WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?
Science fiction is the literature of infinite possibilities. This is the genre in which literally anything can happen the great What If?"
It can be hard, with lots of information on scientific theories, practical applications, quantum physics, bioengineering, mathematical speculations, etc. It can be soft, covering the psychological and social sciences, including relationships, societal underpinnings and even what it means to be human. This is the genre that can explore inner space, concentrating on psi powers and abilities like mental telepathy, teleportation, and telekinesis, or outer space, taking the reader to other planets, other worlds, to infinity and beyond, so to speak. It can take us backwards and forwards in time as well as across the barrier between our world and alternate worlds. It can also explore computers from the outside in the programs that are created, in the activities of hackers, in the benefits and loom on the horizon, or alien friends can come to Earth, either on a mission of hope or on a mission to treat mankind with much the same regard as uncaring gods. First contact can bring us infinite rewards or the horrors of invasion and destruction (if there’Äôs anything left after what we do to ourselves, ecologically speaking). We can even fly on the backs of fire-breathing dragons, as long as they are genetically created. Science fiction can give us yesterday, today and tomorrow, and it is definitely a genre that is here to stay.
According to David Hartwell, noted science fiction editor and author, the Golden Age of Science Fiction is twelve. That’Äôs the age when so many of its fans get hooked for the first time, and many continue to remain hooked as the years pass. Science fiction and its companion genre of fantasy are acknowledged by many as the literature of the best and the brightest, the challenging, complex, rewarding, frequently extremely lengthy tomes that are devoured by teenage and adult fans in ever growing numbers. Even though science fiction written for adults is read and enjoyed by teens and pre-teens, there is a growing body of young adult literature that is being produced in this genre. Authors are addressing the same basic themes and producing works of high quality that are challenging and rewarding reads, although not as complex, convoluted nor, for the most part, as long as those written for an adult audience. In its early days, science fiction was primarily the balliwick of male readers and writers. That has changed with the passage of time, and now females are being attracted to reading and writing it in ever growing numbers. In todays market we see science fiction everywhere in movies, on television, in video games, and prolifically represented in comics and graphic novels. But the written word found in books, short stories and magazines is still the cornerstone of the science fiction experience. If you're a fan, enjoy, savor, read and discuss the books on this list. If youre new to science fiction, welcome to a brave new world. Give yourself time to build an acquired taste for some of the most provocative, challenging and rewarding literature around books in which the possibilities are truly infinite problems caused by our dependence on them and from the inside where virtual reality experiences can become all too frighteningly real.