Abe Books' "50 Essential Science Fiction Books" f/m

[james_davis_nicoll]

This was a virtually impossible task. Put together a list of 50 must-read science fiction books and don’t make anyone angry. Science fiction is the most discussed and argued over genre in literature but it actually goes way beyond books and into film, TV, video games and even toys.

Here are the criteria I used. One book per author, so that was hard on the big three of science fiction – Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke, who each have multiple classic titles to their name. Attempt to show as many sub-genres of science fiction and plot themes as possible. Include early stories that influenced the genre as a whole and launched popular themes, even if those books appear a bit dated today.

I wanted to show the unbelievable breadth of this galactic-sized genre and, of course, I failed because this is just the tip of the spaceberg – there are probably 500 essential science fiction books, not 50.

     Total  Female  Male  Female/Total
      50      5     45       10%

Oh, one last quotation:

Let the indignant outcry of our fellow nerds commence - what did we miss?

So feel free to toddle over there to offer helpful criticism.

Comments

[zeborah]

Requires a Facebook account to comment there, so I'll unleash on the space you've conveniently created here what I've been thinking all day which is:

Isn't it interesting how so many chronological lists start with Jules Verne instead of with, say, Mary Wollstonecraft?

[submarine_bells]

I tried to post a comment, with some helpful suggestions regarding a few female authors they might have considered; but sadly my comment got sent off into hyperspace, never to be seen again. (Unless it's waiting in a moderation queue, but I got no message to that effect.)