Classic Science Fiction: The New Wave

      

In my last posting, I discussed the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a period in the 30s and 40s when writers such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein created many of the classics of modern science fiction.  But by the 1960s and 70s, during the time of the Beatles and youth rebellion, a lot of writers and readers wanted a different type of science fiction, a style of writing that reflected the turbulence of politics and society at the time.  The New Wave writers, such as Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, J.G. Ballard, and Thomas Disch, produced science fiction that included large amounts of literary experimentation, a focus on soft rather than hard science, and a willingness to break taboos.  New Wave writers also displayed a greater concern with writing style and characterization.

Here are some New Wave books every science fiction fan should read:

New Worlds: an Anthology by Michael Moorcock
A collection of stories from New Worlds Magazine, the British Magazine that started the New Wave.

The Best of Michael Moorcock by Michael Moorcock
A retrospective by one of the most important writers and editors of the New Wave.

Deathbird Stories: a Pantheon of Modern Gods by Harlan Ellison
A collection by a controversial writer that demonstrates the New Wave propensity for taboo breaking.

The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard by J.G. Ballard
Mind blowing stories by the single most influential writer of the New Wave.

Four Novels of the 1960s by Philip K. Dick
Four ground breaking novels Dick wrote during the New Wave period, including Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, which the movie Bladerunner was based on.

- Robert B.