Appendix N science fiction edition.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Ok, ERB's Barsoom has to be on that list, as do certain works inspired by it, like Leigh Brackett's Skaith novels.

Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles would be on the list, as would his Fahrenheit 451.

We already mentioned Starship Troopers.

There are the great dystopian novels, like Orwell's 1984, Huxley's Brave New World, and Zamyatin's We.

Flatland would be on that list, if for no other reason than to introduce the concept of how beings from other dimension might perceive each other.

Some more short stories spring to mind:

"Thundering Worlds" by Edmond Hamilton

"The Marching Morons" by Cyril M. Kornbluth

Heavy World: the classic Mesklin stories collects all of Hal Clement's stories of that high-G world.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

For me there would be a lot of variation depending on the type of science fiction I want to emulate. Here's my try at a generic list though:

Poul Anderson: the van Rijn, Falkayn, and Flandry books
Larry Niven: Known Space
Andre Norton: Zero Stone, Uncharted Stars, Moon of Three Rings
Robert Heinlein: only his early books, e.g. Citizen of the Galaxy, Starship Trooper
van Voght: Voyage of the Space Beagle, Slan
CJ Cherryh: the Cyteen books
Saberhagen: the Bereserker books
Jerry Pournelle: Falkenberg books
Gordon Dickson: Dorsai books, the RMaster
Zelazny: Lord of Light - okay this one is very much the odd an out, but it's still awesome

 

[innerdude]

Dune - Frank Herbert
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein
Caves of Steel / Foundation Series - Asimov
Serenity / Firefly series
Everything ever written by Philip K. Dick
Neuromancer - William Gibson
The Terminator movies
The Deus Ex computer game series
The Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars / Venus series

 

[RYAN02]

i am too hungry for these kinda books...

 

[Storminator]

I would avoid listing "The Complete Works . . . " of anyone. Pick a couple exemplars instead.

My list ideas:

Singularity Sky by Charles Stross (inventor of the Githyanki!)
The Wreck of the River of Stars by Michael Flynn
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (I haven't finished this one yet, but it's fantastic so far)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K Dick

And Mishihari Lord is right, Lord of Light is crazy and outstanding.

PS

 

[Ed_Laprade]

*busy scribbling things down*

I was initially interested in mid 90's. But a 1978 version would be fascinating. I wonder if anything from Gary or out of TSR ever covered such a thing?

Hmm, for mid-nineties I would add David Weber's Mutineer's Moon series, and his Honor Harrington series was just starting up.

 

[Elf Witch]

I would put on several of Robert Heinlein young adult novels like Red Planet. Podkayne of Mars the Star Beast.

Lois McMaster Bujold The Vorkosigan series.

CJ Cherryh Downbelow Station.

Issac Asimov robot series.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I really liked Stephen Donaldson's Gap novels. Good, ugly modern Sci-Fi.

 

[Votan]

Lois McMaster Bujold The Vorkosigan series.

Oh, most definitely. In a lot of ways the archtype for how to run a character with both great strengths and great limitations.

 

[DanotheSlender]

Alan Dean Fosters Commonwealth books are some of my favs...Pip and Flinx are included in there of course