept Earth Abides as a nomination as we've already read this one (it's one of my favourites we read with the group). If you want to nominate something else instead?

Jo wrote: "Hi David - sorry I can't accept Earth Abides as a nomination as we've already read this one (it's one of my favourites we read with the group). If you want to nominate something else instead? "


Oops, sorry!! I must be blind because I didn't notice it in the bookshelf when checking before.

I like Marc-Andre's choice, so will hold off making another nomination.

David

I nominate The Green Lama: The Complete Pulp Adventures Volume 1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Adventure House reprinted these stories that were originally published in the 1940s. Its available in print and electronically.
I read one of the stories and was entertained.

Wikipedia article on Green Lama:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Lama

I'm going to nominate Walden Two by B.F. Skinner.

Interesting choice...

David wrote: "I'll nominate Earth Abides by George R. Stewart..."

David, we haven't read On the Beach or Alas, Babylon & both could be nominated.

We've already read A Canticle for Leibowitz. I think these 4 are some of the best apocalyptic SF ever written & I tend to group them together in my mind. The last 3 were all within a couple of years of each other at the end of the 50s while "Earth Abides" is about a decade older, IIRC.

It would be interesting to discuss (post) apocalyptic novels & I don't see a topic for it. It really deserves one, so I created it here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I would like to nominate Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick