Science fiction classics: sci fi books that inspired The A-Men novel

There is a wealth of great science fiction literature and compiling the best sci fi classics that inspired my writing and the creation of The A-Men trilogy (The A-Men, The A-Men Return and Forever A-Men) was difficult at best. With its mix of cyberpunk, neo-noir dystopia and urban fantasy elements, there were just too many classics to choose from. Here is the final list, but expect it to change!

1
A Clockwork Orange: Anthony Burgess (1960)
Set in a dystopian socialist welfare state of the future, the novel fantasises a world without religion. Alex is a juvenile delinquent who lives for sex, violence and subcult high fashion. The narrative takes the form of a memoir, in Alex's distinctive gang-slang.
The A-Men inspiration: gangs, slang and ultraviolent world beyond religion.
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2
Neuromancer: William Gibson (1984)
This classic of cyberpunk won Nebula, Hugo and Philip K Dick awards, and popularised the term "cyberspace", which the author described as "a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions". A fast-paced thriller starring a washed-up hacker, a cybernetically enhanced mercenary and an almost omnipotent artificial intelligence, it inspired and informed a slew of films and novels, not least the Matrix trilogy.
The A-Men inspiration: cyberspace, AIs, noir elements.

3
Starship Troopers: Robert A Heinlein (1959)
A pivotal book in the history of militaristic sci-fi. After some seriously gung-ho training, a space-marine is thrown into a war against some really nasty and violent alien bugs. Duty and country (i.e. America) are of paramount importance. Deadpanned by many critics for its right-wing content, a 1997 feature film sparked a revival of interest.
The A-Men inspiration: military focus.

4
The Many-Coloured Land: Julian May (1981)
May writes in the time-honoured tradition of pure pulp and does it well. The first instalment of the Saga of the Pliocene Exile finds a host of misfits and mavericks from the next century passing through time doors to the distant past in search of happiness. Of course, they get much more than they bargained for. Combines sci-fi and fantasy elements.
The A-Men inspiration: mixing of science fiction and mythic fantasy elements.

5
Brave New World: Aldous Huxley (1932)
Justifiably famous dystopian discourse on the dangers of technology and hedonistic pleasures. VR movies ('feelies') and a psychedelic drug ('soma') keep people in check, babies are genetically engineered, and human relationships lack intimacy. Two humans from the Savage Reservation cop fatal doses of mainstream society.
The A-Men inspiration: Technologies and people as slaves.

6
The Road: Cormac McCarthy (2006)
McCarthy's most acclaimed novel is a tale from the near-future and a possible foretaste of things to come. In stark, bare-bones prose, it describes a father and son's trudge across a nation devastated by an unspecified environmental calamity - an endless valley of ashes dotted with desperate, deadly survivors. These two figures are pushing south towards the sea, but the sea is poisoned and provides no comfort. In the end, all they have (and, by implication, all the rest of us have) is each other.
The A-Men inspiration: bleakness of survival after fall of civilization.

7
Otherland: Tad Williams (1998)
Tad Williams made his name in fantasy with the immense "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" trilogy (1988-93). His "Otherland" quartet, opening with City of Golden Shadow (1996), is mid-21st-century SF set in an ultra-sophisticated software universe containing countless worlds. This episode features a deadly nature reserve of giant insects, a poisoned Oz, a madcap cartoon reality, London as in The War of the Worlds, 16th-century Venice, Xanadu, ancient Egypt, the Odyssey's Ithaca and the Drones Club. Otherland is the playground of the monstrously rich and unscrupulous Grail Brotherhood, who hope for on-line immortality and are abducting children's souls into their VR system. Opposing them is the enigmatic "Circle", plus a handful of ordinary folk who've penetrated Otherland and are trapped there, floating from world to world on the digital river of the title. There's a spy in this group, though; Otherland's operating system is becoming unstable; the Nemesis program that hunts down software anomalies seems murderously out of control.
The A-Men inspiration: alternate computer-based realities.

8
Snow Crash: Neal Stephenson (1992)
Fast, furious and containing more ideas in a single sentence than most writers manage in an entire book, Snow Crash has been credited with helping to inspire online worlds such as Second Life and established Stephenson as a cult figure. Featuring SF's most ironically named character, Hiro Protagonist, plus skateboards, mafia-employed pizza delivery men, weird drugs, computer hacking and a thousand other cyberpunk tropes.
Buy this book at Amazon.
The A-Men inspiration: Wild neo-punk fiction.

9
Spares: Michael Marshall Smith (1998)
Talking fridges, human clone farms, flying shopping malls -- we must be in the Michael Marshall Smith zone. It’s the story of Jack Randall: burnt-out, dropped out, and way overdrawn at the luck bank. But as caretaker on a Spares Farm, he still has a choice, and it might make a difference if he can run fast enough. Spares -- a breathless race through strange, disturbing territories in a world all too close to our own.
The A-Men inspiration: anti-hero in frenetic world.

10
Altered Carbon: Richard K Morgan (2008)
Richard Morgan's debut SF thriller Altered Carbon isn't for the faint-hearted. Its noir private-eye investigation races through extreme violence, hideously imaginative torture and many ultraviolent set-pieces. This is high-tension SF action, hard to put down--though squeamish readers may shut their eyes rather frequently.
The A-Men inspiration: Noir elements mixed with hard sci fi.

You can read more about The A-Men at www.trevillian.com.
Or contact: john@trevillian.com

Comments

[Rich D]

Dear Mr Trevillian. Have you been sending postcards to strangers?

[John Trevillian]

Think there was a marketing mailing this week to all people who bought the first novel.. just a new book announcement.

[Rich D]

A postcard of Rome with a Mount Pleasant sorting office mark and a Gromit stamp. Had me wondering for a good few hours. Lord alone knows how they knew I bought the first book. I had to get it from an Amazon marketplace seller it was the only copy available at the time.

[John Trevillian]

Actually, that's quite amusing! Apologies on their behalf if you were foxed. Regards, JeT.

[Rich D]

Tell them that if they're in the mood for posting things, free books are always very gratefully received. They seem to know where I am and what I like.