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Sci-Fi Books For Pre-Teens?
o2binbuzios writes "I have two pre-teen boys who are avid readers, and I am going through my mental catalog for great sci-fi & fantasy books for them. What are some of the classics (and maybe new additions to the classics) that would be great for them to read? I am asking because some of the 'straight-up' classics I remember actually seem kind of dark & cynical for younger readers. Starship Troopers and some of the other Heinlein are definitely darker and more political than I remember... Foundation Trilogy and psycho-history maybe too dry. Road-trip reading season is upon us — what are the good reads for the kids in the back seat?"
Ender's Game ...
Cripes, what's with people's fascination with this book? It's a great little short story badly padded out to book length. Well, more accurately, it's a mediocre short story about the belief-beggaring "tragedy" of turning babies into warriors with a great short story about the training and trials of a natural leader buried underneath it. Seriously, 7 to 11 year old children are not physically or mentally capable of the things Card has them doing, no matter what training regimen you put them through. It ruins a perfectly interesting military science fiction story in order to fulfill a stupid and unnecessary melodramatic point. Add 10 years on to all the kids' ages and the eyerolling quotient would have been reduced dramatically.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
I enjoyed 2001 when I was a kid. I also liked Nemesis by Isaac Asimov when I was a pre-teen (although some people hate that book). Project Pendulum by Robert Silverberg is a decent read for young sci-fi fans. Of course Piers Anthony is also fun for pre-teens for the Fantasy genre (I used to really be into the Xanth novels). Although I think Terry Pratchett is somewhat better but some American kids might not get the humor at first and be put off by it. For a pre-teen The Hobbit is always a great suggestion, a much faster and lighter read than Lord of the Rings.
When I was 12-13 I read the first six books of Mission Earth. I would not recommend that, it's pretty psychologically and morally warped. (I would say F'd up actually)
Heinlein's stuff would be good too, Stranger in a strange land perhaps. and certainly Starship Troopers (pre-teen is not too young to be exposed to controversial political topics, imo). You'd be surprised how interesting kids can be once they start having opinions on these "adult" topics. Kids, in my experience, generally don't pick a position on socio-political issues and stick with it forever (unlike adults). So the earlier they can start asking questions and examining the choices society has made, the better. Probably best for pre-teens that have a tendency to approach issues curiously and rationally as if it were a puzzle with a solution they can figure out, rather than kids who tend to think of things in emotional terms or wants immediate answer for rote learning. although looking at these problems of the world with a bit of empathy can yield pretty useful results as well.
But most of all, I would highly recommend exposing a kid to some of Philip K. Dick's books. Galactic Pot-Healer is a nice one I think, it's weird but not over a typical pre-teen reader's head. Reading Philip K. Dick can let a kid experience a wild drug trip without all the nasty side-effects :)
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Foundation is pretty brutal to get through. I think 2001 would be far better as long as you don't bother reading the inferior sequels.
I think Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Card, etc can be good for those kids (late pre-teens) who can manage to read junk like Harry Potter without having to run around acting it out. But I am aware of few pre-teens that can manage such restraint.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
There's some pretty dirty stuff in these books. Re-reading some books that I read as a teen and pre-teen I have come across a few "WTF" moments. A lot of the pervy stuff I totally didn't remember.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
I think I've found the answer to my own question within the reviews on Amazon.com:
"The reason for the book's popularity is clear: it panders to a very common personality flaw among young, intellectual males: a belief in one's own intellectual superiority, the notion that one is rejected simply because one is so much "smarter" than others of the same age."
Man, if that doesn't perfectly nail the average Slashdot nerd, what does?
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
The reason for your vehement criticism is also clear: it displays a very common personality flaw among intellectual males, a belief in one's own intellectual superiority...
Actually, the reason for my criticism is that I didn't particularly like the book. The fact that I believe in my own superiority is not relevant.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.