Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Science Fiction for Middle School Age?

DS11 likes science fiction and reads at graduate school level (ok, that's just a guess lol, but he can read basically any level book you give him). I'm trying to find new book ideas for him for Christmas but I've never been a fan of science fiction - any suggestions for books that are for adult-level readers but ok for an 11 year old to read? I think he's read most of the sci-fi type books you find on the teen shelf at the book store.

Thanks,

polarbear

I remember reading Isaac Asimov when I was ten, but I was also reading Stephen King, so perhaps that needs to be factored into the memory of what I read. And I'm sure what I thought was riveting science fiction then is probably rather humorous now...

Arthur C. Clark; Ray Bradbury; Isaac Asimov; Robert Heinlein's "juveniles", such as "Starship Troopers" and "Tunnel in the Sky" (much of his other stuff is loaded with adult situations and themes), H.G. Wells...

I read a lot of other incredibly well-written and thought-provoking science fiction at that age that I am dying to recommend, (such as Ursula le Guin's "The Dispossesed", "The Left Hand of Darkness" and "The Lathe of Heaven", for starters) but I'm pretty sure that my parents would not have considered them appropriate for an 11 year old if they had read them.

aculady, can you tell me why your parents wouldn't have approved of the Ursual le Guin etc - did they contain too much violence, or sex, or both? I'm fairly liberal on the violence in fiction with ds, he doesn't scare easily and takes it for what it is - fiction. Sex, not so sure he's ready to go there lol!

Thanks,

polarbear

Most of Ursula leGuin's books that were not specifically written with children in mind deal extensively with gender roles and identity, sexual mores, and their interaction with religious, social, and political institutions, among other themes (such as the nature of freedom, justice, knowledge, and wisdom...) There isn't necessarily any graphic sex in these particular books (there is in some of her other titles), but there are certainly situations in most of her adult-targeted books where characters have to deal with sex and sexuality. "The Left Hand of Darkness" is about first human contact with a humanoid race that is genderless and asexual most of the time, but in which individuals periodically go through a sexual phase which lasts about a week, and which unpredictably results in the individual being either male or female for that time. "The Lathe of Heaven" might give some nightmares if your child is the type who worries about nuclear annihilation. If you are a fast reader, I'd suggest previewing them yourself to get a feel for whether your child is up to dealing with the concepts and whether the books raise questions that you feel comfortable talking about with your child at this point.


If your child likes fantasy, as well as SF, leGuin's "Earthsea" books are some of the best stuff out there, and I don't recall any potentially objectionable content, unless you object to the idea of magic.

A few more ideas:

The Cyberiad, by Stanislaw Lem
Mortal Engines, by Stanislaw Lem
The Star Diaries, by Stanislaw Lem
A Perfect Vacuum, by Stanislaw Lem
Imaginary Magnitude, by Stanislaw Lem
Fiasco, by Stanislaw Lem
The Futurological Congress, by Stanislaw Lem
War With The Newts, by Karel Capek
The Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance (more fantasy than science fiction but monolithic in terms of importance and plain old reading fun)
The Demon Princes series, by Jack Vance (the "demons" are interstellar criminals, not demons, if that matters)
The Stainless Steel Rat series, by Harry Harrison
The Deathworld series, by Harry Harrison
Bill The Galactic Hero, by Harry Harrison (a picaresque sci-fi comedy adventure based on "The Good Soldier Svejk"; contains a passing reference to a house of prostitution but is otherwise unobjectionable)
The Chronicles of Amber series (much more fantasy than sci-fi), by Roger Zelazny
The Uplift series, by David Brin
G�del, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid (not exactly sci-fi but includes fiction and essays on science), by Douglas R. Hofstadter
The Mind's I (more thought-provoking essays that include sci-fi), edited by Hofstadter et al.

Did he read the Ender series already? They are written at probably a middle-school age level, but I still to this day enjoy them.

LOTR and The Silmarillion are classics.

I just finished a series by David Moody. The first book is called Hater. It's got an apocalyptic, zombie vibe.

I don't read a lot of Sci-Fi so that's all I got.

Oh, also, DH likes the Terry Pratchett series.

Don't get Heinlein's juveniles and his later adult work mixed up -- not only do the latter they have adult themes, they have *very weird* adult themes (reading _Sail Beyond the Sunset_ at 16 was quite the experience -- combining it with _Friday_ at 14 was probably not the best idea, although I was too young, too clueless, and too much of a social outcast in HS to really get into trouble). The juveniles are entirely appropriate for middle schoolers, and _Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_ introduced me to what remains my favorite genre.

Golden Age SF (30s-50s) should be safe on the sex front, have acceptable levels of violence, but while I gobbled those up in middle school these days I cannot take the sexism and the racism. Asimov might be the exception (I so loved Susan Calvin!).

I'd second all of lucounu's recommendations and add:

The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Agatha H. and the Airship City, by Phil and Kaja Foglio
(if he likes comics the comics version predates the novel, and is available online)

The Harper Hall trilogy (Dragonsong/Dragonsinger/Dragondrums), by Anne McCaffrey

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
(Card's other stuff should be taken carefully, Speakers for the Dead gets more mature, Xenocide is just plain weird, and I found Songmaster and the one Alvin book I read very disturbing in my late teens).

If you asked your son what his favorites/least favorites/weirdest reads have been it might be possible to tailor more recommendations (I skimmed some of the contents of my shelves with an eye to giving some to my son, and realized that what I thought of as "young" had some rather mature themes for a 7yo).

Oh, and does he like fantasy?

My son just suggested C.M. Kornbluth and Frederick Poul's "The Space Merchants".

WOW!!! Thanks so much everyone for all the great suggestions - they are sooo so very helpful, and very much appreciated!!!

polarbear