Sarah CB Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Ds went through a big dystopian phase, but now he's more interested in science fiction. He's read just about all the books in the Ender's Game collection. He really likes it when there is a lot of science in the book and he tends to prefer contemporary books rather than older books. I bought him Margaret Atwood's Madd Addam trilogy. It's more adult than I'd like, but it's very well written (Margaret Atwood is one of the most prominent Canadian lit writers) and there's some very interesting science and bio-ethical issues in the books. I am looking for another series or a couple more books that he might enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 A lot of science? You could try Losers in Space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Hmmm, my ds likes a lot of the older stuff. Larry Niven's Ringworld series & Flatlander/Long Arm of Gil Hamilton stand the test of time imo.Dune does too.For contemporary, Hal Spacejock is fun http://www.spacejock.com.au/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 If he likes science: Heinlein's juveniles David Weber's Honor Harrington series (there's some non-marital intercourse in there if that's a deal-breaker) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Heinlein's juveniles are all right, if a bit excessively white, male, and socially stuck in the era in which they were written. He tried.His adult fiction varies wildly from the still-fairly-good Moon is a Harsh Mistress to the divisive Stranger in a Strange Land (never DID understand that one myself) to the horrifyingly racist Sixth Column and Farnham's Freehold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Might try David Weber's SAfehold series as well. It's set in the future, on a backwards planet that is rapidly regaining technology. So maybe its more history of society formation? Has he read a Wrinkle in Time? Lois Bujold books, particularly the Vorsokigan but also Falling Free in the same universe Asimov's Robot and Empire books are detective stories with science fiction More recent: Author John Scalzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted December 8, 2014 Author Share Posted December 8, 2014 Thanks, everyone - this is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Come to think, if he enjoys grown-up science fiction, he can do worse than to read Player of Games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Mine likes Dune, Arthur C. Clarke, and John Scalzi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Another vote for Dune. Wrinkle in Time if somehow he missed it when he was younger. And I'll toss in Foundation since HBO is talking about turning it into a series. In general, there's a lot of Asimov that's good - all the various Robot stories are good for this age, I think. There's also those Kim Stanley Robinson Mars books - they were so sciencey that I didn't make it, but they begin with Red Mars and I still see them talked about sometimes among serious science themed science fiction types. If he didn't do Paolo Baciagalupi when he was on his dystopians, that might be an option still as well. Great, serious YA science fiction though usually with a dystopian element. Also, I just read Station Eleven, which was shortlisted for the National Book Award - dystopian - and it was really good - definitely a step above most of the YA takes on the subject and a kid who likes to read adult books like Atwood might enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 oh oh, a new one ds & I both enjoyed is Andy Weir's The Martian lots of sciency & engineering stuff. Kind of MacGyver in space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 There's also those Kim Stanley Robinson Mars books - they were so sciencey that I didn't make it, but they begin with Red Mars and I still see them talked about sometimes among serious science themed science fiction types. I thought about those, especially since they do have a utopia/dystopia component. But the Mars books cross my personal comfort level for sex content for a young teen. There's a fair amount of it, much of it less-than-vanilla. All consensual, though. I also don't know if a young teen would appreciate the all-over-the-map focus - science, politics, religion, interpersonal relationships, aging... The Martian by Andy Weir covers similar ground, science-wise, without being quite so adult or long-winded. I'd feel comfortable giving that one to my 11 year old. In fact, I might just do that. (I do love the Mars series and Kim Stanley Robinson in general, and I've been trying to think if there's anything of his that I would recommend.) I read and enjoyed Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge around that age, and it's sequel-ish-thing A Deepness In The Sky (edit: I just thought more about the plot, and I'm not sure I'd recommend the second one). They have a lot of (dated, but not to the point of being irrelevant) computer science. There is another direct sequel that has been published since - I haven't read it so can't comment on it. Cory Doctorow's YA books Little Brother and Homeland also have a lot of computer science, though they're more current/near future dystopia than SF. George's Secret Key to the Universe (and sequels) by Stephen Hawkings and his daughter Lucy are a little young, and not particularly well-written IMO, but does have a lot of fun astrophysics. I remember some of William Sleator's books as science-y (to a similar extent as Madeleine L'Engle), while others are more standard SF/Fantasy/Horror. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 He might try Day of the Triffids, and the Asimov Foundation trilogy. Ds enjoyed those when he was about that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is ds favorite. He has read most of Douglas Adam's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Alan Dean Foster has several books, including the Flinx series and other Humanx Universe books that might work. Haven't read them in years but I loved them at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Has he read China Miéville's books? His two for younger readers are Railsea and Un Lun Dun, both very good, according to my kids. (He writes sci-fi for adults, too, but I don't know anything about those ones.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald Stoker Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Thought of something else: there's a list on a blog that Moira once suggested (I miss her). Our computer for some reason won't let me put links at WTM (I can link other places--why not here? It drives me crazy!). The blog is called "Contrary Brin," and the post you'd want is called "Science Fiction for Young Adults." It's from November 9, 2011. Also, another Moira suggestion we enjoyed is Jay Hosler; his books are graphic novels about science, and they're quite neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I think at 14 you just give him a library card and let him read whatever he likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermama Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Cannot recommend Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga enough. "The Mountains of Mourning" is, bar none, my favorite short story of all time. Anything Asimov as well - they were my favorites at that age. Just finished Elizabeth Moon's Vatta Wars series, which I also liked - young woman gets kicked out of a military academy, becomes captain of one of her family's trading ships, and ends up in a war. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, maybe. There's sex but it's "off-screen", IIRC. Looking back, a lot of that is more space opera-y than hard SF. But I tend to think of Ender's Game as more space opera than hard SF, so perhaps he'd like them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 oh oh, a new one ds & I both enjoyed is Andy Weir's The Martian lots of sciency & engineering stuff. Kind of MacGyver in space. The Martian by Andy Weir covers similar ground, science-wise, without being quite so adult or long-winded. I'd feel comfortable giving that one to my 11 year old. In fact, I might just do that. I was also going to suggest The Martian. Be aware that there are occasional obscenities. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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