Reading Recommendations

Mature Content: Most of humanities less desirable characteristics are displayed although generally well lampshaded even by 1950's standards. Some of the 'violence' mentioned is fairly explicit, but tends to be only the mention of events occuring 'off-stage'.

Empire of the Atom — A. E. van Vogt 1957

Intended as a sort of combination/organizing of several previously published shorter stories, the book is set in a far future human empire where evolved atomic science has become fundamental to society. (often a common theme in future settings created shortly after the war).
Much of the plot revolves around the machinations of the imperial family and its associates.
The setting is also firmly in the 1930's pulps model with Earth having open colonies on both Mars and Venus (both also populated by natives).

An interesting aspect of the book to those with knowledge of Roman history is that many of the characters and plot points are recognizably pulled from the period from roughly Augustus through Claudius (with some significant 'curve-balls').

This is a 'fun read' with minimal social commentary (other than that produced from the historical parallels).
Definitely not 'hard' sci-fi [​e.g. Robert L. Forward] but also plotted and written far better than the 'rayguns & rocketships' tripe that was common at the time.

Minimal 'Mature' Content: While political and social commentary is not the point of the novel (and is both quite muted and well integrated into the plot) it does exist [​Surprise!]
There are enough unpleasant scenes, however, that this is not suitable for young children.


Watership Down — Richard Adams 1972

The novel follows the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised rabbits as they escape their home and quest for a new one.
Similarly to some other works, Watership Down got its start as stories told by the author to his two daughters. [​Which should give an idea of the level of 'content' contained.]

The story is mildly episodic with very loose similarities between various challenges the questing rabbits face and some of the stops in the [​i]Odyssey[​/i].

Very popular when it first came out and remains in print.

A pleasant light read that also contains enough 'deep' elements to make it suitable for a lit class paper…

Mature Content: Corruption, vice, violence, various other illustrations of human. Mainly controversial for its politics.

Animal Farm – George Orwell 1945

This is a political satire/commentary dealing with the evolution of the early Soviet state (at least putatively), but remains timely in many other contexts.
It was at one time a commonly used text in secondary schools.

The plot deals with the formation (and eventual subversion) of an egalatarian society by the animal inhabitants of a farm.
It's best known quote Is
"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS"
which was painted [​in all caps] on the side of the main barn.



N.B. Copyright status varies by country, but appears to be PD in at least AUS and other British Commonwealth countries
https://archive.org/details/AnimalFarmByGeorgeOrwell

Some Mature Content: Cussing and 'Adult Relations' are mentioned but well lampshaded as is much of the violence. Some drug use and other forms of human failings (corruption, treachery etc) occur… [​Given the projective sociology that forms much of the background and drive parts of the plot, some may take issue with certain possibilities explored.]

The Peace War — Vernor Vinge © 1984

Set in a dystopian future where a tyranical technocratic bureaucracy rules an Earth where most current countries have been balkinized, the plot follows the efforts of a group of rebels seeking to overthrough the world government and restore progress and personal freedoms.
Some thematic elements include AI, cybog/direct brain interface/techno-feudalism/force-field generators and considerable exploration of possible social evolution as related to both technological limits and government form.

Don't be put off by that rather cold description: this is a book it's very hard not to 'spoiler'. Vinge creates a very interesting and complex world in which his characters (also diverse [​old meaning] and interesting ) act.

NOTE: Written for 'children' but copyright 1943; nothing about which I'd be concerned, but YMMV…

Homer Price – Robert McCloskey ©1943

This is a collection of six shorts [​mostly] about the improbable adventures of a small town boy.
Probably the best known is "The Doughnuts" which was adapted into a short movie of the same title 28m – 1963

There is also a second collection: Centerburg Tales Robert McCloskey ©1951 [​sometimes know as Homer Price #2 or similar]
of four additional stories.

Mature Content: Corruption, vice, violence, minor sex, various other illustrations of human 'foiblies'.

Gullivers Travels by Jonathan Swift (~1726) was originally published as “Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World”: anonomously due to the contained social and political satire.

There are four 'voyages' described: Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the Houyhnhnms: each being an essentially seperate work of roughly novella length.

In each instance, Gulliver serves as the outsider whose observations of the habits of the natives are used by Swift to comment on various issues of his time.
Some measure of the lasting impact of the work may be seen in the terms lilliputian, brobdingnagian, and yahoo having become English words.

Being in the public domain, the work is available for free at www.gutenberg.org/files/829/829-h/829-h.htm

Mature Content: Corruption, vice, violence, minor sex (well lampshaded by modern standards) etc.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

A novel set is a future [​at the time, published in 1957] American dystopia, the book follows the struggles of a partcularly competent female protagonist [​unusual at the time of publication] against a crony infested collectivist government before finding an unexpected solution.

Most objections to the book have been [​and continue to be] based on disagreement with the economic and political philosophies of teh author.


For students, a free ebook version can be requested at https://aynrand.org/students/free-books/order-details/?book_request=Atlas%20Shrugged&cc=1

Mature Content: Corruption, vice, violence, etc.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The book follows the efforts of a US Air Force member to avoid combat and/or get out of the military.
Set in the 1944 Mediterranean theater this is an extremely funny (if often very darkly so) book.

It was also made into a very watchable movies (somewhat less dark, but still far from kid-friendly) in 1970.

[Note: The sexual references, violence, etc are (particularly in the movie version) not particularly noteworthy by contemporary standards, but the overall tone of the works still probably indicate that the reader/viewer should have acquired a level of maturity.]

Mature Content: Corruption, vice, violence, etc.

The Sprawl series by Willam Gibson

The series consists of three novels:
  Neuromancer    1984
  Count Zero     1986
  Mona Lisa Overdrive  1988

but also encompasses (to varying degrees) the stories in the collection:
  Burning Chrome (collection)    1986


The short story Burning Chrome (Omni 1982) is often considered seminal to the cyberpunk genre.
(Gibson appears to be the originator of the term 'cyberspace', among other things.)

For movie buffs, Johnny Mnemonic 1995 is based on the eponymous short story (which is included in the Burning Chrome collection) and may give some further indication of the sort of content involved.
[​I would not describe the movie as a close adaptaion of either short or series, but it is of the genre. ]