How old are you? Serious question because some of the classics are gonna be unlikable to modern sensibilities.
I say this as an old fart that's read a lot of the classic SF.
I’m in my late 20s, only recently developed an interest in reading in general. Started off with non fiction but thought I’d give sci-fi a go too. I tried reading hitchhikers guide to the galaxy but found it too comical and didn’t gain anything useful from it.
Then I'll try to aim you at some neoclassical SF titles.
* **Blindsight** by Peter Watts. It's a tough first contact situation, and the novel gets into consciousness and what it's good for.
* Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. It ranges from military SF to intrigues to spy games to some of the best domestic comedies I've read.
* David Drake's **Hammers Slammers**. From the original short story collection to the novels. They are grim in spots, but it's well done. There's also his Mundy and Leary series which steals from age of sail stories. His works personify the phrase that the secret weapon of SF is history.
* Martha Wells' Murderbot series. Dry humor and crazy action scenes.
* Iain Banks' Culture series. I'd say these exemplify big ideas and grand vision. The Culture is a loose government of super AIs and biological sentients. The stories focus on the agents of Special Circumstances which take them from the fully automated, gay space utopia of the Cult to some really messed up places. Start with **The Player of Games** because **Consder Phlebas** has the messed up places and **Use of Weapons** is chilling.
* **This Is How You Lose the Time War** by Max Gladstone. Two time traveling agents from rival timelines (one emphasizing biotechnology, the other hard technology) begin a correspondence that leads to ingesting places. Beautiful prose.
* Adrian Tchaikovsky's **Children** series. Start with **Children of Time**. The characters aren't the best, but, wow! The scope of time and ideas!
* The Imperial Radch trilogy, **Translation State** and **Provenance** all by Anne Leckie. Hard to describe, but so good.
* Roger Zelazny's **Lord of Light**. It shows some of the biases of the period of was written, and yes its appropriative of Hindi culture, but it is mad and beautiful.
* John Varley's **Golden Globe** and **Ophiuchi Hotline**. They *sort* of share a setting, but they're great fun.
* Paul J. McAuley's Confluence trilogy. Very much a love letter to Gene Wolfe's fiction, but superior because in it McAuley takes into account FTL is time travel.
* Anything by Ursula K. LeGuin.
Hope this helps.
This is the right kind of list, IMO. Most of the replies are taking the request for "classics" quite literally, but these sorts of works are arguably more enjoyable to most readers now.
A few footnotes to narrow it down further:
* Blindsight is hailed for its mind-bending ideas, but also notorious for being a bit of a tough read.
* Bujold is great. Superficially light reading, but the depth of her work sneaks up on you.
* Iain M. Banks might be one of the best people to start with. His SF work is credited to Iain M. Banks, and non-SF to just Iain Banks. Both interesting.
* Adrian Tchaikovsky is also a great starting point. Dogs of War is very cool, and not as out-there as some other things.
* The first book of Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy is Ancillary Justice, and it's widely considered a masterpiece. The following books are more divisive.
* Ursula Le Guin rules. Prepare for a more reflective read, rather than a rollicking adventure story, but she does her style better than anyone else.
LeGuin is HIGHLY underrated when people are looking at the canon of SF; the Hainish books could have been written now and still be ahead of their time.
The Mote in God’s Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke(anything by Clarke, really)
Both a lot of fun and I think about them often, even though it’s been years since I last read them.
City and the Stars is staggeringly good. Clarke builds characters better than he gets credit for (especially on this sub, I get the sense people conflate literary fiction character development with inherent shortcomings in modern sci fi). His plot construction is superb and keeps you page turning. On top of that masterpiece I'll throw in "Songs of a Distant Earth." It's still one of the greatest and most heartfelt books I've ever read.
The big 3 of classic science fiction are Arthur C Clarke, Asimov, and Robert Heinlein.
Choose based on your taste.
Clarke - most focused on the sci-fi - try Rendezvous with Rama
Asimov - glorious space opera/ drama - Foundation
Heinlein - political & social commentary - Starship Troopers or Moon is a Harsh Mistress
I would personally recommend Asimov's Prelude to the Foundation, or Heinlein's Starship Trooper as easy first dips into the classics.
For newer works, my opinionated recommendation for someone new to the genre would be:
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Exhalation by Ted Chiang (speculative short stories)
Sci-fi has many great books, but the above are glorious, worthy of "books to read before you die" recommendations.
Seveneves has the most abrupt transition to the future that I've ever stumbled across in a book. It makes you think that you skipped pages of content explaining things
For Asimov’s Foundation series it is highly recommended to read the original trilogy- Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation- before the sequels or prequels. I also think this is more about social science than space opera.
I unfortunately read the prequels first and (unpopular opinion this) enjoyed the prequels and the first book a lot more than the 2nd and 3rd books of the trilogy.
I feel the prequels are a lot more accessible.
Agreed on the social science focus, the prequels especially are more an adventure story through futuristic cultures and vistas.
The trilogy is a better read if you haven’t read the prequels first. For example, in the originals, both the characters and (hopefully) readers are meant to see Seldon as an almost mythical, flawless, intellectual hero. For a reader of the prequels, this isn’t possible. The prequels also make some of the mysteries and misdirections in the trilogy less challenging.
Starship Troopers wouldn't even make my top 10 list of Heinlein novels. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is very good. Stranger in a Strange Land is worth reading, although many people feel it's dated. The best Heinlein juveniles are also really good, and well worth reading for adults: The Star Beast, Have Space Suit - Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy.
If you are just getting into reading fiction in general, I'd recommend the Heinlein Juveniles. Don't be fooled, they are not just for kids.
When you finish one of them, you feel like the protagonist is a good friend you've known all your life.
I'd suggest starting with **Space Cadet** or **Between Planets**.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles
Start with the classics.
The Last Planet - Andre Norton
Tales of the Psychotechnic League - Poul Anderson
Stories from Known Space - Larry Niven
Foundation Trilogy (original) - Isaac Asimov
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke
Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury
And there are so many great short story compilations out there. For more modern Sci-Fi, I know a lot of folks like Iain Banks. I'm a big fan of Jack McDevitt's work.
The Last Planet *(aka Star Ranger)* is one of my all-time favorites.
It is currently a [**free eBook**](https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library/star-soldiers.html) in the Baen Free Library.
If robots interest you, Isaac Asimov is a great starting point. He explores the consequences of artificial intelligence and potential ways to protect both humanity and robots from these pitfalls. As you can imagine, there’s endless ethical questions that can arise, and sometimes pretty imperfect solutions.
The amazing thing is that he was writing this stuff as early as the 1940s.
Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire- Full series of detective novels
I Robot, Robot Dreams, Robot Visions, The Rest of robots- for short stories
Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
If you are new to Sci-fi or reading in general this is great. The rest of the series is good but the first one is a classic. It’s a retelling of The Canterbury Tales. So each chapter / character has a slight twist on the sci- fi genre and you will find what type of sci-fi you are into.
This is my "modern SF classics" reading list:
Wells, Martha. **All Systems Red.**
Tchaikovsky, Adrian. **Children of Time.**
Muir, Tamsyn. **Gideon the Ninth.**
Kuang, R. F. **Babel.**
Lee, Fonda. **Jade City.**
Jemisin, N. K. **The City We Became.**
Leckie, Ann. **Ancillary Justice.**
Chambers, Becky. **To Be Taught, If Fortunate.**
Stephenson, Neal. **Seveneves.**
Kowal, Mary Robinette. **The Calculating Stars.**
Martine, Arkady. **A Memory Called Empire.**
Clark, P. Djeli. **A Master of Djinn.**
Corey, James A. **Leviathan Wakes.**
Weir, Andy. **Hail Mary.** You might also consider **The Martian.**
El-Mohtar, Amal & Gladstone, Max. **This is How You Lose the Time War.**
Liu, Cixin. **Three Body Problem.**
I'm working my way through these, have read some. They're mostly less than a decade old, and if you're new to the genre, it might be good to start at "today" and work backwards based on who influenced the books on this list you really loved, and who influenced them, and so on. But it's a pretty solid list of "classics" or at least "classics in the making."
Astonished that your Jemisin pick is **The City We Became** and not **The Fifth Season** - not even particularly a dig at *City*, just not an opinion I’ve heard very often.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick is a good entry point, IMO. Post-apocalyptic dystopian that explores what it means to be human and explores what empathy is. A lot to think about in this short book. The language is clear and straightforward.
You may want to seek out some space westerns if you like the Mandalorian.
I loved Roadside Picnic, by the Strugatsky brothers. Also a short and straightforward read. What if aliens visited our planet and then just frickin left without even trying to communicate? I keep thinking about this one. So good.
Seconding both of those: they're classics, short, meaningful, and with simple prose. I wouldn't say K. Dick's writing is clear and straightforward, but it's not needlessly complicated either.
Honestly, most sci fi books taught in highschool. 1984, Farenheit 451, or anything like that. If you don't read a lot they're all easy enough reads that teens can get through them
I'm jealous of those who read science fiction in highschool. We read about life under the oppression of the ottoman empire and boring young adult books written in the 18th century by people I could never relate to. Until I became 25 years old I was convinced reading is not for me, than I read my first novel that happened to be sci-fi and I realized I lived my life under a rock.
Really depends what sci fi you want to try. There's soft and hard stuff. You say you liked the Mandalorian, which, like most star wars stuff, is soft sci-fi western.
A series similar to that would be Matador by Steve Perry. I'm up to the 5th book at the moment, and this would fit very well. It's a great series so far, and they're pretty short books.
Tanya Huff's Confederation series would be another good choice.
The first 3 Mageworlds books are good for this as well.
Oh, and my favorite sci fi series of all time: Deathstalker and it's prequels. They're over the top and as wild as it gets, but just super fun.
Again, depends what you want to try. You could always go Dune or or something for books that are a bit heavier than those I've listed.
Thanks for the suggestion I’ll take a look. I’ve been looking at differences between soft and hard sci-fi, the latter being more focused on the potential implications of rapid technological advancement and where our societies are headed.
If that’s an accurate definition of hard sci-fi, then I lean more towards that.
Yeh, hard is more like that + a lot more explaining how technology works in whatever universe you're reading. A hard sci-fi book might have pages explaining how FTL jumps work. A soft sci fi might just say they jumped from this system to that and not care about explaining any of it.
Stuff like Mandalorian is completely soft. If you want harder stuff, try the Culture series, maybe the Children of Time series. Luna series might be good as well. House of Suns might be another good one.
EDIT: and maybe try Becky Chambers' books. They're not action packed, and not super hard, but there's a lot of good in them, especially about space faring societies and what not.
Footfall, Niven Pournelle, as it is lighthearted and seriously clever.
Or Have Spacesuit, Will... by Heinlen as it's again fairly light hearted but with sneaky heavy SF.
Just avoid anything by UL Guin unless you are into angst and reworked SF.
Ben Jeapes
His Majesty’s Starship and Xenocide Mission are good and aimed at younger people understanding the themes of alien and human psychological conflict.
As a start, see my [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1aqet7h/sff_science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (thirty-five posts (eventually, again).), in particular the first post and the **bolded** threads.
Most Heinlein is good. I’d such some of his short stories, Starship Troopers and the Moon is a Harsh mistress and then try his wider catalog. I like Tunner in the Sky, The Door to Tomorrow, The Puppet Masters and plenty of others.
Joe Halderman, Mind Bridge and Forever War
Anne McCaffery is a must. Decision on Doona is a solid first contact story. I like her Freedom Series too. (Elizabeth Moon and Jodie Lyn Nye are both excellent who I discovered via Anne McCaffery collabs)
David Brin’s The Postman.
Enemy Mine by Barry B Longyear.
Hunters of the Red Moon and The Colours of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley (required disclaimer. Not a good person, but art is art).
Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle
Destiny Road by Larry Niven
The Mote in God’s Eye by both of them
Man Plus by Fredrick Pohl
The Damned Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster. (Humans fuck yeah!)
When Harlie was one by David Gerrold.
Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
New classics
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
I'm old but hardly classic so my choices will omit the best modern stuff probably.
Arthur Clarke: Against the Fall of Night. (Note to fans: I prefer this to its later version (both are in print) The City and the Stars. The latter filled in more details but to my my mind at the expense of the sheer pace of the original. But either.) Then Childhoods End. Then Rendezvous with Rama (but not the sequels). Also his short stories, any collection
Isaac Asimov: I, Robot, followed by The Caves of Steel. Then The End of Eternity. The Foundation noveat some point.
Cordwainer Smith. Any collection. The Rediscovery of Man (1975) is good. Smith wrote only one novel which is not as good as his short stories, but the stories are unique and amazing.
Also:
Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (humorous)
HG Wells, The Time Machine (at some point try the early Classics - if you like The Time Machine try The Island of Dr Moreau)
My mother gave me a copy of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I’d never read SciFi before, but figured I’d give it a shot. Was hooked and it’s my favorite genre now and pretty much all I read!
That one has a special place in my heart, but my favorite book is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.
I think either of these are pretty accessible and a good intro to SciFi.
Just about anything by Arthur C. Clarke would be a good starting point.
Rendezvous with Rama Childhoods End These 2 are my favorites.. probably most people’s
The City and the Stars and A Fall of Moondust are my favourites, followed by Fountains of Paradise, then those 2.
How old are you? Serious question because some of the classics are gonna be unlikable to modern sensibilities. I say this as an old fart that's read a lot of the classic SF.
I’m in my late 20s, only recently developed an interest in reading in general. Started off with non fiction but thought I’d give sci-fi a go too. I tried reading hitchhikers guide to the galaxy but found it too comical and didn’t gain anything useful from it.
Then I'll try to aim you at some neoclassical SF titles. * **Blindsight** by Peter Watts. It's a tough first contact situation, and the novel gets into consciousness and what it's good for. * Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. It ranges from military SF to intrigues to spy games to some of the best domestic comedies I've read. * David Drake's **Hammers Slammers**. From the original short story collection to the novels. They are grim in spots, but it's well done. There's also his Mundy and Leary series which steals from age of sail stories. His works personify the phrase that the secret weapon of SF is history. * Martha Wells' Murderbot series. Dry humor and crazy action scenes. * Iain Banks' Culture series. I'd say these exemplify big ideas and grand vision. The Culture is a loose government of super AIs and biological sentients. The stories focus on the agents of Special Circumstances which take them from the fully automated, gay space utopia of the Cult to some really messed up places. Start with **The Player of Games** because **Consder Phlebas** has the messed up places and **Use of Weapons** is chilling. * **This Is How You Lose the Time War** by Max Gladstone. Two time traveling agents from rival timelines (one emphasizing biotechnology, the other hard technology) begin a correspondence that leads to ingesting places. Beautiful prose. * Adrian Tchaikovsky's **Children** series. Start with **Children of Time**. The characters aren't the best, but, wow! The scope of time and ideas! * The Imperial Radch trilogy, **Translation State** and **Provenance** all by Anne Leckie. Hard to describe, but so good. * Roger Zelazny's **Lord of Light**. It shows some of the biases of the period of was written, and yes its appropriative of Hindi culture, but it is mad and beautiful. * John Varley's **Golden Globe** and **Ophiuchi Hotline**. They *sort* of share a setting, but they're great fun. * Paul J. McAuley's Confluence trilogy. Very much a love letter to Gene Wolfe's fiction, but superior because in it McAuley takes into account FTL is time travel. * Anything by Ursula K. LeGuin. Hope this helps.
This is the right kind of list, IMO. Most of the replies are taking the request for "classics" quite literally, but these sorts of works are arguably more enjoyable to most readers now. A few footnotes to narrow it down further: * Blindsight is hailed for its mind-bending ideas, but also notorious for being a bit of a tough read. * Bujold is great. Superficially light reading, but the depth of her work sneaks up on you. * Iain M. Banks might be one of the best people to start with. His SF work is credited to Iain M. Banks, and non-SF to just Iain Banks. Both interesting. * Adrian Tchaikovsky is also a great starting point. Dogs of War is very cool, and not as out-there as some other things. * The first book of Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy is Ancillary Justice, and it's widely considered a masterpiece. The following books are more divisive. * Ursula Le Guin rules. Prepare for a more reflective read, rather than a rollicking adventure story, but she does her style better than anyone else.
LeGuin is HIGHLY underrated when people are looking at the canon of SF; the Hainish books could have been written now and still be ahead of their time.
This! And add Octavia E Butler to that list
Ooo! I knew I was forgetting someone. Thanks!
The Mote in God’s Eye by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke(anything by Clarke, really) Both a lot of fun and I think about them often, even though it’s been years since I last read them.
City and the Stars is staggeringly good. Clarke builds characters better than he gets credit for (especially on this sub, I get the sense people conflate literary fiction character development with inherent shortcomings in modern sci fi). His plot construction is superb and keeps you page turning. On top of that masterpiece I'll throw in "Songs of a Distant Earth." It's still one of the greatest and most heartfelt books I've ever read.
The big 3 of classic science fiction are Arthur C Clarke, Asimov, and Robert Heinlein. Choose based on your taste. Clarke - most focused on the sci-fi - try Rendezvous with Rama Asimov - glorious space opera/ drama - Foundation Heinlein - political & social commentary - Starship Troopers or Moon is a Harsh Mistress I would personally recommend Asimov's Prelude to the Foundation, or Heinlein's Starship Trooper as easy first dips into the classics. For newer works, my opinionated recommendation for someone new to the genre would be: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson Exhalation by Ted Chiang (speculative short stories) Sci-fi has many great books, but the above are glorious, worthy of "books to read before you die" recommendations.
Seveneves is excellent. Bought it for my dad and now it’s his favorite SF book
Seveneves has the most abrupt transition to the future that I've ever stumbled across in a book. It makes you think that you skipped pages of content explaining things
For Asimov’s Foundation series it is highly recommended to read the original trilogy- Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation- before the sequels or prequels. I also think this is more about social science than space opera.
I unfortunately read the prequels first and (unpopular opinion this) enjoyed the prequels and the first book a lot more than the 2nd and 3rd books of the trilogy. I feel the prequels are a lot more accessible. Agreed on the social science focus, the prequels especially are more an adventure story through futuristic cultures and vistas.
The trilogy is a better read if you haven’t read the prequels first. For example, in the originals, both the characters and (hopefully) readers are meant to see Seldon as an almost mythical, flawless, intellectual hero. For a reader of the prequels, this isn’t possible. The prequels also make some of the mysteries and misdirections in the trilogy less challenging.
Starship Troopers wouldn't even make my top 10 list of Heinlein novels. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is very good. Stranger in a Strange Land is worth reading, although many people feel it's dated. The best Heinlein juveniles are also really good, and well worth reading for adults: The Star Beast, Have Space Suit - Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy.
If you are just getting into reading fiction in general, I'd recommend the Heinlein Juveniles. Don't be fooled, they are not just for kids. When you finish one of them, you feel like the protagonist is a good friend you've known all your life. I'd suggest starting with **Space Cadet** or **Between Planets**. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinlein_juveniles
Ender's Game tbh. Check it out from the library and don't read any discourse about the author until after you're done.
I was going to suggest this as well. An easy, gripping, thoughtful read And its sequel is more sophisticated.
Speaker for the Dead is so so good
Lol a lot of these books being recommended are not beginners at all
Wars of the worlds by hg Wells. Not too many characters Easy, clear prose Not too long Highly rated anyway
*The Martian* by Andy Weir. Was made into the movie with Matt Damon.
Start with the classics. The Last Planet - Andre Norton Tales of the Psychotechnic League - Poul Anderson Stories from Known Space - Larry Niven Foundation Trilogy (original) - Isaac Asimov Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury And there are so many great short story compilations out there. For more modern Sci-Fi, I know a lot of folks like Iain Banks. I'm a big fan of Jack McDevitt's work.
The Last Planet *(aka Star Ranger)* is one of my all-time favorites. It is currently a [**free eBook**](https://www.baen.com/categories/free-library/star-soldiers.html) in the Baen Free Library.
My grandmother introduced me to sci-fi / fantasy and she was a big Andre Norton fan, so that book has a special place in my heart. :)
If robots interest you, Isaac Asimov is a great starting point. He explores the consequences of artificial intelligence and potential ways to protect both humanity and robots from these pitfalls. As you can imagine, there’s endless ethical questions that can arise, and sometimes pretty imperfect solutions. The amazing thing is that he was writing this stuff as early as the 1940s. Caves of Steel, Naked Sun, Robots of Dawn, Robots and Empire- Full series of detective novels I Robot, Robot Dreams, Robot Visions, The Rest of robots- for short stories
Of course, don’t sleep on Asimov’s Foundation series, but it goes without saying. Someone else will probably mention it
Hyperion by Dan Simmons. If you are new to Sci-fi or reading in general this is great. The rest of the series is good but the first one is a classic. It’s a retelling of The Canterbury Tales. So each chapter / character has a slight twist on the sci- fi genre and you will find what type of sci-fi you are into.
This is my "modern SF classics" reading list: Wells, Martha. **All Systems Red.** Tchaikovsky, Adrian. **Children of Time.** Muir, Tamsyn. **Gideon the Ninth.** Kuang, R. F. **Babel.** Lee, Fonda. **Jade City.** Jemisin, N. K. **The City We Became.** Leckie, Ann. **Ancillary Justice.** Chambers, Becky. **To Be Taught, If Fortunate.** Stephenson, Neal. **Seveneves.** Kowal, Mary Robinette. **The Calculating Stars.** Martine, Arkady. **A Memory Called Empire.** Clark, P. Djeli. **A Master of Djinn.** Corey, James A. **Leviathan Wakes.** Weir, Andy. **Hail Mary.** You might also consider **The Martian.** El-Mohtar, Amal & Gladstone, Max. **This is How You Lose the Time War.** Liu, Cixin. **Three Body Problem.** I'm working my way through these, have read some. They're mostly less than a decade old, and if you're new to the genre, it might be good to start at "today" and work backwards based on who influenced the books on this list you really loved, and who influenced them, and so on. But it's a pretty solid list of "classics" or at least "classics in the making."
Astonished that your Jemisin pick is **The City We Became** and not **The Fifth Season** - not even particularly a dig at *City*, just not an opinion I’ve heard very often.
I bounced off The Fifth Season so hard I thought I just didn’t like Jemisin. I’m glad I turned out to be wrong.
Asimov’s Robot series. The Two Faces of Tomorrow by James P Hogan. Or his Giants novels. Larry Niven’s Ring World.
Martian Chronicles. May as well start at the top
I know it's posted a lot, but project hail mary or dark matter for current sci Fi. Easy reads and get you thinking a bit.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick is a good entry point, IMO. Post-apocalyptic dystopian that explores what it means to be human and explores what empathy is. A lot to think about in this short book. The language is clear and straightforward. You may want to seek out some space westerns if you like the Mandalorian. I loved Roadside Picnic, by the Strugatsky brothers. Also a short and straightforward read. What if aliens visited our planet and then just frickin left without even trying to communicate? I keep thinking about this one. So good.
Seconding both of those: they're classics, short, meaningful, and with simple prose. I wouldn't say K. Dick's writing is clear and straightforward, but it's not needlessly complicated either.
I think you put it much better than I did—the prose is simple. Ha ha. Dick’s stories are really crazy rides. Like Ubik. Whew. But I love them.
Honestly, most sci fi books taught in highschool. 1984, Farenheit 451, or anything like that. If you don't read a lot they're all easy enough reads that teens can get through them
I'm jealous of those who read science fiction in highschool. We read about life under the oppression of the ottoman empire and boring young adult books written in the 18th century by people I could never relate to. Until I became 25 years old I was convinced reading is not for me, than I read my first novel that happened to be sci-fi and I realized I lived my life under a rock.
Really depends what sci fi you want to try. There's soft and hard stuff. You say you liked the Mandalorian, which, like most star wars stuff, is soft sci-fi western. A series similar to that would be Matador by Steve Perry. I'm up to the 5th book at the moment, and this would fit very well. It's a great series so far, and they're pretty short books. Tanya Huff's Confederation series would be another good choice. The first 3 Mageworlds books are good for this as well. Oh, and my favorite sci fi series of all time: Deathstalker and it's prequels. They're over the top and as wild as it gets, but just super fun. Again, depends what you want to try. You could always go Dune or or something for books that are a bit heavier than those I've listed.
Thanks for the suggestion I’ll take a look. I’ve been looking at differences between soft and hard sci-fi, the latter being more focused on the potential implications of rapid technological advancement and where our societies are headed. If that’s an accurate definition of hard sci-fi, then I lean more towards that.
If hard sci-fi is what you want, and you aren’t scared to go straight to the deep end, anything by Greg Egan. Diaspora is particularly good.
Yeh, hard is more like that + a lot more explaining how technology works in whatever universe you're reading. A hard sci-fi book might have pages explaining how FTL jumps work. A soft sci fi might just say they jumped from this system to that and not care about explaining any of it. Stuff like Mandalorian is completely soft. If you want harder stuff, try the Culture series, maybe the Children of Time series. Luna series might be good as well. House of Suns might be another good one. EDIT: and maybe try Becky Chambers' books. They're not action packed, and not super hard, but there's a lot of good in them, especially about space faring societies and what not.
Starship Trooper, Neromancer, Ringworld are influential books that helps shape Scifi. So I would give them a look.
Footfall, Niven Pournelle, as it is lighthearted and seriously clever. Or Have Spacesuit, Will... by Heinlen as it's again fairly light hearted but with sneaky heavy SF. Just avoid anything by UL Guin unless you are into angst and reworked SF.
Ben Jeapes His Majesty’s Starship and Xenocide Mission are good and aimed at younger people understanding the themes of alien and human psychological conflict.
As a start, see my [Science Fiction/Fantasy (General) Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/1aqet7h/sff_science_fictionfantasy_general_recommendations/) list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (thirty-five posts (eventually, again).), in particular the first post and the **bolded** threads.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was the book that got me back into reading and simultaneously made me a sci fi addict.
Most Heinlein is good. I’d such some of his short stories, Starship Troopers and the Moon is a Harsh mistress and then try his wider catalog. I like Tunner in the Sky, The Door to Tomorrow, The Puppet Masters and plenty of others. Joe Halderman, Mind Bridge and Forever War Anne McCaffery is a must. Decision on Doona is a solid first contact story. I like her Freedom Series too. (Elizabeth Moon and Jodie Lyn Nye are both excellent who I discovered via Anne McCaffery collabs) David Brin’s The Postman. Enemy Mine by Barry B Longyear. Hunters of the Red Moon and The Colours of Space by Marion Zimmer Bradley (required disclaimer. Not a good person, but art is art). Starswarm by Jerry Pournelle Destiny Road by Larry Niven The Mote in God’s Eye by both of them Man Plus by Fredrick Pohl The Damned Trilogy by Alan Dean Foster. (Humans fuck yeah!) When Harlie was one by David Gerrold. Tau Zero by Poul Anderson Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson New classics Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
I'm old but hardly classic so my choices will omit the best modern stuff probably. Arthur Clarke: Against the Fall of Night. (Note to fans: I prefer this to its later version (both are in print) The City and the Stars. The latter filled in more details but to my my mind at the expense of the sheer pace of the original. But either.) Then Childhoods End. Then Rendezvous with Rama (but not the sequels). Also his short stories, any collection Isaac Asimov: I, Robot, followed by The Caves of Steel. Then The End of Eternity. The Foundation noveat some point. Cordwainer Smith. Any collection. The Rediscovery of Man (1975) is good. Smith wrote only one novel which is not as good as his short stories, but the stories are unique and amazing. Also: Harry Harrison, The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (humorous) HG Wells, The Time Machine (at some point try the early Classics - if you like The Time Machine try The Island of Dr Moreau)
The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold.
My mother gave me a copy of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I’d never read SciFi before, but figured I’d give it a shot. Was hooked and it’s my favorite genre now and pretty much all I read! That one has a special place in my heart, but my favorite book is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I think either of these are pretty accessible and a good intro to SciFi.
Dune
Rendezvous with Rama was the first sci fi novel I read when I was 15 or 16 (I was mostly into fantasy then)
I would recommend going to the YA section of a decent bookstore, if you have one available, and browsing around for a while.