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Finding The Best Science Fiction Books
Lots of us take books to bed with us. While most of us are hoping they'll help us fall asleep, I think a few of the best science fiction books would keep the reader wide awake rather than sweeping us off to dreamland.
Lots of us take books to bed with us. While most of us are hoping they’ll help us fall asleep, I think a few of the best science fiction books would keep the reader wide awake rather than sweeping us off to dreamland.
A well-written science fiction novel should create a desire in the reader to pursue the story, to dwell in the new world or universe created within its pages, fraught with the unexpected, the magical, or the downright unusual. The best science fiction books are classic, and deliver every story twist to keep us riveted to the page.
It is unfortunate that many new writers getting published today can be credited with helping more people catch a few zzz’s than a lot of pontificating politicians or church ministers spouting sermons. Many new authors find themselves falling short of writing any of the best science fiction books.
Some of these books could be prescribed in lieu of sleeping tablets. They could be advertised as ‘non-addictive, but don’t operate any heavy machinery after reading.’ I could give you a list of those books I think would really help one drift to dreamland, but alas, I can’t remember any of the titles. I certainly can’t recommend any of them for nomination to the Best Science Fiction Book Hall of Fame.
My advice to writers hoping to write one of the best science fiction books: be creative. Don’t wallow in predictability. Readers want more we don’t want to force ourselves to read to the last page, in desperate hope of finding something surprising and original, only to find the same drivel we’ve read in the past ten books. After the same disappointments, it is hard not to just skip to the last chapter and see if it is worth our while!
It is true that there are standard formulas that have been used for generations to build successful stories and some have indeed led to stories included in the best science fiction books. But, even with a formula, even though the good guy will win, the hero gets the girl, and the poor, long-suffering victim triumphs over the evil powers that be we need surprises along the way. Subtle twists that make us see these formulas in a different way.
We know when the lights will fail; the deflector shields are at 20% and a hairpin is needed to repair the nuclear reactor by a schoolboy when all the experts are running for cover the final outcome is the expected.
My advice for new science fiction writers: if you are trying to be published, make sure your story will take your readers on a journey they’ll never forget. Keep it stimulating enough to keep them awake and on the edge of their seats, or at least continue dreaming about it after they’ve fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion from reading one of the best science fiction books. Stimulate your readers’ imaginations by using your own don’t use tired out formulas.
If your publisher insists that you use a formula, put a few surprises in there anyway. Take the advice of the hero from “No Second Chance”, when he says, “Always expect the unexpected because the unexpected is only the expected when you least expect it.” Read it again if you’re not sure you got it all. Keep this in mind, and you might just write a book that lives up to the label “best science fiction book”.