Book Review: Science Fiction Stories - Chosen by Edward Blishen

I picked up this book at the local second-hand store and I would highly recommend it to anyone to can a wide selection of short stories and extracts from some of the best writers in Science Fiction including H.G.Wells, Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.

English Author, Edward Blishen hand selects the stories himself which range from time travel to mind control - scientific exploration to space invasion.

The best think about it, is you get it on Amazon for £0.01p (used)

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Your Favourite Authors' - Favourite Books!

Who better to recommend your new book than your favourite authors??

The Guardian had a brilliant Sci-Fi special features on the weekend to promote the British Library's science fiction exhibit. There was a great section which including a number of well know science fiction authors explaining what their favourite novel or who their favourite author of the genre is. It is well worth a read and for all those who missed it - a summary below!

Brian Aldiss
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon (1937)

Margaret Atwood
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Stephen Baxter
Hothouse by Brian Aldiss (1961)

Lauren Beukes
Watchmen by Alan Moore (1986-7)

John Clute
City by Clifford D Simak (1952)

Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Light by M John Harrison (2002)

Andrew Crumey
The Brick Moon by Edward Everett Hale (1870)

William Gibson
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1957)

Ursula K Le Guin
Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941)

Russell Hoban
HP Lovecraft (1890 – 1937)

Liz Jensen
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1951)

Hari Kunzru
Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (1972)

Kelly Link
Diana Wynne Jones (1934 – 2011)

Ken Macleod
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller Jr (1960)

China Mieville
The Island of Doctor Moreau by HG Wells (1896)

Michael Moorcock
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

Patrick Ness
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (2003)

Audrey Niffenegger
Time and Again: An Illustrated Novel by Jack Finney (1970)

Christopher Priest
The Voices of Time by JG Ballard (1960)

Alastair Reynolds
The City and the Stars by Arthur C Clarke (1956)

Adam Roberts
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

Kim Stanley Robinson
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (1968)

Tricia Sullivan
Octavia E Butler (1947-2006)

Scarlett Thomas
Neuromancer by William Golding (1984)

Why Scientists (and everyone else) should Read Science Fiction

I found this post via http://sciencefictionbiology.blogspot.com/ by molecular biologist Hannah Waters. I thought it was a really interesting read.

Why Scientists should read Fiction

What I loved most was the quote by David Brin which sums up perfectly why I love Science Fiction and think everyone who thinks it lacks intellectual thinking is an idiot!

Science fiction is badly named — it should have been called speculative history… Whether you are in a parallel reality or exploring the future, it is all about the implications of change on human lives. The fundamental premise of sci-fi is not spaceships and lasers — it’s that children can learn from the mistakes of their parents.

Studying communications at University illustrated to me just how much change effects society. How we communicate, how we shop, how we eat, how we drink, how we listen to music, how we travel, how we live: everything is changed by new inventions and discoveries.

I read a great example of this concept this morning! Reading Zero History by William Gibson this morning on my commute, Hollis (an ex rock star character) grabs a coffee in Paris and speculates how the coffee houses have changed to the Starbucks mentality of ‘coffee walking’. Everyone has a cardboard cup and consumes their coffee on the run. Starbucks has never been as successful in Europe because it conflicts with the European culture of coffee as a relaxed social event:

“One either sat to do it, in cafes or restaurants, or stood, at bars or on railway platforms, and drank from sturdy vessels, china or glass, themselves made in France.”

But sure enough the globalization of frenzied caffeine runs is getting hold of the world!

The point of Science Fiction is to explore just how much these changes affect us. Whether its advances in technology, globalization, medical breakthroughs, environmental changes or even experimental marketing. Speculative history draws from our past, our failures and achievements and debates whether we will react similarly to different changes in the future. Science Fiction can act as the devil’s advocate and prompt us to think implications. How should we handle change? How should we prepare for the future?
This is obviously extremely relevant for scientists. Their progress is reaching the cusp of fantasy; genetic cloning and artificial organs. They are ethically responsible to consider all the implications of their creations and make sure we don’t wake up one day living in a world where extra limps and good health are commodities!
That being said, it was incredibly refreshing to read how Hannah uses sci-fi literature to ignite her excitement about Science again. I can’t imagine being a scientist but I can understand how sitting for days in a lab can make you forget the big picture.

Everyone is already contributing to change in the 21st Century whether it’s developing new medicine, tweeting, blogging or reading an ebook.
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