Books That'll Blow Your Mind

Hi there, how bizarre, I get out of the gym, turn on the radio and I hear a lady say she loved "The Dispossessed". Many years ago I was pregnant and at the time a very well read Sci Fi girl. My husband and I loved the character "Shevek" so I named my first born "Shevek". He is 35 years old now. When he was about 5 years old he was playing at the playground with his friend Ike, he walked over to me and said "Mom, I want to change my name to Ike, I am tired of explaining it to everyone Mom. Next day he was over it, his Baseball coach's took to nick naming him Shevy and that stuck. He loves his name now and is a 6' 2" hunk but I'm his Mom so I am biased. Thanks for the walk down memory lane :)

I’ve enjoyed all of Robert Charles Wilson’s works, especially his justly recognized, award-winning “Spin”, but also his quieter works such as “The Harvest” and “Gypsies”. I’ve been looking forward to “Julian Comstock”, ever since I read the story upon which the novel was premised, in Gardner Dozois’ annual anthology of the best science fiction stories. As I recall after reading it, the story seems to be part of a trend in many recent works that forecast a distopian descent into religious fundamentalism in the coming century. As such, this unit reveals the concern on the part of many writers with current geopolitical conflicts and social processes, conflicts that are further catalyzed by environmental and economic collapse.

I would also recommend Ursula K. Le Guin’s “Changing Planes”, and the classic “Left Hand of Darkness”. I have also enjoyed works by Phillip K. Dick, and my favorites are “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”, “Ubik” and “Radio Free Albemuth”.

With regards to graphic novels, I am a big fan of the “Love and Rockets” series by the Hernandez brothers, a title I was fortunate enough to discover by word of mouth during the mid 80s, when I was an undergraduate at UCLA. To have read Gilbert Hernandez’s first Palomar stories was to enter once again into the world of Latin American folk culture, and to recall familiar characters and a creative spirit of enjoyment and play that belies the view that material impoverishment necessarily entails cultural impoverishment. Other favorites have been the “Preacher” series by Garth Ennis (much more daring and exciting than Dan Brown’s thrillers!), the “Sandman” opus by Neil Gaiman, “Fell” by Warren Ellis (which, alas, is only being published occasionally), “Ex Machina” by Brian Vaughn and “Fables” by Bill Willingham.

My list of classics includes: “The Time Machine”, “First Men in the Moon” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau” by H.G. Wells, “We” by Oleg Zamiatin, “Star Maker” by Olaf Stapledon, “Foundation” by Isaac Asimov, “Solaris” by Stanislaw Lem (who passed away recently), “Dune” by Frank Herbert, “Ringworld” by Larry Niven and many others, with authors ranging from Gregory Benford to Roger Zelazny.

I would like to congratulate Mr. Rabe for continuing to highlight such an eclectic mix of topics on his radio program. Where else can we go from the earthy and nostalgic (“El Pedorero” and the segment on Wilshire Boulevard in East Los Angeles) to the otherworldly and enervating, all in the scope of one hour? Thank you again, and please continue to highlight your wide mix of contributors. I will certainly look into the works that were recommended by Mr. Wolk, Mr. McMillan, Ms. Woerner and Ms. Newitz.