The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme is Top Ten Books to Read if You Like <blank>. For my blank, I’ve chosen a book I haven’t even read, but which is generating massive buzz. As always, my list is in no particular order.
If you like The Martian, by Andy Weir, you’ll love:
- Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke — This book’s final scene has haunted me not just for years but for decades, probably the most impressive ending I’ve ever read.
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Mission of Gravity, by Hal Clement — In this classic novel of hard science fiction, it’s aliens, not humans, who are stranded and trying to escape a deadly-hostile environment … Earth’s.
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- More than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon — A classic of literary-quality science fiction. It is, quite simply, one of the best and most original science fiction novels of all time; it is also one of the more neglected classics in the field.
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- The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury — The science is soft and untechnical, but boy does it pack a punch.
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Illegal Alien, by Robert J. Sawyer — Rob is the “un-Bradbury” in that the science is painstakingly researched, though he’s interested in people, not gadgets.
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The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester — Another of the all-time great science fiction novels.
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- The Foundation trilogy, by Isaac Asimov — Will psychology and sociology ever become more than pseudo-sciences, and be capable of predicting people’s behavior? (My degree is in psych, so I’m allowed to be cynical, okay?) Asimov explores what might happen if they do.
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- Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Dafoe — Stripped of high-tech trappings and Hollywood hype, The Martian is essentially a Crusoe rip-off. So why not read the original?
What about you? Do you have any suggestions to add to my list?
Be sure to check out other bloggers’ Top Ten lists.
