The Science Fiction Books Which Had the Biggest Influence on MeBy Raymond Lockley
In discussing how we came to be the way we are with my friend
one day, he mentioned that he had realized how significantly
he had been influenced by certain science fiction books which
he had read when he was younger--how concepts and outlooks
had shaped part of his perspective and philosophy. I remarked
that this seemed true for me also, and in comparing lists off
the top of our heads, we had several of the same books in our
libraries of influence. It seemed to me that it would be a
worthwhile exercise to flesh out my list a bit, both for the
reflective self-knowledge as well as an annoying conversation
starter.
The list below is not a list of my favorite books, or of the
best books in the sci-fi genre, but rather a list of the books
which seem to have had some significant impact on my thought.
It includes a few not always thought of as sci-fi, but which
are at least widely embraced by the sci-fi community. The
list also includes some from days less ancient than my
childhood, and I hope that this is a good thing, suggesting
that my view of the world has continued to evolve past
adolescence.
While some of these books have had a much more significant influence on me than some of the others on this list, it is nevertheless difficult to rank them, so I have copped out and listed them by publication date...
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