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Poodlerat’s book blog

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SF Subgenre Challenge

April 25, 2008 at 4:20 pm · Filed under Books Etc

As I mentioned, I’m in need of some new challenges, so since I enjoyed my personal Sci-fi Classics Challenge so much, I decided to renew it in a slightly different format.

My goal remains the same: to enjoy some classic works of science fiction. This time, I’m going to read by subgenre, to get an idea of the range of stories that come under the heading “science fiction”!

I picked subgenres more-or-less at random from Wikipedia:

  1. Hard science fiction: Red Mars » Kim Stanley Robinson
  2. Social science fiction: Foundation and Empire » Isaac Asimov
  3. Space opera: Hyperion » Dan Simmons
  4. Military science fiction: The Forever War » Joe Haldeman
  5. Planetary romance: Dune Messiah » Frank Herbert
  6. Alternate history: The Man in the High Castle » Philip K. Dick
  7. Post-apocalyptic: A Canticle for Leibowitz » Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  8. Mundane science fiction: Air » Geoff Ryman
  9. Time travel: To Say Nothing of the Dog » Connie Willis
  10. Dying Earth: The City and the Stars » Arthur C. Clarke

The list is still tentative, so some of my choices may change, but I will read one book from each of ten different sci-fi subgenres during 2008.

If you have any suggestions for alternate titles, I’d love to hear them!

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2 Comments »

Vickie wrote, on April 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm:

I have TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG on one of my challenges, LOVE Dan Simmons, and weirdly noticed A CANTICLE FOR LIEBOWITZ today at the used bookstore and almost picked it up for the title alone.
An intriguing list of titles.

Poodlerat wrote, on April 28th, 2008 at 6:16 pm:

I hope they’ll be good! I’ve met many people who love A Canticle for Leibowitz, as well as a few who don’t. And I’ve heard some very good things about Simmons and Connie Willis.

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