Ringworld by Larry Niven: Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning novel from 1970 with a fast-paced and imaginative story. A group of travelers are sent on a mission to explore an unknown object in space. From Earth the object appears to be a perfect ring, million of times larger than Earth moving through the universe. The crew is gathered by an alien named Nessus and consists of two humans and two aliens. The four of them head out to the massive ring-shaped world 200 light years from earth to explore it and then return to earth but a crash landing forces them to stay and deal with it’s inhabitants.

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis: This is the first book in the Space Trilogy and is a classic science fiction novel written in 1938. Dr. Ransom is kidnapped by two scientists and is taken to the planet Malacandra where he is to be sacrificed by aliens. Once they get there, Ransom manages to escape and finds himself stranded alone in a strange world. The rest of the story describes his adventures on the planet and his encounters with the many different life forms living there.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson: The first book of a trilogy about humanity’s colonization of Mars. The story begins in the early 21st century and extends over a period of 200 years. This book covers the first 40 years and describes the initial settling of the planet and the arrival of the first colonists, the “First Hundred”. Soon a debate breaks out between those who believe in terra forming Mars and those who believe that the planet should be left in it’s original state. Later, more challenges appear when hundreds of thousands of refugees and economic migrants from Earth starts arriving.

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds: A technically detailed science fiction story set in a dark future 500 years from now. Humanity has colonized hundreds of different solar systems across the universe and invented new technology along the way. However, spaceships are still limited to the speed of light and travelers are therefore affected by time dilation. The story is complex, several independent threads are woven together as it unfolds, but the main plot revolves around the destruction of an ancient alien civilization.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi: A book published in 2005 and nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. The first-person narrative is about 75-year-old John Perry who feels that he has seen enough of Earth. He decides to join the Colonial Defense Forces. They can make him younger and more able to fight, and after just 5-10 years he will be free again, still young and with a whole new life ahead of him. After receiving combat training he is sent to fight in an intergalactic war against hundreds of other alien races. A war where the enemy might be different every week and where he might not even know how to kill it.

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge: A science fiction story set in a galaxy which is divided into three zones where things behave differently. The Slowness zone, where the speed of light is the fastest possible speed and civilizations must travel for centuries to arrive at new stars. The Beyond zone, where faster than light travel is possible. And the third zone, the Transcend, where the Powers live and intelligence can reach unimaginable levels. The story begins with a human colony trying to reach the Transcend and accidently release a Power that destroys their colony and goes on a rampage through the galaxy.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein: A classic sci-fi novel published in 1961. Tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians. His parents where explorers from the first Mars expedition. After the entire human crew dies, Smith become an orphan. Two decades later, a second expedition to Mars discovers him and brings him back to Earth where he becomes a stranger in a strange land. What follows is a detailed story about Smith’s introduction to Earth culture and interaction with other humans.

Brightness Reef by David Brin: The story centers around a planet called Jijo and the six different species that have settled it illegally. One of those species is human. After several years of war between them, there has now been many generations of peace on the planet. That is, until alien criminals arrive and attempt to find potential candidates for “Uplift”, and maybe do other damage to the peaceful inhabitants of the planet.

Gateway: This book is by many considered the best sci-fi novel of the 70s. The main character, Robinette Broadhead, has recently won the lottery and has decided to use his money to buy a ticket for an asteroid called Gateway. The asteroid has a large complex of tunnels built by the Heechee, an alien race who have since long disappeared. A large number of the Heechee’s spaceships have been left behind. The ships are capable of faster-than-light travel and are easy to use, but no one knows exactly how they work. A coordinate is set, the ship takes you there and then returns. The risks are high, many do not come back alive, but a lot of money can be made from discoveries made on a trip.

The Space Merchants: Written in 1952 by Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth, this was one of the first science fiction novels to deal with the issues of environmental exploitation and overpopulation. The protagonist of the story is Mitch Courtenay, an executive copywriter for an advertising agency whose task it is to develop an ad campaign to get people to emigrate to Venus. But Mitch soon finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy, in which many things are not what they seem.

Man Plus: This story is set in the early 21st century. A cold war is threatening the world and there is a high probability that Earth will be destroyed. To save mankind from extinction, the US government starts a program to colonize Mars. They begin to develop a super human cyborg capable of surviving on the harsh Martian surface. But after a mistake by the project supervisors, the first candidate dies. A man named Roger Tarroway is next in line. Step by step, they begin replacing his body parts with artificial ones and he feels like he is slowly being disconnected from humanity.

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same.

The Martians start launching their ships towards Earth and astronomers can see strange flashes on the surface of Mars. A few weeks later their ships which are shaped like huge cylinders lands in and around London, England. The cylinders contain all their equipment and weapons which the Martians start to assemble. The humans try to fight back but their attempts to defend themselves are futile, and soon people begin to evacuate the city. In the story we follow the first-hand account of a reporter trying to find his family.

The War Of The Worlds is very enjoyable and was the first novel to introduce us to the idea of aliens invading Earth. The story is exciting and more than a hundred years after it’s first publication, it still remains popular. However, this is not only a story about an alien invasion, but also a statement about the effects of imperialism and the abuse of our planet.

Author:

Publication date: 1972

Summary:

Rendezvous With Rama is a story about humankind’s first encounter with an alien space ship. Detected by astronomers in 2130, it is originally mistaken for an asteroid and named after king Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. A space probe is sent to take photos of the object and astronomers find out that it is a perfect cylinder, 20 kilometers in diameter and 50 kilometers long. The cylinder is flying through space with the speed of 100,000 km/h and inside there is an artificial world with breathable atmosphere, artificial gravity, seas, wind and day/night cycles.

A manned survey vessel called Endeavour is sent to study the space ship and one month after Rama was detected they arrive. Led by commander Norton, the crew enters Rama and explore the artificial world inside, but the purpose of the space ship and the creators of it remains a mystery throughout the novel. The only alien life forms that the crew encounter are small robot like creatures who ignore the humans and seem to be preparing Rama for some sort of transformation. In a short sub-plot, leaders on earth become convinced that the Rama is hostile and launch a nuclear attack, but it has little effect on the ship. The story is mostly a description of the world inside and how it effects the human crew, there is little dialog in this book.

After a few weeks, Endeavour and the crew are forced to stop their investigation and leave Rama as they are getting too close to the sun. The alien space ship then leaves the solar system by using the Sun’s gravitational field as a slingshot.

A Farewell To Arms

All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque) – An intense first person account of the war describing the experience of German soldier Paul Bäumer and his friends. The story is about their horrifying time in the trenches on the western front.

Company K (William March) – Written in 1933 by an American veteran of The Great War, this novel consists of 113 episodes each describing the experience of a different man in the company.

The Good Soldier Svejk (Jaroslav Hašek) – A satirical novel about the futility of war. Svejk from Prague joins the Austrian army and manages to constantly frustrate the officers with his incompetence and idiocy. If his incompetence is real or acted is not clear, and it ends with Svejk being mistakenly taken prisoner by his own troops while wearing a Russian uniform. This novel is 700+ pages long and might require some patience to get through, but it is still an enjoyable story.

A Long Long Way (Sebastian Barry) – In 1914 nineteen year-old Willie Deane from Dublin joins the British army to help fight the Germans on the Western Front. This is a story about divided loyalties. While away the Irish band together against the British rule and this complicates things for Willie – whose country is he fighting for, Ireland or England?

The Great War: American Front (Harry Turtledove) – An alternate history novel where the Confederate States has won the American civil war. When World War I spreads to America the pro-German United States declares war on the Confederate States of America, which is allied with Great Britain and France.

Greenmantle (John Buchan) – The adventure of Richard Hanney who is called to investigate rumours about an Islamic uprising in the Muslim world. He travels across warn-torn Europe to meet up with his friend in Turkey. Their success or failure could change the outcome of the war.

The Return of the Soldier (Rebecca West) – The story is about Captain Chris Baldry, a shell shocked British soldier, who returns home and is unable to remember the last 15 years of his life. The novel examines the relationship of Baldry, and the three women who are important to him: Kitty – his wife of 10 years, Margaret – who he loved 15 years ago – and Jenny, his cousin.

One of Ours (Willa Cather) – Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923. The story about Claude Wheeler, a farm boy from Nebraska who struggles to find a purpose in life. When America enters the war he finds what he has been searching for his whole life.

A Soldier of the Great War (Mark Helprin) – World War 1 veteran Alessandro Giuliani shares his past to a young factory worker as they are traveling. The old man tells the story about how he became a soldier, hero, prisoner and deserter in the Great war.

A Test of Wills (Charles Todd) – After the war Ian Rutledge returns home to his job at Scotland Yard. Shell shocked and traumatized from the war he struggles and must gather all his strength when he is assigned a murder case involving an army colonel – with a captain as the prime suspect.

Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (Siegfried Sassoon) – A fictionalized autobiography, published in 1930, of Sassoon’s experiences in the trenches of The Great War between the spring of 1916 and summer of 1917.

To the Last Man (Jeff Shaara) – A novel told from several different perspectives, using both real historical figures and fictional characters. An emotional story of the war that devastated a generation and established USA as a world power.

Three Soldiers (John Dos Passos) – Based on Passos’s personal experiences of World War 1 this novel describes much of the war fatigue many felt during and after the war. It shows how the war destroys the life of three men: Andrews, a Harvard graduate from New York; Fuselli, an Italian-American man from San Francisco; and Chrisfield, a farm boy from Indiana.

The Road Back (Erich Maria Remarque) – World War I has finally ended after four years and now Ernst and the men from his company wonder what will become of them. The book describes the experience of young German soldier’s trying to integrate back into a society they feel is morally bankrupt for causing the war. Suffering political unrest and food shortages, Ernst learns what makes life worth living – and what he has that no one can ever take away.

Publication date: 1899

Main Characters:

Narrator: The unnamed narrator is one of the men present on the boat Nellie at the beginning of the novel. It is through his point of view we learn about Marlow’s story.

Marlow: A British sailor who is the main character of the story. He captains a steamboat up the Congo river to find the mysterious Kurtz.

Kurtz: He is in charge of the Inner Station, the most productive ivory station in the Congo.

Summary:

The story begins with an unnamed narrator describing five men sitting on a boat on the Thames waiting for the tide to turn. One of the men is Charles Marlow, whose story is the main narrative of the novel. As the sun is setting, Marlow begins telling the story of his journey up the Congo River.

Through his aunt, Marlow manages to get a job as the captain of a steamship. After arriving in Africa, Marlow learns about a man named Kurtz, who is described as being the best ivory trader in the Company. Marlow travels to the Central Station, where the manager informs him that his steamboat has sunk to the bottom of the river. When hearing this, Marlow decides to fix it up and spends several months waiting for the parts. After hearing a rumor about Kurtz being ill, Marlow and the manager set out on a journey up the river with a crew of a few agents and several cannibals.

They come across an abandoned shack where they pick up firewood, and a note cautioning them to approach carefully. They continue down the river and become surrounded by fog. When the fog rises they are attacked by a group of natives, who manages to kill one of the crew. Marlow’s crew starts firing back and the natives retreat in fear.

Shortly after, they reach the Inner Station where they are greeted by an Russian trader. He informs them that he is the one who left the firewood and the note. Kurtz is very ill but does not want to leave, and it turns out he is the one who ordered the attack on Marlow’s ship. Kurtz is worshipped by the natives and he has used brutal methods in his search for ivory. They take Kurtz aboard the ship and leave. On the way back, Kurtz gives Marlow a collection of papers and a photo of his fiancée. Kurtz dies shortly after, and his last words are “The Horror! The Horror!”.

When Marlow returns home he meets a lot of people who are interested in hearing about Kurtz’s ideas. About a year later he goes to visit Kurtz’s fiancée, who is still mourning. He gives her Kurtz’s letters and tells her his last words where her name – rather than “The Horror! The Horror!”.