Great sci-fi classic novels?

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I have a few credits in my paperbackswap account and I wanted to use them wisely--as I always do. I'm familiar with Asimov, Bradbury, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Heinlein, Pynchon, and D. Adams. I'm interested in alternate realities/histories. Any year published is fine as long as it's not some crappy contemporary novel written by someone like Dean Koontz (no offense).
 
These all deal with alternate realities/histories. Beware as some of them can be challenging

The Man In the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
In 1962 the few surviving Jews live in fear and slavery is legal - all because America lost World War II

Lest Darkness Fall by L Sprague de Camp
Archaeologist Martin Padway is catapulted back in time to the declining days of the Roman Empire. With the benefit of fourteen centuries hindsight, he becomes a Quaestor and sets about trying to the fend off the Dark Ages.

Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
In winning the War for Southern Independence, the Confederacy went on to become a strong and prosperous nation. Alternatively, the vanquished North misses out on the Industrial Revolution and sinks into poverty and despair.

Pavane by Keith Roberts
The assassination of Queen Elizabeth I changes the course of history. The 20th-century is dominated by a technophobic Catholic Church and the Inquisition is still up to its old tricks.

The Difference Engine by Gibson & Sterling
The computer-age comes a century before its time

Also, the previously mentioned Guns of the South is good too
 
Robert Heinlein's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" is one of the best sci-fi novels ever. You might also be interested in Frank Herbert's Dune series as well.


For alternate histories, try Harry Turtledove's "Guns Of The South." The premise is somebody traveled back in time and supplied the Confederates with AK-47s. Very interesting series.

"Timeline" by Micheal Crichton. Scientists discover a way back to the Dark Ages.

Robert Asprin and Linda Evans has a fun series of books which starts with "Time Scout." Holes have opened in the faberic of time. People can go and visit history. Fortunately, the writers set some practical rules for this and it is an enjoyable read.
 
I too am a great fan of Robert Heinlein. If you like him, I am sure you would like Larry Niven, i.e.:

The famous "Ringworld" series
"The Mote in God's Eye" (co-written with Jerry Pournelle)
"Lucifer's Hammer" (co-written with Jerry Pournelle)
"Footfall" (co-written with Jerry Pournelle)
"The Legacy of Heorot" (co-written with Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes)

He has written many others, but these are a few of my favourites.

I would also highly recommend Julian May's books, especially the "Saga of the Exiles" trilogy plus a few others that came after that, i.e. "Diamond Mask", "Jack the Bodiless" etc. which continue the story.

And finally! Have you ever tried Sheri S Tepper? Her book "Grass" is simply amazing. Takes a while to get into, I found, but it's worth it. A sci-fi story that will make your blood curdle.

Here is an article about it: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/grass.htm
 
Interestingly enough, it seems a great many of the s-f classics came not in novel form, but in short stories. Heinlein's short stories were much stronger and more memorable than his novels. Bradbury wrote virtually nothing but short stories, although he would at times bundle them together in a novel-like collection. Sturgeon's greatness seems to have lain in his shorter work. Hmm...so....to try answering your question, I'd suggest looking for anthologies from the 1950s and 1960s. Groff Conklin was a great anthologizer of the Silver Age. If you see any anthos by him, I belive you will like them. Meantime, you can catch some shorter works of the great ones at Bookstars.info -- and many are free. Happy reading!
 
There are over 200 science fiction book lists goodreads.com. Here are links to a few you may like in particular. The lists run for 12 pages.

163 books on the Golden Age New Wave Science Fiction list
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2351.Golden_Age_New_Wave_SF_

142 books on the Science Fiction Masterworks list
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6228.SF_Masterworks

33 books on the Best Classical Science Fiction Works list
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3923.The_Best_Classical_Science_Fiction_Works

Goodreads.com is a free website with thousands of books lists. You see the cover of the book and get a link to the book description. The lists are created by contributors who rate and review the books so you get a lot of input sometimes by hundreds of people.

At this site, for instance, you can pick science fiction and then get more specific lists like books that deal with time travel or aliens or robots. The main address is

http://www.goodreads.com/

paste the link I gave you above into your browser
click the explore tab (you don't have to log in to use the site)
scroll down a bit to the genre tags and select what appeals to you
This site includes lists for children, young adults, adults, sci fi fiends, romance junkies, etc.

When you have time, just noodle around the website. There are three different types of search boxes and they don't all show up on a page depending where you are. Book mark lists you like so you can find them later.
 
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