SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT request for science fiction book recs.
July 21, 2024 11:38 AM Subscribe
I love science fiction stories in which it turns out that everything we know is wrong. A big discovery, a big secret, or a big truth is revealed...
"This mysterious object has been buried in the glacier since before the last ice age--but it's emitting a signal which seems to include the entire recorded works of the Bee Gees!" Okay, it needn't be silly or about the Bee Gees (though I am open to that). But that's the general idea. I love sharing that jaw-dropping moment with folks who are finding out that there's aliens, or there's an artifact, or the earth is hollow and full of Mole Men, or whatever. One of the best examples of this, I think, is At The Mountains Of Madness--and I hasten to say, I'm not a horror buff necessarily, though I'm open to it. The Heechee books are kind of in the ballpark.
In terms of more recently-written stuff, I've read and enjoyed Alistair Reynolds, Iain Banks, Charles Stross (hey, man!), and Tim Powers. I read and loved the Library At Mount Char, and some of that Tamsyn Muir stuff, and... a bunch of other stuff I should probably mention that has slipped my mind.
Anyway, gimme what you got. What else is there to do but talk about science fiction books, since there's so little going on in the world. (LARGE SWEAT DROP APPEARS ALONGSIDE HEAD)
"This mysterious object has been buried in the glacier since before the last ice age--but it's emitting a signal which seems to include the entire recorded works of the Bee Gees!" Okay, it needn't be silly or about the Bee Gees (though I am open to that). But that's the general idea. I love sharing that jaw-dropping moment with folks who are finding out that there's aliens, or there's an artifact, or the earth is hollow and full of Mole Men, or whatever. One of the best examples of this, I think, is At The Mountains Of Madness--and I hasten to say, I'm not a horror buff necessarily, though I'm open to it. The Heechee books are kind of in the ballpark.
In terms of more recently-written stuff, I've read and enjoyed Alistair Reynolds, Iain Banks, Charles Stross (hey, man!), and Tim Powers. I read and loved the Library At Mount Char, and some of that Tamsyn Muir stuff, and... a bunch of other stuff I should probably mention that has slipped my mind.
Anyway, gimme what you got. What else is there to do but talk about science fiction books, since there's so little going on in the world. (LARGE SWEAT DROP APPEARS ALONGSIDE HEAD)
Ted Kosmatka's "The Prophet of Flores" does this, starting from a Young Earth Creationist world.
posted by sagc at 11:56 AM on July 21
posted by sagc at 11:56 AM on July 21
James Rollins's Subterranean is extremely stupid but highly consumable and entertaining book about just such a discovery under Antarctica. I have read it 3 times.
posted by phunniemee at 12:05 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 12:05 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
How about people having the rug of, well, everything they know about their history and their place in the universe pulled out from under them? Arkhangelsk by Elizabeth H. Bonesteel does quite a nice job of that, I think.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:07 PM on July 21 [3 favorites]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 12:07 PM on July 21 [3 favorites]
Listing this here is almost a spoiler, but: Toolmaker Koan.
(And now I know which book I want to contribute to the 'obscure books' thread.)
posted by demi-octopus at 12:10 PM on July 21
(And now I know which book I want to contribute to the 'obscure books' thread.)
posted by demi-octopus at 12:10 PM on July 21
I mean it may be super obvious but as it's not on your list... Remembrance of Earth's Past ?
posted by tardigrade at 12:11 PM on July 21
posted by tardigrade at 12:11 PM on July 21
Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo, though a collection of short stories, all have a united theme. But that last story …
posted by scruss at 12:33 PM on July 21
posted by scruss at 12:33 PM on July 21
This may not suit the brief - it's sort of fantasy, sort of alternate history, and just slightly science fiction - but Ash: A Secret History has my favorite rug-pull in speculative fiction.
(Note: it was badly published in the US when it first came out, an extremely long novel split up into four parts. It's available now as a single ebook, and that's the way I'd read it.)
posted by Jeanne at 12:36 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
(Note: it was badly published in the US when it first came out, an extremely long novel split up into four parts. It's available now as a single ebook, and that's the way I'd read it.)
posted by Jeanne at 12:36 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
You might enjoy Rabbits, by Terry Miles.
posted by terridrawsstuff at 12:37 PM on July 21
posted by terridrawsstuff at 12:37 PM on July 21
The Family Tree by Sherri Tepper might fit the bill. also a general rec of her stuff, I liked everything I read.
posted by supermedusa at 12:51 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
posted by supermedusa at 12:51 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
A short-short, but FTA by George R.R. Martin, in this collection, p. 18.
posted by indexy at 12:56 PM on July 21
posted by indexy at 12:56 PM on July 21
I've read and enjoyed Alistair Reynolds
Eversion, if you haven't already read it
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 12:57 PM on July 21
Eversion, if you haven't already read it
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 12:57 PM on July 21
I love Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman, a true underappreciated gem.
posted by Illusory contour at 1:29 PM on July 21
posted by Illusory contour at 1:29 PM on July 21
Both Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell and the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein initially appear to be set in fantasy worlds, but are revealed to be science fiction. (Crystal Rain is the first book of a series; the following books are set elsewhere in space and more straightforwardly science-fictional).
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper is what I immediately thought of. It's not a genre surprise like the others, but facts about a specific world and its society are revealed to the POV character in a way that I found really memorable.
Perhaps Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks -- definitely science fiction, but the revelation is something personal and individual.
I'm sure I'm going to think of ten more things as soon as I hit post. This is a really fun question!
posted by confluency at 1:29 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper is what I immediately thought of. It's not a genre surprise like the others, but facts about a specific world and its society are revealed to the POV character in a way that I found really memorable.
Perhaps Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks -- definitely science fiction, but the revelation is something personal and individual.
I'm sure I'm going to think of ten more things as soon as I hit post. This is a really fun question!
posted by confluency at 1:29 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
(And now I see that you already mentioned Banks!)
posted by confluency at 1:30 PM on July 21
posted by confluency at 1:30 PM on July 21
I don't want to give away too much, but the Steerswoman series (a Metafilter fave) will give you this experience despite the fantasy setup.
posted by babelfish at 1:31 PM on July 21 [5 favorites]
posted by babelfish at 1:31 PM on July 21 [5 favorites]
The Gate to Women's Country, by Sheri S. Tepper (CW: literal erasure of LGBTQ+ people). Asimov's foundation series, though I no longer remember which book it is when this becomes apparent.
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
And these might be almost too obvious to mention, but Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green.
posted by OrangeDisk at 1:32 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
And these might be almost too obvious to mention, but Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green.
posted by OrangeDisk at 1:32 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
Ooh, the Helliconia trilogy by Brian Aldiss. I love this series. The conceit is that the planet Helliconia orbits a sun which orbits a larger star, so overlaid over its normal seasons is a Great Year, a cycle of temperature changes so extreme that it causes the periodic rise and fall of civilisations. The POV characters in the books make multiple (re)discoveries about their world.
posted by confluency at 1:33 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
posted by confluency at 1:33 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
Iron Widow has this twist at the end. Can't wait for the sequel due soon
posted by advicepig at 2:03 PM on July 21
posted by advicepig at 2:03 PM on July 21
John Scalsi’s Old Man’s War series centers on this, although you need to get a few books into it for the reveal. Like all his writing, the books are fun and fast-moving.
“Everything you know is wrong” could be Philip K Dick’s motto. It applies to a lot of his work, but I’ll mention the novel Ubik and the short story Imposter. There’s lots more.
posted by adamrice at 2:03 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
“Everything you know is wrong” could be Philip K Dick’s motto. It applies to a lot of his work, but I’ll mention the novel Ubik and the short story Imposter. There’s lots more.
posted by adamrice at 2:03 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
The Beep, a 1954 short story by James Blish, which I mention because of its remarkable resemblance to your throwaway fantasy scenario: This mysterious object has been buried in the glacier since before the last ice age--but it's emitting a signal which seems to include the entire recorded works of the Bee Gees!" .
I remember Blish using the word 'ansible', but everyone says LeGuin made that up in 1966. Maybe a later Blish collection featured that story with 'ansible' edited in.
The Unpleasant Profession of Johnathan Hoag, written by Heinlein and published in 1942 under a pseudonym in Unknown Worlds has a reveal encompassed by a greater reveal which might interest you.
But rereading it just now at Internet Archive has left me wondering for the first time whether Heinlein was really OK or not.
posted by jamjam at 2:06 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
I remember Blish using the word 'ansible', but everyone says LeGuin made that up in 1966. Maybe a later Blish collection featured that story with 'ansible' edited in.
The Unpleasant Profession of Johnathan Hoag, written by Heinlein and published in 1942 under a pseudonym in Unknown Worlds has a reveal encompassed by a greater reveal which might interest you.
But rereading it just now at Internet Archive has left me wondering for the first time whether Heinlein was really OK or not.
posted by jamjam at 2:06 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
adamrice reminds me of P K Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldricht, which is the quintessence of‘everything you know is wrong' — and there’s no real question that Dick was NOT OK.
posted by jamjam at 2:13 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
posted by jamjam at 2:13 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod (who is a must if you're already an Iain Banks fan).
posted by heatherlogan at 2:14 PM on July 21
posted by heatherlogan at 2:14 PM on July 21
Also Incandescence by Greg Egan! (Since I knew I'd think of another one as soon as I hit post...)
posted by heatherlogan at 2:16 PM on July 21
posted by heatherlogan at 2:16 PM on July 21
The heavyweight champion of this genre is Time Out of Joint, by Philip K. Dick.
posted by PaulVario at 2:17 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
posted by PaulVario at 2:17 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
don't let anyone spoil the twist for you!
posted by evilmonk at 2:42 PM on July 21 [4 favorites]
don't let anyone spoil the twist for you!
posted by evilmonk at 2:42 PM on July 21 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Good Lord, what a stack! I will investigate each and every one. Thank you all, and by all means, please keep 'em coming.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 3:21 PM on July 21
posted by Sing Or Swim at 3:21 PM on July 21
First thing I thought of was The Penultimate Truth by P.K. Dick... and this applies to a lot of work.
posted by ovvl at 3:56 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 3:56 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]
It is often recommended for other reasons but The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin has worldbuilding that does this, several times throughout the book. You just, think you know how this world works, and two chapters later you know better.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin has something like this as a central plot mechanic. In fact, one such revelation occurs mid-page, mid-action, in such a way that I have never seen another genre book perform.
posted by panhopticon at 4:48 PM on July 21 [4 favorites]
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin has something like this as a central plot mechanic. In fact, one such revelation occurs mid-page, mid-action, in such a way that I have never seen another genre book perform.
posted by panhopticon at 4:48 PM on July 21 [4 favorites]
Nick Harkaway is a fantastic writer and his debut novel The Gone Away World does exactly this, I didn’t see it coming.
posted by ashbury at 6:53 PM on July 21
posted by ashbury at 6:53 PM on July 21
There is an entire subgenre of books where the spacefarer awakens alone with a crisis to avert, often with memory issues, and discovers either that everything they were TOLD was wrong (Moon, for example), what they weren't told was crucial (Time to Orbit Unknown), that what they remember about themselves is wrong (Project Hail Mary), and so forth.
There's a couple other books of this style whose name is RIGHT ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE, I'll throw them in if I remember soon enough.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 6:57 PM on July 21
There's a couple other books of this style whose name is RIGHT ON THE TIP OF MY TONGUE, I'll throw them in if I remember soon enough.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 6:57 PM on July 21
The Steerswoman series for sure! There is more than one of these moments!
posted by exceptinsects at 8:17 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
posted by exceptinsects at 8:17 PM on July 21 [2 favorites]
Popping back in to mention I misspelled John Scalzi's name in my earlier post.
posted by adamrice at 9:58 AM on July 22
posted by adamrice at 9:58 AM on July 22
... and also miss-spelled 'metafilter's own' but neverthemind.
I figure ...All You Zombies (PDF, Robert Heinlein) and Story of Your Life (Ted Chiang) are short and ... you can check to see if they apply.
posted by k3ninho at 11:40 AM on July 22
I figure ...All You Zombies (PDF, Robert Heinlein) and Story of Your Life (Ted Chiang) are short and ... you can check to see if they apply.
posted by k3ninho at 11:40 AM on July 22
Activation Degradation! That's another good "you are being lied to" book.
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 5:42 PM on July 22
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 5:42 PM on July 22
→
That would definitely cover Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.
posted by scruss at 6:30 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]
everything they were TOLD was wrong
That would definitely cover Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh.
posted by scruss at 6:30 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]
I'm so glad you asked this question! I actually thought about posting a similar question after watching Silo on Apple TV and then reading the first book of the trilogy. (So, seconding SweetLiesOfBokonon's rec.)
It's a kids book, but The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau will scratch this itch for sure, and it's really well done. (I'm not as fond of the rest of the series, but the first book is GREAT.)
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 2:02 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]
It's a kids book, but The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau will scratch this itch for sure, and it's really well done. (I'm not as fond of the rest of the series, but the first book is GREAT.)
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 2:02 PM on July 23 [1 favorite]
@ManyLeggedCreature: I just dug into Arkhangelsk and I'm enjoying it thoroughly so far. And in my old age I've become very hard to please re: fiction. Thanks for the great rec!
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 3:57 AM on July 24 [1 favorite]
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 3:57 AM on July 24 [1 favorite]
Pretty much everything by Gene Wolfe. His most famous work is The Book of the New Sun trilogy, although I usually recommend that people start with The Sorcerer's House, or Peace.
posted by justalisteningman at 11:41 AM on July 27 [1 favorite]
posted by justalisteningman at 11:41 AM on July 27 [1 favorite]
Pretty much everything by Gene Wolfe.
Gene Wolfe is an odd one, because he won't always lead you through the puzzle - he was a heavy user of unreliable narrators (the big Wolfe cliché) and mythological and religious references. In his later works, his characters are often Socrates-like figures, solving the riddle of the story by asking clever questions, but at the same time casting their own shadow on the narrative.
Wolfe's short stories are worth exploring, and there are several anthologies. Lots in among those that would fit your criteria.
posted by pipeski at 3:56 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
Gene Wolfe is an odd one, because he won't always lead you through the puzzle - he was a heavy user of unreliable narrators (the big Wolfe cliché) and mythological and religious references. In his later works, his characters are often Socrates-like figures, solving the riddle of the story by asking clever questions, but at the same time casting their own shadow on the narrative.
Wolfe's short stories are worth exploring, and there are several anthologies. Lots in among those that would fit your criteria.
posted by pipeski at 3:56 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
nthing Some Desperate Glory!
posted by lalochezia at 4:31 PM on August 10
posted by lalochezia at 4:31 PM on August 10
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posted by Pedantzilla at 11:41 AM on July 21