The best science fiction books from the backlist

This book introduces Miles Vorkosigan, a young man from the planet Barayar, who is afflicted with brittle bones but refuses to let that slow him down—often to his own detriment. Denied the family tradition of military service because he cannot pass the physical, Miles goes on to assemble his own mercenary band, complete with spaceships. The author’s masterful use of language and her outlandish sense of humor had me laughing, quoting lines to my husband, and saying, “Dang, I wish I’d written that!” Miles goes on to further adventures—and misadventures--but this first book is a hook that will reel you in and enchant you.

My two favorite genres, speculative fiction and historical fiction, are combined in this time travel story. A mathematical miscalculation traps a time-traveler in 17th-century rural England as the Black Plague sweeps in. Fully vaccinated, she watches in horror as the disease claims rich and poor, young and old—unaware that in her own time, another pandemic is raging, threatening her ability to return. Connie Willis is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, and this book demonstrates why she is considered a master of her craft.

Robert Heinlein is responsible for my early addiction to science fiction. Of the many books this pillar of the genre wrote, this one is my favorite. A sentient AI is not a new concept, but whoever thought of “bombing” Earth with rocks launched from the moon? In its war for independence, a moon colony resorts to this tactic. And yes, I believe many of us are ignorant enough that we would show up to watch the missiles hit, unaware of the devastation they would cause. Written with warmth and wit, this novel also contains one of my favorite pieces of wisdom regarding committees: more than three people can’t make a decision.

Turtledove is best known for his alternate histories, in which one fateful act changes and all of history is different from that point. But this book, which predates those works, is straight-up science fiction: what would happen if time travelers went back to the Civil War era and gave assault rifles to the South? The ramifications are huge, but what sucks you into this book is the characters, both fictional and historical, whose story enthralls as they deal with a gruesome conflict made bizarre by this technological wrinkle.

I am frequently unimpressed by the way male authors write female protagonists, but David Weber is an exception. His Honor Harrington character feels completely authentic to me in this first book of a military space opera series. Having run afoul of a superior officer, Honor is relegated to a backwater outpost with an aging gunship and a cantankerous crew. That would be bad enough if the place was quiet, but this star system is rife with smugglers and merchant cartels, and interstellar politics threaten to trap her between the ruling body and an adversarial power.