Here is a quick list of what and why that I think would be fun to discuss with our amazing group!
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Mark Hodder) - a steampunk alternate history novel perfectly casting Sir Richard Francis Burton as a Sherlock Holmes type and Algernon Swinburne, the poet, as his Watson tackling the real unsolved Victorian era mystery of Spring Heeled Jack. Great characters with plenty of mystery, time traveling, gadgetry, and one heck of a plot twist.
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Philip K Dick) - a dystopian novel that twists reality and unreality together involving simulated realities, brain altering drugs, conspiracies, and precogs.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Harlen Ellison - short story) - A short horrifying story that will leave a taste in your mouth that you no longer wish you had.
Aye, and Gomorrah (Samuel R Delany - short story) - Learn about the secret human cost to space travel in this very controversial short story.
A Toy for Juliette (Robert Bloch - short story) - Time traveling Jack the Ripper.
The Dispossessed (Ursula K le Guin) - A study between the strengths and flaws of capitalism/anarchism disguised as an engaging political science fiction story which gives plenty to discuss.
Bug Jack Barron (Norman Spinrad) - A exploitative future talk show host discovers an amoral conspiracy behind the world's immortality project. Chaos ensues.
The Illuminati Trilogy (Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson) - Who doesn't believe the Illuminati is behind everything? Get your mind blown by this silly but mind-bending Discordian book that may make you believe in all paranoid conspiracies.
Starfish (Peter Watts) - The Shining underwater. Need I say more?
The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson) - Ever been inside a mad house? And you yourself are mad?
The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Mark Hodder) - a steampunk alternate history novel perfectly casting Sir Richard Francis Burton as a Sherlock Holmes type and Algernon Swinburne, the poet, as his Watson tackling the real unsolved Victorian era mystery of Spring Heeled Jack. Great characters with plenty of mystery, time traveling, gadgetry, and one heck of a plot twist.
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Philip K Dick) - a dystopian novel that twists reality and unreality together involving simulated realities, brain altering drugs, conspiracies, and precogs.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Harlen Ellison - short story) - A short horrifying story that will leave a taste in your mouth that you no longer wish you had.
Aye, and Gomorrah (Samuel R Delany - short story) - Learn about the secret human cost to space travel in this very controversial short story.
A Toy for Juliette (Robert Bloch - short story) - Time traveling Jack the Ripper.
The Dispossessed (Ursula K le Guin) - A study between the strengths and flaws of capitalism/anarchism disguised as an engaging political science fiction story which gives plenty to discuss.
Bug Jack Barron (Norman Spinrad) - A exploitative future talk show host discovers an amoral conspiracy behind the world's immortality project. Chaos ensues.
The Illuminati Trilogy (Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson) - Who doesn't believe the Illuminati is behind everything? Get your mind blown by this silly but mind-bending Discordian book that may make you believe in all paranoid conspiracies.
Starfish (Peter Watts) - The Shining underwater. Need I say more?
The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson) - Ever been inside a mad house? And you yourself are mad?
The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks) - Messed up.