"19 Best Generation Ship Books" by Dan Livingston

Post by Lynn McGuire
"19 Best Generation Ship Books" by Dan Livingston
https://best-sci-fi-books.com/19-best-generation-ship-books/
I have only read five of these, I think. Some of them are fairly old
and I may have lost them in The Great Flood of 1989.
Lynn

I wonder if White's _The Watch Below_ counts.

--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

t***@gmail.com

2019-11-07 13:44:21 UTC

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

I wonder if White's _The Watch Below_ counts.

Similarly, I am wondering if <forgotten ship name> in
Poul Anderson's Tau Zero counts.
- Tony

a425couple

2019-11-03 03:22:48 UTC

I very much liked:

#1 "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke – 1973,
This is one of my favorite books, although, since we have
trouble relating to the occupants, I had not considered
it a "generation-ship".

--------------------------
#4 "Orphans of the Sky" by Robert A. Heinlein – 1963,
Very good old one.

-----------------------
But one of IMHO very earliest, was not on the list,
I quite liked "Seed of Light" by Edmund Cooper in 1958.

https://norberthaupt.com/2012/04/04/book-review-seed-of-light-by-edmund-cooper/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1931069.Seed_of_Light
amazon.com/dp/B00GU333AA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

----------------------------
And another IMHO great generation ship book was
"The Songs of Distant Earth" a 1986 science fiction novel by
British writer Arthur C. Clarke.
Instead of just telling us possibilities of one type
of generation ship, this expands on 2, built generations
apart!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Songs_of_Distant_Earth
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H16217J/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117842.The_Songs_of_Distant_Earth

----------------------
And I remember a real old one, "Journey that took 500 years"
but I can not find any verification of it now.

a425couple

2019-11-03 16:56:15 UTC

#1 "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke – 1973,
This is one of my favorite books, although, since we have
trouble relating to the occupants, I had not considered
it a "generation-ship".
--------------------------
#4 "Orphans of the Sky" by Robert A. Heinlein – 1963,
Very good old one.
-----------------------
But one of IMHO very earliest, was not on the list,
I quite liked "Seed of Light" by Edmund Cooper in 1958.
https://norberthaupt.com/2012/04/04/book-review-seed-of-light-by-edmund-cooper/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1931069.Seed_of_Light
amazon.com/dp/B00GU333AA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
----------------------------
And another IMHO great generation ship book was
"The Songs of Distant Earth" a 1986 science fiction novel by
British writer Arthur C. Clarke.
Instead of just telling us possibilities of one type
of generation ship, this expands on 2, built generations
apart!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Songs_of_Distant_Earth
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H16217J/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/117842.The_Songs_of_Distant_Earth
----------------------
And I remember a real old one, "Journey that took 500 years"
but I can not find any verification of it now.

Correction on the above one,,, it should be:

The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years by Don Wilcox
Thirty generations would live and die before the Flashaway reached its
destination. Could the one man who was to live on keep them to their
purpose? Published Oct. 1940!

David Lesher

2020-01-02 15:45:42 UTC

Do we include The Starlost?

--
A host is a host from coast to ***@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close..........................
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

Chrysi Cat

2020-01-19 06:37:25 UTC

Post by David Lesher
Do we include The Starlost?

I'd have to suggest the answer here is "only if you want Harlan
Ellison's ghost to immediately materialise behind you and strangle you
to death".

--
Chrysi Cat
1/2 anthrocat, nearly 1/2 anthrofox, all magical
Transgoddess, quick to anger.
Call me Chrysi or call me Kat, I'll respond to either!

t***@gmail.com

2019-11-07 13:42:03 UTC

I've only read about 5-6 myself.

I particularly enjoyed the Aldiss. It should be pointed out that the
title in the article is the US title - the original UK title is Non-Stop,
and the title change is a super spoiler, since Aldiss intended the
reveal not just for his characters but for his reading audience.

Tony

Jack Bohn

2019-11-07 17:39:26 UTC

I've only read about 5-6 myself.
I particularly enjoyed the Aldiss. It should be pointed out that the
title in the article is the US title - the original UK title is Non-Stop,
and the title change is a super spoiler, since Aldiss intended the
reveal not just for his characters but for his reading audience.

Aldiss is a good writer, I hope he hid the clues -- the ponics jungle, the land of Forwards -- better than the summary, maybe just spreading them out would be enough.

I've got 6, tho I would argue that _Titan_ and _Rama_ aren't generational ships, and the _Cities in Flight_ aren't generational, either, but it says generation ships appear in _A Life for the Stars_, which I'm not remembering, so my quibble there would be with the word "about".

What of _Sins of the Fathers_ by Stanley Schmidt, or _Fleet of Worlds_ by Niven and someone? A world, although mobile, is not as constrained as a ship, so are these types of stories different?

--
-Jack

Chrysi Cat

2019-11-08 01:06:02 UTC

I've only read about 5-6 myself.
I particularly enjoyed the Aldiss. It should be pointed out that the
title in the article is the US title - the original UK title is Non-Stop,
and the title change is a super spoiler, since Aldiss intended the
reveal not just for his characters but for his reading audience.

As to earlier, and what I said elsewhere,

Post by t***@gmail.com
_Rama_ is, by NO stretch of any imagination...a generation novel.
Have no idea why it's on the list.

It is a generation story for an alien race, using the solar system
for a refuelling stop.

Well, yeah, kind of -----, sure,,,
I think the many active creatures inside Rama, would count
as life. And they existed through cycles, and came back,
so they lasted 'generations'.
As I recall, they were a bunch of different biological &
mechanical 'beings' that operated in harmony with each other?
The doctor went to do a autopsy /necropsy and got shocked
by a living / electrical battery.
Were they preprogramed to do so?
Or were they controlled by some 'brain' (living or computer)
that we never got to comprehend or understand?
How and where were they made?
How was the huge Rama made?
What was the "alien race" that made "Rama" like?
I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee went off thinking that the biggest
mission of science ever possible would be staffed
by jealous power hungry individuals that believed
it was a good thing to commit regicide etc., enough!

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

(There is a possibility here, and that's that the Brain-Eater had him by
that time and Rama II wasn't as unlike what he would have written, had
he felt inspired, as we'd like to believe. I'm not sure whether I want
to disbelieve that or not.)

--
Chrysi Cat
1/2 anthrocat, nearly 1/2 anthrofox, all magical
Transgoddess, quick to anger.
Call me Chrysi or call me Kat, I'll respond to either!

a425couple

2019-11-09 14:50:15 UTC

I've only read about 5-6 myself.

I've got 6, tho I would argue that _Titan_ and _Rama_ aren't
generational ships,

As to earlier, and what I said elsewhere,
>>
>> _Rama_ is, by NO stretch of any imagination...a generation novel.
>>
>> Have no idea why it's on the list.
>>
> It is a generation story for an alien race, using the solar system
> for a refuelling stop.
Well, yeah, kind of -----, sure,,,
I think the many active creatures inside Rama, would count
as life. And they existed through cycles, and came back,
so they lasted 'generations'.
As I recall, they were a bunch of different biological &
mechanical 'beings' that operated in harmony with each other?
The doctor went to do a autopsy /necropsy and got shocked
by a living / electrical battery.
Were they preprogramed to do so?
Or were they controlled by some 'brain' (living or computer)
that we never got to comprehend or understand?
How and where were they made?
How was the huge Rama made?
What was the "alien race" that made "Rama" like?
I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee went off thinking that the biggest
mission of science ever possible would be staffed
by jealous power hungry individuals that believed
it was a good thing to commit regicide etc., enough!

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?
(There is a possibility here, and that's that the Brain-Eater had him by
that time and Rama II wasn't as unlike what he would have written, had
he felt inspired, as we'd like to believe. I'm not sure whether I want
to disbelieve that or not.)

I am understanding that you also found the actions and
motivations of the scientific/military human crew in
the book "Rama II" to be unbelievable.

Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)

2019-11-09 16:00:37 UTC

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.

None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!

How many science-fiction stories with multi-generational spaceships have
all-male crews? :-)

Jerry Brown

2019-11-10 12:08:04 UTC

On Sat, 9 Nov 2019 16:00:37 +0000 (UTC),

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!

I recall enjoying Stephen Baxter's Time Machine sequel (although it
had a couple of continuity errors).

--
Jerry Brown

A cat may look at a king
(but probably won't bother)

Dimensional Traveler

2019-11-10 20:19:26 UTC

Post by Jerry Brown
On Sat, 9 Nov 2019 16:00:37 +0000 (UTC),

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!

I recall enjoying Stephen Baxter's Time Machine sequel (although it
had a couple of continuity errors).

He also did a sequel to 'The War of the Worlds' that was pretty good.

--
"You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?"

p***@hotmail.com

2019-12-01 17:50:33 UTC

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!
How many science-fiction stories with multi-generational spaceships have
all-male crews? :-)

We tried that; it didn't work. Go figure.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

Robert Carnegie

2019-12-01 21:54:14 UTC

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!
How many science-fiction stories with multi-generational spaceships have
all-male crews? :-)

Spoiler for BBC's
"erpragyl ercrngrq: Wbhearl Vagb Fcnpr: Gur Jbeyq va Crevy"
(1955-56), set at a later time.

The Martian invasion fleet decides to head for
Alpha Centauri instead. Most of the hypnotised
men are released but many of them decide to
go with the fleet because they are "minorities"
and Earth culture (seen from 1955) does not
treat them well. (A Jewish principal character
made a remark I didn't catch, possibly on lines
of "You don't have to tell me.")

They will not get there within a human life span.

As far as I remember, exactly one woman was shown
previously as abducted by Martians.

The show then ends with the fleet accelerating away
and leaving this question hanging.

Chrysi Cat

2019-12-01 23:00:30 UTC

Post by Robert Carnegie

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!
How many science-fiction stories with multi-generational spaceships have
all-male crews? :-)

Spoiler for BBC's
"erpragyl ercrngrq: Wbhearl Vagb Fcnpr: Gur Jbeyq va Crevy"
(1955-56), set at a later time.
The Martian invasion fleet decides to head for
Alpha Centauri instead. Most of the hypnotised
men are released but many of them decide to
go with the fleet because they are "minorities"
and Earth culture (seen from 1955) does not
treat them well. (A Jewish principal character
made a remark I didn't catch, possibly on lines
of "You don't have to tell me.")
They will not get there within a human life span.
As far as I remember, exactly one woman was shown
previously as abducted by Martians.
The show then ends with the fleet accelerating away
and leaving this question hanging.

It doesn't seem quite as pointless if there's some sort of way to
incubate offspring, which doesn't necessarily require factory-installed
internal plumbing.

But since it seems like people aren't doing near enough to overcome that
particular weakness, right now it would mainly be a problem, yes.

--
Chrysi Cat
1/2 anthrocat, nearly 1/2 anthrofox, all magical
Transgoddess, quick to anger.
Call me Chrysi or call me Kat, I'll respond to either!

Paul S Person

2019-12-02 17:06:29 UTC

On Sun, 1 Dec 2019 13:54:14 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie

Post by Robert Carnegie

I started reading the next book, but when idiot
new author Gentry Lee

The amazing part is that it was ascended fan-fiction WITH CLARKE AS
PRE-READER AND THEORETICALLY HAVING EDITORIAL CONTROL until 1992. What
the /effing h/ was he thinking allowing that to stand?

Indeed!

Post by a425couple
Arthur C. Clarke wrote interesting, and mostly believable
'hard science fiction'. "Rama II" seemed like a piece
of soap opera ridiculous and contrived pot stiring drama.

Right.
None of these books extended by other authors works. Have you read
NIGHTFALL by Asimov, extended by Silverbergh? Ghastly!
How many science-fiction stories with multi-generational spaceships have
all-male crews? :-)

Spoiler for BBC's
"erpragyl ercrngrq: Wbhearl Vagb Fcnpr: Gur Jbeyq va Crevy"
(1955-56), set at a later time.
The Martian invasion fleet decides to head for
Alpha Centauri instead. Most of the hypnotised
men are released but many of them decide to
go with the fleet because they are "minorities"
and Earth culture (seen from 1955) does not
treat them well. (A Jewish principal character
made a remark I didn't catch, possibly on lines
of "You don't have to tell me.")
They will not get there within a human life span.
As far as I remember, exactly one woman was shown
previously as abducted by Martians.
The show then ends with the fleet accelerating away
and leaving this question hanging.

Reminds me of the Dodo scene in /Ice Age/:
"Well, there goes the last female".

--
"I begin to envy Petronius."
"I have envied him long since."

Jack Bohn

2019-11-08 14:42:25 UTC

I've only read about 5-6 myself.

I've got 6, tho I would argue that _Titan_ and _Rama_ aren't generational ships,

As to earlier, and what I said elsewhere,

Post by t***@gmail.com
_Rama_ is, by NO stretch of any imagination...a generation novel.

It is a generation story for an alien race, using the solar system
for a refuelling stop.

Well, yeah, kind of -----, sure,,,
I think the many active creatures inside Rama, would count
as life. And they existed through cycles, and came back,
so they lasted 'generations'.

That's a suspended animation, or possibly genebank ship. It has a different manner in which trouble... er, the story, develops. The revived or reconstituted crew can be dumped into an emergency already in progress, or do a planned mid-mission activity, only to be reminded that there's an "ex" in exploration, as the situation is not as planned (aliens on board, poking into everything). If a generation ship has not noticed an external threat before it rises to an emergency, they have some other, internal problems.

Sudden memory of _Mayflies_, a 1979 novel by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.

--
-Jack

David DeLaney

2019-12-01 11:13:08 UTC