At the end of last summer’s Modern Fantasy course, I bemoaned the 22 additional books that I would have to add to my Goodreads to-read list (of which I have since read a mere handful). It felt wrong not to do the same for this two-semester survey in science fiction.
Because of the number of works we read over the last two semesters, I had to make a few editorial decisions in compiling this list that weren’t as much of an issue in Mod. Fan. The biggest decision I made was to list only list books that are (at least somewhat) clearly linked to the book we read in class through character and/or setting, and which were written by the originating author. Where possible, I’ve noted significant continuations, such as the continuation of the Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Thus, I present below a list of sequels that, if you enjoyed the stories we read for class, you may want to consider adding to your future reading list, whether it’s online, on paper or only in your head. As a summary, if you read everything on this list (not including what we’ve already read for class, listed in red), you will be reading at least:
- 68 novels/novellas/novelettes
- 10 short stories
- And many continuations, collections, reflections, pastiches, mashups, etc., by other authors
The list is presented in chronological order by when the first item in each series was written. Thus, it is not necessarily in the order we read stories for class.
Nemo – Jules Verne
- 20,000 Leagues under the Seas (1870)
- The Mysterious Island (1874)
Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
- A Study in Scarlet (1886)
- The Sign of the Four (1890)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories published 1891-2)
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories published 1892-3)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (serialized 1901-2)
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories published 1903-4)
- The Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories published 1908-13, 1917)
- The Valley of Fear (serialized 1914-5)
- The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (collection of stories published 1921-7)
Cthulu Mythos – H. P. Lovecraft
- “The Call of Cthulu”
- (Yeah, right…not even gonna try to list sequels to this: see Wikipedia’s page on the Cthulu Mythos … and follow the links as you dare….)
Space Odyssey series – Arthur C. Clarke
- “The Sentinel” (1951)
- 2001: A Space Oddyssey (1968)
- 2010: Odyssey Two (1982)
- 2061: Odyssey Three (1987)
- 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997)
- The Lost Worlds of 2001 (1972; nonfiction)
Future History/World as Myth – Robert A. Heinlein
Note: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is loosely linked, through the character of Hazel Meade/Stone, to Heinlein’s larger Future History and World as Myth stories. As the common thread, I’m only listing those books in which Hazel appears.
- The Rolling Stones (1952)
- The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966)
- The Number of the Beast (1980)
- The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)
Leibowitz duology – Walter M. Miller, Jr.
- A Canticle for Leibowitz (1960)
- Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman (1997; posthumous, finished by Terry Bisson)
Hainish Cycle – Ursula K. Le Guin
- Rocannon’s World (1966)
- Planet of Exile (1966)
- City of Illusions (1967)
- The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
- The Dispossessed (1974)
- The Word for World Is Forest (1976)
- The Telling (2000)
- (Plus 17 short stories)
Whileaway – Joanna Russ
- “When it Changed” (1972)
- The Female Man (1975)
Dune series – Frank Herbert
- Dune (1965)
- Dune Messiah (1969)
- Children of Dune (1976)
- God Emperor of Dune (1981)
- Heretics of Dune (1984)
- Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)
- “The Road to Dune” (1985)
- (Plus 11 Dune-related books by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and probably more to come…)
Ender/Shadow saga – Orson Scott Card
- Ender’s Game (1984; originally published as a novelette, then expanded)
- Speaker for the Dead (1986)
- Xenocide (1991)
- Children of the Mind (1996)
- Ender’s Shadow (1999)
- Shadow of the Hegemon (2001)
- Shadow Puppets (2002)
- First Meetings (2002; short story collection)
- Shadow of the Giant (2005)
- A War of Gifts: An Ender Story (2007)
- Ender in Exile (2008)
- Shadows in Flight (2012)
- Earth Unaware (2012)
- Earth Afire (2013 – scheduled for release in June)
- Shadows Alive (forthcoming)
Sprawl Trilogy – William Gibson
- Neuromancer (1984)
- Count Zero (1986)
- Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988)
- Stories taking place in the same universe:
- “Burning Chrome” (1982) (included in Wesleyan Anthology)
- “Johnny Mnemonic” – “New Rose Hotel”
Oxford Time Travel Series – Connie Willis
- “Fire Watch” (1982)
- Doomsday Book (1992)
- To Say Nothing of the Dog (1998)
- Blackout/All Clear (2010)
Vorkosigan Saga – Lois McMaster Bujold
- “Aftermaths” (1986)
- Shards of Honor (1986)
- The Warrior’s Apprentice (1986)
- Ethan of Athos (1986)
- Falling Free (1987-1988)
- Brothers in Arms (1989)
- “The Mountains of Mourning” (1989)
- “Labyrinth” (1989)
- “Borders of Infinity” (1989)
- “Weatherman” (1990)
- The Vor Game (1990)
- Barrayar (1991)
- Mirror Dance (1994)
- Cetaganda (1995)
- Dreamweaver’s Dilemma (1995)
- Memory (1996)
- Komarr (1998)
- A Civil Campaign (1999)
- Diplomatic Immunity (2002)
- “Winterfair Gifts” (2004)
- Cryoburn (2010)
- Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (2012)
- (Plus various omnibus editions)
Mars trilogy – Kim Stanley Robinson
- Red Mars (1993)
- Green Mars (1994)
- Blue Mars (1996)
- The Martians (1999; short stories)
Sparrow duology – Mary Doria Russell
- The Sparrow (1996)
- Children of God (1998)
