Social Science Fiction

[jain]

I'm looking for science fiction books that are based more in sociology and other social sciences than in the hard sciences. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin exemplifies what I'm seeking...as do many of her other books, but I was hoping to read some good books in this genre written by someone other than Le Guin. :-)

Comments

[adrian_turtle]

Rosemary Kirstein's series starting with The Steerswoman is superb. (The main thing that bothers me about the books is the long wait for the rest of the series.) The central problems have to do with library science and access to information, though there are other kinds of science in the background.

Have you read Cyteen, by C.J. Cherryh? It seems like it's about cloning and terraforming, but it's mostly not. It's much more about education, training, and how to build a particular kind of society. Cherryh also wrote a lot of hard sf, and some high fantasy, and this is quite different...though her writing is always pretty dense. (I think she edits by removing as much information as she can possibly get away with, including every scene that doesn't serve at least two purposes.) I don't recommend the sequel.

It's not a bit obvious from reading the back cover, but John Barnes' Orbital Resonance includes a lot of really fascinating sociology against a backdrop of life on a space station. It's better, and less creepy, than much of his other work, and I recommend it.

[jain]

What a wealth of suggestions; thanks so much. Library science! That's absolutely awesome and not at all what I would have expected when requesting social science fiction recs. I'll definitely check the series out. I've read some of Cherryh's fantasy, but not Cyteen, and thanks for letting me know about the sequel. And I'm unfamiliar with John Barnes, but I'm always happy to hear about less creepy works. :-)