Been out of work for a while so buying books is out the question (yeah, I get there’s always the library, but I don’t like it for a lot of reasons).

I like how PG has free books. I realize I’m not going to find top-tier modern writers on PG, but I’m open to suggestions of good reads.

What I look for in sci fi:

  • An idea to chew on; something that stays with me even after I turn the last page.
  • Some emotional intrigue; I want to feel what the characters feel.

What I like to avoid:

  • Technobabble. I like a good story; I don’t want to spend half the book understanding how the ship works. (I found Frank Herbet was good with avoiding technobabble…he often obeyed the rule of “show don’t tell”)

  • Stock characters. Gimme some depth.

A few I’ve read so far that I’d consider “passable” are Off on a Comet by Jules Vern (I only listen to about 2/3 of this on librivox) and Space Prison by Tom Godwin (although the plot is pretty simplistic).

I just finished Frankenstein. A lot of people think its The Greatest Novel. It was kinda meh. I see why people would get excited about it, but it didn’t grab me like it does other people.

Any suggestions?

  • @dominiquec
    7•2 years ago

    Project Gutenberg has a pretty good science fiction selection, quite extensive in fact that I think it’s better to go by author than by individual works.

    For the “classics” there’s H.G. Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs, aside from Verne and Shelley whom you’ve already mentioned.

    There are some surprising names, too, like Jack London, E.M. Forster, and Rudyard Kipling.

    For golden age scifi: Frederic Brown, E.E. “Doc” Smith, CM Kornbluth, Jack Williamson, Frederic Pohl, Olaf Stapledon, and Andre Norton. Also, Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft.

    For your criteria, though, I would recommend looking for the works of Philip K. Dick and H. Beam Piper.