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Why since 1970? Because that was the year of the first Earth Day and next Friday the 22nd will mark its 51st anniversary! Born out of the 1960s/’70s counter culture, it’s a day that both celebrates our planet and raises awareness of the need to care for it. And because of the rise in climate change, it needs a lot of caring for. Science fiction is loaded with works that warn of the fate of the planet if we go on abusing it and also ones that offer the hope of environmentally sustainable futures. So, yours truly has compiled a list of twelve of the best eco sci-fi books (sometimes referred to as ecopunk or solarpunk) since the year of the first Earth Day!
The basis for the selection of these works were a combination of the awards they received, their occurrence on the best sellers list, and notable critical praise. Although the list is numbered, the books are not ordered from best to worst but, instead, chronologically by their publication year. I'll admit, I’ve only read two of these (numbers 2 and 9). However, many of the others will definitely go on my To-Read list. Whether I'll get around to reading all of them is a different story. So, if you're looking for science fiction reading with an ecological theme to celebrate Earth Day, consider the following!
1. "The Word for World is Forest", Ursula LeGuin (1972): The natives of a peaceful planet, the Athsheans, are colonised by violent Earth-based invaders. The colonists establish a logging industry and circumstances force the Athsheans to rebel.
2. “Ecotopia”, Ernest Callenbach (1975): Although this novel is not noted for receiving any awards or landing on the best sellers list, Denis Hayes, the original organiser of Earth Day, praised it as a classic of environmental awareness. Plus it's a favourite of mine. The story involves a skeptical U.S. east coast reporter, Will Weston, who goes on assignment to the new nation of Ecotopia which consists of today's north-west coast, including Northern California. He’s to report on the society and its environmentally efficient lifestyle. Certain citizens of Ecotopia are skeptical themselves--of Weston, that is. He's the first U.S. visitor legally allowed into the nation.
3. “Parable of the Sower”, Octavia Butler (1993): In 2025, California has become a region of individually walled-in towns that keep out wandering, violent drug addicts. 18-year-old Lauren Olamina flees her town into the unknown, outside world that has been damaged by climate change causing a shortage of resources.
4. “Green Mars”, Kim Stanley Robinson (1993): This is Book 2 of the Mars Trilogy. Although Book 1, “Red Mars”, also concerns itself with environmental issues, I didn't include it on this list because this one and Book 3 (see "Blue Mars" below), are far more concerned with them. In this installment, the red planet is in the process of being terraformed into an Earth-like one. However, several occupants of the planet rebel against the terraforming in order to protect the natural Martian geography.
5. “Blue Mars”, Kim Stanley Robinson (1996): In this third and final book of the Mars Trilogy, Mars has been completely terraformed into an Earth-like planet. However, there is still conflict between the terraformers and those who want Mars in its original geographical state. As if things weren't bad enough, Earth is about to be drowned out by a global flood. The overpopulated and polluted planet looks towards Mars for refuge which may lead to a war between the two worlds.
6. “The Year of the Flood”, Margaret Atwood (2009): In this second book of the MaddAddam Trilogy, nearly all humans of the future Earth have been destroyed by natural disaster. Two women, Ren and Toby, who have shut-in must decide whether to leave their shelters and go search for their loved ones.
7. “Memory of Water”, Emmi Itaranta (2012): In a future where global warming has made water scarcer than ever, wars are fought over the resource. Seventeen-year-old Noria trains as a tea master. Only tea masters know where the last of the water sources are hidden. Soon word gets out about the water source locations and the military begins patrolling Noria’s town.
8. “MaddAddam”, Margaret Atwood (2013): In this third book of the MaddAddam Trilogy, several months have gone by since the Waterless Flood pandemic killed most of the human race. A religious sect's prophet is recovering from an illness and so Toby must carry on the religion's teachings. Meanwhile her friend's stepfather, Zeb, searches for the founder of an environmentalist religion called God's Gardeners, while a horde of criminals threaten attack.
9. “Annihilation”, Jeff VanderMeer (2014): An article at Tor.com calls this "an eco-thriller that explores humanity's impost to self-destruct within a natural world of living ‘alien’ profusion." An expedition of four women travel into a mysterious, natural landscape referred to as Area X. Several members of earlier expeditions to this area either disappeared or came back terribly altered. The current group must study and report on the geography while preventing themselves from being contaminated by it.
10. “American War”, Omar El Akkad (2017): This novel is about a future, second American Civil War after oil trade and consumption has been banned and main character Sarat Chestnut's home state of Louisiana has been half submerged in water.
11. “Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation”, edited by Wagner Phoebe and Bronte Christopher Wieland (2017): This is a collection of short stories set in environmentally sustainable future societies. It includes works by award winning science fiction authors such as Nisi Shawl, Lavie Tidhar and A.C. Wise.
12. “Hummingbird Salamander”, Jeff VanderMeer (2021): A security consultant, must decide whether or not to follow the ways of a dead ecoterrorist in order to save her family and maybe even the world.
This is only a small portion of the many great eco sci-fi books that are out there. There are plenty more and we can be sure there will be more to come as climate change unfortunately continues to threaten our planet. So, if you know of any more eco-sci fi books worth reading then please let us know in the box below!
Next weekend's post will be our Book-To-Movie! Also I'm looking for guest bloggers. So if you or anyone you know is interested, please let me know in the comments box. Since this is a blog that specialises in science fiction and fantasy, I ask that topics be related to these genres.
Until next time . . .
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