twenty-eight books I'd try to lend to you

[ursula]

I found one of those bold-the-books-you've-read memes floating around and remembered that a while back, I composed a list of science-fiction and fantasy books I would recommend to any casual observer, either for genuine quality of writing or for their qualities as junk fiction of a particularly satisfying variety.

Mirror Dance, Lois Bujold
War for the Oaks, Emma Bull
Heavy Time, C.J. Cherryh
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Bridge of Birds, Barry Hughart

The Lives of Christopher Chant, Diana Wynne Jones
Bold as Love, Gwyneth Jones
Divine Endurance, Gwyneth Jones
Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress
The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin

Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
Tehanu, Ursula K. Le Guin
Perelandra, C.S. Lewis
Lens of the World, R.A. MacAvoy
The Third Eagle, R.A. MacAvoy

Arachne, Lisa Mason
Five Children and It, E. Nesbit
N-Space, Larry Niven
Anubis Gates, Tim Powers
Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson

The Laughing Sutra, Mark Salzman
Burning Bright, Melissa Scott
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge

The Weird Colonial Boy, Paul Voermans
Enchanter's Glass, Susan Whitcher
Doomsday Book, Connie Willis

Comments

[ursula]

Social satire is such a core part of cyberpunk that more blatant parody blends right in.

Is "24 Views" the story about the various models that are let loose in space, eventually to hurtle into the sun? (I did list one short-story collection-- N-Space-- but that's because Niven is fundamentally better at short stories than long ones.)

[ex-greythist387.livejournal.com]

I was surprised to see Niven at all, but I haven't read N-Space. Good to know.

"24 Views" is novella-length. It's a pilgrimage of sorts, with each stop neatly matched to one of Hokusai's thirty-six prints (http://www.theprices.com/view1.htm). No hurtling models, but a strong, unconventional protagonist and digital ghosts that escape machines and a good dose of intertextuality. Beautifully done.

[ursula]

Yeah, Niven short stories are nifty and physics-y, and he's done some good aliens. Novels invariably degenerate into "Then I traveled around, met strange people, and had sex with them-- fade to black."

Don't think I've read "24 Views" then. Will keep it in mind.