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please attribute properly by retaining the full header
information. 11/16/99
Page Last Updated June 9, 2002
Themes/Genres in Science
Fiction: An idiosyncratic and woefully incomplete list
Kay Fowler
This list has been
constructed over time based on a list and categories originally
constructed by the late
Professor Ted Michelfeld and owing debts to a number of other sources
including
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. It is still under
construction
and by no means complete but it is a starting place. The categories are
by
no means as distinct as is suggested here. Most every one of these
works
could appear in multiple categories and in many cases I have assigned
them
rather arbitrarily to one of the many choices they might occupy.
World at Risk SF and Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Science
Fiction which offers a view of the "chaotic end of the world.")Below
are some of the
many variants of these global threats or outright "ends." In some
cases, this
is tied to religious concepts of apocalypse where the events are a
punishment
or outcome of humanityís sins and a prelude to a cleansed and
transfigured
world. Some of these texts are what is known as "the cozy catastrophe"
where
all but a tiny handful are destroyed and that we focus on our interest
and
concern for these few for whom there is a sort of "happy ending" while
cozily
contemplating the wholesale extermination of the rest of the world. The
recent
film, Independence Day, is a comic version of a "cozy
catastrophe."
Note: There is a rich genre of "post-holocaust" sf novels that envision
a
world rebuilding or at least surviving after virtual destruction or at
least
widespread disaster have utterly transformed that world. I will list
examples
of these works later under Post-Holocaust Novels.
A. Political/Massive War/Doomsday Weapons Disaster:
Richard
Jefferies, After London or Wild England (1885) "a cozy
catastrophe"
Edward Shanks. The
People of the Ruins. (1920)
Cicely Hamilton. Theodore
Savage (aka Lest Ye Die) (1922).
Harold Nicolson. Public
Faces (1932).
H.G. Wells. The
Shape of Things to Come. (1933). war, starvation, plagues and the
destruction of scientific knowledge ó 1st half of
book. Film: Things to Come
Alfred Noyes, The
Last Man (aka No Other Man) (1940) The Doomsday weapon is a
ray causing cardiac arrest)
Judith Merrill, Shadow
on the Hearth (1950). Nuclear holocaust from the perspective of a
housewife. Televised as Atomic Attack.
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
A Canticle for Liebowitz (1955-7). We do it ó twice!
Nevil Shute, On
the Beach (1957). Australia awaits the fallout of the nuclear
disaster that has already destroyed the rest of the world. Film: On
the Beach (1959)
Peter George. Two
Hours to Doom (aka Red Alert) (1958). Mad scientist leads
to nuclear devastation. Film: Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to
Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. (1963)
Poul Anderson. After
Doomsday (1962). Detective Story where earth is the murder victim.
Eugene L. Burdick and
Henry Wheeler. Fail-Safe (1962). Film: Fail-Safe (1964).
James K. Morrow. This
is the Way the World Ends (1986). Trial of a few survivors of
atomic holocaust.
Robert OíBrien.
Z for Zachariah. (1987). Young adult novel.
B.
Alien Invasion/Conquest of Earth
H. G. Wells, War
of the Worlds (1898) Martian invasion (parallels European invasion
of Tasmania)
Edmond Hamilton. Conquest
of Two Worlds (1932)
Arthur C. Clarke, Childhoodís
End (1950-3). Alien visitors assist in the transformation of the
human species into an entirely new species
John Wyndham. The
Day of the Triffids (1951) Venomous Plants.
Fred Hoyle. The
Black Cloud (1957). A sentient gas colud
Robert A. Heinlein. The
Puppet Masters (1961)
Brian Aldis;s, Greybeard
(1964). Biological Weapon casues human sterility
Greg Bear. The Forge
of
God. (1987). A series of alien invasions
Octavia Butler.
Xenogenesis trilogy (Dawn ó 1987; Adulthood Rites
ó 1987; Imago ó 1989). Aliens
rescue/control/transform the handful who have survived nuclear
holocaust on earth.
C
. Plague/Disease/Epidemic
Mary Shelley. The
Last Man (1826)
Jack London. The
Scarlet Plague (1915)
George Stewart. Earth
Abides (1949)
Michael Critchton.
The Andromeda Strain. (1969).
Sherri Tepper. Grass
(1989).
D.
Agricultural/Ecological/Population Disasters
George Griffith.
Olga Romanoff (1894) comet strike and alien invasion.
M. P. Shield. The
Purple Cloud (1901). poisonous gas.
Arthur Conan Doyle. The
Poison Belt (1913) the earth passes through a poisonous ether
J. J. Connington. Nordenholtís
Millions (1923) agricultural disaster
S. Fowler Wright. Deluge
(1928). flood.
Philip Wylie. When
Worlds Collide (1932). dying sun on collision course with earth.
Film: When Worlds Collide (1951).
Isaac Asimov. Caves of
Steel (1954) overpopulation ó and a great mystery story
John Christopher. The
Death of Grass (aka No Blade of Grass) (1957)
Robert Silverberg. Masters
of Life and Death (1957). overpopulation.
J. G. Ballard. "Billenium"
(1961) population
J. G. Ballard. The
Drowned World. (1962). flood
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Catís
Cradle (1963) Ice-9
J. G. Ballard, The
Drought (aka The Burning World) 1965.
Harry Harrison. Make
Room!
Make Room! (1966). Film: Soylent Green (1973).
William F. Nolan and
George Clayton Johnson. Loganís Run (1967). Film: Loganís
Run (1967) Overpopulation; destruction of those over 30.
Lee Tang. The Wind
Obeys Lama Torus. (1967). From India. Overpopulation.
John Brunner. Stand on
Zanzibar. (1968). Young adult novel on overpopulation.
James Blish. A Torrent
of Faces (1968)
Fred and Geoffrey Hoyle. The
Inferno (1973). Cosmic radiation
Nancy Bond. The Voyage
Begun (1989). Young Adult. In a near future Cape Cod, dwindling
resources, unemployment, and ecological damage combine to make the Cape
a dangerous, and forlorn world.
David Brin. Earth
. (1990). Black hole.
Karen Hesse. Phoenix
Rising (1994). Young adult. A young girl on a farm in Vermont
copes with
the consequences of a nuclear accident in Massachusetts.
Dedicated
to the children of Chernobyl.
Monica Hughes. Invitation
to the Game. 1996. Young Adult. overpopulation and shrinking
resources leave most unemployed and without hope ó unless they
can get into "the
game"
Arthur C. Clarke and Mike
McQuay. Richter 10 (1996).
Jack McDevitt. Engines
of God. (1997) Alien artifacts related to ancient mass destructions
on
a number of planets. Should we be worried?
Mary Sullivan. Earthquake
2099. (1997) Young adult.
Kim Stanley Robinson, Forty Signs of
Rain, 2004
2.
Far Future or Ancient History-Future History
There are very many
books that fit this category. The two most famous are:
H. G. Wells. The Time
Machine
Olaf Stapledon. The
Last and First Men (1930) 2 billion years of history
3.
Utopias/Dystopias/and in-between
A. Utopia ("good place" or "no place" imagined idealized
community/world
--- always, in the event, flawed); near utopias; ambiguous utopias
(LeGuinís phrase), heterotopias (Delanyís phrase) for not
quite ideal visions!
Plato, The
Republic
Sir Thomas More, Utopia
(Latin, 1516, English, 1551)
Tommaso Campanella.
City of the Sun. (1637)
Margaret Cavendish.
The Blazing World (1668)
Sarah Scott. A
Description of Millenium Hall. (1762)
Mary Griffith. Three
Hundred Years Hence (1836)
Annie Denton Cridge.
Manís Rights or How Would You Like It? (1870)
Mary E. Bradley Lane. Mizora;
A Prophecy (1880-1)
W. H. Hudson. A
Crystal Age (1887)
Edward Bellamy. Look
Backward, 2000-1887 (1888)
William Morris. News
from Nowhere (1890)
Hugo Gernsback. Ralph
124C41+ (1911-2) technological utopia
Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Herland.
(1915)
J. B. S. Haldane. Daedalus
(1924)
James Hilton. Lost
Horizons (1933) Shangri-La
H. G. Wells. The Shape
of Things to Come (1933) technological utopia in the 2nd
half
of the novel (see 1. A.)
Robert A. Heilein,
Beyond this Horizon (1942-8)
B. F. Skinner.
Walden Two. 1948.
Zenna Henderson. Ingathering:
The People Stories. 1950s, 1960s. Aliens with special gifts must
hide out/integrate into an earth world/society which is not always
welcoming.
Arthur C. Clarke. The
City and the Stars. (1953). Near immortalit y but ...
Theodore Sturgeon.
Venus Plus X. (1960).
Ursula K. LeGuin. The
Dispossessed. (1974).
Joanna Russ. The
Female Man. (1975)
Naomi Mitchison. Solution
Three. (1975).
Thomas M. Disch. The
New Improved Sun: An Anthology of Utopian Science Fiction (1976)
Samuel Delany. Triton:
An Ambiguous Heterotopia. (1976). Gender, race, and everything else
is
negotiable
Marge Piercy. Woman
on the Edge of Time (1976) alternates between dystopic 20th
c. world and utopian future
Suzy Mckee Charnas.
Motherlines (1979). Woman controlled society sustained by
phathogenesis.
Sally Miller Gearhart. The
Wanderground: Stories of the Hillwoman (Collection of linked
stories (1980)
Joan Slonczewski. A
Door Into Ocean. (1986).
Pamela Sargent. The
Shore of Women. (1987)
Kim Stanley Robinson.
The Orange County Series: Icehenge (1984); The Blind
Geometer (1987) and Pacific Edge (1990).
Sherri Tepper. Gate
to Womenís Country (1988) post-holocaust near utopia
Nicola Griffith. Ammonite
. (1992)
Kathleen Ann Goonan.
Bones of Time (1996).
B.
Dystopias
William Morris. News
from Nowhere (1890)
Yevgeny Zamiatin. My
(1920) (trans. as We 1924). Revolution and entropy.
Aldous Huxley. Brave
New World. (1932) genetic engineering
Katharine Burdekin.
The End of This Dayís Business (1935) anti-Nazi,
anti-fascist
dystopian novel
Katharine Burdekin.
Swastika Night. (1937) anti-Nazi, anti-fascist dystopian novel
George Orwell, 1984 (1949)
totalitarian society
Isaac Asimov. Pebble
in the Sky. (1950). Caves of Steel (1954). Over population
and technological dependence
Frederick Pohl and C.
M. Kornbluth. The Space Merchants (1952) and Frederick
Pohlís sequel, Merchant War (1984) (published together
as Venus, Inc, 1985) World dominated by advertising.
Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit
451. (1953). Film: Fahrenheit 451 (1966). censorship,
entertainment as drug, totalitarian society
Anthony Burgess. Clockwork
Orange. 1962. Film: Clockwork Orange (1971)
Suzy McKee Charnas.
Walk to the End of the World (1974) Post apocalyptic world where
all
but whites have been eradicated; women are enslaved, and men are
fiercely
ranked and controlled by class, age, and status.
Elisabeth Vonarburg.
Silent City. (1981) (orig. pub. in French; Canadian dystopia)
Margaret Atwood. The
Handmaidís Tale. (1985) Film: The Handmaidís Tale
(1990). Near future world where religious tyranny for a time remaps
northeastern US
eliminating people of color, Jews, homosexuals, the eldery and reducing
the
remaining fertile white women to complete domination by the Guardians
Vernor Vinge. Across
Realtime: The Peace War (1984) and Marooned in Real Time (1986).
Judith Moffett. The
Ragged World: A Novel of the Hefn on Earth (1991). dystopian novel
with
an AIDS theme.
Marge Piercy. He, She,
and It. (aka Body of Glass) (1991) a near future world
controlled by huge megacorporations, global cybernet, ecological
nightmares.
Nancy Kress. Beggars
trilogy: Beggars in Spain (1993); Beggars and Choosers (1994);
Beggarís Ride (1997). Genetic engineering,
overpopulation,
resource shrinkages, and so much more!
Maureen McHugh. Half
the Day is Night. (1994) Underwater dystopia. Gripping.
Nicola Griffith. Slow
River (1995). Lambda winner.
Octavia Butler. Parable
of the Sower (1994); Parable of the Talents (1999) violent,
drug-ridden,
and class-torn near future California and the survivors of that world
Joe Haldeman. Forever
Peace (1997).
Levar Burton. Aftermath.
(1997).
Nalo Hopkinson. Brown
Girl in the Ring. (1998) a near-futureToronto dystopia moving
toward utopia
by an African Caribbean Canadian woman.
4.
Alternate Earth/Alternate History (What If?)
Ward Moore. Bring
the Jubilee (1953). South won the American Civil War.
Philip K. Dick. The
Man in the High Castle (1962) Germany and Japan won WWII
Ronald W. Clark. Queen
Victoriaís Bomb: The Disclosures of Professor Franklin Huxtable,
M.
A. Cantab (1967). Victorian Englandís got the bomb!
Keith Roberts. Pavane
. (1968) Elizabeth I is assassinated; England becomes Catholic nation
Martin Cruz Smith.
The Indians Won. (1970).
Ursula K. LeGuin. The
Lathe of Heaven (1971) a manís dreams come true ...
J. C. Squire, ed. If,
or History Rewritten (Collection) (1972)
Harry Harrison. A
Transatlantic Cable, Hurrah. (1972). England has won the
Revolutionary War.
L. Neil Smith. The
Crystal Empire (1986) black plague keeps West from developing
William Gibson and Bruce
Sterling (1991) The Difference Engine. Victorian computers.
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction describes this as "steampunk."
Elisabeth Vonarburg.
Reluctant Voyagers (1994). Montrealís history is suddenly
very
different.
Pamela Sargent. Climb
the Wind. (1998). American revolution takes a very different turn
and the Native Americans have a very different history.
5.
Time Travel, Time Paradoxes, Time Patrolling, Time Wars, Alternate Time
Lines (closely
allied with alternate earths) This category is so rich the list
could
be almost endless.
Anstey. The
Time Bargain (aka Tourmalinís Time Cheques
) (1881)
H. G. Wells, The
Time Machine (1885)
Grant Allen. The
British Barbarians (1895)
Gaton de Pawlowski. Voyage
to the Land of the Fourth Dimension (1912)
Lord Dunsany. If
(1922)
David Lindsay.
The Haunted Woman (1922)
Ray Cummings. The
Man Who Masered Time (1924)
Edmond Hamilton.
The Time Raider (1927)
Sidney Fowler Wright. The
World Below (1929)
John Taine (Erik
Temple Bell) Seeds of Life (1931); The time Stream
(1931) and Liners of Time (1934)
Jack Williamson,
The Legion of Time (1938)
L. Sprague de Camp. Lest
Darkness Fall (1939)
C. L. Moore. "Vintage
Season" (1946)
Isaac Asimov. The
End of Eternity (1955)
Robert Silverberg
. The Time Hoppers (1956)
Fritz Leiber. The
Big Time (1958)
Wilson Tucker.
The Lincoln Hunters (1958) visiting Abraham Lincoln
John Brunner. Times
Without Number (1962); Quicksand (1967); The Tides of
Time (1983)
Poul Anderson.
The Corridors of Time (1965); There Will be Time (1972)
Fred Hoyle, October
the First is Too Late (1966)
Philip K. Dick.
Counter-Clock World (1967); Ubik (1969)
Jack Finney. Time
and Again (1970); back to 19th c. New York; Time
After
Time (1995) the Titanic ó again!
Wilson Tucker.
The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970) a black protagonist travels to a
racially
divided post civil-war 2020 US
David Gerrold.
The Man Who Folded Himself (1973)
Clifford Simak.
Our Childrenís Children (1973)
Joanna Russ. The
Female Man (1975). Multiple time lines!
Marge Piercy. Woman
on the Edge of Time (1976)
Bob Shaw. Who Goes
Here? (1977) comic time paradox
Gordon Dickson.
Time Storm (1977)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Slaughterhouse
5 (1979)
Octavia Butler.
Kindred (1979). A 1970ís black woman is caught back in time
in
Maryland slavery times.
John Varley. "Air
Raid" (1983). Film: Millenium (1990)
Kirk Mitchell.
Never the Twain (1987)
Walter Jon Williams. Days
of Atonement (1991) Time paradox and quantum physics.
Martin Amis. Timeís
Arrow (1991).
Kathleen Ann Goonan. Bones
of Time (1998) Hawaiian home movement clones King
Kamehameha and 20th c. mathematician time travels to be with
the
last Hawaiian princess ó and a whole lot more. Delicious book.
5.
Religion/Theology/Anti-religion and Science Fiction
Marie Corelli, A
Romance of Two Worlds (1886) God an entity of pure electricity
Guy Thorne. When
it Was Dark (1904) Rationalism used to discredit Christianity.
Robert Hugh Benson. Lord
of the World (1907) and The Dawn of All (1911)
humanist socialism vs. religion.
John Mastin. Through
the Sun in an Airship (1909) cosmic journey to defend theological
dogma.
Arthur Conan Doyle. The
Land of Mist or the Quest of Edward Malone. 1926. Extolls
mysticism and the occult.
Olaf Stapledon.
The Star Maker (1937) God experimenter/scientist
C. S. Lewis. Perelandra
Series: Out of the Silent Planet (1938); Perelandra
(1943); That Hideous Strength (1945) episcopalian emphasis.
H. G. Wells. All
Aboard for Ararat (1940)
Theodore Sturgeon.
"Microcosmic God" (1941).
A. E. Van Vogt.
The Book of Ptath (aka Two Hundred Million AD) (1943)
Ray Bradbury. "The
Man" (1949) quest for Christ. "In This Sign" (aka "The Fire Balloons")
priest missionaries encounter Martian natives
Anthony Boucher. "The
Quest for St. Aquin" (1951)
Paul Payne. "Foolís
Errand." Jew finds cross on Mars. (1952)
James Blish. After
Such Knowledge series: Doctor Mirabilis, A Case of Conscience
(1953); Black Easter (1968) The Day After Judgement
(1970)
Lester Del Rey. "For
I am a Jealous People" (1954) aliens new chosen people
Arthur C. Clarke.
"The Star." The Star of Bethlehem was a nova.
Walter M. Miller,
Jr. A Canticle for Leibowitz (1955-7) role of the Catholic
church
and a worshipped long-dead Jewish engineer in the post-holocaust world
Katherine Maclean.
"Unclean Sacrifice." (1958) coming to understand an alien religion
Robert Bloch. ëThe
Funnel of God." (1960)
Robert Heinlein.
Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) an alien visitor creates a
religious
and moral cult
Michael Moorcock. Behold
the Man (1966). time travel and the Crucifixion
Philip K. Dick.
Galactic Pot-Healer (1969)
D. G. Compton.
The Missionaries (1972) alien missionaries
John Cameron. The
Astrologer (1972)
Clifford Simark.
A Choice of Gods (1972) and Project Pope (1981)
Sylvia Louise Engdahl. This
Star Shall Abide (aka Heritage of the Star)
(1972)
Robert Silverberg. Tower
of Glass (1972) android Religion.
Roimain Gary. The
Gasp (1973)
John Brunner. The
Stone That Never Came Down (1973) fundamentalist theocracy
Strange Gods
, ed. Roger Elwood. anthology (1974)
Wandering Stars,
ed. Jack Dan. anthology of Jewish science fiction (1974)
E. E. Y. Hale.
Chariot of Fire (1977)
Ian Watson Godís
World (1979)
Philip Jose Farmer Jesus
on Mars (1979)
The New Awareness:
Religion Through Science Fiction, ed. Martin H. Greenberg and
Patricia
S. Warrick. anthology (1982)
Perpetual Light
, ed. Alan Ryan. anthology (1982)
Margaret Atwood.
The Handmaidís Tale. fundamentalist coup díetat in
near
future U.S.
Keith Roberts.
Kiteworld. l(1985) oppressive theocracy
Theodore Sturgeon Godbody
(1986)
Paul Park. Soldiers
of Paradise (1987)
Sheri Tepper. Grass
(1989); Raising the Stones (1990) Sideshow (1992).
Earth has
become "Sanctity" controlled by fundamental relgionists. Rich
exploration fo themes of religion, ecology, social relatinships, etc.
Dan Simmons. Hyperion (1989)
Fall of Hyperion (1990) alien religion
Ted Reynolds. The
Tides of God (1989)
Jame K. Morrow.
Only Begotten Daughter (1990)
Marge Piercy He,
She and It. (1991) Golems and cyborgs in Jewish feminist dystopia
Sacred Visions
, ed. Michael Cassutt and Andrew M. Greeley, anthology (1991)
Mary Doria Russell The
Sparrow (1997) The Children of God (1999) a Jesuit makes first
contact. Highly recommended.
7.
Space Opera ("Super science," blasters, phasers, leaping space ships,
intergalactic menaces, intrigues, BEMS (Bug Eyed Monsters) etc.
This too is an endless
category and I have listed only a few primarily early examples.
E.
E. Burroughs. Mars series (with John Carter), Tarzan series, Pellucidar
Series,
Venus series and other ghastly (enjoyable?) stuff
Leslie Stone. When
the Sun Went Out (1929)
Leslie F. Stone. Out
of the Void (1929) first female "spaceman" (thatís
what the book cover says!)
E. E. Smith. The
Lensman Series. (aka History of Civilization) (1953-5)
Isaac Asimov.
Foundation Series (although these are also interesting for robots,
psychohistory
and other neat concepts.)
Naomi Mitchison. Memoirs
of a Spacewoman (1962)
Joanna Russ.
Picnic on Paradise (1968)
Joe Haldeman. The
Forever War (1972-4) a novel of one-way time travelling
warriors (based on Vietnam). Particularly fine novel.
The Good Old
Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition (1940-70s), ed. Gardner
Dozois.
anthology (1998)
The Good New
Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition (1940-70s), ed. Gardner
Dozois.
anthology (1998)
8.
Robots, Androids, Cyborgs, Clones (Unnatural (?) Creation) and
Cyberbunk/Virtual Reality, Genetic Engineering, and Nanotechnology.
Iím placing cyberpunk here because it is in spirit related to
these other themes. Cyberpunk is the
fairly recent genre of dystopic near-future world where there is global
connectivity
and communication through the web, bio/techno enhancements, and a mood
of
alienation, resistance, often graphic violence. Virtual reality,
holographic
simulations, artificial intelligence ó all make their appearance
here.
Mary Shelley. Frankenstein
(1818)
Karel Capek.
R.U.R. (1920, trans 1923). Rossumís Universal Robots.
E. V. Odle.
The Clockwork Man (1923)
Isaac Asimov. l Robot
(collection of stories) (1950); Caves of
Steel (1954); The Naked Sun (1957); Robots of Dawn
(1985); Robots and Empire (1985) and numerous others ....
Clifford Simak. Time
and Again (1951) androids resist slavery
Cordwainer Smith,
Instrumentality Series (1950-1966)
Philip K. Dick
. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1966) Film: Blade Runner
(1982)
Samuel Delany. Nova
(1968)
Anne McCaffrey. The
Ship Who Sang (1969)
David Rovik.
As Man Becomes Machine (1971)
Robert Silverberg. Tower
of Glass (1972)
James K. Tiptree,
Jr. "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (1973)
Frederick Pohl. Man
Plus (1976)
Vondra McIntyre. Superluminal
(1983) Genetic engineering.
Greg Bear.
Blood Music. (1983). Genetic engineering.
Mirrorshades
, ed. William Gibson. anthology. (1986)
Richard Lupoff. Sunís
End (1984); Galaxyís End
(1988)
William Gibson. Neuromancer
(1984); Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)
Candas Jane Dorsey
& Nora Abercrombie. Hardwired Angel (1985)
Gwnyeth Jones. Escape
Plans. (1986)
Gordon R. Dickson. The
Forever Man (1986)
John Barnes.
Mother of Storms (1986)
Michael Swanwick. Vacuum
Flowers (1987)
Octavia Butler.
Xenogenesis series (1987-9) genetic engineering by aliens
("genetrading")
Pat Cadigan.
Mindplayers (1987); Synners (1991)
C. J. Cherryh. Cyteen.
(1988) integrated human/android society
Bruce Sterling. Islands
in the Net (1988)
Walter Jon Williams. Hardwired
(1989)
Steven Barnes. Gorgon
Child. (1989)
Misha. Red
Spider White Web (1990) a feminist cybrog novel by a Native
American
writer
Elizabeth Hand. Winterlong
(1990)
Donna Haraway.
"A Cyborg Manifesto" in Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The
Reinvention of
Nature (1991)
Sue Thomas.
Correspondence (1991)
Marge Piercy, He, She,
and It (1991)
Laura J. Mixon. Glass
Houses (1992)
Mary Rosenblum. Chymera
(1993)
Maureen McHugh. Half
the Day is Night (1994)
Connie Willis. Remake
(1994)
Mirrorshades:
The Cyberpunk Anthology ed. Bruce Sterling. anthology (1994)
Kathleen Ann Goonan.
Queen City Jazz (1994) and Mississippi Blues (1997).
Nanotechnology
run amok!
Greg Bear.
Slant (1997).
9.
World Building/Terraforming/Scientific and Social Inventiveness (a very
diverse
and incoherent category for some of the best science fiction ever).
Hal Clement. Iceworld.
(1953); Mission of Gravity (1953)
Stanislaw Lem. Solaris.
(1962)
Frank Herbert. Dune
(1965)
Anne McCaffrey.
Pern Series: Dragonflight (1968) and numerous other volumes;
Killashandra
series: The Crystal Singer (1982) and subsequent volumes.
Ursula K. Leguin.
Hainish series: especially The Left Hand of Darkness (1969); Four
Ways to Forgiveness (1996)
Joanna Russ.
And Chaos Died (1970)
Gene Wolfe.
The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972)
Larry Niven
. Ringworld (1970); Ringworld Engineers (1979)
Arthur C. Clarke, Rendezvous
with Rama (1973) sequels with Gentry Lee: Rama II (1989); The
Garden of Rama (1991);
Rama Revealed (1994)
Joan Slonczewski. A
Door Into Ocean (1986); Daughter of Elysium (1993)
Kim Stanley Robinson. Red
Mars (1992); Blue Mars (1996); Green Mars (1997) Antartica
(1997)
Eleanor Arnason. A
Ring of Swords (1993)
Vernor Vinge. Fire
Upon the Deep (1993); A Deepness in the Sky (1999)
Amy Thompson. The
Color of Distance (1995)
Alison Sinclair. Blueheart
(1996)
Carolyn Ives Gilman. Halfway
Human (1998)
10.
ESP/Telepathy/Psi Powers (a very preliminary list for an immensely
popular sf theme)
Octavia Bulter.
Patternist series: Patternmaster (1976); Mind of My Mind
(1977); Survivor (19878); Wild Seed (1980); Clayís
Ark (1984)
Ursula K. Leguin.
Hainish series: especially The Left Hand of Darkness (1969);
Karen Halberstrom. Woman
Without a Shadow (1994)
Joan Vinge.
Psion. 1996.
Carolyn Ives Gilman. Halfway
Human (1998)
11.
Underwater living/ocean worlds
Charles Kingsley. Water
Babies (1863)
Jules Verne.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870)
Andre Laurie. Under
the Sea: The Crystal City (1895)
Arthur Conan Doyle. The
Marecot Deep (1929)
Jack Williamson. The
Green Girl (1930)
Dennis Wheatley. They
Found Atlantis (1936)
Lawrence OíDonnell
(Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore). FURY. (aka Destination: Infinity) 1947
Arthur C. Clarke. The
Deep Range. 1954. Whale farming
Kenneth Bulmer. City
Under the Sea. (1957) Beyond the Silver Sky (1961)
Frederick Pohl
and Jack Williamson. Undersea/Eden Trilogy: Undersea Quest (1954);
Undersea Fleet (1956); Undersea City (1958) and
subsequent volumes. Young adult
Stanislaw Lem. Solaris.
(1962)
Arthur C. Clarke. Dolphin
Island (1963)
Gordon R. Dickson. The
Space Swimmers. (1963)
Hal Clement.
Oceans on Top (1967)
Margaret St. Clair. The
Dolphins of Altair (1967)
Lee Hoffman.
The Caves of Karst (1969)
Biemiller, Carl
L. The Hydronauts (1970); Follow the Whales (1973); Escape
from the Crater (1974) Young adult
Ian Watson.
The Jonah Kit.
T. J. Bass.
The Godwhale (1974)
Monica Hughes. Crisis
on Conshelf Ten (1977) Juvenile
David Brin.
Startide Rising (1983)
Howard Weinstein. Deep
Domain (1988) Set in the Star Trek universe
Diane Duane.
Deep Wizardry. (1985) Young adult. SF/fantasy
Joan Slonczewski. A
Door Into Ocean (1986); Daughter of Elysium (1993)
Alexander Jakabbo. A
Deeper Sea (1992).
Maureen McHugh. Half
the Day is Night (1994)
Alison Sinclair. Blueheart
(1996)
10.
Human Colonization/Conquest of Other Worlds
Andrew Blair. Annals
of the Twenty-Nights Century (1874)
Robert Coles. The
Struggle for Empire (1900)
Ray Bradbury. The
Martian Chronicles (collection of stories) (1950)
Isaac Asimov. Caves of
Steel (1954); The Naked Sun (1957); Robots of Dawn
(1983) etc.
Robert A. Heinlein. The
Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966)
Anne McCaffrey.
Dinosaur Planet series, Pern series.
Poul Anderson. Tales
of the Flying Mountains. (coll. 1970)
Pamela Sargent. Venus
of Dreams (1986); Venus of Shadows (1988); Earthseed
Young Adult.
Larry Niven, Jerry
Pournell and Steven Barnes: Legacy of Heorot (1988); Beowulfís
Children (1995)
Ian McDonald. Desolation
Road (1988)
Arthur C. Clarke. Songs
of Distant Earth. 1986
C. J. Cherryh. Rimrunner
(2989)
Paul J. McCauley Of
the Fall (aka Secret Harmonies) (1989)
Kim Stanley Robinson.
Mars series.
Alison Sinclair. Blueheart
(1996)
11. Feminist
Science Fiction/Alternate Sexualities/Gender Benders
12. Science Fiction by writers of
color
13.
SF with a theme of deafness or a focus on non-oral communication
14.
Juvenile/Young Adult/Children's SF
14,
Science Fiction Award Winners
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