recommended science fiction
great themes of science fiction
Let's try something ambitious — a bigger, broader reading compilation. This column is divided according to unique interest-categories, beginning with...
dire warnings and self-preventing prophecies
These novels and shorter works inspire the reader to imagine the dreadful-but-avoidable dangers that may lurk down the road ahead. A few of these books even attained the most powerful status any work of fiction can achieve: they changed the future by alerting millions, who then vowed that the bad things should never happen.
(basis for the film Soylent Green)
" from (Welcome to the Monkey House)
harbingers of hope
These tales offer something almost as important as warnings... a tantalyzing glimpse at (guardedly and tentatively) better tomorrows. (It's actually much harder to do than issue dire warnings!)
huh! I never realized!
Some tales simply rock readers back with wondrous stories that also broaden their perspective... from strange cultures to alternate social systems to unusual ways of thinking.
the hard stuff
Take us someplace new. Boggle us with possibilities grounded in the strange-real universe of science!
and Quarantine
fantasy — with brains
Just because there's magic and wizards and kings and such... doesn't mean it has to be lobotomizing. There really are exceptions!
gedankenexperiments
Or... what if things were different?
rip-snorting good storytelling
Just go along for the ride.
or Earthblood
alternative histories & parallel worlds
Extra points if it seems plausible that this might-have-been really might have been. And even more points if the reader goes, "That world seems more plausible than this one I'm living in!"
, Walk In Hell
, Breakthroughs
)time travel
Here the biggest test is whether you can offer a new or surprising logical twist. Bring on them paradoxes!
" and "By His Bootstraps
"
humor
The hardest thing of all to do well. Dare to try this most-difficult type!
sheer beauty
Forget science, logic and other superficialities. Just love it. The words... the words...
"
quirky classics
Hey, it's a kind of time travel!
predictive successes
SF authors often disclaim any intent to foretell the future. We explore it, test possibilities, perform gedankenexperiments, even warn or entice. But predict it? Well, at times we do try... and even keep score! Brin fans maintain a wiki tracking hits and misses from my most predictive near-term book to date Earth. Here are some looks-ahead that have been impressively on-target.
"
SF isn't just Anglo-American
International contributions to this genre are undeniable.
science fiction for children
Science fiction opens young minds readers to the exciting possibilities of the future. Here are David Brin's recommendations of science fiction and fantasy novels for children.
. During the twelve days of Christmas, Will Stanton must battle the forces of the Dark.
. Can Susan save her sixth-grade class from a fate worse than math tests?
. What have the doctors done, with their amazing medical techniques, to save Eva?
. Nita wants to become a wizard to help her stand up to bullies, but soon learns there are worse things to fear than bullies.
. Ember was designed as a last refuge for the human race. But when the storerooms run out of food and the lights begin to fail, it’s up to two teens, Lina and Doon, to find a way out.
. When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous — at first.
. Can Jessie bring back the medicine needed to save the other children of her village?
& A Swiftly Tilting Planet
. L'Engle's classic book also received an Newbery Award.
. Another Newbery recipient: Jonas struggles with the dark secrets of his not-so-idyllic community.
. After an asteroid brings global catastrophe, Miranda struggles to hold on to hope in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
(and 4 other books). Leonard meets a new friends in Junior High — a Martian.
. Johnny is playing a video game, isn't he?
. Lyra Belacqua and her daemon travel between worlds battling a great evil.
. Nobody is who they say they are — including Jason.
science fiction for young adults
What books can we give our teens and young adults that don't mire them in a swamp of vampires, domineering wizards or nostalgia for feudalism? Here are just a few of Brin's favorites.
. A futuristic consumer-mad world where news and advertisements are fed continuously to the brain — till a hacker disrupts the flow.. Gibbon's Decline of the Roman Empire with an interstellar twist. The Galactic Empire is going to fall, but Hari Seldon has a plan.
. Through his 13-year old protagonist, Melpomene Murray, Barnes presents a riveting portrayal of life in space aboard the Flying Dutchman, an asteroid colony which supplies the overpopulated home planet Earth.
. A coming of age story of a young man on the icy surface of Ganymede, searching for a dangerous alien artifact that haunts dreams.. A classic of Science fiction, this is a story of revenge. Gulliver Foyle, left stranded in space, is determined to track down those responsible. (Predicted an entrenched wealthy subculture, and a tattooed-tribal subculture.). A short story collection about the colonization of Mars, as terrestrial expeditions set off to explore the planet, often with devastatingly poignant consequences for the native inhabitants.
. After much of America has been devastated by war, a survivor comes across an abandoned mail truck, finds long abandoned letters... and delivers hope to isolated towns. (Okay, this is a self-plug. Though lots of kids prefer the lighter tone in The Practice Effect!)
. "Today, we need more sophisticated legends, that show us not only possible failure modes, but humanity buckling down to get things right." (read more). The classic timeslip tale about an achraeologist who finds himself in 435 CE Rome. Can he stop the Dark Ages from coming? Terrific. Started the modern era of "Connecticut Yankee" tales.
A post-apocalyptic story of the near future, which served as the basis of the film, Bladerunner.
. In the land of Orpium, an opium-producing estate between Mexico and the United States, a drug lord enslaves illegal immigrants, through chips planted in their brains. Our protagonist, Matt, has been raised as a clone for organ replacement.
. To escape the clutches of Jack the man who killed his parents, Nobody Owens lives in a graveyard — learning history from the ghosts among the headstones.
. Teens who want jobs in space must spend a week surviving an alien world, but what happens if they're stranded? Heinlein's answer to Lord of the Flies.. A dystopia fast becoming more likely than 1984. Also more fun, but creepy. Thought provoking and on college reading lists.
. Two archeologists struggle to preserve the alien artifacts on planet Quraqua — which may hold essential clues to humanity's survival! — before terraforming destroys all traces of the alien civilization.
. No one wrote escapist adolescent adventure in space better than Andre Norton. Her Young Adult novels were legend, and SFWA's YA award is named after her. (Any book by this author will please a bright teen.)
. A multi-generation colony ship tests its youth by casting them out to survive for a month of Trial upon the hostile colony worlds. Truly the classic YA science fiction novel and a pioneer at the young-female point of view.
. In this post-apocalyptic story, most of humanity has been wiped out by pandemic. Ish Wiliams emerges from his solitary cabin to find the land deserted... almost. A gentle, thoughtful book, easy to read but very literary.. Verne wrote brief, captivating "go there" adventure tales that still read well. Choose a direction: up, down or into the sea and Verne's intrepid adventurers head that way! But his Captain Nemo was a character with tragic depth.
. This steampunk novel presents an alternate history of World War I, pitting the Central Powers and their steam-powered war machines, against the British Darwinists, who have genetically modified animals for fighting. Our protagonist, the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, rides into battle on the Leviathan, an enormous biological dirigible.
nonfiction for SF fans
Here are some of David Brin's favorite nonfiction books. Read for a grounding in the science behind his science fiction and nonfiction.
offers perspective on how far we have come, especially by developing new tools... and a vigorously open society. And especially science.
. Prescient, spooky and worrisome, yet remaining hopeful about our ability to cope — over the long run — with terror threats to our complex civilization.
. Explores measures that would allow us to play our roles better in the world economy.
. It takes you on a tour of the new science that links deep ocean currents with the climate patterns that made Earth a crucible for human development. Did ice ages and hot spells act as a 'pump' forcing our ancestors to adapt and change? Europe lies at the same latitude as Canada, yet supports 20 times as many people, because of the Gulf Stream... which may 'switch off' because of Global Warming. Find out more, it's important.
. The clichés that most hobble us are those we don't notice, because we accept them so readily. Like the common belief that the world is going to hell. Easterbrook suggests we may be better than we thought. There's a world to be saved and those who spread either complacency or gloom aren't helping.
. Dares to raise a long-neglected question: how will Planet Earth be governed during the next century and beyond? Might it be wise to start thinking now about using our influence for its most noble and most pragmatic purpose — taking a lead in helping to design Whatever Comes Next (WCN)?
and The Woman That Never Evolved
. Author, anthropologist and feminist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy takes a fresh look at evolution fact and theory, then moves on to a cross-cultural view of motherhood, in this pair of stimulating books, re-evaluating things we thought we knew.
. Explores the new field of "emergent properties," showing how marvelous and surprising new complexities and capabilities often arise out of systems that began simply or primitively. Wonderful examples.
. Takes a wider focus on the biological foundations we all have to work with.
. Pursues the argument that our scientific competence and technologically-empowered creativity will soon skyrocket, propelling humanity into an entirely new age.
. Anyone interested in the dilemmas we face in the digital age should look at this book.
. Ponders the topic of "where is everybody out there?" An excellent book, covering these issues from many angles!
. Will the 21st Century be known as the time when our Scientific Age came to a whimpering end? Mooney explores how partisanship can explain much of this collapse of confidence... and why partisan interpretations don't cover everything.
. From a more technical background, encryption expert Bruce Schneier talks common sense.
. Striking off to the very boundaries of this universe — and about a trillion others — Smolin lays out the notion that universes may behave like a form of life, evolving within the context of a meta-time far, far vaster than mere billions of years. This book inspired my novella "What Continues... and What Fails," which is contained in the story collection Otherness.
. Says we are often fooled by our own best-laid plans. Possibly the most tragic human character flaw is our tendency to avoid the very criticism that may help us find our mistakes before they erupt and ruin our hopes.a brief intro to science fiction author DAVID BRIN
To learn more, visit his books page, or see his "about me" page or detailed biography.
novels
David Brin's science fiction novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. They range from bold and prophetic explorations of our near-future to Brin's Uplift series, envisioning galactic issues of sapience and destiny (and star-faring dolphins!). Learn More
shorter fiction
Short stories and novellas have different rhythms and artistic flavor, and Brin's short stories and novellas, several of which earned Hugo and other awards, exploit that difference to explore a wider range of real and vividly speculative ideas. Many have been selected for anthologies and reprints, and most have been published in anthology form. Learn More
Contrary Brin blog
Since 2004, David Brin has maintained a blog about science, technology, science fiction, books, and the future — themes his science fiction and nonfiction writings continue to explore. Learn More
social media influencer
Who could've predicted that social media — indeed, all of our online society — would play such an important role in the 21st Century — restoring the voices of advisors and influencers! Lively and intelligent comments spill over onto Brin's social media pages. Learn More
scientist
David Brin's Ph.D in Physics from the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. Every science show that depicts a comet now portrays the model developed in Brin's PhD research. Learn More
transparency expert
Brin's non-fiction book, The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Freedom and Privacy?, continues to receive acclaim for its accuracy in predicting 21st Century concerns about online security, secrecy, accountability and privacy. Learn More
speaker & consultant
Brin speaks plausibly and entertainingly about trends in technology and society to audiences willing to confront the challenges that our rambunctious civilization will face in the decades ahead. He also talks about the field of science fiction, especially in relation to his own novels and stories. To date he has presented at more than 200 meetings, conferences, corporate retreats and other gatherings.Learn More
future/tech advisor
Brin advises corporations and governmental and private defense- and security-related agencies about information-age issues, scientific trends, future social and political trends, and education. Urban Developer Magazine named him one of four World's Best Futurists, and he was appraised as "#1 influencer" in Onalytica's Top 100 report of Artificial Intelligence influencers, brands & publications. Past consultations include Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and many others. Learn More
