First, I recently developed an interested on the topic of generation ships and was wondering if any PAers could recommend me some (good) novels that describe the life on board of such vessels. I found quite a few of these books through some internet research, but a lot of these are early 70's Sci-Fi works and I'm unsure of their quality, so I'd like to hear some personal suggestions from you.
I'd also like to know if there are any sience-fiction & space-themed graphical novel/comic book series out there worth my time and money, that are preferably not about superheroes. Thanks!
Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear is an examination of life on a ship that isn't quite a generation ship, but is similar and it has interesting philosopical questions in it.
The Book of the Long Sun (which is actually 4 books) by Gene Wolfe may also fit your bill, though it is sort of different. Gene Wolfe is extremely talented, but his books are far from easy to read. It certainly isn't hard science based.
Orphans of the Sky by Heinlein is a good generation ship sci-fi novella, though it is older.
A long time ago I read a good one involving an amnesiac and a plot twist about a generation ship, but I cannot for the life of me remember the title or the author.
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Alfred J. Kwakis it because you were insultedwhen I insulted your hair?Registered Userregular
edited November 2010
Some good suggestion
The Dark Beyond the Stars and Anvil of Star definitely look interesting, I'll be getting those two.
Orphans of the Sky I read the wiki plot synopsis from and, I don't know, I guess I just find it a little too .. odd for my taste. Maybe what I'm looking for is a more 'realistic' approach.
I'd like to hear more about The Book of the Long Sun - I'm quite curious about that one.
While not focusing on true generation ships a couple of books that focus on cold sleep ships might be of interest to you...
I highly recommend Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky". If you haven't read it, you should definitely add it to your list. Also, House of Suns by Alistair Reynolds is a great read. Granted, not true generation ships but some nifty stuff with time dilation/suspended animation at slower then light speeds.
Gene Wolfe is my favorite science fiction author, and one of my favorite authors, all things considered. He does quite a bit of stuff related to questions about truly far-future settings, intermediated by civilizational collapses.
He is quite hard to read. The Book of the Long Sun is a piece where the most important parts of the narrative occur 'off-camera,' so to speak, and their details have to be deduced from the perspectives we do get. It is clear (to the readers) relatively early on that the setting is a generational starship, but the characters don't know that; that is knowledge that has been lost in the thousands of years the ship has been traveling.
I would recommend this piece and also his Book of the New Sun most highly, but be prepared to work at it. I was pretty unsatisfied with both of those pieces the first time I read them, but the texts hide answers to many of the most important questions if you are looking hard enough.
That reminds me, I need to re-read Long Sun again....
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Also, check out The Hunger Games and see if you like it.
I was surprised.
Looks good, I'll have to see if I can find it. :^:
Also, after some more extensive internet research, I now know probably every generation-/sleeper-ship novel in existence, of which there are not so many. On to the difficult process of picking the most interesting ones of the bunch.
Not so much generation ship but pretty close, deals closely with the interactions between the first 100 people to arrive to colonize Mars. Just plain good ol' science fiction too.
Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds isn't set entirely on a generation ship, but does have a good section of it set on one. Ring by Stephen Baxter is another one to check out that spends a good chunk of the story on a generation ship.
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The Book of the Long Sun (which is actually 4 books) by Gene Wolfe may also fit your bill, though it is sort of different. Gene Wolfe is extremely talented, but his books are far from easy to read. It certainly isn't hard science based.
Written by Frank M. Robinson.
It's been a while since I've read it though, so don't have much more in the way of details.
A long time ago I read a good one involving an amnesiac and a plot twist about a generation ship, but I cannot for the life of me remember the title or the author.
The Dark Beyond the Stars and Anvil of Star definitely look interesting, I'll be getting those two.
Orphans of the Sky I read the wiki plot synopsis from and, I don't know, I guess I just find it a little too .. odd for my taste. Maybe what I'm looking for is a more 'realistic' approach.
I'd like to hear more about The Book of the Long Sun - I'm quite curious about that one.
In any case, thanks so far, and keep them coming.
I highly recommend Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky". If you haven't read it, you should definitely add it to your list. Also, House of Suns by Alistair Reynolds is a great read. Granted, not true generation ships but some nifty stuff with time dilation/suspended animation at slower then light speeds.
He is quite hard to read. The Book of the Long Sun is a piece where the most important parts of the narrative occur 'off-camera,' so to speak, and their details have to be deduced from the perspectives we do get. It is clear (to the readers) relatively early on that the setting is a generational starship, but the characters don't know that; that is knowledge that has been lost in the thousands of years the ship has been traveling.
I would recommend this piece and also his Book of the New Sun most highly, but be prepared to work at it. I was pretty unsatisfied with both of those pieces the first time I read them, but the texts hide answers to many of the most important questions if you are looking hard enough.
That reminds me, I need to re-read Long Sun again....
Also, check out The Hunger Games and see if you like it.
I was surprised.
Looks good, I'll have to see if I can find it. :^:
Also, after some more extensive internet research, I now know probably every generation-/sleeper-ship novel in existence, of which there are not so many. On to the difficult process of picking the most interesting ones of the bunch.
Not so much generation ship but pretty close, deals closely with the interactions between the first 100 people to arrive to colonize Mars. Just plain good ol' science fiction too.
They don't feature generation ships, but are fantastic works and have plenty of other (sentient) ships which are both settings and characters.
Ring by Stephen Baxter is another one to check out that spends a good chunk of the story on a generation ship.