Science Fiction Books

I have always enjoyed science fiction books, from the time I was a very small child on. When I was 8 years old, I joined a  science fiction book club, where we read some of the science fiction classics. I remember “The Time Machine” and  “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” like they were yesterday. My favorite  science fiction books, however, were a little bit more modern classics. I really liked space opera, such as Robert A. Heinlein's “Citizen of the Galaxy”, or Later, Orson Scott Card's “Ender's Game.”

I guess what I liked so much about these science fiction books was their epic scope. There are books of what is called speculative fiction, a type of science fiction that attempts to look into the future of society, that I do like a lot, but the space opera is always better. Great wars involving whole galaxies fighting for supremacy, fantastic alien races, strange distortions in time and space, prophecy, honor, love – these are themes that I just can't get enough of. They keep me reading my favorite science fiction books for years and years.

Of course, if you are new to science fiction books, the best way to start is through collections. I don't think there is any other genre of fiction which is anthologized quite as frequently as science fiction books. Every year, it seems, there are dozens of new collections, each with names that incorporate “years best” and “science fiction” in various combinations. When picking from among these science fiction books, the best thing to do is to skim. Look for a pretty short story, or excerpt, and begin to read. If you have time, read the whole thing. At any rate, it probably won't take you too long to determine whether it is your type of science fiction book or not. If it reads well, then it is. If not, find something else.

If you get in to science fiction books, you might consider picking up some fantasy books as well. Although fantasy and science fiction are generally not the same thing (although they do occasionally mix) nonetheless, if one appeals to you, the other is likely to too. Fantasy books tend to have a more medieval setting, and focus more on magic and sorcery, whereas science fiction books tend to have a stronger focus on technology and aliens, but really there are no hard and fast distinctions between the two.