But not just any science fiction book. I am interested in less laser ray-type stuff and more … I don’t know what to call it. Let me explain, I hardly read any science fiction, but I do like it and I want to get into it more. I saw the movie *Arrival* (the non Charlie Sheen movie; although there’s nothing wrong with that version) and liked it so I can’t wait to read “Story of Your Life,” the short story (or novella) that the movie was based on. I haven’t read “The Martian,” but I saw the movie and I think I would like the book. Even though it takes place in space, it’s more about survival and figuring out how to rescue someone who is stranded in space. I did read “Minority Report” and saw the movie. They’re very different, but the main idea carried over to the movie. I guess what I’m looking for, by reading this short list I’ve just given you, are stories where the science fiction element is dropped and humans have to deal with it. In “Story of Your Life” is the arrival of the aliens; in “The Martian” is a person is stranded in a remote, far-away planet; in “Minority Report” is the use of PreCogs to fight crime, etc. I guess I am looking for stories of humans against a new technology? Or humans against space visitors? Or humans against an unforeseen force?
A subtle science fiction element that elevates the story to a huge science fiction feel.
I hope you see what I’m looking for. I’ll answer as many questions as I can. Thanks.
by mac_the_man
7 Comments
def *The Martian*, also Andy Weirs other book *Project Hail Mary* is fantastic, these are both stand-alones
You may also like *Wool*, which is the first book of *The* *Silo Series* a post-apocalyptic science fiction trilogy
Sea of Tranquility – Emily St John Mandel
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Think-y or literary sci-fi:
Ursula K. Le Guin. The standard rec is The Left Hand of Darkness, about an (idiot, but eventually realizes exactly how dumb he was) alien ambassador who struggles to deal with deep suspicion of his story… And the fact that the humans he is trying to deal with only sometimes have gender.
Kazuo Ishiguro: Klara and the Sun, or Never Let Me Go. Like all Ishiguros, the mood is “quiet melancholy” and it is easy to “miss” the story if you are not paying attention.
Philip K. Dick is usually weirder than the adaptations of his novels would have you believe, but he wrote the novels that were the source of both Minority Report and Blade Runner.
Annihilation by Vandermeer. Adapted into Annihilation by Garland.
Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
There’s this guy named Isaac Asimov…
Try Saturn Run by John Sandford and Ctein. It’s a thriller with a science fiction background and involves alien life. It’s a page turner.
Try Iain Banks, Lois McMaster Bujold and Ann Leckie.