Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten All Time Favourite
Science Fiction Books
Initial Thoughts:
My scope going into this week’s theme focuses on “the then, the now, and the future” for standout science-fiction and speculative fiction novels that hold value in being a memorable read during differing phases of growing up. With this in mind, consideration is not emphasized purely by the most entertaining or the best written. Instead, I look towards books that have made an impact in my reading career.
Business as usual: covers re-link to the respective Goodreads page.
The Then:
Include sentimental narratives that have opened up my perception of science-fiction novels during them teenage days. Do note that I wasn’t extremely hypercritical and perceptive when I first read these novels at…sixteen or something. So if I reread them (now), it’ll probably be a completely different experience.
1. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
2. Anthem (Ayn Rand)
3. Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)
4. Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)
The Now:
Include enjoyable reads at a point in my life (the stretch of University-ish) where I sort of (not really) know what’s what in life. But there’s always that abysmal gut feeling which beg the question: “what else could I have done differently?” This more-or-less is the phase of engaging reads as a means of continual rediscovery. (I also dislike how Roth’s Divergent makes it into every list…)
5. Divergent (Veronica Roth)
6. Lexicon (Max Barry)
7. More Than This (Patrick Ness)
8. Backward Glass (David Lomax)
9. Steelheart (Brandon Sanderson)
The Future:
Include novels based solely on speculation and face value. Yes, this one is quite the doozy since I’m going out on a limb and proclaiming my next enjoyable sci-fi read. Some of the summary blurbs have been shortened (because I felt like this post was getting huge). You can follow-up by clicking the image to be taken to Goodreads.
10.00. The Girl With All The Gifts (M.R. Carey)
Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her ‘our little genius’. Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite, but they don’t laugh.
10.25. The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin)
The Fifth Season is set in a world which has suffered frequent, repeated Extinction Level Events for millions of years, and all life (and magic) in this world has adapted to it. Hundreds of years might pass between these events—easy, plentiful years in which great cities rise, and people have the leisure for art and science and rapid advancement—but then, again and again, the cities fall. The world is littered with the detritus of these times of plenty, and this cover hints at them: past ages of decadence, now decaying; stone that endures beneath flaking gilt.
10.50. Your Face In Mine: A Novel (Jess Row)
One afternoon, not long after Kelly Thorndike has moved back to his hometown of Baltimore, an African American man he doesn’t recognize calls out to him. To Kelly’s shock, the man identifies himself as Martin, who was one of Kelly’s closest friends in high school—and, before his disappearance nearly twenty years before, skinny, white, and Jewish. Martin then tells an astonishing story: After years of immersing himself in black culture, he’s had a plastic surgeon perform racial reassignment surgery”—altering his hair, skin, and physiognomy to allow him to pass as African American. Unknown to his family or childhood friends, Martin has been living a new life ever since.
10.75. Extraction (Stephanie Diaz)
Clementine has spent her whole life preparing for her sixteenth birthday, when she’ll be tested for Extraction in the hopes of being sent from the planet Kiel’s toxic Surface to the much safer Core, where people live without fear or starvation. When she proves Promising enough to be “Extracted,” she must leave without Logan, the boy she loves. Torn apart from her only sense of family, Clem promises to come back and save him from brutal Surface life. What she finds initially in the Core is a utopia compared to the Surface—it’s free of hard labor, gun-wielding officials, and the moon’s lethal acid. But life is anything but safe, and Clementine learns that the planet’s leaders are planning to exterminate Surface dwellers—and that means Logan, too.
Afterthoughts:
boop boop. I don’t have have much to add — so thanks for reading!
What’s your favesies genre? Shoot me a reply with a link and I’ll check yours out too.
Cheers,
Joey
thoughts and afterthoughts. 
Great choices Joey. I really want to read More Than This and The Girl With All The Gifts. I love how you’ve set out your list.
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Thanks Chrissi. I think More Than This might give you that thrill-seeking feels that you enjoy!
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I really need to read The Girl with All the Gifts ASAP – sounds so good! I love lots of these and have been scooting over from fantasy into a bit more sci-fi lately, so I appreciate the recs!
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Indeed! The Girl with All the Gifts gave me that ‘Carrie’ feeling when I first read the synopsis — utterly chilling.
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Oh yes for Divergent! As you can see from my blog name, it’s one of my favorite books ever! 😀
Top 10 Favorite Contemporary Romance Novels
Meet My Co-Blogger! 🙂
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It’s certainly a series that can be easily devoured since it has a little bit of everything!
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I want to read Extraction!! The cover….looove. And the blurb, the blurb is good too. 🙂 And also Divergent….eep. Divergent is so awesome. 🙂 I’m really excited for the movie! My TTT!
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I don’t want to overhype extraction though! It seems to have gotten good praise so far. And I’m (sadly) still apprehensive about the Divergent movie :(!
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I saw a huge spoiler for The Girl With All The Gifts when I picked it up off the shelf yesterday – they were comparing it to something else which gave the whole plot away and now I don’t think I want to read it. So thanks book people, you really know how to sell books. (Still sore about that)
Under The Mountain’s Top Ten Dystopias
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Well that sucks, though, I do see some resemblance to other popular narratives but it’s just my personal speculation. Hopefully you’ll reconsider and (re)pick it up! (not that I want to hype this book up or anything)
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I need more Neil Gaiman in my life! And Oh Brave New World, what a fantastic representation of the Then! I am also looking forward to those future books, too!
Thanks for stoppin’ by! Have a great week!
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Haha, thanks! I feel like there can never be enough of Gaiman to go around — there’s just so much variety to pick and choose from.
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Very cool list, I like the way you approached the topic! I just started reading Lexicon yesterday and I can’t put it down, it seems like it’s going to be a great read. Thanks for stopping by my blog! 🙂
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Thanks! And yeah, Lexicon is quite the thrilling and fast-paced ride. I hope you enjoy it!
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Interesting approach! Great stuff here… and I have More Than This and Lexicon all queued up to read, as soon as I have a bit of time. 🙂
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Sounds great — I await your thoughts on these novels!
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Those all look really good. I don’t read as much sci-fi as I used to. I really need to pick up some, maybe one of these. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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I’m glad some of these perked your sci-fi interest!
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Wow, I have read way too few of these! The Girl With All The Gifts and Extraction seem really interesting. Great picks! And thanks for reading my post too.
Suze
My Top Ten picks for this week
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It’s great to be surprised by the content of stories outside of genres we normally gravitate towards! Thanks for stopping by.
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Sorry for the creeping but I was searching up tags for Your Face in Mine by Jess Row and found this post. It makes me want to read the book more now, not just because the author is a professor at my school. Sci-fi when it’s done right is one of my favorite genres so I’ll put some of your top tens on my tbr list (if it’s not already on there).
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Creepy is always welcome!
I actually have not read it (yet?) and it does sound like it’d be one of those weird ones that I might end up enjoying for all the right/wrong reasons. But that sounds super cool that he teaches at your school! You should get a copy signed haha.
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I’m a bit skittish since the subject must be handled carefully so I’ll have to see. I’ll consider the autograph idea lol!
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