Helping New Readers - Part 2 - Books you can introduce to new readers
So imagine you’re approached by someone who has just started getting into science fiction and fantasy. They ask you as someone you know the genre what would you recommend as a place to start?
I looked at an online forum and it was fascinating that in 2020 the first few options suggested were
- Lord of the Rings
- Wheel of Time
- Magician
- The Dresden Files
- David Gemmel
- Dragonbone Chair
Now I’m not debating the merits of any of those books or authors. I was just intrigued that in 2020 people thought the best way to get into the genre is often to go back 20-40+ years. I was also impressed how much fantasy here was pretty much defined as epic. The most obvious response which pleasingly someone then did ask was what type of other books this person enjoyed reading - the answer romance….
Is this nostalgia that we always want people to have the same books we started on long ago; is it small c conservatism? Is it a lack of wider and more recent reading? Not sure so I thoughts lets ask Twitter what YOU would recommend on science fiction and fantasy to a new reader and I just set one rule – had to be published from 2001.
There was a huge response that I must admit reassured me that readers can broaden their reading but was impressed how a few really objected to this arbitrary rule as if I was dissing the past.
So, here are the responses and I’ve tried to group them (apologies in advance for any mistakes I’ve made in writing up comments or categorising). If you have some more recommendations add them in the comments
And * shows where multiple people recommended it.
PS as they kindly asked and I totally agree the Breaking the Glass Slipper podcast is a great places for recs too 😊
Science Fiction
Action/Thriller
Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson
Babylon Steel by Gaie Sebold
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
Lock In by John Scalzi
Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell
The Martian by Andy Weir
Pattern Recognition trilogy by William Gibson*
Murderbot by Martha Wells *****
The Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal
Hunger Makes the Wolf by Alex Wells
Bel Dame Aporcrypha by Kameron Hurley**
Necrotech by Kace Alexander
Space opera
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Bobiverse series by Dennis E Taylor
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe
The Imperial Radch Trilogy by Anne Leckie***
Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
Embers of War by Gareth L Powell
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine**
Gideon The Ninth by Tazmin Muir*
The Expanse by James SA Corey***
The Tensorate novellas by JY Yang**
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
First Contact/Alien Invasions
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
SPIN by Robert Charles Wilson
The Rosewater Trilogy by Tade Thompson***
The Lesson by Cadwell Turnnbull
Horror
Under the Skin (2000 but they asked very nicely)
Other Worlds
A Long Way to A Short Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Planetfall series by Emma Newman***
Coyote series by Allen Steele
Semiosis by Liz Burke
Space Opera by Cat Valente
Future Earth
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse***
Fractured Europe series by Dave Hutchinson
Centenal series by Malka Older
An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King
Science in the Capital by Kim Stanley Robinson
Pashazade by Jon Courtenay Grimwood
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
Analog series by Eliot Peper
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Horror
Southern Reach by Jeff Vandemeer
Time Travel
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
The Chronicles of St Marys by Jodi Taylor
Hard SF
Three Body Problem – Liu Cixin***
Literary
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguru
Station Eleven by Emily St Mandel*
The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
Before the Start of Time by Anne Charnock
The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber
Short Fiction
The New Hugo Winners Volume X
Authors
PF Hamilton; Nick Harkaway; Pablo Bacigalupi; Adrian Tchaikovsky; Adam Roberts; Greg Egan; Connie Willis; Nancy Kress; Alastair Reynolds; Aliette de Bodard; Neal Asher; Adam Christopher; Jay Posey; Lois McMaster Bujold
Fantasy
Epic Fantasy
Broken Earth Trilogy by N K Jemisin********
Winnowing Flame by Jen Williams*****
Crossroads series by Kate Elliott
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Sixteen Ways to defend A City by KJ Parker
Wounded Kingdom by RJ Barker
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames**
Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters
The Daevabad trilogy by SA Chakraborty
Master of Sorrows by Justin Call
The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Dominion of the Fallen by Aliette de Bodard
The Red Gods trilogy by Anna Stephens
Black Leopard – Red Wolf by Marlon James
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
Skullsword by Brian Stavelley
The Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch
The Poppy War by R F Kuang
Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger
Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson**
The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Spark Smith
The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb
Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott
The Scar by China Meiville
The Traitor Baru Comorant by Seth Dickinson*
Ship of Smoke and Steel by Django Wexler
Jade City and War by Fonda Lee**
Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell
First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
Kingkiller series by Patrick Rothfuss
The Eternal Sky series by Elizabeth Bear
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett
Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie
Death Gate Cycle (Weis & Hickman)
Court of Fives by Kate Eliott
Vorrh trilogy by Brian Catliss
Silent Hall by Dolkart
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
Romantic
Kingfisher by Patricia McKilip
Short Fiction
The Bone Swans by CSE Cooney
Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories by Naomi Kritzer
Comedic
Lightbringer by Brent Weeks
YA
The Colors of Madeleine by Jaclyn Moriarty
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Illumine Files by Kaufman and Kristoff
Gothic
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng
Mythic Folk-based
Inheritance Trilogy by NK Jemisin*
Killing Moon by N K Jemisin
Desdemona and the Deep by C S E Cooney
Uprooted by Naomi Novik*
Tiffany Aching by Terry Pratchett
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
The Winternight series by Katherine Arden***
Historical Fantasy
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wrecker
Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brenan
Green Man’s Heir by Juliet Mckenna
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
Mystery Fantasy
Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stu Turton
Portal Fantasy
Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire**
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow*
Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
Urban Fantasy
Generation V series by M L Brennan
Iron Druid by Kevin Hearne
Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin
October Daye by Seanan McGuire
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch**
Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Declare by Tim Powers
Ocean at the End of the Lane
Kate Daniels by Illona Andrews
Vicious by VE Schwab
Horror
Nod by Adrian Barnes
The Three by Sarah Lotz
Sourdough and Other Stories by Angela Slatter
The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey
Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabrielle Rodriguez
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Short fiction
How Long Til Black Future Month? By N K Jemisin
Authors
Aliette de Bodard; Lois McMaster Bujold; Robin McKinley; Jennifer Fallon; Trudi Canavan*; Kyle Chan; Mary Robinette Kowal*; Marshall Ryan Maresca; Christina Henry; VE Schwab; Guy Gavriel Kay; Zen Cho; Claire O Dell; Una McCormack; Carmen Maria Machedo; Rachel Bach/Rachel Aaron’ G Willow Wilson; Ellen Datlow (as editors); Terri Windling (as editors); Kelly Armstrong; Kim Harrison; Jim Hines; Laurie Marks; Juliet McKenna; CE Murphy; Annette Marie; Jasper Fforde; KJ Parker
