Not one to let go easily of such a good subject as Golden Ages, I thought I would mention a couple of works that give me what I call an “early sci-fi” feel.
I need to start by explaining what I am calling “early sci-fi.” What are my references? After starting in sci-fi reading with the very early Star Trek books, I moved on to what are generally considered classics in the genre, such as the Foundation and Robots series by Isaac Asimov and some of the works of EE “Doc” Smith, Clifford D. Simak, Larry Niven, Robert Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, and others.
In some way, sci-fi writing in the early to mid-twentieth century feels a lot more care-free and spontaneous than later works. I particularly enjoy those books in which momentous decisions are made in a split second and in which decisive action is taken by what you have no difficulty in considering “the good guys.” While some criticize this style as simplistic or even shallow, I find it a nice break from the “opposite” style. In that style, all decisions are stretched out and frequently made by a committee while several backstabbing plots are developing in the background.
Sure this second is style is a lot more realistic if you will. But I find that one of the many aspects that draw me into science fiction is that it provides relief from all the day-to-day issues we have to deal with at work, home, and in modern society.
Let’s drop the mumbling and get down to current sci-fi works that have given me this sort of pleasant vintage sensation…
I think Glynn Stewart’s Duchy of Terra series is a great example of this. Reading these books was very enjoyable, and the way the story evolves certainly gave me the no-nonsense, let’s-go-get-it feel that some of those early-Twentieth Century works did. His A!Tol Imperium warships' descriptions seem very “rockety,” if you get my meaning. This adds to the general “vintage sci-fi” feel I am referring to.
Raymond L. Weil’s works, in general, have always felt like they fit into this group. I’ve had tons of fun reading his Star Cross, Slaver Wars, Originator Wars, and Earth Fall series. His most recent series called Forgotten Empire has some exciting story twists story but keeps with the same general “vibe” of his work.
I was very saddened to learn of Raymond’s sudden passing last year. His final book, War for the Empire, the fourth in the Forgotten Empire series, which was already in process for publication, has just been released.
I would round out this list with Ryk Brown’s Frontiers’ Saga. While it does not give me the overall vintage sci-fi, it shares the quick pace of decision and evolution of the storyline. This is, so far, divided into two series of fifteen books each (Part 1 and Part 2). This is one set of stories that make great use of the author's technology base, resulting in space combat sequences that are very different from what we see just about every other work of science fiction.
If you enjoy science fiction and haven’t read one of the titles mentioned here, I highly recommend that you check them out.
A Stand-alone novel recommendation
Having included Ryk Brown’s Frontiers’ Saga in my discussion about “vintage” Science fiction, I could not leave out of this post a recommendation that you read his stand-alone novel: Arrival.
At a time where serial reading is the norm, especially for a person that is a compulsive reader such as me, a stand-alone novel is, indeed, “novel.” Especially coming from an author that has been thinking up a sequence of story arcs that he envisions will be covered in 75 books.
Arrival is an excellent book. I highly recommend reading it.