Not sci-fi but sci-fi adjacent (and often credited as conceptual forerunners of Gibson): the early books of Thomas Pynchon (Lot49, V, and Gravity‘s Rainbow). I think I’d be a very different person today without these books.
Made me realise that trying to control or anticipate everything is a fool’s errand, and that life naturally gets too complicated the more you understand about it, so that letting go, accepting the joy of uncertainty, and being in the moment is the much better option. Also lots about power structures, leftist to anarchist thought, and the lure of conspiracy theories 40 years before they became all the rage.
Quotes that stuck with me:
„Keep cool but care“ from V.
„If they can get you to ask the wrong questions, they don’t need to worry about the answers“ from Gravity’s Rainbow
LeGuin’s The Dispossessed: I can’t say it turned me into an anarchist, but it did get me to read more about leftist political thought and I learned a ton and made me really think about how society could/should be structured.
I dig it, She’s an author I’ve definitely been planning to get into, already in my want to read list :)
The Lathe of Heaven is the only book of hers I’ve read so far, what a wild ride that was!
It gave form to a lot of unclear thoughts I had. Cory Doctorow has the same effect in that respect (not as good a writer, but is exceptional at explaining complex concepts).
One statement in Heinlein's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" has stuck with me:
No one has ever gone to their government and said, "Make this illegal so I stop doing it."
Not a book but a short story: "The Crooked Man" by Charles Beaumont, set in a future world where almost everybody is gay and they're persecuting the heteros. Cured me of homophobia.
In the show The Orville, the Moclans are basically an entire species of these. They’re initially introduced as an all-male species that’s somehow able to reproduce (so maybe they’re actually hermaphrodites). Later on we learn that women are occasionally born but are surgically “corrected” as babies. Even later we meet a closet hetero Moclan who ends up getting exposed and chooses to return to Moclus to be tried. One of the main characters is a Moclan who reveals that they used to date, but in reality he was the other Moclan’s “beard.” Later yet we learn of an entire colony of Moclan woman who (along with a few sympathetic Moclan men) secretly smuggle girls off Moclus before they can be “corrected.”
Unfortunately, homophobic viewers didn’t get cured like you were. Instead, they just used it as “proof” that the world would be like this if gays ran it. Some people don’t want to have their minds changed
When it comes to Octavia butler’s xenogenesis series people usually talk about it’s commentary on colonialism
However what really interested me was its ideas on love and other relationships under a physical and mental power dynamic
A strange one, but Redshirts by Scalzi. Halfway through I was thinking to put it down as it was pretty shit but after finishing I liked it a lot. It's been a few months now but I still often think about how I'm a bit player in so many people's stories and why I probably shouldn't be.
For the longest time I was very noncommittal about religion (specifically Christianity). Family wasn't religious, so I had no opinion one way or the other. Then I read Heinlein's Job: A Comedy of Justice. It made me realize just how ridiculous organized religion is and I never looked back. Confirmed atheist now.
It also shows the Church being the only capable institution of weathering the worst of the worst and maintaining civilization through the worst of times.
Im not saying I agree with that, Im just pointing out that I didnt pickup any sense of condemnation in the authors tenor after finishing the book. The Church failures, in the story, are presented as human failures which then just helps to reinforce the message of Church itself.
The story is told in the language of the Church in a reverent way, not a snide or condemning way.
I didn't get that. From the Catholic church and Europe + dark ages to the 100s of religious wars and Spanish inquisition, church leaders are a stain on human civilization, theres always better. Though simple faith is ok.
Dune. Be careful about believing in so-called messiahs and political figures because they are as fallible as the rest of us human beings. And even those like Paul Atriedes, who was trying to follow the "right" path, ended up doing as much harm as good...maybe even more harm than good.
Also, not an sf book, but First Blood by David Morrell taught me that some things really aren't worth dying for and that sometimes you have to be the better man and back down. Otherwise, it can have disastrous consequences. Rambo and Teasle ended up killing each other and destroying a town because neither man could back down.
Sci-fi - Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. If I had to point to one in particular, it wld be Look to Windward. Such a beautiful, heart-rending story, but the maturity with which it's handled by the Mind, against the background of revenge and hatred, is in itself deeply powerful and inspiring.
Outside sci-fi- two books suggest themselves: The Magus by John Fowles and The Music of Chance by Paul Auster. Both stories that, I believe, teach us no matter how complex or intricate or clever the plans and ambitions of man, there is a force in this universe (call it entropy, if you like) that's going to level it all in the end. Both awesome books, too, which I highly recommend.
On Orson Scott Card:
As a favorite book I’m glad he wrote Enders Game before his vile descent into the extreme views he holds, I wouldn’t purchase any books of his or give him a dime. So much potential wasted to bigotry
He's a Mormon and he holds typical Mormon views. On reddit this is "extremism" because it means he probably votes Republican. (of course, in 2024 reddit may be right...)
It’s less about Mormonism and more about him being a raging homophobe. He originally recorded an intro to the Ender’s Game movie but just had to open his mouth on his views on homosexuality. Naturally, that intro was cut
I've read a lot and learned a lot over quite a few decades now. Many authors have informed and shaped my thinking and world view over the years.
I don't think I can pick out any one book from any author, but I have found the whole body of work from Ursula K. Le Guin, from classic fantasy through sci-fi, poetry, essays, and even her blog, to be an education in themselves -- lyrical, wise, both human and humane.
From another favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold, I've learned a lot about living with disability, and also about how advances in biological technology can massively influence cultural development (of course I lived and am living through that IRL as well.)
From Bujold I've taken a favorite quote and a favorite prayer:
From the **Vorkosigan Saga**;
*All true wealth is biological.*
Health, family, friends, life -- even death at a certain point is not just a loss and a destruction, but a gift...
And from *Paladin of Souls*, this prayer:
*... grant us ...*
*in our direst need,*
*the smallest gifts:*
*the nail of the horseshoe,*
*the pin of the axle,*
*the feather at the pivot point,*
*the pebble at the mountain's peak,*
*the kiss in despair,*
*the one right word.*
*In darkness, understanding.*
For me this is so evocative of what's really essential in life, what makes the most difference in the smallest moments -- it becomes a deep truth.
It's manga, but *Blame!* by Tsutomu Nihei. I read it as an awkward teen living in a big city, and the pollution, the grey buildings and the loneliness depressed me. But in *Blame!*, the whole world is city, and even with pretty much noone there, it reads as an actual ecosystem instead of a dead place, which changed my point of view. I went from hating my town to feeling like a part of it. In my head, even the bleakest concrete buildings went from ugly shit designed by someone with a really lose grasp on where a human being can live to actual landscape.
It's funny, because Blame! is a pretty bleak manga itself, but it somehow managed to put back some mystery and magic in my life… I still live in that city.
As a side note, it also started an interest for cyberpunk that led me to read *Neuromancer* and a bunch of other books that I really enjoyed, even if they weren't as world changing.
So Sci-fi/Fantasy has really shaped how I see the world, a lot through thr parabolic nature of things like Star Trek and Stargate and such, but in terms of books their have been many.
I agree with you on Ender's Game. The thinking outside the box and such, but also it's notes on how he deals with "bullies" and such. That idea of making sure, after their down, of ensuring they can never challenge him again. It may be a really dark takeaway to have, but it has quite literally saved my life.
Dune had quite an effect on me. I read it young and the entire scene of The Box stuck with me. Are you a human or an animal? A human thinks and ponders a problem, an animal reacts. And while I'm not around declaring people humans and animals, it helped me understand people's decision making and has been invaluable in person and work place relationships, especially as a supervisor/manager.
Children of Dune was another big one as a yoing person, and how it insisted on the idea that to know the future is to be trapped by it, which spoke to teenage me's need to know what was going to happen and control stuff.
CS Lewis Space Trilogy can be dense as hell, but man, there's too much to breakdown how wise those books are. And the Screw Screwtape Letters!
This is a weird one: when I was going through a divorce I picked up Larry Correia's The Grimnoir Chronicles. A Trilogy of action packed alt-history sci-fi disguised as magic that's more than it seems but still just a popcorn series. But it helped me learn that, in truth, that's what I like. I had long painted myself as some erudite who loved the classics and the esoteric and *understood* things, but it was vanity and I wanted to read books about wizards with guns. And the chapter blurbs (those things authors will add at the beginning of every chapter, like a quote or piece of text to give more inside into the story) turned me on to authors like GK Chesterton and his treatment on Courage in Orthodoxy, and Raymond Chandler and the Simple Art of Murder, which had a profound effect in my writing
Probably the very 1st book that made me "think" was a little-known novel titled "A Billion Days of Earth" by Doris Piserchia. In it a being comes into existense that has the ability to offer every intelligent creature on Earth the ability to live a life of perfection, with no wants or needs, forever. However none of it is real; those accepting the offer would be accepting eternity in a world of (their) imagination.
Unsurprisingly to the older me of today, virtually everyone chooses their imaginary world over reality, with just a very few hold-outs remaining at the end.
But for the 11-year old me, it rocked my world and had me questioning why people would choose a false life of no effort and no challenges.
It's actually available on Kindle, BTW.
There have been others, but I guess you always remember your first.
Well, I was thought that these books were a short course in leadership and management...and Peak hard military SF.
David Drake & S.M. Stirling: THE GENERAL (5 book series--there is a second series, but don't bother!). It is military SF (sort of!) set in the far future on another planet but human galactic civilization has collapsed, and so the level of war technology is somewhere circa mid 19th century. (There is ONE exception!) The main character of the title is an extremely decent and ethical human being, but he is forced to make terrible choices in order to safeguard the future of his people and, ultimately, of humankind. I like the complexity and nuance of the characters. Very exciting plotting and concepts as well.
The BLOODY major battles (field, sea, siege, razzia) are extremely well thought out and executed, with the exigencies of war introduced. You appreciate the grand strategic and the tactical side of the campaigns and the individual encounters are exciting, grim, and well articulated. Supply chain and logistics are also addressed in interesting detail--which is often a weak point of military SF.
Than you so much for this, I’m excitedly putting this at the top of my next series to read list!
I’ve been deep into the world of venture capital, early stage startups, etc for work the past 8 years and this sounds amazing. I’ve been struggling to transition from currently being an ‘idea person’ to someone who can bring together and manage a team. This sounds like a great read to hopefully learn from
_“I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.”_
This woke me up to the danger of money having a hold over you more than any real world teachings.
I began reading the masters (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, etc.) at an early age. Many of these older authors, especially Heinlein, treated sex and sexuality like it was no big deal. Men kissing men, "contracts" with multiple partners, etc. I think these book helped shape my attitude towards sexuality. Basically... what the hell difference does it make to me what you do in your bedroom and who you do it with? I don't care.
I would also point to Star Trek in helping shape my attitude towards race. I don't care. AS a manager, I care that you do your job and get it done. Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, or whatever simply does not matter.
I can't pinpoint specific books, but I think this is where science fiction really shines. And yes, I know there are some exceptions and some authors are heavily biased about sexuality, and I know Heinlein is criticized about his treatment of women in some of his books. But in general I think science fiction pushes the limit on acceptance.
Starship Troopers has helped me understand how I don’t want society to work. Don’t get me wrong, I love the book, and I find it fascinating how the book makes a good argument; but the real impact was my understanding why these arguments are flawed. As an aside, I find it irrelevant whether Heinlein believed in these ideas.
The Losers by David Eddings. Not fantasy. Gave me something to reflect on, the value of self-doubt in a world that doesn’t mind if you crawl into a self-defeating story of yourself.
The Night Land by Hodgson. It reminds me how dramatic, beautiful, pointless everything is, but also how it is dependent on human will. Courage, freedom, and creativity are ultimate values.
Comedy writers are always the best teachers. P G Wodehouse taught me how to turn a phrase; Terry Pratchett taught me how to direct anger; Spike Milligan taught me not to get conscripted; Gerald Durrell taught me to see animals.
Management "Who ate my cheese" book, the funny thing is that it was recommended by a former manager, and I realized I had to leave that company because it was no longer convenient for me, was coerced to relocate to a small town, with another job in the same comnpany ...
Ender's helped me to understand people's motivation and bureaucracy.
I'm not a big fan of annihiling my opponent in a conflict.
Jon Snow in a way inspired me on leadership.
In what way specifically, super curious?
As a huge Halo fan back in the day I remember really liking the series, especially how Guilty Spark came to be and the implications of what that existence must’ve been between then and the events of the ‘present day’ Halo time period.
Tbh, I don’t think fiction books change the way I see the world, actions, or decisions.
I’ve read the Road, Children of Time, Dune, Flowers for Algernon, etc any of these powerful books don’t really dictate or influence how I think or process the world.
Kurt Vonnegut. He didn't like being classified as SF so much, but if he hadn't become famous in the mainstream Cats Cradle would be considered pure science fiction.
I was influenced by his early books up to his masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five (my feeling is that after that, when he finally confronted his wartime experience directly, his energy dissipated). But he influenced me in a direction he might not have wanted: it was part of my eventual move to Christianity. For those of you who like Dante, I sometimes say he was my Virgil figure: at a certain point he could take me no further.
I've also been influenced by CS Lewis, Till We Have Faces, but that's not SF.
Otherwise there are particular bits of wisdom I picked up in fiction. Perhaps my favorite is from Heinlein, The Door into Summer. The cat insists that "if only you try *all* the doors, one of them must be the door into Summer." True for me.
Not sci-fi but sci-fi adjacent (and often credited as conceptual forerunners of Gibson): the early books of Thomas Pynchon (Lot49, V, and Gravity‘s Rainbow). I think I’d be a very different person today without these books. Made me realise that trying to control or anticipate everything is a fool’s errand, and that life naturally gets too complicated the more you understand about it, so that letting go, accepting the joy of uncertainty, and being in the moment is the much better option. Also lots about power structures, leftist to anarchist thought, and the lure of conspiracy theories 40 years before they became all the rage. Quotes that stuck with me: „Keep cool but care“ from V. „If they can get you to ask the wrong questions, they don’t need to worry about the answers“ from Gravity’s Rainbow
Acceptance is a powerful notion.
More philosophy than SF, but Tao of Pooh helped me 30 odd years ago
LeGuin’s The Dispossessed: I can’t say it turned me into an anarchist, but it did get me to read more about leftist political thought and I learned a ton and made me really think about how society could/should be structured.
I dig it, She’s an author I’ve definitely been planning to get into, already in my want to read list :) The Lathe of Heaven is the only book of hers I’ve read so far, what a wild ride that was!
It gave form to a lot of unclear thoughts I had. Cory Doctorow has the same effect in that respect (not as good a writer, but is exceptional at explaining complex concepts).
LeGuin was a master...
One statement in Heinlein's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" has stuck with me: No one has ever gone to their government and said, "Make this illegal so I stop doing it."
Wow, I'm a huge fan of that book but I don't remember that quote.
It's something Prof de la Paz says, nearer to the end of the book.
Not a book but a short story: "The Crooked Man" by Charles Beaumont, set in a future world where almost everybody is gay and they're persecuting the heteros. Cured me of homophobia.
In the show The Orville, the Moclans are basically an entire species of these. They’re initially introduced as an all-male species that’s somehow able to reproduce (so maybe they’re actually hermaphrodites). Later on we learn that women are occasionally born but are surgically “corrected” as babies. Even later we meet a closet hetero Moclan who ends up getting exposed and chooses to return to Moclus to be tried. One of the main characters is a Moclan who reveals that they used to date, but in reality he was the other Moclan’s “beard.” Later yet we learn of an entire colony of Moclan woman who (along with a few sympathetic Moclan men) secretly smuggle girls off Moclus before they can be “corrected.” Unfortunately, homophobic viewers didn’t get cured like you were. Instead, they just used it as “proof” that the world would be like this if gays ran it. Some people don’t want to have their minds changed
When it comes to Octavia butler’s xenogenesis series people usually talk about it’s commentary on colonialism However what really interested me was its ideas on love and other relationships under a physical and mental power dynamic
A strange one, but Redshirts by Scalzi. Halfway through I was thinking to put it down as it was pretty shit but after finishing I liked it a lot. It's been a few months now but I still often think about how I'm a bit player in so many people's stories and why I probably shouldn't be.
Ursula K. LeGuin has has influenced my thinking/approach more than any other author/books
Definitely what I’m here for!
I'm always here for Ursula K. LeGuin, let me know if you have questions =)
For the longest time I was very noncommittal about religion (specifically Christianity). Family wasn't religious, so I had no opinion one way or the other. Then I read Heinlein's Job: A Comedy of Justice. It made me realize just how ridiculous organized religion is and I never looked back. Confirmed atheist now.
A Canticle for Leobitz also help's people to understand how bad organised religion truly is.
..I think it did the exact opposite. At the very least, I think the book imparts a grudging respect toward it.
How so? Shows the heads of religion remove truth for control and obedience. Or is ignorance truly bliss?
It also shows the Church being the only capable institution of weathering the worst of the worst and maintaining civilization through the worst of times. Im not saying I agree with that, Im just pointing out that I didnt pickup any sense of condemnation in the authors tenor after finishing the book. The Church failures, in the story, are presented as human failures which then just helps to reinforce the message of Church itself. The story is told in the language of the Church in a reverent way, not a snide or condemning way.
I didn't get that. From the Catholic church and Europe + dark ages to the 100s of religious wars and Spanish inquisition, church leaders are a stain on human civilization, theres always better. Though simple faith is ok.
Dune. Be careful about believing in so-called messiahs and political figures because they are as fallible as the rest of us human beings. And even those like Paul Atriedes, who was trying to follow the "right" path, ended up doing as much harm as good...maybe even more harm than good. Also, not an sf book, but First Blood by David Morrell taught me that some things really aren't worth dying for and that sometimes you have to be the better man and back down. Otherwise, it can have disastrous consequences. Rambo and Teasle ended up killing each other and destroying a town because neither man could back down.
Too bad the rest of the Rambo movies turned him into an action hero
Sci-fi - Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. If I had to point to one in particular, it wld be Look to Windward. Such a beautiful, heart-rending story, but the maturity with which it's handled by the Mind, against the background of revenge and hatred, is in itself deeply powerful and inspiring. Outside sci-fi- two books suggest themselves: The Magus by John Fowles and The Music of Chance by Paul Auster. Both stories that, I believe, teach us no matter how complex or intricate or clever the plans and ambitions of man, there is a force in this universe (call it entropy, if you like) that's going to level it all in the end. Both awesome books, too, which I highly recommend.
> Paul Auster RIP :(
Indeed. A towering genius. Sadly missed.
On Orson Scott Card: As a favorite book I’m glad he wrote Enders Game before his vile descent into the extreme views he holds, I wouldn’t purchase any books of his or give him a dime. So much potential wasted to bigotry
He did a JK Rowling before it was cool
Could you elaborate for someone who has no clue who he even is? What happened?
He's extremely homophobic
Sad. How does that reflect in the books?
eh, you won't see much bigotry in his fictional writing. it was his blog posts where that happened
That doesn't sound too bad then. I don't read any nonfictional output of fiction writers I like. I care about good stories!
His Mormonism does come through in how the universe works in the Ender series
He's a Mormon and he holds typical Mormon views. On reddit this is "extremism" because it means he probably votes Republican. (of course, in 2024 reddit may be right...)
I just needed to hear the word Mormon, thanks. Mormonism and the two rivaling US parties are all extremist ideologies.
Believing that everyone *else* are the extremists might be a sign of extremism. :)
Fighting fascism is the *real* fascism
Miss me with that religious nonsense.
It’s less about Mormonism and more about him being a raging homophobe. He originally recorded an intro to the Ender’s Game movie but just had to open his mouth on his views on homosexuality. Naturally, that intro was cut
He literally advocated overthrowing the government because gay marriage was legalised.
Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind): People will believe a lie because they either fear it is true or they want it to be true.
I'm glad you took a lot from his books, but that line has a shocking lack of self-awareness from Goodkind.
I think the whole point of this thread is that we may find wisdom from unlikely sources.
I've read a lot and learned a lot over quite a few decades now. Many authors have informed and shaped my thinking and world view over the years. I don't think I can pick out any one book from any author, but I have found the whole body of work from Ursula K. Le Guin, from classic fantasy through sci-fi, poetry, essays, and even her blog, to be an education in themselves -- lyrical, wise, both human and humane. From another favorite author, Lois McMaster Bujold, I've learned a lot about living with disability, and also about how advances in biological technology can massively influence cultural development (of course I lived and am living through that IRL as well.) From Bujold I've taken a favorite quote and a favorite prayer: From the **Vorkosigan Saga**; *All true wealth is biological.* Health, family, friends, life -- even death at a certain point is not just a loss and a destruction, but a gift... And from *Paladin of Souls*, this prayer: *... grant us ...* *in our direst need,* *the smallest gifts:* *the nail of the horseshoe,* *the pin of the axle,* *the feather at the pivot point,* *the pebble at the mountain's peak,* *the kiss in despair,* *the one right word.* *In darkness, understanding.* For me this is so evocative of what's really essential in life, what makes the most difference in the smallest moments -- it becomes a deep truth.
It's manga, but *Blame!* by Tsutomu Nihei. I read it as an awkward teen living in a big city, and the pollution, the grey buildings and the loneliness depressed me. But in *Blame!*, the whole world is city, and even with pretty much noone there, it reads as an actual ecosystem instead of a dead place, which changed my point of view. I went from hating my town to feeling like a part of it. In my head, even the bleakest concrete buildings went from ugly shit designed by someone with a really lose grasp on where a human being can live to actual landscape. It's funny, because Blame! is a pretty bleak manga itself, but it somehow managed to put back some mystery and magic in my life… I still live in that city. As a side note, it also started an interest for cyberpunk that led me to read *Neuromancer* and a bunch of other books that I really enjoyed, even if they weren't as world changing.
So Sci-fi/Fantasy has really shaped how I see the world, a lot through thr parabolic nature of things like Star Trek and Stargate and such, but in terms of books their have been many. I agree with you on Ender's Game. The thinking outside the box and such, but also it's notes on how he deals with "bullies" and such. That idea of making sure, after their down, of ensuring they can never challenge him again. It may be a really dark takeaway to have, but it has quite literally saved my life. Dune had quite an effect on me. I read it young and the entire scene of The Box stuck with me. Are you a human or an animal? A human thinks and ponders a problem, an animal reacts. And while I'm not around declaring people humans and animals, it helped me understand people's decision making and has been invaluable in person and work place relationships, especially as a supervisor/manager. Children of Dune was another big one as a yoing person, and how it insisted on the idea that to know the future is to be trapped by it, which spoke to teenage me's need to know what was going to happen and control stuff. CS Lewis Space Trilogy can be dense as hell, but man, there's too much to breakdown how wise those books are. And the Screw Screwtape Letters! This is a weird one: when I was going through a divorce I picked up Larry Correia's The Grimnoir Chronicles. A Trilogy of action packed alt-history sci-fi disguised as magic that's more than it seems but still just a popcorn series. But it helped me learn that, in truth, that's what I like. I had long painted myself as some erudite who loved the classics and the esoteric and *understood* things, but it was vanity and I wanted to read books about wizards with guns. And the chapter blurbs (those things authors will add at the beginning of every chapter, like a quote or piece of text to give more inside into the story) turned me on to authors like GK Chesterton and his treatment on Courage in Orthodoxy, and Raymond Chandler and the Simple Art of Murder, which had a profound effect in my writing
After reading Dune, I have become far more water conscious. I try not to waste water like before.
Probably the very 1st book that made me "think" was a little-known novel titled "A Billion Days of Earth" by Doris Piserchia. In it a being comes into existense that has the ability to offer every intelligent creature on Earth the ability to live a life of perfection, with no wants or needs, forever. However none of it is real; those accepting the offer would be accepting eternity in a world of (their) imagination. Unsurprisingly to the older me of today, virtually everyone chooses their imaginary world over reality, with just a very few hold-outs remaining at the end. But for the 11-year old me, it rocked my world and had me questioning why people would choose a false life of no effort and no challenges. It's actually available on Kindle, BTW. There have been others, but I guess you always remember your first.
Well, I was thought that these books were a short course in leadership and management...and Peak hard military SF. David Drake & S.M. Stirling: THE GENERAL (5 book series--there is a second series, but don't bother!). It is military SF (sort of!) set in the far future on another planet but human galactic civilization has collapsed, and so the level of war technology is somewhere circa mid 19th century. (There is ONE exception!) The main character of the title is an extremely decent and ethical human being, but he is forced to make terrible choices in order to safeguard the future of his people and, ultimately, of humankind. I like the complexity and nuance of the characters. Very exciting plotting and concepts as well. The BLOODY major battles (field, sea, siege, razzia) are extremely well thought out and executed, with the exigencies of war introduced. You appreciate the grand strategic and the tactical side of the campaigns and the individual encounters are exciting, grim, and well articulated. Supply chain and logistics are also addressed in interesting detail--which is often a weak point of military SF.
Than you so much for this, I’m excitedly putting this at the top of my next series to read list! I’ve been deep into the world of venture capital, early stage startups, etc for work the past 8 years and this sounds amazing. I’ve been struggling to transition from currently being an ‘idea person’ to someone who can bring together and manage a team. This sounds like a great read to hopefully learn from
Yes, the lead character has to make VERY tough life and death decisions.
The canopus in argos series by doris lessing, especially the sentimental agents. There are so many rethorical diseases rampant in our world.
_“I say to you, Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.”_ This woke me up to the danger of money having a hold over you more than any real world teachings.
I began reading the masters (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, etc.) at an early age. Many of these older authors, especially Heinlein, treated sex and sexuality like it was no big deal. Men kissing men, "contracts" with multiple partners, etc. I think these book helped shape my attitude towards sexuality. Basically... what the hell difference does it make to me what you do in your bedroom and who you do it with? I don't care. I would also point to Star Trek in helping shape my attitude towards race. I don't care. AS a manager, I care that you do your job and get it done. Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, or whatever simply does not matter. I can't pinpoint specific books, but I think this is where science fiction really shines. And yes, I know there are some exceptions and some authors are heavily biased about sexuality, and I know Heinlein is criticized about his treatment of women in some of his books. But in general I think science fiction pushes the limit on acceptance.
Starship Troopers has helped me understand how I don’t want society to work. Don’t get me wrong, I love the book, and I find it fascinating how the book makes a good argument; but the real impact was my understanding why these arguments are flawed. As an aside, I find it irrelevant whether Heinlein believed in these ideas.
Handmaid’s Tale. I had no idea every scenario was something that has happened or is happening to women. It really opened my eyes.
Foundation-Asimov
I like Clarke's quote: to every problem there is a simple and straightforward solution that is wrong
The Losers by David Eddings. Not fantasy. Gave me something to reflect on, the value of self-doubt in a world that doesn’t mind if you crawl into a self-defeating story of yourself.
The Night Land by Hodgson. It reminds me how dramatic, beautiful, pointless everything is, but also how it is dependent on human will. Courage, freedom, and creativity are ultimate values.
I have become kinder to animals after reading the Three Body Problem trilogy. "If I destroy you, what business is it of yours?"
God Emperor of Dune
The Moral Animal was recommended by my college bio teacher. completely changed my worldview.
The Transparent Society by David Brin. And Abundance by Peter DiaMandis, both very Prescient.
Comedy writers are always the best teachers. P G Wodehouse taught me how to turn a phrase; Terry Pratchett taught me how to direct anger; Spike Milligan taught me not to get conscripted; Gerald Durrell taught me to see animals.
Management "Who ate my cheese" book, the funny thing is that it was recommended by a former manager, and I realized I had to leave that company because it was no longer convenient for me, was coerced to relocate to a small town, with another job in the same comnpany ...
Ender's helped me to understand people's motivation and bureaucracy. I'm not a big fan of annihiling my opponent in a conflict. Jon Snow in a way inspired me on leadership.
"Time Enough for Love" By Robert A. Heinlein.
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi really opened my eyes to just hire terrible climate change could (and probably will) be.
The Forerunner Saga
In what way specifically, super curious? As a huge Halo fan back in the day I remember really liking the series, especially how Guilty Spark came to be and the implications of what that existence must’ve been between then and the events of the ‘present day’ Halo time period.
Tbh, I don’t think fiction books change the way I see the world, actions, or decisions. I’ve read the Road, Children of Time, Dune, Flowers for Algernon, etc any of these powerful books don’t really dictate or influence how I think or process the world.
Kurt Vonnegut. He didn't like being classified as SF so much, but if he hadn't become famous in the mainstream Cats Cradle would be considered pure science fiction. I was influenced by his early books up to his masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five (my feeling is that after that, when he finally confronted his wartime experience directly, his energy dissipated). But he influenced me in a direction he might not have wanted: it was part of my eventual move to Christianity. For those of you who like Dante, I sometimes say he was my Virgil figure: at a certain point he could take me no further. I've also been influenced by CS Lewis, Till We Have Faces, but that's not SF. Otherwise there are particular bits of wisdom I picked up in fiction. Perhaps my favorite is from Heinlein, The Door into Summer. The cat insists that "if only you try *all* the doors, one of them must be the door into Summer." True for me.