I've very much enjoyed reading the list and all the comments. And WOW, I've read nearly every book mentioned! I need to get out more.
My 2 cents worth - Perdido Station & Snow Crash would be the only ones from that list I'd give to newbies. I would keep them well away from Asimov and any of the other grand daddies. Don't get me wrong I dig their stuff but I can say from experience (I'm always out to convert) - not many newbies do. Their problems with it generally lie with the out-of-date philosophy, the rampant sexism, and the not-so-good writing skills. Stories, plots, originality etc ABSOLUTELY brilliant, but newbies find it hard to get past the cardboard characters and simplistic writing style - easy to miss when you're already a convert and have nostalgic memories about their stories).
Ian M Banks & Richard Morgan has worked for me, as has Lois McMaster Bujold. Vampire Porn works really well to get women into fantasy and sci-fi. Don't knock it. I've converted many this way : ) There are others, but the main thing I've learnt is that it needs to be modern in style and humour and a fairly recent publication for a successful conversion. Give them the classics later.
My 2 cents worth - Perdido Station & Snow Crash would be the only ones from that list I'd give to newbies. I would keep them well away from Asimov and any of the other grand daddies. Don't get me wrong I dig their stuff but I can say from experience (I'm always out to convert) - not many newbies do. Their problems with it generally lie with the out-of-date philosophy, the rampant sexism, and the not-so-good writing skills. Stories, plots, originality etc ABSOLUTELY brilliant, but newbies find it hard to get past the cardboard characters and simplistic writing style - easy to miss when you're already a convert and have nostalgic memories about their stories).
Ian M Banks & Richard Morgan has worked for me, as has Lois McMaster Bujold. Vampire Porn works really well to get women into fantasy and sci-fi. Don't knock it. I've converted many this way : ) There are others, but the main thing I've learnt is that it needs to be modern in style and humour and a fairly recent publication for a successful conversion. Give them the classics later.