A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights For a young female reader—Ursula LeGuin of course. More recently "The Deep Sky" by Yume Kitasei or "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights If she wants fun John Scalzi, if she wants creepy Jeff VanderMeer and if she wants pro-found Ursula K Le Guin
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@boxofdelights Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)'s Newsflesh trilogy?
@moira @boxofdelights Oh I love that series!!
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@boxofdelights I mentioned this to someone else recently, but...
I love Julie Czerneda's sci-fi books. I think my favorites are in her Species Imperative trilogy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/survival-species-imperative-1-julie-e-czerneda/36f8e644f506c6e2
@kristinHenry Those are great!
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@Z_Zed_Zed Excellent suggestions, thank you!
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@kristinHenry Those are great!
@boxofdelights They are! I re-read them every few years or so, and I enjoy them all over again.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
Annalee Newitz’s fiction — *Automatic Noodle* is a fun start (robots set up a hand-pulled noodle restaurant when society kind-of breaks down); *Autonomous* is great.
Yes on Becky Chambers.
Somewhere between fantasy and science fiction is Charlie Jane Anders’ *All the birds in the sky* (it has both witches and giant robots!). Charlie Jane also has some Young Adult SF novels (a group of outcast teens save the galaxy) *Victories greater than death*, *Dreams bigger than heartbreak*, *Promises stronger than Darkness*.
Ursula K. Leguin does both fantasy (*Wizard of Earthsea*) and SF (*The Dispossessed*, *The Lathe of Heaven*, *The Left Hand of Darkness*).
Oh! *Cat fishing on Catnet* by Naomi Kritzer. Social networking, plus a friendly AI that collects cat pictures. Kind of *Shockwave Rider* or *Neuromancer* for 21st Century teens (more the former than the latter).
Malka Older, though maybe start with their newer books about detectives in the ring of Jupiter, (*The Mimicking of Known Successes*, etc.) before trying *Infomocracy*.
I am very fond of early Samuel Delany (*Babel 17*, *Nova*), and I think *Nova* was recently released in a new edition.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights Emily Tesh, Some Desperate Glory
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@boxofdelights For a young female reader—Ursula LeGuin of course. More recently "The Deep Sky" by Yume Kitasei or "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers.
@negative12dollarbill I haven't read The Deep Sky but I'm putting it on my TBR now.
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@boxofdelights Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire)'s Newsflesh trilogy?
@moira I'll have to ask if zombies are okay, but yes!
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@boxofdelights l love Stanslaw Lem, but that may be a bit much to get started. But how about his short stories, The Cyberiad. Here's an example (a fave of mine) of one of them. How The World Was Saved: https://english.lem.pl/works/novels/the-cyberiad/146-how-the-world-was-saved
@nomdeb I will keep Lem in my back pocket for if she likes SF and wants to go deeper.
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@negative12dollarbill I haven't read The Deep Sky but I'm putting it on my TBR now.
@boxofdelights
It's a mix of things—apart from anything else it's a murder mystery, but it's got lots of different aspects. -
A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights Nnedi Okorafor’s “Death of the Author” is outstanding, or the “Binti” novels for a younger reader.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights I enjoyed the Darkover-Series as a teenager. To me a good crossover of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights Here’s another recommendation for Becky Chambers’ “A Long Way To A Small Angry Planet“. Just a delight.
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights the Ancillary Trilogy by Leckie
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A teenager asked me for recommendations to get into science fiction. I know she reads fantasy, but I guess they are different genres to her.
She said someone told her she should read Dune, and I said nooooo, you should not read Dune. I suggested Murderbot. What else should I recommend?
@boxofdelights if she comes from fantasy, I think Dune is a great suggestion.
Also, the Hitchhikers Guide to give her a good laugh.
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@ansate I'll ask her about what fantasy she likes tomorrow. We meet at the library, so I'll get a stack of books for her to look through!
Ask the librarian! I was trying to come up with some titles for you, and realized all my YA favorites are fantasy.
Andy Weir's books are very readable, but I'd want to reread before recommending them for YA. -
@GhostOnTheHalfShell @boxofdelights
Niven didn't write Stainless Steel Rat, that was Harry Harrison.
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@TheresaReason Always a good choice.
I always recommend people start with The Wind's Twelve Quarters. It's a great introduction to Le Guin's voice, and the stories are almost all pretty approachable.
Some of my Le Guin favorites (especially Always Coming Home) can be difficult to get into for people who aren't familiar with her stuff.
