#12. EARTH ABIDES By George R Stewart

Published : 1949
Pages : 312
Overall Mark : 8/10

A mysterious plague has destroyed the vast majority of the human race. Isherwood Williams returns from a wilderness field trip to discover that civilization has vanished during his absence. Eventually, in San Francisco, he encounters a female survivor who becomes his wife. Around them and their children a small community develops, but rebuilding civilization is beyond their resources, and gradually they return to a simpler way of life.

GEORGE R. STEWART (1895-1980)
Stewart was s Professor of English at the University of California. He published a number of novels, including two studies of natural catastrophe, Storm and Fire. Earth Abides is his only work of science fiction.

VERDICT
Clearly the influence for Stephen King's The Stand, this post apocalyptic novel doesn't go down the road of giving us an unbelievable view of the future but instead gives a view that seems frightening belieavable and very probable. None of the characters have ridiculous abilities that make their lives easier, and they don't have a moral code that precludes them from exacting punishment against those they distrust. This novel is simply put a wonderful example of survivalism set against a nautral or unnatural disaster of epic proportions.

#11. LAST AND FIRST MEN By Olaf Stapledon

Published : 1930
Pages : 307
Overall Mark : 6/10

Last and First Men is not so much a novel as a history of the future, written with breathtaking imagination. Over the course of 2,000 million years it describes the evolutionary rise and fall of eighteen distinct races of men, of which Homo sapiens is the first and most primitive. Apart from Stapledon himself, in the equally ambitious Star Maker, no other science fiction writer has attempted, let alon achieved, a work on this scale.

W. OLAF STAPLEDON (1886-1950)
Stapledon was educated at Oxford and Liverpool University, where he later lectured in psychology and philosophy. His wartime experiences made him a committed lifetime pacifist. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, his influence on the development of SF ideas is 'probably second only to that of H. G. Wells'.

VERDICT
This book reads more as a history of the future than an actual novel. Fans of science fiction may not enjoy it, but those who enjoy the works of AJP Taylor will find it insightful and filled with interesting theories on the future. Although the writing is imaginative, it can get repetitive and become boring at points, but toward the end things speed up and it becomes a far more enjoyable read.

#10. THE REDISCOVERY OF MAN By Cordwainer Smith

Published : 1975
Pages : 377
Overall Mark : 8/10

The strangest future imagined by any SF writer... An interstellar empire ruled by the Lords of the Instrumentality, whose access to the drug stroon from the planet Norstrilia confers on them virtual immortality. A futre in which wealthy humanity is served by the underpeople, genetically engineered animals turned into the semblance of people. A future of woder and myth, and extraordinary imagination.

CORDWAINER SMITH (1913-67)
The pseudonym of Paul M A. Linebarger (1913-67), who spent his formative years in China; his father was legal advisor to the Prime Minister, Sun Yat-sen (Linebarger's godfather). He became a political scientist and expert on psyxhological warfare. The first 'Cordwainer Smith' story appeared in 1950.

VERDICT
In this series of short stories, loosely held together through a future where humans have been split into subgroups, partly made up from genetically engineered animals, an incredibly descriptive future landscape has been designed which is rich in character and design. Every story herein can be read on its own, but it makes for a great read to go through each one and experience the vast parabola of characters and situations that unfold.

#9. GATEWAY By Frederik Pohl

Published : 1976
Pages : 313
Overall Mark : 9/10

Gateway : an artificial spaceport, full of working interstellar ships left behind by the mysterious, vanished Heechee. They are easy to operate, but impossible to control. SOme come back with discoveries which make their intrepid pilots rich; others return with their remains barely identifiable. It is the ultimate game of Russian roulette, but in this resource-starved future there is no shortage of desperate volunteers.

FREDERIK POHL (1919-)
A professional SF writer and editor for nearly 50 years. He first achieved fame for the series of novels he wrote in the 1950s in collaboration with C. M. Kornbluth, notably The Space Merchants and Wolfbane. He grew up in New York, but now lives near Chicago.

VERDICT
This is one of the better science fiction novels I’ve read of late, with Robinette "Bob" Broadhead portrayed as possibly one of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen in fiction. He is neither heroic in his actions, nor actually evil in any way, but his endeavours and his attitude towards them make for a great read.

#8. THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS By Gene Wolfe

Published : 1972
Pages : 252
Overall Mark : 8/10

On the twin colony planets Sainte Anne and Sante Croix, civilization is a colourful mix of the archaic and the futuristic, with slavery and advanced science coexisting. The shapeshifting alien inhabitants of Sainte Anne were exterminated by the colonists - but some believe that instead they killed the humans and adopted their identity. In three interlocking tales, the secrets of thisstrange society are gradually unravelled.

GENE WOLFE (1931-)
Born in New York but raised in Texas, Gene Wolfe trained as an engineer. Apart from The Fith Head of Cerberus his major work is the four-volume Book of the New Sun, forthcoming in the SF Masterworks series. The Encyclopedia of Sceince Fiction describes him as 'quite possibly the most important author in the SF field today'.

VERDICT
This is a fascinating story, which takes the idea that humans are an alien race that have invaded another species world and makes it into something truly remarkable. The other stories in the book, telling a tale of the original planets inhabitants and what happened to them, as well as a story of the consequences met by the anthropolgist from the first story, John Marsch, are not quite as good but are still well worth reading and lend a lot of substance to the original tale.

#7. LORD OF LIGHT By Roger Zelazny

Published : 1967
Pages : 317
Overall Mark : 6/10

A distant world where gods walk as men, but wield vast and hidden powers. Are they truly immortal? Who are these gods who rule the destiny of a teeming world? Their names include Brahma, Kali, Krishna and also he who was called Buddha, the Lord of Light, but who now prefers to be known simply as Sam. How has the colonization of another planet become a re-enactment of Eastern religion and mythology?

ROGER ZELAZNY (1937-1995)
Few writers have made a more immediate impact on SF than Zelazny, each of whose first three novels won a major sf award. Altogether, in the course of his career, he won six Hugo awards and three Nebula awards. Born in Ohio, he lived for most of his writing life in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

VERDICT
This is a very strange novel and is sometimes difficult to read. It takes most of its ideas from Buddhism as well as the Hindu religion, and each chapter feels more like a parable or morality tale than part of a cohesive whole. The basic ideas of the story have been copied on occasion in such movies as Stargate, but the idea of a renegade God who wants to destroy his fellow beings has a feel to it that is both timeless and powerful as it gives us a lead character who must be either very brave or very stupid, but in any case has a firm grip on what he believes is right and wrong.

#6. BABEL-17 By Samuel R Delany

Published : 1967
Pages : 193
Overall Mark : 6/10

In the far future, after human civilization has spread through the galaxy, communications begin to arrive in an apparently alien language. They appear to threaten invasion, but in order to counter the threat, the messages must first be understood. Babel-17 is the novel which catapulted Samuel R. Delany into the front rank of SF writers.

SAMUEL R. DELANY (1942-)
Born and raised in Harlem, and published his first novel in 1962 at the age of 20. He won the Nebula Award for best novel in consecutive years with Babel-17 (1966) and The Einstein Intersection (1967). His other novels include Dhalgren and the Neveryon series. He teaches literature at Princeton University.

VERDICT
I wasn’t particularly impressed with this novel, although the idea it is based around is a very interesting and original one. Some of the characters do prove to be interesting as, in her search for the key to Babel-17, Rydra Wong meets a number of people who all have drastically different perceptions of reality themselves, proving to be a nice counterpoint to the subject of the novel itself.

#5. THE STARS MY DESTINATION By Alfred Bester

Published : 1956
Pages : 258
Overall Mark : 8/10

EDUCATION : none.
SKILLS : none.
MERITS : none.
RECOMMENDATIONS : none.
That is the official verdicton Gully Foyle, unskilled space crewman. But Gully has managed to survive for 170 days in the airless purgatory of deep space after the wreck of his ship, and has escaped to Earth carrying a murderous grudge and a secret that could change the course of history.

ALFRED BESTER (1913-1987)
A scriptwriter and journalist by profession, Bester set the science fiction field alight in the 1950s with two novels, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination, and a succession of extraordinary stories. His work was an inpiration both to the SF New Wave of the 1960s and the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s.

VERDICT
This is a great little sci-fi novel, with a lead character which you sympathise with whilst also taking an instant disliking to. Bester manages with expert ease to build a framework around Gully Foyle and the rest of the supporting characters which is both believable and strangely accessible, whilst creating scenarios and settings which are both fantastic and highly imaginative.

#4. DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? By Philip K Dick

Published : 1968
Pages : 210
Overall Mark : 9/10

War had left the Earth devastated, Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn't 'retiring' them, he dreamed of owning the ultimate status symbol - a live animal. Then Rick got his big assignment: to kill six Nexus-6 targets, for a huge reward. But things were never that simple, and Rick's life quickly turned into a nightmare kaleidoscope of subterfuge and deceit.

PHILIP K. DICK (1928-1982)
'One of the two or three most important figures in 20th century US SF' (The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction). Born one of twins - his sister died in infancy - he lived most of his life in California, and wrote more than fifty books in a career of prodigious productivity and achievement. The films Blade Runner and Total Recall are both based on his stories.

VERDICT
This is possibly one of the most well known science fiction pieces ever written, and definitely Dick’s most widely read work. Famously made into Blade Runner by Ridley Scott in 1982, this is actually in many ways superior to the movie, concentrating more on the story as a sort of parable on race relations than an out and out action piece.

#3. CITIES IN FLIGHT By James Blish

Published : 1970
Pages : 607
Overall Mark : 6/10

James Blish's masterwork, originally published in four volumes, explores a future built on two crucial discoveries: antigravity devices - 'spindizzies' - which allow whole cities to be lifted from the Earth to become giant spaceships, and longevity drugs which enable their inhabitants to live for thousands of years. As Earth stagnates, one by one the cities depart to the stars, leading to the establishment of a unique Galactic empire.

JAMES BLISH (1921-1975)
An immensely influential SF writer and critic, Blish was one of the Futurians, a group of writers who also included Isaax Asimov and Frederik Pohl. Among his other notable books are The Seedling Stars, Black Easter, and the Hugo-winning A Case Of Conscience. Blish moved to England in 1969, and died in 1975 at the early age of 54.

VERDICT
This is an odd science fiction novel to say the least. It seems to come from a political stand point and gives a lot of information without actually telling the reader a whole lot. It feels a lot longer than its 600+ pages, but can be entertaining in parts. I’d skim read the first section if I were you, the remainder of the books are a vast improvement.

#2. I AM LEGEND By Richard Matheson

Published : 1954
Pages : 160
Overall Mark : 9/10

An SF novel about vampires...
Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn. How long can one man survive like this?

RICHARD MATHESON (1926-)
I Am Legend, first published in 1954, is Richard Matheson's first SF novel and established his reputation. His other novels include The Incredible Shrinking Man and Hell House, and he has written many film and TV scripts.

VERDICT
I was surprised at how modern this book felt. Richard Matheson manages to make this book feel contemporary even by today’s standards and, as this is supposed to be set in the late 70s, that’s not an easy task! This novel has been imitated by many, most recently in Stephen King’s Cell, but will always remain one of the original and the best of the modern vampire novels, up there with the likes of Dracula!

#1. THE FOREVER WAR By Joe Haldeman

Published : 1974
Pages : 253
Overall Mark : 9/10

Private William Mandella is a reluctant hero in an interstellar war against an unknowable and unconqerable alien enemy, but his greatest test wil come when he returns home. Relativity means that for every few months' tour of duty centuries have passed on Earth, isolating the combatants even more from the world for whose future they are fighting.

JOE HALDERMAN (1943-)
The Forever War, published in 1974, won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel and cemented Joe Haldeman's reputation as one of SF's major writers. His experiences in Vietnam, where he won a Purple Heart, influenced much of his writing.

VERDICT
This is a great novel, and I’m glad I picked it up. The characters are solid and believable, and the book flows beautifully from start to finish. Some people believe that this novel is based on Haldeman’s tour of duty in Vietnam, and the sense of not belonging that Mandella feels each time he returns to Earth, coupled with the idea of the government not even knowing anything much about their enemy, makes me believe that this could well be the case.