Gully Foyle

Mike Weilgart has been working with computers since learning to program when he was eight years old, and has been a science-fiction fan even longer than that.  He currently lives in California with his wife and son.

As a father who loves sci-fi, I’d like to share some of my favorites to help you find the perfect unexpected gift for your dad.

The Warrior’s Apprentice
by Lois McMaster Bujold

The most famous book in the Vorkosigan Saga, and the best entry point to the series as well as a complete standalone story in its own right, The Warrior’s Apprentice is a delightful tale of interplanetary conflict, humor, getting in over your head, and accidentally changing the course of history in the process. Bujold has mastered the art of deep, extremely intelligent worldbuilding without ever slowing down the story. Her lightweight prose is a pleasure and provides many laugh out loud moments. There is an expression I have heard occasionally which is beautifully depicted in this book: the idea of someone with such power of personality that it amounts to a “personal reality distortion field.”

Battlefield Earth
by L. Ron Hubbard

Long as it is, I’ve reread this book more than any other on this list. Hubbard set out to write a story of pure science fiction, and I say he succeeded. The premise of the book is simple and yet understated: in a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 3000, centuries after a disastrous alien invasion nearly wiped out Earth’s population so as to set up mining operations, one man seeks to fight back. For me the book is a singular standout because of the scope of the vision it displays. A lesser writer might have staged a few battles against the aliens, called it a victory, and ended the story while ignoring the backlash that would inevitably follow in the real world. Nothing is waved aside in this book, and it is that very rare story which fulfills thoroughly without any need for the question, “Yes, but what happened after that?”

Citizen of the Galaxy
by Robert Heinlein

A young slave purchased by an old beggar finds as he grows that the world is not as he believed and his owner is not who he seems. For my taste this is one of Heinlein’s very best works, maybe his best. As is typical for any Heinlein book, there is plenty of intelligent cultural insight and commentary, wrapped in an interesting and engaging story with a decent amount of action. This particular book hits a sweet spot: the story is more complex than most of his so-called “juvenile” books, but unmarred with the adult themes he found it necessary to pepper into a lot of his later writing.

Dune
by Frank Herbert

The noble Atreides family departs their earth-like homeworld to take command of Arrakis, the dune planet, where water is the second most precious substance there is. The quintessential example of complex and intricate worldbuilding, Dune doesn’t feel like fiction; it genuinely feels like a peek into a different universe from our own, with plenty of details protruding just enough into view as to give hints of much, much more existing slightly out of sight. The skilled interweaving of differing factions with competing and combining motivations makes for one of the most multifaceted stories of all time.

Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny

It would be possible to read this entire book and not quite realize that it is a work of science fiction, not fantasy. Set on a far-future planetary colony where the technocratic rulers have used superior technology to assume the identities of the Hindu pantheon of deities, the ordinary people live technologically primitive lives believing in the literal gods who rule over them. Zelazny does a brilliant job maintaining the dual reality of technology and mythology consistently through the story, and the book’s Hugo award for best science fiction novel of the year was well deserved.

Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card

In case you have somehow managed not to have this famous story spoiled for you, I certainly won’t be the one to do so. Battle School, the space station where genius children from all countries learn zero-G combat tactics in preparation for military command positions, is as unforgettable as its students who come to life in this vivid classic. Card has a healthy respect for the capabilities of kids, who can be far more intelligent and capable, and also more brutal and malicious, than is generally recognized. He does a brilliant job of putting you inside the mind of the precocious main character so you can live along with him through the structures created by the adults running his life. Ender isn’t so much “relatable” as he is “resonant,” a much deeper achievement of writing.

Bonus Recommendations – Short Stories

If you enjoy short stories, I have a couple of all-time favorites: “Educational Tapes,” published in Writers of the Future Volume 36, is top of my list for dystopian sci-fi stories and is a great mind bender; and “Butter Side Down” from Volume 40 is a brilliantly entertaining sci-fi comedy with heart. If you are unfamiliar with Writers of the Future, it is an international contest for debut authors, and I always look forward to reading the award-winning stories published in the yearly anthology.

Conclusion

I’d love to hear about your favorite sci-fi stories.  I included some beloved classics as well as some less-known gems. If you do give one of these books to your dad (or pick one up for yourself), let me know how it was received!