mardi 2 septembre 2014

By Mattie MacDonald


Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World in 1931 and is considered one of the first real science fiction novels and a classic work of literature. Set in a dystopian future, the people are manipulated in a variety of psychological ways for the benefit of The World State. The novel shares many similarities with Orwell's 1984 and is considered one of the best best sci fi novels ever written.

Another Dystopian science fiction classic is Ray Bradbury;s Fahrenheit 451. The title refers to the temperature that paper will ignite spontaneously. The story revolves around a group of people called "Fireman", who instead of putting out fires, burn books. One such Fireman is Guy Montag who lives a lonely existence. He discovers the value of literature and sets about saving books from being burned, while saving his own existence.

Dune by Frank Herbert is set on a fictional planet far far away called Arrakis, Arrakis is the sole source of a drug called melange, that provides immortality to anyone that takes it. The planet is also the stage for an epic power feud between the two ruling families and the quest of the young Duke Paul Atreides to gain his rightful place on the throne.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This classic novel by Phillip K Dick is a post apocalyptic tale set in 1992, where many plant and animal species are extinct and most of the surviving humans have abandoned the dying Earth to live on Mars. On Mars they are allowed to own androids, which serve as slaves, but many of these robots became discontented and fled to Earth. However, back on Earth, bounty hunters search for the androids and "retire" them. The bounty hunter Rick Deckard finds himself on a quest to find eight androids that recently arrived in San Francisco after they killed their human masters on Mars. Sound familiar? It is because the classic movie Bladerunner is based on the novel.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson is another great sci fi read. The story is set in the near future when humans begin to colonise Mars. Arguments erupt back on Earth as to whether the planet should be terraformed or left as it was.

The famous astro-physicist, Carl Sagan's novel Contact is set in the near future. The protagonist, Ellie Arroway works for SET and discovers radio signals from a planet 25 light years away, indicating that the planet contains intelligent life. The novel explores how humans may react when they make first contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence.

Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy is set in the far distant future and humans have now colonized the galaxy. However, their empire is about to collapse due to bureaucracy, corruption and political turmoil. Historian Hai Seldon sets about starting a new dawn for humanity by bringing together scientists and scholars to produce a vast encyclopedia.

War of the Worlds by HG Wells is another early sci fi novel that is well known all over the world. Jealous Martians that covet the Earth resources lead an attack on Earth by using total war to subdue humans. The first chapter in the story was read by Orson Wells on the radio in 1938, causing a large number of listeners to panic thinking that the events were actually taking place.




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