this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2023
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Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy books for my old boring dad? (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Edit: Picked up "A Canticle for Leibowitz" for him - if you know a good book he might enjoy though, feel free to leave a comment as I'll either pass a list along to him, or use the list for future gifts to him. And thanks everyone for the great recommendations!

Looking for a short-ish, wide-appeal sci-fi or fantasy novel to gift to my dad for Christmas, in the Portuguese language - hopefully without strong religious components (more context and details below)

So my dad and I read a lot, but very different genres. I read almost exclusively sci-fi and fantasy, he likes biographies, historical, and religious books. Most out there book I know of him reading was The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour which he LOVED and talks about regularly, yet I don't think he's read any other historical fiction.

He regularly asks about what I'm reading and always says he doesn't understand why I like sci-fi/fantasy. He's never tried them though. I'm fairly confident he would enjoy the genres, he does fine with their movies.

Anyway, for Christmas I want to get him a book in Portuguese. He went to Brazil for 2 years on a mission for his church and he's still fairly fluent. My hope is he'll enjoy getting exposure to the language, while also getting to try a sci-fi/fantasy book.

There are some difficulties in picking a book for him though...

  1. He is pretty religious and probably can't handle anything with atheist topics, maybe best to avoid fantasy with strong religious components as well
  2. It probably should be on the shorter side - I haven't read many standalone novels so I'm not sure what's popular. I'm worried he'll lose interest in an epic fantasy novel, for example
  3. He loves humor - I'm not a huge fan so another reason I'm asking for help

We did read Bad Omens, he liked it a lot, wasn't one that I see myself re-reading - but I guess some religious topics are fine?

I once tried to get him to read Ready Player One, thinking that it had wide appeal and having loved the story myself... I forgot about Wade's atheist rant in the beginning though. My dad returned the book and kinda started a fight with me on how I must have some plan to de-convert him - and he assured me the book was propaganda for Satan... So yeah, definitely sensitive to religious topics.

An obvious choice, I think, is Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. I may go with this if nothing else comes up. I don't love the book (not my favorite flavor of humor) but I think he'd enjoy it - I'm just hoping for something that might get him hooked on the genres.

Another serious contender is The First 15 Lives Of Harry August. I really liked this one, but I worry the themes of death and mental health might not be great for him.

Thanks for any suggestions! I know this is a bit specific

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

If your dad is Catholic, I would highly recommend A Canticle for Leibowitz.

In my opinion, it stands up very well as Sci-Fi in general but it is from the perspective of a Catholic abby in Utah throughout three stages of the post-apocalypse. It has strong "pro-religious" themes in terms of the value of vocation and duty in times of hardship as well as "pro-science" themes of preserving dangerous knowledge, even if it is dangerous.

The biggest con is that it is heavily steeped in Catholic imagery, so if you don't like that or your dad wouldn't, you shouldn't bother, but if you want to hook a strong Catholic on Sci-Fi, and they are open to Sci-Fi at all, I would heartily recommend it. Another con is that it isn't particularly short, if that may be an issue, 320 total pages.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

One of my fave sci fi novels of all time. Thanks for reminding to re-read it!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

He's Mormon, but he's shown a lot of interest in other religions and denominations, so I don't think it'd be an issue. Seems like a great book for him!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)
  • Solarpunk: Histórias ecológicas e fantásticas em um mundo sustentável, ed. Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro, pub. Draco (2013)
    • (Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World)
    • not the first, but definitely one of the founding books for solarpunk fiction, originally published in Brazilian Portuguese
    • anthology of short stories by multiple authors
    • not directly religious, but along those same lines, eco-fiction is also not for everyone
  • EDIT
  • humor side of things – the entire Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (co-author of Good Omens)
    • each book is relatively short but the series ended up with 41 books
    • translation into Portuguese has been spotty, so not always possible to read things in order
  • a very problematic option – Um cântico para Leibowitz (A Canticle for Leibowitz), Walter M. Miller, Jr.
    • classic post-apocalyptic sci-fi – monasteries being the last repositories protecting scientific knowledge after a nuclear war
  • EDIT 2
  • fantasy AND very Christian – As crônicas de Nárnia (The Chronicles of Narnia)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Thanks for the ideas! Solarpunk might not be a great fit for him as he tends to fall towards the "climate change is a hoax" side of things. He even once said to me that we (humans) are supposed to use up the world's resources because god gave us dominion over the world (I knew dominion over animals, but the whole world?) - and I guess using all the world's resources might bring about the second coming for some reason... With that being said, I'm very intrigued by the genre!

Discworld probably would be a great series for him. I've only read The Colour Of Magic - I might try and find a standalone-ish entry for him

A Canticle for Leibowitz is probably my first choice for him right now

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

... definitely sensitive to religious topics...

So unfortunately not at all :
"~~The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy~~"

Maybe :
"A spell for Chameleon" (1st of 3 books)

Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books : NPR

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

the Xanth series should be safe but definitely avoid Piers Anthony’s Apprentice Adept series unless you want some very awkward conversations …

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Try "The High Crusade" by Poul Anderson. According to ISFDB, it was published in Portuguese as "A grande cruzada". Good clean fun almost with a touch of slapstick. Another one would be "Three Hearts and Three Lions", also by Anderson. If he likes them, Anderson has a huge body of work that you can get into.

"The Mansions of Space" by John Morressy might speak to your Dad's religious sensibilities. However, it's a little known title and I don't know if it ever came out in Portuguese. It's epic in scale but meditative to a certain degree of how God works in mysterious ways. Might be a hit or miss with him, depending on his theology.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Seems like great recommendations!

Unfortunately I already purchased A Canticle for Leibowitz for his Christmas gift - but I'll compile a list of the top recommendations to pass on to him if he wants more Portuguese reads. Or maybe it'll be a recurring sort of gift from me. I'll edit my post to say as much!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Philip K. Dick has an awesome collection of sci fi books.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Check out these two books... They've even got a bit of a religious vibe going on

https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B0CMC7X8LJ?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_awt_ser_img_widg_pc_tukn

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Lots of good suggestions, but the problem is going to be finding something available in Portuguese.

I love the H. Beam Piper "Fuzzy" novels, but I have no idea if they've ever been translated.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

If you can find a Portuguese translation of Borges' books that would be a good choice.