The Illustrated Man
The Illustrated Man is a 1951 collection of eighteen science fiction short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury. A recurring theme throughout the eighteen stories is the conflict of the cold mechanics of technology and the psychology of people. It was nominated for the International Fantasy Award in 1952.
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What Hacker News says
- Try "The Illustrated Man" by Ray Bradbury, but skip the terrible frame story. The actual short stories are beautiful literature and canonical sci-fi.
- Short stories are, IMO, where he really shines. The Illustrated Man is a good collection to start with, as is The Golden Apples of the Sun. But read them slowly, and (this may be a controversial statement) in a physical paper book.
- its OK they have already been here millions of years ago.
Chariots of the gods - unsolved mysteries of the past - Erich von Daniken (1968-1999, Berkley Trade)
The main thesis of Chariots of the Gods is that extraterrestrial beings influenced ancient technology.
Von Däniken suggests that some ancient structures and artifacts appear to reflect more sophisticated technological knowledge than is known or presumed to have existed at the times they were manufactured. Von Däniken maintains that these artifacts were produced either by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from extraterrestrials.
Such artifacts include the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Moai of Easter Island. Further examples include an early world map known as the Piri Reis map, which von Däniken describes as showing Earth as it is seen from space, and the Nazca Lines in Peru, which he suggests may have been constructed by humans as crude replicas of previous alien structures, as a way to call the aliens back to Earth. He uses this same explanation to argue that cart ruts in Malta may have had extraterrestrial purposes along with similar lines in Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the Aral Sea
read with:
Carlos Castaneda - The Teachings of Don Juan - A Yaqui Way of Knowledge - Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition (1998)
Ray Bradbury - The illustrated man (1967, Bantam Books)
- Some other recommendations depending on what you liked about The Egg/Project Hail Mary/The Martian:
If you liked explorative / conceptual Sci Fi, more for the thought exercise than anything else:
- Exhalation by Ted Chiang. A collection of scifi short stories that are quite thought provoking. Some sprinklings of religion in some of them.
- The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. A classic, also a short story collection. Golden age scifi.
- Project Hieroglyph. A collection of authors that partnered with Phd students to write short stories based on their research papers. Great concept with great stories.
If you liked Andy Weir's focus on engineering/building:
- Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor. A man uploads himself into a Von Neummann probe and replicates himself to play Factorio among the stars.
- Destiny's Crucible by Olan Thorensen. MC gets sent to an alternate earth in a technological past, and attempts to re-introduce modern technology and build industry.
- I think all the short stories in Ray Bradbury's collection "The Illustrated Man" have twists. Strong recommend, if you've never read it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illustrated_Man
The Sentinel, by Arthur C. Clarke, certainly has a twist. But it doesn't come as a surprise nowadays, because everyone's seen 2001.
Hmmm. Many of Kurt Vonnegut's stories have astonishing twists, but I can't think of any that are short (although I guess most of the early ones were initially magazine serials).
- I’ll take your point about era. A friend said the same about On The Road, that it belonged to a generation. I don’t think Stranger holds up, probably for the same reason.
I’m not much of a science fiction fan but I remember Dune and Bradbury’s Illustrated Man fondly. I can’t say that about Asimov or Heinlein or Fahrenheit 451. (Well the first chapter is pretty good.)
But Rachel Carson was great writer; she should be studied and remembered for her craft as a writer and for her ideas.
